BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

RyothChatty ridiculous rating

Brightlyme i know i wasted 90 mins of my life.

Delight Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

kosmasp Story wise we do not get served something we might not have seen before (can't speak for everyone, but if you have seen a couple of thrillers, chances are, the plot is not new to you). But acting wise, we do get more than a treat. It's two of the best known actors finally together. German actors that is and only if you consider their acting skills that is of course.We have a very decent effort to bring those two together, though the initial cat and mouse does not make any sense, especially considering the the insistence of the "second" character not wanting to go away after that. There is a lot of foreshadowing and you will be able to see where this is headed. The confrontation towards the end is nicely done, although this has some flaws too (again makes no sense). But the very end, is very good and gives us one final great moment ...

Horst in Translation ([email protected]) Maximilian Erlenwein and Jürgen Vogel worked on "Schwerkraft" ("Gravity") together, a movie that I liked a lot, and here they reunite for "Stereo". Fabian Hinrichs, the lead actor in "Schwerkraft" has a very minor role here. With Moritz Bleibtreu as the co-lead, Erlenwein has two of Germany's most famous actors summoned up for this project. Vogel was always a difficult choice for me. There is films where I really love him ("Quellen des Lebens" he is the best thing about the movie) and others where I am not too fond of him. Maybe he is like a better Til Schweiger, who just needs a role that suits him perfectly in order to shine. On a random note, Vogel and Bliebtreu also appeared both in a Mc Donalds TV spot recently. You can check the video websites for this one if you are curious.Now back to "Stereo: Vogel plays the central character, has a girl, owns a bike repair shop, but something from his past haunts him and becomes increasingly powerful. The first half of the film was more of a psychological thriller, while the second half resembled an action movie. I definitely preferred the first half. I like it usually when there is a bit of an uncertainty and here it is no different. The scenes with the strange guy (Bleibtreu) showing up on the trailer or at night outside the house were well done. The film basically starts going south when said stranger gets a devil-like appearance and starts doing Vogel's character's girlfriend or at the psychiatrist when it's all nothing more than obscene talk. It's all showy and a lot of substance is lost for pure pretense. Also the solution in the second half left a lot desired in my opinion. The transformation of Vogel's character from somebody who gets beaten up into some kind of Stallone character felt as woolly as the fact that there were some undercover agents or traitors in that strange group. Especially in the second half, it is a very violent movie, so stay away if you can't deal with blood splatter and people dying.Usually I'm a sucker for villains and antagonists, but here I'm not so sure if I approve of the main enemy played by Mark Zak. Somehow the story just worked out weaker than I hoped for. Maybe, if Bleibtreu's character was some stalker and not actually just an illusion of Vogel's character's mind, I would have liked this film a lot more. Nonetheless, the film was advertised a lot and became pretty popular. Good for Vogel as it keeps him in the league of Germany's most known actors for probably at least another couple years.

mdimba I agree with almost everything in the previous review written by Artax88, and would just like to add a few things: I disliked the esoteric/mystic parts in the second act. The old, blind man and his "prophecy" didn't fit well with the rest of the film and was in, my opinion, redundant. Additionally, it was a little ridiculous and framed by silly lightning effects.Also, I would have liked to see a little bit more of the hero's and villain's relationship. It was only hinted at, but seemed very interesting to me. The villain was a strong character and could have benefited the film by having a little more screen time. Room for this could have been made by cutting out some of the "father of my girlfriend doesn't like me" scenes and the previously mentioned mysticism.

Artax88 I had the chance to see the German movie Stereo early during a Sneak Preview. The impression with which I left the cinema was largely positive mainly due to the strong performances of Jürgen Vogel and Moritz Bleibtreu as well as some nice shots and camera work. The story starts with Erik, played by Jürgen Vogel, receiving a ticket for speeding on the way to his girlfriend Julia. Together with her daughter they lead a quiet life in the countryside. The plot starts to unfold when one day Erik's work as a motorcycle mechanic is disturbed by the arrival of gypsies and the appearance of a mysterious hooded man, who is played by Moritz Bleibtreu.From here on the story convinces with some nice turning points and surprises, although some of them can be easily anticipated as the plot progresses. The most interesting part for me was the development of the relation between Erik and the character played by Bleibtreu, which worked really well. With the focus on these characters I could not help myself but feel disinterested in the fates of Erik's girlfriend and her family (not to mention the gypsies).One of my main gripes with the movie is therefore the slow and boring family scenes. Some of which contain slow motion shots combined with a soundtrack that I did not find fitting. Still the music convinces in many other parts of the film and underlines many great shots, notably during the outdoor scenes.In my opinion, another flaw of the movie is its overdone profanity. While I enjoyed the comedic remarks by Bleibtreu's character a lot of the misogynistic comments and portrayals found in the film seem overdone. I think the movie could achieve the same result, i.e. depicting the bad guys as really evil men, with a more subtle tone, especially since we have Julia's family as a stark contrast. Furthermore, I found the performance of Erik's adversary Keitel with his strong Austrian accent convincing enough to also justify a more unobtrusive dialogue and imagery without watering down the characters too much.All in all, Stereo is an entertaining and gripping thriller. It manages to compensate for its slow parts with good performances by its two lead actors and the development of the relatable characters they play. The plot will keep you interested to see what's next despite rather predictable twists and revelations. You should not be easily offended by strong language and explicit images though.