Rosa von Praunheim was inspired to make this film by his own radio play “Die Nachtigall” (The Nightingale) from 1986, when he improvised together with street singer Friedrich Steinhauer, who called himself “die Nachtigall vom Ramersdorf” (The Nightingale of Ramersdorf), and Luzi Kryn, who became famous for her role in Praunheim’s film DIE BETTWURST. Now, more than 30 years later, Rosa von Praunheim has filmed his material with singer and actor Hubert Wild and an eccentric former teacher, Ellen Reichardt, who has appeared in several of his films already.
“To be universal, you have to get specific”: while the film does not attempt to provoke discussions about queerness or race, those watching closely may find something resonant in Sorrentino’s love letter to the Naples of his youth.
Stevan Lee Mraovitch’s film is a beautiful tribute to family, found family, and the lengths people will go to support their loved ones.
It doesn’t offer an absolute answer for the dialectical ethical questions that emerged in search of justice but portrays the characters as living people beyond the identities of victims.
Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion is a fan-favorite, as are some of the more science fiction angled movies like 28 Days Later or World War Z. I recently watched the 1995 Wolfgang Peterson-directed movie, Outbreak for the first time, which is currently available on Netflix.
Naked Gun: The New Police Squad Team delivers exactly what fans want: relentless, expertly crafted chaos that honors the original while cranking everything up to eleven. The gags fire at machine-gun pace—sight jokes layered with wordplay and physical comedy so outrageous it borders on art. It's gleefully self-aware without being cynical, silly without being stupid, and maintains that perfect ZAZ-style balance of treating absolute absurdity with complete seriousness. The film knows exactly what it is: a comedy missile designed for maximum laughs, and it hits its target with surgical precision. Pure, unhinged entertainment that proves spoof comedy still has plenty of life left in it.
If Top Gun needed to say it, Top Gun: Maverick makes you feel the need... the need for speed.
