netflix – that lemon life

The Incredible World of DARK

Hola everyone.

How are you all doing on this fantastic Friday? I hope so far you’ve had a great week and that you’re all feeling well. Personally, I’ve had a super busy week, juggling free time with my new job at my mum’s company and my also new job as editor-in-chief of our uni magazine LDN (link here), which the team and I have been trying to give a huge makeover and thereby rejuvenate it and turn it into the amazing paper it can and should be. And I know it sounds a tad stressful as a whole, but, actually, I’ve really been enjoying it. I’d rather be busy and happy doing more stuff, than wandering around the house, not knowing what to do with myself. And it kinda makes me enjoy and savor some chill and free time even more, which is actually what I want to talk about today – a very specific, but incredibly amazing TV show that has been ruling most of my free time the past two months. As seen from the title and the cover picture, you can probably guess which show I am talking about. Exactly. DARK. Probably the best show I’ve ever watched in my life. But let me start from the beginning.

For those of you who don’t know DARK yet – my god you’re missing out -, here’s a short intro: DARK is a German sci-fi thriller series co-created by the great Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese and produced by Netflix. Set in the fictitious German town of Winden, the show starts right during the aftermath of a child’s disappearance, which exposes the secrets of, and hidden connections among four estranged families as they slowly unravel a sinister conspiracy which spans several generations. Throughout the series, DARK explores the existential implications of time and its effects upon human nature.

I’m purposely not going to reveal any more about the plot, as literally everything is a spoiler and as this is literally one of the best, if not even the best series I have ever seen, I don’t want to spoil this perfection of a show for anyone. What I need to add though is that the show is in German (although it has been dubbed and translated into many other languages), so if you don’t speak German, I would highly highly highly recommend watching the OV version with subtitles. No dubbing can come close to how perfect the voices of the German actors go with the show and with the overall feel of it. Seriously.

I think what makes this show even more special for me, is that I got to watch it with my best childhood friend Maria, who I usually very rarely get to see as I obviously live in London and she lives and works in Vienna. But – and this is going to sound super insane – thanks to the quarantine (crazy, I told you), we were both forced to stay at home and as we only live minutes apart from each other, we spent most of the quarantine watching movies and tv shows together. And DARK was one of those shows – or more like the one show that ruled our weekly and daily tv marathons. I remember googling which shows to watch on Netflix and DARK immediately seemed like the most promising and interesting one, even before I had watched the trailer, which then sealed the deal. Usually, I am not that attracted to German-produced movies and shows, so I think both Maria and I went into that first episode with a bit of uncertainty.

But after like the first five minutes, that was more than forgotten. I can’t remember the last time I had such a fantastic, thrilling, and exciting TV/movie experience. We fell in love with the main character Jonas in an instant. And the amount of times this show has made us do multiple facepalms, made us cover our faces in shock, even made us jump off the couch out of utter surprise. It’s truly insane but in the best way possible.

So far, we’ve seen the first two seasons of the show (I even watched it twice) and as the third and last season has been released last Saturday (happy apocalypse day btw, for all my DARK lovers out there), I couldn’t be more excited to finally get behind all the mad secrets and hidden stories of Winden. But as much excitement I feel towards the prospect of finally getting to see the new season, the thought also gives me this somber, even sad feeling. It’s sad to see this show end. But I know the last season will be a hell of a ride. And I’m more than ready for it.

I probably don’t have to mention that I HIGHLY recommend watching this show, I think I’ve made it very clear that you all need to watch this show right now. Honestly. You will not regret a single second of it, I promise. And for all of my fellow DARK fans, I’d love to hear what you think about the show – but no spoilers, please – so don’t hesitate to leave your thoughts and comments down below. And until then, I wish you all the best weekend and, as always, thanks for reading. x

A Wallow in Music

Hola everyone.

It’s Friday. Yeeeeey. I hope you’ve all had an amazing week and are now looking forward to the weekend. My week was pretty good, if I may say so. And something really cool happened – I “found” a new awesome band. I mean, I didn’t just discover it like a few days ago, but let me get back to the start and tell you the whole story.

So, if any of you guys have been on any social network the past few days, you may have noticed that there’s now a second season of 13 Reasons Why. It’s that Netflix series, that basically everyone seems to be completely obsessed with, although the reviews of the new season aren’t that good. Personally, I can’t critique it, as I haven’t seen it. And I know I’ve been obsessed with the first season just like everyone else, but in hindsight I kind of regret that and I have no desire or so to watch the next season. My friend Leni told me enough about it already that I know that I’m not going to be a social outcast if I haven’t fully watched it. Oh and if you’re asking yourself now who Leni is, she’s actually that friend I’m always talking about in my postings. She always texts me funny messages whenever she recognizes herself as that friend in my posts, so I guess the cat is out of the bag now. Leni, this is the internet. Internet, this is Leni.

So, now that we’ve dealt with that, let’s get back to the story I actually wanted to tell you. You’re probably thinking what the hell has that show got to do with the new band I’m falling in love with right now? Well, a lot. Seriously. If you’ve seen the show, you’ll probably know the actor Dylan Minnette, who plays Clay, the main character. At least that’s how I got to know this actor. And now imagine logging onto YouTube and having this guy’s face pop up on your feed. Of course you think it has to be related to the tv series, but no no no. It’s actually a video of a live performance by a band called Wallows, with Dylan as the lead singer. And of course you have to check it out, because who wouldn’t? And then you notice that this band is straight up amazing and the surprise is complete.

I mean, did you know that? Because I honestly had no idea that this guy was hiding such a massive musical talent. I’m actually shocked. But in a positive way, of course. So yeah guys, let me introduce you to this amazing Indie band, that I’ve been listening to nonstop the past few days – Wallows. And you know what’s the funniest part of this story? I already knew this band. That’s why I put the “found” at the beginning in quotation marks. But I had never really given them enough attention to fully acknowledge the awesomeness of their music, which I’m thankfully doing now. And thus, without further ado, here are my favorite tracks by this fantastic band. Please enjoy.

So yeah, here’s my special music treat of the week for you guys. I really hope that you do enjoy the songs by this supercool band. Also, it seems like they are still pretty much at the beginning of their career, just having released their debut EP, and I would be so happy to see them get more attention, as they truly deserve it. As always, please don’t hesitate to leave your comments and thoughts down below. Oh and I wish you all a great weekend and thanks for reading. x

We are all mad here

Hola everyone.

Today I want to talk about another amazing tv show I’ve fallen in love with the past month. Bates Motel. Some of you may probably know it already, as I think there was quite a big hype about it when it came out first. To make it short first, the series is totally fascinating and you need to give it a go.

So, what is it about?

Does the movie title Psycho remind you of something? Exactly, it’s this classic, groundbreaking horror/thriller movie by Hitchcock. And Bates Motel is just like that, because it tells the story of how the psycho became the psycho. The one that kills his quests in his hotel. Mad, I know. The story begins with the death of Norman Bates – the psycho guy – father. Shortly after this his mum Norma (yes, really, Norman and Norma) decides to move to another city with him, White Pine Bay in Arizona, and buys a motel and a house for them. That’s why it’s called Bates Motel. After this the series basically continues to represent the madness of both Norman and his mum and their really, really strange relationship, which is quite freaky sometimes. And definitely not normal. People are going missing, guys are being killed and thrown into a lake and let’s not forget that the city lives off the sales of it’s own “secret” marihuana field. Crazy people in a crazy city. The perfect conditions for pure chaos.

I can’t really tell you why I started watching this show. I knew the name and saw it on Netflix and just basically gave it a go. I watched the first episode and it was clear to me that I would be binge watching this show throughout the summer. And the best part is that my parents enjoy it too, so we’re all deep in the mad story of Norma and Norman and we all love it. I especially, as I’m a huge fan of creepy stories. No wonder as I also watched every single season of American Horror Story.

So yeah, that’s Bates Motel. So far I’m right in the second season now and it’s so great, I can’t even describe it. Freddie Highmore is literally the best actor for this role. You look at him and you can really, clearly see the madness in his eyes. That’s what I call good acting. And let’s not forget Vera Farmiga, my lovely friend from The Conjuring. She’s the best, seriously. She embodies the character of Norma so well that we’ve all become such big fans of her acting, it’s crazy.

There’s literally nothing bad to say about this show. It has crazy people who do crazy stuff, a lot of secrets, mind-blowing actors, a great scenery, super weird relationships and a huge amount of surprises and twists. I really love it. And I can just recommend it to you guys. If you’re into some mad stories, this is the right aisle for you.

So, there you go guys. Another tv show recommendation from me to you. I hope you like it. Oh and if any of you already know the show or want to talk, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment down below. And until then I wish you all an amazing weekend and, as always, thanks for reading. x

Sherlock

Hola everyone.

You know, Netflix is actually a pretty cool thing. Yes, I did say before that I’m not the biggest fan of it, but it’s true that it has some big advantages. You can watch tv shows and movies that you could never watch anywhere else (except for that illegal stuff, but we won’t talk about that). And as you can probably guess by the title, I recently had the chance to watch the tv show Sherlock.

I just finished the last season, season 4, yesterday night and, honestly, I’m blown away. I mean, I’ve always been a big fan of the Sherlock Holmes stories. I loved the two movies with Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law. Maybe that’s why I was quite skeptical towards the tv series. But I think to be able to review both of them in the best way, you really have to separate those two. Because apart from the names and some main plots, they are completely different. And I tried to do that and that’s why I really fell in love with the tv show too.

I guess you all know the name Sherlock Holmes and what it means, the stories behind it. And the tv show Sherlock is like those stories, but just taken to our time, to the modern times. That’s also why the movies and the tv series are so different. I actually really enjoyed this aspect, but I think the old times just embody the stories better. But, anyways, I enjoyed it really much. Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock is truly mind-blowing. No wonder he had his big breakthrough because of this show. You can really see Sherlocks craziness in his eyes. And Martin Freeman as John Watson is just as good. I fell in love with Freeman when I saw him as Bilbo in The Hobbit and I’ve been a fan of him ever since. Maybe that’s why Watson is my favorite character of the series. Whenever he appeared, I saw Bilbo. And I love Bilbo. So it was pretty much obvious that I’d love Watson too. I think both actors are amazing at showing so many emotions with so little actions, with just their mimics, the looks in their faces. Especially at the last seasons. And yes, I did cry indeed. Quite often. But I laughed even more.

I think my favorite seasons are the second and the third one. And apart from the amazing acting, I loved the way the tv show works the most. You really have to concentrate on the stories and think. I often went to bed afterwards, still thinking about an episode. And I loved the amount of crazy and superfrustrating cliffhangers and shocking plot twists. That turns a good tv show into an amazing one. And the fact that one episode is one and half hours long, just makes everything even better.

You know, all I can say is that the stories are from an English writer, the tv show is English, the actors are English. Of course it had to be awesome. So, I can only recommend you guys to give this show a go, you won’t regret it. Seriously. Oh, and if any of you have already watched it, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment down below. Or if you just want to know more. Or say anything else. I’m here. And until then I wish you all an amazing weekend and hope you enjoyed this post. And, as always, thanks for reading. x

Please Like Me

Hola everyone.

No, this post won’t be about me begging you guys to like me – which I hope you do. Today I’ll be talking about a tv series I finished lately called – you guessed it – “Please Like Me”. And I loved it so much that I thought I’d introduce it to you.

To be honest, I can’t even exactly tell you what the show is about without spoiling some parts of the plot, but I’ll try my best:

“Please Like Me” is about the life of Josh – a 20-year-old guy – who discovers that he’s gay right at the beginning of the first episode due to the fact that his girlfriend tells him and breaks up. After that shocker he finds out that his mum tried to kill herself and he now has to help her and his family deal with her depression. And let’s not forget his dad who divorced from Josh’s mum and now hides his girlfriend from her.All while exploring his new found sexuality, hooking up with hot boys and living in an apartment together with his best friend Tom and his annoying girlfriend who wouldn’t just leave. Oh and his absolutely adorable dog John.

So yeah, that’s pretty much it. But let me tell you, we just touched the surface of the show and there’s so much more to it. I found the show on Netflix and just got curious, so I tried it out. I wasn’t really prepared to find such a cute, brutally honest, comedic tv series. Actually it’s an Australian comedy drama series and when you get to the very end of the show you slowly realize why it’s described as a drama too. But I don’t want to spoil anything. I guess you just have to find out yourself.

Overall I would describe the show as a vacation for the mind. Every little episode just brings joy, despite the drama aspect. What I loved about it the most is the style and the humor of the show and how it deals with aspects like homosexuality, mental illness, and relationships. It’s brutally honest. It doesn’t try to hide anything or make it look like there’s beauty in suicide or breakups, because there simply isn’t. And that’s what makes it so special. And apart from that the humor is seriously the best. Honestly, all the characters are quite insane. Like, who let’s his girlfriend wait in the car for hours just because he doesn’t want his ex-wife to know? How weird is that? And you sit there and all of these strange situations happen and you watch it and think “oh my god, how is this really happening? They are crazy, completely crazy”. And then you just have to laugh. Because it’s so weird and awkward and honest that it becomes funny. I’d describe it as some kind of British humor, again really honest and weird, but still amazing. And let’s be honest, the acting is mind-blowing. The characters just seem so real, they feel like real people. Which they are. Personally, I’d say that this show is better at dealing with and talking about suicide and mental illness than 13 Reasons Why, which just turns the fault to all the other characters. I’ve never seen a show as real as Please Like Me.

And actually the series is mostly written by Josh Thomas, who plays Josh. He’s an Australian comedian and with that show, I think he created a total masterpiece. For me, this show was an emotional rollercoaster and I enjoyed it so much, I was really sad that it had to end. So I can just really recommend it to any of you guys, please give it a go. And don’t hesitate to ask me about it. And if you watch it or already have seen it, I’d be superhappy to hear from you. And until then I hope you enjoyed this post and wish you all an amazing week. And, as always, thanks for reading. x

13 Reasons Why

Hola everyone.

So I guess you probably already know what I’ll talking about today. Yes, it happened. After such a long time of fighting against it, Netflix has finally defeated me too. But I just had to give in. Do any of you guys own a twitter profile? Literally everything people were and still are talking about is this tv series “Thirteen Reasons Why”. And me being the movie and tv series fan I am, I just had to fall for it sooner or later.

So I downloaded it. I now have this free trial for one month – I won’t have it any longer I think, Amazon Prime and Sky should be enough – and it’s just the perfect amount of time for me to try out as much as I can. And right now, I’m kind of binge-watching 13 Reasons Why, of course. And I have to say, I really do like it. I haven’t read the book and usually I’m not into such teenage drama stuff, but this show really keeps me in front of the screen, wanting more and more.

I’m currently at episode 9 and craving to find out what Clay really did – no spoilers please. So far the show never happened to let me down or bore me, which is a really good sign. There’s just one critic point – the whole story. I mean, I know that the book and the show is about Hannah, but I sometimes think she really did take herself a little bit too important (please don’t kill me in the comments). I know why the other students sometimes say that she just wants attention. But on the other hand I’m so damn sorry for her and think “oh wow, it’s really important to be nice to people”. And I guess that’s what the book/show wants to tell us – just be kind to people. You never know what really goes on in their life so it’s always better to bring them happiness and not even more pain.

But I guess I’m already pretty late on this trend. If any of you have already seen it or read the book – what did you think? Oh and is the book better than the show? I’m really curious. And I’m really excited to watch the last 4 episodes, I can’t wait. Oh and guys, I really hope you enjoyed this short insight on what I’m enjoying tv-wise right now. And I hope you’re all doing well. And, as always, thanks for reading. x

Ps: What besides this one would you recommend me watching? Riverdale? Black Mirror? Please hit me up with some ideas guys. Thaaanks. x