Thrash or Die are the Manowar of thrash metal: stereotypical image, stupid lyrics and repetitive music unite in a cringe-worthy manner. Even though the band is terrible, it isn't as bad as some people claim.

Thrash or Die do what they do with great energy and passion and this transpires throughout the entire release. The odd quintet doesn't pretend to reinvent the genre or add anything to it and simply sticks to honoring its genre and idols. The group might rip off Exodus' and Slayer's riffs here and there but it also proves that they are really passionate about this type of music. The riffs are at times bland and exchangeable but the fast and furious guitars add an appropriately apocalyptic atmosphere to songs like ''The Return of the Thrash Lord''. The drum play isn't particularly versatile but appropriately ferocious for this subgenre. The bass guitar even has a few shining moments when it takes the lead and adds an angry bumblebee sound to the mixture. Several tracks include a few radio play introductions that sound obviously cheesy and unintentionally amusing but which are nevertheless entertaining and fitting in tracks like ''Terrorvision''.

On the other side, this album has massive flaws. The production is particularly canny and unbalanced as one can immediately witness in the headache-inducing mess of an opener entitled "Fatal Fury". This song sounds as if it had been recorded with a ten-year old cell phone. It's probable that the band intended the record to sound that bad though to go with its general old school approach. Another massive problem are the one-dimensional vocals reminding me of a mixture of a hysterical Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth and Steve "Zetro" Souza trying to imitate a duck. The lyrics are stereotypical and constantly deal with destruction, thrash metal lifestyle and calling out so-called posers. The cringe-worthy lyrics go along with a childish cover artwork and the stupid nicknames the involved musicians adapted such as Hellvomit Sodomizer and Triplesixxx Whoremangler. The funniest thing about this is that one of the guitarists just stuck to his regular name which makes his bandmates' aliases look particularly stupid.

Listening to this record is a little bit like watching an Ed Wood movie. You know it's bad from many points of view such as the nerve-firing vocalist, the infantile songwriting, the terrible production, the limited musicianship and the stereotypical cover artwork. But on the other side, Poser Holocaust is aggressively energizing, surprisingly entertaining and performed with genuine passion. Thrash or Die might be among the biggest posers in the scene which is ironic given the fact that they constantly call out said posers but they are unintentionally funny like a bad circus show. Still, Thrash or Die actually beat some recent records of their idols such as Exodus' headache-inducing Blood In Blood Out or Havok's pretentious propaganda coaster Conformicide. Thrash or Die might be stupid but at least they are fun to listen to and don't take themselves for being the pinnacle of their genre. If you feel like switching your brain off and listening to some extreme thrash metal, Poser Holocaust actually even delivers the goods and is otherwise at least an entertaining oddity. I would rather listen to Thrash or Die's Poser Holocaust than to Metallica's Lulu on any given day.

Final rating: 33%

Der kindliche Kaiser (eine deutsche Legende): http://www.spiegel.de/sport/sonst/boris-becker-zum-50-geburtstag-der-kindliche-kaiser-a-1179563.html

Jackie Chan is an incredibly skilled actor but he has often chosen rather uninteresting roles that limit him to slapstick comedy and a few fight scenes in exchangeable family movies like Kung Fu Yoga and Chinese Zodiac. His last entirely interesting movie was the historical drama 1911 six years ago but even that movie was flawed due to its propagandistic vibe. 

And suddenly, Jackie Chan is back with a bang in The Foreigner. Almost nobody saw that coming. And instead of focusing on gags and choreography, this film respects Jackie Chan as a serious actor. He plays a former special forces operator, refugee and family father who loses his single daughter in a terrorist attack and wants to track down the criminals behind this unspeakable act by any means necessary. Jackie Chan manages to find a perfect balance between playing a broken old man, a clever and strategic fighter with an intact moral compass and a pitiless avenger. As a viewer, you sympathize with this authentic and diversified character with authentic flaws and strengths. The Foreigner might actually be the best acting performance in Jackie Chan's incredibly long career.

In addition to an outstanding Jackie Chan, this movie features other great actors such as the charismatic Pierce Brosnan. His performance as Jackie Chan's determined, influential and manipulative antagonist might be his best since his departure from the James Bond franchise one and a half decades ago. The different supporting characters of mostly Chinese or Irish origin are also quite convincing.

As if that weren't enough, the story of the movie is so addicting because it's quite authentic. The topic of the Irish Republican Army has been used many times before but only very few films show the corruption, ideology and struggle behind it like this film does. The movie is based upon Stephen Leather's novel The Chinaman and the detailed movie shows that it's quite faithful to the source material.

The film convinces with a balanced mixture of action, crime and drama elements and equally focuses on developing the main characters, offering diversified action sequences from exploding buildings over hand-to-hand combats to home invasions and perpetually raising the tension of the film until a stunning showdown. Exposition, rising action, climax, falling action and resolution are all cleverly developed.

The skilled directing by an experienced Martin Campbell who had already collaborated with Pierce Brosnan in the past is the cherry on the cake of a flawless film. The locations are simple but efficient, the lighting techniques add to the respective moods of the scenes and the well-integrated soundtrack always blends in.

In the end, The Foreigner deserves the attention and praise it already gets and would even deserve more. It's one of the very best movies of the year and a stunning return for Pierce Brosnan, Martin Campbell and especially Jackie Chan.

Silence is a quite ambitious project by star director Martin Scorsese and it isn't a surprise that this film has failed at the box office. It is particularly long with a running time of one hundred sixty-one minutes. The topic of Jesuits resisting persecution in feudal Japan is quite unusual. Aside of Liam Neeson, who only has about ten minutes of screen time, the movie focuses on rather unknown actors. Still, Silence is one of Martin Scorsese's best movies. It's obvious that he cared about this film and wanted to make it something special, regardless of grossing numbers.

On the positive side, Silence grabs your attention with a topic that hasn't been treated much and might even be unknown to most audiences. Following the struggles of two Jesuits in feudal Japan who try to spread hope to the few isolated Christian communities while trying to find their mentor who hasn't come home from a mission almost feels like watching an elaborate documentary. The movie is historically authentic, includes fitting costumes and landscapes and exposes us to Japanese and Portuguese customs.

Secondly, the acting performances in this movie are absolutely stellar. Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver have good chemistry and convince as initially motivated Jesuits whose faith is severely tested in their quest for survival. The supporting actors are also quite convincing from a resilient, old and clever inquisitor to a disillusioned, insisting and rational convert.

Thirdly, the movie has a quite sinister atmosphere that fits the serious topics. This is supported by the rural landscapes since most of this movie either takes place on the raw coasts of Southern Japan, the wild forests of several Japanese islands and the muddy city of Nagasaki where it always seems to rain. The dark lighting techniques, the gloomy soundtrack and the use of moments of tense silence also contribute to a very artistic, detailed and epic movie.

On the negative side, the film is obviously quite long. I didn't get bored at any time because I found the topic so fascinating but I have to admit that some scenes are somewhat redundant or repetitive. If you are looking for a movie with vivid action sequences, numerous different locations and long-winded dialogues, you won't get any of it. This movie is slow-paced, precise and atmospheric and tries to transmit a desperate vibe instead of quirky entertainment.

The ending of the movie blends in very well with the rest of the film and I liked it but it's quite unorthodox and maybe even unexpected by Hollywood standards.

To keep it short, it's great to see that renowned directors like Martin Scorsese still aspire to experiment in the autumn years of their careers. Silence is refreshingly different and unique from any other Hollywood production of recent memory. It has a unique topic, great acting performances and an intense atmosphere. If you are a viewer with an interest in historical topics who likes to think outside the box, you're probably going to appreciate Silence as much as I did.