Supposedly I can buy the new Mortal Kombat movie on iTunes DE on May 13. That’s what I’ll do then, no matter what the reviews say.

Today, in preparation for that so to speak, I finally bought Mortal Kombat 11 in Ultimate Edition for my PS4. Currently available for purchase for 35.99 EUR on the German Playstation Store. The story mode is about 6 hours long. Plus a little bit of play-in time, maybe 2 hours. I’ll manage to fit that in somehow.

To be honest: I don’t have time for any of this. Fatality! Still: I already know that when I’ve seen the movie, I’ll get an endless desire to play one of the games again. And since I really liked Mortal Kombat X on the PS4, I’m going to enjoy part 11 before/during/after the movie.

I just wanted to say that.

In 2015, I went to the cinema without too many expectations. I had chosen Mad Max: Fury Road as my movie. I never saw the predecessors, even today. But I liked the trailers for the film and Tom Hardy is actually always a must-see.

And what can I say: It was probably one of the few films where I sat in the cinema with my mouth open from beginning to end. It was a 2-hour adrenaline rush. The movie was breathtaking, especially on the big screen. The images, the action, the soundtrack, everything fit. This is action as it should be.

One scene in particular stuck in my mind. Not because it is the best of the film, but because the symbiosis of music and images here is just incredibly good. The soundtrack by Junkie XL gives Mad Max: Fury Road that certain something and above all the track Brothers in Arms. But see and hear for yourself.

Just now I remembered exactly this scene and the corresponding track. Immediately after that I had to search for it and was once again amazed how ingenious the shown here is. This is action, this is end time.

Friends and family

First the best news: My best girlfriend is talking to me again, which makes me infinitely happy. Some of you may remember. Some time ago, I was very wrong in my choice of words. In any case, I am infinitely happy that we are slowly finding our way back to each other.

The vacation week I wanted to reserve for my family was a vacation week for house construction. It was terribly nerve-wracking. No one in my family benefited from it. That said, things don’t really get any better next week when I also go back to work. This makes me very sad.

I

I was downgraded (upgraded?) from priority 4 to priority 2. My vaccination against Corona could come so soon. I am looking forward to it, really. I want to finally get this all behind me.

Otherwise, I’m a mental wreck. It would be an understatement to blame everything on building a house. Simply everything is costing me everything. It is very important that many things change soon, that I change. I am working on it.

Technology

I’m going to part ways with HEY. That cool and hip internet service. As nice as I thought it was, it ultimately did me little good. In one respect, but more about that in a moment. In the matter of mail I remain faithful to the usual. I have a clean folder structure and a partly very important archive. I have set up good filters and work so mails structured and good. HEY got this a little bit mixed up. It opened up new possibilities for me, but old habits I had to partially forget, which I did not want. So in the end it did not make me happier. And that’s what it should be: A web service should be helpful in some way. Be useful. And thus make you happier.

By the way, I will not continue my Banana Weekly with it. Not even in another form. That was kind of great, but I don’t feel like worrying about how to send a newsletter elsewhere now.

HEY made me subscribe to various newsletters. The “The Feed” section in HEY was great. But rather, it was a stepping stone to Mailbrew, which has completely replaced my feed reader for about a week now. I now get a summary 3x a day from all the sources I’ve been feeding in. This way I don’t get all the news of the day, but at least a selection. And that’s exactly what I need. I have so no more urge to constantly open the feedreader. Instead, I’m happy when another summary lands in my inbox at 19:30. Great concept. That’s useful. It actually makes me happier. The few euros from HEY will probably go into a year’s subscription here.

Movies, video games, books

I last bought Neo Cab in the Eshop Sale from Nintendo. It’s basically a kind of interactive movie in a cyberpunk universe. I think it’s great. It’s quiet, emotional, beautiful to watch. Just what I need. I first considered buying Immortals Fenyx Rising on sale, but ended up not liking the demo. I should just play demos more often again. Recently, I just bought games in the sale and was then partially disappointed. And by the way: I had a very similar experience with Lonely Mountains: Downhill. I found the demo horrible. I couldn’t get to grips with the controls at all. That ruled it out for me.

I only watch a few movies. The last one I saw moved me a lot, but I always have to spend my few free minutes every day on something else.

I’ve been reading my current book, After You, a little further. Only a few pages. It’s great. I hope to get further soon.

Closing words

Probably there is more, much more. But I just wrote that off my chest. It’s okay, just like that.

Nicely done. Honest, heartfelt, sad.

I shed a few tears during the film. It touched me very much. It is not a feelgood movie. This one follows a faithful line, a life line if you will. That of the dog Buck. He meets many different people who walk a part of the way with him. In the end it is the wonderful Harrison Ford. Sometime before that, the at least equally wonderful Omar Sy.

It’s a story of life. Invented? Yes, perhaps. Is Buck a CGI dog? Most certainly so. Did that bother me? Not in the least. It’s a heartfelt adventure that I recommend without reservation.

My ★★★★ review of The Call of the Wild (2020) on @letterboxd: boxd.it/1KaXEr