The Playlist - Issue Date 31.10

The Playlist 


The Hits

Rihanna ft. Calvin Harris - We Found Love (2w)

Britney Spears - Criminal (2w)

Coldplay - Paradise (2w)

James Morrison ft. Jessie J - Up (2w)

Snow Patrol - This Isn't Everything You Are (2w)

Justin Bieber - Mistletoe (2w)

Flo Rida - Good Feeling (2w)

Taio Cruz ft. Flo Rida - Hangover (NEW)

Beyonce - Love on Top/Party (NEW)

The other hits

Susan Boyle - Unchained Melody (2w)

Westlife - Lighthouse (2w)

Kelly Rowland - Down For Whatever (NEW)

Nickelback - When We Stand Together (Lyrics Video) (NEW)

Duck Sauce - Big Bad Wolf (NEW)

Christina Perry - A Thousand Years (NEW)

Boy - Waitress (NEW)

Example - Midnight Run (NEW)

The UK charts

The Collective - Teardrop (2w)

The Saturdays - My Heart Takes Over (2w)

Willy Moon - I Wanna Be Your Man (2w)

Ed Sheeran - Lego House (2w)

JLS - Take A Chance On Me (2w)

Juan Zelada - The Blues Remains (2w)
Will Young - Come On (2w)

Chase & Status ft. Sub Focus & Takura - Flashing Lights (NEW)

Kasabian - Re-wired (NEW)

Deaf Havana - I'm a Bore, Mostly (NEW)

Jodie Marie - On The Road (NEW)

The German charts

Ilhama ft. DJ OGB - Bei mir bist du scheen (2w)

Scooter - David Doesn't Eat (2w)

Udo Lindenberg ft. Clueso - Cello (2w)

Rockstroch - Kaugummi (2w)

Helene Fischer - Phaenomen (2w)

Thomas Godoj - Daecher einer ganzen Stadt (2w)

The Good Natured - Skeleton (2w)

Culcha Candela - Hungry Eyes (NEW)

Ardian Bujupi - This Is My Time (NEW)

Lafee - Leben wir jetzt (NEW)

Tom Lueneburger & Stefanie Kloss - We Are One (NEW)

DJ Bobo - Everybody's Gonna Dance (NEW)

Tom Beck - The Longing (NEW)

Javi Mula - Come on 2k11 (NEW)

Y-Titty - Straendertime (NEW)

The US charts

Roscoe Dash - Good Good Night (2w)

Romeo Santos ft. Usher - Promise (NEW)

Daughtry - Crawling Back To You (NEW)

Out:

German Chart Comments - Issue Date 28.10

RiRi sets a new age on top, while Helene Fischer puts the Album chart under schlager spell. 

It has taken two months to remove Marlon Roudette's "New Age" from the summit of the German singles chart, with this honour going to Rihanna's smash "We Found Love". Thus the song becomes RiRi's third number one single in Germany, next to "Umbrella" and "Don't Stop The Music". It is also Rihanna's 17th top ten single in the country in just six years, which officially makes her one of the most successful female singers in Germany ever. Let's not also forget the help of Calvin Harris, who has had only two top 100 singles in Germany so far, with "Acceptable in the 80s" reaching #30.

Video - Marlon  

Video - Rihanna 

Maroon 5's "Moves Like Jagger" will once again has to content itself with the runner-up slot and by looks of it the song will never manage to climb to the number one. 

Video 

The top three is rounded by Marlon Roudette, while David Guetta's "Without You" makes a new peak by entering the top ten at #7. Thus, the French superstar has two hits in the top ten, together with "Titanium" at #5.

Video 

At the same time Adele's "Someone Like You" advances further and this week occupies the #8 position.

It's also a new peak for Coldplay's "Paradise" at #13, while the latest song of Timbaland arrives new at #27. By failing to enter the top 20, "Pass At Me", despite produced by David Guetta, may have put an end to the extremely successful career of Timbo over the last few years. Perhaps, he should call Nelly Furtado next...

Video - Adele 

Video - Coldplay 

Video - Timbaland 

I'm quite surprised and happy with the success of the song which enters at #28. "Video Games" is the debut single of US singer Lana Del Ray and is a perfect example of how great pop music could be. It's fantastic that the charts all over the world are paying attention too...

Video 

With the jump of massive 48 positions to #30, Austrian schlager star Andreas Gabalier finally brings his "I sing a Liad für di" to the top 30. DJ Oetzi's take on the single is also on the rise, this week at #37, but it's a good sign that the initial version has finally outsold the Oetzi one. The two singers also have new albums in the LP chart, where Andreas Gabalier has also managed to beat his fellow Austrian colleague.

Video - Andreas 

Also climbing towards the upper reaches of the Top 100 are Katzenjammer, whose "I Will Dance" breaks the top 40 and is now at #32. 

Video-Live

A history in the making at #35, where Paul & Fritz Kalkbrenner's club anthem "Sky And Sand", taken from the OST of 2008 movie Berlin Calling makes a new peak in its...81st week on the countdown! The song benefits from its current use in a commercial and will go higher in the weeks to come. Still, why the appeal of the single was so strong at first place is beyond anyone's guess.

Video

And the remaining new entries with videos and some info:

#48 Y-Titty - Ständertime - A first entry for the German comedy trio that has gained in popularity via its sketches on YouTube.

Video

#55 Mark Medlock - The Other Side Of Broken - Flop of the Week #1 - this is the worst performing single of maybe the most successful winner of Deutschland sucht den Superstar, who has had seven top five singles and only one song missing the top 20 so far. Does this mean that the magic (blame the change of style) has disappeared?

Video 

#67 Scooter - David Doesn't Eat - Flop of the Week #2 - After Scooter's previous single "The Only One" turned into their lowest charting ever by reaching #45, the band now breaks this "record" again with its latest song. "David Doesn't Eat" samples "A Walk in the Park" by The Nick Straker Band and by the looks of it will be the first single of Scooter to miss the top 50 in their almost 20-year long chart career. A break-up soon?

Video 

#86 Skylar Grey - Invisible - After successful guest appearances on hit singles such as "Coming Home" and "I Need A Doctor", the first proper solo single of the US singer apparently stumbles to have a big impact.

Video

The Album Chart

Slowly but steadily become a schlager superforce, Helene Fischer manages to bring her fifth album atop the LP charts this week. The Bushido / Sido joint project 23 enters new at #3, while rapper Kollegah has his fourth album arriving at #5. Also new to the top ten is the latest offering of Dick Brave & The Backbeats (or the Sasha cover band) at #7, as well as Chris de Burgh's "Footsteps 2" at #10.

In Bulgarian Cinemas from 28 October 2011

Кецове / Sneakers (Bulgaria) - Some have called October 2011 the month of the Bulgaria movie and as Kecove is the third Bulgarian title to get a major release with enormous promotion, they may have a point here. Furthermore, if you ask me, Kecove is one of the best movies our humble cinema industry has produced lately, raising questions which not many filmmakers in Bulgaria dare to ask. The film, which follows a group of people escaping from their problems in the big city and having the summer of their lives on a stranded Bulgarian beach, succeeds in encapsulating the emotions of a generation - let's say those born in the 1980s, who somehow struggle to fit in a place suffocating from thugs and pop-folk culture. People, who against all odds, chose to live in a country, which will eventually fuck them up (and the current elections are just another proof of that). Directors Valeri Jordanov and Ivan Vladimirov, however, opt not to deliver their message with a heavyweight drama (as many of the colleagues do) but via using light, even dreamy, methods they make a movie, which will touch many of its viewers. Perhaps, some older cinemagoers will find it difficult to understand the meaning behind Kecove and despite the fact that at moments the film is on the borderline of being too alternative (camp fires were never my thing), the movie is a haunting and respectful directional debut, supported by its surprising strong cast. Bonus points also for no product placement (samardala not taken into account) on the screen. (A+) ****

Trailer 

Дилъри на време / In Time - In Time is the latest flick by director Andrew "Gattaca" Niccol, who is steadily turning into a master of the stylish sci-fi thriller. Asking serious questions once again, this time about mortality, Niccol, who has also written the script, delivers, albeit not the perfect film, a movie intelligent enough to not insult its audience. It's also the third movie of Justin Timberlake for just six months, and though many still long for his music endeavourers, the young star is slowly but steadily becoming a real actor. JT is supported by an entirely young cast (it's in the script after all), with Cilian Murphy and Vincent "Mad Men" Kartheiser having the most meaty roles, while Amanda Seyfried nailing the role of a 21st century Bonnie. With Niccol's good eye for visuals and music, the movie just shows that you don't need to spend a bucket full of money to have a great sci-fi production. And though, towards the end, In Time feels a little bit rushed and some plot lines remain loose and unanswered, it's a film for which you should definitely find time in the local multiplexes. (Alexandra) ****

Trailer

Хъбъл / Hubble 3D (IMAX) - I've never really been a fan of these IMAX documentaries, and the fact that they are always dubbed awfully in Bulgarian will not make me change my mind soon. However, the latest title, which tells the history of the famous telescope, benefits from the real importance of its subject matter. The filmmakers magnificently recreate on the biggest screen the visuals of the galaxies caught by the Hubble eye and thus show how little, peculiar and precious Earth is. Add an extra star, if you still have your astronomy textbook nearby... (Imax) ***

Previews this week:

The Adventures of Tintin - All what Indiana Jones 4 should have been - ****1/2

The ratings:

***** Perfect

**** Unmissable

*** Fine

** So-so

* Stay away

Bulgarian Boxoffice Update - Weekend 21-23 October

Better stay at home, Shmenti Kapeli's virus is on the loose

After I skipped the boxoffice commentary last week, this time around we should start with a celebration of the popularity of Bulgarian title Shmenti Kapeli. The latter decreases 11% for the weekend, but it is enough to remove The Three Musketeers from the top and to return there for a second week. The film of Vladi Vyrgala has made the excellent BGN 463,117 so far.

Thus, the musketeer adventures fall to #2, with a decrease of 29%. The movie has collected BGN 211,627 - a strong but somewhat disappointing result.

Continuing its "so so" performance at #3, Real Steel goes down 31% and has BGN 269,443 so far.

Showing that not every Nicolas Cage movie is a hit in Bulgaria, his latest excuse for a film, Trespass, debuts with BGN 30,033 for the weekend. In comparison, Season of The Witch from the start of the year started with BGN 59,052.

A place behind, the second new release of the week, Contagion, enters with BGN 25,112, an expectedly mediocre result due to the film grim premise. In addition, many Bulgarian critics (yes, I know there are none out there) felt appalled by the realism displayed on the screen, so the word of mouth was in the negative zone.

At #6 The Smurfs, which believe me doesn't stand repeat viewings, registers an increase of 11% and boasts the smurfantastic BGN 1,011,428 so far. Killer Elite follows close behind, with a fall of 43% and the great total result of BGN 428,243.

Spy Kids 4 is at #8, with BGN 200,631 - too much for its quality but too low having in mind the preferences of the cinemagoers in Bulgaria.

Cementing the zero popularity of horror flicks here, The Thing remake/prequel crashes at #9 with BGN 12,270. It could have been worse though.

The top ten is rounded by another Bulgarian title as The Island plummets 64% and has BGN 51,227 so far.

Three films go out of the top ten led by Johnny English Reborn with its respectable BGN 283,932. Thus the second adventures of Rowan Atkinson's spy have surpassed by far the USD 73,212 final result of part one. US flop Dream House retreats with BGN 63,403, while the much superior Crazy, Stupid, Love has earned the almost identical BGN 80,923.

Next weekend's projections:

Kecove/Sneakers (Bulgaria) - BGN 80,000
In Time - BGN 50,000

(BGN 1 = USD 0.71 = EUR 0.51)

Austrian Chart Update - Issue Date 21.10

Die Österreichische Hitparade 

The top three 

1. Hubert von Goisern - Brenna Tuats Guat (2nd week at #1)

Live

2. Marlon Roudette - New Age 

Video

3. Adele - Someone Like You

Video

The new entries & other important positions  

10. Sean Paul feat. Alexis Jordan - Got 2 Luv U (up from #15)

Video 

19. Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris - We Found Love (neu) *

Video 

21. Olly Murs - Heart Skips a Beat (neu) *

Video 

27. Alexandra Stan - Get Back (ASAP) (neu) *

Video 

45. Hurts - Blood, Tears & Gold (neu)

Video 

55. Sasha Lopez feat. Broono - All My People (neu)

Video 

57. Hubert von Goisern - Heast As Nit (neu) **

Live 

73. Kelly Clarkson - Mr. Know It All (neu) *

Video 

* - Still to enter the German charts

** - pure Austrian stuff

The Playlist - Issue date 24.10

I decided to change the way I make the playlists with new music and from now on there'll be only one playlist, which will be changed on a weekly basis. New videos will be added, while based on popularity and/or my preferences others will go out. Let's start only with the videos I discovered in the last week, and expand the playlist to between 50-75 songs in the weeks to come.
Yan's Playlist 

The Hits

Rihanna ft. Calvin Harris - We Found Love

Britney Spears - Criminal

Coldplay - Paradise

James Morrison ft. Jessie J - Up

Snow Patrol - This Isn't Everything You Are

The other hits

Susan Boyle - Unchained Melody

Westlife - Lighthouse

Justin Bieber - Mistletoe

Flo Rida - Good Feeling

The UK charts

The Collective - Teardrop

The Saturdays - My Heart Takes Over

Willy Moon - I Wanna Be Your Man

Ed Sheeran - Lego House

JLS - Take A Chance On Me

Juan Zelada - The Blues Remains
Will Young - Come On

The German charts

Ilhama ft. DJ OGB - Bei mir bist du scheen

Scooter - David Doesn't Eat

Udo Lindenberg ft. Clueso - Cello

Rockstroch - Kaugummi

Helene Fischer - Phaenomen

Thomas Godoj - Daecher einer ganzen Stadt

The Good Natured - Skeleton

The US charts

Roscoe Dash - Good Good Night

Out:

German Chart Comments - Issue Date 21.10

Marlon Roudette's dominance over the German singles chart continues as his "New Age" stays atop of it for an eighth week in a row. It is once again followed by Maroon 5's "Moves Like Jagger" at #2 and Sean Paul's "Got 2 Luv U" at #3. 

Video - Marlon Roudette 

Video - Maroon 5 

Video - Sean Paul 

Inside the top 20, Example enters the top 10 for a first time with his "Changed The Way You Kiss Me", up from #14 to #8, while Adele's "Someone Like You" advances six to #10 in its second week in the countdown.
Video - Example

Video - Adele

The highest new entry comes as low as #29. It belongs to Norwegian band Madcon, which has teamed up with Itchy from Culcha Candela for its latest single "Helluva Nite". Their previous single "Outrun the Sun" peaked at #27.

Video

At #39 it's good to see UK duo Hurts having another top 40 single more than a year after their debut album was released. The arrival of "Blood, Tears & Gold" is another proof of the popularity of the guys in Germany after "Wonderful Life" and "Stay" reached the top 3.

Video 

After the success of Inna, Alexandra Stand and Edward Maya, the Romanian dance scene brings another of its members to the German charts at #42. This time around, the honour goes to Sasha Lopez, whose "All My People" was already been massive in eastern Europe this summer and perhaps a better timing would have made it a bigger hit in Germany too. 

Video 

At #45 we can find on the rise Norway's Katzenjammer, whose "I Will Dance (When I Walk Away)" is quite worth checking out.

Live 

And the remaining new entries with videos and some info:

#49 Helene Fischer - Phänomen - Though queen of the album charts, schlager superstar Helene Fischer has had only four songs entering the German top 100. 

Video 

#55 Thomas Godoj - Dächer Einer Ganzen Stadt - Despite that Thomas has long lost his superstar status, he still manages to bring a song or two in the charts, of which many of the other previous winners of DSDS could only dream.

Video 

#94 The Good Natured - Skeleton - A debut for the UK singer in the German charts.

Video 

The Album Chart

The top four of the LP chart is completely occupied by German acts, led by Peter Maffay and his 12th number one album "Tabaluga und die Zeichen der Zeit". New entries inside the top also from Evanescence at #5 and Peter Gabriel at #6.

In Bulgarian Cinemas from 21 October 2011

Заразяване / Contagion - The films of Steven Soderbergh fall into two distinct categories - they are either too art, even unwatchable (Full Frontal, I'm looking at you) or great crowd pleasers ( the Ocean's franchise). So where does Contagion rank then? Perhaps somewhere in between, and all the better for it. Soderbergh's latest movie is a horror flick at its heart, raw and even documentary at places. However, unlike the so popular (not for Bulgarian distributors though) found footage films, the director hasn't shot a movie deprived of the magic of cinema, and has polished it as best as he can - the camerawork is great, the music remembering, the various cast strong. The biggest strength of Contagion is that its antagonist is realistic as the next flu pandemia and therefore it would scare the shit out of you. If you're faint hearted, you'd better avoid it, or the next time someone starts coughing at your direction, you may run in panic. Soderbergh has succeeded in catching and transferring to the screens all reactions stemming from such a threat - the madness, the desperate desire to save the loved ones, the ignorance, the falsification, the paranoia and so on and on. At moments it is a tough watch, but at the end it is Steven Soderbergh in his best, Traffic, mood. (Alexandra) ****

Trailer 

Нещото / The Thing - This 2011 prequel of the Carpenter cult movie was always gonna be maligned by critics and fans due to comparisons with the original. I, however, haven't watched the 1982 movie (yes, blame me), so I can only judge this horror title by its own merits. So, it has slick visuals, good CG effects but suffers from the lack of any real tension. Yes, at times it has one or two good touches, and as a whole the sense of paranoia that spreads after the thing is released is well captured on screen. However, once the alien takes its form, the film starts to look like a rip-off of the Scorpion king from the Mummy franchise. On the surplus side, kudos should go to the decision to use Norwegian actors for most of the cast, which is creating atmosphere. The moment, however, the main heroine, played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead, appears on the screen, the movie starts to crack from wooden acting. Anyway, it's not a completely lost opportunity and genre fans will find a thing or two worth watching in it. (Alexandra) **1/2

Trailer 

Мръсна игра / Trespass - When a movie with A-list stars such as Nicolas Cage and Nicole Kidman gets dumped to a limited release in the States, you already know something is not right. Add to this, the director, the now infamous Joel Schumacher, who hasn't shot a decent movie in ages, and the alarming light should already flash in red. And rightly so. Trespass is a film suffering first from obnoxious narrative - several story developments are repeated to ad nausea levels, the actors, before getting beaten and threatened by a gun, only yell in front of the camera (often at once) perhaps to silence the ridiculous script full of betrayals, unimaginative character motives and predictable story twists. Second, the editing and, as a whole the directional work lacks any sense of thrills or action, while the camera is hectic and just confusing. Over the past years Nicolas Cage has consistently trying to score his worst role, and maybe he has succeeded here - rarely is overacting on such a display, while Nicole Kidman struggles in the role of a femme fatale. Following the star-heavy and dreadful Dream House from earlier this month, you could not help but wonder if the Bulgarian distributors do not deliberately seek movies with strong cast but with zero quality... (Tandem) *

Trailer

The ratings:

***** Perfect

**** Unmissable

*** Fine

** So-so

* Stay away

Austrian Chart Update - Issue Date 14.10

Die Österreichische Hitparade 

The top three 

1. Hubert von Goisern - Brenna Tuats Guat (1st week at #1)

Live
2. James Morrison - I Won't Let You Go

Video
3. Marlon Roudette - New Age

Video

The new entries & other important positions

5. Adele - Someone Like You (neu)

Video
11. Bruno Mars - Marry You (up from #21)

Audio
19. Seeed - Wonderful Life (neu)

Video
22. Pitbull feat. Marc Anthony - Rain Over Me (up from #33)

Video
30. Lmfao - Sexy and I know it (up from #52)

Video
32. 23 - So Mach Ich Es (neu)

Video
33. Tim Bendzko - Wenn Worte Meine Sprache Wären (neu)

Video
59. Jupiter Jones - Immerfürimmer (neu)

Video
67. Dominik Ofner - A Wahnsinn Mit Dir (neu) **

Live
69. Aloe Blacc - Green Lights (neu) *

Audio
70. Udo Jürgens - Der Mann Mit Dem Fagott (neu) *

* - Still to enter the German charts

** - pure Austrian stuff

No What's Your Number, Dolphin Tale, 30 Minutes or Less in Bulgaria!!!

This feature is dedicated to the policy of depriving Bulgarians from watching major Hollywood films on the big screen and has nothing to do with the quality of the movies in question.

Sorry Anna & Chris, your number doesn't start with +359

Let's start with What's Your Number now. Yes, by the looks of it, it is one of the lesser comedies this season, while the disastrous performance in the USA shows that even the Americans avoided it. However, when have the poor results of a movie stopped it from being released here and since when the tastes (for better or worse) of Bulgarians and Americans are alike? The truth is that such comedies, especially anchored by a female lead as Anna Faris, usually find their audience in Bulgaria. Oh, and why all cinemas were decorated with advertising for the film when it was clear from the start that the number of people willing to watch it here was never going to be calculated?

Trailer

Next up, and a slight step up in terms of quality, is Dolphin Tale. Despite showing great legs in the USA, with a boxoffice of almost USD 60m and counting, this Warner title was called off from the Bulgarian cinemas in the 11th hour. The strong boxoffice in the USA is another proof that the performance in the States is no indicative for getting a release here. The cute little movie, however, never stood the chance of seeing the light of the multiplex on these shores first because it has no A-list stars and second who cares to release a warm children story when there is Spy Kids 4 on the screens? Dolphin Tale also joins the prestigious league of autumn Warner child-orientated films which get scrapped in Bulgaria. The last I remember were Where The Wild Things Are and Legend of The Guardians - heavily advertised, never released...
Trailer 

And last but not least is 30 Minutes or Less, the follow-up of the great Zombieland of director Ruben Fleischer and star Jesse Eisenberg. Despite receiving healthy reviews and although it has no spectacular but a passable result in the USA, this crazy comedy was never too "important" to catch the attention of anyone responsible for its release here. So, it's better to have stupid flicks such as Abduction, The Three Musketeers, Dream House and so on and on, while one which actually looks like fun has to be watched legally only on the little screen. And let's be thankful that Sony is returning to the local DVD market, or you'd had to buy it from abroad instead...

Trailer

Expect very soon: NO FOOTLOOSE, PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3, WARRIOR IN BULGARIA!!!

German Chart Comments - Issue Date 14.10

Marlon Roudette's "New Age" seems to be unmovable from the summit of the German singles chart as it stands there for a seventh consecutive week, followed yet again by Maroon 5's "Moves Like Jagger". The top three is rounded up by Sean Paul's "Got 2 Luv U", which advances three positions from #6. The song thus manages to match the #3 peak of Paul's first major hit "Get Busy" from 2003.

Video- Marlon

Video - Maroon 5

Video - Sean Paul

This week's countdowns is fully marked by the Bundesvision song contest from two weeks ago and therefore winner Tim Bendzko succeeds in having the highest new entry with "Wenn Worte meine Sprache wären" at #5. This is the second single of the German newcomer to go in the charts after "Nur noch kurz die Welt retten", which slowly but steadily turned into one of the biggest hits of the year in the country and this week stands pretty at #10.

Video 

Also thanks to the Bundesvision, Glasperlenspiel's "Echt" soars nine positions and enters the top 10 at #9 for the first time since its release. At #32 Frida Gold bring their NRW entry for the competition "Unsere Liebe ist aus Gold". At the same time, Bosse's proposal "Frankfurt Oder" skyrockets to #35 from #63, turning easily into the most successful single of the German singer.

Video - Glasperlenspiel 

Video - Frida Gold 

Video - Bosse 

The Bundesvision news continues at #44, where runner-up Flo Mega arrives with "Zurück", his first ever single to scrap the top 100, while also new to the charts are Kraftklub and their "Ich will nicht nach Berlin", which comes in at #45. 

Video - Flo Mega 

Video - Kraftklub 

At #47 Andreas Bourani's Bundesvion entry "Eisberg" rises from #58, while Thees Uhlmann's "Laichen und Sterben ziehen die Lachse den Fluss hinauf" advances to #52 from #79. 

Video - Andreas Bourani 

Video - Thees Uhlmann 

Let's return to the top 20 now as the second biggest new entry belongs to Seeed and their double single "Molotov / Wonderful Life" at #12. It's the third top 20 single of Peter Fox and co., coming after the #5 peak of "Ding" in 2006. 

Video 

Also new to the countdown is Adele at #16. After the mega success of "Rolling in The Deep" and "Set Fire To the Rain", "Someone Like You" is the third single taken from Adele's "21" multiplatinum LP to enter the charts. Unlike UK and USA, though, for the time being it seems that the single won't be able to conquer the top, which is understandable having in mind that everyone owns the album now. 

Video 

This week also sees Lady Gaga having her second ever single to miss the top 10 as "You and I" arrives at #21. The single fares better only compared to the #23 peak of underrated "Judas" from earlier this year.

Video 

The #23 position witnesses the first collaboration of German rappers Bushido and Sido, who, once enemies,  have now decided to bury the hatchet and form a joint project under the name of 23 (and it arrives at #23, is this just coincidence?). I just wonder if "So mach ich es" is getting any VIVA/MTV rotation now...

Video 

Schlager veteran Jürgen Drews, who had his only #1 hit back in 1976, returns to the chart this week at #25 with "Wenn die Wunderkerzen brennen". During his resurrected chart career, Jürgen Drews had a major hit in the face of "Ich bau dir ein Schloss", which entered the top 10 in 2009. 

Video 

The Twilight mania is gearing up as we speak and is already having its impact on the charts. This time around, the lead single from the OST of Breaking Down I, the latest part of the vampire love saga, is sung by Bruno Mars. Thus, even without a video, "It Will Rain" comes in at #30. It is the first Bruno Mars-led single to miss the top ten though and I wonder why "Marry You" did not get a release in Germany prior to it. 

Audio

And the remaining new entries with videos and some info:

59. Jupiter Jones - Immerfürimmer - The follow-up of enormously popular "Still" didn't quite set the charts on fire, despite also being part of the Bundesvision contest.

Video

60. Jennifer Rostock - Ich kann nicht mehr - Also taken from the Bundesvision line-up, it's the second single of the band to miss the top 50.

Video

93. Rasmus Seebach - Calling (Nighthawk) - It's the first single of the Danish singer to enter the charts. With no big effect though...

Video 

The Album Chart

For yet another week, the German LP chart sees a new album on top of it. This time it belongs to Andrea Berg. "Abenteuer" is the sixth!!! album of the schlager star to top the chart in just eight years. Udo Lindenberg's "MTV Unplugged" keeps steady at #2, while last week's champion "Wir sind am Leben" by Rosenstolz retreats to #3. Reamonn's singer Rea Garvey brings his solo album "Can't Stand The Silence" straight in at #4, while Canadian singer Feist has her "Metals" LP new at #6. Also new to the top 10 are Austrian volksmusic treasure Kastelruther Spatzen, whose nth album "Hand auf's Herz" goes in at #8. 

In Bulgarian Cinemas from October 14

Тримата мускетари / Three Musketeers - If you ever wonder how a movie could be so appallingly bad that at the end it's (deliberately or not) funny, look no further than the latest version of The Three Musketeers. Even prior to its cinema arrival, the film was plagued by its awful trailers, even more awful posters and the not-so-good reputation of director Paul W.S. Anderson. So, I doubt that there was someone somewhere expecting anything serious to come out of this. And believe me, if you take the film seriously, you'd regret any penny spent for watching it. On the other hand, if you take it as a parody of the genre, of acting, of even cinema as art, you wouldn't be able to stop laughing at its ridiculousness. Of course, all Dumas purists will be furious as the story has only threads related to the source novel, while the writers have taken such liberties in terms of script and action which would make even the Fast and Furious team envy. Furthermore, given the director and his muse (real life wife Milla Jovovich), it's not surprising that some scenes are directly reminiscent to the Resident Evil franchise. Speaking of the cast, yes, they all overact to a point that you'll ask yourself whether this is intentionally or not. Logan Lerman as D'Artagnan is not as horrendous as many would like you to believe (and his final show-off with Rochefort is actually quite entertaining), Orlando Bloom sizzles with the awfulness of his character, Christoph Walz should have been a little more threatening, while the cherry of the cake is of course Milady. Jovovich's character is so overblown, that you'd only say WTF every time she shows her action chops. As it's often the case with Anderson, his visuals are spectacular, his eye for action good, while the 3D gimmick really works. At the same time, everything is absurdly polished - you won't find Paris so clean and tidy even nowadays, let alone in those dark times, while the costumes are, let's say, just ridiculous. And the less said about the fashion-obsessed king and his queen, the better. To sum it up - it's a total trash but on the verge of becoming a cult (Van Helsing) one. (A+) ** 1/2

Trailer

Островът / The Island (Bulgaria) - October sees another Bulgarian title hitting the screens. The Island comes after Eastern Plays, the praised by critics debut of director Kamen Kalev. Unfortunately, many say Kalev's second feature is a step back for the young director. The movie starts well but its second (big brother) half is misjudged and doesn't work. This, however, is the opinion of many people who saw the movie at its premiere. No bloggers were invited there, so no rating and no recommendation by me. The trailer looks really good, though. 

Trailer

 

The ratings:

***** Perfect

**** Unmissable

*** Fine

** So-so

* Stay away

New on DVD/Blu-ray in Bulgaria in September 2011

Movie(s) of the month

!!! Time for a celebration now as Sony returns on the Bulgarian DVD & Blu-ray market in October, for the first time since the collapse of Prooptiki. Expect more in the next DVD feature on the blog !!!

Disney/Fox/Universal/Independent - A+

Бързи и яростни 5: Удар в Рио / Fast Five - A crazy plot + awful acting = great fun - a recipe worth seeking out - **** (also on BR)

Купонът на живота ти / Take Me Home Tonight - Just an okay old-fashioned comedy with Topher Grace and Anna Faris - **1/2

Карибски пирати: В непознати води / Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides - It has taken all bad from the previous two sequels and has dropped the thrilling action. A disappointment on a big scale! ** (also on BR)

Ще срещнеш висок тъмнокос непознат / You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger - Woody Allen not in his best, but still far from his worst ***

Епоха на животните / Animals United - An animated curioso from Germany and a passable family fun ***

Приключенията на Сами / Sammy's Adventures: The Secret Passage - An animated curioso from Belgium and, yes, a passable family fun ***

Гномео и Жулиета / Gnomeo and Juliet - A love story between gnomes, the Shakespeare style, bar the ending. You won't resist its cuteness. *** 1/2

Сбогом мамо - If curiosity has made you watched it on the big screen, nothing can made you spend money on this vanity project gone terribly wrong. *

Star Wars - You know, the movies range between *** and *****. And you know that this is a must for every blu-ray collection. (only on BR)

Аленият прилив / Crimson Tide - Denzel and Gene just shine in high (blue not crimson) definition **** (only on BR)

8 герои / 8 Heroes - Cute as only a Disney family movie could be, but nothing more. *** (only on BR)

Обичам неприятности / I Love Trouble - Julia Roberts meets Nick Nolte in this 1994 thriller, which hardly stands the test of time *** (only on BR)

Да отгледаш Аризона / Raising Arisona - The Coens, the Cage and the five stars ***** (only on BR)

Warner / Pro Video SRL

Супермен: Филмът / Superman: The Movie - Forget the sequels, that's the classic one ***** (only on BR)

Полет над кукувиче гнездо / Onе Flеw Ovеr thе Сuсkоо's Nеst - A must see ***** (only on BR)

Ергени за седмица / Нall Рass - The Farrelly brothers have had better times, but you can spend an evening with this Wilson/Sudeikis comedy ***

NOTE: I'm doing this feature only as a fan of the legal video market in Bulgaria. It shouldn't be considered as promotion or advertising of any of the films as no promotion/review materials have been provided by any of the distributors involved. 

NOTE 2 - All of the aforementioned independent films of A+ were not released at the time of publishing.

The ratings:

***** Perfect

**** Unmissable

*** Fine

** So-so

* Stay away

Bulgarian Boxoffice Update - Weekend 7-9 October

Who needs a makeover to be #1?

Contrary to my expectations, the distributor of Operacia - Shmenti Kapeli has announced its boxoffice result for the weekend, which was a clever move as the Bulgarian movie easily beats the competition and lands at #1 with BGN 108,030. The title attracted viewers with its steady advertising, well-known actors, comedic elements and the popularity of Shmenti Kapeli's driving force - Vladi Vargala. In comparison, the last Bulgarian behemoth Love.net started with BGN 189,729 this April.

Speaking of the competition, heavyweight Hollywood champion Real Steel has to  reconcile with the runner-up slot. The Hugh Jackman robot actioner earns BGN 74,869 - a good, but not spectacular result having in mind the big marketing push and the Imax screenings. In comparison, Transformers 3 opened with BGN 326,316.

Killer Elite continues to draw money in its second weekend and has cemented further the superstar status of Jason Statham and Robert DeNiro in Bulgaria. It falls by mere 31% and already has the great BGN 306,291 result so far.

No one can stop Spy Kids 4 from attracting audiences and although cinemas allegedly have run out of the smelly cards, it moves back by mere 12% and has BGN 147,616 so far. 

At #5 The Smurfs 3 also eases by 12% but has the far more spectacular BGN 963,122 in its suitcase. 

Next up at #6 arrives the third new entry of the week. Horror disaster Dream House manages to scare just BGN 17,588, which is expected but poor in view of all talent involved. As the genre is not considerably popular in Bulgaria, there are not many films released here with which we can make any comparisons. 

Abduction comes next at #7, with BGN 136,900 in total, and a decrease of 43% in its third week. It is followed by Johnny English Reborn, which falls 43% and has BGN 248,225 so far.

Last week's débutante, Crazy Stupid Love fades away relatively slowly with 30% but with an underwhelming boxoffice of just BGN 54,029. It's a shame, really...

The top ten is wrapped up by Final Destination 5, which can boast BGN 201,107 so far.

This week's top ten is left by I Don't Know How She Does It, with BGN 77,587 - not bad but not spectacular either; Drive, with the surprisingly strong for the genre BGN 86,239; and Conan The Barbarian with the just okay BGN 342,776. Still, if you take into account all the fuss around Conan and its Bulgarian production, I'm sure that the distributors have expected much more...

Compared to my projections, both Real Steel and Dream House came significantly close to my BGN 80,000 and BGN 15,000 predictions. No figures on Largo Winch 2 performance were revealed.

Next weekend's projections:

Ostrovyt (BG) - BGN 20,000

The Three Musketeers - BGN 120,000

(BGN 1 = USD 0.68/EUR 0.51)

Only the latest music videos - 10.10

This week we welcome the latest videos by Enrique Iglesias, Beyonce, Cher Lloyd, Pixie Lott, Florence & The Machine, Birdy, Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga, Clueso and many more. Heavy stuff!

Playlist

Austrian chart update - 7.10

Die Österreichische Hitparade

The top three 

1. Marlon Roudette - New Age

Video 

2. Maroon 5 - Moves Like Jagger

Video 

3. David Guetta feat. Sia - Titanium

Audio 

The new entries & other important positions

8. Hubert von Goisern - Brenna Tuats Guat (up from #58)

Live 

12. Tim Bendzko - Nur Noch Kurz Die Welt Retten (up from #19)

Video 

14. Nihils - Set My Sail (neu) **

Video 

21. Bruno Mars - Marry You (neu) *

Audio 

22. Rosenstolz - Wir sind am Leben (up from #35)

Video 

31. Cascada - Au Revoir (neu)

Video

32. Pixie Lott - Mama Do (re)

Video 

43. David Guetta feat. Usher - Without You (up from #57)

Video Lyrics 

45. Gypsy & The Cat - Jona Vark (up from #61)

Video 

46. DJ Ötzi - I Sing A Liad Für Dich (re)

Video 

60. Snow Patrol - Called Out In The Dark (neu)

Video 

71. Rea Garvey - Can't Stand The Silence (neu)

Video 

German chart comments - Issue date - 7.10.2011

The same old age on top of the German singles hitparade with Marlon Roudette's "New Age" standing there for a sixth week in a row. Maroon 5's "Moves Like Jagger" continues to occupy the second place, while Rio's club hit "Turn This Club Around" is once again at #3.

Video - Marlon 

Video - Maroon 5 

Video - Rio

Inside the top ten, new peaks of David Guetta's "Titanium" and Sean Paul's "Got 2 Luv U" at #5 and #6, respectively, while following the exposure related to Bundesvision (aka the German Eurovision in which all states participate), several entries in the competition enjoy an increased interest by music buyers. Thus, Glasperlenspiel's (excellent) "Echt" returns in the top 20 and this week stands at #18, while Bosse's "Frankfurt Oder", which won the sympathies of many during the contest, re-enters at #63. Furthermore, despite that they won close-to-zero points on Thursday, Andreas Bourani's Eisberg enters the countdown at #58, while Juli's "Du Lügst So Schön" is new at #67. Juli have had much better days in the chart, while this is Andreas' second single after his debut "Nur in meinem Kopf" was met with incredible success earlier this year and is still in the top 50. As the current chart covers the period before the actual competition took place in Cologne, expect the next issues to be fully affected by Bundesvision. Winner Tim Bendzko is also expected to set the top 20 on fire.

Audio - David Guetta 

Video - Sean Paul 

Video - Glasperlenspiel 

Video - Bosse 

Video - Andreas Bourani 

Live - Juli 

Speaking of Tim Bendzko, I've already written in the blog for the increasing interest in German music sung by male singers, with the latest proof coming in at #21. The highest new entry of the week belongs to Philipp Poisel, who after two failed attempts manages to have his first ever top 30 single in Germany. "Eiserner Steg" also benefits from the inclusion in the soundtrack of (you guessed it) "What A Man".

Video 

At #30 we have Pixie Lott returning to the chart with her debut single "Mama Do". I guess the re-entry, which marks a peak position for the single, is related to a performance on the telly...

Video 

Five positions behind Pixie, Austrian superstar DJ Ötzi has done it again - has taken a well-known hit by a fellow home artist, recovered it and has made it a bigger hit. It's, thankfully, not as big as "Ein Stern" was, but is still good enough for the DJ (I know this is an overstatement) to have yet another top 50 single. The song in question is "I sing a Liad für dich", first performed by newcomer Andreas Gabalier, whose version has clocked up more than a year in the Austrian charts, but in Germany this week reaches its peak at #60. It's not that I'm a fan of the genre, but the original is much much better.

Video - DJ Oetzi 

Video - Andreas Gabalier 

And the remaining new entries with videos and some info:

#55 - Abigail & DJ Rebel feat. The Gibson Brothers - Cuba (up from #86)

Video 

#73 - Cascada - Au revoir - It comes after the #13 peak of "San Francisco", but I suppose Germans have had enough of Cascada's unoriginality for the time being.

Video 

#80 - Bruce Berger - Die ganz ganz ganz grosse Liebe - Following the trend of releasing singles from successful German films, this single comes hot from the soundtrack of "Männerherzen und die ganz ganz große Liebe"

Video 

#98 - Christopher S. feat. Max Urban - Star - It's a first entry for the Swiss DJ, who obviously wants to follow the footsteps of his homie DJ Antoine.

Video 

The Album Chart

Not breaking the trend set from the last weeks, the storm of new albums in the LP chart continues. This week it's time for Rosenstolz to claim the summit with "Wir sind am Leben" - the duo's fifth number one album. In the top ten we can find new entries also by Subway To Sally's "Schwarz in Schwarz" at #4,  Machine Head's "Unto The Locust" at #5, Blink 182's "Neighborhoods" at #6 and "Discovery" - a special box set of Pink Floyd's albums at #9. Speaking of Pink Floyd, their released legendary album "The Dark Side Of The Moon" arrives at #3, while Nirvana's "Nevermind" also returns to the charts at #8.

New in Bulgarian Cinemas from October 7

Къщата на сенките / Dream House - The parade of bad movies continues with the start of October, with one of the biggest disappointments being this horror misfire. The trailer has already revealed the big twist, so if you've never watched it, don't do it now. Not that this is the most serious problem with Dream House. In addition to the spoiled twist, everything else in the plot is not only awfully predictable but is soaked with ridiculousness, in which even the big names from the cast do not believe. Worst, the movie lacks any tension or thrills, while the settings, the music and the cinematography are more typical to B-film stuff. Speaking of the cast, it's not only misjudged but also feels incredibly embarrassed from everything going on in front of the camera. Daniel Craig makes a low point in his career, while Rachel Weisz should have appeared in Mummy 3 rather than this. In other words - it's a house which should have been locked forever. (Alexandra) *
trailer 



Жива стомана / Real Steel - It looks like I have a real problem with the work of director Shawn Levy. He has definitely become a craftsman who despite his steady career has never done anything to pass the test of time. His movies are like a box of chocolates - shiny and sweet but at the end you may only have cavitas. Unfortunately, the situation doesn't improve much with his latest outing. This Hugh Jackman-vehicle is still better than the disastrous Nights in The Museum, but at the end you'll just crave for more. Storywise, the film is simple and coherent, albeit predictable and has a feelgood father-son story that will be cherished by many (and especially by the US critics). Still, at places the writers didn't resist the urge to fall into corniness, which could make you laugh when you're supposed to cry. Hugh Jackman (steady girls!) is okay in the title role but is easily outshined by Dakota Goyo, the young actor who plays his onscreen son. Technically the film is exquisitely made, but when the much maligned by critics Transformers offers more intriguing robot fights, then some gadget in the Real Steel engine may be out of steam. (Forum Film) ***
trailer 

Ларго Уинч: Конспирация Бирма / Largo Winch 2 - Last time I checked, it's only when the French combine action with comedy they can really come up with a good action film. However, when they try to copy Hollywood in the genre, the end product is curious but shallow. And just to prove this, some of the best moments of Largo Winch 2 are those when Nicolas Vaude, in the role of the title character's sidekick, is on screen. Anyway, the makers of the movie have given their best to produce some great action scenes (the initial car chase or the parachute jump), while Tomer Sisley is steady as Largo Winch. The too complicated plot, the long running time and on top of it the acting of Sharon Stone however make every effort to be in vain. (Pro Films) **  
Trailer 

Операция - Шменти капели / Operacia - Shmenti kapeli (Bulgaria) - It's a Bulgarian movie distributed by his director, famous comedy actor Vladi Vargala, and so, no one cared to invite the "insignificant" bloggers at a screening. It's not that when I saw the trailer I had any desire to watch the whole thing...
Trailer 

The ratings:

***** Perfect

**** Unmissable

*** Fine

** So-so

* Stay away

Bulgarian Boxoffice Update - Weekend Sept 30 - Oct 2

This high jump record was enough for the #1

We should never underestimate the power of a Statham-DeNiro combo as Killer Elite stormed the Bulgarian boxoffice and crowned the chart for the weekend with the excellent BGN 89,133, or BGN 163,090 including previews. The result is as twice as good as the BGN 49,427 debut of Limitless, De Niro's last movie in Bulgaria, but is somewhat lower than the BGN 120,889 scored by The Mechanic, the previous Statham film released here. Like it or not, it's the action movies that play really well in the country.

Unlike action, and proving that excellent romantic comedies are not to the taste of the casual Bulgarian cinema goer, Crazy Stupid Love, the other major release of the week, tanks by arriving in at #6 with BGN 18,332 and BGN 25,674, including previews. It's really a shame that one of the few good movies of the autumn has been met so miserably. And, it says a lot for the people who most often go to the cinemas.

Two other new releases join the top 20 but outside the top 10. At #11 curious Finnish cartoon Moomins and The Comet Chase earns BGN 3,328, while Wim Wenders' 3D ballet documentary Pina comes in at #12 with BGN 3,136. The latter's result is however made by only one screen and we should not forget that including the film's festival days it already has BGN 16,744 in total. 

Going back to the top ten, it seems that Spy Kids 4 has found the love of the public as it eases by just 19% and with a total of BGN 101,987 stands at #2. Close on its heels is Abduction, which boasts BGN 100,512, without the need of any 4D gimmicks to support it. It looks like that Lautner in an action mood is a dream come true for the local audience. The two films also have splendid results for non-major studio outings.

At #4 The Smurfs is creeping closely to the 1m threshold, with BGN 928,677 so far and a fall of 30%. Johnny English Reborn is also showing good legs, down 34% and with BGN 213,356 so far.

At #7 Final Destination 5 slows down 29% and has BGN 165,352 in its books, while How She Does It has collected BGN 60,035 so far, and retreats by the good 39%.

The top ten is wrapped up by Drive, whose BGN 78,094 is a welcome sight for an arthouse title and by Conan The Barbarian and its not-so-almighty BGN 335,879.

Compared to my last week's projections, Killer Elite was condiderably underestimated by me and my too ridiculous BGN 55,000 forecast. At the same time I put too much faith in the good sense of the audience and predicted BGN 40,000 (incl. previews) for Crazy Stupid Love, which is still not so far away than its actual result. As regards Moomins, it managed to collect just as half as my BGN 7,000.

The top ten is left by Horrible Bosses and its glorious BGN 335,879 result so far, which made the title one of the most successful comedies of the year. Joining the club of the few 3D failures, Green Hornet retreats with the awful BGN 107,021.

Next weekend's predictions:

Real Steel - 80,000

Dream House - 15,000
Largo Winch 2 - 12,000

Bulgarian title Operacia Shmenti Kapeli (the title is untranslatable) is also on a wide release but I doubt that any figures regarding its performance will be released.

(BGN 1 = USD 0.68/EUR 0.51)