English movie theaters in Cologne

I went to see a film over the weekend, The Darjeeling Limited at Off Broadway which is a theater that is very close to the tram stops of either Zülpicher Platz or Barbarossaplatz. Most of the English speakers that I know go to The Metropolis, but I personally think Off Broadway is actually a better theather (for me anyway) than the Metropolis for a few reasons:

- they show both the mainstream + independent films
- more film times rather than more films. (Nothing irritates me more than when the film I want to see is offered only once daily, at 21.50.)
- ticket prices are less expensive by a few euros (unless you go for the 4 euro Thursday Metropolis special)
- the lobby is much more spacious with built in window seats along the entire length of the lobby, and as a result, I do not end up squashed in the middle of a throng of 30+ people.
- tickets are sold with assigned seating, which you choose when you purchase your ticket. It seems to alleviate the stampede that occurs at the Metropolis, when the doors are opened and the throng rushes forward. The last time I was at the Metropolis, someone was so close behind me holding a tray of nachos that I ended up with nacho cheese in my hair.
- it's close to two restaurants I like: the all veg go! vindam and the very veg friendly Habibi at Zuplicher Strasse 28.
- there is a resident cat who sleeps in one of the windows, so I imagine the place is rodent free.
- In general, it's a lot cleaner than Metropolis inside the theater.
- The area is much more lively, so leaving the late show on foot seems safer as the area has plenty of people, as opposed to the area around the Metropolis, which is a little more desolate late in the evening.

Before you swear off the Metropolis, however, a few negatives for Off Broadway:
- Sometimes seats for the film you want will be sold out, especially on a Friday or Saturday during evening hours when you walk up 5 min before showtime.
- It's a little on the non-mainstream side, so instead of Coke, you can only get Afri-cola which seems to smack against years of American marketing, associating a movie with a cold Coke.
- It doesn't show as many different English films weekly as the Metropolis

Want to find other English movies showing in Cologne? Try here, keeping an eye out for the ones marked OmU or OV, but check that it's not an original in another language, like French. :-) Here: http://www.choices.de/heute.php or here: http://www.koeln.de/ausgehen/kino/kinokalender/index.php

Movie Review - Unser Täglich Brot

I rarely watch movies, (no matter where I am), but today D. and I saw Unser Täglich Brot at Filmpalette in Koeln. It's a documentary without commentary about industrial food production in Europe. STOP reading HERE if you plan to see the movie and don't want to be tainted by my below thoughts until after seeing it. ;-)

Overall, I found it to be very honest and neutral in its presentation. If you look at the film's website link above, don't be put off from the film that on first glance it seems like a PETA advert with the meat preparation photos shown. The film probably spends 60% of the time on cows, chicken, and pork, with 10% on fish and the remaining 30% on fruits/veg processing, and all is presented in a daily, matter of fact way, not sensationalized.

I would be interested to find anyone who does not learn something new from this film. D. and I were discussing post-film, there are many food preparations/methods/farm machines, that we did not know existed; as well as trying to comprehend the vast amounts of food that is prepared on a large scale. When you see how Aldi, Pennymarkt, and Plus sell fruit and vegetables in their shrinkwrapped packaging, it's easy to make the connection to this film when you see the women packing them into the containers of six, just like they sell it there.

If you live in Europe, I'd call it a must see.