Let’s see what I’ve watched in the recent weeks…

Film

Oculus (2013)

Liked that one very much; scary setting, good use of jumpscares, nice payoff. Recommended.
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

Eastern Condors (1987)

Another entry of asian/martial-arts movie that I really don’t get – I guess I should just stop watching these kinds of films… 😩
★☆☆☆☆ 1/5 stars

The World’s End (2013)

Rewatch – Like many other viewers, I also remembered it as the weakest part of the Cornetto trilogy, but now, a few years later, I also (again, like many viewers, as far as I’ve found out) look upon it with different eyes and liked it quite a bunch more. But it’s still the least favorite of the three for me – but that should not discourage you, because it’s just very hard to top Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. This is still a very good comedy.
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

Legend (1985)

Rewatch – Now, this is quite a bit of pretentious kitsch, bordering on camp and trash – but luckily, it was directed by Ridley Scott, so it at least looks marvelous (and The Darkness is magnificent). You may have to be in the right mood to enjoy it properly, but then it’s quite a trip. But be warned: Except for the audio-visual experience, there is not too much good stuff here, sadly.
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

When The Wind Blows (1986)

Definitely not a feel good movie; but a very good (and ‘important’) movie, nevertheless.
★★★★★ 5/5 stars

Black Dynamite (2009)

Rewatch – I still knew that I laughed very hard years ago when I watched it the first time, although I don’t have ties to the culture or time period it represents – but it was just a super funny and absurd comedy. I’ve feared that it wouldn’t hold up, but was wrong: Still a very fun ride (if you are into this kind of humor and blacksploitation spoof/homage).
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

The Blob) (1988)

I never saw the old, original horror movie of the same name, but this remake was mentioned positively on a few podcasts and videos in the last months, so I thought: What the heck, let’s watch it – and it was indeed a fun ride.

Of course, you mostly get what you expect from a movie with this premise, but it was well made and entertaining. As a normal film, only mediocre, but as this kind of old-school creature horror, quite good.
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

Gigli (2003)

Now, this movie has a very bad repupation, and I only caught it by chance – and stuck with it until the end (and not only because I wanted to learn why it was so hated). To make it short: It’s not a good or interesting film, but it’s also far from being the worst movie of all times.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

A History of Violence (2005)

Rewatch – I have it even on DVD, so it seems to have had an lasting impact on me back then (although I couldn’t remember much of it now). Anyways, it’s OK. Some nice ideas and scenes, also some boring stuff.
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

Free Guy (2021)

As usual, Ryan Reynolds is a likable actor, but he has been stuck in a rut of playing almost the same version of himself in quite a lot of films in a rather short span of time; it’s getting a bit tiresome. That being said, it was an entertaining, but also totally forgetable flick.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

Pandorum (2009)

Rewatch – A hidden gem, if you ask me. It’s a dark Sci-Fi thriller with a good cast and plot. (The budget was probably not high, but the design and production value is fine for its purpose.)
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

Anna (2019)

On the surface, the n-th variant of the same theme from Luc Besson. But on the positive side: It’s way, way better than the desaster called Lucy… Looks OK, but it’s not “good” by any means and could also easily have been 30-45 minutes shorter, because the plot and characters are not so interesting.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

James Bond 007: Casino Royale (2006)

Rewatch – So, as the fifth and final Daniel-Craig-as-James-Bond film (No Time To Die) is currently in the theatres, a lot of retrospectives of the movies of his era are being posted. And pretty much unanimously, this first one is praised as his best (if not as the best Bond ever).

So, I’m not a big Bond fan (have watched many but probably not all of the 25 movies, and none very often), and I do remember that back then, I was not too happy with Casino Royale.

So, with that out of the way and 15(! 😲 ) years later, not much has changed: I understand the appeal and that the creators wanted to change the tone (after Jason Bourne etc. and the campy Bonds before), but this is weirdly on the one hand too dark-grim-gritty/street-level – and yet not enough for my liking.

Plus, the plot and characters were sooo boring. The idea was good: Instead of saving the whole world again, try some lower stakes this time… but just playing poker is a bit too low for me (and the rest was also crap of course, but I’m as tired about writing about this one as I was while watching it).

Two stars instead of just one because, as always in any Bond movie, there are a few cool scenes spread around its runtime.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway (2021)

I liked the first part (a bit more than this one, actually), and this sequel is more of the same, more or less. Has some funny moments and of course a family/children compatible tone and the usual ingredients.
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

Dune - Part One (2021)

After watching it, I browsed through multiple reviews, to see what the general tone was. Of course, most praised it, but I think some was more related to the thinking of “we must save cinema and non-MCU/StarWars-blockbusters” instead of the quality of the movie itself. Because, that was frankly, pretty mediocre.

I like Denis Villeneuve, he has made some (very good) movies in the past – but also some which didn’t connect with me at all (just like some of Christopher Nolan’s films don’t). And after some time, it began to dawn: This movie was just like Tenet, which also was hyped hugely, had some expensive set-pieces, but left me totally cold and void at the end. Same here for me.

First off, the main location is a desert, and I can imagine that it’s hard for any director to make that seem interesting; but also the few other settings were pretty bland and dull.

Next up: World building. Which world building? I learned nothing of value about the society and empire, except some names and terms in passing.

The characters had no depth, and most didn’t matter anyways (because: who’s still alive at the end anyways?).

The flying vehicles (the ornithopters) had a cool design, but were not used much (or well); the other hulking and big ships looked impressive on first sight, but ridiculous on a second sight.

The antagonists barely showed up, the same for the Fremen, about which I also learned nothing (desert tribes, but high tech suits – how come? How do they live?)

And then the end: Not even a real cliffhanger – it just ends in the middle of something…

So, I read often “this is just the setup, the payoff comes in part two” – well, I very much doubt that just another 2:30 hours in a (potential) second part can make up the missing parts of this one, as well as progress the story arc or character development in the same runtime to make it a wholesome experience.

Now, I’ve never read the books, I just saw (a long time ago) the film from 1984, so I can’t tell if this whole affair is faithful to the original or not.

But I can imagine that this story is simply not a good fit for even two (long) movies (and as I also read very often about the book series in the past). Maybe a high-budget TV show with multiple seasons may have been the better way.

So, I was never much hyped for this endeavour anyway, but even the low expections that I had were undercut.
★☆☆☆☆ 1/5 stars

Kiss of the Dragon (2001)

I’m sure I’ve seen parts of it on TV, back in the day – but couldn’t remember any of it. Since this movie was mentioned somewhere else, I looked it up on Netflix and began watching it with one eye, while doing something else…

And considering those circumstances, and the fact that I’m not a big martial-arts fan, this movie was quite OK and in entertaining for most of its runtime.

It is what it is, a french mid-budget action movie from the early 2000s, produced by Luc Besson, with the main cast (Jet Li, Bridget Fonda, Tchéky Karyo) doing good(-enough) performances.

So, not great, but one will not be bored durings its 98 minutes.
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

Man of Tai Chi (2013)

After Kiss of the Dragon, which was better then feared, I also began with Man of Tai Chi, which was mainly on my watchlist because I like Keanu Reeves – well, big disappointment in this case: Not really my cup of tea, so ignore my judgement in regards of the ’technical aspects’ (= the actual performance of the martial art). But the rest of the movie couldn’t rescue the film for me.
★☆☆☆☆ 1/5 stars

Red Planet (2000)

Rewatch – A rewatch, I guess: I probably saw this one back then on TV, but could not remember anything…
Feels more like an extended episode of a TV show than a film. It’s nothing special, but also not too bad.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

The Wailing (2016)

Not really bad, but also not really my style; the asian over-acting is always hard to swallow for me in these kind of films. And I think it was also a bit too drawn out, and with themes being set up, but without a good payoff at the end.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust (2000)

Also not my cup of tea.
★☆☆☆☆ 1/5 stars

Upgrade (2018)

Now, this was a surprisingly good movie! It was already on my watchlist for a while and now I had finally the chance to see it. And despite the rather low budget, it had a nice look, interesting cinematography, a good cast and story, and despite the grim tone, also some funny elements. Very much recommended!
★★★★★ 5/5 stars

Road to Perdition (2002)

Rewatch – Viewed it again after a very long time; I could remember some key scenes, but not much else. In general, a good movie, but some things were missing to make it really outstanding. I can’t really name it all, but for one: I really like Tom Hanks as an actor, but for this role, I think he was the wrong choice (it works, partially, but he couldn’t convince me completely).
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

Cursed (2005)

Rewatch – Most certainly I’ve seen this one before, as a teenager, but except for the final few minutes, I could’t recall any of it.

It had 1-2 good scenes (underground parking lot!), but in general, it was disappointing: Didn’t like the setting (Hollywood!), didn’t care for the characters, the story was flat/common, the CGI aged poorly (in some scenes more so than in others) and the humor was also that of the early 2000s teen horror.

On the other hand, I was not really disinteressted during its runtime, so not a complete waste.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)

Not everything that Shane Black touches (or writes) is gold, but man, is he talented. I was already impressed with Last Boy Scout and Nice Guys, and now this one is also a very good piece of work of his writing! Fun moments, good action scenes, witty dialogs/banter, clever script – it’s all here!
★★★★★ 5/5 stars

TV

Future Man — Season 3

This final season of the show was a minor letdown, compared to the previous two. It still had good and funny episodes, but also lacked a certain spark at times and was occasionally a bit dull(er) then I hoped and even dragged on a bit. Still, overall the show gets a recommendation from me.
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

Primal — Season 1

Quite entertaining animation series; of course, the premise is bonkers, as are many storylines. But if you can accept this over-the-top fantasy world, you’ll enjoy it; I for one want to see more of it!
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

Succession — Season 1

Hmm… so, first off, my expections: I knew that there was a hype around this show, and I knew beforehand that all main characters are supposed to be very unlikeable/unsympathetic — but, I also assumed that this would be dampened a bit by a good dose of dark humor.

Well, yes, I indeed can’t related to any of those fucked up characters, nor do I really care for their well-being or their success or failure. Emotionally, they are FUBAR anyways, and even if they would loose their stakes in the company or would be cut off by their daddy, they would be rich enough and connected enough to land on their feet again; so why should I be invested it any of them?

So, the character arcs (if there are any) don’t work. The story itself is also the usual “rise, fall, rise, …” of a family/enterprise, just more boring. And the black humor is laid down very, very, very thin, so that didn’t help me neither.

And yet, despite all that, it slowly grows on you: I’m already near the end of season 2 😯 . I still don’t like the show in any way, and if it would end now, I would not shed a single tear. So, a weird show: I almost hate it, but I can still watch it (mind you: not enjoying it, just barely taking notice of it); it’s odd.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars