Short opinion pieces about the noteworthy items that I’ve watched over the last weeks…

Film

Blade (1998)

Rewatch – Watching the trilogy condensed in a week or so, gives me some new insights (I also listend to some of the commentary on the BDs).

The first one is good, but still feels a bit rough the tone is a bit uneven at times.
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

Blade II (2002)

Rewatch – Over the years, I think I’ve seen the second part the least often (couldn’t recall almost nothing). And now, watching them all close by, in a week or so, gives me some new insights (I also listend to some of the commentary on the BDs):

The second one looks great, of course (due to the director), and also has a nice story and progression of the world.
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

Blade: Trinity (2004)

Rewatch – Over the years, I think I’ve seen the third part most often (at least partially, thru reruns on TV). And now, watching them all close by, in a week or so, gives me some new insights (I also listend to some of the commentary on the BDs):

The third part looks like a big action fun, but lacks the darker themes of the previous two parts and also plays it pretty safe and generic; not that bad as a standalone movie, but a letdown after its predecessors.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

Conan the Barbarian (1982)

Rewatch – While rewatching it recently on BluRay, I remembered almost every scene of it – seems like I’ve watched this one a lot as a kid, or it just left a huge impression on me; probably both. But despite this big recognition factor (and because it’s been some years since my last view), I enjoyed every second of it again. It’s just an all-time classic!
★★★★★ 5/5 stars

Finch (2021)

Well, that was a film. With Tom Hanks. Not bad, but also not particular good. Had a few touching scenes, but other than that, not really interesting.
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

Hunter Hunter (2020)

A slow-burn can be a good thing; or it can be a unnecessary drag, like here. The only thing this one will ever be remembered are the final five minutes or so. And despite the circumstancess in the film that lead to that scene, I think it’s a totally out-of-character move, just for the sake of a shock-value-ending.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

Jumanji: The Next Level (2019)

Like the previous Jumanji, more entertaining than I expected it to be. All good fun.
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

The Spy Who Dumped Me (2018)

I like Mila Kunis as an actress (Kate McKinnon: not so much), but this one was a fairly generic Hollywood mainstream “comedy”, which are dumped on the market by the dozen, since years.

Of course, it had a handful (at most) scenes where I snickered a bit, but for all its intents and purposes (and its runtime), that was way too bad.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

James Bond 007: No Time to Die (2021)

Not a big Bond fan, and this didn’t change my attitude. In fact, this was one of the bad entries in Daniel Craig’s run, in my opinon. It felt dull; too long and uninspired; the antagonist was a joke; the action was OK at times, but also too little; and even the ending seemed forced to me…
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

Triple Frontier (2019)

Quite a surprise, good cast, good movie. Plus bonus points: Intro and outro/credits with tracks from Metallica in the background, that alone makes it a good movie ;-)
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

The Invitation (2015)

Didn’t know too much about this one, just heard it being positively mentioned here and there. I first expected more of an horror thriller, but it turned out to be more of an psychological thriller.

Unfortunately, you can guess how this will turn out after a few hints in the first act (and you will be correct). Even the “twist” in the very last scene is not that surprising if you’ve paid attention to what was told and shown earlier.

Entertaining enough for a one-time watch on a slow evening, but not more.

Fun fact: I was astounded to learn that it’s the same director as the one of a much better film (as far as I can remember, it’s been a while; but the BD is currently sitting on my rewatch stack).
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

Gunpowder Milkshake (2021)

Style over substance, forced coolness, small budget – except for maybe one, two nice scenes of banter and action this one was pretty forgettable.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (2010)

Rewatch – Since I recently gave The World’s End a second go and liked it more than on first viewing (years ago), I now wanted to grant the same privilege to Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.
And what can I say: I also liked it better this time than when I watched it years ago.

The style is of course pretty much over the top for the full runtime, but the final act (last 20min or so) was a bit much and a little letdown; but everything before, and the movie as a whole, was great fun!
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

[Rec] (2007)

Knew about it, but since I was never that much into horror, I never watched it before (especially after I read that there are also part 2, 3 and 4).

But somehow I catched up with it now, and liked it very much: It’s short enough, so that it never overstays its welcome, and has a good way to tell its plot (a rather generic horror trope, if you break it down). Recommended!
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

Promising Young Woman (2020)

So, this was an “important” movie (due to the topic) and gained a lot of positive reviews. But I, on the other side, didn’t like it much:

The tone was all over the place and the aspects of dark comedy, satire and real tragedy didn’t fit well together in my opionion.
And the plot (or “seriens of events that happen”) relied too much on suspension of belief, coincidences and “screenplay magic”.

So while I can acknowledge the attempt to make a film about the issue and even the aim on how to present it to the audience, the execution of it didn’t really do it for me, sadly.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

Wrath Of Man (2021)

I expected a pretty generic revenge flick, and it was also not much more. But on the other hand, the slight twist in the story elevated it from ‘average’ to ‘mildly good’, at least for a one-time view. (It’s just sad that the other cast members didn’t have much time to shine.)
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard (2021)

Like the first part, it was more fun than had hoped for, but it’s also a movie about which no one will be talking two days after seeing it.
(Sidenote: Ryan Reynolds, please do something different in future movies. This constant role of Smartass-Wisecracker-Deadpool-on-autopilot is getting stale.)
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

The Cable Guy (1996)

Rewatch – Since it was mentioned on a film podcast, and available on Netflix, I tried to watch it again.
Tried… – not my cup of tea; I also don’t like this side of Jim Carry very much. So after the first half or so, I mostly skipped and fast-forwarded through it.
★☆☆☆☆ 1/5 stars

The Trip (I Onde Dager) (2021)

A bloody and dark comedy; quite fine.
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

The Harder They Fall (2021)

What a junk! The very first scene told me already that I will probably not like what I’ll get here. And after 30-40min, I had enough and jumped thru the rest, just to see how it ended.
★☆☆☆☆ 1/5 stars

Dogma (1999)

Rewatch – Well, it had its moments, but it will not appear on my list of all-time comedy classics.
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (2001)

Although it was released in 2001, after the TV show (1998/1999), this film is supposed to take place somewhere between “session”/episode 22 and 23 (of 26 in total) of the original show.

And maybe I should have watched it in that order, before I saw the final episodes (which would’ve been only possible due being late to watch the whole thing in any case).
Or maybe I should have waited longer than just a day after finishing the last episodes of the show.
On the other hand, I highly doubt that that would have changed my verdict, just my perception a tiny bit — maybe…

Anyways, for me, it felt sadly like just like a longer, plotwise more elaborate, but nevertheless mediocre stand-alone episode.
Not bad in any way, but disappointing, because it was also missing much (or any) of the show’s hightlights and trademarks, be it the blues, the futuristic space action, or the humor, or music. (Mind you, not every episode of the TV show had all of those ingredients either, but in those cases, then it was compensated by a focused theme.)
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

TV

Succession — Season 2

I actually can’t explain, why I keep watching it: I don’t care for the characters or the weal or woe of the the family’s business empire. To my surprise, at least it somehow got slightly better, but it’s still far from being a good show. Or maybe it’s just a case of stockholm syndrome…
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

Lovecraft Country — Season 1

Note: I was only able to watch (= to suffer) episode 1, 2, and (partially) 3.
Maybe I’ll pick it up sometime later, but I doubt it: Too much other stuff on my watchlist and this show lost me already within the first two-and-a-half episodes the first time.
★☆☆☆☆ 1/5 stars

Cowboy Bebop — Season 1

I’ve heard a lot of praise for this show, but never had the opportunity to watch it over the last twenty years, and I also lacked the proper incentive, since I’m not the biggest anime fan out there.

But this year, the stars were aligned right and I saw all 26 episodes of the first (and only) season over the span of a few weeks. And what can I say: All the praise was well earned!

What a great show: A blend of many of western styles (from Film Noir to Blaxploitation), with the right amount of sprinkles of absurd/comical/over-the-top anime; and all grounded with a tone of melancholy (rather unexpected for me in this genre).

It took some episodes for me to get used again to the more episodic nature of this show, after all the years of strictly serial shows nowadays; but the on-going arc in the background pays off very well in the end.
★★★★★ 5/5 stars