So, this edition had quite a long gap between when I started writing it (2022-05-14), and when I finally finished and posted it (2022-08-21).

The reason was that at the beginning of 2022, both my parents became very ill, almost the same time but for two totally different reasons – and from which my dear mother never recovered, but instead passed awaym what felt merely a few weeks later; may she forever rest in peace.

That hit me very hard and left me with no motivation (or time) to continue with this kind of endeavor.

But, life goes on (at least for a while), and – surprisingly –, some things then tend to go back to “normal” after a while…

Film

Technotise (2009)

Also known as “Robot Metropolis”. It had a bit of a slow start, and the final act also hobbles along a bit, but still: Considering where it was made, it had some very cool looking animations and few nice ideas in it. This will not become an all-time favorite of mine, but it’s a good film for at least a one time watch.
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

Europa Report (2013)

This one was a interesting discovery: A (very) low budget Sci-Fi thriller, with a very realistic looking approach. Despite the limited setting and execution, it was pretty suspenseful.
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

The Sadness (2021)

This one was of course overhyped as “the most violent/gruesome/extreme Zombie film of all times” – but as I know by know: Don’t believe the hype and ignore the PR blabber. Additionally, I had heard/watched/read several reviews from my trusted sources which all had put it in relation in the meantime. So, I was prepared.

And got pretty much was I expected: A rather low-budget horror film, made during the COVID-19 pandemic (even though, in Taiwan, the restrictions weren’t as strict as elswhere, I learned from interviews with the director), with a thin plot but some nice gore effects.

And while some (mainstream) reviewers saw in it the most extreme film, I have to say: Nope, I’ve seen more graphic stuff, and I’m not even a gorehound or a big horror film fan.

But, with that being said: This is definitely not a film for the faint-hearted! It is very bloody and violent at times (how much depends on what one has seen before…)

Beside all that: I didn’t find the story that enganging. Of course, the setting and budget played also a role, as well as the relatively new actors.

It was OK for a one-time watch, but the above mentioned points, plus some choices in the screenplay that didn’t sit too well with me, bring it down for me to a slightly below-average rating.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

The Batman (2022)

First impression: A (very?) good and interesting take on the character, although I had a few minor things to quibble about… But that should wait until I will have watched it for a second time; for now, consider this a preliminary verdict.
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

Sicario (2015)

Rewatch – Denis Villeneuve is also a very interesting director: I don’t like all of his material, but I’ll always be intrigued by it.

In this case, my opinion of this film of his has changed, to the (even more) positive: When I saw this movie for the first time, I liked it, but wasn’t blown away by it (and am still not, on a gut-feeling level).

But now, on this second viewing, it gained many, many points on my scale: The characters, the mood, the music(!), the scene structures, the cinematography – all great.

I’m hesitating if I should give it just 4 or the full 5 stars. Hm… Because of my current impression of it (even days later), and because it “improved” the second time, it will get the full score; congratulations ;-)
★★★★★ 5/5 stars

Porco Rosso (1992)

Definitely a different kind of animation movie; I liked it, but was not fully convinced about its supposedly greatness.
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)

Rewatch – This movie has a high reputation, especially for bringing Robert Downey Jr. back on the scene, and also for seemingly being such a good Shane Black production. Well, let’s wait and see…

I’ve seen it already one time, many years ago. Couldn’t recall any of the story now, but I remembered that I was a bit disappointed even back then; but, some films grow on a second viewing (see Sicario above), and also the years gone by may have changed my taste a bit.

As a preamble: I like quite a bit of what Shane Black creates, but it’s also always a hit-or-miss with me, as I’ve learned during recent times. This film sits somewhere in the middle for me: On the one hand, I do like the plot with its twists and turns, I also like a lot of the dialogs, and I dig the acting of RDjr – but it also has a lot that I didn’t like:

The narration and the breaking of the fourth wall was not done well (or rather, didn’t fit) most of the time; the performance of Val Kilmer was also sub-par; some dialogs weren’s as pointed as I had hoped for; and while the (little) action that was in this film was executed good enough, it had too many pure luck moments, bordering on being implausible (as an example, without spoiling: How the gun slides from the coffin directly in the hand of the protagonist was very convenient…)

So, after all, “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” was OK (again), but doesn’t come near my favorite stuff (written) by Shane Black, like “The Nice Guys”, “The Long Kiss Goodnight” or “The Last Boy Scout”.
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

Iron Man (2008)

Rewatch – Speaking of Robert Downey Jr.: I also re-watched the first Iron Man again (I think only for the second time; since I’m not a big Marvel fan).

Now, in hindsight, knowing that this one kicked off the MCU success story, it’s difficult to view it as a stand-alone film.

After watching it again, my original verdict hasn’t changed much: It’s entertaining, has already all the ingredients of the MCU formular of the coming years in it (a weak antagonist, lots of quips and one-liners, some emotional moments, cool action set pieces, etc.), but one also has to accept the “logic” and plausibility of a very comic-booky superhero movie (which can vary very much in this genre, see The Batman).
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

X (2022)

Interesting film. It paid tribute to classic 1980s slashers, but also had (a few) ideas of its own.

I liked the cast and the theme of youth and old age (side note: since when is horrific enough [for a movie!] to just be old?); some shots were also very cool (the alligator in the water!), but on the other hand, it was lacking for me in a believable motive for the antagonists to act this extreme (at least I had to imagine a lot of how it could come to this, beside the obvious explanation one could derive from little information about their life that I got from this movie; maybe the prequel will fill in some gaps of their story…).

Other than that: The kills were OK, but not special; the mood and setting was also OK…
The bottom line: I liked it, but it probably won’t end up in my Hall of Fame for 2022.

WARNING! Little spoiler ahead: By the way: Why put actors in this kind of make-up, if it doesn’t lead to anything? As soon as I realized that the old pair was not played by such old actors, I was waiting for a twist that never came :-/
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

The Equalizer (2014)

Rewatch – I do recall that I found this movie rather cool, back on my first watch. But now, years later and after many similar movies (i.e.: an older, inconspicuous gentleman that then suddenly and unexpectedly shows a “special set of skills”), the premise, but also the style and delivery are not that great. In fact, I even found the whole thing even below average, the longer it went on. The first time, years ago, I might have rated it as ‘good’ (4 stars), but now I’m torn between “just average” and “below mediocre” – hm, I now tend to take the latter of the two.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

Jason and the Argonauts (1963)

Rewatch – I remembered this one from my childhood, when we didn’t have any streaming services, and even private cable TV stations were just starting in Germany – so, I took all opportunity to view anything resembling any kind of fantasic fiction on televison, even this old movie (and a film from 1963 was even old for me as a child in the late 1980s).

I’ve seen many re-runs of it back then, but it has been ages since the last time. So, how did it hold up this time? Not so good, I must say.

First off, a disclaimer: In my memory, I often mixed this one up with “The 7th Voyage of Sinbad”, which is even older, but maybe had the bigger impact on me… (I wonder how that one will go down with me nowadays). — Update 2024-06-02: In the meantime, I got the three Sinbad films by Ray Harryhausen on a BluRay-Disc Boxset, and the first one (The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, from 1958) is indeed still very watchable.

Anyways, back to Jason: Well, except for the legendary and impressive skeleton fight at the end, I found it to be rather boring, to be honest.

Of course, this one’s from a different era, so the effects alone don’t sell it anymore.
But on the other hand, there are many other movies from the 1940s to 1960s that I’d still consider as good movies, due to their good screenplay and/or cast – this one sadly lacks both…
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

Sabotage (2014)

Rewatch – Back then, I was pretty hyped up for this movie: An action thriller from David Ayer, with Arnold and also a lot of other (seemingly) interesting actors – what could possibly go wrong?! Well, a lot.

I was disappointed back then, and I’m still disappointed now… I dimly knew what I had to expect, from the first time, but I had hoped for a different experience on my second viewing. Unfortunately, I found it to be even worse and more dull than last time.

The plot, the action, the cast, the look: Everything is just meh.
(By the way, didn’t noticed it the last time, I think, but it also had a very cheap look and style to it – the director may call it a “naturalistic” look, I call it “(cheaply) made-for-TV” look, not a worthy format for a Schwarzenegger vehicle!)
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)

Rewatch – I fully enjoyed watching this one again, after a long while.

I’ve seen it before, but not so often from start to end (I think); more often either just parts of it, when I caught a rerun on TV, or snippets on the internet (on the other hand: I did remember quite a lot of it).

Anyways, this one is the rare exception of movie that blends two different genres (and even splits them pretty drasticly in the middle), and can also pull it off (very well even).

(Hm, while typing this, and thinking about it more: The cut was pretty drastic, and was I actually more invested in the Tarantino-style crime thriller than the horror aspect of the second half. Also, the vampires in the Rodrigez B-/Trash horror part felt pretty weak; just strength by numbers, more like zombies, not like the evil entities one might expect a vampire to be.)

Nevertheless, overall it’s a good film.\
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)

Rewatch – Not the first time that I watched this one, but it has been years since the last time (and I didn’t see it very often in total). But since I recently revisited the first two films of the “Dollars” trilogy, and had a good time, it was about time.

Surprisingly, I currently like the other two a tad more: Maybe it was my mood at that day, but I found this one a bit too long and too drawn-out (I watched the(?) extended cut, with a runtime of almost 3 hours).

And of course this one has some legendary scenes and moments, but I found it at times actually a bit too sprawling; I’d have favored a slightly more compact version of the story.

That’s why I’ll grade it this time the way I do now; that may change again (up) on another rewatch…
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

Pin Cushion (2017)

A weird, little, dark tale. Had it on my watchlist ever since I saw a trailer for it years ago (but can’t recall why excatly it grabbed me back then, probably just the motive of the film).

Now I had the chance to see it, and it’s a fine, but rather depressing film. It’s a drama of mobbing/bullying (in school, but also later in life), coming-of-age and how life can suck in general. Definitely not a feel-good movie and at a few times, it drags on a bit.

It’s certainly an aquired taste, and not everybody will buy into the plot or can relate to the characters – but those who do, may like this movie.
(That’s why my subjective and biased rating is this high.)
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

Memento (2000)

Rewatch – And only my second viewing of it; many, many years after the first one. I dimly remember that I wasn’t as blown away by it as the public perception at the time; but that is often the case with me).

So, I thought I’d remember most of it, but I was wrong: Except for the basic premise, it felt like a brand-new movie to me :-)

I wouldn’t call it a masterpiece, but the idea alone gives it an edge over any other movie out there. So, recommended, at least for a one-time watch.
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

Chip ’n Dale: Rescue Rangers (2022)

I know of the characters and probably watched a bit of the old show as kid back in the days, but other than that, I had no relation to the Rescue Rangers. I just caught it because I heard 1-2 promising reviews for it… Well, it was not to my liking; don’t think I laughed once.
★☆☆☆☆ 1/5 stars

Jackass 3D (2010)

Similar to the above mentioned Chip ’n Dale, I know of course about Jackass, simply by pop-culturual osmosis, but other that catching a glimpse here and there back when it was a show on MTV, I never paid attention.

So, this third movie was actually the first time I watched it properly. Well, what can I say… I guess it’s an aquired taste: I could laugh or at least smile at many of the bits, and with the right crowd and “auxiliary means”, this could probably be pretty entertaining. But as normal viewing experience, it’s rather “meh”
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

RRR (Rise Roar Revolt) (2022)

Wow, what a wild ride! I probably wouldn’t be able to stand these totally bonkers and over the top dramatic, stylized and (very) long pieces on a regular diet, but this one time, I was very entralled.

It will certainly not be for everyone, and even I needed to be in a special mood and had to split the watch over multiple days (too much sugar at once can be a dangerouse thing 😏 ), but I’d say it’s worth a try.
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

Spiderhead (2022)

Well, the actors were mostly OK, but the premise and what they made of it could also have been a short episode on “The Twilight Zone” or “Outer Limits” instead of a full-length film. And while the style of director Joseph Kosinski (which I normally like) shines through here and there (a tiny bit!), I wouldn’t call this movie in way noteworthy; rather the opposite: Even for a casual watch, it was a letdown in my eyes..
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

TV

Love, Death & Robots — Season 3

I liked it; much better (again) than season 2. Of course, it’s an anthology series, so not every episode was a homerun in my opinion, but it has lots of good stuff to offer this time around.
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

Raised By Wolves — Season 1

What a clusterfuck of a show! I really don’t know why I kept watching it; probably because I couldn’t believe one could produce such a terrible show with that much money and style (it did look slick at times, I’ll give it that).

Anyway, a really terrible, nonsensical show. I even tried episode one of season two, but couldn’t force me to finish it; and soon after, I read that the show is now cancelled and leaves the viewer high and dry with a cliffhanger at the end of season 2… Reason enough for me not to waste any more time with it then; I’ll read a recap of the rest somewhere and will close this chapter.
★☆☆☆☆ 1/5 stars

The Cuphead Show — Season 1

Cool, very cool! I loved the animation style and the humor, and since each episode is pretty short, it makes for very nice late night “snack” before going to bed 😆
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars