Lots of rewatches, mostly of quite old films; and even a few first-views, also of older films…
Seems like the current movies don’t really appeal to me much. I mean, even the recently and newly made films are often very generic, bland and too long…

Of course, masterpieces that will stand the test of time are a rare type, have always been. But my impression is that they are getting fewer and fewer over the last decade or so.

For one, because the realm of the middle class/mid-budget films (where a lot of the good Action or Sci-Fi/Horror/Fantasy films classics live(d)) has been decimated over the years by the $200+ millions budget blockbusters, that must play it safe to appeal to everyone, to make enough money.

Another reason is surely also that I’ve been getting older and have seen many, many movies and TV shows over the years. And with that, many ideas and stories seem quite familiar; on the other hand: The current wave of (lazy) remakes and nostalgia-bait isn’t helping either.

The funny thing is: With today’s technology, films can look better than ever before, even with only a decent budget (for example “The Creator”: Not really low-budget, but also not $200+ millions budget blockbuster). But one still needs good filmmakers and writers to make a really outstanding movie. Else, one gets a fantastic looking, but dull and dumb movie (again: “The Creator”).

And maybe, in the 1980s/1990s, such films would have looked way worse, but could establish a second life as a guilty pleasure/B-Movie on the rental market or via TV re-runs; but nowadays, they are just a dime a dozen, only a click away on some streaming service, competing with the latest Disney/Marvel project…

By the way: I started this list on 2024-03-26. Now, on 2024-07-14, I will finally post it (Mini-Reviews #50 and #51 are already in pre-production)…

Film

A Few Good Men (1992)

Rewatch – While watching it again (for the first time in many, many years), I did actually remember much more scenes than I expected: I guess I’ve must have seen it (at least partially) more often, as TV re-runs, than I was aware.

About the film: I was unsure how good it would work, nowdays, but it holds up extremely well. The screenplay (by Aaron Sorkin) is great, and so is the cast, especially the young(er) Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson (who has much less screentime than I remebered or hoped for).
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (2023)

Another interesting court-room drama, but much smaller in scope (and with much less budget).
(By the way: It also stars Kiefer Sutherland, as does “A Few Good Men”. It was an interesting watching experience to see the same actor in a somewhat simliar role, on the the same day, but with a 30 year time jump.)
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

Tangled (2010)

Rewatch – One of the few animated Disney movies that I really liked. Granted, the first and last time I saw it was now over ten years ago; but since the Blu-ray disc was on sale at Amazon, I bought it and hoped for the best: Would I still enjoy it today? Yes, I did!
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

The Howling (1981)

Rewatch – I must have seen it sometime before, on TV. But it didn’t leave a lasting impression on me back then. But it is a solid little horror movie, with an interesting premise and neat twists. Not great, but kinda good…
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

Requiem for a Dream (2000)

Rewatch – Now this this film did leave a lasting impression on my mind; but (or because of it) I haven’t watched it since my first encouter, which was also 10+ years ago. I even owned the Blu-ray Disc since 2016 and never dared to watch it again, in fear it would loose its magic on me at a second viewing.

But luckily, it did not. The structure was a little bit different than what I remembered, but that did not have any effect on how well I received this film again. It’s a great (and very sad) cautionary tale.
★★★★★ 5/5 stars

My Name is Nobody (Il mio nome è Nessuno) (1973)

Rewatch – Another blast from the past, with one of my childhood icons (Terence Hill, solo this time). It’s also a western… satire? With some of the slapstick and (funnily dubbed) dialogues I expected a film similar to the other Bud Spencer/Terence Hill western.

But it’s more serious and thought provoking (about life and death and the meaning of life) than I imagined – but of course also with the typical humor elements. That’s probably the reason why I didn’t relate to it much as a child. But now, with times having changed, I see it with different eyes.
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

Training Day (2001)

Rewatch – I remembered it as an OK thriller/drama, but not as an outstanding work.
But watching it again, after many years, I liked it more now than before (but maybe just because the standard of movies has been in decline for the last couple of years?).
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

Little Shop of Horrors (1986)

Rewatch – Again, a film that I’ve seen only once before, as a young child: It was a public screening, during a school’s summer time, organized for kids in my little village that weren’t gone for a summer vacation elsewhere. Anyway, it was one of the earliest movies that I still remember and I was blown away by it back then.

But somehow, I never saw it again until now (I don’t think this film was often shown on TV in the past). And this time, even with the original ending (reconstructed in 2012 for the disc release), which was rather bleak in a campy sort of way. But fear not: Everything that comes before that is hilariously funny!

(Speaking of not having seen it for a long time: I almost forgot that it is a musical – I was a bit startled when suddenly the singing began 😄 )
★★★★★ 5/5 stars

The Blood of Heroes | Salute of the Jugger (1989)

Rewatch – Back in my teenage years, this was running on cable TV’s late program all the time. But again: Haven’t seen it since then (probably 20 years or more).

And sometimes, such childhood memories loose their magic when watching it again as an adult – and others keep it; and occassionally, one may get even an additional layer of meaning and understanding.

The latter happend with this film for me: I aleready found it entertaining as a kid, but I really like it now, as an underrated little gem of a low-budget movie.

(I’d like to add it to my collection of Blu-ray disc at some time, but at the moment, there are only editions available with the shorter US theatrical cut, which I don’t want 😒 )
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

Watership Down (1978)

Did I ever saw it before? Not sure, but I think not. Only recognized a few scenes, probably from elsewhere. It is often marketed as a children’s movie, but I guess it would be a little bit too serious, sombre and brutal for very little children.

But without knowing that, another reason why I probably never saw it as a kid would have been this:
While I can appreciate the limited quality of the animation now (since the plot is a good counterweight), I most certainly would have scoffed at it back as a child, when I was used to things much more dynamic animations like Looney Tunes or Disney movies…
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

The Black Cauldron (1985)

(… or “The Black Sheep of classic Disney animation films”…)
I don’t think that I’ve seen it as a kid. So, probably a first time watch. It has a certain old-school charme and it is entertaining, but there is also something missing to make it really good.
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

Silverado (1985)

A western from the mid-1980s that I haven’t seen yet (but I knew the name). It’s got quite a cast, and the first half or so is rather light-hearted and entertaining, but second half gets darker (which doesn’t seem to fit) and is also the weaker part, I think.
So, quite OK, but not a masterpiece.
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

Lifeforce (1985)

Has a handful of interesting scenes and effects, spread throughout the runtime.
But overall it’s jus a pretty schlocky affair with bad acting.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? (1969)

Interesting premise, from a time that I had never heard of. And in theory, the personal drama should work… but it somehow it did not for me, at least not much.
And the ending was also a bit unexpected (in a negative sense).
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

Living (2022)

A british remake of an older japanese film (that I haven’t seen). This kind of movie would have not interested me and probably would have bored me endlessly ten or twenty years ago – but now, with the passing of time (and people dear to me), this low key drama sadly hits and connects with me in an previously unexpected way.

As always, this makes it difficult to rate it “objectively”: It’s a well-made little personal drama, but I would totally understand that others will see it as a total borefest.
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

Rewatch – I like Eddie Murphy, but I’m not his biggest fan; and the same goes for the Beverly Hills Cop series. It’s still an OK action-comedy, but I also think it’s been overrated over the years.
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

Beverly Hills Cop II (1987)

Rewatch – I liked it a tad more that the first part; the Tony Scott style gives it an interesting touch that elevates it above the first one.
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

Beverly Hills Cop III (1994)

(This is probably a rewatch, but couldn’t remember anything about it anyway, so let’t treat it not as such.)
Wow, what a disappointment: No fun, no action, no style… — just lame.
★☆☆☆☆ 1/5 stars

The Iron Claw (2023)

I really wanted to like it (more), but it was lacking highly in many aspects:

• For one: Too many characters, but too little time for each one of them.
• Secondly: It’s based on a real family’s drama, yet one child was deliberately left out, which I find disreputable, especially due to the reason (time constraints): With that reasoning, one or two other brothers could also have been cut, to have more more time to show the family dynamic.
• Third point: Since I’m not a wrestling fan, I didn’t know the story, but due to the trailer, the marketing and the pre-release buzz, I knew beforehand that it will be a heavy family drama, i.e. that terrible things would happen. Yet it takes almost an hour before we get there – and I don’t think that that hour is well spent (see issue #1). And the rest of the film then feels like rushing thru the events in a hurry.\

Therefore it’s just “below average” for me.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

The Money Pit (1986)

Rewatch – I’ve seen this comedy many, many years ago and had very fond memories of it.
But I haven’t seen it since, so it was a gamble to buy the Blu-ray Disc, because many films from one’s childhood don’t hold up. On the other hand, I find that the really great ones don’t lose their appeal. Luckily, this movie belongs into the latter category: Great, great fun!
★★★★★ 5/5 stars

Dune: Part Two (2024)

It’s a bit better than the first one, due to having a bit more action, but I still can’t relate to the hype: It looks nice, but I find it also boring as fuck!
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

The Princess Bride (1987)

Rewatch – I’ve read about this movie a long time ago, in internet forums (anyone remember those?), where it was often quoted and taken in high regard. So when I finally had the chance to see it for the first time (years ago), I had great expectations… which (sadly, but not unexpectedly) were’t completely fullfilled back then.

Now, many years later, I made a second viewing: And again, it failed to convince me to see it as a really good film.
I certainly has some very entertaining scenes and moments, but as a whole, it didn’t grab be that much.
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958)

Rewatch – I remember having seen this one as a kid, on re-runs. Back when there was not so much Fantasy or Sci-Fi on TV in Germany, so one latched on to every litte bit of fantasic entertainment.

And this one was an already old film even when I was young child. But nevertheless: It worked and left a lasting impression on me back then.
So I was pleasently surprised that it still worked today, some 20 or 30 years later (and over 65 years in total after its original release!).

At its core, its a simple action-adventure, with some dated, yet still impressive special effects.
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973)

Rewatch – I guess I also have seen this one as a kid, because I could remember a few key scenes, but not much. And after seeing it now again, I can imagine why: It’s pretty forgettable and a big letdown compared to its predecessor: The story and characters weren’t great in the first film either, but they somehow radiated a certain charme, that is missing here. And also the effects don’t seem that impressive here anymore.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977)

(Maybe I’ve seen it as kid, maybe not…) So this is the last of the Sinbad films from Ray Harryhausen; it’s not as good as the first one (or in general), but at least also not so boring and badly paced as “Voyage” was.

The tricks an effects look at times very cheap and sloppy (even considering the age of this movie). I also didn’t like it very much that this time the stop-motion creatures are mostly just (oversized) animals instead of fantastic and mythological characters (except for a few) – maybe they had no good ideas anymore? Over the course of the three films, many similar creatures appear…

(I won’t even make a note of the cast or the plot: Both serve their purpose, not more.)
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)

Rewatch – Another film that had a certain reputation, but didn’t click with me when I saw it as a teenager. Now, I liked it more; due to my personal growth, I can relate to the characters and dialoges a bit more than before.
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

Ghostbusters (1984)

Rewatch – Seen it very often as a kid (again: Because there was so litte fantastic stuff on TV), and heard and read about it over the years – but then I haven’t seen the full film (from beginning to end) for decades.

It still holds up very well as a comedy. I even appreciate the humor now more than I did in the past (when I was more interested in the fantasy/horror elements).
★★★★★ 5/5 stars

Immaculate (2024)

I actually like the acting of the main actress, and it also looks interesting. But besides that, it was a very slow, boring, predicatable and well-known plot – execpt for the last few minutes, but one could book that also under “unnecessary shock value”.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

Gremlins (1984)

Rewatch – It’s been a very long time I saw this film for the last time (and I also haven’t seen it very often in total), but over the last couple of years I have often seen or read positive (new) reviews and remarks about it. Therefore, I recently purchased the two parts on Blu-ray Discs – and was happy about it:
It still works very well as a humoristic horror film.
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

Vampire’s Kiss (1988)

Hm. So I can understand why this one counts as the origin of the Nicolas Cage that one knows from the memes; but except for his overacting in some scenes, this film offered very little to me.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

Gangs of New York (2002)

Rewatch – I’ve only seen it once, and that was ages ago, but it seems that I really liked it, because I own the Blu-ray Disc now for years. But haven’t put it into my player yet; until now.
And yep, it is a good film, not without flaws, but still good.
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

Deep Rising | Octalus (1998)

Rewatch – I remember that I caught this film on one evening (many, many years ago) by chance, while zapping through TV channels. It took me totally by surprise then and somehow stayed with me all the time.

This time is probably only the second time that I’ve seen it, so I was curious how would feel about it nowadays. To my surprise, it’s not too bad. Granted, it’s a B-movie with dated CGI, but I still like the cast and characters.

There is something missing to make it outstanding, but nevertheless: A fun watch.
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

Late Night with the Devil (2023)

It got a lot of hype and praise for this horror film, and it’s a nice idea and setting. But despite that, it did not work for me:

• The 1970s setting seemed a bit fake/burlesque.
• The behind-the-scenes scenes didn’t work in the logic of the film.
• I don’t believe for one second that the main actor would be a successful(!) late-night-show host.
• The plot is OK(ish).

So, my rating after the first viewing:
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

Innerspace (1987)

Rewatch – I dimly remembered a few iconic scenes from it, but overall, I didn’t find it to be particularly good or entertaining.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

TV

Star Trek: The Next Generation — Season 2

Rewatch – Again, it’s hard to give an overall rating for a season with 22 (distinct) episodes. But it’s getting better and is therefore now “good”.
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

Fallout — Season 1

Alright, quite alright. I knew about the existence of the computer/video games, but never played it, so I’m not invested in the lore. Nevertheless, I was intrigued enough with this world and now want to see more (albeit this first season also had enough downsides for me so that I can’t rate it as fully good).
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars