Another posting with mini-reviews during the past months (for orientation: I began this list on 2024-04-28).

Film

Final Destination (2000)

The first one; maybe I saw it as reruns on TV, maybe not. It’s OK, but not as thrilling or exciting as I hoped.
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

Hasch mich - ich bin der Mörder (Jo) (1971)

Rewatch – Now this is a classic from my childhood; I loved it backed then, and it still holds up quite well as a comedy (which does not happen with a lot of these older french films for me).
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

From Beyond (1986)

Rewatch – Also, a very influential movie from my youth, which I caught randomly late at night on TV; what a view back then. Decades later, after seeing a lot of other stuff, it’s not quite as astounding as I remembered, but still a very decent horror flick.
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

Morning Glory (2010)

Rewatch – At its core, it’s a rather generic comedy, but thanks to the cast, it’s a pretty enjoyable watch.
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

La petite chambre (2010)

A small, french character drama; A bit meh, but it may work if one is in the mood for it.
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

Ghostbusters II (1989)

Rewatch – Not as good as the original one, but also not terrible; more of the same, while not on the same level.
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

Cobra (1986)

Granted, one of the coolest looking (and also most cliché-laden) poster of the 1980s action genre. Sadly, the film itself is not nearly as cool or fun as the cover.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

Van Helsing (2004)

Rewatch – It’s a high-budget B-movie: Bad, but not as shoddy as I thought; an entertaining affair.
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

Monkey Man (2024)

Hoped for more more (action, or plot), but didn’t get it.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024)

And yet another disappointment from Guy Ritchie.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

Abigail (2024)

The promo-stuff (trailer, poster, etc.) already spoiled the twist in the middle; without knowing that, I might have rated the film a tad higher. But as it stands now, it’s an OK-ish horror(?) film. Not terrible, not grand; but good enough for a good time.
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024)

It looks fake as hell; more like a CGI-animated cut-scene from a video game; and it also has no soul or purpose of existence!
★☆☆☆☆ 1/5 stars

Election (1999)

Rewatch – I only dimly remembered the premise, but at the end I was surprised, how cool this comedy/satire still is.
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)

Rewatch – A sequel with a slightly different take: Darker and more twisted humor than before. Liked it quite a bit.
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

Wishmaster (1997)

I had heard of this second-tier horror franchise before, but never saw any of it. Now that I did, I wished I had not. A few nice practial effects, but that’s all.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

Titane (2021)

Some weird french arthouse award-winner: It’s as bad as it sounds.
★☆☆☆☆ 1/5 stars

Boy Kills World (2023)

Looks cool, has a few nice scenes, but overall pretty forgettable.
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

Civil War (2024)

Kind of interessting, but somehow I also was expecting something different (so the rating may look a bit skewed).
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

Runaway Train (1985)

This one was often on TV when I grew up, but I can’t recall if I ever fully (or consciously) saw it… Regardless of that, a very watchable movie.
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

The First Omen (2024)

This has a similar setting like the recent “Immaculate”, but I found this one slightly better.
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

Cape Fear (1991)

Rewatch – Hm, it’s been ages and I probably also watched it only once before; but I hoped that it would be better: Especially the plot, the character’s motivations and so on didn’t really click with me.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

Godzilla Minus One (2023)

I’m not a Godzilla fan, but this movie worked surprisingly well. Probably because this time, the humans are not only accessory parts, but relatable and important factors of the film.
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

The Color of Money (1986)

Despite the good cast/acting and an interesting premise, the film left me pretty cold and untouched throughout its runtime.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

Under Paris (Sous la Seine) (2024)

Total trash. And sadly also not so bad that it’s good again; no, it’s just dumb.
★☆☆☆☆ 1/5 stars

Timecrimes (Los cronocrímenes) (2007)

Interesting idea; but maybe a 30min episode in some kind of anthology series would have been enough.
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

Crank (2006)

Rewatch – Back then, this film was a very wild and unique experience. And still today, it is surprisingly entertaining; feels just a tiny bit less “fresh” than on my first viewing in the mid-2000s.
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

There Will Be Blood (2007)

Rewatch – I saw it some time after its relase, so maybe in 2007 or 2008 and I remember that I was not very fond of it then. Now giving it a second shot, years and years later, with more (movie-watching) experience since then, I hoped to maybe like it more. And yes, I did… a tiny bit. But probably also because I knew what to expect. Yet still, I gained not as much more new insights or fascination for it as I hoped.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

The Mist (2007)

Rewatch – It was a great watch when I rented it from a DVD store, back in the day. And now, watching it for a second time on my onw Blu-ray disc, I still find it to be a very good film.
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

IF (2024)

Very forgettable and for a fantasy comedy pretty unfantastic and unfunny; downright boring.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024)

The very first trailer looked pretty bad, luckily the film itself was then rather enjoyable. And while I totally understand that it needed to be something different than “Fury Road"s (and I also didn’t need/want simply a repetition), I think that this one was missing the final spark to make it outstanding.
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

Gattaca (1997)

Rewatch – Again, I had not a good remembrance of this film. Except for the basic premise and the fact that I have seen it before, I couldn’t remember anything – only that I wasn’t blown away by it. It’s the same now: Overall, I found it to be rather uninteresting.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

Beverly Hills Cop IV: Axel F. (2024)

Hm, quite entertaining. It was not needed, but I expected much worse; so, taking that into consideration, it was OK.
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

TV

Shogun — Season 1 (Mini-Series)

Rewatch – Not the remake from this year, but the limited series from 1980. I had seen it only once up until now, some time in the 1980s, on german television. And as it is often the case under such circumstances, things are different than one remembers it from a earlier viewing experience as a child, many years ago. Overall, it was OK/interesting.
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

Star Trek: The Next Generation — Season 3 & 4

Rewatch – As usual: Still overall quite good (obviously, some of the 20+ episodes are better than others).
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars