More mini-reviews of films and TV shows that I’ve watched (since 2024-10-11).

Film

Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985)

I’ve heard occasionally some good things about this film, so when it showed up on a free streaming service (with ads), I took a gander at it:
Nah, didn’t like it much.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

Shutter Island (2010)

Rewatch – On my first watch of this movie, many years ago, I didn’t like it much; that hasn’t changed now on a second viewing:
It’s not bad, but except for the (not so grand) twist at the end pretty mediocre.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

Alien: Romulus (2024)

Oh man, it looks sooo good – but it also feels sooo wrong/bad.

I think a more fitting title would have been “Alien: Memberberries”. It’s a Best-of of the Alien series, with scenes from (probably) all previous films, but it offers way too little original stuff or new facets of this world (except for the introduction/premise).

All that is very sad. I had high hopes, due to the director; but it didn’t work out for me.
The cast is also very bland, meh and forgettable (“Andy” was the best of the bunch, but also not without problems).

And the plot? The less said about it, the better. Obviously, it is usually enough for these types of films if the story just serves the movie – but even with that, Alien: Romulus struggles.

Aside from that, the film had a few very cool (looking!) scenes; but on the other hand: Don’t dwell too long on them, or else you’ll discover too much stuff that doesn’t really fit…

*Sigh* This was unfortunately a wasted opportunity.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

Subservience (2024)

Hm, a mediocre B-movie; OK for what it is.
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

Brothers (2024)

The trailer was so funny, but the film then was so terrible that I aborted it around the 45-minute mark!
★☆☆☆☆ 1/5 stars

The Golden Glove (Der goldene Handschuh) (2019)

I very much like the author, but more for his tragicomically works.
This one was, in stark contrast, a pretty much earnest and disturbing story. It’s somewhat interesting, but won’t become a favorite of mine.
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

The Fly (1986)

Rewatch – A body-horror classic, and very deservedly so!
★★★★★ 5/5 stars

Sisu (2022)

At first, the sudden actions and erruptions of violence may shock one, but that effect runs out of steam very quickly; and then this film has nothing else to offer.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

Taxi Driver (1976)

I don’t think that I’ve ever seen it (fully) before; I just was aware of it’s status and praise (which sometimes can backfire: High expectations etc.). But in this case it was applied well: Good film.
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

The Substance (2024)

Also a film that was praised by most critics; and again: I can understand why.
Very weird and disturbing, in a good way.
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

Oddity (2024)

Despite the very nifty name, it left me bored, uninterested and unsatisfied.
★☆☆☆☆ 1/5 stars

Roger & Me (1989)

Rewatch – It’s been many years, since I saw this film for the first (and until now, last) time.
Interesting take; but no longer as impactful as I remembered it to be (as an impressionable teenager).
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

Blink Twice (2024)

Not too bad, but slightly sub-average.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

Interstellar (2014)

Rewatch – One of the few films in my life that I’ve watched in a cinema, but under not so great circumstances, so that may have coloured my experience negatively back then: I was very dissapointed.

So, now, years later and under very different conditions, I had a second viewing: Not as terrible as I remembered it to be, but also very far from being a great film; it’s kind of OK…
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

The Caine Mutiny (1954)

An interesting classic; not much else to say about it.
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

Black and Blue (2019)

A bit mediocre, but good enough, if you catch my drift…
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

The Last Unicorn (1982)

Rewatch – A great fantasy/animation film, and overall a very good movie.
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

Princess Mononoke (1997)

Rewatch – It has been probably over 20 years since I saw this movie for the first and (up until now) last time. I was in my early twenties and the the initial wave of japanese animation films (like “Akira”) rolled over the west.

I also dimly remember that I was not that enthusiastic about it after watching it: Especially the esoteric/spiritual touch of the latter half was not my cup of tea back then…

Sursprisingly, now on a second watch, I didn’t find these parts that aloof anymore.
Overall, I now liked it much more (Pro 2nd Chance™ 😉 ).
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

Speed (1994)

Rewatch – I was reminded by some retrospective video/podcast of this film; haven’t thought of (or watched it) in ages.
Still a pretty intense and cool mid-1990s action flick.
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

Finding Forrester (2000)

Rewatch – It has a few of those overly emotional moments and scenes of typical films from the late 1990s/early 2000s, but some of that also felt genuine.
Bottom line: Entertaining flick. ★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

The Wild Robot (2024)

Cool, nice; good, but not great.
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

The Invitation (2022)

This vampire film was so terrible, bland and forgettable that I initally couldn’t even remember having seen it a few weeks earlier. Only after seeing a few images and photos on the internet I recalled a few plot points of this shabby flick.
★☆☆☆☆ 1/5 stars

Michael Clayton (2007)

Rewatch – I was impressed by it back in 2007/2008, although I couldn’t even really tell why.
And I still find it to be a fascinating film, but still can’t explain to me, why that is: It’s on no level extraordinary, yet still somehow fascinating…
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

Final Destination 2 (2003)

So the opening (on the highway) is legendary, but the rest of the film felt a already bit tired and run-of-the-mill FD. Mind you, there are still enough “cool kills” to have fun during the runtime, but this whole franchise already feels like a one-trick-pony – and with a trick that can run dry very easily…
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

Shadow of the Vampire (2000)

Interesting premise, but it also felt a bit campy and involuntarily funny; maybe a short film or even sketch would have been the better format.
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)

Had very dim, but also very good memories of the film; I’ve only watched it a few times, as a kid (the last time maybe as an early teenager?).

So I was very curious how this would hold up: I recalled that I found it a bit weird (well, with hindsight: Not a sursprise, considering who made this movie; but I didn’t know or cared much about filmmaking, back then).

Nowadays, I’am aware of the Coen brothers, but I also know that I don’t like everything from them: They’ve created a few of my all-time-masterpieces (e.g. “Arizona Junior”, “The Big Lebowski”, “Miller’s Crossing”, …), but also several duds, which didn’t work for me.

So, what gives? Well, it’s still great, and still weird, with a distinct mid-1990s vibe of filmmaking.
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

TV

Star Trek: The Next Generation — Season 6

Rewatch – Still good.
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

Scavengers Reign — Season 1 (TV-Mini-Series)

A handful of positive reviews pointed me to this animated SciFi show. And while it is something very different to the normal and current mainstream stuff (reminded me of the weird SF animation stuff from the 1970s/1980s that were on TV reruns during my childhood), in the end, I was not fully happy with it.
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

The Twilight Zone — Season 1

So, I knew this show by name and concept, but since it was even old in my youth (this first season if from 1959) and wasn’t well-known or popular in Germany, I never saw anything of it.

But over the years I’ve heard enough positive things about it, so that I took a plunge and bought the DVD boxset – and at least for now, I don’t regret buying it (but there are also many seasons left in this collection…).

But it’s an anthology series, so of course the quality/my liking will vary from episode to episode and from season to season.
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

Blue Eye Samurai — Season 1

Well… it had (a few!) cool moments, but in total: Not a fan.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars