Ready Player One
Rewatch. 8 stars.
IP Man
7 stars
Frankenstein
7 stars.
Sinners
8 stars
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Seasons 1-2
7 stars, so far.
Arcane
6 stars
The Woman King
Empowerment movie with a deep look inside an ugly culture. 7 stars
Solo Leveling, Seasons 1-2
Loved this one. Season 1 went a little quick. Would have liked to see more time spent on the leveling up aspect. But dang was season 2 intense fun. 10 stars, so far.
Dark Winds, Season 1-2
Fist of the Condor
Fun, short foreign language martial arts movie. 80 minute run time, fun fight scenes. Getting a 100 on Rotten Tomatoes. Not that, but still fun.
Fort Apache
Mayor of Kingstown, Season 1
The Many Saints of Newark
Billions, Seasons 5-7
Circled back around to this and finished it up. Some of my favorite show writing and dialogue yet. Possibly a top 10 show for me.
One Piece, Episodes 1-43
Will watch more later, but taking a break in between story arcs here.
The Harder They Fall
This was fun in a Quick and the Dead kind of way.
Sisu
Old Man Wick. If Logan and Wick had a grandpa, who never spoke.
Muhammad Ali
Ken Burns doesn’t miss. 9 of 10 stars.
Iron Heart
Okay. Not great. 6 of 10.
Bigger, Stronger, Faster
Actually never watched this all the way through. Saw it was leaving Netflix, so I finally go to it.
5 of 10.
Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
Another one I bumped up the list due to leaving Netflix soon. Was ready for this one to be over for the majority of the movie, but it had enough of a payoff at the end to be okay.
5 of 10.
Happy Gilmore 2
This is exactly what you would expect. Cameo-heavy, a few nice callbacks, over the top ridiculous but still fun.
7 of 10.
Superman
Not your dark, brooding Superman. More Smallville than Snyder. I still maintain that Superman movies are hard to do in the modern world due to the IP overpower and cynical nature of the current generations.
7 of 10.
Fantastic Four: First Steps
Watched this the same day as Superman, pulling the double bill. I’m giving them both 7s, as I’m not sure if I enjoyed one more than the other. Probably the second best FF movie of the four modern versions.
Fantastic Four Rewatch
Went back and rewatched the first two, and the third for the first time, before watching the new one.
Rankings:
Fantastic 4
Fantastic 4: First Steps
Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Fantastic 4 (2015)
I had not seen the 2015 Miles/MBJ version before. Didn’t get to the theater before hearing how bad it was, so I put it off. I went in with low expectations, so I may have not hated it as much as most due to those expectations already being low. I still put the 2005 version ahead of the new one.
The Old Guard 2
The original is a go-to comic book movie both my wife and I like quite a bit. This did not live up to that one, but was still okay. Having read the second book series, I will say there was less to work with there than this had, but it also created a whole new villain out of thin air.
6 of 10.
Kingsman
I rewatch this one every couple of years. You know you are a fun movie when Samuel L. Jackson is your weak point.
8 of 10.
Outlaw King
Yeah, I watched a movie about Robert the Bruce on my overnight flight to Scotland. It wasn’t that good.
4 of 10.
Turning Point: 9/11 and the War on Terror
The White Lotus, Season 1
Six episodes about zero likable characters. If this was the same cast continuing in later seasons, I would not continue past this season. Not sure how it got a 90 on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Last of Us, Season 2
Still some of the best TV going right now.
Andor Season 2/Rogue One
Finished off season 2 and then rewatched Rogue One.
Mission: Impossible, 1-8
With a new one coming out soon, it is time to go back and watch these in order. I missed a few of these when they came out. Caught MI8 in the theater on opening night.
Quick thoughts on 8: A worthy finale, if it is such. Could have been about 30 minutes shorter without losing any story line. A 10 minute scene of Tom Cruise hanging from a propeller plane probably would have been just as good as a 20 minute scene of Tom Cruise hanging from a propeller plane. Without giving too much away, there is a scene that did trigger legitimate anxiety in me. I was shaking and squirming in the theater.
Rotten Tomato ratings for the series:
- MI6 98%
- MI7 96%
- MI5 94%
- MI4 94%
- MI8 80%
- MI3 73%
- MI1 65%
- MI2 57%
I would generally agree with those, although I put 1 ahead of 3. I would put 8 closer to 4 than the first three. It was long, but it nailed the emotional aspect of choice and ramifications.
The Rise of Chris Bumstead, Part 1
GZCLP Program Explained | BEST program you NEVER heard of? | Professional Powerlifter Reviews
Abbott Elementary, Seasons 1-4
This is one I watched my with my wife, so yeah, it took us a couple of years. We don’t get to watch too much TV together with our combined schedules. We both really like this. It’s not on the level of Parks and Rec or Brooklyn Nine-Nine, but it is still very good. I would put it on the tier below those. Plus, I’m just trying to be the best Mr. Johnson I can be. He’s the real MVP.
Roman Empire, Season 1
Dramatized documentary on the Commodus years. Did Russel Crowe lie to me?
Daredevil: Born Again. Season 1
Went straight into this one after watching the old three seasons. This one felt mostly like a filler season, setting up later stuff. I generally enjoy story exposition and character development. I don’t demand action scenes from the comic stuff. I’m filing this one under good, not great. It should be setting up for better stuff later.
Strong Life Podcast with Zach Even-Esh Ep. 503
Daredevil, Seasons 1-3
Went back and rewatched the first Daredevil run from the Netflix years before starting Born Again. I still get excited when Daredevil fights someone in a hallway, even as poorly lit as this show was.
Reacher, Season 3
Reacher is just fun. Put it into the realm of Banshee, Strike Down, John Wick, etc. It’s not complicated TV. But, fun. Season 3 is the least amount of Detective Reacher yet, but it is the most Shotgun Blasting Reacher yet. I enjoyed the seasons the most in order, 1, 2, 3, but that doesn’t mean season 3 was bad. Just good clean fun. Well, maybe not clean.
Naruto: Seasons 1-6
I have a list of anime to watch. Naruto was not in it. Then I saw an event happening in Evansville that had a live symphony playing to highlights of Naruto. So, I started it. I saw that event was going to include clips from the first nine seasons, so my plan was, if i got through nine seasons, and the Mules were still not alive in the postseason, I would go. Turns out, I did not get through nine, and the Mules were still alive, so I did not get to the live performance.
Still, I enjoyed this so far more than I expected to. This show is definitely aimed at the younger crowd. I’m guessing not too many watched this for the first time at the age of 46. Yes, it is a bit youngish, but I’m okay with what it is. It can be annoying at times. Whiny. But overall a story worth consuming. I am taking a break after season six, but I plan on circling back around to to finish this up.
Captain America: Brave New World
You’re Cordially Invited
This was recommended to by my wife and I’m a Will Ferrell fan, so we watched this. The person who told her about this one has lost recommendation privileges for a while.
1 of 5 stars.
Animal: The Cage Returns 2024
Vinland Saga Season 2
4 of 5 stars. Full review here.
The Old Guard
This one and the three below were all rewatches with the wife and friends over the New Year/Snow break.
Remember The Titans
Step Up 2: The Streets
Stick It
I Am Weez 