Skip to content

The Rip – Joe Carnahan (2026)

A rapidly chosen Netflix killing time movie turned out to be quite alright.

Produced by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, both took the leading parts in an action thriller in which policemen find a house where a gigantic amount of drug money is hidden. In a lengthy ‘who’s the bad guy’ it seems as if everybody is after the money, different police forces, cartels and the men on the floor. The suspect changes a couple of times, but this becomes a bit overdone towards the end where everybody in the film is shortly a subject for a few minutes.

The film has a nice, dense atmosphere of upcoming doom and a few violent outbursts.

Sinners – Ryan Coogler (2025)

This film has been on my whishlist for a while, but it being a horror it was not too high. The Golden Globes made it rise enough to watch it.

The film starts wonderfully with 1920’ies American black culture. Some blacks are still working on cotton plantations, while others have made their (criminal) ways in the big cities. Segregation is massive. KKK still rules.

Two brothers who have become rich in Chicago return to the area where they grew up with the idea to start a “juke”; a black music bar. They know the gifted blues musician Sammie who has got the gift to play away the veil that divides the ‘real’ and the ‘spirit’ worlds.

While dancing to (modernised for extra effect) blues and other black music, the “juke” is attacked and the film turns into a horror.

The first part is the most interesting. The horror part is alright.

Heads Of State – Ilya Naishuller (2025)

An action comedy with Idris Alba. I was curious if he would be funny. Well, “Heads Of State” is not a hilarious action comedy, rather an action film with some jokes. Alba does not get to make a lot of those.

The veteran prime minister of the UK (Alba) and the newly elected actor prime minister of the USA (Will Derringer) do not get along well. Still they agree to share the Air Force One for a visit to Poland.

During the flight, terrorists take down Air Force One, but the heads of state survive. They have to try to find their way to a safehouse in Poland. Of course this becomes a cock-fight turning into a buddies type of film with a lot of action and a few jokes.

Not boring, not great.

Of the director of the brilliant “Hardcore Henry” by the way.

Eden – Ron Howard (2024)

  • drama

Ritter moved to one of the Galapagos islands to work on a radical new philosophy. His manuscripts are literally shipped to newspapers who happily publish his adventures (and philosophy?).

These publications inspire other people to also travel to the island, so all the sudden Ritter and his partner are no longer in only inhabitents of the island, they are accompanied by a family. Convinced that the family will give up soon enough, Ritter does little to help them.

Later also a pomp “baroness” shows up with the wild idea to build a luxury hotel on the island. From then on the different parties are going to try to play out each other against one another.

“Eden” is an alright drama about human behavior, but not exactly a high-flyer.

House Of Guinness – Steven Knight (series 2025)

Sir Benjamin Guinness of the famous Guinness brewery (who had already taken over from his father) dies and he has specific plans for his business, inheritance and children. He had three sons and a daughter. The inheritance is not to the liking of all the children and two of the sons think of a way to both honour the will of their father and rule the business as they themselves seem fit.

We are talking late 19th century, right in the middle of big tensions in Ireland between Catholics and Protestants. The Guinness family is Protestant. Catholics form the working class and start an organisation (the Fenian Brotherhood) to fight their oppression. This divide still shows in Ireland today.

Violent clashes, unlikely alliances, impossible romances; the series show a dramatised version of the rapidly rising star of Guinness beer, the influence of the family in politics, the scandals they were involved in and the way they tried to navigate this minefield.

A fairly interesting series about an interesting time in history. Judging the massive cliff hanger with which the series ends, I suppose more seasons are to follow.

Infinite – Antoine Fuqua (2021)

  • action

The entire film I have wondered if I had not seen it before. Even my girlfriend thought so. Did I dislike it so much that I did not review it, did I just forget to review it or do I mix it up with another film?

In a bit of a “Matrix” type story, Max Wahlberg plays Evan McCouley who is seen as some sort of hero while he does not understand why. Apparently there are people remembering all their previous lives and having maintainted their skills too. McCouley supposedly is one of them, but he does not remember a thing.

The film opens with gigantic action scenes, while McCouley has to flee the enemy that he does not remember. Later he is taken to a place to fresh up his memory.

The action is spectacular, the story not all that bad, but the result is stil but an average action science fiction.

Memory – Martin Campbell (2022)

  • thriller

Liam Neeson is Alex Lewis, an aging contract killer who wants to leave the business. This wish is not granted and he is sent an another mission. When that involves killing a child, Alex decides to work his way up, killing the people behind the assignment.

It is somewhat amusing that Guy Pierce has an (interesting) role in a film about memory loss. He is the police officer working the case.

All in all “Memory” is but an average thriller though.

The Island – Michael Bay (2005)

  • action

Living in a strange facility, Lincoln Six Echo (Ewan McGregor) and Jordan Two Delta (Scarlett Johanson) manage to escape. Of course they are chased by the strong arm of the facility that they used to live in. When they manage to make it to LA, they decide to go back and release their fellow inmates.

The underlying theme of the film is somewhat interesting and there are implications that are still valid. Then there is the usual action, shooting, etc. and the friendship/romance of the two main characters.

Giri/Haji (series 2019)

Japanese cop Kenzo is sent to London to go pick up his brother Yuto who works for the Yakuza maffia. Pretending to be a student, Kenzo meets the British cop Sarah, first as his teacher, then as a colleague. The two develop a relationship that is one of the red threads of the series.

There are other storylines. Kenzo’s meets Rodney, a young gay prostitute of Japanese descent. Also there develops an odd relationship. Then we have Kenzo’s daughter who flees her parental home and also ends up in London. Kenzo’s parents live in his house and with him away, his wife has to take care of them, also when the father dies and that while their relationship is cooling down.

The series have crime and thriller elements, drama and especially the Kenzo/Sarah storyline is interesting.

An alright series.

Superman – James Gunn (2025)

  • action

What would James Gunn’s take on superman be? Well, some action, sure, but not the spectacle I expected/feared.

Superman suffers from a social media slandering campaign. His alien nature is used against him and fake news is used to discredit him. Of course there is a bad guy with bad plans for the world that needs to be overcome.

Drama, spectacle, American patriotism, everything you expect from a Hollywood action film is here. The result is ….well… perhaps not boring, but not great either. Especially the over use of CGI is quite annoying.