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Captain America: Brave New World – Julius Onah (2025)

  • action

The speed with which new Marvel movies are put out is staggering. This time they did not introduce yet another new set of heroes, but we have a new episode in the series on the oldest of Marvel heroes: Captain America.

I am unsure if I already saw that it is no longer Buck Rogers who is Captain America, but Sam Wilson. In any case, Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford) used to be the bad guy, now he is the president of the USA. He is actually trying be good and do something for the world.

A material even stronger than “Vibranium” has been found, Ross tries to prevent falling it into the hands of one country. Of course there is a bad guy with other plans and he elaborately plans the downfall of both Ross and Captain America.

But you know what? Captain America saves the world!

Canary Black – Pierre Morel (2024)

  • action

So, some people wanted to make a ‘one girl army’ movie, but did not have a whole lot of inspiration for a story.

The film starts with Avery (Kate Beckingsale) who is some top notch CIA agent without her husband knowing. Then the husband is kidnapped by terrorists who blackmail Avery to get them some file in exchange for her husband’s life.

No need to tell you what comes after. Avery gets the entire world behind her, but her super skills make her perform her given task. Towards the end there is some drama and revenge.

The film is well produced, but the story is very, very weak.

The Shape Of Water – Guillermo del Toro (2017)

Another nice Del Toro film in which a scientist in the 1960’ies found a human-like, but water-born creature that he investigates in a secret laboratory. The mute (but not deaf) Elisa develops contact and later a friendship of sorts with the creature. When she learns that there are plans to elimate the creature, she develops a plan to set it free.

With the familiar nice camera work, dreamy atmosphere, slightly odd characters, subtle humour and good dialogues, Del Toro unfolds his ‘faerie tale’. Perhaps this is all you need to know before seeing it.

Mr. & Mrs. Smith – Doug Liman (2005)

  • action

I do not think I ever saw this film. It is quite entertaining though.

John (Brad Pitt) and Jane (Angelina Jolie) accidentally meet and soon get married. Both are guns for hire, but they hide that for the other half. After a storming start their relationship becomes a typical, ‘vanilla’ relationship of a couple that does not communicate and couple’s counceling.

Unsurprisingly, Mr. and Mrs. Smith get to be assigned to both sides of a job. Initially they try to kill each other after that job gone wrong, then they make up, but get their respective employers after them and as an invincible duo, they fight back.

No surprises, but amusing dialogues and allright action.

Finisterrae – Sergio Caballero (2010)

  • arthouse

Another oldie that can be streamed on the website of the International Film Festival Rotterdam.

Two ghosts are tired of being ghosts and they learn that when they first travel to Santiago de Compostella and then to Finistera that they might be able to gain a physical body again.

As you can expect, what follows is a slow, minimalist, absurdistic ‘road’ movie in which we follow the two ghosts. One scene has music of Suicide.

A Spell to Ward Off the Darkness – Rivers & Russell (2013)

Currently, the 2025 edition of the International Film Festival Rotterdam is runnning and since Covid-19 they also have an online program. A part of the online program consists of films that have been featured on the festival before.

In “A Spell To Ward Off The Darkness” we more or less follow Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe. The first third of the film is filmed in some sort of summercamp or commune which appears to be placed in the Finish countryside. Living in wooden cabins, sharing a sauna and having conversations, we follow a group of young adults and some of their children. There are long shots of nature and the like.

The second third focusses on Lowe as he makes a solo walk through nature. It seems that this part is shot in Estonia.

The third part is a black metal concert in a small place in Oslo. Lowe is a guitarist and occasional vocalist in an unnamed band.

Slow, minimalist, somewhat interesting.

Late Night With The Devil – Cameron & Colin Cairnes (2023)

  • horror

And so it came to pass that I saw two horror films in one weekend, while I usually skip the genre. Both films are quite interesting though.

Jack Delroy has a popular late night talkshow in the 1970’ies. After some succesful years, the number of viewers is going down and Jack and his producer are trying to think of ways to win back the attention of the television audience.

On Halloween evening, the show interviews a medium and intents to pursue on that ‘occult path’. Jack knows of a psychologist who treats a young girl who was born, raised and abused in a sect. It appears that the girl is possessed.

The evening that Judy and Lilly are to be interviewed, all hell literally breaks loose and while the film until then was mostly a peek into the 1970’ies television business, horror elements are rapidly introduced.

All in all an interesting watch.

Mandy – Panos Cosmatos (2018)

  • horror

This film had been on my wish list for a while. A horror of Panos “Beyond The Black Rainbow” Cosmatos.

Mandy and lumberjack Red (Nicholas Cage) live in a remote wooden cabin. When a sinister sect moves into a building close by, the leader lets his eye fall on Mandy. His henchman kidnap Mandy at night, while leaving Red nailed to a tree in their garden. Mandy does not conform to the leader’s wishes and the sect set Mandy on fire while Red is watching. Red sets out for revenge.

The first part of the film is a surreal hippy type film with bright colours and a psychedelic rock score not entirely unlike “Beyond The Black Rainbow”. It looks quite nice. The sect brings a bit of an occult tone.

Especially after the kidnap, the film turns into a slasher horror. The tone gets darker, less psychedelic and Cage is allowed to do ‘his thing’. This is not the most interesting part of the film, but all in all “Mandy reminds me that I should perhaps not leave aside the horror genre entirely.

Bad Boys: Ride or Die – El Arbi & Fallah (2024)

Only picked because I felt like watching an action comedy. I do not think I even saw the previous “Bad Boys” (1995, 2003, 2020) films.

Smith and Lawrence make an amusing couple, a bit screwball hero cops. After an amusing opening scene, a fairly weak story unfolds in which the Bad Boys’ deceased boss is accused of working with the enemy. Mike and Marcus set out to prove everybody wrong.

So your usual car chases, action scenes, shootouts, evil bad guys, drama and of course witty dialogues. The results is a somewhat amusing film.

Dr. Who and the Daleks – Gordon Flemyng (1965)

Between 2021, when I reviewed “Daleks’ Invasion Earth” and now, we started to watch the second incarnation of the BBC series. I still have not figured out what the whole ‘Dr. Who universe’ looks like. There were BBC series between 1963 and 1989 (!). In the meantime several films were made. The series were recreated in 2005 and Wikipedia and IMDb.com do not have an ‘end year’, so I guess the series are still running. There are also movies called “Doctor Who”, there appear to be other series, spin-offs and what not.

The present title was released a year before “Daleks’ Invasion” and is from the same director with the same actor for Dr. Who. I remember the 1966 film to be quite amusing, this 1965 is somewhat amusing, but looks a bit dated.

In the 1965 movie, Dr. Who just created his Tardis and when he wants to demonstrate it, he lands on a desolate planet which proves to be inhabited by both Daleks and “the thals”. We learn that Daleks are creatures that created their robot costumes to prevent themselves from self-inflicted radiation.

With some minor adventures, Dr. Who and three others save the thals from the Daleks.

The stages look good, the acting reminds a bit of old time family television.