Originally published on 8 June 2024.
Last updated on 22 August 2026.
By now, this should be familiar to most of my readers. If you’re new here, don’t worry. It’s very straightforward: every three months I briefly discuss all the movies and TV series I have watched in that trimester. It’s all very subjective and while I try to give a bit of context, background and reasoning, I didn’t do any film studies. The length of each entry doesn’t reflect my esteem for it: just the fact that some movies or series are easier to say something about.
If you’re looking for recommendations: the entries with a poster next to them are topping my “you should watch this (for various reasons)” list.
The complete list of all the movies, series and documentaries I have seen is here.
Re-watch: Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith: After a moody Anakin we now get an emo Anakin. In theory, his character arc could be interesting, but with this actor and this directing it’s just annoying. I’m imagining what it could’ve been instead and now I’m sad.
Re-watch: Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope: It’s almost 50 years old and it still holds up. Sure, some of the dialogue is stilted and the acting wooden. But it’s a great adventure story, the special effects are still good, the soundtrack is of course amazing. They (literally) don’t make them like this anymore.
A Thousand Blows, Season 2:
There’s boxing, there’s a heist, there is our dependable trio of great actors (Erin Doherty, Malachi Kirby, Stephen Graham), there’s Victorian London. If you liked the first season, you’ll probably like the second, even though it is a little bit predictable in places.
Downton Abbey, Season 3:
Not all of the storylines work well, but the photography and production is a joy to look at and most of the actors do a great job. We’re out of the First World War so it’s more or less business as usual at the Abbey, but more soapy. We have a welcome addition to the regulars: Rose, the rebellious young niece.
Upgrade (2018) on Upgrade: This movie was recommended to me by the internet as preparation for Shadowrun role-playing campaign, focusing on near-future transhumanism. While the plot is a bit predictable, there’s solid world-building. The fight scenes are truly great (and shot in inventive ways), and with a runtime of 100 minutes, there’s no fat on the bones.
Wonder Man:
A new Marvel series, in which the superheroics are almost accidental. Sir Ben Kingsley reprises his role of Trevor Slattery and continues to steal scenes and hearts, just like he did in Iron Man 3 and Shang-Chi. He has excellent chemistry with Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, the titular Wonder Man. (No relation to Wonder Woman.)
Elysium:
(Another movie I watched as preparation for Shadowrun.) From Neill Blomkamp, the writer / director of the excellent District 9, comes this average scifi blockbuster. Elysium shows an earth that is sick and exhausted. The haves moved to Elysium, a utopian space station in Earth’s orbit, while the have-nots suffer below. The first act has excellent worldbuilding. The middle act is a bit unfocused and the plot already shows signs of magical coincidences to make things work. And then the third part made me snap my suspenders of disbelief and left me with a sour taste in my mouth.
Lie To Me (2009) on
Re-watch: Lie To Me, Season 1:
I’ve come to realise that I like police procedurals. There’s something very comforting in watching skilled professionals solve mysteries and crimes through expertise and teamwork. In this particular version, we have Dr. Cal Lightman (Tim Roth) working together with Dr. Gillian Foster (Kelli Williams). He’s an unorthodox British expert on micro-expressions, she’s a psychologist. They’re assisted by a hot-blooded Latina, a White nerdy guy and a Black, no-nonsense FBI agent. Together, they fight crime!
Microexpressions are actually a real thing. To quote Wikipedia: “A microexpression is a facial expression with very short duration. It is the innate result of a voluntary and an involuntary emotional response occurring simultaneously and conflicting with one another. (...) This results in briefly displaying their true emotions followed by a false emotional reaction.” Obviously, the TV series pushes this further and lets our protagonists be walking lie detectors. However, in this first season, there are limits to its accuracy and usefulness. It’s fun to see that even though you can (reasonably accurately) detect lies, you can’t convict people based on just that. You have to be creative to produce evidence.
2026 Q2
Daredevil: Born Again (2025, Season 2)
Downton Abbey (2010, Season 4-5)
The Punisher: One Last Kill (2026)
Downton Abbey, Season 4 & 5:
Not everything works well and there are serious pacing issues, but I’m still invested, and wondering where all the characters’ storylines are going. The theme of “the old days are fading fast, but we’re not sure we’re entirely on board with the new times” is a compelling one.
Re-watch: Lie To Me, Season 2:
The sophomore season of this procedural is unfortunately less consistent, which is probably also a result of the higher number of episodes. As is often the case with these, the protagonist’s “superpower” gets increased to a rather unbelievable (well, more unbelievable) level. I also noticed that it’s very firmly set in the post-9/11 United States, with some episodes involving the War on Terror.
Daredevil: Born Again (2025) on Daredevil: Born Again, Season 2:
The second season of the reborn Daredevil brings a welcome return of most of the regulars, plus Jessica Jones (Kirsten Ritter) in a supporting role. After the first season, in which the villain has gone legit as the mayor of New York, he now declares martial law and hunts down his critics without regard for the law. If this reminds you of certain aspects of contemporary American politics, it is because it should (and the show isn’t subtle about it). Unfortunately Daredevil doesn’t really commit to exploring the full ramifications of this.
All in all, it’s a solid season, but the final episode jumps the shark for fear of changing the status quo that is required of most superhero comics: you can play with the toys, but you always have to put them back in the box.
Fisk is wearing out his welcome, can we please get some other antagonists? No, not you, Dr. Glenn…
The Punisher: One Last Kill:
I’m not really sure why this exists. Is it needed for the upcoming Spider-Man movie? Was leading man Jon Bernthal bored? Is it a reboot / pilot for a new season of The Punisher after Daredevil was rebooted? Most likely, it’s necessary table-setting for the latest Spider-Man movie.
Whatever the case may be, the result is an action-packed 50 minutes where the Punisher does Punisher things: lament his past choices, and efficiently murder thugs by the dozens. Without an overarching storyline, it feels rather empty. Still worth your time, if only to see Bernthal in action again, and Andre Royo (“Bubbles” in The Wire) too.
