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The team behind The Red Shoes (1948) and The Tales of Hoffmann (1951) updated "The Bat" for the needs of the mid-1950s. Strauss's music is immortal, and the foundations of the libretto by Meilhac and Halévy are probably also immortal, because otherwise it would have been impossible to appeal through them for the Allies to leave occupied Austria. Anton Walbrook (Wohlbrück) is at his best as Dr. Falke, who kindly urges the Allies to leave for once and return as friends. Ludmilla Tchérina as Rosalinda is fascinating, only Anneliese Rothenberger is truly weak this time (she’s too mature and settled). If there is one work that is synonymous with modern Austria, it is "The Bat".

The Munsters' Revenge is a sad swan song. The ideas are there, the willingness too, and the main actors were perfectly in tune with their roles, but the pause was too long. So what would have been an interesting two-parter of the old series becomes an undignified standalone revival. Phantom of the Opera's cousin (based on Chaney) is basically a genius character, but would be terrifying in black and white. He's just insanely entertaining this way. The other monsters, like the Bride of Frankenstein (based on Elsa Lanchester), are reprehensibly underused, although the masks are excellent. And worse, Lily gets almost no space. For Munster lovers, it’s routine, others don’t need to bother with it. Their golden era was concluded in the film Munster, Go Home!

Although I can't stand the first Discostory, I have quite a soft spot for the second one (in the context of the perverse films of the first half of the 90s). That's why I didn't immediately hate Decibels of Love. Various strange throwbacks to once-popular films in the style of The Great Thaw can be pretty decent stuff for the hardened viewer. But here we encounter a film that would have loved to have been Discostory 3, but it wasn't.

The conclusion of Maria Theresa's biography. It is clear that the whole film was supposed to be a two-part film. The story of the young Marie Antoinette turned out beyond expectations.

Marie Terezie continues, this time wearing the face of Steffi Reinsperger.

Maria Theresa's Pentalogy is particularly noteworthy as an example of a modern television co-production from some of the countries of the former Habsburg monarchy. Maria Theresa must be reintroduced to the youngest generation, not least because the gap in time is constantly widening. The TV saga therefore targets the widest audience willing to sit down in front of the screen on the first day of the new year and appreciate something seemingly worthwhile. If at least some of them eventually open the book or at least a few linked entries on Wikipedia, that's probably the best we can hope for.

This is one of those really weak romcoms. The idea is nice, but the execution is full of stupid clips about nothing. The only decent actor here is Reese Witherspoon, while Michael Sheen could have helped the film considerably if given more space, and unfortunately, the others only function as amateurs.

King's The Shining is quite an interesting long-running phenomenon, now comprising two novels (from 1977 and 2013), both of which have been made into films, the first also as a miniseries, and there's one more TV project to come, apparently called Overlook. So how good is the film version of Doctor Sleep? It’s a decent modern King film, with an excellent McGregor and a declaration of love for the original The Shining. It’s comparable to the new versions of It or Pet Sematary.

It's nice to also have Däniken in Marvel. I'm getting very picky about the MCU, I don't really need to see all the series, but this movie made me happy. Especially the reconstruction of the Ishtar Gate.

This is a horrible sequel that has lost any shred of judgement. The Child Empress is played by a twenty-year-old, and the original inhabitants of Fantasia more closely match the character designs of the later animated series. Even the antiquarian Coriander was suspended as a librarian in the school. Pointless pop culture references, unnecessary shopping mall scenes... Weak, very weak. Unfortunately, Ende lived to see it.