Flavours of the Month: January/February 2026...

A grizzled Finn on the rampage, banging synth rock, and a cloud-scraping Knight are some of what's been setting the tone of my January/February 2026...

Click "READ MORE" below to see this month's looks, sounds, vibes & flavours...

LOOKS:

Die Hard: The Legacy Collection (Blu-Ray) - in order of preference, the series pans out for me thusly: #1, #3, and #2 all close together (but the repeated elements of the second film, trying to trace copy the original movie, do objectively hamper it). #4, particularly in its original PG-13 form (the only version included on this collection for some odd reason), sits at a distance from the first three films, yet despite some wobbles and an abandonment of the philosophy of John McClane's abilities (the battle with a jet fighter is egregious), it's all-round a pretty solid movie.

Then we come to A Good Day To Die Hard ... ... oh dear. I hated it upon my first viewing and now, years later, for a second viewing, my opinion hasn't changed much. There's some good action set pieces (such as the smashy bashy car chase through Moscow), but their style and tone don't match the feel of a John McClane movie, much like the snap zooms and shaky cam aesthetic in a 1.85:1 ratio, as opposed to the smoother style in 2.35:1 ratio of previous entries.

The fifth movie also struggles with its villain. As opposed to a clear main baddie, we've essentially got three or four individuals all vying for our attention in what becomes a muddled narrative as McClane is turned into a cartoonish American in a foreign land. The preposterous fobbing-off of radiation during a visit to Pripyat is similarly buffoonish. Had it been its own thing it might have worked better, but as a Die Hard film it fumbles the ball.

Fallout: Season 2 - one episode per week felt unnecessarily drawn-out, but this seems to be the new wheeze by streamers to keep their shows 'in the conversation', even if it inevitably hampers the storytelling pace because returning to the old broadcast model but with shows written for the streaming age style is an ill-match. Nonetheless, I thoroughly enjoyed it, even if some plotlines felt a bit thin and cast aside, such as that of Lucy's brother, whose minimal progress felt even more modest thanks to the aforementioned broadcast schedule. Roll on season three!

Chain Reactions - documentary written and directed by Alexandre O. Philippe (Doc of the Dead, 78/52) about Tobe Hooper's 1974 slasher horror classic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Being that the making of the film has already been well covered, this doc views the film through the eyes of five individuals who had deep connections with it: Patton Oswalt, Takashi Miike, Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Stephen King, and Karyn Kusama. There's some very interesting contextual takes throughout this one, including some entertaining personal stories.

Ballerina (Blu-Ray) - a second go-round with this one. It definitely deserved to do better at the box office than it did, loaded with kick-arse action set pieces and gorgeous location work as it is. There was a Filmento video on YouTube that pointed out all the different ways that the film subverts expectations and injects fresh ideas into its action sequences, such as the 'tooling up' scene suddenly being interrupted by an armed squad of baddies and then having the heroine be in a gun shop filled with weapons but no access to any ammo, so she has to resort to using grenades to halt her attackers.

The film also rocks in that it knows how to portray a female action character properly, being honest about how she isn't going to be able to physically out-match (let alone match) many of her beefed-up male opponents, so she must rely on fighting dirty and using the environment around her to gain any type of advantage possible. This idea was similarly successful in Atomic Blonde, another female action flick that I'd definitely want to see a sequel to - not that either film is likely to get a follow-up, unfortunately, for one reason or another.

Free Bert: Season 1 - Netflix comedy series from comedian Bert Kreischer, in which he and his family get into various scrapes as they try to settle their daughters into a new and exclusive L.A. school. I had fun with this one all said and done, and it breezes along nicely. The actress playing Bert's youngest daughter steals every scene she's in, which is certainly saying something when sharing a scene with the larger-than-life Kreischer.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: Season 1 - created by Ira Parker and George R. R. Martin, based on the latter's story "Tales of Dunk and Egg", this Game of Thrones spin-off takes a more modest approach while keeping the rich textures of GoT's production and storytelling. Focusing on a lowly 'Hedge Knight' named Ser Duncan The Tall, an unusually moral and kindly individual in this bloodthirsty world, as he enters a tournament with the accompaniment of a small boy nicknamed Egg, the show moves along at a brisk pace (30 to 40 minutes each for six episodes). Indeed, the pace and tone of this series stands in pleasant contrast to the good, but ever-so serious, House of the Dragon.

To have a genuinely kind and heroic male as the lead - in the GoT world, no less - has wound up becoming somewhat revolutionary in this era of television, for a multitude of reasons and approaches, and its all the warmer for it. The trailers played up the humour in this show to an extent that had me concerned it would be 'too modern' in its tongue with an almost sadistic pleasure in undercutting its hero, but it seems that was just the curiousness of the clips used in the trailer, because the actual show is far more balanced than previously suggested - and still contains some quite brutal moments of violence, especially in the penultimate episode of the season. A second season is already confirmed, which is good news, because I'm definitely up for more of this.

We Kill For Love: The Lost World of the Erotic Thriller - directed by Anthony Penta, this is a stylish and entertaining documentary exploring the genre of erotic thrillers (e.g. Fatal Attraction, Basic Instinct, Sliver, Jade, and so on) from its mainstream hits to its straight-to-video and cable TV popularity. Informed and informative, it makes for a fascinating and scintillating watch.

Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy - true crime drama series created by Patrick Macmanus, starring Michael Chernus as the eponymous Illinois serial killer who murdered over thirty young men and teen boys, burying most of them underneath his own house. The bulk of the series is very well written with excellent performances throughout, taking time to show some of the lives and circumstances of a handful of the victims, whilst generally managing to sidestep heavy-handed 2020s moralising within a 1970s context: raw honesty and stepping back to observe is the approach here, one that has always been the most effective and timeless.

The last couple of episodes get a little scattered, hopping back and forth in their timelines, with the final episode in particular feeling as if large chunks have been left on the cutting room floor (or brushed aside in the writer's room). The finale does highlight one more indignity that was dropped upon the families of the victims on the night of Gacy's execution, but the reveal is blown much too early, so the impact on the audience and the characters on-screen are totally mis-matched. However, despite the wobbles of the last two episodes, this is a particularly well-made dramatisation over-the-piece and is recommended viewing.

Dune: Part One and Part Two (Blu-Ray)

Sisu: Road to Revenge (Blu-Ray) - sequel to the 2022 Finnish action film, reuniting writer/director Jalmari Helander and his silent-but-extremely-deadly star Jorma Tommila. Having fought off a bunch of gold-thieving Nazis in the dying days of World War II in the first movie, the sequel sees Aatami, the grizzled survivor of untold horrors, go up against the man who butchered his family: Yeagor Dragunov (Stephen Lang), unleashed by the KGB to put an end to the legendary Aatami. With a much stronger emotional underpinning to the story, the film successfully juggles the expected lashings of bloodthirsty violence with a more heartfelt journey for Aatami, as he seeks to transport his old home from formerly Finnish territory that has since been handed over to the Russians after the end of the Second World War.

Naturally, the surprise of the original film is lost when you step into sequel territory, yet the streamlined but emotionally solid story keeps the audience invested. Meanwhile, the over-the-top and thoroughly brutal action sequences gradually ramp-up over the course of the film in the most delightful fashion, consistently keeping the viewer on their toes and buoyed for the duration of this admirably efficient film. Much like the original movie, Sisu 2: Road to Revenge is going to stand up to multiple viewings. While a third film isn't strictly necessary, if the right story and circumstances presented themselves for one then I'd absolutely devour it with relish.

Formula 1 Drive To Survive: Season 8


SOUNDS:

Harry Nilsson "Jump Into The Fire"

Carpenter Brut "The Misfits/The Rebels", "Speed or Perish"

AC/DC "Fly On The Wall" (album)

Rob Zombie "I'm A Rock n Roller"

The Offspring "Ixnay On The Hombre" (album)

Blur "Boys & Girls", "Parklife"

Anthony Marinelli & Brian Banks "The Graveyard Shift (End Credits Theme)"

Noiselund ft. Red Letter Media "Look At Me (Bop Bop Bop)"

Foo Fighters "Your Favourite Toy"

Iron Maiden "The Number of The Beast", "Bring Your Daughter ... To The Slaughter", "Can I Play With Madness"

Rob Zombie "The Great Satan" (album)


VIBES & FLAVOURS:

"Making Monsters: Inside Stories From The Creators of Hollywood's Most Iconic Creatures" by Howard Berger & Marshall Julius

RoboCop: Rogue City Unfinished Business (Xbox Series S) - stand alone expansion for the kick ass FPS game that came out a couple of years back. There are some downsides, unfortunately, such as the curious stutters that randomly occur, as well as seemingly not being able to transfer your character upgrade tree from the main game. It's also disappointing that the dev team haven't tweaked the shooting mechanics, as they still feel a bit clunky, stiff, and strangely difficult to be a slick and precise shot like the metal man of justice himself. The lack of a manual save option is also irksome and the things that lacked polish in the original game still persist.

The story is okay, although fiddling with the importance of Bob Morton in RoboCop's backstory is iffy, such retroactive re-writes typically are. The location of Omni Tower has potential, but it mostly traps the player in an endless succession of grey concrete corridors and steel rooms with no windows to speak of, which quickly becomes dull and repetitive. Compared to the original game I'm disappointed, however, the hefty strengths of its predecessor still carry over and, not to forget, a major highlight comes later in the game when you get to control an ED-209 and go on a rampage of destruction, even tangling with three other ED units amidst a giant model of Delta City. Then, come the shoot 'em up finale - triumphant Robo theme playing - you can't help but grin as your upgraded weapon shreds through enemy armour with devastating effect.

"Rita Hayworth & Shawshank Redemption" by Stephen King

"World Formula One Records" by Bruce Jones

"The Body" by Stephen King