Media notes: Roundup for May 2026

 

 

  

 

Welcome to my somewhat random selection of the movies and series on DVD and/or online I watched during May 2026.

Movies and films (links to themoviedb.org or Wikipedia for basic information unless noted otherwise). Some of these I watched via TubiTv.com or other online source. The DVDs come from the public library (unless noted otherwise). In addition, I will try to add other trivia notes, such as when a film is based on a book adding the information about the book (at least the WorldCat record if available). 

• Don't Breathe (2016. Horror. Thriller.Crime). Plot description: "A group of teens break into a blind man's home thinking they'll get away with the perfect crime. They're wrong."  I had not heard of this one before until Tubi showed it as a suggestion to watch. The trailer looked good enough. It's one of those in the genre of badass guy minding his own business when outsiders decide to mess with him for some reason, and hell then breaks loose for them. The small gang has specific rules: they mostly steal small valuables, no cash, to avoid charges of grand larceny if they get caught. However, the rumor the blind man has a large amount of money in the house, due to a legal settlement he got, is too much of a temptation for them. We get a bit of background on the thieves, very little, as they plan the heist, but let's be honest; these are not people deserving of sympathy given their crimes. An interesting detail, to me at least, is some of the ways the Blind Man knows or can tell there are people in his home whether from hearing or a good sense of smell. This was an unexpected thriller for me. Good amount of suspense and tension throughout. Plus, just when you think things can't get worse, we get a twist at the middle of the film revealing how far the Blind Man will go. Good performances from Stephen Lang as the Blind Man and Jane Levy as Rocky. The pace moves well, and it keeps going. The ending act may feel a bit drawn, but it still works well. This film keeps you at the edge of the seat, and while I am not sympathetic to the thieves, you do end up wondering if any of them will make it or not. This is pretty good, and I would recommend it. I understand there is a sequel, and I may try to find it. 4 out of 5 stars. Watched 5/2. 
• 2018 (Thriller. Action. Adventure. Indian film. Also known as 2018: Everyone is a hero). Plot description: "A disaster film set during the 2018 Kerala Floods where people from all walks of life faced catastrophic consequences and put in collective efforts to survive the calamity." Watched via TubiTv, which had the film dubbed in Spanish. I did not realize that until I started watching the film. Not an issue for me, though I admit I have not watched a Spanish dub in a while. Film starts introducing the various characters in the story, folks from various walks of life. Soon it starts raining, but initially it is just the usual rain, so life goes on. Until the rain continues, a new low pressure front moves in, and disaster comes with an unprecedented storm. Once the disaster is apparent, the people start rallying to help each other. Overall, a good drama, though the film can feel a bit long at times; it has a 2-hour and 28 minutes run time. Some moving moments, including the ending. We mostly follow the various small stories as people come together in the face of the floods. 3 out of 5 stars. Watched 5/10.
• Basis of the film was the 2018 Kerala Floods. Note from the looks of it, flooding in the area seems to happen often, but this year was particularly bad.
• The Moon (2023. Science Fiction. Drama. Disaster film. South Korean. Alternate title: Deu Mun). Plot description: "One astronaut, Sun-woo is left stranded in space. Facing another fatal catastrophe, the Naro Space Center turns to its former managing director Kim Jae-guk to help bring Sun-woo back home safely."  Tubi recommended this one as similar to something else I watched, but I can't recall similar to what now. Anyhow, sounds pretty good so took a chance on it. I've been happy with many of the Asian films I've been finding and watching on Tubi. The movie is a pretty good drama, though the tension of the United States refusing to help, comes across as just mean. Not just mean but outright mean and petty (though for the U.S. not surprising). Then there is the tension between Kim and the current director, who seems a bit more worried about his ego than doing the right thing and looking good for his superiors. Meanwhile, as for the mission, just when you think Sun-woo can get a break, something else worse happens. This is a reason the movie feels long; the writers kept adding obstacle after obstacle, but it does keep the tension of the film going strong. The suspense is quite good as we all wonder will they manage to get Sun-woo back home. And if that is not enough, there is a twist or two revealed. Overall, a solid thriller that keeps you on the edge to the very end. 4.5 out of 5 stars. Watched 5/16.
• Dracula 3000 (2004. Horror. Vampires. Science Fiction). Plot description: "On a routine mission, a salvage ship discovers a transporter vessel that vanished a century ago, unveiling a mystery far greater than they imagined." The movie is OK. A bit of Dracula retelling with a small touch of Alien,  but without the horror. This had potential, but it failed to capitalize on it. So we get a cheesy, somewhat slow science fiction film that is barely a thriller. The ending was also a bit abrupt. In the end, it was OK, so 2 out of 5 stars barely. Via TubiTv. Watched 5/24. 
• To leave no doubt this is a Dracula film, there are nods and details back to the original book. The transporter ship is the Demeter, and its Captain is named Abraham Van Helsing. The intern is named Mina, and of course Count Orlock is Dracula.  The system the ship is lost in is the Carpathian system.
• The captain of the Demeter, long dead by time the salvage ship finds them, left recordings that we see every so often in the film. This kind of goes back to the letters we get in the novel.  

 

Television and other series (basic show information links via Wikipedia unless noted otherwise). Some of these come in DVD from the public library. Others may be via YouTube, which, as noted before, I keep finding all sorts of other old shows in it, often full episodes:

• Gordon Ramsay's Secret Service (2025. Reality. Restaurants. Cooking). Plot description: Since often when Ramsay visits, restaurants try to clean themselves up before he gets there, this time he infiltrates restaurants with help of an insider to see what really happens. He enters a place after hours, sees the real messes, then later returns to help them. The insider's identity is not revealed until the end of each episode. This is a short show of only one season with 14 episodes, so I took a chance. If you like other shows where a celebrity expert goes in to fix a business, or you have seen other Ramsay shows, you may like this one. This one is OK. Fairly fast paced, though it takes days in the reality to fix a place. Some drama, as you expect in this kind of show, not as much as other Ramsay shows like say Hell's Kitchen. I thought the nicest episode was the one for the Eritrean restaurant and its very sweet matriarch owner. Overall not a big deal but entertaining enough. 
• A bit of the fun in watching the show is trying to guess who the insider is before an episode ends.  
• Also a small fun detail is to see what fake business name they give Ramsay's surveillance truck every week.
•  Gordon Ramsay's 24 Hours to Hell and Back (2018-2020. Reality. Restaurants. Cooking). Plot description: The premise here is Ramsay will attempt to fix a restaurant and get it back on track in 24 hours. To do so, his team and him travel in a giant truck that serves as command center and mobile training kitchen. Before fixing the place, he visits it undercover, wearing a disguise, often with guests, to assess the place. If you liked shows like his Secret Service (see above) or maybe Kitchen Nightmares (I tend to prefer his original British show, but 24 Hours is closer in style to the American version of Kitchen Nightmares), you may like this one. I saw Tubi had it, read a bit about it, took a chance and started it at the end of the month. It has three seasons, and I finished the first season, then about halfway into the second season by end of May. 
• Kojak (1973-1978. Action. Crime. Drama).  The classic police drama procedural with Telly Savalas in the title role as Lieutenant Detective Theophilus "Theo" Kojak. I continue this month starting with Season 5, episode 3. TubiTv lost the series at the end of April, but I managed to find that the Roku Channel had it on their stream, so I finished the series over on Roku in May. Overall, it is very much a 1970s series, but the stories are good for the most part, and many of the themes still hold up well. 
• Again, in actors you have seen elsewhere, Armand Assante appears in season 5, episode 6.  
• In season 5, episode 16, Shelley Winters is the guest star as a not so good con woman who happens to be sister in law to Captain McNeil.  
• In episode 19 of season 5 we see Jeff Conaway. Some of us know him later as security chief Zack Allen in Babylon 5.