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I've been watching the X-Files.  I'm into season 3.
It's a real mixed bag and for the most part has aged incredibly badly.
That said I haven't got sick of watching it (yet) and there are a few good episodes sprinkled throughout.

What I find most fun is the over-arching storyline clearly had absolutely no direction or purpose.  I'm not sure if they thought that trying to be enigmatic would provide cover for them just winging it.

Another thing that is interesting is just how little agency the leads have in these stories - particularly the monster-of-the-week episodes.  Things just happen around them and they often don't actually achieve anything.  It was awful in the first season, especially.  They'd show up, Moulder would have all the answers, things happened around them, then they'd leave (Moulder is in arsehole as well).  I think the better episodes are the ones that have them being active and accomplishing things.

If I manage to get to the end of the show I'd probably find it an interesting experience, but not one I'd likely repeat.  I don't have strong nostalgia for the show and it's got a lot of problems I'm not sure I'd be willing to tolerate again.

I remember Mystery Men being fun.  Haven't seen it in years.  Could have aged terribly.

Far From Home was the last Marvel film I bothered watching.  After not enjoying the Avengers films that came before it I realised I just didn't have the energy for those films any more.

But I did have the energy to watch all the Trancers films that stared Tim Thomerson.  My favourite was Trancers 3 and Andrew Robinson's entertaining performance.  Good times.

I watched all of the original Macross and started watching the original Gundam.

I see why Neon Genesis Evangelion exists the way it does a little better (not that I really needed context for those aspects).

I did not like Macross and Gundam.  They are both pretty toxic, frustrating and boring shows.  I gave up on Gundam when it looked like the show was going to be bold and explore the stress and trauma being inflicted on the child soldier main character.  But it didn't.  He gets slapped about by an adult and insulted by a friend and that fixes everything.  The concept of what is 'selfish' that is presented by the show is gross.  It was at that point I realised I was having a very unenjoyable time and I just gave up on it.

Nevertheless, I enjoy other media that has problems.  The kicker is I found them to both be very dull.  The only interesting things happening are the bad things and it just didn't make for a fun time.

It's a shame.  I'm still interested in exploring the franchises but I don't know what point in the series' to move to for something I have a better chance of getting into.  And I'm tired of watching stuff I haven't been enjoying to take the chance on something new again.

But I do like Neon Genesis Evangelion a little more, now.

[The One]

Bloodsport is an absolute Marvel. Its riddled with continuity errors - I think at one point a guy is seen cheering a fight he is actually in - and the acting in it is so abysmal it crosses the event horizon and becomes fun - JCVD is one of the better actors in it which says a lot. One of my favourites is the Filipino guy who is supposedly an arab. Or the OK USA guy. Or the kid that plays young Frank and can barely speak English.

The best thing about it though is 100% what an absolute bullshitter Frank Dux is and I'd urge anyone who doesn't know about him to read up on him because he is hilarious. From claiming he won underground fighting tournaments so secret nobody else in the world knows about them to saying he gave away all his prizes to pirates to secure the rescue of orphans, the bloke is a world class fantasist.

This is the film that kickstarted our JCVD marathon. Although objectively very bad it's got some charm that makes it better than a lot of his other films like Cyborg (boring) Sudden Death (cruel) or Hard Target (humourless and mainly boring). Kickboxer in places is superb, but (as with a lot of 80s films) there's a nasty sexual assualt bit that sours it. If you've seen Bloodsport and Universal Soldier you've done the best of his early ones ones I'd think although Lionheart / AWOL is good as is Double Impact.

I didn't mind Time Cop.  That one was fine.  Nothing especially remarkable or egregious - just okay.

I despise Kickboxer.  The way it handles rape is revolting.  Thinking about it makes me angry to this day. 

I moved on from JCVD films.  Watched The One.  It's fine, I guess.  A short film and it feels like it.  The only real fun to be had with it is Jason Statham's attempt at an accent.  What accent, I do not know.  It's not even consistent.

Maybe I'll watch Ghost's of Mars this coming movie night.  Haven't seen it in a while and it's been on my mind lately.

[Neon Genesis Evangelion]

Okay.  Neon Genesis Evangelion.  I thought the ending was fine.  Stuck to the core themes of the series and resolved them.  There is certainly plenty to appreciate with the series as a whole.  The animation is top tier stuff - it looks great.  It's interesting and ambitious.  Nevertheless, I found it hard work.  I was not entertained for the most part, I didn't connect with the characters and it hasn't left much of an impression on me.  Plus there were certain things that rubbed me up the wrong way.

I can see why it has critical acclaim, I can see why some people might not like the ending, I can see why someone would hate the show in it's entirety.  I'm pretty ambivalent towards it.  I don't regret watching it, but I don't think it's likely I'll give it a second viewing.

I've now started watching Dirty Pair.

I am nearing the end of Neon Genesis Evangelion.  I'll be watching the last two episodes today.

One thing I was aware of before going in is there was dissatisfaction about the ending of the series.  My curiosity is at it's peak with this now.  I have a feeling of what kind of mood and resolution the series should have to appropriately cap it off and I think it's probably the 'unpopular' ending.

If I'm satisfied with the original ending I don't think I'll watch the revision(s?).  I'll find out today.

[Bloodsport]

Watched Bloodsport.  Another film I watched a number of times as kid but never revisited since.  It's okay as an action film.  Lots of clunky deliveries, silly story - what's that?  It's based on true events?  Hahahaha, I don't remember that part, but no.  That's preposterous.  Soooo, I did a little post movie research and it being based on a fraud is my favourite thing about the film now.

I don't remember watching any other JCVD films as a kid, so it's possibly time to move on.

[Timecop]

I stay with Van Damme last night and watched Timecop because it's a movie called Timecop.  It was fine.  Not as good as Universal Soldier, considerably better than Universal Soldier: The Return.  Silly sci-fi action movie - not much else I can say.

I really enjoy 1408.  Never read a Stephen King book, so have no comments about the source material, but I find the film engaging and interesting with a bleakness that didn't seem mean spirited.

[Universal Soldier - Day of Reckoning]

Universal Soldier - Day of Reckoning

Certainly an improvement over the previous two films.  I like that it went at the concept from a different angle.  The film made good use of what was available.  Nevertheless, I think it was clear that both JCVD and Dolph Lundgren were only available for a day or two and that there was a limited budget.
Not a film for the literal minded as it eschews coherent exposition and narrative in favour for esoteric storytelling - which I'd say was the right call.  If you're going to have to cobble a movie together due to budget restraints then make it a feature rather than a failure.  I'd say I enjoyed it.

[Universal Soldier - Regeneration]

I was going to suggest that Universal Soldier - Regeneration would have benefited from being shorter - but I just checked the runtime and it's 90 minutes.  Oh dear.

There are good ideas in the film.  A lot of stuff is done competently.  Ugly quick-cut action scenes aside, it's shot well.  The soundtrack was atmospheric but not necessarily in keeping with the tone, so created a bit of dissonance (and maybe, with its creepy ambiance, foreshadowing for the film to come).  There were some decent/good performance, but it wasn't universal.
Overall, however, there was a lot of redundancy.  A 90 minute film shouldn't feel that long so there is clearly a shit ton of padding.  I think it was going for a particular tone - given the soundtrack, editing and framing - but it missed the mark entirely.

The Return was a lot worse, but I feel like it's going to stick in my head for a long while.  Regeneration feels like it will be easily forgettable.  Which is a shame, because it's the better film and it's doing some good stuff.

[Guyver]

I finished Guyver yesterday - the tv series not the ova series.  The manga is on my list to read.  It's silly fun that I still enjoy.

Started Neon Genesis Evangelion today.  I've seen the first two episodes before - but at the time I wasn't in the mood for anime, so I didn't get any further.

I'll bat for UNIVERSAL SOLDIER: DAY OF RECKONING any day of the week.

Genuinely excellent little movie.

Of my brief research into the sequels, that one seemed the most interesting and is pretty much the reason I decided to watch the sequels.  I'm still going to manage my expectations going into it.

[Universal Soldier: The Return]

Against all sensible advise I watched Universal Soldier: The Return.  I skipped the two direct tv-movie sequels.

It's a bad film in an interesting way.  It's a collage of derivative elements implemented with, what seems, a lack of a surface level understanding of each part.  A heavy metal soundtrack that screams late 90's and explosions that would make Michael Bay wet with excitement. I'd say the pyrotechnicians bought their A game to this film, with a climatic wall of fire to end the film.  And it pretty much does end with the explosion - it's very abrupt.

Generally speaking, the incompetents on display is impressive.  I probably won't watch it a second time.  The films ineptitude is what kept me engaged and I don't think that has enough value for repeat viewings.

The next sequel, apparently the third direct sequel to the first film, has Dolph return.

[Universal Soldier]

Continuing my journey in revisiting films I haven't seen in a long while I watched Universal Soldier.

I enjoyed it more than I was expecting.  Dolph Lundgren puts in a fun performance and the narrative is very basic - which works for it's benefit because it's a reasonably dumb film.  Ally Walker brings the much needed charm to counter-balance Jean-Claude Van Damme's robotic interpretation of his bland character (his best moment was a diner scene).  It was all just a lot of silly fun for 100 minutes.

There are sequels as well.