And another opinion piece about the stuff I’ve seen over the last couple of weeks.

(Update 2023: Added five-star-ratings [may diverge now from what I had in mind, years ago, when I wrote the text…].)

Film

Stoker (2013)

Interesting psychological thriller. The first act is a bit slow but then it grows into a dark tale with a very distinct visual appearence.
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

Identity Thief (2013)

Pretty bland mainstream Hollywood “comedy” (that’s actually a minsnomer, if not even an insult to every other real comedy out there); do not waste your time on it.
★☆☆☆☆ 1/5 stars

Iron Man 3 (2013)

Another sequel that looks like it was more driven to be made by the producers and accounting clerks than by the need to tell a good story. Sir Ben Kingsley is great (in both roles *cough*), Rebecca Hall’s arc is superfluous, RDJ shows again that he’s got the role down — but despite this: Story’s all over the place, a lot of WTF?! scenes (not in a good way) and a laughable showdown.
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

Lovelace (2013)

Looks and feels like a made-(very cheaply)-for-TV biopic. Yes, you can gaze at Amanda Seyfried (who I felt was miscast for this role, she was better in Chloe, but everything else is generic, below average drama without any impact on the viewer.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

Star Trek: Into Darkness (2013)

First off, I’m a Trekker, not as hardcore as I used to be, but still. Second, I really like well made popcorn-action movies. Third, other than the TV shows, the ‘Star Trek’ films were almost never anything to write home about. That all being said, it boils down to this: I didn’t like the previous instance of J. J. Abrams’s version much, it didn’t have much relation to the show I grew up admiring; it was just a more or less acceptable time waster, nothing memorable.
And this one is more of the same, just worse. By now I have the opinion that Star Trek doesn’t fit well on the big screen — a snooze fest like The Motion Picture or explosions-before-logic like Into Darkness being the worst variants one can expect.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

Kick-Ass 2 (2013)

The first one was a welcome and entertaining alternative to the recent surge in superhero movies, this second part feels unnecessary.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

Hell Baby (2013)

Saw the trailer, liked it. Saw the film, didn’t like it. It had a couple of cheap laughs, but that’s all. (And man, what was the budget on this thing, $10?!)
★☆☆☆☆ 1/5 stars

Hello I Must Be Going (2012)

I honestly can’t explain to myself what draws me to these kind of US-american indie films time and time again, especially since they very seldom pay off emotionally. Like in this case: The premise sounded interesting, but the result was not.
★☆☆☆☆ 1/5 stars

R.I.P.D. (2013)

*Yuck!* I like the actors, but this one was so much crap (and that’s not even taking into account the horrible visual effects). Skip it — better yet: Kill it with fire!
★☆☆☆☆ 1/5 stars

11:14 (Elevenfourteen) (2003)

Rewatch – Watched the DVD again: It’s still an interesting little flick.
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars