Quite a few 1-star reviews this time; seems to be a dead season…

Film

Pain & Gain (2013)

Rewatch – Still pretty good; like it.
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)

Too much style over substance and a tad too long. Lots of impressive stunt-work, but nothing more; quite a bit of CGI, too.

Overall, I could never understand the big excitement for the series itself, nor the hype for this fourth part (honestly, its mainly just a repetition of the same beats).
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

Ride with the Devil (1999)

Rewatch – It’s been a very long time since I saw this one the last (and up until now, only) time. But do remember that I liked it; so much, that it has been on my (private) Amazon wishlist…

Now, after seeing for a second time, I will remove it from the list – but don’t get me wrong! It’s still a good movie that I will recommend to anyone. But not the kind of movie that is great or so extraordinary that I must have it in my physical collection.

I like all the character moments and some individual scenes are applaudable; but from a story arc’s and dramatic point of view, it’s a bit meager, especially the second half.
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

Rumble in the Bronx (1995)

I don’t remember ever seeing it before. And I also realized now that I’ve mixed this one up with “Rush Hour” all those years: I guess due to the title, I assumed that this was Jackie Chan’s other US-breakthrough film… well, it was (as in: a hit in the USA), but despite the location/setting, this was still a Hong Kong production.

Anyways, enough of that; back to the actual viewing experience: I was actually pleasently surprised by it. I am not big on martial-arts films, but once in a while, I discover one that I kind of like. And in this case, the combination with Jackie Chan’s comedy gives it the much needed bonus for me to make this rather generic and laughable story quite entertaining.
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

The 13th Warrior (1999)

I was aware of the existence, but deliberately ignored it up until now (it just didn’t sound too interesting). But, as often in recent years, ever since I paid more attention to film critics (esp. YT channels and podcasts), it was mentioned positively, in passing, somewhere. So, I gave it a go now…

Well, from what I read before, it’s based on a novel – and maybe there is more space and time given to the plot and characters. Because here, in this film, it all felt very rushed and sketchy (and in fact, in the end, it was pretty uninteresting).
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

A Touch of Zen (1971)

Somehow, I got down a little rabbit hole of martial arts films (see “Rumble in the Bronx” before, and soon, I will give “Hero” a shot), and so I stumbled upon this apparent early Wuxia classic.

Hm, not really my cup of tea: For one, its waaay to long (and slow). But funnily enough, I even found the first hour, where almost no fighting occurs and only minimal setup build happens, the most interesting.

After that, I soon lost interest: The action is not that exciting and appears too often in darkness, and the focus shifts to other characters (why then did we spend the first hour with that other protagonist…?!)
★☆☆☆☆ 1/5 stars

Extraction II (2023)

While I liked the predecessor (for what it was), I think this one was just more of the same, only in a different setting and with a bit of padding (by the way, the prison breakout reminded me of a similar scene in “Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol”, but I was more invested there than I was here): Yes, we get a bit more background for the Tyler Rake character, but that was in my eyes merely sugar coating and paint-by-numbers character development.

Now, I’ve read often: “Who cares for plot and characters in such a film? Just switch off your brain and enjoy the action”, to which I’d reply:

1. I can’t completely “switch off my brain”; yes, sometimes, a suspension of disbelief must be turned up to eleven on a scale of ten – but I will do that very rarely, and when I do, the piece of work needs to compensate that with something else then that makes it worthwhile (not the case here).

2. To create a really good action flick, you need both: Action and a gripping plot, with interesting characters – well balanced; see “T2” or “Aliens” for perfect examples.

3. Even the action didn’t grab me much here, so there’s that missing, too.

   Yes, it looked all very impressive, at first glance, but I didn’t feel any impact from it: Way too often I was just thinking: “… CGI SFX… more CGI SFX… and now Rake’s acting like a more grounded superhero (without a cape)… again CGI SFX…”.

   Only a very few times, any of the (many) action set-pieces left a positive impression on me while watching this movie…

So, bottom line: Not as good as the first one; rather mediocre, despite the big-budget look.
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

Angel Heart (1987)

Maybe a rewatch, can’t really recall. Very atmospheric, but the rest was not so good.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

Raw Deal (1986)

Very basic/generic/straight mid-1980s actioner with Schwarzenegger. Pretty certain that this is the one Schwarzenegger film from his prime time that I have watched the least often (if ever). It has a few nice scenes and one-liners (it’s also a proof that he is not a very talented actor).

All in all, not a particular bad movie, but a pretty average and forgettable run-of-the-mill flick – only the participation of big Arnold saves it from falling off the cliff.
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

American Pie (1999)

Now I know, these kind of raunchy teenage comedies seldom age very well, especially when coming from the late 1990s and the USA.

I didn’t understand the Pie phenomenon back then (probably because I’m from europe), and watching it again now, over twenty years later, I do even less so.

Boring, bland, slow, unfunny, …
★☆☆☆☆ 1/5 stars

Freaks Out (2021)

Heard good things about this italian/belgian production; and the premise also sounded interesting. So the disappointment I had on my mind after viewing it was all the bigger.
★☆☆☆☆ 1/5 stars

Mandibules (2020)

My first Quentin Dupieux-film, from which I’ve heard that he supposedly makes very interesting (i.e. weird) movies. Well, yes, in this case, the premise is certainly rather zany. But other than that, pretty dull.

I was expecting some kind of twists and strange(r) development or odd humor – but after half of the runtime I realized that this probably won’t happen, so I mentally checked out a bit.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

Hero (2002)

Hm, weird, but on another day, in a different mood, I surly wouldn’t have liked this one as much as I did now.

Definitely a case of style over substance, but hell, it’s a lot of style, and the substance isn’t that bad either. And although I usually often have problems with chinese storytelling, I could stand with this one very well. For the exceptional design alone I’ll grant it the full five stars.
★★★★★ 5/5 stars

Catch Me If You Can (2002)

Rewatch – Quite OK and entertaining, but not more. One thing that bothers me is the weird sense of time this film displays: I think it should play out over multiple years, but then I realized that this whole thing is supposed to happen mostly during just a few weeks/months; it didn’t really feel that way…
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (2022)

Well, except for one or two funny lines, this was a letdown and made me dread the upcoming “Vol. 3”…
★☆☆☆☆ 1/5 stars

The Fifth Element (1997)

Rewatch – Better than I had remembered – but not great: Despite quite a few very unique and grand ideas, there’s still the ‘certain something’ missing. And don’t mention the plot…
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022)

Never cared for the Shrek series of films, nor did I view the forerunner, but this one was surprisingly entertaining and with a heartwarming story.

Still lacks a certain ingredients to make it a really great movie, in my opinion, but it’s a pretty good one, nevertheless.
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

Dark City (1998)

This film has a certain kudos (and maybe I’ve watched in before, a long time ago; can’t recall). But for me, watching it nowadays, it was underwhelming 🙁 .
(Maybe I’ve spoiled because I’ve seen too much similar stuff over the years already.)
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

Inherit the Viper (2019)

Hm, interesting topic and setting, but a very lackluster delivery, too condensed. Maybe it would have worked better as a (mini)series. That could have let the drama and the characters breath and grow more.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 3 (2023)

Objectively considered, it may not be better as Vol. 1 or Vol. 2, but it’s at least as good as those two and has also an emotionally very fulfilling arc for all of the ensemble cast and also a quite acceptable main villan. That’s why it gets the full score – also as an appraisal for the whole trilogy.
★★★★★ 5/5 stars

The Flash (2023)

Had a handful nice scenes and moments, but overall, it was just not good (and man, how can a movie with this kind of budget have so bad CGI effects? Oh, right…)
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021)

This is even more terrible than the already terrible first part (to my defense: I just let it run because it appeard on Netflix). For a real “odd-couple” comedy, it’s not funny enough, and for a serious film, it’s lacking on all other fronts.
★☆☆☆☆ 1/5 stars

Devotion (Devot) (2003)

A german film, which I usually ignore. This one I tried because it showed up on YouTube and I like the actors.

First of all: The title is very misleading, even wrong in my opinion.

Secondly, it has a interesting premise and and some of the dialogues of this intimate play are actually not too shabby. But the bottom line is: The story just couldn’t keep my interest up for the whole runtime, because it takes some very strange turns. And the ending is even more… weird.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

Face/Off (1997)

Rewatch – A rewatch after many, many years, because it was mentioned multiple times in different podcasts and videos lately, probably also caused by the “Cage renaissance” in recent years.

Now, I finally had the chance to watch it again, and well… it definitely has its charm, mainly due to its two overacting central characters and late-1990s style. Not as good or exciting as I had hoped for, but still good.
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

8 Mile (2002)

Rewatch – … because it, showed up as one of the suggestions from Netflix. Sadly, not my preferred film genre nor music style; and the story and characers (or actors) weren’t also not very appealing too me. At the end, it was more or less a waste of time for me.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

Dunkirk (2017)

Speaking about “not my preferred film genre” and coming from a director/writer, who is now very hit-or-miss for me (with a strong tendency to miss for a while): Absolutely not my cup of tea, this one!
★☆☆☆☆ 1/5 stars

TV

The Witcher — Season 3

Whew, what a piece of shit this has become. Nothing is of any interest or matters really; the plot seems illogical at times and/or uninspired: Who’s fighting who and why, again?, I asked myself. Why is Ciri so important? But, who still cares now: This final Cavill-season was probably also the last one that I have viewed from this show.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

The Vision of Escaflowne — Season 1 (Episodes 1-5)

Well, I tried it, since this title showed up on several anime recommendation lists. I barely made it through these first five episodes, before I stopped; really not my cup of tea.
★☆☆☆☆ 1/5 stars

Golden Boy — Season 1

A 1-season/6-episode raunchy anime from 1995 that I somehow missed when it aired on MTV. Back then, when I was a (late) teenager/twen, it probably would have left a bigger impression on me.

But now? Episode one and two were kind of interesting, but the rest not so much: The formula was mostly only repeated several more times and that alone didn’t was not enough for me
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars