Lots of re-watches this time of films that I’ve seen before.
One reason might be that I need to remind myself of better times.
On the other hand: Many also get an [below] average grading, so not everything was better in the past 😉

Film

Talk To Me (2022)

This one was hyped (at some places) as the next big horror hit. It was good, but not really exceptional.
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

Der Brummbär (Il burbero) (1986)

Like many german dubs of comedy film from the 1970s/1980s, this dub made it probably way more funnier than it was in the original.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

Starchaser: The Legend of Orin (1985)

Neither a very orginal story, nor is the animation technically impressive.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

The Killer (2023)

Hm, well done, as one expects from David Fincher, but plot-wise very boring, very convential and very cold.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

Studio 666 (2022)

The premise (and also the trailer) looked like it could be fun, but the end-result is a movie that is way too long for its premise, and thus very boring and totally unfunny. Might have worked as a 5-minute-sketch, but not as a feature film!
★☆☆☆☆ 1/5 stars

Once Upon a Time In… Hollywood (2019)

Big disappointment in my eyes. Of course it has a few cool scenes, but overall it only drags on, until an explosive end.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

Legends of the Fall (1994)

Rewatch – A nice watch for a rainy sunday afternoon, but written and performed a bit overly dramatic, while at the same time not giving the plot points and characters enough time or space to expand and breath.
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

Death at a Funeral (2007)

Rewatch – When I watched this comedy for the first and (until now) only time, way back in 2007 or 2008, I found it hilarious! But watching it again now, in 2023, I was not nearly as amused as I was back then…
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003)

Not great, but since I had low expectations, I was actually pleasently surprised.
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

Hard Target (1993)

Watched it because it was mentioned as one of the better US-John-Woo/Jean-Claude-Van-Damme movies – if that is the case, then I don’t want to view those that are regarded as the lesser ones…
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

The Personal History of David Copperfield (2019)

A nice watch; solid 3 stars, with a potential for 4 stars.
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

The Dictator (2012)

Rewatch – Liked a bit better than when I watched it the last time (ten years ago), which happens not too often with comedies.
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

Demolition Man (1993)

Rewatch – One of the better Stallone action vehicles, with some cool humor.
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

Frankenhooker (1990)

To be clear: It’s a trashy, campy “B”-movie (horror-comedy).
But when you can accept that, it’s a fascinating and curious endeavor. So, beware.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

Showgirls (1995)

Rewatch – Not the best Paul-Verhoeven-movie out there, but it’s a Paul-Verhoeven movie nonetheless (with all the positive and negative aspects). It’s not very good, but the (initially) overly negative criticism was, in my opinion, undeserved.
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)

What was that? And why was that?
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

300 (2006)

Rewatch – Still a good film, with a unique style (definitely “… over substance”, but it fits here very well).
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

The Brood (1979)

Not good, but better than Cronenberg’s previous film, Rabid.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

Malignant (2021)

I heard much about it in the past, on how weird a film it is (in a good and bad way). And since I was originally not interested in watching it, I also read about the twists and spoilers. But when it showed up on Netflix now, I still was a bit curious…

It’s not terrible, but also not good. If you see it as an intentionally schlocky high-gloss affair, you might rate it higher.
But if you want to accept as an serious attempt at horror (like I did, despite my prior knowledge), it gets this low grading:
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

Nebenan (2021)

An intimate play, with an interesting premise and story. Kind of liked it (and that is a high praise for a german production).
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1994)

Rewatch – Haven’t seen it for ages and can’t remember if I liked it back then or not (probably not, since I couldn’t recall much of it). Regardless; viewing it again now, with a fresh pair of eyes didn’t help it: Too theatrical/overly dramatic when it shouldn’t need to be and also too boring when it shouldn’t be.
It has a few memorable scenes, but that’s it (which is not enough for me).
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

The Creator (2023)

Looks very good, especially considering its budget – but it is also a hodge-podge of ideas taken from many other (sci-fi) movies and tales. That approach can work, either great (the original “Star Wars”), or terrible (“Rebel Moon”) or, like in this case, only so-so/meh…
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

TV

Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix — Season 1

Hm, a mix and mashup of a lot of video game characters and plot points; as with a lot of recent media material: Mostly memberberries, throwbacks and references; nothing new, or of importance or of substance.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

Barry — Season 4

A strong final season to a very strong show. The humor was now almost completely gone (except for some very, very dark and subtle hints), but that totally fit this season’s tone and the evolution that the show took.

For me, this season stumbled briefly a bit in the middle (episode 5, instead of the beginning, like previous seasons). Luckily it very soon found its footing again and then proceeded to a powerful ending.
★★★★★ 5/5 stars

The Walking Dead — Season 11 (Episode 17-24)

Finally! The series is over!
I have not and will not bother with any of the spin-offs, and even following this one ’til the bitter end was no fun.

It wasn’t so terrible that I wanted to quit, but after 11 seasons, the core and cast of the show was so diluted that I was mostly uninterested and actually fast-forwared through a lot of the later seasons…
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

Trigun — Season 1 (Episode 1-6, then aborted)

Just another anime experiment that I attempted, because Netflix offered this series, and the premise sounded interesting.
Well, it was not terrible, but also not good enough to keep me interested in it for longer.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

Justified: City Primeval — Season 1 (Episode 1-3, then aborted)

I really loved the original series, but this rehash, many years later, didn’t work at all for me.
Everything felt just so wrong: The setting, the characters, … – so I gave up (for now?) after episode number three.
(One star of the rating is just for starring Timothy Olyphant: He’s always great in whatever he’s doing.)
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars

Onimusha — Season 1/Mini-Series

Surprised me, on a good note. Although not great (since the story and characters were not that much developed), the action and interaction was nice. The CGI animation style took a bit to get used to, but was fitting.
Sadly, the final two episodes and the conclusion in general was a bit dissatisfying; nevertheless, it had a good few episodes to offer.
★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

Mrs. Davis — Season 1/Mini-Series

Quirky little series, but it lost me around at pretty exactly the halfway mark: From episode 5 onwards, until the end (episode 8), I was no longer engaged. I didn’t really know (or care) who was doing what or why; which is strange, because at the beginning, the premise worked. But after the first couple of episodes it became uninteresting to me.
★★☆☆☆ 2/5 stars