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Film The Redcafe Movie review thread
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) and Imran (@Annihilate Now!) are here to discuss three 1-1 draws.
The first got us knocked out of the FA Cup, the next puts us in a good position in our Round of 16 Europa League game, and the latest was an actual decent performance against Arsenal at Old Trafford.
All hopes for the season now rest on the Europa League - does Amorim have the squad to win it?
The Harder They Come - I zoned out after a while and just enjoyed the music.
Phrasing.
Night Moves - too small to be really good, but pretty good. Peter Sarsgaard is a very underrated actor.
Did it leave a bad taste in your mouth?
Better talk about this in spoilers, just in case....
I've seen the argument made the Pike's character is pretty much the distilatation of every misogynist idea and myth around, so you're definitely not the only person coming away thinking that.
The counter argument (and the one that the author makes) is that part of feminism is allowing female characters to be ruthless, evil and selfish. She says female characters are constantly portrayed as vulnerable victims or innately nurturing people, which is just another form of stereotyping. Basically, women can be as viciously and pragmatically cruel and manipulative as men so why should female characters be restricted to the role of victim?
The counter argument (and the one that the author makes) is that part of feminism is allowing female characters to be ruthless, evil and selfish. She says female characters are constantly portrayed as vulnerable victims or innately nurturing people, which is just another form of stereotyping. Basically, women can be as viciously and pragmatically cruel and manipulative as men so why should female characters be restricted to the role of victim?
Suspect Zero
A film about a disgraced agent (Aaron Eckhart) trying to catch a serial killer who is killing other serial killers (Ben Kingsley). The plot is pretty run of the mill stuff but the direction and cinematography give the film some gravitas and makes it seem better than it actually is. Aaron Eckhart was excellent as the washed-up agent but Ben Kingsley overacted his part, but maybe that was due to his character being very strange. Trinity from The Matrix was in it too and played the most useless agent of all time. Decent hour and a half if you got the time to kill 6/10
A film about a disgraced agent (Aaron Eckhart) trying to catch a serial killer who is killing other serial killers (Ben Kingsley). The plot is pretty run of the mill stuff but the direction and cinematography give the film some gravitas and makes it seem better than it actually is. Aaron Eckhart was excellent as the washed-up agent but Ben Kingsley overacted his part, but maybe that was due to his character being very strange. Trinity from The Matrix was in it too and played the most useless agent of all time. Decent hour and a half if you got the time to kill 6/10
Gone Girl - Yeah, I thought it was pretty great. Fincher's films seem to have a way of keeping my tense/in suspense like no other director seemingly can.
It's not a film you want to talk about too much through worry of giving anything away, so all I'll say is that Rosamund Pike is brilliant in it, Oscar Nomination worthy stuff.
It's not a film you want to talk about too much through worry of giving anything away, so all I'll say is that Rosamund Pike is brilliant in it, Oscar Nomination worthy stuff.
Salmon Fishing In The Yemen: A sweet, well put together and well shot (beautifully so at times) movie. It lacks a little sparkle in places and its two main characters aren't really the most charismatic people you could chose to spend time with (not a fault of the actors more of the types they are being asked to play). Still mostly enjoyable throughout (a couple of lulls in terms of enjoyment) would have liked more screen time for Kristen Scott Thomas’ character as she provides some much needed acerbic wit at times amidst the general amiability. Good but not outstanding, worth a watch as a well put together feel good movie.
6.5/10
6.5/10
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I just realised as said I'd be back after the game on Saturday only to not reply for days. I've been busy.Thinking about it, I've mellowed a bit on my criticism of Gone Girl. I called it insidious the night that I watched it, but that was a bit knee-jerk. Having read more about the film and the book, I don't really think there's some sort of conscious misogynist agenda at work, but rather it all seems like a really misguided attempt at creating a gender thriller.
Anyway, I'll run through quickly my problem with it
I've read a few articles now that seem to be sharing the same point of view as myself, but not necessarily for the same reasons, which is interesting. Most people seem to be focusing on the whole faking rape thing. This is an issue obviously, and it’s always going to be at the heart of these sorts of discussions, but if that was the only thing going on in the film I wouldn't have had a problem. Like was said, that would just be the actions of one character rather than some comment on women in general.
To me the rape thing becomes worrying because of the way the narrative works. The diary entries to give us exposition on Amy and the marriage. Considering the diary's a part of the story world, and is hidden from characters, its like Amy's telling these things directly to us, giving us a privileged truth. When it gets thrown back at us as a mostly load of shit she's cooked up to incriminate Affleck then it's not just like the characters have been fooled into suspecting Affleck, but we've been duped too. The main point of the diary entries becomes to turn us against Amy. That Amy never gets found out by another character (fully) but that she tells us the whole plot in voice-over, reinforces how much she controls the narrative of the whole situation. You then get parallels to the Nancy Grace figure whose driving the media story, and the implication is that women control the narrative, both media and film, and that we should be distrustful of this and what the dynamic of victim and aggressor is presented as.
This is also why all the talk about Affleck's character being unappealing doesn't really wash with me. For one, his wrongdoing gets completely swallowed up by the absurdity of Pike as sociopath murderer. But more importantly, he's very much shown as a victim in terms of having no control over the narrative. He's helpless to it all just like we were at the beginning.
The rape stuff, where she's shown as all cold and calculating then becomes really uncomfortable for me. The scene where she kills NPH feels to be parodying the rhetoric of rape in an odd way. I don't think its any coincidence that NPH has his throat cut just as he's about to cum, and then afterwards to have her covered in blood and continue slightly while he's dying. I know its supposed to be a dramatic announcement of her as a villain, but blood obviously has associations with rape cases and the way the camera lingers on her blood covered body was disturbing in all the wrong ways.
I know the film's a thriller, and you expect a degree of ripeness, but when you allude to Nancy Grace and real media situations, I think you make some claim to reality which means you can't hide your politics behind saying "it's just a movie" or "it's just one character in one story".
To me the rape thing becomes worrying because of the way the narrative works. The diary entries to give us exposition on Amy and the marriage. Considering the diary's a part of the story world, and is hidden from characters, its like Amy's telling these things directly to us, giving us a privileged truth. When it gets thrown back at us as a mostly load of shit she's cooked up to incriminate Affleck then it's not just like the characters have been fooled into suspecting Affleck, but we've been duped too. The main point of the diary entries becomes to turn us against Amy. That Amy never gets found out by another character (fully) but that she tells us the whole plot in voice-over, reinforces how much she controls the narrative of the whole situation. You then get parallels to the Nancy Grace figure whose driving the media story, and the implication is that women control the narrative, both media and film, and that we should be distrustful of this and what the dynamic of victim and aggressor is presented as.
This is also why all the talk about Affleck's character being unappealing doesn't really wash with me. For one, his wrongdoing gets completely swallowed up by the absurdity of Pike as sociopath murderer. But more importantly, he's very much shown as a victim in terms of having no control over the narrative. He's helpless to it all just like we were at the beginning.
The rape stuff, where she's shown as all cold and calculating then becomes really uncomfortable for me. The scene where she kills NPH feels to be parodying the rhetoric of rape in an odd way. I don't think its any coincidence that NPH has his throat cut just as he's about to cum, and then afterwards to have her covered in blood and continue slightly while he's dying. I know its supposed to be a dramatic announcement of her as a villain, but blood obviously has associations with rape cases and the way the camera lingers on her blood covered body was disturbing in all the wrong ways.
I know the film's a thriller, and you expect a degree of ripeness, but when you allude to Nancy Grace and real media situations, I think you make some claim to reality which means you can't hide your politics behind saying "it's just a movie" or "it's just one character in one story".
A field In England: Small budget piece with good if not outstanding performances throughout. Quite an idiosyncratic piece with good use of language but the problem is it lacks real punch due to the whimsical nature of the overall display, most of which stems from the lack of real substance behind much of what is on show. The imagery is certainly striking, but you suspect much like a lot of the movie’s overall look and themes, that it is mostly nothing more than surface dressing and that it lacks any real depth. Hard to be too critical of something that clearly didn’t have a lot of money put into it and still manages to have a sure handed sense of visual direction, however the throwaway nature of most of what is on display makes it no more than an occasionally interesting but flawed and ultimately insubstantial watch.
5.5/10
5.5/10
Thinking about it, I've mellowed a bit on my criticism of Gone Girl. I called it insidious the night that I watched it, but that was a bit knee-jerk. Having read more about the film and the book, I don't really think there's some sort of conscious misogynist agenda at work, but rather it all seems like a really misguided attempt at creating a gender thriller.
Anyway, I'll run through quickly my problem with it
I've read a few articles now that seem to be sharing the same point of view as myself, but not necessarily for the same reasons, which is interesting. Most people seem to be focusing on the whole faking rape thing. This is an issue obviously, and it’s always going to be at the heart of these sorts of discussions, but if that was the only thing going on in the film I wouldn't have had a problem. Like was said, that would just be the actions of one character rather than some comment on women in general.
To me the rape thing becomes worrying because of the way the narrative works. The diary entries to give us exposition on Amy and the marriage. Considering the diary's a part of the story world, and is hidden from characters, its like Amy's telling these things directly to us, giving us a privileged truth. When it gets thrown back at us as a mostly load of shit she's cooked up to incriminate Affleck then it's not just like the characters have been fooled into suspecting Affleck, but we've been duped too. The main point of the diary entries becomes to turn us against Amy. That Amy never gets found out by another character (fully) but that she tells us the whole plot in voice-over, reinforces how much she controls the narrative of the whole situation. You then get parallels to the Nancy Grace figure whose driving the media story, and the implication is that women control the narrative, both media and film, and that we should be distrustful of this and what the dynamic of victim and aggressor is presented as.
This is also why all the talk about Affleck's character being unappealing doesn't really wash with me. For one, his wrongdoing gets completely swallowed up by the absurdity of Pike as sociopath murderer. But more importantly, he's very much shown as a victim in terms of having no control over the narrative. He's helpless to it all just like we were at the beginning.
The rape stuff, where she's shown as all cold and calculating then becomes really uncomfortable for me. The scene where she kills NPH feels to be parodying the rhetoric of rape in an odd way. I don't think its any coincidence that NPH has his throat cut just as he's about to cum, and then afterwards to have her covered in blood and continue slightly while he's dying. I know its supposed to be a dramatic announcement of her as a villain, but blood obviously has associations with rape cases and the way the camera lingers on her blood covered body was disturbing in all the wrong ways.
I know the film's a thriller, and you expect a degree of ripeness, but when you allude to Nancy Grace and real media situations, I think you make some claim to reality which means you can't hide your politics behind saying "it's just a movie" or "it's just one character in one story".
The whole film for me is one giant exercise in manipulation - Affleck is trying to manipulate the police, Pike is manipulating Affleck/Everyone (which for me is the main reason for the existence of the diary -sheer manipulation on the part of Pike/Fincher) , the Media is manipulating the public, and Fincher is manipulating us... and I got a kick out of the whole thing. I don't think the diary is soley meant to turn you against her, any more than it is to show what incredibly smart and calculated person this woman is. Yes, by default of her actually trying to get her husband killed she will be the villain of the piece - but I don't personally didn't find this to be misogynistic, or a poor portrayal of women... because I was absolutely fecking terrified of her, and in-turn completely invested in her character... in a way that I haven't been with a female lead in a role such as this in a long, long time - possibly ever in fact.
I realize that really doesn't cover the NPH death scene or anything (which I think, to be honest, is Fincher just trying to be Fincher in a film where he show's quite a lot of restrained stylistically) and have a grandiose/memorable scene that changes both her character and Affleck's character/relationship with her, not only for the rest of the movie, but for the rest of their lives that we are left to ponder over. I think Fincher wanted to go with such a visceral and memorable "death" scene to really push home the fact that this women will go free for that crime, and that Affleck will have to stay married to her, and that she will be the mother of their child, all long after the film ends.
I realize that really doesn't cover the NPH death scene or anything (which I think, to be honest, is Fincher just trying to be Fincher in a film where he show's quite a lot of restrained stylistically) and have a grandiose/memorable scene that changes both her character and Affleck's character/relationship with her, not only for the rest of the movie, but for the rest of their lives that we are left to ponder over. I think Fincher wanted to go with such a visceral and memorable "death" scene to really push home the fact that this women will go free for that crime, and that Affleck will have to stay married to her, and that she will be the mother of their child, all long after the film ends.
Deliver us from Evil (2014)
A waste of time, this was terrible.
how can you take it seriously when the guy from the Soup is portraying a special ops police?
A waste of time, this was terrible.
how can you take it seriously when the guy from the Soup is portraying a special ops police?
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Just back from Gone Girl, thought it was great. I'm a huge fan of Fincher's, the film is really well crafted and all the actors are great, Pike being the obvious stand out. Without giving too much away, I thought the first hour or so of the film, until a certain event, was a real masterpiece in hindsight. In any case, I felt gripped throughout the whole film and thought the ending was excellent.
Wouldn't know how to rank it against other stuff by Fincher right now, but it's very good.
Wouldn't know how to rank it against other stuff by Fincher right now, but it's very good.
Below Zodiac and Social Network, above Aliens 3 and Benjamin Button.
No love for Se7en? Zodiac is his masterpiece for me and I doubt that even after a while this will surpass it in my mind, but I have a lot of time for Se7en, probably one of the films I've watched the most.
Seven and Fight Club would be in that middle band with Gone Girl.
Zodiac and Social Network are the top tier of Finch, definitely. Fight Club next. then Seven/Gone Girl/Dragon Tattoo, though maybe I'd put Seven below the other, for me it's not aging well at all, Fight Club still holds up though.
I dunno what I'm missing Alien 3 is barely his, I want to say Benjamin Button isn't either, but it is, generally can't believe he did that and with a sappy baity script instead of the dark dramedy it should of been. Given their age and the fact I haven't seen them since renting them(says it all), it'd be a bit unfair to rank The Game and Panic Room, but decent thrillers from what I recall.
Want to see him tackle an original script again though. Even House of Cards was an adaptation!!
I dunno what I'm missing Alien 3 is barely his, I want to say Benjamin Button isn't either, but it is, generally can't believe he did that and with a sappy baity script instead of the dark dramedy it should of been. Given their age and the fact I haven't seen them since renting them(says it all), it'd be a bit unfair to rank The Game and Panic Room, but decent thrillers from what I recall.
Want to see him tackle an original script again though. Even House of Cards was an adaptation!!
Forgot about Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. He did a good job on that, considering the source material is a bit wank, and his was better than the Swedish original. I haven't seen The Game.
For me Se7en is right up there, and I don't agree that it's not aging well. The first DVD versions looked shit, but the restored Bluray edition really helped it visually and it's still excellent for me. Talking about it makes me want to watch it again actually!
I have a certain fondness for Aliens 3, though I never got to see the pure 'studio' version and only saw the one that's meant to be closest to his vision (though even with that one, he's still unhappy and doesn't consider it his film).
I agree it doesn't feel 'Fincher-y' anyhow.
Watch The Game Archie! I wouldn't put it amongst his best (though I feel most of his stuff is solid), but there's definitely a lot of elements of his work that are noticeable in this one, and it definitely feels more like his film than Button did for example.
I have a certain fondness for Aliens 3, though I never got to see the pure 'studio' version and only saw the one that's meant to be closest to his vision (though even with that one, he's still unhappy and doesn't consider it his film).
I agree it doesn't feel 'Fincher-y' anyhow.
Watch The Game Archie! I wouldn't put it amongst his best (though I feel most of his stuff is solid), but there's definitely a lot of elements of his work that are noticeable in this one, and it definitely feels more like his film than Button did for example.
Fincher is attached to House Of Cards ? That has just shot up on my made up what to watch next list.
Zodiac is indeed brilliant, Seven and Fight Club are pretty meh.
Hipster!
He only directs the first two episodes and the show is vastly overrated so I wouldn't rush to watch it.
Heavily involved, directed the pilot and ep. 2, and was a producer for the rest of the show. The style is definitely heavily influenced by him. Give it a watch, it's great.
I might start it tonight. I do like everything Fincher has been involved in (A3 directors cut is good) and the fact it's on Netflix helps with the easy accessibility.
Is the Directors cut the extended cut? I want to watch it again but I'm not sure which version to get.
I think it's called the assembly cut but I am not sure.
Cheers. I'll try that one.
I think the issue with se7en might be that majority of us haven't watched it in a theatre. It was first of its kind in having such a twisted ending and also the way it was shot.I hated watching it on my laptop since I couldn't see what was happening on screen and constantly kept meddling with the brightness. It definitely grows on you when you watch the newer version.
Hanna - Wasn't what I expected at all, thankfully. Soundtrack was really good. Some of the action scenes seemed a little over-directed, like when you make a powerpoint presentation and want to use all the animations. Also, distracting accents. 7/10.
Was it? What about, like, Planet of the Apes?
In its genre and time se7en was a very dark film. I know lot of films tried to get the villain to win at the end but very few have managed to pull it off as well as this movie did. The wild bunch is one such example.
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Gone Girl - I thought it was ok, flashy but ultimately pretty empty. The plot was a little predictable and clichéd, the type of story you might see in a daytime made-for-TV movie on channel 5 (apart from the final section which was genuinely weird and absurd). But it was shot very nicely and Rosamund Pike's performance was excellent. In terms of where it ranks in comparison to Fincher's recent work; it's probably better than Dragon Tattoo, and certainly the awful Benjamin Button, but nowhere near the standard of Zodiac or even The Social Network.
Her - Great movie. Got me thinking.
Nice eloquent review, keep 'em coming. Very even-handed in its writing.
Caligari. Unless you want to be extra twatty and claim some of Melies' magic trick films.
Dracula: Untold - 6/10
Annabelle - 6.5/10
Gone Girl - 8.5/10
Annabelle - 6.5/10
Gone Girl - 8.5/10
Annabelle
Despite mixed reviews, I really enjoyed this. It's not as good as The Conjuring but I wasn't expecting it to be. The story is quite the standard fare and there are too many 'jump' shocks, which are not memorable but there are some really scary moments and there is a really cool elevator scene (I shall say no more on that). One issue I had was that the film is set in the late 60's/early 70's but the lead female seemed like she was in the present day with the way she looked and dressed. That really bugged me but it had enough tension and suspense to work as a good, if not spectacular, horror film 7.5/10
Deliver Us From Evil
This film didn't know if it wanted to be a horror, a mystery or a thriller and that really let it down. There were a couple of really good horror-based scenes and I feel it should have went down the horror route because the mystery was easy to dissect and the thriller elements made it feel like a cheap rip-off of other detective thrillers. The ending was also very flat. It was a fairly decent idea but let down by poor direction 5.5/10
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Finally got to see this and as expected, it delivered. Some amazing cinematography/imagery and was amusingly funny. Ralph Fiennes did a great job and this was one of the few films where the ensemble cast actually helped the film rather than hinder it. Only issue was that once you look past the glossy exterior, the film seemed to lack depth 7.5/10
Despite mixed reviews, I really enjoyed this. It's not as good as The Conjuring but I wasn't expecting it to be. The story is quite the standard fare and there are too many 'jump' shocks, which are not memorable but there are some really scary moments and there is a really cool elevator scene (I shall say no more on that). One issue I had was that the film is set in the late 60's/early 70's but the lead female seemed like she was in the present day with the way she looked and dressed. That really bugged me but it had enough tension and suspense to work as a good, if not spectacular, horror film 7.5/10
Deliver Us From Evil
This film didn't know if it wanted to be a horror, a mystery or a thriller and that really let it down. There were a couple of really good horror-based scenes and I feel it should have went down the horror route because the mystery was easy to dissect and the thriller elements made it feel like a cheap rip-off of other detective thrillers. The ending was also very flat. It was a fairly decent idea but let down by poor direction 5.5/10
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Finally got to see this and as expected, it delivered. Some amazing cinematography/imagery and was amusingly funny. Ralph Fiennes did a great job and this was one of the few films where the ensemble cast actually helped the film rather than hinder it. Only issue was that once you look past the glossy exterior, the film seemed to lack depth 7.5/10