Film The Redcafe Movie review thread
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Escape Room: Tournament Of Champions (2020, released 2021)
A worthy successor to the first film and decent entry in to what now appears to be at least a trilogy.
As with the original, a lot of inspiration is taken from the Saw movies.
Some of the rooms are deliberately OTT i.e. I was sat there thinking there is no way anything this complex would be in a real escape room!
But it's fast paced (has to be at 88 minutes) and exciting and keeps you guessing until the end, although there were a couple of things I predicted - they're not obvious though and take their time to manifest.
7.5/10
A worthy successor to the first film and decent entry in to what now appears to be at least a trilogy.
As with the original, a lot of inspiration is taken from the Saw movies.
Some of the rooms are deliberately OTT i.e. I was sat there thinking there is no way anything this complex would be in a real escape room!
But it's fast paced (has to be at 88 minutes) and exciting and keeps you guessing until the end, although there were a couple of things I predicted - they're not obvious though and take their time to manifest.
7.5/10
I hadn't heard of the quadrant system; but I stumbled across that YouTube channel some years ago (Every Frame A Painting), and every video is super interesting for an interested layman like myself. Such a pity they stopped doing them. (it took them too much time.)
Where did you find this?
What an interesting, strange but beautiful little film
It had a fairly wide release in the US so I saw it Sunday at a normal theater. I'm not sure what the international release plans are.
Hopefully same in the UK at some point
Looks like August 20th for the UK/Ireland.
If anyone else is looking for a trailer:
Can't wait thanks!
It really is quite a beautiful film about loss, memory and the passage of time, in a weird setting with some weird sequences, but with a really nice performance by Cage (and I really liked Adam Arkin's cameo of sorts).
Read this nice article this morning about the film and Nic Cage in general, good read.
Read this nice article this morning about the film and Nic Cage in general, good read.
The Forever Purge (2020, released 2021)
Fifth instalment in the successful series set in a USA where all crime is legal for 12 hours each year.
Definitely a decent addition to the set, you don't really need to have seen the other films because it gives you a bit of background about what is going on at the start, and the plot is fairly standalone anyway.
Keeps the usual levels of violence, I though it was stylishly made and nice to look at with some very good performances.
It's set in 2048 and addresses racial tension which has become increasingly widespread, it lays the seed very early on about who is going to help who as the film develops but not to the point of making the whole film predictable.
Worth a watch whether you're a fan of the series or not.
7.5/10
Fifth instalment in the successful series set in a USA where all crime is legal for 12 hours each year.
Definitely a decent addition to the set, you don't really need to have seen the other films because it gives you a bit of background about what is going on at the start, and the plot is fairly standalone anyway.
Keeps the usual levels of violence, I though it was stylishly made and nice to look at with some very good performances.
It's set in 2048 and addresses racial tension which has become increasingly widespread, it lays the seed very early on about who is going to help who as the film develops but not to the point of making the whole film predictable.
Worth a watch whether you're a fan of the series or not.
7.5/10
The Tomorrow War
eesh. I thought the first 20 minutes or so were ok, and it was an interesting idea, but as soon as they got out of the pool they fell into it deteriorated rapidly. And the last half hour or so was terrible. Just cliche after cliche.
2/10
eesh. I thought the first 20 minutes or so were ok, and it was an interesting idea, but as soon as they got out of the pool they fell into it deteriorated rapidly. And the last half hour or so was terrible. Just cliche after cliche.
2/10
Quiet Place 2
As good as the first one, if not better. Also reminded me what a pile of shite Bird Box was in comparison. First film I’ve watched in a cinema in about a year and reckon it shouldn’t be watched any other way. All about the communal experience.
7.5/10
As good as the first one, if not better. Also reminded me what a pile of shite Bird Box was in comparison. First film I’ve watched in a cinema in about a year and reckon it shouldn’t be watched any other way. All about the communal experience.
7.5/10
I watched it at home (no decent showing times close to home) and liked it a lot. Krasinski seems to be a very decent director, curious about what he does next.
Gone Girl
Not sure why it's taken me so long to watch this as I have enjoyed everything else from the director but this was a great film. Watched it last night and was still thinking about it this morning. Great performances all round but special mention for Affleck, the asshole schlub type role seems perfect for him.
9/10
Not sure why it's taken me so long to watch this as I have enjoyed everything else from the director but this was a great film. Watched it last night and was still thinking about it this morning. Great performances all round but special mention for Affleck, the asshole schlub type role seems perfect for him.
9/10
Fear Street 1
Started well, with the cover of Fear Street: The Wrong Number, which was my favourite book in the series. It went for a 90s vibe and for better and for worse, it achieved that, cliches and all 4.5/10
Fear Street 2
Whilst the first felt like it took a lot of inspiration from Scream, this was more similar to Friday 13th franchise. More violent, paced better and had more surprises. A much needed improvement 5.5/10
Fear Street 3
I liked the second half of the film and how it wrapped most things up but the first half was so distracting as it went all the way back to 1666 but had the actors from the first two films in the roles of different characters, which made no sense to me and was just too distracting. Shame, as this was probably the one with the most potential out of the trilogy 5.5/10
Started well, with the cover of Fear Street: The Wrong Number, which was my favourite book in the series. It went for a 90s vibe and for better and for worse, it achieved that, cliches and all 4.5/10
Fear Street 2
Whilst the first felt like it took a lot of inspiration from Scream, this was more similar to Friday 13th franchise. More violent, paced better and had more surprises. A much needed improvement 5.5/10
Fear Street 3
I liked the second half of the film and how it wrapped most things up but the first half was so distracting as it went all the way back to 1666 but had the actors from the first two films in the roles of different characters, which made no sense to me and was just too distracting. Shame, as this was probably the one with the most potential out of the trilogy 5.5/10
Fast & Furious 9 (2021)
I don't know why I keep going back for more but somehow this series has just about done enough to keep my interest peaked for the last 20 years. I suppose upping the ante with every film and introducing a new long lost family member gives each instalment new traction, just enough to justify its production. And of course that's what we get here with the introduction of John Cena as that long lost Toretto sibling that nobody bothered to mention for 20 years and a foray into outer space that apparently is so easy to do, who needs Branson's or Bezo's millions to attempt the same feat. Yes, the plot gets more ridiculous, the action sequences even more incredulous (so much wrong with those giant magnets) and storylines more contrived than ever before but as far an 8th sequel goes, it's probably the best out there to be fair (if you don't include Star Wars/Star Trek).
I'm not sure what purpose Charlize Theron's Cipher served in this film as she certainly added no value whatsoever and the whole 'family' vibe is beginning to wear a bit thin now. Perhaps we need some Game of Thrones level culling to really shake things up a bit. Anyway, after the cinema finally sorted out the sound issues and I was able to settle into the film, I didn't feel cheated out of the £3 I paid for the recliner seat. Personally for me Fast Five was off the charts and easily my fave of the franchise. I think that's when they apexed the curve. I hear that that No. 10's on the way too. Fair fecks to the guy.
I'm giving this a 7/10.
Black Widow (2021)
Standard Marvel fare I guess centred around the Black Widow herself but with frequent references to the wider MCU. I was trying to figure out where this would sit in the pantheon and I'm guessing it would have to be around the Civil War period? Anyway Romanoff gets her origins story but I felt that her character really didn't stand out enough. If anything you would be forgiven for thinking it was actually a vehicle for Yelena, brilliantly portrayed by Florence Pugh and for me the star of the show. If the movie was meant to endear you more to the Black Widow, I think it sadly failed in this endeavour. After you get acclimatised to the ropey Russian accents, you're still left with a bit of a jumbled mess though the action sequences were pretty decent. Overall a bit of a pointless exercise.
I'm giving this a 6/10.
I don't know why I keep going back for more but somehow this series has just about done enough to keep my interest peaked for the last 20 years. I suppose upping the ante with every film and introducing a new long lost family member gives each instalment new traction, just enough to justify its production. And of course that's what we get here with the introduction of John Cena as that long lost Toretto sibling that nobody bothered to mention for 20 years and a foray into outer space that apparently is so easy to do, who needs Branson's or Bezo's millions to attempt the same feat. Yes, the plot gets more ridiculous, the action sequences even more incredulous (so much wrong with those giant magnets) and storylines more contrived than ever before but as far an 8th sequel goes, it's probably the best out there to be fair (if you don't include Star Wars/Star Trek).
I'm not sure what purpose Charlize Theron's Cipher served in this film as she certainly added no value whatsoever and the whole 'family' vibe is beginning to wear a bit thin now. Perhaps we need some Game of Thrones level culling to really shake things up a bit. Anyway, after the cinema finally sorted out the sound issues and I was able to settle into the film, I didn't feel cheated out of the £3 I paid for the recliner seat. Personally for me Fast Five was off the charts and easily my fave of the franchise. I think that's when they apexed the curve. I hear that that No. 10's on the way too. Fair fecks to the guy.
I'm giving this a 7/10.
Black Widow (2021)
Standard Marvel fare I guess centred around the Black Widow herself but with frequent references to the wider MCU. I was trying to figure out where this would sit in the pantheon and I'm guessing it would have to be around the Civil War period? Anyway Romanoff gets her origins story but I felt that her character really didn't stand out enough. If anything you would be forgiven for thinking it was actually a vehicle for Yelena, brilliantly portrayed by Florence Pugh and for me the star of the show. If the movie was meant to endear you more to the Black Widow, I think it sadly failed in this endeavour. After you get acclimatised to the ropey Russian accents, you're still left with a bit of a jumbled mess though the action sequences were pretty decent. Overall a bit of a pointless exercise.
I'm giving this a 6/10.
I think I must just dislike all horror films as I hated the first film.
I'm not sure I can actually think of a horror film that I have enjoyed since The Thing in the 80's.
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A classic horror, one of my favourites.
Atomic Blonde
Best action movie since Mad Max Fury Road.
9/10
Best action movie since Mad Max Fury Road.
9/10
Avengement
I love Scott Adkins, why isn't he a bigger star.
8/10
I love Scott Adkins, why isn't he a bigger star.
8/10
Woah? Seriously?! MMFM is one of my favourite movies of the last 10 years. Is this really right up there?
No. It is worth a watch though.
I'm a fan of Scott Adkins too and have seen most of his movies, but he's definitely not a good actor.
I would put it a level below as I think there's a case to say that MMFM is maybe the best action movie of all time.
Atomic Blonde is basically a anti Bond movie. I won't spoil it but it takes the violence of the action film and paranoia of the spy drama and turns it against it's own characters. It does one of the things I love the most in films which is it takes the risk of alienating and annoying the audience in order to make a bigger point, everything people hated about the film is correct but also why it's brilliant. Reminded me of a Hideo Kojima plot.
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The Tomorrow War (2021) :
Not as bad as some made it out to be. Just above average overall. The plot and characters are very generic, one twist midway was so obvious if you watched a lot of these time travel media stuff and some sequences at the end were a little bit ridiculous. It also takes a lot of time to start. However, it has some very good explosive action scenes that will entertain you. If you're in it for the action and decided to not focus that much on the plot you'll enjoy it. Wish it didn't take itself that serious and just realized how ridiculous the whole concept is, because as some moments I felt they really wanted this to be more dramatic than what it is and what it should have been.
6/10.
Luca (2021) :
Another very good Pixar movie. While it's simple and the story is quite basic unlike, say, Soul (2020), it's just a lot of fun to watch and will grab your attention from start to finish. It just clicked with me, and I had a really good time with it.
8/10.
Not as bad as some made it out to be. Just above average overall. The plot and characters are very generic, one twist midway was so obvious if you watched a lot of these time travel media stuff and some sequences at the end were a little bit ridiculous. It also takes a lot of time to start. However, it has some very good explosive action scenes that will entertain you. If you're in it for the action and decided to not focus that much on the plot you'll enjoy it. Wish it didn't take itself that serious and just realized how ridiculous the whole concept is, because as some moments I felt they really wanted this to be more dramatic than what it is and what it should have been.
6/10.
Luca (2021) :
Another very good Pixar movie. While it's simple and the story is quite basic unlike, say, Soul (2020), it's just a lot of fun to watch and will grab your attention from start to finish. It just clicked with me, and I had a really good time with it.
8/10.
Yeah, I'm not saying they should give him an Oscar, but he could be a bigger action star than he is I think.
Well maybe for his hammy Russian accent in Undisputed.
Last night I watched an entire movie that I thought I hadn't seen before, and then at the end I was like hey I recognize this and I checked and I'd watched it like 2 years ago.
Don't know what to think about that. The movie was The Lincoln Lawyer.
Don't know what to think about that. The movie was The Lincoln Lawyer.
The Ripper Untold
A detective and a medical examiner join forces to solve a series of horrific murders in Victorian London - but one of them harbours a deadly secret.
I have watched many Ripper films, this is a different twist on the story.
It's very predictable with a little gore but not much suspense. Definitely not a horror, the acting is OK and interesting and it's well made. The movie lacks action and the editing can be confusing.
The twist is very predicable
Not the best Ripper film I have seen, but not the worst.
5/10
A detective and a medical examiner join forces to solve a series of horrific murders in Victorian London - but one of them harbours a deadly secret.
I have watched many Ripper films, this is a different twist on the story.
It's very predictable with a little gore but not much suspense. Definitely not a horror, the acting is OK and interesting and it's well made. The movie lacks action and the editing can be confusing.
The twist is very predicable
Not the best Ripper film I have seen, but not the worst.
5/10
Scott Adkins is a Chinese action star from the 90s stuck in an American man's body. The best roles he gets are either:
Lead protagonist in a b-movie
The big bad guy in a Chinese produced movie
Henchmen in a big Hollywood movie
Had he been in the Hollywood game earlier, he'd be like JCVD or the like. He just came too late.
He can't act. Stereotyped into B class action movie. Really tried his best but acting wasn't his forte.
Unlike donnie which has the look and the bravado accepted by the asian. Atkins was a meh typical white actor with no... special uniqueness.
Statham has his brand, neeson has, willis and Stallone has. Atkins is just good at fighting.
And I'm not a fan of his martial arts, he's too generic for entertainment purpose. Just like JCVD, his style are too basic for 2020.
I really can't enjoy cages movie anymore. The image of him in multiple shit movies does my head in.
Can't blame him for earning a living, but can't take him seriously after a while.
Not for me. Solid spy and gritty action movie but way bellow MMFM. 7/10 at best. The plot if i remember correctly is too convulated. It's a spy tinker soldier tailor in steroid with a female Bourne.
Worth the 2 hours for pure entertainment. I love the action, wont going to spoil much but they made it very believable of what a trained female spy can do and should be doing instead of making it a superheroine style.
That's my point. If he were around many many years ago, he might have been like JCVD but he just appeared too late.
You better apologise
Cage has made a few good movies recently hasn't he? Theres no end to the dross but theres a few gems in his career too.
Adkins is a far better martial artist than all of the others combined. He's a rubbish actor sure, but his martial arts generic? He's basically superman.
Liam Neeson, Bruce Willis and Sylvester Stallone are all huge Hollywood stars, not martial artists. Adkins has blackbelts in 10.different martial arts.
This reminds me of when he came here to play a small role in an Egyptian move just to do some of his acrobatic kicks and nothing else. Was just in the movie for like 2 action scenes Told myself he really must have nothing else to do to accept such role.
I'm surprised. I had to switch it off. Thought it was rubbish.
I can see I'm in the minority here
The Tomorrow War - enjoyable nonsense. Some interesting ideas and concepts in here. Pretty much a switch off your mind and just enjoy it type of fare…which I did! 6.5/10