Film The Redcafe Movie review thread

Dune Looked lovely but some of the acting was quite clunky, Brolin in particular. I'm also not sure I understand the Universe this is set in very well or the role spice plays, which must be a bit of a failing. I wonder if people who have read the books enjoyed it more? In the end I was bored and I guess I will need to wait for the second film to see if I wasted my time. IMO Arrival and Blade Runner 2049 were far better which is OK as they were brilliant. TBA/10
 
V/H/S 94

A police S.W.A.T. team investigates about a mysterious VHS tape and discovers a sinister cult that has pre-recorded material which uncovers a nightmarish conspiracy.
This is a pretty fecked up film, lots of blood lots of gore.
4 short films, the 3rd The Subject is the best by Timo Tjahjanto worth watching just for that.
It was a decent watch , if you like found footage and lots of blood and gore.

6/10 overall, 9/10 for the Timo Tjahjanto segment.
 
pauldyson1uk said:
V/H/S 94

A police S.W.A.T. team investigates about a mysterious VHS tape and discovers a sinister cult that has pre-recorded material which uncovers a nightmarish conspiracy.
This is a pretty fecked up film, lots of blood lots of gore.
4 short films, the 3rd The Subject is the best by Timo Tjahjanto worth watching just for that.
It was a decent watch , if you like found footage and lots of blood and gore.

6/10 overall, 9/10 for the Timo Tjahjanto segment.
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Timo also did a segment with Gareth Evans on a previous VHS movie called Safe Haven... It was fantastic!
 
Motherless Brooklyn. I really liked this film. It's by and with Edward Norton, who tells a story (based on a book), set in the 50s in film noir style, of a private detective (ish) with Tourette's syndrome, who tries to figure out why his boss got killed - unravelling a sordid tale of corruption, power, and personal morals among city planners.

It's really well done as whole: the look, the feel, the sound, the acting, it all clicks. The story has some weaker moments and Norton doesn't have the voice to do the typical film noir voice-overs; but otherwise it's very good, I thought.
 
The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard. Pt 1 was dumb fun, this one is just dumb - as contrived as its title. The story is a mess, the jokes aren't funny, and the characters are unclear. We were going to stop the film well before the end, but there are just enough kinda funny moments to keep it running, given it's not that long anyway. And I think that's about the best I can say about it.
 
Dune - 7/10

There's so much to understand and take in right from the beginning that it can be overwhelming. I was confused for a little bit, but started to understand more and more as the film went on...especially for someone who hasn't read book(s).

The score and visuals are spectacular. The amount of detail is impressive, as it should if the film budget of $100M+ USD is believed.

Character development isn't that good (feels very abrupt, however you do get a nice sense of who is close with Paul and why), especially during the first 90 minutes and you would think for a 2 1/2 hour film there's room for it, but it's only part one and there are a lot of things to explore further. Paul's visions are strong, even for someone so young, however they have already shown that his dreams aren't all real/true.
 
La guide de la famille parfaite (The guide to the perfect family). There are now a bunch of French-Canadian comedies on Netflix over here, which is nice! That includes pretty much all of Ricardo Trogi's work, one of which is this film. The four I've seen now are all similar: quite funny for most of it, but then they turn more serious and dramatic near the end, which is a bit off-putting given the tone of the film. It works better here though: it's a story of a family where one parent pushes his teenage daughter to perfection, and the other is far too lenient for her 5 yo son. Of course that goes wrong, and everyone learns a lesson. A bit predictable, but it's a good watch overall, and I always enjoy Trogi's dialogues.
 
National Lampoon Vacation - Watched this last night on telly for the first time in at least a decade.

Hilarious. ChevyChase is ace. Beverly Dangelo :drool: remember having a huge crush on her..

7/10
 
Croupier. Crappier, amirite? Well, I think I am. Clive Owen in one of his early roles plays an author that takes on a job as a croupier in a casino to find inspiration for a sports novel, and then gets into a series of complex interactions with colleagues and a visitor.

I am amazed to see that this got pretty good reviews, cause I thought it was awful. The acting is clunky, the plot is a mess, and many settings are awkward. It tries to provide a film noir feel through the voiceovers and many femmes fatales, but that does not succeed at all. I'm not against Clive Owen or mazy plots, but this film really didn't do it for me.
 
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Last Night in Soho

This movie is fantasic. A psychological Thriller starring Anna Taylor Joy, Thomasin McKenzie and Matt Smith. A girl goes off to London with the dreams of being a fashion designer and when she gets there, she dreams of this AT Joy character. The first half starts slow and after a certain point you start figuring out what’s going on. One of the best movies I’ve seen this year. The trailer didn’t do it justice. Also didn’t realise till a fair bit in through the movie that the old Lady in it was Lady Olenna from Game of Thrones. This was her last movie I think. Anyway if you are a fan of thrillers, this is definetly one to watch. 8/10.
 
The Godfather 2
Again, still absolutely brilliant. I do prefer part 1 personally as I really like Sonny's character and Michael's descent into villainy is still a hard watch even if he's more misguided than really evil.

9.5/10
 
KirkDuyt said:
The Godfather 2
Again, still absolutely brilliant. I do prefer part 1 personally as I really like Sonny's character and Michael's descent into villainy is still a hard watch even if he's more misguided than really evil.

9.5/10
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I gotta rewatch The Godfather Trilogy again. Been so long since I’ve seen them.
 
Dirty Schwein said:
The Guilty
Jake Gyllenhaal stars in this movie about a disgraced cop who's working at a 911 dispatch centre and ends up in a race against time to stop the kidnapping of a woman. I love one-location movies and this is another one that I really enjoyed. Great acting by Jake, the story felt big in scale despite being entirely at the dispatch centre. I felt the twists were a bit easy to see coming and I wish the film had some more meat to the bones of the narrative but despite that, I had a good time. I heard it's a remake of a Danish movie, which I must seek out 7/10
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Ever seen Glengarry Glen Ross? I’d suggest it as it is primarily a one location movie.
 
Dirty Schwein said:
The Guilty
Jake Gyllenhaal stars in this movie about a disgraced cop who's working at a 911 dispatch centre and ends up in a race against time to stop the kidnapping of a woman. I love one-location movies and this is another one that I really enjoyed. Great acting by Jake, the story felt big in scale despite being entirely at the dispatch centre. I felt the twists were a bit easy to see coming and I wish the film had some more meat to the bones of the narrative but despite that, I had a good time. I heard it's a remake of a Danish movie, which I must seek out 7/10
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I had no idea it was remade. The original was really good.
 
Menteur (Compulsive Liar). A French-Canadian comedy about a guy who lies about basically everything, and then suddenly finds that all his lies have come true, and that's not quite ideal. That sounds weird if you try to imagine (or it did for me), but it works really well and the film is really funny. I'd recommend it - but I'd also recommend watching a trailer first to check if you like the sense of humor. :)
 
Sweet Square said:
Watched Lucky Chan - sil last night. A funny and moving film, really worth checking.
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You'll be glad to know I watched this last night and also enjoyed it, particularly the not so subtle nods to how film lovers often end up being misanthorpic people.

I really like the scene when she's sat talking to the guy about Ozu and then he responds that he prefers Nolan. It was a really interesting development in terms of moving the film away from a melodramatic romance. After that it's clear he's not the guy who's going to save her from the evils of this universe. She's gotta do that for herself, which is more realistic.

Actually the whole thing felt quite Japanese to me. It's similar to some slice of life comedies I've seen like (*looks at DVD collection*) Fine, Totally Fine and Instant Swamp.
 
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Vidyoyo said:
You'll be glad to know I watched this last night and also enjoyed it, particularly the not so subtle nods to how film lovers often end up being misanthorpic people.
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Oh what a unrealistic part of the film that could never be true :nervous:

Vidyoyo said:
I really like the scene when she's sat talking to the guy about Ozu and then he responds that he prefers Nolan. It was a really interesting development in terms of moving the film away from a melodramatic romance. After that it's clear he's not the guy who's going to save her from the evils of this universe. She's gotta do that for herself, which is more realistic.
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I loved that scene as well. It really gets across just how differently people can feel about cinema, the guy is just a normal bloke who is into mainstream films yet for Chan cinema is almost a scared art form. It's something that happened to me before, where certain films I see are filled with all these gems or moments of truth about our world yet if I show the film to someone else they end up saying cool it's about a a guy getting redemption and it has some good long takes. Also maybe I'm looking too much into things but it made perfect sense that her intense dislike of Nolan is matched by her love of Wong Kar Wai(Imo Wong is the cinematic opposite of Nolan)

My favourite part along with her coming to terms with the fact she has to save herself and maybe art isn't worth committing you're whole life too, was when she comes to the realisation along with the help of an imagined Leslie Cheung that she hasn't been rejected by someone she loved, it was more that she was just lonely.

It felt like a romantic comedy fit for the 21st century.

Vidyoyo said:
Actually the whole thing felt quite Japanese to me. It's similar to some slice of life comedies I've seen like (*looks at DVD collection*) Fine, Totally Fine and Instant Swamp.
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Cheers will gives these a look.


Edit - Also I'm not where you can find this film but Mircohabitat is South Korean film from 2017 which is very similar although about a younger woman.
 
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Sweet Square said:
I loved that scene as well. It really gets across just how differently people can feel about cinema, the guy is just a normal bloke who is into mainstream films yet for Chan cinema is almost a scared art form. It's something that happened to me before, where certain films I see are filled with all these gems or moments of truth about our world yet if I show the film to someone else they end up saying cool it's about a a guy getting redemption and it has some cool long takes. Also maybe I'm looking too much into but it made perfect sense that her intense dislike of Nolan is matched by her love of Wong Kar Wai(Imo Wong is the cinematic opposite of Nolan)

My favourite part along with her coming to terms with the fact she has to save herself and maybe art isn't worth committing you're whole life too, was when she comes to the realisation along with the help of an imagined Leslie Cheung that she hasn't been rejected by someone she loved, it was more that she was just lonely.

It felt like a like romantic comedy fit for the 21st century.
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Good summary and to add, I thought that moment perfectly summed up the difference between many arthouse and entertainment movie fans. She's clearly thought a lot about why she likes Ozu movies because she's really able to explain how they speak to her on a personal level. The guy's interest in Nolan by comparison isn't explained at all. I suspect part of the reason is because he just doesn't feel he needs to. Maybe that's because entertainment films often speak for themselves, and are usually more about preferences than any strong personal attachment.

The film works on a lot of layers :)

Edit - In terms of recs, there's a film called Fukuchan of Fukufuku Flats on Prime Video (free). It's directed by the same guy as Fine, Totally Fine and much easier to find!
 
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Vidyoyo said:
Just saw your edit and yeah I've seen Microhabitat, it's really good. Pretty sure it was on MUBI a few years ago (can't think where else I'd have seen it).
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Ah thats good. Yeah I saw it a while back MUBI as well. It's on youtube now but without English subtitles.

The more South Korean films I watch the more I realise I relate to very poor Korean women who are stuck. Which wasn't something I was expecting.
 
Anyone familiar with the hood movie Paid in Full? One of the people who it's based on, Alpo Martinez, has been killed.
 
Last Night In Soho

Really enjoyed this. Having seen the trailer a few times I really wasn't sure what to expect but having seen everything else that's showing (within reason!) I thought an opening night trip to this was in order.

It's really stylishly made, I know a lot of people on here didn't like Thomasin McKenzie's last film, Old but she's back on form here, she really gets the craziness of the character across to the point where you're convinced she's going to get sectioned!

Nice sound track to tap your feet to as well. I was convinced it must have been based on a book but it doesn't look like it was.

Creepy at times, noisy but with good plot twists (some predictable, some not) I'd agree with @AaronRedDevil and give this a solid 8/10
 
The Bacchus Lady - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5628012/

I'll open by sharing a somewhat startling stat I didn't know before I watched the film - that 48.6% of South Korea's elderly population are deemed as living in poverty. The film centralises around this, focusing on an elderly woman who makes a living as a prostitute for elderly clients. She also assists a fair few of them with suicide and takes on adoption of a small Filipino child whose mother is serving a prison sentence. The strength of the film found in the potency of its themes - aging, discrimination, and loneliness. The lead actress Youn Yuh-jung, who won an Academy Award last year, gives an excellent performance that's both sympathy-inducing and surprisingly charismatic. It's a little unfocused in terms of plot towards the end but paints a strong portrayal of an uncaring society struggling to balance hyper-competition and poor social care. The impecunious oldies feel the brunt, alongside some other castaways that include immigrants, disabled people, transsexuals. 3/5 (but a high 3)

Available on MUBI
 
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Tower Heist. Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy (and others) team up for a heist when a rich investor turns out to be a swindler that has made the pensions disappear of the staff of the building he lives in. The plot has a number of enormous holes (especially around the legal situation of the fraudster), and for a heist comedy it doesn't actually have a lot of laughs; but otherwise it's an entertaining 1h44 - although I wouldn't say there is any strong reason here to spend that time on this film specifically.
 
Shang Chi
I was really fearing this will be typical Marvel tripe you get with the lower level heroes but to my surprise, this was pretty good! I really enjoyed the action sequences, which didn't rely on Hollywood cuts to make the martial arts look good and wasn't the usual laser beam pew pew bullshit they normally serve up (apart from the final battle, which was exactly that :lol: ) I thought the cast were good and there was some conflict about the villain, which always makes for a better movie. Will be interesting seeing this hero mesh with the rest of the MCU 7.5/10
 
The Exorcist

It has been a good few years since I have watched it, it was on BBC4 so why not.
It is still my favourite possession film.
The shocking parts in 1973, the head turning and the bit with the cross are I still think shocking today, even the swear words used.
The acting is very good, Linda Blair is outstanding.
Yes I think it has lost the shock and horror over the past 48 years, but it is still a must watch, for me it has everything you need in a possession film. No other possession film has even come close for me.

10/10
 
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