I liked it but definitely a slow burn.
Film The Redcafe Movie review thread
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Could have done with some violence. Would have made it really good.
Watched Silent Night last night; quite funny, well written, kept me interested throughout, has an annoying kid in it, as good as it could be I suppose 6/10.
Watched The Last Duel the other night; looks good, Comer okay, Driver & Affleck very good, Damon terrible, weird accents, Good story & interesting how they done it in terms of telling 3 different perspectives of the same story 7/10.
Watched Spencer the night before; very unsettling, director done a great job of that, Kristen is very good not quite sure if it’s oscar worthy as many are saying though, script is okay, thought the score was great, just about scrapes a 7/10.
Watched Last Night in Soho last week; fun, great music, very average plot, Taylor-Joy is quite good, makes you want to go back to the 60’s for a bit 6/10.
Watched The Last Duel the other night; looks good, Comer okay, Driver & Affleck very good, Damon terrible, weird accents, Good story & interesting how they done it in terms of telling 3 different perspectives of the same story 7/10.
Watched Spencer the night before; very unsettling, director done a great job of that, Kristen is very good not quite sure if it’s oscar worthy as many are saying though, script is okay, thought the score was great, just about scrapes a 7/10.
Watched Last Night in Soho last week; fun, great music, very average plot, Taylor-Joy is quite good, makes you want to go back to the 60’s for a bit 6/10.
I've only seen the Director's Cut, so I can't comment on the theatrical cut. I did do some reading to see what the differences were and they give more time in Andi's scene in the cinema, and there's a lot more of Danny Torrance walking in the Overlook and capturing the look and feel of Kubrick's film in the last 45 mins.
Thanks mate. I'll throw it in the watchlist.
Ghostbusters Afterlife.
Not a bad attempt, but what can you do when the original two films were so huge and well loved. You'll either get accused of repeating the original storylines or by being too sentimental or putting too many nod winks to older fans.
I agree with others that the final third could have been better, and the big bad was too stupid and easily defeated in my opinion. I'm guessing the budget was running out for cgi and a bigger longer finale battle. But I did like the cast and the acting and script were not bad, and I thought lead girl Mckenna Grace was very good and look forward to what she does in future.
Hopefully if they do get a sequel it will be a 15 rated crazy, scary, out there sci fi horror comedy with hardly any ties (except young Spenglers) to the original cast and stories.
6/10
Not a bad attempt, but what can you do when the original two films were so huge and well loved. You'll either get accused of repeating the original storylines or by being too sentimental or putting too many nod winks to older fans.
I agree with others that the final third could have been better, and the big bad was too stupid and easily defeated in my opinion. I'm guessing the budget was running out for cgi and a bigger longer finale battle. But I did like the cast and the acting and script were not bad, and I thought lead girl Mckenna Grace was very good and look forward to what she does in future.
Hopefully if they do get a sequel it will be a 15 rated crazy, scary, out there sci fi horror comedy with hardly any ties (except young Spenglers) to the original cast and stories.
6/10
House of Gucci
I didn't know the story of Gucci before watching this so it was quite eye opening. I thought it was a decent film about how love, greed, obsession and power corrupts and can destroy people and family. Or just downright stupidity and not nice people to start with?
An Italian friend of mine said it was a very Italian way of a family and business destroyng itself, and the attitude towards taxes and corruption haha.
Cast were all very good and some may get nominations, but overall there was just something missing for me. It slightly lost it's way for a while here and there but was definitely a good solid film and photography and soundtrack also very good
7.3/10
I didn't know the story of Gucci before watching this so it was quite eye opening. I thought it was a decent film about how love, greed, obsession and power corrupts and can destroy people and family. Or just downright stupidity and not nice people to start with?
An Italian friend of mine said it was a very Italian way of a family and business destroyng itself, and the attitude towards taxes and corruption haha.
Cast were all very good and some may get nominations, but overall there was just something missing for me. It slightly lost it's way for a while here and there but was definitely a good solid film and photography and soundtrack also very good
7.3/10
Venom Let There Be Carnage
These venom films seem aimed at a younger audience but are 15 rated? yet the horror element of venom and especially carnage going balistic suits an older crowd. Oh I don't know, don't really care enough about it. Pretty poor really, and I don't like Eddie and venoms relationship or banter very much, I think it's venoms voice to be honest, don't like the accent or voice. Was cool at times though and to see carnage let rip in the jail facility was quite accurate to source stuff. Watching Woody just made me want to watch Natural Born Killers again to be honest.
5/10
These venom films seem aimed at a younger audience but are 15 rated? yet the horror element of venom and especially carnage going balistic suits an older crowd. Oh I don't know, don't really care enough about it. Pretty poor really, and I don't like Eddie and venoms relationship or banter very much, I think it's venoms voice to be honest, don't like the accent or voice. Was cool at times though and to see carnage let rip in the jail facility was quite accurate to source stuff. Watching Woody just made me want to watch Natural Born Killers again to be honest.
5/10
I felt like the last third of it was a little bit meh, or more exactly a bit too predictable, but not enough to spoil everything that came before. And the beginning of the film is banging, it's so much fun and the first sequence when she goes into the past is exhilarating from start to finish with some wonderful filming technique. I don't know how involved Edgar Wright is with the editing of his films, I'd imagine quite a bit, because they're usually flawless in this regard, and this one is no different. Awesome score, some great performances (Anya Taylor Joy, Matt Smith, Diana Rigg are all fantastic, with the main actress being fine though not quite on par with the others, I felt), and overall some really exciting moments throughout the film make it a really, really fun watch. Also loved the closing credits.
Pretty much agree with all of that. I thought that the more horror they introduced, the worse it got but as you say, everything beforehand was superb.
Joe Bell (2021)
Mark Wahlberg takes on an emotional role in this would be tear jerker of a movie based on true events.
He plays Joe Bell, a middle aged man who walked across America to speak out against bullying to anyone who would listen. Bell's motivation was the death by suicide of his son who fell victim to bullying at school.
It's a powerful movie with strong performances all round. Gary Sinise makes a short but powerful appearance
7/10
Mark Wahlberg takes on an emotional role in this would be tear jerker of a movie based on true events.
He plays Joe Bell, a middle aged man who walked across America to speak out against bullying to anyone who would listen. Bell's motivation was the death by suicide of his son who fell victim to bullying at school.
It's a powerful movie with strong performances all round. Gary Sinise makes a short but powerful appearance
7/10
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I have not seen this one (yet), but I'm thinking he must be, as his films are all so similar stylistcally. Or otherwise he works always with the same editor, but I think that makes kinda the same point in terms of his close involvement.
I do feel Wright tends to have an issue carrying his narrative through an entire film; but stylistically, they're amazing. (I like Scott Pilgrim best myself.)
Sicario (2015): Seemed like a good time to revisit this after Dune and Narcos hitting. It is better than I remembered. The first time around I was feeling let down by the ending, but now I get it and am in tune with what Villeneuve is doing.
Benicio del Toro is just so fecking good sometimes.
8.375/10
Benicio del Toro is just so fecking good sometimes.
8.375/10
Something new?
Ip Man. Good martial arts film, subaverage film-film. The fighting is great, but the story for the first hour+ serves only to allow the film to jump from fight to fight. It gets better afterwards, when the Japanese oppression of Ip Man's community provides some actual drama and narrative necessity; but it remains very thin and predictable. All the same, I watched this for the kung-fu and wasn't disappointed. I won't be watching the three sequels though.
Antiporno. Imagine if you gave Sion Sono the money to make an experimental piece about negative treatment of females in Japan's entertainment industry and asked him to make it as colorful as possible while also making sure it grosses and just generally weirds out just about anybody watching it. Well, you'd end up with this film, Antiporno. It's on MUBI btw for any of you who want to join mine and Sweet Square's secret club. 4/5
I just saw that Gucci film. What an utterly ridiculous piece of shit film. At least it answers the question: how can you make a bad film when you have Adam Driver, Al Pacino and Jeremy Irons altogether. Eurgh. I hate it so much and I hate myself for having gone to see it but I mostly blame my date who cancelled on me when we were meant to go for drinks, even moreso now I found out my cocktail place close by had a special guest working there for the night who is one of the best mixologists in the world. I hate everything.
0 Vesper Martinis / Old Fashioned.
0 Vesper Martinis / Old Fashioned.
I didn't think it was that bad, but it certainly lacked something, it felt soulless. Some scenes went on for too long, some were cut short, you never really knew which year or place we're at. It was very long, yet in the end it felt like they rushed it. And Jared Leto's character was so cringy I winced every time he started talking.
Al Pacino, Adam Driver and Gaga were pretty good I thought.
It's too long and would have worked better as Netflix series because they really could have done something epic with the last episode.
But I thought it was very good, Lady Gaga is one hell of an actress to be fair to her.
People are raving about Leto's performance as Paolo but there's plenty of people in Hollywood can play the goofy, OTT character. He was good but not brilliant.
But I thought it was very good, Lady Gaga is one hell of an actress to be fair to her.
People are raving about Leto's performance as Paolo but there's plenty of people in Hollywood can play the goofy, OTT character. He was good but not brilliant.
Chaos Walking
Two unlikely companions embark on a perilous adventure through the badlands of an unexplored planet as they try to escape a dangerous and disorienting reality where all thoughts are seen and heard by everyone. Good cast and I liked the concept, which probably sounds great on paper but feels like a mess when watching as audio visual. There were a few funny moments but overall it was very slow and boring with too many things not connecting and without much depth considering the concept, which is a shame 3/10
Antlers
In an isolated Oregon town, a middle-school teacher and her sheriff brother become embroiled with her enigmatic student, whose dark secrets lead to terrifying encounters with an ancestral creature. Enjoyed this creature feature with a nice mythology and strong narrative. There were some gruesome and jumpy moments and I loved the restraint in showing the monster, which kept the tension up. I just wish it was paced a little better 7.5/10
Two unlikely companions embark on a perilous adventure through the badlands of an unexplored planet as they try to escape a dangerous and disorienting reality where all thoughts are seen and heard by everyone. Good cast and I liked the concept, which probably sounds great on paper but feels like a mess when watching as audio visual. There were a few funny moments but overall it was very slow and boring with too many things not connecting and without much depth considering the concept, which is a shame 3/10
Antlers
In an isolated Oregon town, a middle-school teacher and her sheriff brother become embroiled with her enigmatic student, whose dark secrets lead to terrifying encounters with an ancestral creature. Enjoyed this creature feature with a nice mythology and strong narrative. There were some gruesome and jumpy moments and I loved the restraint in showing the monster, which kept the tension up. I just wish it was paced a little better 7.5/10
Not quite sure what there is to like about Gaga's performance. It's entirely unsubtle, and could've been played by pretty much any actress out there. No charm whatsoever, though I blame the writing just as much as her portrayal.
Leto's performance was meh, only Irons, Pacino and Driver were any good for me. But the writing and direction were so poor it just ruined it. It felt like a made for TV film that would be showed on a Saturday afternoon at 4pm. I just can't quite get over how shit it was. So many "family" quotes were Vin Diesel in F&F level.
I thought the film was ok, I enjoyed it but seriously, how good was John C Reilly? I thought he was excellent.
Haven't seen the film but I'm tempted to just for him. He's a fine actor. One of those who doesn't often have lead roles or much exposure but is pretty much flawless in any part.
See also - Brendan Gleeson.
I love Brendan Gleeson. Awesome actor who seems at home in all sorts of films. Loved him in Paddington 2
have you seen Calvary? That's brilliant and he is phenomenal in it.Nah also one that has been on the watchlist for ages, and just never get round to it. Scorsese's Silence is also on that elusive list.I love Brendan Gleeson. Awesome actor who seems at home in all sorts of films. Loved him in Paddington 2
Same. Every time I've thought about watching it I've plumped for something else, not sure why.
Calvary though ...
I'll get there. Maybe over the Christmas holidays, my family has apparently decided against visiting me as they seemed to have realised they don't actually love me, so I should have some time.Same. Every time I've thought about watching it I've plumped for something else, not sure why.
Calvary though ...
It's ok, I tricked them for 34 years, it was bound to happen.
I kind of half watched silence after putting it off for ages. I remember absolutely nothing about it. It probably would have been good if you were really interested in the premise but i was just watching it for scorcese and the cast. It was very well made i just didn't care really.
Yeah, very good - and I thought Coogan was also very nice. I agree that it's not a brilliant film, but I just really enjoyed watching it. It's like a very lovingly made homage (with some story thrown in for good measure).
Would Tom Wilkinson be another addition to the list?
He very much would be
I've forgiven him for RocknRolla, there's not much he could have made of that - short of actually rejecting the part, of course.
I actually thought it was one of Irons’ more average performances!
Yeah you're probably right. I just get mesmerized by his voice every time he opens his mouth.
I couldn’t work out what House of Gucci was trying to achieve - it started out in a more comic tone built around a social climber but then flirted with Godfather-style family dynamics (echoes of Michael and Fredo). Driver seemed to be playing it straight while Leto thought he was in ‘Allo ‘Allo. Scott’s other film about a rich family (“All the Money in the World”) was better.
Does anyone know if they are pushing out the rent date for movies on google and microsoft? I have been waiting ages for Judas and the Black Messiah to be available to rent. Usually i rent them for about four euro. It is on google and microsoft, but only to purchase for 16 euro. Seems to be taking ages.
I'm going to watch Lamb tonight. Icelandic horror film.
Didn't think this was much cop. It's an Icelandic horror folk tale about a couple who take on parental ownership of a lamb/human hybrid. If it does anything well - beyond being incredibly well shot and ensuring lots of claustrophobia - its the way it opines on the strangeness of overbearing parents. There's an interesting counterpoint when the dude's estranged brother who turns up and judges the situation before realising it's best to pretend everything is fine for the sake of social grace. It winds up being quite cynical, perhaps even more like a dark comedy than horror.
In short - More style than substance. It's okay
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licorice pizza: a pretty forgettable film overall barring a few memorable scenes with philip seymour hoffman's son. only one scene with maya rudolph. nowhere near as good as reynolds house of woodcock 5/10