Film The Redcafe Movie review thread

Thought it was extraordinary. Amazingly well done epic, with great performances all around and sublime cinematography. Also feels like a film that will age extremely well.
The Northman was absolutely mental in the best possible way. Eggers is a brilliant director.

The film was so good that I wanted to strip b*llock naked, beat my chest rhythmically, and start a fight with entire row in front of me. It's fecking brilliant. Those final few seconds at the end were brilliant. It's a great film.

Love Eggers and his work. Really want to see this again.
 
Monstrous

Story centers on a traumatized woman fleeing from her abusive ex-husband with her 7-year-old son. In their new, remote sanctuary they find they have a bigger, more terrifying monster to deal with.
Very predictable, the twist was not really a shock.
However, Christina Ricci carried the movie quite nicely, as did child actor Santino Barnard.

5/10
 
Oslo, August 31st

A day in the life of a recovering drug addict. The second in joachim trier oslo trilogy, while it’s a more serious vibe than The Worst Person In The World it does touch on very similar subject matters.

Overall it’s a great film. Anders Danielsen Lie puts in a brilliant lead performance. Really captures the disconnect between someone who has put thhold while everyone around them is moving”forward”(A brilliant scene in a cafe gets this point across)

It’s a beautifully shot film but in a quite and creative way.

Well worth a watch.
 
Drive My Car - Forgettable. Not sure if it's the alcohol's or the movie's fault, probably a combination.

Oooh controversial. I thought it was a fantastic movie, though I'm a sucker for slow burners about repressed emotions. Reminded me of Burning.

Have you seen any of Hamaguchi's other movies? I loved Asako I + II and Happy Hour, but didn't particularly enjoy Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy
 
Black Knight - 2001

A medieval theme park employee (Martin Lawrence) accidentally travels back in time to medieval England.

How this film flopped is beyond me. It's exactly what you think it will be. Stupid and funny.
 
Black Knight - 2001

A medieval theme park employee (Martin Lawrence) accidentally travels back in time to medieval England.

How this film flopped is beyond me. It's exactly what you think it will be. Stupid and funny.

I loved how the maiden 'just happened' to be a maiden of colour which was nigh on improbable but she was light-skinned enough to keep the illusion alive.
 
Love Death + Robots: Vol. 3 (2022)

Now available on Netflix. Usual mixed bag of 2D/3D animated shorts covering various and unrelated adult themes across all types of genres. Combining a mixture of dark humour, satire and parody, we get an anthology of short stories delivered in their own visually unique way. Some of the 3D offerings are visually impressive. With some poignant, evocative and compelling themes some stories will stay with you long after they have finished. Certainly not for young kids, the sequences can be quite intense and very graphic in places. I really enjoyed Vol. 1 with some really impressive shorts. Vol. 2 was a real let down but Vol. 3 has raised the bar again albeit not to the levels of the first series. There will be something to please most people with action, horror and black comedy but all with a cerebral undertone. Standouts for me were Bad Travelling, Mason's Rats and Jibaro. If you've never seen the previous volumes, this may peak your interest in checking them out. The stories are not sequential so you can watch in any order as you also can with the volumes that are now conveniently all in one place. I would thoroughly recommend Beyond the Aquila Rift, Sonnie's Edge, The Witness, The Dump and Shape Shifters from Vol. 1 (though they are all good) and Life Hutch, Pop Squad and Automated Customer Service from Vol. 2. Keep 'em coming.

I'm giving this a 7/10.
 



In The Mood For Love is currently not showing on Mubi.


I had an email exchange with Efe in the early years. He seems like a nice guy and I got some free membership trials out of it. Back when it only used to cost £3 p/m(!)

Re: the film. I imagine it's hard to get rights to Wong Kar Wai movies. For years they were done by Artificial Eye, but then they were bought by Curzon which runs its own online streaming service, so probably isn't keen on selling the rights widely (or for cheap). They price gouged a lot with the recent blu-ray collection, for example. Currently retailing at £150 for 7 films :eek:

Re: the service more broadly. I think it's obvious where MUBI's issues are when it comes to distribution and why they only get rights to certain movies. They'll pick up on a lot of older movies that either have cheap or lapsed rights. When it comes to newer movies, they clearly try and get exclusive rights for films that don't have physical distribution in the UK.

A lot of these then end up being Europeans movies - ones not currently distributed by companies like Curzon/Artificial Eye. I know with Japanese movies, for example, they tend to be a bit crap because they're usually handled by Thunderbird (good relationship), Eureka (good relationship), Third Window (minimal relationship), or Arrow (none, similar to Curzon). Adam Torel at Third Window does a podcast and has explained that they prefer to go their own route, either distributing via Amazon or a sister service like Terracotta Distrubition (via Vimeo).

Going a bit off tangent now but I find it really interesting how online services have become more crowded over recent years meaning companies like MUBI have had to change their approach. They've moved further into becoming a distribution company unto themselves, I suspect largely because it allows them to guarantee rights to certain films and also gives them a way to market the exclusivity of certain movies on the platform. Joachim Trier's The Worst Person in the World - and by proxy his back catalogue - being a clear example right now.
 
Love Death + Robots: Vol. 3 (2022)

Now available on Netflix. Usual mixed bag of 2D/3D animated shorts covering various and unrelated adult themes across all types of genres. Combining a mixture of dark humour, satire and parody, we get an anthology of short stories delivered in their own visually unique way. Some of the 3D offerings are visually impressive. With some poignant, evocative and compelling themes some stories will stay with you long after they have finished. Certainly not for young kids, the sequences can be quite intense and very graphic in places. I really enjoyed Vol. 1 with some really impressive shorts. Vol. 2 was a real let down but Vol. 3 has raised the bar again albeit not to the levels of the first series. There will be something to please most people with action, horror and black comedy but all with a cerebral undertone. Standouts for me were Bad Travelling, Mason's Rats and Jibaro. If you've never seen the previous volumes, this may peak your interest in checking them out. The stories are not sequential so you can watch in any order as you also can with the volumes that are now conveniently all in one place. I would thoroughly recommend Beyond the Aquila Rift, Sonnie's Edge, The Witness, The Dump and Shape Shifters from Vol. 1 (though they are all good) and Life Hutch, Pop Squad and Automated Customer Service from Vol. 2. Keep 'em coming.

I'm giving this a 7/10.
Copy and paste this for the series thread? :wenger:
 
MUBI had the Villeneuve back catalogue on their site just before Dune came out, maybe still does. Watched Incendies, Prisoners and Enemy with their free trial. Money well spent.
 
The Northman: We need more films from this guy. Fresh takes on old tropes and tired period piece settings. I am not entirely sure what I think but already want to watch it again. The blonde lady’s eyes are one of the most magnetic things on film these days.

8.69/10
 
I really liked the northman too. Some incredible shots throughout. Felt quite strange to watch a film that wasn't made by an algorithm, just felt very different to most modern cinema. Kind of reminded me of Gladiator or Ben Hur or something
 
Watching everything everywhere all at once, right now(Which should tell you something that I’m typing this)

Started off a bit meh, then got really good. Dare I say, the multiverse of madness could have taken a few lessons from this movie. But I’m into last half hour of part 2, and it is fecking dragging to the point of being painful and guarantees I’ll never watch it again. Shame too as it the middle of the movie is fantastic.
 
I had an email exchange with Efe in the early years. He seems like a nice guy and I got some free membership trials out of it. Back when it only used to cost £3 p/m(!)

Re: the film. I imagine it's hard to get rights to Wong Kar Wai movies. For years they were done by Artificial Eye, but then they were bought by Curzon which runs its own online streaming service, so probably isn't keen on selling the rights widely (or for cheap). They price gouged a lot with the recent blu-ray collection, for example. Currently retailing at £150 for 7 films :eek:

Re: the service more broadly. I think it's obvious where MUBI's issues are when it comes to distribution and why they only get rights to certain movies. They'll pick up on a lot of older movies that either have cheap or lapsed rights. When it comes to newer movies, they clearly try and get exclusive rights for films that don't have physical distribution in the UK.

A lot of these then end up being Europeans movies - ones not currently distributed by companies like Curzon/Artificial Eye. I know with Japanese movies, for example, they tend to be a bit crap because they're usually handled by Thunderbird (good relationship), Eureka (good relationship), Third Window (minimal relationship), or Arrow (none, similar to Curzon). Adam Torel at Third Window does a podcast and has explained that they prefer to go their own route, either distributing via Amazon or a sister service like Terracotta Distrubition (via Vimeo).
Cheers for this detailed post. Really interesting to know why they more of certain type of film. Tbh my post came across for harsher than intended. I do use Mubi a lot(Just finished watching Trier trilogy) and overall it’s a great service.

On the Wong Kar Wai box set, while it looks incredible I agree that it’s insanely expensive considering the number of film it’s offering. Also maybe this was out of their control but it does annoy me that My Blueberry Nights isn’t included.
 
Cheers for this detailed post. Really interesting to know why they more of certain type of film. Tbh my post came across for harsher than intended. I do use Mubi a lot(Just finished watching Trier trilogy) and overall it’s a great service.

On the Wong Kar Wai box set, while it looks incredible I agree that it’s insanely expensive considering the number of film it’s offering. Also maybe this was out of their control but it does annoy me that My Blueberry Nights isn’t included.

Think that's the only one I haven't seen. Is it any good?
 
On another note, I finally got around to watching Dune last night. Visually it's a treat but the way it's framed/written feels so much like a TV show (a two-parter).

It really stands out as being a completely different style to your average high-budget movie. Almost conceptual at times.
 
Pig

A truffle hunter who lives alone in the Oregon wilderness must return to his past in Portland in search of his beloved foraging pig after she is kidnapped.
Loved it, shows just what Cage can do if given the right tools, one of the better films I have seen in a while.

8/10
 
Made the wife watch dead man's shoes last night.
She hated it. Thought she'd have liked it considering how much she enjoyed this is England.
 
On another note, I finally got around to watching Dune last night. Visually it's a treat but the way it's framed/written feels so much like a TV show (a two-parter).

It really stands out as being a completely different style to your average high-budget movie. Almost conceptual at times.
Not as good as Lynch's version for me. His characters had more depth especially the Baron.
 
Think that's the only one I haven't seen. Is it any good?
For me its not at the very top level with the likes of In The Mood for Love or Chungking Express but it’s just as interesting as Days Of Being Wild or Happy Together.


Norah Jones plays a sweet young woman in her early 20’s who travels America finding out just how insanely messed up everyone over the age of 30 is. Jude Law does a Yorkshire accent to a bunch of Americans, Natalie Portman plays a gambling addict and Rachel Weiszare is a depressed wife. The soundtrack is made up of Ry Cooler and Cat Power songs( Cat Power has a on screen role).

It’s just as dreamy and sincere as all his other works. So yeah I loved it.
 
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Not as good as Lynch's version for me. His characters had more depth especially the Baron.

Lynch's version is more complete for sure. It's not the greatest adaptation but it's a full story driven by characters and plot. This one feels more abstract, a bit like the idea Jodorowsky had.

I think Chalomet plays Paul better than MacLachlan did. Lynch's version was a little too straight and lacking in the emotional stuntedness he shows at the beginning of the book.

Re: The Baron. Was it always established he was this fat, disgusting monolith of a man? That was also a thing in Lynch's version but I always pictured him being more like Darth Vader.

For me its not at the very top level with the likes of In The Mood for Love or Chungking Express but it’s just as interesting as Days Of Being Wild or Happy Together.

Norah Jones plays a sweet young woman in her early 20’s who travels America finding out just how insanely messed up everyone over the age of 30 is. Jude Law does a Yorkshire accent to a bunch of Americans, Natalie Portman plays a gambling addict and Rachel Weiszare is a depressed wife. The soundtrack is made up of Ry Cooler and Cat Power songs( Cat Power has a on screen role).

It’s just as dreamy and sincere as all his other works. So yeah I loved it.

Thanks. Might have to check it out then (I've still got to watch Tokyo Sora too).
 
Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022)

Just come back from the cinema after watching this delightful clusterfeck of a movie. I can't remember seeing anything as weirded out as this in recent times....well probably Big Bug on Netflix but that wasn't half as entertaining as this multiversal story on steroids. It took me a while to figure out what was going on as the pace is quite fast with the plot slowly unravelling as the film progresses rather than setting up any back story or context for the proceedings. Basically, a story about love, family, relationships and acceptance but told in the most convoluted manner possible, it's a psychedelic trip of epic proportions. It was great seeing Jamie Lee Curtis getting the shit kicked out of her though.

I wonder what Marvel would make of their multiverse theory being expounded in this way. It certainly was original and looked like a real blast to make. People portrayed as cartoons, pinatas, rocks, hotdog-fingered humans (yes hotdogs for fingers!) was certainly an inventive take on the premise and made for some interesting scenes to say the least. Everyone will be familiar with Michelle Yeoh, Jamie-Lee Curtis, Ke Huy Quan (of Goonies and Indiana Jones fame) and James Hong working alongside a cast of virtual unknowns with an energy that is commendable for a project of this nature. Unashamedly in your face with some low-level gross-out moments to boot, this black comedy just about delivers. Messy in places and with a plot that doesn't have much cohesion to it, all the pieces are brought together to a conclusion if you can call it that but still managing to leave everything up in the air. May not be to everyone's tastes but I enjoyed it, being a massive fan of Yeoh.

I'm giving this a 7/10.
 
The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent
It literally opens with my favourite film scene ever... Con Air ending. I actually had tears in my eyes! I read this script on blacklist years ago and am so happy it got made. Like someone made my wish come true. I honestly felt like the character of Pedro Pascal is me :lol: this is a great watch for any Cage fan 9/10
 
Black Knight - 2001

A medieval theme park employee (Martin Lawrence) accidentally travels back in time to medieval England.

How this film flopped is beyond me. It's exactly what you think it will be. Stupid and funny.

This movie is great. Even watched it in the theatre back in the days.
 
Decided to watch a movie finally after catching up with TV, and Licorice Pizza turned me off watching movies for few weeks/months again.

Terrible first hour after which both wife and me fell asleep. Is this really one of best movies of 2021. or am I an idiot for not enjoying movies from recent years at all?
 
Decided to watch a movie finally after catching up with TV, and Licorice Pizza turned me off watching movies for few weeks/months again.

Terrible first hour after which both wife and me fell asleep. Is this really one of best movies of 2021. or am I an idiot for not enjoying movies from recent years at all?

I thought the first hour was the better part. You're right though that it's very self-indulgent and not particularly memorable

AFAIK PT Anderson basically hired his friends to make the movie.
 
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It's a great film and pretty much based on a true story, PTA has become an acquired taste though in the last 10 years.
 
I thought the first hour was the better part. You're right though that it's very self-indulgent and not particularly memorable, also clearly unbelievable.

AFAIK PT Anderson basically hired his friends to make the movie.

Well I thought some parts were directed by no name director tbf, or it was simply a style I didn't understand. Jumping from random scene to scene was very weird and stupid.

Girl was dating one guy in one scene, and in the next scene she was dating the other guy despite just meeting him few minutes back, without actually being given any explanation what happened in between. I didn't like it.
 
It's a great film and pretty much based on a true story, PTA has become an acquired taste though in the last 10 years.

Was it a true story? I know it used certain true events like the gay politician but assumed it was otherwise made up.

One thing I'll say in its defence is that it works great as a mood piece. Made me feel nostalgic for an era I never personally experienced.
 
Was it a true story? I know it used certain true events like the gay politician but assumed it was otherwise made up.

One thing I'll say in its defence is that it works great as a mood piece. Made me feel nostalgic for an era I never personally experienced.

It's based on the life of a producer who's friends with Anderson. Sean Penn and Bradley Cooper are playing William Holden and Jon Peters, respectively. A lot of the other characters are also based on real people.

I think this is a film that benefits from repeated viewings. It works great as a mood piece but it's also even better as a subtle commentary on the toxicity of Hollywood and that era in a way that's very different from what we normally see these days in other films.
 
I thought the first hour was the better part. You're right though that it's very self-indulgent and not particularly memorable

AFAIK PT Anderson basically hired his friends to make the movie.

We enjoyed it at first but it got more and more self indulgent. We got about 70% of the way through and stopped watching. Not sure if we will return.
 
It's based on the life of a producer who's friends with Anderson. Sean Penn and Bradley Cooper are playing William Holden and Jon Peters, respectively. A lot of the other characters are also based on real people.

I think this is a film that benefits from repeated viewings. It works great as a mood piece but it's also even better as a subtle commentary on the toxicity of Hollywood and that era in a way that's very different from what we normally see these days in other films.
I thought it was a lovely film, not necessarily the most memorable but well made, good actors (with physiques that go against what's usually expected in Hollywood), and overall just an enjoyable mood piece as you said that I can see myself re-watching in a couple of years and enjoying again.
 
I went to see An Cailín Ciúin (marketed as 'The Quiet Girl' in English-speaking markets) the other day. I thought it was fantastic. It's a simple story but it's told and acted very well and with a lot of subtlety and restraint. I think I've rarely seen a film doing "show, don't tell" this well. It doesn't rely on dialogue to tell you how the characters feel or how they relate to each other, so when there are stretches of dialogue they carry more weight. I think the sum of all that (and the way it's shot which I find a lot harder to describe as I'm no expert) is that it hits home emotionally in a way a lot of films with 'bigger' acting performances and gushing dialogue fail to.

It's mostly in Irish but the Irish dialogue is subtitled in English and I don't think it loses too much for that (my wife doesn't speak or understand any Irish and still loved it). I thought the translation itself was good because it conveyed the meaning of the words being said without losing the cadence of the sentence in the Irish. The only thing that might get lost in translation is that there is some effective use of switching between English/Irish which would likely be missed someone who speaks neither language and is watching the whole thing in subtitles.

Anyway yeah, brilliant. 10/10 for me. Does what it's trying to do perfectly and all the main cast were excellent, especially the main character Cáit.
 
PTA has gone off since doing There will be Blood. Which is a masterpiece. He hasnt quite matched that since.
 
I stumbled on this Norwegian horror comedy film called The Trip. Just waiting for my missus to come back from her own trip later this week so we can watch it together. Seems right up her alley as a horror fan. I heard its really good so let's see.