Film The Redcafe Movie review thread

The Swimmers - a very powerful and emotional film that is based on true events. The story really gives perspective of the desperate struggles too many people face each day. Cinematography was very impressive. 9/10.

Saw the premiere of this at the BFI and the woman that the film is based on was there answering questions. Amazing movie, so moving. Not ashamed to say I cried at a few bits.
 
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The Swimmers - a very powerful and emotional film that is based on true events. The story really gives perspective of the desperate struggles too many people face each day. Cinematography was very impressive. 9/10.

Yes quite agree. Watched it yesterday and it was gripping as well as thought provoking.
 
Saturday Fiction

A black and white espionage drama set in 1940s Shanghai. Stared Gong Li as a famous actress acting as secret agent for the French.

Could have been much better. There's a good acting there somewhere

5/10
 
Pan's Labyrinth
First time watching this. Beautiful, terrifying and a movie that I'll remember for quite a long time. It has a bit of everything and the antagonist was stuff of nightmare. I wish GDT kept up this level of imagination... Don't get me wrong, he has made other good stuff but this was clearly his peak. Fantastic movie 8.5/10
 
Smile A lark. Genuinely unnerving at points while still a bit derivative and sticking to tried and tested horror film arcs. Not as interesting or fresh as Barbarian, but more unsettling. 3.5/5.

Insidious 2 boring and crap. The first was really fun. 1.5/5.
 
Smile A lark. Genuinely unnerving at points while still a bit derivative and sticking to tried and tested horror film arcs. Not as interesting or fresh as Barbarian, but more unsettling. 3.5/5.

Insidious 2 boring and crap. The first was really fun. 1.5/5.
If you’re going to use .5s to rate movies why don’t you just rate them out of 10, cowboy.
 
If you’re going to use .5s to rate movies why don’t you just rate them out of 10, cowboy.
Some of us need all the 0.5 measurements we can get mr big boy. Also, it's how it's done on Letterboxed. Anyone here use it? Good site for finding new films, though it's chock full of divs trying to be funny on every review.
 
Watched a couple of Hong Sang-soo's recent movies last night.

The Introduction - Liked this a lot. It's a shortish film - roughly 60 minutes - about a young man who goes back home and reconciles with family, friends and ex-lovers. It's split into three parts with each showcasing differences in terms of viewpoints of young and old. Conversations play out quite haphazardly and it has lots of awkward, bumbly moments which feel almost effortlessly realistic. The dinner scene in part 2 really nails awkward family interaction.

The Novelist's Film - A newer one he shot during Covid (masks are evident) about a novelist who befriends a famous actress played by his real-life wife Kim Min-hee. Same as above, most scenes consist of them talking about their thoughts on life. There's an incredibly awkward interaction between the novelist and a director who pulled out of making a movie based on her book because of financing. It's a bit rambling at times but otherwise an enjoyable low-budget drama.

I'd recommend the first one more.
 
Some of us need all the 0.5 measurements we can get mr big boy. Also, it's how it's done on Letterboxed. Anyone here use it? Good site for finding new films, though it's chock full of divs trying to be funny on every review.
Ha - fair dos. Never used Letterboxed myself.
Roger Ebert really annoys me that it’s out of 4.
Same.
 
The Lobster
In a dystopian future, single people are sent to a hotel where they must find a compatible partner within a set time or be turned into an animal of their choosing to live out the rest of their days. Has that clinical style in cinematography and dialogue that most Yargos Lanthimos films have and it really works to create a film that is funny, fresh and also heart-warming but I felt a steep decline after the first half but it does pick up a little in the final act. Happy to watch films that try something new so this was a pleasant surprise 7/10
 
The Lobster
In a dystopian future, single people are sent to a hotel where they must find a compatible partner within a set time or be turned into an animal of their choosing to live out the rest of their days. Has that clinical style in cinematography and dialogue that most Yargos Lanthimos films have and it really works to create a film that is funny, fresh and also heart-warming but I felt a steep decline after the first half but it does pick up a little in the final act. Happy to watch films that try something new so this was a pleasant surprise 7/10
I loved how weird and bonkers the logic of that movie was. My girlfriend is blind so ill pop my eyes out with a plastic fork so were compatible.
 
Are these Jordan Peele movies a must watch? I'm not a fan of horror in general and rarely watch them unless I feel like I'm missing out on something exceptional
 
Are these Jordan Peele movies a must watch? I'm not a fan of horror in general and rarely watch them unless I feel like I'm missing out on something exceptional
They fall just short of that imo. I'm not sure Nope is a horror movie though. The horror part of the movies is the least interesting part about them, depending on your tolerance for horror you could enjoy them regardless.
 
Are these Jordan Peele movies a must watch? I'm not a fan of horror in general and rarely watch them unless I feel like I'm missing out on something exceptional
I don't like horror at all, but I saw Get Out and Nope and liked them both. There are a few jump scares (which I'm no fan of either), but nothing particularly bad, and there is virtually no gore or other grossness in them. They're both more like mystery thrillers with a good serving of social commentary/drama. I'm really not sure why they're called horror - except if it's me defining horror too narrowly.
 
Are these Jordan Peele movies a must watch? I'm not a fan of horror in general and rarely watch them unless I feel like I'm missing out on something exceptional
Get Out is great and NOPE is good too. Us Is a load of shite.
 
Are these Jordan Peele movies a must watch? I'm not a fan of horror in general and rarely watch them unless I feel like I'm missing out on something exceptional
Get Out was good. Us was ok until you spend a moment thinking about it and it falls apart... Nope is a load of streaming turd.
 
Are these Jordan Peele movies a must watch? I'm not a fan of horror in general and rarely watch them unless I feel like I'm missing out on something exceptional
Yes they're all very good films if you're ok with meaning not being spoonfed to you (well apart from Get Out which was very much on the nose). They're not fundamentally horror films though, as others have said.
 
Pan's Labyrinth
First time watching this. Beautiful, terrifying and a movie that I'll remember for quite a long time. It has a bit of everything and the antagonist was stuff of nightmare. I wish GDT kept up this level of imagination... Don't get me wrong, he has made other good stuff but this was clearly his peak. Fantastic movie 8.5/10

It is a terrific film.
 
Smile
A history movie about being confined by suppressed trauma that comes in the form of a creepy smile. I really enjoyed this. Was really fun, the characters weren't thick, good acting and a really inventive jump scare that I'll remember for a good while. Wish I saw this at the cinema 7.5/10

Thanks for the recommendation, I really enjoyed it. Nicely shot movie with good acting, and the way the movie ended, it needs a sequel.

The latter part of the movie was a bit disappointing though. It's very much like 'It Follows' storywise. That movie was also "cursed" ;) by a underwelming final third.

Now I've have to watch Barbarian.

8.5 out of 10
 
Thanks for the recommendation, I really enjoyed it. Nicely shot movie with good acting, and the way the movie ended, it needs a sequel.

The latter part of the movie was a bit disappointing though. It's very much like 'It Follows' storywise. That movie was also "cursed" ;) by a underwelming final third.

Now I've have to watch Barbarian.

8.5 out of 10
Yes you should, to watch at least one good film this week.
 
Thanks for the recommendation, I really enjoyed it. Nicely shot movie with good acting, and the way the movie ended, it needs a sequel.

The latter part of the movie was a bit disappointing though. It's very much like 'It Follows' storywise. That movie was also "cursed" ;) by a underwelming final third.

Now I've have to watch Barbarian.

8.5 out of 10
Dont read anything about it, just watch it blind.
 
I went to see Bones and All last night. I hadn't read anything about it, and for some reason expected it to be a romantic drama.

Which to an extent, it is. In fact, it is exactly that - with a couple of other genres sprinkled on top and importantly, horror/gore thrown in there, along with the road movie genre. It's a weird, unexpected mix, but it works wonderfully well and is incredibly moving and touching. I find it hard to really like Chalamet for some reason, but after several years of decent to very good performances, I think I have to come to terms with the fact he's actually great, and Taylor Russell is mesmerizing throughout. They both deliver very subtle, unforced and profound performances, and have really cute chemistry. Mark Rylance is wonderful too, probably one of the creepiest performances I've seen in a while. Throw in a couple of fun cameos by the always excellent Michael Stuhlbarg and Chloë Sevigny, along with a very strong ensemble cast, some breathtaking cinematography, an understated yet deep story, some wryly funny moments and a gorgeous score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, and you have one of the defining and most impressive films of the year.

It's fundamentally a film about love, about being able to love oneself and truly finding yourself in the love towards another (so, not that different to Call me by your name in that regard), done by one of the most interesting and fun directors around.

Also kind of ironic the film shares some strong connections with Call me by your name with a cannibalistic twist, considering what was uncovered about Armie Hammer since then...

I put it all in spoilers as I really enjoyed being surprised by it, but the surprise part, if you don't know anything about if beforehand, is settled after 10mn, so if you don't mind that, there's nothing too spoilery in there - otherwise, just know it's a gorgeous film, one of the very best of the year.
 
I'm asking as I'm addicted to Benson/Moorhead films: has anyone gotten through Something in the Dirt that wants to offer some feedback?

I'm not feeling it at all; is it worth the effort?

Edit: I'm an hour in for the second time.
 
Watch They Shall Not Grow Old, remastered film from WW1 is its warts and all , dead bodies etc. It is excellent.
Yes, very good. Not a film at all of course, but really great at showing through remastered and coloured original footage what life was really like for people that got drafted to fight in the trenches of WW1 and then spent all that time there. Nothing about the geopolitical side of the war - just a focus on the people fighting it in those trenches. Really impressive.
 
I watched it again recently and I genuinely got emotional at certain scenes, particularly the "can't be bargained with" speech. Can't really describe why. But it happened.
Oh that scene is great, its a 60 second sales pitch to the audience, after that scene you really don't need to know anything more about what a terminator is. A few years back I went with one of my mates(Who hadn't never seen it before)to watch it at the cinema and it was surprisingly creepy. The section of film where Arnie is going around murdering suburban mothers in daylight(Along with the apartment murder)is pretty grim. It's closer to a horror film than I remembered. Leaving the cinema I was expecting to end up talking about the cool actions scenes or the police shootout but we both ended up mentioning about it amazing but pretty intense watch.
 
I'm asking as I'm addicted to Benson/Moorhead films: has anyone gotten through Something in the Dirt that wants to offer some feedback?

I'm not feeling it at all; is it worth the effort?

Edit: I'm an hour in for the second time.
Did you finish it? I have it in my watchlist but haven't gotten round to it yet.
 
i’m afraid to watch it, the book is my favorite and from what I read the movie isn‘t honest to it.
The book is brilliant but the movie doesn't do anything to spoil that. It's different but still brilliant. Just watch it and enjoy, it's very good.
 
Oh that scene is great, its a 60 second sales pitch to the audience, after that scene you really don't need to know anything more about what a terminator is. A few years back I went with one of my mates(Who hadn't never seen it before)to watch it at the cinema and it was surprisingly creepy. The section of film where Arnie is going around murdering suburban mothers in daylight(Along with the apartment murder)is pretty grim. It's closer to a horror film than I remembered. Leaving the cinema I was expecting to end up talking about the cool actions scenes or the police shootout but we both ended up mentioning about it amazing but pretty intense watch.
Apparently Arnold wanted to play Kyle originally :lol:

I'm still blown away by Hamilton's commitment to the character for the sequel.