Film The Redcafe Movie review thread

I saw The Whale this evening. I thought it was excellent: very engrossing, basically Fraser's performance carrying you through the entire film, feeling vaguely positive throughout despite most of the actual events of the film being pretty sad. Great script and direction to make that possible.

I see a lot of people thought the other performances are pretty poor, but I didn't feel that way for the nurse/friend and daughter. The mum and the missionary are odder, but then I do think all those characters are a little flat and too typical, and it's hard to make much of that. The only that actually bothered me was the missionary though. I think I can see what his story brings to the film, but he's just not very believable as a character, and neither is his fairly sudden development when he's alone with Ellie.

But anyway, it's Fraser's film, and he carries it magnificently. 4/5
 
Rooney in Paris said:
But does it though? The whole Marxist/capitalist discussion segment of the film comes across as if it had been written by an edgy teen that just discovered the manifesto.
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Isn’t that a deliberate choice ? I could just be giving the film too much credit(Something I have a habit of doing).

But Harrison character wears a old Soviet pin as a form of pointless protest while also working as a cruise captain and he has to look up the commie quotes, which even then he gets wrong(Pretty sure the rope quote is from Lenin not Marx). Burić Russian capitalist knows doesn’t really think the current society is any good and knows what he is selling is shit.

I took away from that scene, the utter meaningless of these political identities in the era of climate change. What does it mean to be a neoliberal capitalist without a communist state to fight against or to be a communist without mass politics.

The film suggests it becomes a slagging off match, both sides desperately searching for quotes they don’t really understand as the system continues to create profits while destroying the ecosystem(I wonder what that’s like :nervous:).
 
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Rooney in Paris said:
But does it though? The whole Marxist/capitalist discussion segment of the film comes across as if it had been written by an edgy teen that just discovered the manifesto.
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I don't see that. The exchange is presenting a culture of shallow and disposable political discourse, that numbly consumes and regurgitates continuously. I couldn't point to anything in his films that aven attempts to be politically critical on an academic level. The cause of the descent is always leveled at human weakness and fallibility.
 
Nah, I agree with both of you, and how it shouldn't be taken at face value... But even with the absurdist angle, I found it rather weak. Well in fairness, that part, the rising tension with those 2 being drunk and quoting stuff over the intercom, with the sense of impending doom, was probably the best part of the film. Really went to shit after that though (and the first chapter, the argument between the lad and Yaya, was rather boring).
 
Rooney in Paris said:
Nah, I agree with both of you, and how it shouldn't be taken at face value... But even with the absurdist angle, I found it rather weak. Well in fairness, that part, the rising tension with those 2 being drunk and quoting stuff over the intercom, with the sense of impending doom, was probably the best part of the film. Really went to shit after that though (and the first chapter, the argument between the lad and Yaya, was rather boring).
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Imo the two biggest problems and its not really the fault of the film are

.It’s not Children Of Men. It’s like trying to make a Mafia film after The Godfather but for films about the dystopia of the 21st century. Cuarón nailed our current situation so well that it’s pointless to put in another attempt.

.Donald Trump was the actual US president. The goal of these type of films is show the audience the secret under workings, in the classic case John Carpenter gives the audiences the glasses which show the hidden truth. But we live in the dumbest and shitty satire of time, where nothing is hidden and everyone knows it’s all going to shit. There’s nothing to show anymore in terms of satire.
 
Tar was hard work. Well shot with visual zip but the conversation is clunky and shallow. I don't usually too much mind her as an actor but here Blanchett's showy presence, particularly in the longer shots really starts to grate. As do the constant "I know music me" discussions which sound contrived and obvious even to a novice. If you actually know your stuff I imagine it would be insufferable to listen to. The podium punch up looked very stupid.
 
The Outfit (2022)

I thought this movie was fantastic. I've always been fascinated with the world of tailors (or cutters!) so the theme already had me hooked. But I thought it was a very well done and well acted drama without any flash or FX but just good acting and impeccable set design. The tailoring aspects were enough to lend it a feeling of expertise without feeling too immersed in a subculture for movie. Highly recommend to people that enjoy new takes on "mob" movies. One gripe would be the color filter of the movie I felt was a little too de-saturated (not sure that is the correct term) but it didn't feel like the colors of the fabric came out as much as I would have wanted. that or my TV settings just suck.


Sweet Square said:
Night In Paradise is a cool South Korean thriller

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Loved this one myself but it's exactly my cup of tea so don't know how to rate it objectively.
I'd also recommend Wild Goose Lake for a similar vibe.
 
dumbo said:
Tar was hard work. Well shot with visual zip but the conversation is clunky and shallow. I don't usually too much mind her as an actor but here Blanchett's showy presence, particularly in the longer shots really starts to grate. As do the constant "I know music me" discussions which sound contrived and obvious even to a novice. If you actually know your stuff I imagine it would be insufferable to listen to. The podium punch up looked very stupid.
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*cough cough* Triangle of Sadness intro *cough cough*

Just being facetious, I agree - I thought some of it was ok, but it got a bit repetitive and boring. I enjoyed Blanchett's performance though.
 
Babylon, the feck is this shit. First 5 minutes has an elephant crap in the face gag, followed by a you need a permit for that elephant gag and then a fat exec beeing pissed on. Jackass or Chuckle Brothers? It's a poor imitation of either.

Then the most tame and lame cartoon debauchery, looking like Baz Luhrmann directing an episode of Ibiza Uncovered, complete with oversized prop cocks, girls kissing and random shagging. "Stop being a whiney bitch" and "where are the drugs" make up the dialogue. Scuzzy Brad Pitt is such a fecking bore and as much as I like Emma Stone the totally-out-there screeching A-lister gimmick is wearing incredibly thin.

It seems to be going for a screwball Coens style but it has no timing, no sense of the absurd or the humorous, no heart or substance.

Its like everything that Elon Musk thinks is funny, cool and daring.

All this before the title screen.

I never realised what a fecking dork Chazelle is but thinking back over his filmography I think the evidence is there. It's all so bloody boring; Cinema all out of ideas and talent.

I feel like I'm in an age of artistic amnesia and I'm the only person who remembers a time when everything wasn't completely shit. Barton Fink, Wild At Heart, All About Eve... anyone?
 
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pauldyson1uk said:
The Godfather 1 and 2

They just get better each time I watch them
2 I think is the better film , but truth be told there is not much in it, Robert De Niro in 2 just edges it.
1 9.5/10
2 10/10
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I prefer 2 but mainly for Al Pacino's performance (not to detract from the De Niro timeline) but there isn't much in it. Amazing that he also made Apocalypse Now. His 80's output wasn't too bad, if nowhere near his best 3 films. Post 2000 has been meh (at best).

Apparently there was a limited release Directors Cut of Godfather 3 that he claims was what was originally intended, and surely if has to be better than what was released?
 
Wibble said:
I prefer 2 but mainly for Al Pacino's performance. Amazing that he also made Apocalypse Now. His 80's output wasn't too bad if nowhere near his best 3 films. Post 200 has been meh (at best).

Apparently there was a limited release Directors Cut of Godfather 3 that he claims was what was originally intended and surely if has to be better than what was released?
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Al was very good yes, but De Niro for me.
C4 are showing the 2020 Godfather 3 Coda cut on Friday night, I have never watched 3, just because it got panned, I may have to watch this new cut.
 
pauldyson1uk said:
Al was very good yes, but De Niro for me.
C4 are showing the 2020 Godfather 3 Coda cut on Friday night, I have never watched 3, just because it got panned, I may have to watch this new cut.
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3 wasn't anywhere near as good as 1 and 2. Fingers crossed for the Coda cut.
 
pauldyson1uk said:
The Godfather 1 and 2

They just get better each time I watch them
2 I think is the better film , but truth be told there is not much in it, Robert De Niro in 2 just edges it.
1 9.5/10
2 10/10
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I think 1 is a better movie in terms of its structure and plot, and how it plays out. But 2 edges it for me thanks to the de Niro back-story. Everything about it is just magnificent, but the entire murder of Fanucci scene for me is one of if not the greatest pieces of cinema I can think of.
 
Sweet Square said:


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Not quite as good as Colin Farrel wooing Gong Li on a fastboat to Cuba, while Moby plays over the shot, but it's interesting.

On that note, I rewatched Miami Vice yesterday and stand by what I've said previously - gorgeous film, with Mann's usual themes running through it, with a very 2006 soundtrack that weirdly works. I watched the Director's Cut yesterday, which has a few changes from the theatrical release, I actually think the latter works better (especially for the beginning of the film).

I also rewatched The assassination of Jesse James by the coward Robert Ford the other day, this should be talked about more in people's all time best films. Probably has one of the best intros to any film, Brad Pitt is magnetic in it, Casey Affleck is a perfect fit for the whiny, annoying Bob Ford, and the ensemble cast is overall great (forgot how many great actors were in this). The photography ranks amongst the best out there (some shots are spectacularly beautiful), and Nick Cave's soundtrack is the icing on the cake of this delirious, onirical ballad in a long forgotten era.
 
Rooney in Paris said:
I also rewatched The assassination of Jesse James by the coward Robert Ford the other day, this should be talked about more in people's all time best films. Probably has one of the best intros to any film, Brad Pitt is magnetic in it, Casey Affleck is a perfect fit for the whiny, annoying Bob Ford, and the ensemble cast is overall great (forgot how many great actors were in this). The photography ranks amongst the best out there (some shots are spectacularly beautiful), and Nick Cave's soundtrack is the icing on the cake of this delirious, onirical ballad in a long forgotten era.
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It's a great movie (and a great year in general for revisionist Westerns) which is probably why it isn't given as much air time as No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood as all were released within months of each other, with the other two cleaning up at the Oscars. Still a great movie in its own right (and agree about Nick Cave's score). If you enjoyed the soundtrack for that, you should check out the soundtrack for The Proposition (an Aussie revisionist Western) where he's collabed with Warren Ellis.

 
Rooney in Paris said:
Not quite as good as Colin Farrel wooing Gong Li on a fastboat to Cuba, while Moby plays over the shot, but it's interesting.
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Oh it doesn’t get more romantic than putting the seat belt on your drug cartel crush while your mullet flaps in background, as you drive a speedboat to communist Cuba.
Rooney in Paris said:
On that note, I rewatched Miami Vice yesterday and stand by what I've said previously - gorgeous film, with Mann's usual themes running through it, with a very 2006 soundtrack that weirdly works. I watched the Director's Cut yesterday, which has a few changes from the theatrical release, I actually think the latter works better (especially for the beginning of the film).
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It’s so good that at least for me it has ruined a lot of other movies. Far too many films have listenable dialogue and boring things like plot. Where really the grunts, moody close ups and just vibes for 2 hours is clearly the vastly better cinematic experience.

Also the levels of interest the film demands of audience is so low. Which should be a negative but works in the film favour, I don’t pay much attention to what any of the characters are saying and I’ll some times have it on in the background during the day. It’s really more of a crime thriller art installation than a traditional film.

I’ve always struggle to pick a version I like more. Both are great, the opening to the director cuts sets the tone for the rest of the film but the original release just hits the audience with the Jay Z/Linkin Park song, which shouldn’t work at all but it’s perfect(It also makes the opening far more confusing, so it’s odd that was the one the studio wanted).

Have you seen Harmony Korine Spring Breakers ? Apparently Miami Vice was a big influence for Korine. I can definitely see the effect it had on him but replace Mann love of men at work for the dumbest capitalist subjects on the planet. It’s like a modern day Scarface.
 
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