Film The Redcafe Movie review thread

Cheimoon said:
That's always the issue with truly meaningful historical dramas, isn't it! Do you go for a factual representation, and possibly get a fairly boring film (cause life doesn't play out with a neat dramatic arc), or do you dramatize and risk losing key facts? I have to say I get irritated both by boring films and by good films that afterwards turn out to be half-fantasy (I always read up on films afterwards), so I'm not sure. I don't think they should make documentaries instead though: those usually don't have the dramatic impact a film can have, and that dramatic impact is part of what makes the injustice really hit home.
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I agree. You're right: they are entertainments, after all, not history lessons. We watch to be distracted from the fact we're all racing towards an unknown, inescapable death. That said, I do wish moviemakers would stick closer to the facts especially when it's a political issue.

The flip side to this, or the movie that does it the right way, is Thirteen Lives, about the boy's footy team in Thailand that got trapped in a flooded cave for a couple weeks. This movie was almost devoid of flashy "Oscar-bait" moments, everything was played almost low-key by the main actors, and I think they did it this way because the story itself was so incredible and solid there was no need for gussying it up. By far the best movie Ron Howard has ever made. I say this now not having checked the 'net to see what liberties Howard took, but hopefully they hewed close to the actual events.
 
A Man Called Otto

Nice. A nice film. I don't want Tom Hanks to get old

Nice/10
 
Wing Attack Plan R said:
I agree. You're right: they are entertainments, after all, not history lessons. We watch to be distracted from the fact we're all racing towards an unknown, inescapable death. That said, I do wish moviemakers would stick closer to the facts especially when it's a political issue.
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Actually, I didn't mean it that way. Or at least, I don't watch grim historical dramas for their escapist entertainment value. I rather meant that films can convey emotions that documentaries can't, and are therefore a valid vehicle to tell stories of injustice. But yeah, to tell that story in a meaningful/impactful way (assuming film makers choose to tell these stories not just because of their dramatic potential), there is a delicate balance to be found between dramatization and staying close to the historical reality.

My example is Talk To Me: a 2007 film I saw recently about an influential Washington DC radio DJ (Petey Greene). It features Don Cheadle and Chiwetel Ejiofor, has a strong social context, and it's a good watch; but I learned afterwards that they conflated different episodes of his life to the point where the events depicted were actually pretty far removed from (and much 'bigger' than) what actually happened. What kind of biography is that?

But on the flipside...
The flip side to this, or the movie that does it the right way, is Thirteen Lives, about the boy's footy team in Thailand that got trapped in a flooded cave for a couple weeks. This movie was almost devoid of flashy "Oscar-bait" moments, everything was played almost low-key by the main actors, and I think they did it this way because the story itself was so incredible and solid there was no need for gussying it up. By far the best movie Ron Howard has ever made. I say this now not having checked the 'net to see what liberties Howard took, but hopefully they hewed close to the actual events.
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...maybe I shouldn't care so much if it concerns stories that don't really have a societal impact. But at least they could then say 'inspired by' and change names, rather than pretending it's real?
 
Cheimoon said:
Actually, I didn't mean it that way. Or at least, I don't watch grim historical dramas for their escapist entertainment value. I rather meant that films can convey emotions that documentaries can't, and are therefore a valid vehicle to tell stories of injustice. But yeah, to tell that story in a meaningful/impactful way (assuming film makers choose to tell these stories not just because of their dramatic potential), there is a delicate balance to be found between dramatization and staying close to the historical reality.

My example is Talk To Me: a 2007 film I saw recently about an influential Washington DC radio DJ (Petey Greene). It features Don Cheadle and Chiwetel Ejiofor, has a strong social context, and it's a good watch; but I learned afterwards that they conflated different episodes of his life to the point where the events depicted were actually pretty far removed from (and much 'bigger' than) what actually happened. What kind of biography is that?

But on the flipside...

...maybe I shouldn't care so much if it concerns stories that don't really have a societal impact. But at least they could then say 'inspired by' and chance names, rather than pretending it's real?
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Pushing further into that vein, Amadeus dispensed with a lot of facts and just gave audiences the vibe of what Mozart was like to his contemporaries. I thought Amadeus was great, whereas Immortal Beloved (about Beethoven) stuck to the facts and was tumescent. Another bad example is something like Malcolm X, where Spike Lee invented a whole bunch of shit to lionize his subject, or even A Beautiful Mind, where Ron Howard & Co. cut out all the inconvenient/messy details of the subject's life. The Guardian apparently used to run reviews with entertainment and historical grades separate (https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2012/dec/19/a-beautiful-mind-john-nash). Or maybe that article was just the one time? I don't know!
 
Wing Attack Plan R said:
Pushing further into that vein, Amadeus dispensed with a lot of facts and just gave audiences the vibe of what Mozart was like to his contemporaries. I thought Amadeus was great, whereas Immortal Beloved (about Beethoven) stuck to the facts and was tumescent. Another bad example is something like Malcolm X, where Spike Lee invented a whole bunch of shit to lionize his subject, or even A Beautiful Mind, where Ron Howard & Co. cut out all the inconvenient/messy details of the subject's life. The Guardian apparently used to run reviews with entertainment and historical grades separate (https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2012/dec/19/a-beautiful-mind-john-nash). Or maybe that article was just the one time? I don't know!
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Yeah, and as you know, it's not meaningless entertainment, cause especially popular films probably have more influence on the public 'memory' of events and people than newspapers articles or books or what have you.
 
calodo2003 said:
An unmitigated classic like 'Fletch' should never be reprised. Just allow it to shine on its own.
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I did not mind the Hamm film. It’s based on a long running series of novels even the Chevy Chase film took liberties with the first book trying to Beverly Hills Cop it. The second Chase film was not even based on one of the books. It IS terrible.
 
Loon said:
I did not mind the Hamm film. It’s based on a long running series of novels even the Chevy Chase film took liberties with the first book trying to Beverly Hills Cop it. The second Chase film was not even based on one of the books. It IS terrible.
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Yep, ‘Fletch Lives’ is a flat out dumpster fire. They caught lightning in a bottle with the original.

Read ‘Flynn,’ but never one of the ‘Fletch’ books by McDonald.
 
calodo2003 said:
Yep, ‘Fletch Lives’ is a flat out dumpster fire. They caught lightning in a bottle with the original.

Read ‘Flynn,’ but never one of the ‘Fletch’ books by McDonald.
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It’s a bit of a pisser Flynn was substituted out of CONFESS FLETCH (the novel the character is introduced in) because someone else owns the rights and he became Monroe in the movie.
 
Mindcage

When a copycat strikes, two detectives ask a top serial killer for help.
Basically a Silence of the Lambs rip off
John Malkovitch is excellent, he is the only high point.
They even trick the serial killer into leaving his cell so they can go in and investigate, shameless rip off.

4/10 and all for Malkovitch
 
The Doors (1991)
I'm increasingly unsure whether I actually like Oliver Stone's films. He picks great topics and it's well done in a way, but there's something really wooden about the writing. Some scenes are bordering on parody in how cliché they are. Music is good though, and so is Val Kilmer. 6/10

Blue Black Permanent (1992)
I admittedly only put it on because I wanted to see some scenery from Orkney, but it's really good. Much better than Aftersun in my opinion, which was apparently inspired by this. I read the discussion @Wibble had about it earlier in the thread, and I agree there's something lacking with it. What you see is what you get, which is fine, but I didn't find it particularly engaging. Blue Black Permanent has the same kind of frame, but it's much more ambitious and clever about the storytelling. Aftersun at times was too on the nose for me, but none of that in this one. 8.5/10
 
calodo2003 said:
Yep, ‘Fletch Lives’ is a flat out dumpster fire. They caught lightning in a bottle with the original.
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Yet still better than the latest film.

After the first film it looked like there would be a great ongoing series of films but Fletch Lives killed that dead. Seemingly forever.
 
Wibble said:
Yet still better than the latest film.

After the first film it looked like there would be a great ongoing series of films but Fletch Lives killed that dead. Seemingly forever.
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Can’t really opine on FL v. the recent one as I ejected from the recent one after 20 minutes. I will take your word for it as you seem to appreciate elite cinema.
 
The Artifice Girl. 2022.

Sci Fi movie about a ginger lad who lived in Manchester for a bit, before building an AI model to catch hundreds of nonces.

7/10.
 
Wibble said:
Yet still better than the latest film.

After the first film it looked like there would be a great ongoing series of films but Fletch Lives killed that dead. Seemingly forever.
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I think what killed more Fletch movies with Chevy Chase specifically, is that he became impossible to work with. FOAF stories, but he’s apparently a complete arsehole to work with, says racism and sexist “jokes”. Eventually people get tired of that type of small-dick energy, and then the investment stops seeming worth it.
 
Dungeons and Dragons Not much fun fantasy "comedy" and very very long. The up side was it blanked out over 2 hrs of the Coronation. 4/10
 
Speak No Evil
Two families get together after meeting at a holiday and soon, one family realises that the other is concealing a dark secret. I really enjoyed this and found it very tense and intriguing. Think it needed more of a pay off at the end and hopefully the remake addresses this but I would recommend 7/10
 
Dirty Schwein said:
Speak No Evil
Two families get together after meeting at a holiday and soon, one family realises that the other is concealing a dark secret. I really enjoyed this and found it very tense and intriguing. Think it needed more of a pay off at the end and hopefully the remake addresses this but I would recommend 7/10
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Did they speak any evil?
 
42. A 2013 baseball film about Jack Robinson's (Chadwick Boseman) debut season with the NY Dodgers (owner: Harrison Ford), and the racism he endured as the MLB's first black player. Solid if not particularly impressive. 3/5
 
Rye Lane

Had fun watching this, not side-splitting every minute but enjoyable.

It was nice to watch a film that was of a reasonable length as the American studios in particular seem to think all films need to be at least 2.5 hours these days.

It follows a tried and tested formula in its genre, just a decent and funny film.

7.5/10
 
ChrisNelson said:
Rye Lane

Had fun watching this, not side-splitting every minute but enjoyable.

It was nice to watch a film that was of a reasonable length as the American studios in particular seem to think all films need to be at least 2.5 hours these days.

It follows a tried and tested formula in its genre, just a decent and funny film.

7.5/10
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Great movie.
 
Anyone watched Polite Society? Not sure how i feel about it. Feels like an 8/10 and a 2/10 movie at the same time.
 
Nobody

The trailer popped up on Netflix, and I generally enjoy anything Bob Odenkirk does so I gave it a go. It's not the kind of thing you'd typically expect to see him in. Very over the top and far fetched violent action flick. All silliness and no substance, a real throw back to when films were just fight scenes and grimacing.

No idea how to rate it out of 10, because I don't think it was a good film at all, but I still enjoyed it... I think. Though that was mostly laughing at how stupid a lot of it was. One true positive was learning that Christopher Lloyd is still alive. I was sure he wasn't, I can't remember seeing him in anything for years. Bob Odenkirk, Christopher Lloyd and The RZA is a pretty cool good-guy triumvirate, and the bad guys are Russian, because of course they are. Could be anywhere between and 2 and a 5 out of 10.
 
Salt Bailly said:
True Lies is finally getting the UHD treatment this year :devil:
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Oh nice! I love how it’s clearly a stepping stone from making T2 to Titanic. Cameron needed to work on the romantic aspect of his film making but was still addicted to guns. The missile jet death is one of the all time greats.

Also Jamie Lee Curtis in True Lies might be the prettiest anyone has ever looked in a film.
 
Sweet Square said:
Oh nice! I love how it’s clearly a stepping stone from making T2 to Titanic. Cameron needed to work on the romantic aspect of his film making but was still addicted to guns. The missile jet death is one of the all time greats.

Also Jamie Lee Curtis in True Lies might be the prettiest anyone has ever looked in a film.
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Never thought about it like that. And yes, JLC looks INCREDIBLE. I watched it again recently and the FX and stuntwork is insane. It's a shame the sequel got binned after 9/11.
 
Flight 7500
A group of passengers on a flight get trapped with a supernatural force. I saw the trailer for this years ago and was really looking forward to it but then forgot what it was called and never came across it until now. From the director of Ju-On, the films premise was fun and the mystery was handled really well but it falls apart when the horror kicks in because it's simply not scary 6/10

Anything For Jackson
Two satanic grandparents try to do a reverse exorcism to bring back their grandson but it goes horribly wrong. Really enjoyed this. Pretty original concept and was equally terrifying and funny in bits. The final act was a bit shit though and if that was done right, this could have been a classic. Still worth watching 7.5/10
 
Evil Dead Rise
I enjoyed it. Not a classic by any means but well made and quite fun. Plays it straight so anyone expecting a comedy will be disappointed. Its probably in the same territory as the other remake from a few years back. Slightly better overall.
Solid 7/10
 
The Covenant

Guy Ritchie’s new film with Jake Gyllenhall. Not a typical Guy Ritchie film, although the soundtrack is straight out of his last Jason Statham flick. Predictable in parts but tons of heart. Great performances all round. I really, really enjoyed this. Some of the best military based action, for the realism, I’ve seen in a while. Would watch again.

8/10
 
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