Film The Redcafe Movie review thread

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

Yeah it's really good. Probably my favourite Guy Ritchie movie since the first two.
 
A much better film than its legacy might suggest. Not necessarily top tier Mann but actually very good!
The same could be said about Ali, I think. Rewatched it recently and thought it was brilliant, one of my favourite opening scenes and love the overall look of the movie.
 
The same could be said about Ali, I think. Rewatched it recently and thought it was brilliant, one of my favourite opening scenes and love the overall look of the movie.
Yeah I like Ali too. Imperfect in some ways, but overall solid film. The buildup to the final fight in Kinshasa, and how it's put together, with Salif Keita's "Tomorrow" playing, is awesome.
 
The Motorcycle Diaries (2004)
The adaptation of Che Guevara’s (Lynch) travels through South America with his friend when he was a medical student.
A chilling account of their encounters with upper middle class Argentines to the lowest classes in Chile and Peru. The story tells us how it shaped Ernesto Guevara’s views on inequality and colonialism in South America.

Maybe cos I’m half in the bag and my inner rebellious self comes out so 10/10.
 
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I watched Mulholand drive last week which I thought was really good and thought I would watch Blue Velvet today which I thought was utter shite!
 
Never thought about it like that. And yes, JLC looks INCREDIBLE.
Tbh I haven’t watched any Cameron interviews about True Lies so I could be massively wrong. But it’s the only way I can make sense of him making a rom com after finishing maybe the greatest action film of all. JLC and Kate Winslet in Titanic are also somewhat similar as women repressed by their social circle. I think True Lies and Titanic are the only times where Cameron has filmed female characters as more feminine.

I watched it again recently and the FX and stuntwork is insane.
Great point about the SFX, it really does hold up incredibly well. In theory the final jet scene should be awful but it doesn’t look out place all at. Considering this came out 4 years before this war crime.

 
Watched LOLA (2023) in the cinema earlier, a small budget Irish sci-fi movie shot on 8mm.

The jig is that the main character invents a device that can see into the future. She and her sister use it to get rich before eventually becoming involved in the war effort and warning of impending attacks by Nazi Germany.

While loose on plot it moves as a good pace, offering some kitschy sci-fi motifs before pencilling home a message about unintended consequences. Kind of like a longer, more modern equivalent of a Twilight Zone episode.

It's also only around 80 minutes long which I found refreshing.
 
Air - dipshit movie, terrible wigs, ill-fitting costumes, 80s music that doesn’t feel one bit nostalgic(how does that happen?), scraping the bottom of the barrel for an ounce of nostalgia. unwatchable. waste of time.
 
Air - dipshit movie, terrible wigs, ill-fitting costumes, 80s music that doesn’t feel one bit nostalgic(how does that happen?), scraping the bottom of the barrel for an ounce of nostalgia. unwatchable. waste of time.
:confused: Nonsense.
 
Air
Really enjoyable romp through the birth of the Air Jordan. Great wigs, authentic clothing and a great soundtrack. Nostalgic in all the right places. Great watch. Worth your time.
8/10
 
I thought Air was pretty enjoyable

it's just a bit weird how MJ is portrayed but I totally get why they did it
 
I don't know why Evil Dead Rise got so many plaudits, I thought it was pretty standard stuff.

Also maybe I'm desensitised to all this stuff but the much discussed gore factor of it also seemed a bit... ok? Like it was sick but always in a silly way.
 
Air - dipshit movie, terrible wigs, ill-fitting costumes, 80s music that doesn’t feel one bit nostalgic(how does that happen?), scraping the bottom of the barrel for an ounce of nostalgia. unwatchable. waste of time.
Ignore this review.
 
Air - dipshit movie, terrible wigs, ill-fitting costumes, 80s music that doesn’t feel one bit nostalgic(how does that happen?), scraping the bottom of the barrel for an ounce of nostalgia. unwatchable. waste of time.
You ever see Ford v. Ferrari?
 
Air

A really good little flick. Had some Ford v. Ferrari-esque elements to it even beyond Damon being in both. Quality soundtrack. I was a couple years too young to be swooning over Air Jordans (that started a couple years later), but my pop & I fell in love with MJ during his UNC days. It would have been fun to watch this flick with him.

8.5 / 10
 
Return to Seoul - I don’t know how I feel about the movie. I feel a bit sad after watching it despite hating the main character throughout much of the movie. I can’t tell if they’re trying to excuse her cnut behaviour for being adopted but she just came across like a cnut. Maybe it’s just me but the movie seemed confused about messages it was trying to portray.
 
Yeah I like Ali too. Imperfect in some ways, but overall solid film. The buildup to the final fight in Kinshasa, and how it's put together, with Salif Keita's "Tomorrow" playing, is awesome.
Great soundtrack in general. “Tomorrow” is indeed awesome, and there’s also an instrumental version of “All Along the Watchtower” that’s brilliant. Never been able to find it on Spotify unfortunately.
 
Pretty sure I’ve reviewed this before but currently half way through Gangs Of New York and it’s really awful. Everything from the terrible fights scenes, the accents, the fact all Irish women look the same and the U2 soundtrack.

Not sure what Scorsese was thinking at the time. Shame as it’s a really interesting time in American history.

Still Daniel Day Lewis is the one saving grace.
 
Pretty sure I’ve reviewed this before but currently half way through Gangs Of New York and it’s really awful. Everything from the terrible fights scenes, the accents, the fact all Irish women look the same and the U2 soundtrack.

Not sure what Scorsese was thinking at the time. Shame as it’s a really interesting time in American history.

Still Daniel Day Lewis is the one saving grace.

It wasn't very good at all.
 
Pretty sure I’ve reviewed this before but currently half way through Gangs Of New York and it’s really awful. Everything from the terrible fights scenes, the accents, the fact all Irish women look the same and the U2 soundtrack.

Not sure what Scorsese was thinking at the time. Shame as it’s a really interesting time in American history.

Still Daniel Day Lewis is the one saving grace.
+1. I thought that movie was fecking ridiculous.
 
Pretty sure I’ve reviewed this before but currently half way through Gangs Of New York and it’s really awful. Everything from the terrible fights scenes, the accents, the fact all Irish women look the same and the U2 soundtrack.

Not sure what Scorsese was thinking at the time. Shame as it’s a really interesting time in American history.

Still Daniel Day Lewis is the one saving grace.
I have some kind of affection for it. It's a big sick film, in that he obviously missed the mark completely, but there's actually some nice stuff in there (DDL of course, some of the sets...). My feeling is that it was too much of a personal project for Scorsese (he'd been thinking about making it for 20 years, and to this day still talks about all this), and he was too emotionally invested in it with no perspective whatsoever. It also makes no sense as a film, but back then, an anthology series might not have been as popular as they are now. I think there have been rumours over the years of it becoming a TV show and with the right budget, screenwritters and showrunners, it could actually be quite fascinating.

I also find the contrast with The Aviator, that he made just after Gangs, quite interesting - this was a story he didn't really care about, that was brought to him, and that he made with little emotional investment, and it turned out so much better than Gangs.
 
It wasn't very good at all.
+1. I thought that movie was fecking ridiculous.
Yeah so much of the film doesn’t work.

The romance between DiCaprio and Diaz is
rushed and there’s isn’t any connection between them. There’s undertones of religion and Irish nationalism but both are more used as cheap devices to give some weight to the plot. And the violence seems to be comedic at times which cuts against the more serious vibe.

Which is a shame


I have some kind of affection for it. It's a big sick film, in that he obviously missed the mark completely, but there's actually some nice stuff in there (DDL of course, some of the sets...). My feeling is that it was too much of a personal project for Scorsese (he'd been thinking about making it for 20 years, and to this day still talks about all this), and he was too emotionally invested in it with no perspective whatsoever. It also makes no sense as a film, but back then, an anthology series might not have been as popular as they are now. I think there have been rumours over the years of it becoming a TV show and with the right budget, screenwritters and showrunners, it could actually be quite fascinating.
Oh I didn’t know Scorsese wanted to make it for years. Yeah as modern tv series it would worked far better as there just isn’t the time in a film especially one that is under 3 hours to develop the world or characters.

Gangs Of New York is trying to be 3 different films all at the same time imo(A historical epic, a revenge story and a romance/love triangle)but misses the mark on all of them. Still Scorsese at times does manage to capture both the frantic energy of that time period and the rapid social change
I also find the contrast with The Aviator, that he made just after Gangs, quite interesting - this was a story he didn't really care about, that was brought to him, and that he made with little emotional investment, and it turned out so much better than Gangs.
Interesting I’ve never thought about The Aviator like that before. Scorsese is very under rated imo when it comes to depicting social outcasts and people with mentally illness.
 
Yeah so much of the film doesn’t work.

The romance between DiCaprio and Diaz is
rushed and there’s isn’t any connection between them. There’s undertones of religion and Irish nationalism but both are more used as cheap devices to give some weight to the plot. And the violence seems to be comedic at times which cuts against the more serious vibe.

Which is a shame



Oh I didn’t know Scorsese wanted to make it for years. Yeah as modern tv series it would worked far better as there just isn’t the time in a film especially one that is under 3 hours to develop the world or characters.

Gangs Of New York is trying to be 3 different films all at the same time imo(A historical epic, a revenge story and a romance/love triangle)but misses the mark on all of them. Still Scorsese at times does manage to capture both the frantic energy of that time period and the rapid social change

Interesting I’ve never thought about The Aviator like that before. Scorsese is very under rated imo when it comes to depicting social outcasts and people with mentally illness.
Both DiCaprio and Diaz had particularly dreadful accents, too. There was zero chemistry, and I think that would have been obvious to anyone after a single day's filming, let alone any screen testing they did. Both were miscast. I don't know why Scorsese persists with DiCaprio, he's besotted like a teenage girl after seeing Titanic.
 
Both DiCaprio and Diaz had particularly dreadful accents, too. There was zero chemistry, and I think that would have been obvious to anyone after a single day's filming, let alone any screen testing they did. Both were miscast. I don't know why Scorsese persists with DiCaprio, he's besotted like a teenage girl after seeing Titanic.
Yeah the accents are god awful along with their chemistry. Although while I do like DiCaprio in Scorsese other films with Gangs I agree it’s a miscast role.

DiCaprio is at his best when playing romantic leads like in Titanic or characters who are in crisis. He’s too good looking to play a “tough” guy. As for Diaz she isn’t given anything to work with.

Still I always enjoy the last 30 minutes of the film(Well until the very last scene which is like a post 9/11 U2 music video). With the Union army coming in to destroy everyone and that for all talk of skilled warriors in the end it’s economic/political forces that have the real strength. Something which Scorsese has carried on from Casino.
 
It's a really weird film. It's so flawed in so many ways, and despite that I can't bring myself to hate it. It's so over the top, so genuine in its love for a certain period of history that obviously fascinates Marty that I have a lot of affection for it, more than for many other more accomplished films. It has heart - the heart is probably about 2 minutes from exploding from cholesterol excess, but it's there.
 


:devil:

Also

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It's a really weird film. It's so flawed in so many ways, and despite that I can't bring myself to hate it. It's so over the top, so genuine in its love for a certain period of history that obviously fascinates Marty that I have a lot of affection for it, more than for many other more accomplished films. It has heart - the heart is probably about 2 minutes from exploding from cholesterol excess, but it's there.
:lol:
I’m going to use this, I will give you proper citation, of course.
 
Flower Moon looks lush but that Leo character could really derail things. Scorsese is usually pretty deft when depicting clashing cultures though so I can wait on it.
 
The Motorcycle Diaries (2004)
The adaptation of Che Guevara’s (Lynch) travels through South America with his friend when he was a medical student.
A chilling account of their encounters with upper middle class Argentines to the lowest classes in Chile and Peru. The story tells us how it shaped Ernesto Guevara’s views on inequality and colonialism in South America.

Maybe cos I’m half in the bag and my inner rebellious self comes out so 10/10.

Love this movie.

I've just started re-reading a Che Biography so might give it another watch soon.
 
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

I must be one of the few who liked the movie. Nice setting, weird yet interesting characters. Don't overthink it and just go with the flow.
Looking forward to The Marvels.
8 out of 10


The Hills Have Eyes remake


Nice slow build up in the first 20 minutes as you'll get to know the family. I actually didn't want any of the family members to die. One of the better horror remakes.
7.5 out of 10


Hunger (2022)


I prefer this movie over The Menu as this story is less wacky and it's more about character development and internal conflicts. That said, the director could have done even more fleshing out the characters. The kitchen chefs, for example, are most of the time silent and don't talk about their feelings. (The movie not showing them emotions is exactly how people in real life think of chefs: voiceless robots who work hard and make long working hours.)

They all come across as quite bland, even the female protagonist. In the end I was rooting for chef Paul, a tiran and a bully, even though I detest people like him in real life.
8 out of 10
 
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