Cheers. I had no idea. Great little movie fact.
Film The Redcafe Movie review thread
- Thread starter golden_blunder
- Start date
Spiderman Around the Spiderverse
I like that they got a studio to throw a hundred million dollars at a bunch of artists. The opening scene and particularly the end credit scene are incredible. Some of the best stuff I've seen for a long time, so you can't get mad at that. But it's not much of a film, more an overcooked mess of animation demos stitched together with a dialogue track of quips and platitudes. Flimsy structure, no discipline, relentlessly inconsequential writing. I was all but checked out by the time they threw in the old multiverse 'would you rather..' . (It's depressing that these juvenile moral dilemmas have become such a plot standard in popular culture, and maybe reflects the moral apathy of our times.)
Villain with the spots was a fun and interesting baddie. I would have much prefered a production that put all that money and creative energy into telling a simple 100 minute story, centured around that guy and a few well developed characters; a film that doesn't travel to 10 different universes to introduce a whole roster of characters, all jostling for screen time. I don't understand why they were stacking shit so high like this is a braindead Mc-U franchise. The first film was better than that and this should have been too. Why pander to the content drones when you've already sold yourself as something other.
2 hours 20 minutes is a fecking grind, and for all the visual variety, the action is all set to the same kinetic rhythm and animation style (the end scene being the rare exception). It's exhausting. I dread to think what happens next time. I can see it being an almost 3 hours long barrage of demented animated mayhem smashed against the screen, while Miles glumly diddles about in a labyrinth of 'verses.
This thing is fecking stupid. Some of the narrative and pacing choices made and the ways in which they diverge from the previous film is baffling to me. I can only guess that the 3 in 3 out director switch played a part in this. Also a contibuting factor might be Phil Lord's producing style mentioned by disgruntled animators involved in the making of the film. Go check that out.
The film I don't like but as an animated showcase the whole thing is mesmerising. Kudos to the animation team. And not just for the manic action scenes; there's lots of beautifully composed static shots too, like the upside down one as they sit above the city. Gorgeous stuff but also a confusing shambles.
I like that they got a studio to throw a hundred million dollars at a bunch of artists. The opening scene and particularly the end credit scene are incredible. Some of the best stuff I've seen for a long time, so you can't get mad at that. But it's not much of a film, more an overcooked mess of animation demos stitched together with a dialogue track of quips and platitudes. Flimsy structure, no discipline, relentlessly inconsequential writing. I was all but checked out by the time they threw in the old multiverse 'would you rather..' . (It's depressing that these juvenile moral dilemmas have become such a plot standard in popular culture, and maybe reflects the moral apathy of our times.)
Villain with the spots was a fun and interesting baddie. I would have much prefered a production that put all that money and creative energy into telling a simple 100 minute story, centured around that guy and a few well developed characters; a film that doesn't travel to 10 different universes to introduce a whole roster of characters, all jostling for screen time. I don't understand why they were stacking shit so high like this is a braindead Mc-U franchise. The first film was better than that and this should have been too. Why pander to the content drones when you've already sold yourself as something other.
2 hours 20 minutes is a fecking grind, and for all the visual variety, the action is all set to the same kinetic rhythm and animation style (the end scene being the rare exception). It's exhausting. I dread to think what happens next time. I can see it being an almost 3 hours long barrage of demented animated mayhem smashed against the screen, while Miles glumly diddles about in a labyrinth of 'verses.
This thing is fecking stupid. Some of the narrative and pacing choices made and the ways in which they diverge from the previous film is baffling to me. I can only guess that the 3 in 3 out director switch played a part in this. Also a contibuting factor might be Phil Lord's producing style mentioned by disgruntled animators involved in the making of the film. Go check that out.
The film I don't like but as an animated showcase the whole thing is mesmerising. Kudos to the animation team. And not just for the manic action scenes; there's lots of beautifully composed static shots too, like the upside down one as they sit above the city. Gorgeous stuff but also a confusing shambles.
Sounds a lot like the first one: gorgeous and amazingly diverse in terms of the animation, but rather lacklustre narratively - although for that one that rather came out in the final part, less at first.
I also agree this multiverse thing is ultimately uninteresting (it's also just a plot device and never explored seriously), and by now so overdone that it's a total irritant. But then superhero movies usually don't have much going for them in terms of plot anyway, so I guess they figured this multiverse crap at least brings something new! (Well, not anymore by now obviously.)
Personally I loved the first one. It balanced its comedy and drama well, the story had clarity and direction. It was slightly less spectacular in terms of action set pieces but it was visually balanced unlike the second film. I'll watch the first again after this one has settled.
Last edited:
real recognize real
I think I mostly meant the final bit, the grand finale. I couldn't follow at all what was happening, plus it already had that multiverse stuff. Or that's what I recall. So maybe the depiction of the action more than the narrative.
Apparently a key reason they went big on the multiverse was because the Spider-Man IP they’d bought off Marvel included a shit load of different variants of Spider Man that nobody would take seriously in standalone films but this gave them a chance to throw a load of them up on screen.
Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts
I didn't hate this. Didn't worry too much about a convoluted story in previous instalments and kept things simple, whilst focusing on the action. It was cheesy, bad dialogue, awful characters etc, but the action was ok and clear to see what's happening. Thought it was the third best entry after the first Michael Bay one and Bumblebee 6/10
I didn't hate this. Didn't worry too much about a convoluted story in previous instalments and kept things simple, whilst focusing on the action. It was cheesy, bad dialogue, awful characters etc, but the action was ok and clear to see what's happening. Thought it was the third best entry after the first Michael Bay one and Bumblebee 6/10
Oooh - proper creative reasons! Gotcha.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
A much-needed return to form for the MCU, while at the same time feeling like it might be the last great film they make.
I watched Wakanda Forever and Quantumania in the days leading up to seeing this and they further solidified how far Marvel's star has fallen since Endgame. I'm clinging on to Loki being as good as its predecessor, but aside from that it is looking pretty bleak for the overall franchise.
Back to GOTG, Rocket’s backstory was nicely done and much more emotional than I expected it to be. The villain was mostly decent, aside from overdoing the shouty shouty a couple of times, and all the main characters got their moments. Enjoyed the addition of Cosmo and to a lesser extent Adam Warlock. The hallway sequence was probably as good as anything we've seen in a Marvel flick from an action perspective.
Main gripe was the 90s soundtrack. Radiohead, good. Everything else, meh.
8/10
The Legendary Star-Lord will return...
A much-needed return to form for the MCU, while at the same time feeling like it might be the last great film they make.
I watched Wakanda Forever and Quantumania in the days leading up to seeing this and they further solidified how far Marvel's star has fallen since Endgame. I'm clinging on to Loki being as good as its predecessor, but aside from that it is looking pretty bleak for the overall franchise.
Back to GOTG, Rocket’s backstory was nicely done and much more emotional than I expected it to be. The villain was mostly decent, aside from overdoing the shouty shouty a couple of times, and all the main characters got their moments. Enjoyed the addition of Cosmo and to a lesser extent Adam Warlock. The hallway sequence was probably as good as anything we've seen in a Marvel flick from an action perspective.
Main gripe was the 90s soundtrack. Radiohead, good. Everything else, meh.
8/10
The Legendary Star-Lord will return...
The Founder
I'd not heard of this, it's a few years old now, but it just popped up at the top of my Netflix page, and thought the synopsis sounded decent.
It's based on the real life events of the origins of McDonald's. The McDonald Brothers (Nick Offerman, John Carroll Lynch) open a burger stand in California. A shyster milkshake machine salesman (Michael Keaton) coerces them into going national, with much reluctancy from the McDonald's brothers, before royally fecking them both over.
A very well made film, with great performances (as expected, Michael Keaton is always excellent, even though his character in this is a shitbag), and a real gut punch of an ending, even though you see it coming the whole way. Very good, very sad, it'll reinforce your view that capitalism is nightmarish hellscape. 7.5/10
I'd not heard of this, it's a few years old now, but it just popped up at the top of my Netflix page, and thought the synopsis sounded decent.
It's based on the real life events of the origins of McDonald's. The McDonald Brothers (Nick Offerman, John Carroll Lynch) open a burger stand in California. A shyster milkshake machine salesman (Michael Keaton) coerces them into going national, with much reluctancy from the McDonald's brothers, before royally fecking them both over.
A very well made film, with great performances (as expected, Michael Keaton is always excellent, even though his character in this is a shitbag), and a real gut punch of an ending, even though you see it coming the whole way. Very good, very sad, it'll reinforce your view that capitalism is nightmarish hellscape. 7.5/10
Vengeance (2022)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11976532/reference/
A New Yorker in Texas. Comedy, mystery, social commentary. Recommended 100%.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11976532/reference/
A New Yorker in Texas. Comedy, mystery, social commentary. Recommended 100%.
Watching Boyz n the Hood for the bazillionth time, always better, 10/10
(Edit): just to add there’s something special about movies set in LA
(Edit): just to add there’s something special about movies set in LA
Barbie
I really enjoyed this. Was funny, especially Gosling and I thought it had a nice visual style. It felt a bit preachy towards the end but that doesn't take away from the fact that I had a good time overall 7/10
Asteroid City
Big fan of Wes Anderson but this was a steaming pile of turd that I was trying to force with my mind to come to a finish. A few good moments aside, I was absolutely bored. There's obviously an audience for this, it just ain't me 2/10
I really enjoyed this. Was funny, especially Gosling and I thought it had a nice visual style. It felt a bit preachy towards the end but that doesn't take away from the fact that I had a good time overall 7/10
Asteroid City
Big fan of Wes Anderson but this was a steaming pile of turd that I was trying to force with my mind to come to a finish. A few good moments aside, I was absolutely bored. There's obviously an audience for this, it just ain't me 2/10
I watched Asteroid City the other day, and am a fan of Anderson's films, but much like The French Dispatch and Moonrise Kingdom, I enjoyed moments of it very much but as a whole it doesn't work. He tries to accomplish too much and it ends up largely forgettable and incoherent. I loved the aesthetic, as always with his stuff, but it's definitely down at the bottom end of the list for me:
Rushmore
Royal Tenenbaums
Fantastic Mr Fox
Grand Budapest Hotel
Bottle Rocket
The Life Aquatic
Isle of Dogs
Moonrise Kingdom
Asteroid City
Darjeeling Limited
French Dispatch
Pearl
Prequel to X, this was a very different style to it's predecessor. Typical Ti West film, slooooow burn with moments of violence that really land. The film was carried by an excellent performance by Mia Goth (that end credit hold on her smile was ingrained in to my brain) and overall a decent flick but I wish it did a little more overall as I was bored for long stretches 6.5/10
Prequel to X, this was a very different style to it's predecessor. Typical Ti West film, slooooow burn with moments of violence that really land. The film was carried by an excellent performance by Mia Goth (that end credit hold on her smile was ingrained in to my brain) and overall a decent flick but I wish it did a little more overall as I was bored for long stretches 6.5/10
I have just watched this and your review is pretty much bang on, they played the possession playbook perfectly.
I was hoping for something a better, even the scary bits were not scary.
Defiantly set up for a second film.
But I must have enjoyed it more than you did, not the worse possession film I have seen, but also not the worst.
5/10
The Cleansing Hour
Another successful "exorcism" streamed online - or so it seems. Can the "exorcist", producer and their team bring the ratings up? Ratings skyrocket, when a real demon gets involved.
I was not expecting much from this, sounded like you run f the mill horror possession, but there was a twist to it and I enjoyed it
Like Prey for the Devil , it will not be the best you will ever watch, but It wont be the worst
6/10
Another successful "exorcism" streamed online - or so it seems. Can the "exorcist", producer and their team bring the ratings up? Ratings skyrocket, when a real demon gets involved.
I was not expecting much from this, sounded like you run f the mill horror possession, but there was a twist to it and I enjoyed it
Like Prey for the Devil , it will not be the best you will ever watch, but It wont be the worst
6/10
Strays
Good honest fun and nice to see a ninety minute film when 2023 seems to be the year of not leaving anything on the cutting room floor and making all films three hours.
Some really old school laugh out loud moments and exactly what I needed after a crap day at work!
If your humour level is really immature then this is the film for you, but don't take children!
7.5/10
Good honest fun and nice to see a ninety minute film when 2023 seems to be the year of not leaving anything on the cutting room floor and making all films three hours.
Some really old school laugh out loud moments and exactly what I needed after a crap day at work!
If your humour level is really immature then this is the film for you, but don't take children!
7.5/10
Funny you should say that, seems to be the theme of the last two films I just watched.
Beau Is Afraid
A man with all sorts of anxiety issues goes on a crazy adventure and comes face to face with all of his fears on his way to visit his mother. By Ari Aster under the A24 label, naturally I was super excited and the film didn't disappoint. Probably the best visual portrayal of anxiety I have seen on screen and the first half of the film is absolutely brilliant. The director clearly has interesting things to say and visual flair whilst Joaquin Phoenix really goes to town with the acting, it was splendid. However, this did not need to be 3 hours long. The second half of the film doesn't really explore the themes any further... it's just more of the same and the ending was pure naff. Had this been condensed to about 2 hours, I would have had it near the top of my year's end list but it is way too long without a real reason to be 7/10
John Wick: Chapter 4
If you're still watching by this point, clearly you're a fan of these films. I am. Really enjoy the world of John Wick and the characters. Love that the franchise is now just leaning into the over-the-top action and all the better for it. Really feels like an epic action film and the addition of Donnie Yen was most welcome. But like the film above, there's no reason for this to be nearly 3 fecking hours long. Felt way too bloated and I was just willing it to finish by the end 7/10
I have not seen any of them, one of those sets that I been meaning to, just never got round to t.
They're just fun, action films that don't need to cut angles every two seconds because the star doesn't know how to do fight choreography.
Cheers, I will give them a watch.
What about the end of Beau did you find naff? The whole epilogue with his mum (the last 30-45mn) are a logical denouement to every thing that came before.
A denouement wasn't needed in a film that spent the previous 2.5 hours hammering home the same point/narrative. In a shorter version of this... Sure whatever. After 2.5 hours? No... Unless there was something extra to get out of it, which there wasn't.
The point was made, the denouement was obviously the culmination of that point. It would have felt entirely empty without it. Guess we'll just disagree on this one.
I think it was extremely self indulgent. A film that would never normally get made. I enjoyed it on that merit because ari aster is great but it wasn't especially audience friendly. 3 hours is too long for most movies and this was no different.
Yeah I think so haha. When that scene started, I was just thinking "bloody end already" I think I would have preferred if:
it just ended with him on the boat, sailing into the darkness
Maybe it was the length that made me feel that way, maybe it didn't need it... Dunno.
They should bring back intermissions. I wouldn't watch a 3 hour movie in one sitting normally. I'd pause it and take a 15 min break at some point. I'm the same even with a movie i really like I'm just restless after 2 and half hours.
Agreed about the duration. I think also, I preferred the first half because you can connect with Beau but the second half is very specific and I wasn't able to connect with him at all.
Anyway, I'm glad films like this exist, which are great for cinephiles, although I doubt I would recommend this to an average movie goer.
But Aster has enough credit in the bank to make something like this and I'm glad he did. Felt the same way when James Wan was given the license to make that "one for him" movie and he came up with Malignant, which would never normally get green lit by a studio.
Jeff Lebowski's Sweater, 10/10.
Sisu
A brisk 90 minute film about an ex Finnish soldier and current gold prospector fighting against a bunch of Nazis to protect his gold. Played straight but you just know the filmmaker's behind this understand how absurd it is. The villains are cartoonish and the protagonist basically survives more than the torture Scratchy receives from the hands of Itchy at least 10 times in the film. With that said, the short run time and fun ways of watching Nazis die meant I had a decent time overall 6.5/10
A brisk 90 minute film about an ex Finnish soldier and current gold prospector fighting against a bunch of Nazis to protect his gold. Played straight but you just know the filmmaker's behind this understand how absurd it is. The villains are cartoonish and the protagonist basically survives more than the torture Scratchy receives from the hands of Itchy at least 10 times in the film. With that said, the short run time and fun ways of watching Nazis die meant I had a decent time overall 6.5/10
I just read the plot summary on Wikipedia and I suspect I'd have never made anywhere near the third hour.
That's quite beautiful. Genuine, unadulterated emotion.
I watched Cobweb last night which was fine, creepy in parts and both Lizzy Caplan and Anthony Starr were good in it. It's short, to the extent where it feels like it was a short film project that was extended into a full length feature, but it worked quite well. The ending was a bit stupid and rushed, and I guess wanted to be ominous but was just a bit meh. Not the worst way to spend 90mn I guess.
I was really looking forward to this after hearing it's by the same person who made Marianne. How does it compare to Talk To Me?
I haven't seen Talk to me yet, looking forward to it though. Cobweb isn't actually bad, it's just a little underwhelming after a promising start - feels very much by the numbers with the usual generic horror tropes.
Well that's disappointing but I'll give it a go anyway. Yeah Talk To Me is really really fun. I think you'll enjoy it.
65
An astronaut crash lands on a mysterious planet only to discover he's not alone.
It was OK , nothing you would want to see a second time, the premise was decent and the dinosaurs were believable.
I was not a huge fan of Adam Driver when I watched Star Wars with him in and his did nothing to improve my opinion of his acting.
This would have worked better has a 44-55 min eps of any number of Sci-Fi series, but has a film , it felt a bit forced.
This is if you get round to it a 1 time only watch and then deleted, but on saying that, I did watch it all, there was some decent bit and the ending was OK.
4.5/10
An astronaut crash lands on a mysterious planet only to discover he's not alone.
It was OK , nothing you would want to see a second time, the premise was decent and the dinosaurs were believable.
I was not a huge fan of Adam Driver when I watched Star Wars with him in and his did nothing to improve my opinion of his acting.
This would have worked better has a 44-55 min eps of any number of Sci-Fi series, but has a film , it felt a bit forced.
This is if you get round to it a 1 time only watch and then deleted, but on saying that, I did watch it all, there was some decent bit and the ending was OK.
4.5/10
97 Minutes
A ticking clock scenario unfolds as a hijacked 767 airplane faces imminent disaster when its fuel supply dwindles, with just 97 minutes remaining.
Iam a sucker for this type of film, but in reality, this film just sucked.
I was hoping that Alex Baldwin would make it half decent, but sadly not.
2/10
A ticking clock scenario unfolds as a hijacked 767 airplane faces imminent disaster when its fuel supply dwindles, with just 97 minutes remaining.
Iam a sucker for this type of film, but in reality, this film just sucked.
I was hoping that Alex Baldwin would make it half decent, but sadly not.
2/10