Have you seen his latest? I think it's his last.
Film The Redcafe Movie review thread
- Thread starter golden_blunder
- Start date
Oh I haven’t. Is it good ?
I watched Atlas yesterday, a new sci-fi action film featuring Jennifer Lopez that was released on Netflix this month. It's getting absolutely trashed in reviews, but the trailer looked alright so we thought we'd give it a chance as our 'dumb fun' Saturday evening movie.
It's actually not that bad. No, it doesn't do anything new, but it's entertaining, keeps going pretty well (after some bits where it slowed down more than I liked), and it's story and world were sufficiently internally consistent (maybe not if I reflected upon it extensively, but it's not the sort of film that asks you to do that, so I won't). There are also some good fun moments, and quite a few cool action scenes.
So I really don't get why reviewers hate this so much. From the bits I read, I feel like they were maybe commenting on the film on they would have liked to see (something deeper, with serious reflections on AI) to see instead of what it does (a more superficial action flick). For me: 3/5
I also saw Skyscraper, a Dwayne Johnson film about a skyscraper set on fire by terrorists while his family is inside. Yes, Die Hard, but no, absolutely not Die Hard. The film has no patience, no humor, and no fun. Some of the action is OK, but the characters are boring and too stereotypical, and Dwayne Johnson isn't much use if he can't insert some humor (three jokes about duct tape aren't enough). 2/5
It's actually not that bad. No, it doesn't do anything new, but it's entertaining, keeps going pretty well (after some bits where it slowed down more than I liked), and it's story and world were sufficiently internally consistent (maybe not if I reflected upon it extensively, but it's not the sort of film that asks you to do that, so I won't). There are also some good fun moments, and quite a few cool action scenes.
So I really don't get why reviewers hate this so much. From the bits I read, I feel like they were maybe commenting on the film on they would have liked to see (something deeper, with serious reflections on AI) to see instead of what it does (a more superficial action flick). For me: 3/5
I also saw Skyscraper, a Dwayne Johnson film about a skyscraper set on fire by terrorists while his family is inside. Yes, Die Hard, but no, absolutely not Die Hard. The film has no patience, no humor, and no fun. Some of the action is OK, but the characters are boring and too stereotypical, and Dwayne Johnson isn't much use if he can't insert some humor (three jokes about duct tape aren't enough). 2/5
The Fall Guy
Dumb fun with some fantastic stunt work (obvs) and likeable turns from Gosling and Blunt. Stay for the post-credits. 7.5/10
Dumb fun with some fantastic stunt work (obvs) and likeable turns from Gosling and Blunt. Stay for the post-credits. 7.5/10
Bad President
It's 2015 and the devil is in his lair wondering what he can do next to screw up the world. One of his acolytes has an idea: recruit Donald Trump to run for president. And the rest is history. It focuses on the 2016 campaign and all the nadirs and cliches of Trumpworld and includes Stormy Daniels as herself. A funny movie, laughing to keep from crying as the saying goes. 7/10
It's 2015 and the devil is in his lair wondering what he can do next to screw up the world. One of his acolytes has an idea: recruit Donald Trump to run for president. And the rest is history. It focuses on the 2016 campaign and all the nadirs and cliches of Trumpworld and includes Stormy Daniels as herself. A funny movie, laughing to keep from crying as the saying goes. 7/10
Last edited:
I haven’t seen his interviews no. But now I’m going to look some up!
Not seen it yet but reviews have been mostly positive.
I'd heard good things but I got bored pretty quickly. Going by how it bombed at the box office I don't think I'm the only one. I think people's appetite for dumb summer blockbusters has really died off.
I thought Fall Guy was very good. Great chemistry with the two leads and light hearted. Exactly what you want for a hollywood blockbuster.
saw two horror movies tonight
Ready or Not - pretty good
Abigail - pretty bad
Ready or Not - pretty good
Abigail - pretty bad
They're made by the same duo.
I know yeah that's why I ended up watching Abigail
Ready or Not was a solid little movie, but Abigail just didn't hit the mark for me
Yeah I felt the same. I thought Abigail was ok until they revealed what was going on (around halfway through) and then it just fell off a cliff.
Yeah that pretty much covers the pair of them.
It just never got going for me, never really hit the mark. I think i stopped assuming it would and gave up a bit around the same point.
Its not really a reveal when its the entire premise / selling point of the movie. I'm not sure pretending people didn't know was a worthwhile exercise.
Including furiosa?
It's not doing well is it?
I loved the 2015 Mad Max though so I wouldn't quite label it with The Fall Guy.
Looks to have bombed even harder than fall guy
Last edited:
Looks to have bombed even harder than fall guy
Kinda hope it prompts George to make a Mad Max movie. Be cool if he could get Hardy back.
Or a LOGAN style movie with Gibson (but… problems.)
I watched both Civil War and The Fall Guy over the weekend. Though both were just.....ok. Civil War obviously the one that will stick with you more as you could so easily see that happening sooner rather than later. The Fall Guy is passable popcorn fluff with some nice call backs to the show including a redux of the theme song after the credits with the names inexplicably removed.
Both seem to have been well-reviewed by critics and test audiences. Do you think these just weren't good enough, or is it a harbinger of something much worse, like people just don't want to go to the movies anymore?
It’s obviously this. Since Covid people have adjusted to streaming everything at home and many updated to really nice tvs in that time. Why pay a small fortune to go sit in a crowded cinema with loads of rude noisy feckers when you can just wait a month and watch it in 4k at home instead?
Personally what I've found as well is that the movies are uncomfortably long now, not to mention LOUD AS feck. I took the bairns to see Dune 2, and we showed up in time for the listed start time (10:50 for an 11:00AM show). The Movie itself did not start until 11:45. It was fecking outrageous. We saw the same movie trailers two times each. And it was so fecking loud at times we were plugging our ears. So even though we really wanted to see that movie in the cinema and experience the Dolby sound and digital projection, whoever allowed that shit to happen can get rekt.
We get 15 mins of ads and 15 mins of trailers in the UK. 45 is insane. We don't usually head in to sit down until 10 mins into the ads given seats are all pre-booked.
Regarding Civil War, it's done fairly well at the box office. $113m against a $50m budget is a decent return for an R rating.
Because with rare exceptions it will always be better to see it at the cinema.
But I feel my cinema experiences are very different to the caricatures that are related here - never know if people are talking about a movie theater or the zoo.
Because no home cinema can come close to matching the experience of an actual cinema. Screen size/sound aside, there’s definitely something about watching films as part of a collective that adds something you can’t recreate watching it alone (or with a couple of friends) Plus I think the fact you can’t look at your own phone for the duration of the film also helps with the immersion.
Having said that, I think you have to choose your cinema films wisely. The latest Marvel atrocity is going to be a fairly grim experience as the cinema will be full of wired kids and their parents and/or TikTok’ing teens. Go to watch something less mainstream and the audience will be a hell of a lot more quiet and respectful. I’m definitely glad I watched Civil War in the cinema. Proper cinema experience and would have been way less impactful on home cinema set-up.
They probably are still in the red, though. The $50m production cost has to be doubled at the box office to turn a profit (because almost half of ticket sales goes to distributors and exhibitors). That does not factor in advertising or what was traditionally called "P&A" (prints and advertising, even though prints are not made, there are still costs for drives etc.). They spent anywhere from half the production amount to an equal amount (i.e., $50m - $100m) on P&A. So once they cross $150m globally they will be making profit. That doesn't mean everyone at A24 isn't getting their salaries and so forth, it's just that they aren't refilling their coffers. Here's a look at the whole recoupment "waterfall": https://stephenfollows.com/how-a-cinemas-box-office-income-is-distributed/
Civil War 8/10
Great movie through a great narrating device. I think it could have done with a little more exposition and staging in parts. But it was a great movie that sliced pretty close to the bone.
The freeze frame photo shot of the gal in the press room at the White House was art.
Loved it.
Great movie through a great narrating device. I think it could have done with a little more exposition and staging in parts. But it was a great movie that sliced pretty close to the bone.
The freeze frame photo shot of the gal in the press room at the White House was art.
Loved it.
I'm aware of the 3x budget rule, however, Hollywood accounting will likely ensure it "officially" ends up at the very least breaking even. ScreenRant is under the impression that anything over $100m will be considered a success by A24.
I know superhero movies have a bad rep but just came across an absolute hidden gem. Found this cinematic masterpiece on Amazon Prime - Super Vixens 5.
The acting, the depth, the tension, the subtlety, the richness of the story, the soulful realism of it all ... All absolutely peerless. Sometimes you question their choices on that platform, but every once in a while you get a timely reminder as to why Amazon is the force that it is.
Watch it and you'll thank me. 10/10
The acting, the depth, the tension, the subtlety, the richness of the story, the soulful realism of it all ... All absolutely peerless. Sometimes you question their choices on that platform, but every once in a while you get a timely reminder as to why Amazon is the force that it is.
Watch it and you'll thank me. 10/10
Last edited:
The title alone gives me full faith you are right. Only great movies get 4 sequels.
Just watched the trailer for this.
Might have heard the first 4 were exclusive to Cannes and that there was so much industry pressure on the producers to release them (something about them being examples that AI cannot replicate true art) that they compromised by making a strictly non-publicised 5th installment for public audiences.
IF
A young girl has to find a way to reconnect adults with their childhood imaginary friends. Starring Ryan Reynolds and featuring a star-studded line up, including Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, George Clooney, Emily Blunt etc. This movie is in a strange place as it's too emotional for young audiences but not witty enough for older ones. I still had a decent time and nice to see a new family movie but just wish it sorted out it's tone a little. The themes and some of the emotional moments really do hit though and are not done in a way that feels too cheesy 6/10
A young girl has to find a way to reconnect adults with their childhood imaginary friends. Starring Ryan Reynolds and featuring a star-studded line up, including Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, George Clooney, Emily Blunt etc. This movie is in a strange place as it's too emotional for young audiences but not witty enough for older ones. I still had a decent time and nice to see a new family movie but just wish it sorted out it's tone a little. The themes and some of the emotional moments really do hit though and are not done in a way that feels too cheesy 6/10
Have you ever seen this "if..."? It doesn't have Ryan Reynolds in it, but it's excellent nonetheless.
No, but it looks interesting. I'll see if I can find it and add it to my watchlist. Thanks!Have you ever seen this "if..."? It doesn't have Ryan Reynolds in it, but it's excellent nonetheless.
really enjoyed Civil War - the final scene and choice of song was perfect
Boy Kills World
Really enjoyed this one. Uber violent action flick with some nice humour. I think the humour and the lack of annoying Greengrass cam just give it the edge of the very similar and recently released Monkey Man. Turn your brain off and enjoy.
Really enjoyed this one. Uber violent action flick with some nice humour. I think the humour and the lack of annoying Greengrass cam just give it the edge of the very similar and recently released Monkey Man. Turn your brain off and enjoy.
I thought the musical choices throughout were bang on. Apparently the soundtrack was curated by Andy Smith (DJ from Portishead)
I mostly liked it and the music was decent, but the end was a bit meh I thought. I also thought they did a poor job of making you care about any of the characters. If I'd have liked the ending better maybe I would feel differently.
I think the bit where the president is killed is the bit I didn't think worked well.
I also think the total of absence of opinion or allegiance displayed by the journalists just didn't work. Journalists would be just as opinionated as everyone else even if they could be impartial and "all about the photo" when working. And I'd say very dark black humor would be far more common. It strikes me that it was done deliberately to make a point the filmmaker wanted to make rather than in any way trying to be realistic.
I also think the total of absence of opinion or allegiance displayed by the journalists just didn't work. Journalists would be just as opinionated as everyone else even if they could be impartial and "all about the photo" when working. And I'd say very dark black humor would be far more common. It strikes me that it was done deliberately to make a point the filmmaker wanted to make rather than in any way trying to be realistic.
Last edited:
I thought Civil War was very tame and weak. Theres a line from Kirsten Dunst about when she sent back photo's from foreign warzones she thought it would be a warning - I kind of interpreted the premise of the film to be that, a warning. In that context I just think they pulled their punches way too much - they thought having a tank rolling through DC would shock people or give them some taste of a civil war on american soil. Its just laughably weak compared to the reality of situations like that.
They kind of took every available opportunity to limit the misery. Its set at the end of war, theres a very clear way out of it. Its geographical not idealogical so you dont have to worry about killing your neighbours or family members.
I enjoyed it despite that because i think Alex Garland is a good director and it was well made. But its a weak film.
They kind of took every available opportunity to limit the misery. Its set at the end of war, theres a very clear way out of it. Its geographical not idealogical so you dont have to worry about killing your neighbours or family members.
I enjoyed it despite that because i think Alex Garland is a good director and it was well made. But its a weak film.