Film The Redcafe Movie review thread

Tarot
A group of friends unleash an evil curse after doing tarot readings on a drunken night. Basically 'if Hollywood made Talk To Me'. I didn't mind the first half because it felt like a 90s supernatural slasher, with a few fun kill sequences. But soon the characters start making stupid decisions non stop to further the story and the kills get more and more generic 3.5/10
 
Dune 2.

A bit slow, but brilliant final 40 minutes.

4/5

I thought the first one was better.
 
I Saw The TV Glow

New film by Jane Schoenbrun. A horror drama with themes around nostalgia, trans identity and autism.

For the me the performances were the best parts. It was genuinely interesting to see two autistic characters as the leads. Also nice to see the worlds funniest man conner o'malley get a cameo appearance.

There’s a lot of Lynch ripping off throughout and too many scenes felt like a low budget attempt at Twin Peaks The Return. Still I did like the vomited up slush puppy look and any film dedicated to showing the evils of living in the 90’s is worth watching. So overall decent.

7/10
 
Sweet Square said:
I Saw The TV Glow

New film by Jane Schoenbrun. A horror drama with themes around nostalgia, trans identity and autism.

For the me the performances were the best parts. It was genuinely interesting to see two autistic characters as the leads. Also nice to see the worlds funniest man conner o'malley get a cameo appearance.

There’s a lot of Lynch ripping off throughout and too many scenes felt like a low budget attempt at Twin Peaks The Return. Still I did like the vomited up slush puppy look and any film dedicated to showing the evils of living in the 90’s is worth watching. So overall decent.

7/10
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I knew you'd be the first to see this after moi.

I had no knowledge of schoenbrun when I went in...left me very confused. Read up about it/her when I got home... Everything clicked into place.

The ending was still bizarre as feck though.

Insanely good soundtrack.

Also, I stand by my opinion that Fred Durst staring in to nothingness is the freakiest shit I've ever seen.
 
Wibble said:
Hitman Starts well but then drags for the middle third. The last third is better but still a bit meh. Not terrible but not much more than casual entertainment 6/10
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The trailer makes it look like Out Of Sight 2. Basically good guy falls in love with bag girl. Is it similar? I hated Out Of Sight with a passion.

iu
 
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Salt Bailly said:
I knew you'd be the first to see this after moi.

I had no knowledge of schoenbrun when I went in...left me very confused. Read up about it/her when I got home... Everything clicked into place.
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Oh I can imagine it would be pretty confusing going in blind. I’ve followed Schoenbrun on twitter for a while so went into the film knowing some of the themes. Tbh I would interested in seeing what she could do with a bigger budget.

Salt Bailly said:
The ending was still bizarre as feck though.
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Same. I wasn’t sure what was going on in the end. My guess is it was partly the character realising the downsides to wasting large parts of their life escaping into nostalgic media which at times gave them comfort and safety. And also realising after the show becomes available for streaming that it wasn’t really that good or how they remembered it.

A mid life crisis but with bad 90’s tv shows instead of expensive cars and rare funko pop collections. Which I think is pretty relatable in the modern world.

There’s also something going with the character needing to always say sorry. Maybe those who don’t fit into society or didn’t escape end up internalising the hatred onto themselves. Although I could be talking pure shite here.
Salt Bailly said:
Insanely good soundtrack.
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Yep definitely the soundtrack will be on repeat this year. Although making a film about 90’s horror video tapes with Phoebe Bridges vocals did me make feel like a lab rat getting feed sugar cubes. Yes I enjoyed it a lot but it’s worrying how easily my dopamine centres can be manipulated!

Salt Bailly said:
Also, I stand by my opinion that Fred Durst staring in to nothingness is the freakiest shit I've ever seen.
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Omg I had no idea that was Fred Durst! That scene was very good. Really capture the foreboding and underlining potential violence between a son and father.
 
Godzilla Minus One

No idea why this got such good reviews. Was awful.

Tropey plot, cliched screenplay, really bad acting and cheap melodrama only completed by a awful looking Godzilla with boobs.

Proof that Toho despite having a far far cheaper budget can still compete with Sony in making Godzilla awful movies. Good or bad, I love Godzilla movies, but I think Sony has this nailed down for now.

-1 / 10
 
Edgar Allan Pillow said:
Godzilla Minus One

No idea why this got such good reviews. Was awful.

Tropey plot, cliched screenplay, really bad acting and cheap melodrama only completed by a awful looking Godzilla with boobs.

Proof that Toho despite having a far far cheaper budget can still compete with Sony in making Godzilla awful movies. Good or bad, I love Godzilla movies, but I think Sony has this nailed down for now.

-1 / 10
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Pistols at dawn, sir.
 
Quite excited for Malick's new film, which apparently is close to being finalised (as close as a Malick film can be).
Malick has been editing the film, which was shot in 2019, for close to five years now. He also, supposedly, shot close to 3000 hours of footage.
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:lol: Oh Terrence, never change.

Also, Mark Rylance as Satan makes so much sense.
 
Inside Out 2
The original is one of my favourite animated movies because the narrative is so universal. This one felt more specific to Riley's personal story and I didn't connect with it as much. There are some good characters and funny moments but overall, it wasn't a home run like it's predecessor 7/10
 
City Hunter. This is a new Netflix film about a very skilled (fighting, shooting) vigilante. It's a Japanese film set in Tokyo, but I found out afterwards that it's based on a manga and there have been Hong Kong and Chinese films about it before. One issue with the film is that it presumes familiarity with the character, but I had no idea - so I felt a bit like being dropped mid-season in a tv series. Another is that its tone is very inconsistent. There are some very stylish action bits and hilarious moments, which of course feature prominently in the trailer and that made me watch the film; but there are actually also long stretches where the film slows down and is just a bit boring. 2/5
 
Porco Rosso. A 1992 Studio Ghibli animated movie by Hayao Miyazaki. Set between WW1 and WW2, it's about ace pilots that fly sea planed around the Adriatic Sea, including pirates, the army, and the bounty hunter that's the main character. The plot revolves around his rivalry with another pilot, but the story isn't all that gripping; it's rather the scenery and characters and action that are of interest here. There is a lot to watch and various historical references/layers as well, but as a whole, I thought it was a level below the preceding Ghibli films. Still good, but not that good. 7/10
 
Cheimoon said:
Porco Rosso. A 1992 Studio Ghibli animated movie by Hayao Miyazaki. Set between WW1 and WW2, it's about ace pilots that fly sea planed around the Adriatic Sea, including pirates, the army, and the bounty hunter that's the main character. The plot revolves around his rivalry with another pilot, but the story isn't all that gripping; it's rather the scenery and characters and action that are of interest here. There is a lot to watch and various historical references/layers as well, but as a whole, I thought it was a level below the preceding Ghibli films. Still good, but not that good. 7/10
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I’d say that’s accurate. Also, he’s a human with a pig head and they never address that, do they? The planes and scenery look cool though.
 
Cheimoon said:
Porco Rosso. A 1992 Studio Ghibli animated movie by Hayao Miyazaki. Set between WW1 and WW2, it's about ace pilots that fly sea planed around the Adriatic Sea, including pirates, the army, and the bounty hunter that's the main character. The plot revolves around his rivalry with another pilot, but the story isn't all that gripping; it's rather the scenery and characters and action that are of interest here. There is a lot to watch and various historical references/layers as well, but as a whole, I thought it was a level below the preceding Ghibli films. Still good, but not that good. 7/10
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Saw it maybe 10years ago and while I really dug the whole premise snd characters something was missing but couldn‘t put my finger on it.
 
weetee said:
Saw it maybe 10years ago and while I really dug the whole premise snd characters something was missing but couldn‘t put my finger on it.
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That's exactly it. It's lovely like any Ghibli film, but it doesn't have that something extra.
Wing Attack Plan R said:
I’d say that’s accurate. Also, he’s a human with a pig head and they never address that, do they? The planes and scenery look cool though.
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They do actually, although in that magical realism way where things just happen. (I mean, it's never explained what Totoro is either.)
He became a pig due to some fighting and romance during WW1 (I don't remember the details); and then it's suggested at the end ('What's with your face?! Show me your face!') that he has changed back once he has fought for the young woman and she gives him a thank-you kiss. Redemption!
 
Cheimoon said:
That's exactly it. It's lovely like any Ghibli film, but it doesn't have that something extra.

They do actually, although in that magical realism way where things just happen. (I mean, it's never explained what Totoro is either.)
He became a pig due to some fighting and romance during WW1 (I don't remember the details); and then it's suggested at the end ('What's with your face?! Show me your face!') that he has changed back once he has fought for the young woman and she gives him a thank-you kiss. Redemption!
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Ah, thank you. And Totoro is the king of the forest, isn't he?
 
weetee said:
Saw it maybe 10years ago and while I really dug the whole premise snd characters something was missing but couldn‘t put my finger on it.
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It's one of the few that isn't centered on a young girl. There's no coming of age, will to power stuff. The others have more "magic" because they deal with a kid's view of the world.
 
Wing Attack Plan R said:
Ah, thank you. And Totoro is the king of the forest, isn't he?
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Not explicitly I don't think; he just exists. His little community and the kids look up to him (her? pretty gender-neutral I think), but I don't remember it going further than that in terms of his/her role or anything like that.
 
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Wing Attack Plan R said:
It's one of the few that isn't centered on a young girl. There's no coming of age, will to power stuff. The others have more "magic" because they deal with a kid's view of the world.
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True, but that‘s definitely not the reason for me. I truly liked the whole setup - and especially the pork protagonist - in what felt like a 50s movie set in ghibli fantasy land. Maybe I should watch it a second time.
 
I liked Porco Rosso. Felt like a fun adventure movie. The dogfighting planes seems like something that would be hard to do in live action and a good chance for the animators to show off.
I thought the pig head was a curse. Kind of Frog Prince reference. Haven't watched it in years
 
weetee said:
True, but that‘s definitely not the reason for me. I truly liked the whole setup - and especially the pork protagonist - in what felt like a 50s movie set in ghibli fantasy land. Maybe I should watch it a second time.
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I think it's just a bit flat. Everybody is likeable/dislikeable enough and all that, but there's just not enough to really care about. The one moving moment is actually his look at the pilots' afterlife, but that just comes and goes, it has no implications for the film. I also liked the dynamic with all the women working in the plane factory, and the craziness around the final dogfight (especially just before); but it all just comes and goes, it doesn't really stick in the film.
caid said:
I thought the pig head was a curse. Kind of Frog Prince reference. Haven't watched it in years
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That's correct I think!

I didn't dislike it btw, it's still a nice film. It's just that Ghbili's preceding films (I'm doing them chronologically) were all amazing, and so this one falls flat in comparison.
 
Cheimoon said:
I think it's just a bit flat. Everybody is likeable/dislikeable enough and all that, but there's just not enough to really care about.
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sounds apt. Bit of a pity since Miyazaki is a well known freak for aviation. Which reminds me that I still haven't watched The Wind Rises (or anything after).

Think Arrietty is my fav so far but almost impossible to say with at least five movies from him that are near perfect for me.
 
weetee said:
sounds apt. Bit of a pity since Miyazaki is a well known freak for aviation. Which reminds me that I still haven't watched The Wind Rises (or anything after).

Think Arrietty is my fav so far but almost impossible to say with at least five movies from him that are near perfect for me.
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Spirited Away, for me. Then Nausicaa of the Valley of The Wind, Princess Mononoke.
 
The Passion of the Christ

Brutal, uncomfortable, awesome film-making. Struggling to think how another approach to the story could improve on it. Perhaps Gibson could have used a more Middle Eastern-looking cast, but I get the feeling he wanted the film to reflect the standard medieval European understanding of the Passion. Hence also the ugly and obviously problematic portrayal of the Jewish priesthood which, I think, is fairly faithful to those medieval traditions and the source material itself.

9/10
 
House Of Tolerance

Film by Bertrand Bonello about a group of late 18th century french sex workers in a brothel.

Strange film which doesn’t seem to have a clear view on its subject. It’s enjoys the sleaze and at times misogynistic. But there’s also shown the class conflict, violence, togetherness/warmth and economic factors of the brothel.

It’s slowly paced but when it’s at the peak it’s very good. The performances are all brilliant.

Interesting watch

9/10
 
Dirty Schwein said:
Inside Out 2
The original is one of my favourite animated movies because the narrative is so universal. This one felt more specific to Riley's personal story and I didn't connect with it as much. There are some good characters and funny moments but overall, it wasn't a home run like it's predecessor 7/10
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I think my kids are now too old for me to have to watch this. The addition of Maya Hawke has me shaking my head and making tut-tut noises. I remember seeing her in Stranger Things and just not understanding why some people get to live their lives in front of a camera. Then of course read about her famous parents. Some nepo-babies I actually like (e.g., Jamie Lee Curtis, Liv Tyler, Eva Hewson, *Jack Quaid), but there are some whom I see as having nothing special about them, no particular acting chops, and yet act like they have succeeded on their own merits (Kate Hudson, Maya Hawke, Will Smith's kids) and that grates like a motherfecker.
 
Wing Attack Plan R said:
I think my kids are now too old for me to have to watch this. The addition of Maya Hawke has me shaking my head and making tut-tut noises. I remember seeing her in Stranger Things and just not understanding why some people get to live their lives in front of a camera. Then of course read about her famous parents. Some nepo-babies I actually like (e.g., Jamie Lee Curtis, Liv Tyler, Eva Hewson, *Jack Quaid), but there are some whom I see as having nothing special about them, no particular acting chops, and yet act like they have succeeded on their own merits (Kate Hudson, Maya Hawke, Will Smith's kids) and that grates like a motherfecker.
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Yeah I get ya. Although her voice acting of Anxiety was actually pretty good.
 
Only remember seeing Maya in that Wes Anderson film. Didn't really make an impression at all there. I have enjoyed some of her music though.
 
Wing Attack Plan R said:
Your genius is, I'm afraid, wasted here.
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Tbf it’s not my genius. Veroheven apparently always intended for Robocop to be his Jesus film. There’s even a scene where robocop “walks on water” and….then spears the bad guy in the neck. Which Jesus did claim to bring not peace but a sword!
 
Dirty Schwein said:
Inside Out 2
The original is one of my favourite animated movies because the narrative is so universal. This one felt more specific to Riley's personal story and I didn't connect with it as much. There are some good characters and funny moments but overall, it wasn't a home run like it's predecessor 7/10
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https://www.newyorker.com/news/fault-lines/the-polite-therapy-of-the-inside-out-movies

You might enjoy this.

Excerpt:

In the gospel according to “Inside Out,” the purpose of life is entirely secular. We are meant to savor all of our emotions and meld the memories they color into a plausible but positive Sense of Self. Any notion of a higher or deeper purpose is not really discussed, or even hinted at—which is somewhat surprising, given that the director of the first “Inside Out,” Pete Docter, has spoken publicly about his Christian faith. But Docter has also said that his duty as a popular filmmaker pushes him away from proselytizing. “I don’t want to feel as though I’m ever lecturing or putting an agenda forth,” he told Christianity Today in 2009.

There is also little consideration given to how our emotions and our outlooks on life are shaped by material conditions. The world of “Inside Out” might be racially diverse, but, like the “Toy Story” universe, it is also uniformly middle class in a way that almost seems designed to ward off commentary. Not that I expect Pixar to produce anything suggestive of Karl Marx—or even of Jesus—but if you’re going to make a film about memories, feelings, and what amounts to the soul, the spirit that brings it to life should be immediate and relevant. Instead, the movie offers a careful picture of the polite, educated, secular consensus about emotional health, and the supposedly deeper question it asks almost feels like it’s been generated by ChatGPT. This doctrinaire and yet thoroughly generic conception of consciousness is, in itself, a bit depressing. Should children feel a perfectly balanced salad of emotions? Do the names we assign to them—sadness, anxiety, ennui, embarrassment—actually fit our reality? Or does this eagerness to categorize and contain our experiences offer a vision of life that is tame, restrictive, and finally unimaginative?
 
I liked Hitman
It was a fun movie with twists and turns I didn’t see coming. The actress is such a smoke show though damn
 
Sweet Square said:
House Of Tolerance

Film by Bertrand Bonello about a group of late 18th century french sex workers in a brothel.

Strange film which doesn’t seem to have a clear view on its subject. It’s enjoys the sleaze and at times misogynistic. But there’s also shown the class conflict, violence, togetherness/warmth and economic factors of the brothel.

It’s slowly paced but when it’s at the peak it’s very good. The performances are all brilliant.

Interesting watch

9/10
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I had never heard of this and it seems interesting. Where did you watch it?

EDIT: I have heard of it, it's called L'Apollonide in French! But never seen it
 
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