Film The Redcafe Movie review thread

RedBanker said:
Do people really like Rebel Ridge or am I missing something here?
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I really liked it although I thought the ending was a bit meh

But I had no expectations going into it. I didn’t even realise it was from the director of Blue Ruin which I loved.

It’s just a fun action movie, nothing more nothing less
 
RedBanker said:
Do people really like Rebel Ridge or am I missing something here?
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It’s an odd one. One of my friends whose opinions I always respect about movies said it was great. I thought it was decent but far from great. And I also like it less and less the more I think about it. It’s definitely better than the average made for Netflix movie but I would say it’s disappointing if you’re a fan of the directors other movies.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
It’s an odd one. One of my friends whose opinions I always respect about movies said it was great. I thought it was decent but far from great. And I also like it less and less the more I think about it. It’s definitely better than the average made for Netflix movie but I would say it’s disappointing if you’re a fan of the directors other movies.
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I thought it was decent at best. But am seeing lots of folks heaping praise on it.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
Sounds like you and I are on the same page. I’m just not seeing this really excellent movie that others are seeing.
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I’m pretty sure it’s the expectations Pogue. When you see random crap appear on your Netflix it’s always a nice surprise if you enjoy it, I switch most of them off before it gets far. However if someone had told me this is an amazing film by the director of Blue Ruin, I’d probably have been a bit a bit underwhelmed.
 
Tarrou said:
I’m pretty sure it’s the expectations Pogue. When you see random crap appear on your Netflix it’s always a nice surprise if you enjoy it, I switch most of them off before it gets far. However if someone had told me this is an amazing film by the director of Blue Ruin, I’d probably have been a bit a bit underwhelmed.
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100%. Expectations can make shite of an average movie or make an average movie seem great.
 
It's definitely got a lot to do with expectations. But at the same time it seems to me that reactions aren't that ecstatic - people seem to think it's a very well made thriller which serves its purpose.

Anyways, I saw Spoorloos and it was really, really good. Very haunting and unsettling not least because the events does not seem too far fetched. Great acting as well. I also realized it was one of those films the director himself have made an american remake of, doesn't seem to pack the same punch though. Brilliant film. 9/10
 
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CoopersDream said:
It's definitely got a lot to do with expectations. But at the same time it seems to me that reactions aren't that ecstatic - people seem to think it's a very well made thriller which serves its purpose.

Anyways, I saw The Spoorloos and it was really, really good. Very haunting and unsettling not least because the events does not seem too far fetched. Great acting as well. I also realized it was one of those films the director himself have made an american remake of, doesn't seem to pack the same punch though. Brilliant film. 9/10
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Probably one of the biggest drops in quality between the original and US remake which was atrocious somehow

I’d put Old Boy up there too

If only Americans could read subtitles eh
 
Blink Twice
I won’t say anything about the plot as it’s diabolical. It’s clearly a commentary on the power men have over women. But good lord it’s a really rough watch. Channing Tatum is menacing, Naomi Ackie is wonderful in it. But the turn is way too much. I understand why Kravitz made it, but I really wish I hadn’t watched it. Which may kind of be the point. It’s a lot. Toughest movie that I’ve ever watched.
8/10

NB - Pay attention to the trigger warning.
 
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dumbo said:
But go on, tell me the grand significance of the Clinton portrait in your powerpoint presentation. Liars, the lot of you.
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I saw a comment saying it’s a movie set in the 1970’s but Bill Clinton is president.

I thought it was ok at best and some of the sound design was creepy. But overall it’s reliant on copying better films from the genre without adding anything new. The references and tributes to films like Silence Of The Lambs, Twin Peaks or Seven are all mushed together and are a way to hide the lack of creativity.

Osgood Perkins has said in interviews he is only interested in using religion for just pure visual. It comes across in the film as it’s really not interested in saying anything. Very meh.
 
THE DAY OF THE JACKAL (1973) has rolled up on Sky ahead of their remake.

Zinneman’s film is still superb and Fox and Londsdale are wonderful.
 
UnrelatedPsuedo said:
Blink Twice
I won’t say anything about the plot as it’s diabolical. It’s clearly a commentary on the power men have over women. But good lord it’s a really rough watch. Channing Tatum is menacing, Naomi Ackie is wonderful in it. But the turn is way too much. I understand why Kravitz made it, but I really wish I hadn’t watched it. Which may kind of be the point. It’s a lot. Toughest movie that I’ve ever watched.
8/10

NB - Pay attention to the trigger warning.
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Do they make the setup plausible? I read what the mystery is, and my question is why would an obscenely rich, good-looking fella like Channing Tatum feel the need to drug and r pe women? Are he and his chums portrayed as depraved monsters, or just party boys who found a way to get what they want? I have zero interest in seeing the film to find out the answer, so if you could do me a solid, please.
 
Wing Attack Plan R said:
Do they make the setup plausible? I read what the mystery is, and my question is why would an obscenely rich, good-looking fella like Channing Tatum feel the need to drug and r pe women? Are he and his chums portrayed as depraved monsters, or just party boys who found a way to get what they want? I have zero interest in seeing the film to find out the answer, so if you could do me a solid, please.
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Well I think if you know the premise, you’ll get across the subject matter while watching. They 100% make it plausible and it’s exceptionally well handled. It concludes in a way that you’re not left in a puddle of rage.

With my Guardian hat on, I feel like there’s almost a duty for men to watch it. To be repulsed by it. Because it’s undoubtedly a brilliant film.

Happy to PM chapter and verse if you’ve truly got no interest in seeing it. Otherwise I’d strongly recommend seeing it, now that you know the plot. It’s not gratuitous, it’s just really confronting.

I’m going to rewatch it with my girlfriend, if that gives an uncomfortable steer.
 
There is a very high profile case of an obscenely rich and famous musical artist drugging and raping people in the news right now…. It seems an odd facet of the story to quibble tbh
 
Wing Attack Plan R said:
Do they make the setup plausible? I read what the mystery is, and my question is why would an obscenely rich, good-looking fella like Channing Tatum feel the need to drug and r pe women? Are he and his chums portrayed as depraved monsters, or just party boys who found a way to get what they want? I have zero interest in seeing the film to find out the answer, so if you could do me a solid, please.
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Why would being rich and good looking make you more or less likely to commit such acts?
 
Mockney said:
There is a very high profile case of an obscenely rich and famous musical artist drugging and raping people in the news right now…. It seems an odd facet of the story to quibble tbh
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Fingeredmouse said:
Why would being rich and good looking make you more or less likely to commit such acts?
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To avoid spoiling whatever is left of this movie's plot: That is part of my question. In Sean Combs' case, these woman didn't wake up not knowing anything had happened, as I think happens in the movie. It's more like the French guy who recently got caught for drugging his wife repeatedly and allowing 80-odd people to rape her. In this movie's case, they present Channing Tatum as basically a world famous playboy, so my question is do they explain why he and his friends do this? I would think that someone who is portrayed as Tatum is in this film would be less likely to engage in a scheme like this. I haven't researched it, it just feels like Channing Tatum in real life would have little "need" for this sort of thing, so maybe it's all a sick power trip, and violence for violence's sake. I don't know. Curious, but not curious enough to watch it. Or is it all metaphor? Does the film play these acts as really happening, or is it some kind of psych twist?
 
Wing Attack Plan R said:
To avoid spoiling whatever is left of this movie's plot: That is part of my question. In Sean Combs' case, these woman didn't wake up not knowing anything had happened, as I think happens in the movie. It's more like the French guy who recently got caught for drugging his wife repeatedly and allowing 80-odd people to rape her. In this movie's case, they present Channing Tatum as basically a world famous playboy, so my question is do they explain why he and his friends do this? I would think that someone who is portrayed as Tatum is in this film would be less likely to engage in a scheme like this. I haven't researched it, it just feels like Channing Tatum in real life would have little "need" for this sort of thing, so maybe it's all a sick power trip, and violence for violence's sake. I don't know. Curious, but not curious enough to watch it. Or is it all metaphor? Does the film play these acts as really happening, or is it some kind of psych twist?
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It’s almost impossible to talk about without ruining it. There’s zero justifying explanation or reasoning though. Beyond a confessional minute or two.

At the films turn, you get handed a backpack full of horror to carry. Then every few minutes, some detail adds another few kilos of shock and awful to it. Tiny little plot additions that keep ramping up how awful it is.

With all that said, there’s little on screen awful. It’s the realisation of what’s played out off screen, suggested by literally single frame shots of what’s gone on. Kravitz did an incredible job with it.

Written as vague as possible. Might read shit.
 
UnrelatedPsuedo said:
It’s almost impossible to talk about without ruining it. There’s zero justifying explanation or reasoning though. Beyond a confessional minute or two.

At the films turn, you get handed a backpack full of horror to carry. Then every few minutes, some detail adds another few kilos of shock and awful to it. Tiny little plot additions that keep ramping up how awful it is.

With all that said, there’s little on screen awful. It’s the realisation of what’s played out off screen, suggested by literally single frame shots of what’s gone on. Kravitz did an incredible job with it.

Written as vague as possible. Might read shit.
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Thank you. Think I'm gonna skip it, though.
 
The Mist
No idea how I’ve never seen it. I assumed I had. Maybe I have and I’m just getting old. Really decent light horror. Far too much screaming and plenty of dickheads acting like dickheads. Humans really are idiots as all of this feels so reactionary and accurate. But it’s well paced, beautifully shot, and a lot of fun in places.
7/10

NB - The Chrisso did my nut in.
 
UnrelatedPsuedo said:
The Mist
No idea how I’ve never seen it. I assumed I had. Maybe I have and I’m just getting old. Really decent light horror. Far too much screaming and plenty of dickheads acting like dickheads. Humans really are idiots as all of this feels so reactionary and accurate. But it’s well paced, beautifully shot, and a lot of fun in places.
7/10

NB - The Chrisso did my nut in.
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Light horror? The ending is far from light!
 
Revenge

I mostly watched this as the director has a new film out this weekend called The Substance.

Revenge is pretty standard Rambo/Kill Bill style action film and it was disappointingly very predictable. Although on the positives there is some good gore using practical effects, and includes some interesting uses of the camera. But overall a bit meh.

It did sort of kill my hype for The Substance.

5/10
 
Mike Smalling said:
Con Air is a perfect movie. Nicolas Cage's hair and his terrible accent. John Malkovich being evil. Huge explosions. What's not to like?
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Desert Eagle said:
Con Air and Face/off are two of my favorite films of all time. Sure the acting and dialogue isn't the best or even good sometimes but it's great switch off your brain type fun. The main reason to go to the movies and decompress is to enjoy a bit of time away from the regular life. Now that I think about it Con Air is basically the progenitor of the Fast and Furious series.
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Absolute legends.
 
Trap
M. Night Shyamalan traps us in his daughter's music concert. One of those films that gets more and more stupid the more they reveal. Absolute mess of a film. I did like Josh Hartnett though and I started enjoying it once I realised it's so fecking stupid and I was just laughing along at it's stupidity. I am also convinced Shyamalan isn't actually human and learnt about our species through books 4/10

Twisters
Wow. Absolutely awful. The only thing I liked was the visual effects of the tornadoes. Glen Powell needs to feck off, can't stand him. I would actually have swapped him and Antony Ramos, might have been more interesting 2/10

Bad Boys: Ride Or Die
Didn't mind this, one of the better entries into the franchise. Some inventive camera work for the action sequences and it's overall pretty fun 6/10
 
Sweet Square said:
Revenge

I mostly watched this as the director has a new film out this weekend called The Substance.

Revenge is pretty standard Rambo/Kill Bill style action film and it was disappointingly very predictable. Although on the positives there is some good gore using practical effects, and includes some interesting uses of the camera. But overall a bit meh.

It did sort of kill my hype for The Substance.

5/10
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Looking forward to The Substance, watched Mark Kermode's review and it sounds beyond bonkers.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
Sounds like you and I are on the same page. I’m just not seeing this really excellent movie that others are seeing.
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Thought it was great tbf, not a classic or anything but would watch again if it's on. Which says a lot for me
 
V.O. said:
There are actual people who watched Con Air and Face/Off looking for realism and trying to find plot holes... ?
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Ah f.88k off to anybody suggesting the movies weren’t great cause they were “unrealistic”.

Con Air is a masterpiece of fun
 
The Imaginary. A 2023 animated film from Studio Ponoc (a Ghibli spin-off), directed by Yoshiyuki Momose and based on a children's book by A.F. Harrold. We follow child and her imaginary friend, Rudger. When they get separated after the girl gets an accident, Rudger has to find his way back to her while also dealing with a creep that eats imaginary friends.

The story is sweet and funny and crazy all at once - and in my view, a little too convenient at times: whatever needs to happen for the sake of the story, happens. I know that's almost a feature of fantasy, but still. Anyway, it's a very touching and sweet film overall (and sometimes sad), with strong characters and some beautiful animation. 3/5
 
The Dyatlov Pass Incident
A group of filmmakers go to Russia to investigate the infamous Dyatlov Pass Incident, where 9 Russian hikers went missing on a snowy mountain. I'm a sucker for found footage and was enjoying the slow burn mystery of this film but the final act becomes a CGI mess that feels tacked on due to the writer not having much to add to the real life mystery 5.5/10
 
I saw Beverly Hills Cop 4 (Axel F) yesterday. Pretty fun. It's a bit of a nostalgia trip and I probably missed a lot of references due to not having seen the first three films in a very long while; but even so, this was good fun of the type I expected. 3/5
 
Watched Blue Ruin yesterday, after seeing it vaguely mentioned in a few different places. Same director as Green Room and Rebel Ridge. Not seen the latter yet, but I enjoyed Green Room a lot, although I'm leaning towards saying that I preferred Blue Ruin. The premise is relatively simple, but the execution is fantastic. I really liked the start and how the story slowly unfolds. There's a slight detour in the first third where a big event happens, which almost feels like the finale of another film or story. The rest of the film deals with the fallout of that event, and it's pretty tense to watch at times. It's very bleak and it does follow a The Last of Us Part II vibe in terms of violence being cyclical and never-ending, but I am a sucker for these sort of revenge thrillers.

I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoyed Green Room or enjoys a revenge story. It's got a great, short runtime, too. I don't know if I completely missed all the buzz about this film at the time, but it seems to have gone under the radar. Great film, imo.
 
The substance is pretty messed up.

Good watch but it seems half the movie is extreme close ups of arses, which I get as the whole message and all but eventually you just want to move on from seeing a 40 foot arse in front of you.

It could easily have ended 30 minutes earlier too, just kept going for the sake of it.

6/10
 
dazjoe said:
The substance is pretty messed up.

Good watch but it seems half the movie is extreme close ups of arses, which I get as the whole message and all but eventually you just want to move on from seeing a 40 foot arse in front of you.

It could easily have ended 30 minutes earlier too, just kept going for the sake of it.

6/10
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