Film The Redcafe Movie review thread

Mr. Crocket
A children's tv presenter with supernatural abilities abducts kids from parents who neglect them. A good performance by the actor playing the villain, an interesting concept/social commentary and nice to see practical effects. However, this was a missed opportunity as the script was flimsy and directionless. After a fun first half, the second half of this film is predictable, cliched and I was really bored, wanting it to end 5.5/10
 
Alien Romulus

Oh I loved this. Doesn't bring much new to the table but thought it was excellent with some really good acting by the two leads. Turn off the lights and get in the mood and you'll really enjoy it. Best film since Aliens for me.
 
Alien Romulus

I liked the first 30 / 40 mins. Pretty great set up. I just didn't like or rate where it went past that point. I think Rook was the main source of my feeling of meh about the rest of the film. Felt like they over explained a lot of stuff.
It might be the best film since aliens because all the others range from not bad to terrible but i'd say theres not much in it between this, alien 3 and resurrection. Its fine.
 
caid said:
Alien Romulus

I liked the first 30 / 40 mins. Pretty great set up. I just didn't like or rate where it went past that point. I think Rook was the main source of my feeling of meh about the rest of the film. Felt like they over explained a lot of stuff.
It might be the best film since aliens because all the others range from not bad to terrible but i'd say theres not much in it between this, alien 3 and resurrection. Its fine.
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Did you catch on...

That the girl that gave birth was killed because she was lactating black goo and the Prometheus alien sucked her completely dry. feck me, pretty gruesome shit!

I agree they probably should have avoided using Rook along with 'that line' in the lift shaft. I understand the reasoning with Rook, but it didn't work.
 
Alien Romulus
If I can remove myself from the knowledge that there are a gaggle of Alien movies… it’s a really great movie. 8/10 stuff if it was fresh, original thought.

As it is, it just felt like I was seeing the same stuff I’ve seen before, done worse. It kept yanking me back to ambivalence.

The acid blood scene could have been an all-timer had they taken a leaf out of the best of Alien. A Zero-G fight with one or two xenomorphs? Yes please… One person shooting a hoard of them with the only tension provided by an LED on a gun? Oof. I’d have far rather seen her shoot one and all the Acid blood gets sprayed, and we witness the remaining Alien play cat and mouse for a while. Ramp up the tension. Show how intelligent it is.

It was an enjoyable watch. I don’t think I did myself any favours at all by watching every Alien movie in the last 4-6 weeks. But in every way it was inventive, it was super lazy in equal measure.

5/10
 
I liked the pulse rifle scene. It was a newer model essentially a smaller easier to manoeuvre smart gun from Aliens. But with less ammo.

They'd have had still been able to kill her easily if not for the zero-G and as shown in the scene later in the shaft they wanted to capture rather than murder. As all Aliens do in pretty much every film, that's why they're scary as feck.
 
I really do hope that film studies understand how annoying and non immersive it is to get throw backs to previous films. It not funny, it's not clever. It's irritating as feck. Seems like it's happening more and more often. If it's vital to the story and required for lore purposes then fine. But if it's added just for the sake of it, then please fecking stop.

Also this trend of using deep fake. Just fecking stop! Just no!!
 
The Substance
I was expecting some mind-bending shit but it was a pretty straight forward film about the conveyor-belt nature of showbiz and women and standards of beauty etc. It had some really memorable moments, great practical effects and really swung for the fences in the final act (although I think that was more of a distraction in terms of "take out" from audiences). I think there were many powerful moments, which were kind of pushed to the side to show more grotesque imagery, which was a shame.

Key make-or-break thing for me:

What was in it for Demi Moore's character?

And without a satisfactory answer to that, this film falls apart before it even gets started. There was enough to this for it to be worth a watch (especially the first act) but I think it's being massively overhyped online 6/10
 
Dirty Schwein said:
The Substance
I was expecting some mind-bending shit but it was a pretty straight forward film about the conveyor-belt nature of showbiz and women and standards of beauty etc. It had some really memorable moments, great practical effects and really swung for the fences in the final act (although I think that was more of a distraction in terms of "take out" from audiences). I think there were many powerful moments, which were kind of pushed to the side to show more grotesque imagery, which was a shame.

Key make-or-break thing for me:

What was in it for Demi Moore's character?

And without a satisfactory answer to that, this film falls apart before it even gets started. There was enough to this for it to be worth a watch (especially the first act) but I think it's being massively overhyped online 6/10
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I agree that your make or break thing was the big hole in the plot. The film had its moments, particularly around the isolation of Demi Moore in her apartment (like one of those early Polanski films) , but the last 30 minutes turned into a tedious medley of favourite horror/deformity film highlights.
 
RedSky said:
I really do hope that film studies understand how annoying and non immersive it is to get throw backs to previous films. It not funny, it's not clever. It's irritating as feck. Seems like it's happening more and more often. If it's vital to the story and required for lore purposes then fine. But if it's added just for the sake of it, then please fecking stop.

Also this trend of using deep fake. Just fecking stop! Just no!!
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Here here!
The ending of The Fall Guy had a cameo of the two stars of the TV show, but no one could even recognize them and had no idea why the film seemed to suddenly stop dead.
 
caid said:
Alien Romulus

I liked the first 30 / 40 mins. Pretty great set up. I just didn't like or rate where it went past that point. I think Rook was the main source of my feeling of meh about the rest of the film. Felt like they over explained a lot of stuff.
It might be the best film since aliens because all the others range from not bad to terrible but i'd say theres not much in it between this, alien 3 and resurrection. Its fine.
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Just watched this and yeah, after a great setup I didn't really like its second hour. It felt like the first movie in the first hour. Then shit started happening and suddenly I'm watching one of the lesser sequels. Also, how bad was the CGI on Rook? The whole thing felt so incredibly unnecessary.

There was absolutely no reason for him to have the same face and they didn't do a good job with it, plus they gave him so much screen time. The whole thing makes me feel uncomfortable considering Ian Holm is no longer with us. Would he have liked this script? Would he have approved the usage of his younger face? We don't know.
 
Ainu said:
Just watched this and yeah, after a great setup I didn't really like its second hour. It felt like the first movie in the first hour. Then shit started happening and suddenly I'm watching one of the lesser sequels. Also, how bad was the CGI on Rook? The whole thing felt so incredibly unnecessary.

There was absolutely no reason for him to have the same face and they didn't do a good job with it, plus they gave him so much screen time. The whole thing makes me feel uncomfortable considering Ian Holm is no longer with us. Would he have liked this script? Would he have approved the usage of his younger face? We don't know.
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Yeah the CGI for Rook was shockingly terrible. I don't get it but clearly they have done this "reviving" dead actors several times in other movies now and it was nowhere near as jarring visually as that one. Only saving grace for the movie was that he is a synthetic which made the fakeness of it all a wee bit more acceptable.

RiP Ian Holm. You didn't deserve that.
 
Ainu said:
Just watched this and yeah, after a great setup I didn't really like its second hour. It felt like the first movie in the first hour. Then shit started happening and suddenly I'm watching one of the lesser sequels. Also, how bad was the CGI on Rook? The whole thing felt so incredibly unnecessary.

There was absolutely no reason for him to have the same face and they didn't do a good job with it, plus they gave him so much screen time. The whole thing makes me feel uncomfortable considering Ian Holm is no longer with us. Would he have liked this script? Would he have approved the usage of his younger face? We don't know.
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I might be wrong but I remember listening to a podcast where they talked to Fede about this and apparently the Holm estate approached Ridley to add him back into the franchise during one of Prometheus/Covenant and we're really happy when they did it for Romulus.
 
Red Rooms
A model gets obsessed with a horrific murder case, where three young girls were raped and murdered, with the videos auctioned off on the dark web. Basically the movie looks into the obsession of true crime.

A very stylish crime thriller with a lot of suspense and tension. Some of the courtroom stuff was fascinating (in terms of cinematography as well as narrative). The description of the crimes were horrific and I'm glad they refrained from showing much.

The stuff outside the courtroom struggled a little but were held together by a captivating performance by the lead. The director was also great at making scenes of a woman sitting in front a computer very tense.

A few plot holes aside, this was harrowing but great cinema. You are constantly questioning motivations of characters and by the end, the film leaves it open enough for various credible interpretations.

Worth a watch for sure. It's a bit of a tough watch but a good movie 7.5/10
 
Wing Attack Plan R said:
Here here!
The ending of The Fall Guy had a cameo of the two stars of the TV show, but no one could even recognize them and had no idea why the film seemed to suddenly stop dead.
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I didn't recognise Lee Majors until I checked Google as it seemed like it must be a cameo of some sort.
 
Das Leben der Anderen (2006)

That was a very good movie. Interesting story.
 
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Trouble Every Day

Nasty and bleak early 2000’s Claire Denis vampire film. Vincent Gallo plays a creep and there’s so much blood. Visually Denis and Agnès Godard are a perfect together.

8/10

Day Of The Dead

George A. Romero pits two social groups against each other(The college educated scientists vs non college educated soldiers)in a world of declining empire. A film which gets more relevant every year.

Joe Pilato as Captain Rhodes is one of cinema greatest villains and Tom Savini special effects are still unbeaten.

Another masterpiece.

10/10
 
Sweet Square said:
Trouble Every Day

Nasty and bleak early 2000’s Claire Denis vampire film. Vincent Gallo plays a creep and there’s so much blood. Visually Denis and Agnès Godard are a perfect together.

8/10

Day Of The Dead

George A. Romero pits two social groups against each other(The college educated scientists vs non college educated soldiers)in a world of declining empire. A film which gets more relevant every year.

Joe Pilato as Captain Rhodes is one of cinema greatest villains and Tom Savini special effects are still unbeaten.

Another masterpiece.

10/10
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I've gone looking for Day of the Dead on all the streaming services a few times over the last couple of years. Never seems to be available.
 
The Substance was decent if a little on the nose. Gore and weird shit like that doesn’t bother me at all so enjoyed the fecked up aspects :lol:
 
Right you film nerds

Top three films to watch for Halloween?

Taking in to considering all key aspects like jump scares, atmosphere/mood and storytelling.
 
TheReligion said:
Right you film nerds

Top three films to watch for Halloween?

Taking in to considering all key aspects like jump scares, atmosphere/mood and storytelling.
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Great jump scares:
Anything by James Wan. Conjuring and Insidious (the first ones of both) are excellent for that. Sinister is another I would recommend for this.

Tone/atmosphere/mood/storytelling:
Hereditary is over of my favourites and covers all of this. Other ones that cover at least 2-3 of the above are It Follows, Longlegs & The Shining.

If you want some gore and/or sillyness:
In A Violent Nature or Saw for the former and One Cut Of The Dead or What We Do In The Shadows for the latter.

I would do a marathon of the below in this order (which will give you a nice entry, then something to cleanse the palette and finish off with something heavy and terrifying):

Insidious
One Cut Of The Dead (you need to get past the first 20 minutes, which is deliberately bad).
Hereditary

Hope that helps.
 
RedSky said:
I really do hope that film studies understand how annoying and non immersive it is to get throw backs to previous films. It not funny, it's not clever. It's irritating as feck. Seems like it's happening more and more often. If it's vital to the story and required for lore purposes then fine. But if it's added just for the sake of it, then please fecking stop.

Also this trend of using deep fake. Just fecking stop! Just no!!
Click to expand...
The worst of this I've seen recently is where Paul Rudd's character quotes the words of the Ghostbusters song in the new Ghostbusters film.

Just stop it. We're aware of what the links are to this film and the previous installments. That's why were watching in the first place.
 
Dirty Schwein said:
Great jump scares:
Anything by James Wan. Conjuring and Insidious (the first ones of both) are excellent for that. Sinister is another I would recommend for this.

Tone/atmosphere/mood/storytelling:
Hereditary is over of my favourites and covers all of this. Other ones that cover at least 2-3 of the above are It Follows, Longlegs & The Shining.

If you want some gore and/or sillyness:
In A Violent Nature or Saw for the former and One Cut Of The Dead or What We Do In The Shadows for the latter.

I would do a marathon of the below in this order (which will give you a nice entry, then something to cleanse the palette and finish off with something heavy and terrifying):

Insidious
One Cut Of The Dead (you need to get past the first 20 minutes, which is deliberately bad).
Hereditary

Hope that helps.
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Excellent! Thank you!

Would you add any other films for that Halloween vibe that may not fall in to the obvious bracket of pure horror etc
 
TheReligion said:
Excellent! Thank you!

Would you add any other films for that Halloween vibe that may not fall in to the obvious bracket of pure horror etc
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Trick 'R Treat (it's an anthology based around Halloween)
Halloween (the original is the best and the 2018 version is ok).
Terrifier (Very violent, I didn't love it)
Haunt (about a haunted experience)
The Houses October Built (like the above but found footage. I really like this one).
 
I watched Carrie for the first time last night.

I'd always put off watching it due to the fact the plot and key scene are so well known going into it - even the poster tells you exactly what's going to happen, removing any sense of the unknown before you've even started watching it.

Anyway, was I supposed to be laughing as much as I was at the direction and weird choices? And is it just me or was it a bit rubbish with a touch of the exploitative about it?
 
decorativeed said:
The worst of this I've seen recently is where Paul Rudd's character quotes the words of the Ghostbusters song in the new Ghostbusters film.

Just stop it. We're aware of what the links are to this film and the previous installments. That's why were watching in the first place.
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I didn't mind the Paul Rudd thing as it was meant to be a bit of fun and done for laughs. The one in Romulus was just stupid and takes you out of the moment.
 
Dirty Schwein said:
Trick 'R Treat (it's an anthology based around Halloween)
Halloween (the original is the best and the 2018 version is ok).
Terrifier (Very violent, I didn't love it)
Haunt (about a haunted experience)
The Houses October Built (like the above but found footage. I really like this one).
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Ahh great. Trick R Treat seems like a nice blend!
 
Uzumaki
The people of a small Japanese town get traumatised by spirals, that they are everywhere. One of the few big releases I missed during the J-Horror phase. I wish I didn't bother. Horrible pacing, messy tone, bad acting and just a bore. I liked the concept and a couple of scenes but it's horribly misdirected and I felt like I wasted 90 minutes 2/10
 
TheReligion said:
Right you film nerds

Top three films to watch for Halloween?

Taking in to considering all key aspects like jump scares, atmosphere/mood and storytelling.
Click to expand...
I'm not much into horror, but apart from the movies that has been mentioned I would say Martyrs (2008) ticks those, and Triangle does as well. I also really like Talk to Me, which I think is just all around a really good film. As for horrors that really ticks the atmospheric box, I also like The Void and Beyond the Black Rainbow although they do lack in other departments.
 
CoopersDream said:
I'm not much into horror, but apart from the movies that has been mentioned I would say Martyrs (2008) ticks those, and Triangle does as well. I also really like Talk to Me, which I think is just all around a really good film. As for horrors that really ticks the atmospheric box, I also like The Void and Beyond the Black Rainbow although they do lack in other departments.
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Please don't listen to this.
 
Transformers One
Really fun movie for the whole family. Decent story, good character arcs, fun action and many funny moments. It's exactly what I wanted from a Transformers movie 7.5/10
 
Dirty Schwein said:
Transformers One
Really fun movie for the whole family. Decent story, good character arcs, fun action and many funny moments. It's exactly what I wanted from a Transformers movie 7.5/10
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I laughed hard with ‘Badassatron’ which probably wasn’t good adding ass to my 6 year old’s vocabulary.
 
Dirty Schwein said:
Transformers One
Really fun movie for the whole family. Decent story, good character arcs, fun action and many funny moments. It's exactly what I wanted from a Transformers movie 7.5/10
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If an usher came up to you and hoofed you in the nadgers after buying your ticket, that would have been exactly what you deserved.
 
Marry My Dead Body. A Taiwanese film about a macho detective who ends up in a ghost marriage with a gay that just died, and ends up looking for his vengeance while solving a case. It's nothing deep or special, but good fun. It starts out a bit slapstick, then gets more action-oriented, and ends up as a bit of a drama. So don't expect the humor of the start to continue through, but it was a good watch anyway. 7/10
 
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