Film The Redcafe Movie review thread

Wibble said:
:lol: Not your cup of tea MR?

I think is pretty damn good Andie McDowell apart, who is rubbish.
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It's the sort of movie I usually avoid like the plague, but I thought Love Actually was quite good so that and the fact that the Guardian rated it highly were both among the reasons why I talked myself into thinking that it might be watchable.

I can tolerate a bit of sentimentality if there's good repartee and memorable one-liners to go with it, but there's literally not one thing in the entire film that made me crack a smile.

It could have been funny. I mean all the crucial elements were there; blundering protagonist, American visitor adjusting to British lifestyle, wedding speeches, neurotic characters, people shagging whilst oblivious to someone else being in the room, old bearded fat man who drinks too much, young handsome gay lover to old bearded fat man, nymphomaniac, socially awkward husband, priest, deaf guy speaking in sign language etc.

It's just that the actual dialogue and the way the set-ups were executed was really lacking. Plus there were some crater-sized inconsistencies which just made it all worse.

The age of the good rom-com dwindled with Woody Allen's acting career I reckon.
 
Melbourne Red said:
It's the sort of movie I usually avoid like the plague, but I thought Love Actually was quite good so that and the fact that the Guardian rated it highly were both among the reasons why I talked myself into thinking that it might be watchable.

I can tolerate a bit of sentimentality if there's good repartee and memorable one-liners to go with it, but there's literally not one thing in the entire film that made me crack a smile.

It could have been funny. I mean all the crucial elements were there; blundering protagonist, American visitor adjusting to British lifestyle, wedding speeches, neurotic characters, people shagging whilst oblivious to someone else being in the room, old bearded fat man who drinks too much, young handsome gay lover to old bearded fat man, nymphomaniac, socially awkward husband, priest, deaf guy speaking in sign language etc.

It's just that the actual dialogue and the way the set-ups were executed was really lacking. Plus there were some crater-sized inconsistencies which just made it all worse.

The age of the good rom-com dwindled with Woody Allen's acting career I reckon.
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Most of the characters rang very true with me (albeit exaggerated) apart from Andie McDowell. Brits really are that useless.
 
melbourne red said:
it's the sort of movie i usually avoid like the plague, but i thought love actually was quite good so that and the fact that the guardian rated it highly were both among the reasons why i talked myself into thinking that it might be watchable.

I can tolerate a bit of sentimentality if there's good repartee and memorable one-liners to go with it, but there's literally not one thing in the entire film that made me crack a smile.

It could have been funny. I mean all the crucial elements were there; blundering protagonist, american visitor adjusting to british lifestyle, wedding speeches, neurotic characters, people shagging whilst oblivious to someone else being in the room, old bearded fat man who drinks too much, young handsome gay lover to old bearded fat man, nymphomaniac, socially awkward husband, priest, deaf guy speaking in sign language etc.

It's just that the actual dialogue and the way the set-ups were executed was really lacking. Plus there were some crater-sized inconsistencies which just made it all worse.

The age of the good rom-com dwindled with woody allen's acting career i reckon.
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no!
 
Jean de Flourette - 10/10

I saw this French delight a few years ago and not much since has topped it.

It tells the story of a highly successful and strong-willed city man (Gerard Depardieu) who inherits some land in the Provence of France. Wanting a complete change of lifestyle he sets about moving his wife and daughter from their luxury city life to the hard graft of country farming. He has learnt from a map that a water stream runs directly through the land allowing him the opportunity to make a healthy living selling farm produce from a location that suffers from annual drought.

Little does he know, a neighbouring farmer has realised the potential wealth this stream brings to the land so he along with his nephew block the source before the new tennants move in. Their theory is that soon enough the rich city man will realise farming isn't so cut and dry and will eventually give in, sell for cheap and move back to their comfort zone. Thus allowing the schemers to reopen the water source and steal the abundance of wealth the land will surely provide.

I haven't given anything away with the above plot, what follows is a truly beautiful tale of greed, torture, manipulation and a toil and contrast of emotions all based on such a simple story in a pure and humble setting. You'd be forgiven for mistaking this as one off the classic Shakespearean repertoire.

The story slowly but painfully unfolds but it never drags, each scene is very poignant and will perfectly solidify each of the three main characters. It's very delicate and detailed, and if you could never imagine torture to have graceful elements, watch this movie. It can only be described as an abstract work of art groomed together with a quiet explosion of human emotion.

I may have over-cooked the review slightly but it's a must see nonetheless. It has a sequel, Manon de Sources which focuses around a new theme of revenge.
 
Gamer - 4/10

Crap story. Random nudity. Decent action I guess. Just not my sort of movie..
 
Twiglet 2 New Moon.

Where do I start? I saw the original Twiglet completely unaware of the premise and the passionate following that the story has invoked. Imagine my surprise and subsequent laughter at the sparkly vampire tosh that I was confronted with in my local multiplex.

Two female friends and I decided that we enjoyed laughing at the first one so much that we'd check out the sequel. I have included some mild spoilers below so please beware if you continue to read.

The story picks up with Bella and Edward celebrating her birthday but she gets all angsty because she is turning 18 and Edward is 17 despite really being 109.
She wants to turn into a Vampire but he will not turn her. A tragedy is narrowly averted and Edward and his family move away for her own protection and the part explanation that the "father" of the family is supposedly 10 years older than he looks and people are starting to talk.

This is the point when the chuckles begin. Bella can't stand to be seperated from the pasty/sparkly undead love machine and spends at least 3 months in a chair looking out the window whilst the camera pans around her. Then she decides to prick tease a young lad called Jacob who is apparently 16 but has a body like a seasoned body builder.

I had got used to the fact that Stephanie Meyer had decided to dispense with most of the Vampire mythology and make them immune to sunlight. I was now introduced to Werewolves that seem to be able to transform at will or when angry rather than waiting for a full moon! I look forward to the third installment where I would imagine Superman turns up with his pants inside his costume, inexplicably impervious to Kryptonite but vulnerable to cheese.


I also wonder why the wolfpack can walk around rain or shine wearing nothing but a pair of shorts and nobody seems to bat an eyelid!

Cue lots of angst, nightmares, ghostly visions of Edward (some of which are very funny) a race against time and then my favourite scene in the whole film.

The vision of the future with Bella and Edward running in the forest sparkling in the sun. This drew laughter from 50% of the audience.

Overall, pretty crap but funny for piss takers like myself. It's an improvement on the first film but still has its cringy moments and unintentional comedy. I'm still wondering what has inspired the rabid fans?
 
On the contrary i thought it somehow managed to be even worse than the first one was. At least there was some point to that movie. feck all happened in this one apart from the last 20 minutes or so.
 
uae said:
On the contrary i thought it somehow managed to be even worse than the first one was. At least there was some point to that movie. feck all happened in this one apart from the last 20 minutes or so.
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Not really much difference if you summarise them. This one was slightly less laughable and cringy which is why I thought it superior.

See the spoiler and let me know your thoughts.

Well in the last one, she moved house, fell in love and almost got killed in the end.

In this one, the vampire moved house, she fell in love and they both almost got killed at the end.
 
Sometimes bad movies can be fun. Try and watch Hawk the Slayer with a straight face!

You need to see the odd crap movie to appreciate the good ones.

I don't know why I'm debating the point with you though because I agree that you shouldn't waste your time on this teen angst shite fest. However I was compelled to see it because the first one was so bad.
 
I never liked Twiglits, but they do seem to be an acquired taste. They got Marmite on them, haven't they? I've never actually tried Marmite.
 
Loved Star Trek. Sure it the plot was silly and full of flaws but it was a fantastic popcorn flick nevertheless.
 
Decided to watch Zombieland tonight. After the disappointing reviews I heard post initial hype I wasn't expecting much bur I thought it was great fun. The plot was completely see through, bar
I was convinced Woody Harrelson was going to die in that hut at the end just after finding a twinky
but then zombie films are never really all that intelligent anyway. You never got to know much about their pasts but because they were easily identifiable characters and lighthearted it wasn't neccessary to know their backstory to care what happened to them. It clearly has flaws and you know watching it that you're not witnessing anything groundbreaking but if you signed up for some easy watching, some thrills, plenty of laughs, zombies and Bill Murray then you should lap this up 7/5/10
 
Just watched Gamer and thought it was a decent idea (in the sense that the action scenes could have been decent) but was executed terribly with some really annoying camera work and editing. 3/10.

I managed to watch the new re-release of Heat on bluray yesterday and I forgot how awesome that shoot out is, no soundtrack bullshit just Pacino's FNC tearing shit up, I loved it again.
 
Pirate Radio. I've heard the UK cut of this movie(called The Boat that Rocked to your lot) is actually good. This one is bad though. A lot happens in the first hour or so without much happening at all. It feels disjointed, as if it's trying to be a movie that the director has seen before, but couldn't execute himself. Again, this is only for the US cut, not the UK cut. I'm going to try to find the UK cut to compare. And of course the soundtrack is good. The music from then was so good, it's almost impossible to not have a good soundtrack given the conditions.
 
Spoony Youngblood said:
Paranormal Activity - Good but also fecking silly. Had its moments, though.

Now, I'll try to sleep.
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i always wondered why don't they turn on the lights or close that damn door . luckily it had a shit ending so i had only one sleepless night
 
botond said:
i always wondered why don't they turn on the lights or close that damn door . luckily it had a shit ending so i had only one sleepless night
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I didn't mind the ending - that said, I watched the original ending and not the 09 theatrical release. And the film was full of things a normal couple would've done differently, but heh, as a horror film it was good. And thankfully, I didn't have a problem getting to sleep.
 
New Moon - Shite 2/10

I noticed Edward was in Favala, I will have to remember his location from killcam and take him out :lol:
 
2012 What is says on the box. If you enjoyed The Day After Tomorrow, Armageddon and the like you will enjoy this. If you found them too silly to watch you won't. It is that simple. Enjoyable escapist bollocks or just bollocks. 2/10 if the later, 7/10 if the former

Pontypool Now this is how to make a very low budget horror film with some real suspense for feck all. Pretty creepy and a rather clever premise. Well worth a watch. A film that puts Blair Witch to shame. 8/10
 
Angels and Demons Less silly than the book yet far less enjoyable. Hardly worth the effort 5/10
 
Fish Tank From the makers of Red Road, which was brilliant if depressing. This is nearly as good and in the end not quite as depressing. Hard to watch at times but a very very good film in the end with some really great performances from the central characters. 9/10
 
Funny People Not that funny but a rather nice film anyway. The friendship between the two main characters in particular. Well worth a watch 7/10
 
Wibble said:
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Pontypool Now this is how to make a very low budget horror film with some real suspense for feck all. Pretty creepy and a rather clever premise. Well worth a watch. A film that puts Blair Witch to shame. 8/10
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I'm dowloading this at the mo. I've got a thing for horror films this weekend. Saw Paranormal Activity - which I enjoyed. . . and Drag Me to Hell is waiting to be watched. I hope it's good.
 
Wibble said:
Fish Tank From the makers of Red Road, which was brilliant if depressing. This is nearly as good and in the end not quite as depressing. Hard to watch at times but a very very good film in the end with some really great performances from the central characters. 9/10
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Worth a watch then? Most I knew who saw it said it was quite dissapointing, but then again, they're not the sort of people I'd usually go to for advice on film.

Agree with you on Funny People too, the Seth Rogan/Adam Sandler relationship should've been the entire focus of the film. Although I liked Leslie Mann and Eric Bana, their involvment really distracted from the comedy, and the good drama, for me.
 
On an unrelated note, I'm doing an essay on modern Korean cinema. Anybody got any good recommendations from the last decade or so? Watched The Host, Shiri and a few Chan-wook Park films so far.
 
I watched 'The Young Victoria' last night and thought it was excellent, Emily Blunt was in the starring role and it goes without saying she is fast becoming one of the best acting talents around. The film begins whilst Victoria is heir to the throne and still a child so is extremely closeted and used as a pawn by others to assume her royal power. Early on she assumes the throne still struggling to gain her independence as people left, right and centre try to use her for their own ends and it is this point that Prince Albert comes into the equation and their relationship develops which is done very well. Usually I detest period dramas but this is done in a very engrossing but quite light manner and excellently casted and scripted 8/10.
 
GDH said:
On an unrelated note, I'm doing an essay on modern Korean cinema. Anybody got any good recommendations from the last decade or so? Watched The Host, Shiri and a few Chan-wook Park films so far.
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Vengeance trilogy, Save the Green Planet, Bittersweet Life, My Sassy Girl, Il Mare, A Tale of Two Sisters. . . Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring and I'm sure there are a few more.
 
Cheers. Already done the vengeance triology but will definitely check out some of the others.
 
olesmyhero said:
I thought it was about an hour too long. The last act seemed thrown together and didn't really fit the rest of the movie.
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I didn't mind the last act without disagreeing necessarily. The whole scene where he goes to Eric Bana's house was pointless and silly. So cutting that would have been a good idea and shortened the film.

GDH said:
Agree with you on Funny People too, the Seth Rogan/Adam Sandler relationship should've been the entire focus of the film. Although I liked Leslie Mann and Eric Bana, their involvment really distracted from the comedy, and the good drama, for me.
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Agreed.

Fish Tank, like Red Road, wasn't always an easy watch. I'm not even sure I found the outcome that satisfying and, again like Red Road, the whole film was fairly depressing. That said some of the performances were superb. Well worth a watch even if 9/10 was perhaps a bit generous.
 
Spoony Youngblood said:
I'm dowloading this at the mo. I've got a thing for horror films this weekend. Saw Paranormal Activity - which I enjoyed. . . and Drag Me to Hell is waiting to be watched. I hope it's good.
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They managed to get some real tension into the film at times. Like most horro films you don't want to examine the logic at times (not the order of events in the plot but the cause of the "horror" event) but I really enjoyed it. The whole budget was only 1.5 mill and I'd guess half that or more went on the salaries of the half known actors in it.
 
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