Moneyball - decent watch
Film The Redcafe Movie review thread
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So watched Colombiana and its bad. Luc Besson pretty much writing a what if scenario for Natalie Portmans character in Leon... if she was Colombian. Then realizing that he can't actually be arsed to direct such a blatant cash-in from his previous assassin success. Who is Oliver Megaton anyways? I'm pretty sure he only gets to direct films because of his extremely cool surname.
The final death scene is.. well.. is there a less convincing way of killing the man you've been hunting your whole life? Strap a bomb to his car maybe? Nah... I'll just put two dogs in the backseat and hope he doesn't see them. Of course dogs who like sirloin steak also have a taste for colombian mafia meat.
The love story is pretty wanky to.. it's not really a love story. It has no background. The funniest part is when he asks her 'What do you do?' As in... how the feck did you two even meet if you don't know that? It would of been more plausible if she had lied to him (she can lie about her name but not her job?). So pretty much the only thing they have in common is they both paint... and have the emotional depth of a cucumber.
The final death scene is.. well.. is there a less convincing way of killing the man you've been hunting your whole life? Strap a bomb to his car maybe? Nah... I'll just put two dogs in the backseat and hope he doesn't see them. Of course dogs who like sirloin steak also have a taste for colombian mafia meat.
The love story is pretty wanky to.. it's not really a love story. It has no background. The funniest part is when he asks her 'What do you do?' As in... how the feck did you two even meet if you don't know that? It would of been more plausible if she had lied to him (she can lie about her name but not her job?). So pretty much the only thing they have in common is they both paint... and have the emotional depth of a cucumber.
I'd feck Zoe Saldana really hard though, just putting that out there.
Brwned, what did you think of Satantango? It's not the right starting point for Tarr though (that would be the Werckmeister Harmonies)
A Horrible Way to Die.
A very strange film , the story was jumping all over the place , I thought some of the acting was excellent and some was utter rubbish.
The story is about an escaped convict going after his ex wife.
There is more to it than that and the ending has a good but to be honest expected twist , but on saying that I did enjoy it and would recommend it.
7/10
A very strange film , the story was jumping all over the place , I thought some of the acting was excellent and some was utter rubbish.
The story is about an escaped convict going after his ex wife.
There is more to it than that and the ending has a good but to be honest expected twist , but on saying that I did enjoy it and would recommend it.
7/10
Son of Morning Well what a load of tripe this was, the sun is about to burn out so there is a kind of small panic going on in the background not that we get to see any of it because the story centers on a man who is mistaken for the Messiah and is vaguely meant to do something, or say something or something it isn't entirely explained, but instead of that he uses this new power to sleep with some ugly girl and generally mope around in a way that is both not interesting and not funny. All the while there are 4 pointless subplots about his simple mother (played by Dr. Melfi from the Soprano's), Heather Graham's newsreporter who comes in with great gusto but has no substance or development, the girl who sells a kiss and tell on him because, well just because and Danny Glover who plays a mystical hobo sage, a character so often used that it is amazing that they got it so badly wrong. Because of the lazy writing we have absolutely no connection with our protagonist whose character growth is tacked on in a comically bad ending that just finishes the storyline arcs in the most annoying way
I'm not sure how this mess ever got funding the money would have been better spent adding an extra CGI bolt to one of the Transformers it was so bad, I mean you take the interesting idea of a modern day Messiah which has pretty vast potential stories that could make a real statement or could just parody the bible, if you're Monty Python you can even do both but this is just a turd that they poke at now and again with ideas but the ideas themselves are turds meaning you're left with one steaming pile of turd mess. 9/10
The sun blowing up? Oh actually scientists got their maths wrong the sun is fine afterall.
I'm not sure how this mess ever got funding the money would have been better spent adding an extra CGI bolt to one of the Transformers it was so bad, I mean you take the interesting idea of a modern day Messiah which has pretty vast potential stories that could make a real statement or could just parody the bible, if you're Monty Python you can even do both but this is just a turd that they poke at now and again with ideas but the ideas themselves are turds meaning you're left with one steaming pile of turd mess. 9/10
Never got around to watch Satantango yet cinc, was still planning on watching it soon but after having a quick glance at the reviews of Werckmeister Harmonies it does seem the better introduction to him. Will definitely give that a go this week then.
The Seventh Seal - Some of it looked amazing, a really interesting (if completely fictional, I've no idea) portrayal of the middle ages with some eerily harrowing scenes and an intriguingly (and at the same time bizarrely) literal take on death and religion. Probably expected a bit more given how much I enjoyed Persona and it seemed many believe this to be unequivocally Bergman's best. Look forward to Wild Strawberries though. Sounds a bit like Ikiru. 8
Manhattan - I love Woody Allen, all there is to it. Exactly my kind of humour...and he must be the only person who can make a romantic comedy that's genuinely funny. Not quite as good as Annie Hall though, for me. 8
The Seventh Seal - Some of it looked amazing, a really interesting (if completely fictional, I've no idea) portrayal of the middle ages with some eerily harrowing scenes and an intriguingly (and at the same time bizarrely) literal take on death and religion. Probably expected a bit more given how much I enjoyed Persona and it seemed many believe this to be unequivocally Bergman's best. Look forward to Wild Strawberries though. Sounds a bit like Ikiru. 8
Manhattan - I love Woody Allen, all there is to it. Exactly my kind of humour...and he must be the only person who can make a romantic comedy that's genuinely funny. Not quite as good as Annie Hall though, for me. 8
Attack the Block. loved it.
It's not as depressing as Ikiru, actually quite optimistic for being a Bergman film.
A trailer for The Great White Silence, the restored film of Captain Scott's ill-fated Terra Nova expedition of 1912:
Trailer:
Video: Trailer for the restored version of The Great White Silence | The Observer
Story:
The Great White Silence: footage of the Scott expedition | The Observer
Terra Nova Expedition:
Terra Nova Expedition - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A trailer for The Great White Silence, the restored film of Captain Scott's ill-fated Terra Nova expedition of 1912:
Trailer:
Video: Trailer for the restored version of The Great White Silence | The Observer
Story:
The Great White Silence: footage of the Scott expedition | The Observer
Terra Nova Expedition:
Terra Nova Expedition - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Excuse the pun but that looks really cool, some of the footage looks great. The music is pretty eerie though, made me feel something was going to jump out.
I'm guessing it will be shown on the Discovery channel, will have to keep an eye out.
Yeah, I couldn't help but be reminded of silent Horror films like Nosferatu, mate. Still, I guess the feeling of foreboding is due to knowing what become of Scott & his men.
A trailer for The Great White Silence, the restored film of Captain Scott's ill-fated Terra Nova expedition of 1912:
Trailer:
Video: Trailer for the restored version of The Great White Silence | The Observer
Story:
The Great White Silence: footage of the Scott expedition | The Observer
Terra Nova Expedition:
Terra Nova Expedition - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This looks excellent ,I agree about the music very haunting but given the subject very apt.
I must admit to not know a great deal about the expedition , reading the pages posted has made me want to know more.
Fritz Lang's Metropolis - Metropolis is the kind of film that annoys me, because it's the kind of film where I have to decipher what it is I like about it, and what it is I admire about it, and what the difference is, and whether I'm making excuses for it or not because it's so old and seminal etc etc.
It's a hugely impressive spectacle for a near 90 year old film. In fact it almost does still stand up today visually, which is a spectacular achievement for a film made 6 years before King Kong (a film that doesn't stand up today, but which is held as a classic pioneering effects film of it's day.) It suffers in the acting obviously, and in the broad simplicity of it's plot, which is very simplistic and casually paints heroes and villans as well as being incredibly overtly political, but in a very vague and almost childish way. This is where it annoys me because obviously being a German silent film there are lots of period issues with how this stuff is presented. I can't exactly criticise the dialogue for being hackneyed because necessity dictated it had to be blunt.
However H.G Wells criticised it for being overly simplistic in its politics and characters back in it's day, so I think it's probably fair to do it, but painting it as the Avatar of the 20s would be unfair considering it's both far more savvy than that tripe, and faced numerous cuts and edits in various countries unhappy with it's politics, so there was obviously some gravitas there.
There are other things about it beyond the effects and scope of the whole thing. It's influenced a hell of a lot more than just set designers and Nazis. The Mad Scientist character has become a trope in its own right, and even a lot of the plot points are daring for their day. The music (original score) is also fantastic.
I did get very into it, and for a 2 and a half hour film it clearly had something more than good visuals to keep me engrossed.
I'd struggle to give it a grade though, but I'm sure it probably will make it into my top 100.
It's a hugely impressive spectacle for a near 90 year old film. In fact it almost does still stand up today visually, which is a spectacular achievement for a film made 6 years before King Kong (a film that doesn't stand up today, but which is held as a classic pioneering effects film of it's day.) It suffers in the acting obviously, and in the broad simplicity of it's plot, which is very simplistic and casually paints heroes and villans as well as being incredibly overtly political, but in a very vague and almost childish way. This is where it annoys me because obviously being a German silent film there are lots of period issues with how this stuff is presented. I can't exactly criticise the dialogue for being hackneyed because necessity dictated it had to be blunt.
However H.G Wells criticised it for being overly simplistic in its politics and characters back in it's day, so I think it's probably fair to do it, but painting it as the Avatar of the 20s would be unfair considering it's both far more savvy than that tripe, and faced numerous cuts and edits in various countries unhappy with it's politics, so there was obviously some gravitas there.
There are other things about it beyond the effects and scope of the whole thing. It's influenced a hell of a lot more than just set designers and Nazis. The Mad Scientist character has become a trope in its own right, and even a lot of the plot points are daring for their day. The music (original score) is also fantastic.
I did get very into it, and for a 2 and a half hour film it clearly had something more than good visuals to keep me engrossed.
I'd struggle to give it a grade though, but I'm sure it probably will make it into my top 100.
I honestly thought that Lang was influenced by Hoffmann & Wells, but I was totally wrong, it seems:
Metropolis (film) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Metropolis (film) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I thought he was influenced by Marx and Engles, but was a bit of a pussy when it came to the idea of revolution, so he thought he could scare both parties into just being really nice to each other instead.
Tinker Tailor etc etc
Thoroughly enjoyed this. At times it trod a fine-line between smart and self-indulgent. Amazed it ever made it onto the big screen and even more amazed that the director wasn't forced to cut the final product to shreds. In film-making terms quite a brave film and proof, if any were needed, that there is a market for more sophisticated films.
I also think I have a man crush on Tom Hardy. I'm told the rule is that you can have a maximum of one man crush and still remain straight. Oh wait, there's also Michael C Hall. Damnit.
7.9/10.
Thoroughly enjoyed this. At times it trod a fine-line between smart and self-indulgent. Amazed it ever made it onto the big screen and even more amazed that the director wasn't forced to cut the final product to shreds. In film-making terms quite a brave film and proof, if any were needed, that there is a market for more sophisticated films.
I also think I have a man crush on Tom Hardy. I'm told the rule is that you can have a maximum of one man crush and still remain straight. Oh wait, there's also Michael C Hall. Damnit.
7.9/10.
Horrible Bosses - 6/10
Quite funny, but Jason Sudeikis is a twat.
Quite funny, but Jason Sudeikis is a twat.
I watched that too. It was kind of eh, the leads had zero chemistry whatsoever, Charlie being Charlie from Sunny didn't work in the slightest, and well yeah Sudekis is kinda awful, Bateman did what Bateman does so cant blame him I guess. Plus it had a completely lazy story. The three bosses and Foxx did well enough to save it from being truly bad I guess.
4/10 or so.
4/10 or so.
Trollhunter - It takes the Blair Witch/Cloverfield idea of a fake documentary and actually does a pretty good job of it. There's lots of references, humorously, to troll lore. I like the idea of trolls(or other fantastical beasts) existening outside the knowledge of the public. One thing that was a little strange, which I guess is the point,...trolls can get rabies.
8/10
8/10
Fast Five - Over-indulgent prentious nonsense, topped off by having the worst actor in the hisoty of the world as it's leading man. I usually like a brainless action film that you can watch and just let it wash over you, but this film took the 'brainless' part to heart and just ran with it. God knows how it got 7.4 on IMDB, it's pretty terrible.
Red State - A total and utter clusterfeck as Kevin Smith tries to do the Coens, Craven and Tarrantino and pretty much everything else in an hour and twenty minutes but somehow I still quite enjoyed the ride and Michael Parks is great as the disturbing preacher.
You can watch Werckmeister harmóniák here. It doesnt have subtitles obviously, but you can have a peek.
Sudeikis almost ruined that film for me. My hatred for him has grown so much he's ruining other things for me now too. I didin't like Double Indemnity in part because Fred MacMurray subconsciously reminded me of Sudeikis playing a smug twat in a parody of a noir movie....I've even begun disliking Joe McHale in Community because of what I begun to see as the Sudeikising of his character from a lazy, sarky, smooth talking loser to a smug twat everyone inexplicably thinks is awesome. And McHale is infinitely more likeable that Sudeikis will ever be...I've also decided one of my many reasons for disliking Seinfeld was that Jerry exhibited an early pre-cursor of the Sudiekis principle. The difference with him though being that he did actually write his own scripts, whereas Sudeikis merely seems like he does.
In short, he could be ruining my life.
Anyone seen Moneyball? Duncan Jones reckons its the best film of the year so far.
Has anyone seen Drive yet?
Sudeikis hate...I like it. However, I do enjoy what he does on What Up With That.
Hulu - Saturday Night Live: What Up With That: James Franco
Tree of Life worth a watch then? seems to have split movie ponces on here.
Yeah, for the cinematography if nothing else.
Any other films I ought to download(not that I'd d such a thing), Cinc?
And it would be good if Hammer Michael came back and all....
It's entertaining, a Friday night popcorn flick, but didn't blow me away and I don't get the Oscar buzz that is associated with it. Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill have good chemistry in their dialogue.
A few Hungarian one maybe from recent years: Taxidermia (Gyorgy Palfi ( Taxidermia (2006) - IMDb )), the Investigator (Attila Gigör ( The Investigator (2008) - IMDb )
I have Hammer's email somewhere, we should invite him back.
Definitely worth a watch. There's a masterpiece hidden away somewhere in all that material, it's a shame that it didn't really come off as well as it had the potential to be.
Cheers, man. And yeah, drop him an email, Cinco.
Is the Drive screener of good quality?
Dunno, haven't checked it. I might see it in the cinema when it gets released over here.
Good, so it's that...Network and Tree of Life this week.
I know I'll hate the Tree of Life, so I'm skipping it. It's Drive, Amelie, The Deer Hunter & M for me.
Also, check that last post again Spoonify.
Also, check that last post again Spoonify.