Film The Redcafe Movie review thread

Just watched Senna. Much better than I expected - despite knowing 'the ending' so to speak, it still had more tension, drama and depth than the vast majority of films I've seen this year. Absolutely astonished to see the unbelievably lax attention to driver safety. Anyone in risk management would probably have a heart attack watching this. A solid 8/10.
 
I've ended up watching Melancholia again. Still bad, but not as bad as first.

Melancholia ( 2011, Lars Von Trier) 3,5/10. It has some good performances (the two Charlottes, Rampling and Gainsburgand a few great shots, but other than that, its pretty crap.

The dialogs are forced and unnatural and very much "unenglish" - its clear that the script was never revised by anyone who speaks English really well. This wouldnt be bad in itself, but the characters act without any sense of consistency. Like most of Van Trier's movies, this one is a good idea developed badly. Its unscientific (both in the way mentally ill characters are presented and the way the film is framed) - non of this would matter either, if this problems were a requisite for the plot. Its too long too, and just doesnt work.

feck me, I hate this movie.
 
^ I watched the opening scene of that before I decided that I was not in a good film mood. Seemed like a very obvious Tarkovsky tribute with a touch of Last Year in Marienbad.
 
House of the Devil.

Girl takes a dodgy babysitting job and soon becomes aware that things are not right.
The people want her for some satanic ritual.
The film was OK nothing special , there is a couple of good kill scenes with blood and guts.
The ending was a shock but not much of one.

I would not watch it again but was good for a very quite Saturday Afternoon in work.

6/10
 
Twilight Breaking Dawn Part I (2011) - N/R

It was crap. The storyline was boring, the main actors don't seem to appreciate that emotions exist in between elation and depression, seemingly the only thing Robert Pattinson has going for him is a dreamy...I mean cheesy smile, and the dialogue was just mind-numbingly dull. Honestly if it wasn't for some tasty doritos and popcorn I wouldn't have survived the entire movie, the comfort food was sorely needed for such a painful experience. Second worst movie I've ever seen and at least the Wicker Man had entertaining moments throughout (wholly unintentional, of course, but they were there).

Brought it on myself for even considering watching this abomination but I had my reasons...quite how anyone other than a 13 year old girl can enjoy this is beyond me.
 
One Day

I've been looking forward to seeing this film for ages . Sadly I just thought it was ok.
It's one day - actually St Swithins day - over about twenty years. It's Anne Hathaway with a dodgy Yorkshire accent and Jim Sturgess who meet while at Edinburgh University and stay friends . The film follows them and their interaction over the twenty years.

6/10
 
I gave you cracking list, Erica.

And Kung Fu Panda 2, bog standard storyline but the animation/art direction was brilliant. Don't recall watching the first one though.
 
Brwned said:
Twilight Breaking Dawn Part I (2011) - N/R

It was crap. The storyline was boring, the main actors don't seem to appreciate that emotions exist in between elation and depression, seemingly the only thing Robert Pattinson has going for him is a dreamy...I mean cheesy smile, and the dialogue was just mind-numbingly dull. Honestly if it wasn't for some tasty doritos and popcorn I wouldn't have survived the entire movie, the comfort food was sorely needed for such a painful experience. Second worst movie I've ever seen and at least the Wicker Man had entertaining moments throughout (wholly unintentional, of course, but they were there).

Brought it on myself for even considering watching this abomination but I had my reasons...quite how anyone other than a 13 year old girl can enjoy this is beyond me.
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Occasionally on the way to work if I am stupid enough to put on the Radio
I have to hear stupid whiney idiot 13 year old girls talk about Edward fecking Cullen and that other idiot. We should really start turning twilight screening theatres in gas chambers because if I have to hear about these female wet dream fantasies about vampires saving them from their boring shitty lifes I'm gonna end up killing them myself. And y'know that's the only reason twilight is popular anyways... cause every girl from the age of 13 to menopause is clinging on to the idea of some male saviour. Look it ain't gonna happen, vampires aren't real. Edward Cullen is a pasty prick, and you're never gonna be Bella.
 
Limitless - I'm going to try to say something nice about this movie. Hmm, lets see. Yes, I liked the sequence they did when the opening credits were rolling. Not sure how to rate this one. It's not the worst movie I've ever seen and yet... it's incredibly shit. It's about a guy who must have been incredibly dumb to being with. We can't know for sure because the film doesnt waste a lot of time on that guy. Pretty soon he's got hold of some pills that give him a 4 digit IQ. Only after taking the pill he realizes that he needs to keep his living quarters clean. Then he has sex with someone, then he writes a book, then he's randomly partying and then he seems to get dumb again because he goes and borrows a lot of money from a loan shark. Then some weird shit happens where he almost dies but doesnt. And some really weird crap happens at the end. Clearly the writer had no idea how to end this movie when he started writing it. Next time you feel like watching a relatively new thriller, my advice to you is, dont watch this one.
 
Limitless was hoist by it's own petard. It's a film about a writer given limitless access to his mind, written by writers incredibly limited by their own inability to think of anything beyond cliched Hollywood movies. If you're a creative type, and you're suddenly given complete access to your full potential, why on earth would you write one book, and then go into stock market trading? Before getting involved with Gangsters and running for political office? It was only missing a car chase really, or a black comic relief sidekick.
 
Grinner said:
I think you're being really harsh here, Mehro. I thought Limitless was entertaining and well worth a look.
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I dont think so. I knew well before the final 5 minutes of the movie that I didnt like it but those final few scenes really sealed the deal for me. Not only had he turned in to Superman but he was also immune to Kryptonite! Tell me you didnt burst out laughing when he replies to De Niro's offer.
 
I havent read the books but saw all three movies today. Stieg Larsson's trilogy -

Dragon Tattoo - I really enjoyed it. I liked how dark and twisted her character is. I'll have to use spoiler codes to talk about the stuff I liked and I'm too lazy to do that. But it was a good mystery with well formed characters. Not a masterpiece but not forgettable either. 7/10

Played with Fire - A couple of notches below the first one. Gets too personal. Too convoluted. Far fetched coincidences. 6/10

Hornet's Nest - The main character is completely sidelined. She's sitting in prison for the entire movie while everyone else runs the show. It's a satisfying ending in the sense that all the bad guys are caught. It feels even better because they all turn out to be a pretty big deal. If the story was solely about getting an audience to respond and connect i suppose it served that purpose. But it felt too much like an offshoot instead of a climax to the saga. 6/10
 
mehro said:
I dont think so. I knew well before the final 5 minutes of the movie that I didnt like it but those final few scenes really sealed the deal for me. Not only had he turned in to Superman but he was also immune to Kryptonite! Tell me you didnt burst out laughing when he replies to De Niro's offer.
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It had potential but ended up being really dumb.
 
mehro said:
Limitless - I'm going to try to say something nice about this movie. Hmm, lets see. Yes, I liked the sequence they did when the opening credits were rolling.
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It also looked very nice on blu-ray... some good use of colour in that film.

Finally got round to watching Four Lions over the weekend... which was pretty funny overall, with a handful of hilarious moments thrown in every noe and then. The "sensitive" subject matter (It's about 4 suicide bombers who want to commit jihad) is dealt with fairly well... because ultimately the charcters in this film are all too stupid to ever take seriously... and thus can't really offend anyone. Of course the opposite is also true, where it's taking a light-hearted view of a very serious thing... but, as a form of entertainmeny, I enjoyed it.

7/10
 
pauldyson1uk said:
Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure.

Yes chessey , yes it had some dreadful acting but I love it.
I like some of the music in it too.
I think I will dig out the second one now and watch that one too.
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Good Man!


Brwned said:
Twilight Breaking Dawn Part I (2011) - N/R

It was crap. The storyline was boring, the main actors don't seem to appreciate that emotions exist in between elation and depression, seemingly the only thing Robert Pattinson has going for him is a dreamy...I mean cheesy smile, and the dialogue was just mind-numbingly dull. Honestly if it wasn't for some tasty doritos and popcorn I wouldn't have survived the entire movie, the comfort food was sorely needed for such a painful experience. Second worst movie I've ever seen and at least the Wicker Man had entertaining moments throughout (wholly unintentional, of course, but they were there).

Brought it on myself for even considering watching this abomination but I had my reasons...quite how anyone other than a 13 year old girl can enjoy this is beyond me.
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I saw the first one, I got through it because it was unintentionally hilarious. The cameras panning around Edward and Bella as they stare dreamily into each other's eyes. The Sparkly vampires etc.

EricaNo7 said:
One Day

I've been looking forward to seeing this film for ages . Sadly I just thought it was ok.
It's one day - actually St Swithins day - over about twenty years. It's Anne Hathaway with a dodgy Yorkshire accent and Jim Sturgess who meet while at Edinburgh University and stay friends . The film follows them and their interaction over the twenty years.

6/10
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I had the misfortune of reading the book. I would have told you to steer clear. You wouldn't have listened though, much like Highlander 2 :)
 
Marnie:

I'm still trying to decide if I liked it. It hasn't aged well and it could probably be trimmed by 20 minutes. That said, it kept my attention and I wanted to find out the details of why Marnie acted so oddly.
I found it a bit hard to believe that Sean Connery would be so tolerant of somebody that's just ripped him off. I know he alludes to an interest in behaviour and he took on a dying company and turned it around, so he obviously likes a challenge. It just struck me as a bit odd that he'd marry her!
It's definitely worth a watch, the opening scene where she is packing her case and certain things are revealed about her lifestyle was fantastic, and it was a great way to pique the interest of the audience.

Oh, and Diane Baker was beautiful!
 
mehro said:
Hornet's Nest - The main character is completely sidelined. She's sitting in prison for the entire movie while everyone else runs the show. It's a satisfying ending in the sense that all the bad guys are caught. It feels even better because they all turn out to be a pretty big deal. If the story was solely about getting an audience to respond and connect i suppose it served that purpose. But it felt too much like an offshoot instead of a climax to the saga. 6/10
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I made the mistake of watching this one first, with a mate who'd seen the others and was desperate to see this. Complete waste of time really. If you haven't seen the others this is just a second rate courtroom drama dealing with the events of two films i haven't seen. It's also occasionally very silly (why would 2 people who'd tried to kill each other, in what is now a major nationwide investigation/story, be put in the same hospital, a few doors down from each other? Schoolboy)

I will watch the first two, but this has sort of out me off it for a bit.
 
The Debt

Two thirds of a good thriller, three Mossad agents try to smuggle a Nazi war criminal from East Berlin to Israel in the 1960's so he can be tried. The film then goes forward 30 years as something resurfaces from the mission that affects the three agents. The modern day part lets down the rest of the film as it feels rushed and a bit ridiculous and is not helped by some strange casting, but its still worth a watch overall.
 
50/50 6/10

A nice feelgood movie about cancer. It has Seth Rogan in it, so its not low-key, but he's rather good, as most of the cast is. The script is good apart from an unnecessary love plot. The direction is a bit all over the place and the music in it gets on my nerves. Worth a watch.
 
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