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Film The Redcafe Movie review thread
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik and Imran are here to talk about a frustrating 2 points dropped at Crystal Palace. They then discuss the regeneration of Old Trafford. Finally, Nik is joined by special guest Michael Statham from the Football Oranje podcast - who gives us a more in depth look at our EL opposition FC Twente, and then runs through the (many) Dutch connections currently at United.
More moral tales.
Claire's Knee - Again, beautiful people talking with glorious scenery in the backdrop. The French countryside + Nestor Almendros = win. A light breeze of a film, it's hard to describe it with just a few sentences but watching the film almost felt like reading a book in nature whilst hearing the birds chirping away.
My Night at Maud's - Shot in B&W, set in a more colder and greyer cityscape, didn't care much for the discussions around religion and catholicism, but still, an intellectually stimulating film.
Claire's Knee - Again, beautiful people talking with glorious scenery in the backdrop. The French countryside + Nestor Almendros = win. A light breeze of a film, it's hard to describe it with just a few sentences but watching the film almost felt like reading a book in nature whilst hearing the birds chirping away.
My Night at Maud's - Shot in B&W, set in a more colder and greyer cityscape, didn't care much for the discussions around religion and catholicism, but still, an intellectually stimulating film.
Admission - 2/10
I think this was supposed to be a comedy, or at least a romantic-ish comedy of sorts. It wasn't vaguely funny, which is surprising given Tina Fey and Paul Rudd star in it. It has all the cliches: a woman who lives for her job and has a failing social life; the awkward academic; a quirky guy who makes her see that life is for living; the hippy-ish mother who doesn't 'do' affection, but who is capable of great profundity; the undiscovered child genius who lacks social skills or graces; the driven career woman who has no sentimentality or empathy. I'm not sure how or why this got made. It's utterly boring, charmless and seems to just chuck loads of storylines at the wall to see what sticks.
I think this was supposed to be a comedy, or at least a romantic-ish comedy of sorts. It wasn't vaguely funny, which is surprising given Tina Fey and Paul Rudd star in it. It has all the cliches: a woman who lives for her job and has a failing social life; the awkward academic; a quirky guy who makes her see that life is for living; the hippy-ish mother who doesn't 'do' affection, but who is capable of great profundity; the undiscovered child genius who lacks social skills or graces; the driven career woman who has no sentimentality or empathy. I'm not sure how or why this got made. It's utterly boring, charmless and seems to just chuck loads of storylines at the wall to see what sticks.
Problem here is, you named a dozen of which 90% of the people think are good to great films. But yeah, I don't disagree on the asshole part, I just like to be contrary I guess. Oh no wait, that's you.
Do you honestly think people aren't going to react to drivel like "Denzel Washington makes loads of shit films"? You're clearly looking for reactions here, so don't cry when you get them.
Told. It was a bizarre comment in the first place.
Yeah, I wouldn't say he makes shit films, like Nicolas Cage does. Many of the films he chooses to star in lately are just very uninspiring and generic, which is a shame considering how talented he is as an actor, just seems a bit of a waste of his talents. I do think he's quite overrated though as an actor, considering how many that thinks he's one of the greatest ever.
Just watched Fast&Furious 6 and I must say I enjoyed it. 5 was better for me in terms of the crazy stunts and the epic fight between Diesel and The Rock but this one wasn't bad at all.
Yep, that's definitely part of the issue, another is that the Hollywood system is notoriously lazy in terms of casting itself and tends to quickly pigeon hole most good actors.
I think he's pretty middle of the road and inoffensive. Don't get the love at all.
All of the films I mentioned, except maybe for Training Day, were poorly received, at least critically. So whether you agree with me or not I'm not being a contrarian.
Does anybody really think Washington is the best ever?
I mean apart Archie of course.
I mean apart Archie of course.
People that haven't seen many films, mostly.
They worked out that they would've travelled 18 miles down the runway in that really long scene, despite the fact that the longest runway is only 3.5 miles long. I guess Fast & Furious can get away with errors like that in the way other kinds of films can't.
When I saw it, I felt like I needed to immediately re-watch it - its greatness seemed to be in those two (but obviously mainly Maud's) sleepover scenes; not in what each woman said, but the emotion & meaning behind their words (that was also lost on the main dude at the time), which you only got from later in the film. I hate re-watching stuff so soon though, so still have never got round to it. I think it would make all the philosophical & religious talk that frames their different views more bearable (as I felt the same), but maybe not.
+ 1 for disliking Man on Fire, a lot of which has to do with Denzel & how badly he plays a drunk (no idea if Flight's any better). The depth of that character seems to be measured in frowns. Weak plots & characters are fine in action films so long as it's still fun, but somehow that film manages to not be that either (save for one scene). Haven't seen that many of Denzel's other films but I like him in Much Ado About Nothing, which is immensely camp.
Well, I can honestly say that I really enjoyed all of them except maybe The Taking of Pelham.
Anyway, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying all of his films are masterpieces either, I just think calling most of them shit is way over the top that's all.
Yeah, I think it peaked during his "night at Maud's". I really enjoyed their interplay, it felt so natural. Rohmer really had a talent for subtleness.
hehe indeed
I was like "Come on, at some point this plane has to take off". Like you said though, I didn't mind it at all as it even made the final minutes of the movie even better. Really cannot wait for the 7th with Jason StathamYou better shut the feck up about that. Nic Cage is the king of films.
10 Years
After making my girlfriend sit through an abundance of horror films, I agreed to watch this with her. It's a film about growing up and living flawed lives and about past relationships. Only problem was that it was boring as hell, it's like you were watching the video tape of your distant friends high school reunion. There was some funny bits, mainly involving Anthony Mackie but overall, the ensemble cast was wasted with pure drivel and dull dilemmas. The actors also looked to old to be playing characters meeting up after 10 years of high school. There was a touching moment or two but overall, the film was a mediocre snoozefest. 4.5/10
Only God Forgives - Okay, so I didn't hate it... I didn't love it, or even like it all that much, but I didn't hate it. I thought the soundtrack was pretty great, and the film in general looked fantastic - the use of colours and the way many of the shots were framed was excellent. That and a handful of interesting scenes managed to get me through the movie pretty much unscathed (8 other people in my screening weren't so lucky - probably the most walk-outs I've experienced in a film since Southland Tales - now that's a film I do really enjoy despite there being no reason why I or anyone should).
I can't say it was a good film or anything - because it really isn't, but I was never bored at any point during the runtime, though I think that had more do with being so intruiged as to what mental shit would appear on screen next as to actually being engrossed in characters/storyline/plot... but then it would virtually be impossible to get invested in any of those later things as they are non existant. Also, I like Gosling, and I'm generally a fan of his work and his acting, but I don't think he worked here. Anything I got about his character came from the actions of others rather then in his performance... which there really wasn't a whole lot too - just a lot of long brooding stares into space. I get that he was a mentally fragile/troubled guy - but I still think there should have been something more there.
Anyway, If you enjoy style over substance, this one is for you. If your looking for a collection of pretty scenes with no real explanation of how they link together, or why certain characters randomly appear there, or why they're even occuring at all - then this one is also for you. Otherwise, probably best to avoid.
I can't say it was a good film or anything - because it really isn't, but I was never bored at any point during the runtime, though I think that had more do with being so intruiged as to what mental shit would appear on screen next as to actually being engrossed in characters/storyline/plot... but then it would virtually be impossible to get invested in any of those later things as they are non existant. Also, I like Gosling, and I'm generally a fan of his work and his acting, but I don't think he worked here. Anything I got about his character came from the actions of others rather then in his performance... which there really wasn't a whole lot too - just a lot of long brooding stares into space. I get that he was a mentally fragile/troubled guy - but I still think there should have been something more there.
Anyway, If you enjoy style over substance, this one is for you. If your looking for a collection of pretty scenes with no real explanation of how they link together, or why certain characters randomly appear there, or why they're even occuring at all - then this one is also for you. Otherwise, probably best to avoid.
Did anyone claim that Washongton was the best ever in this thread?
Yeah, Archie Leach. Well, in fairness, he said Sandler was better.
There was a point where he could've been considered as one of. But he's chosen a lot of generic action roles and played virtually the same character in different stages of angriness for the last 15 years.
He's cool, but he's no Chiwetel Ejiofor
He's cool, but he's no Chiwetel Ejiofor
I think Washington is very talented, but I think he like Morgan Freeman is overrated because people don't want the discussion on the best actors to be an all-whites club and those two are mainstream names that leap to mind when it comes to African-American actors, before say, Poitier or even Forest Whitaker.
The Wolverine - So I had very few expectations going into this - the most I expected was for it to be better than the last Wolverine film, which was a bit of an abortion - so I was quite surprised by how much I actually ended up enjoying it. I really liked it, definitely my favourite Summer blockbuster of the year, and in fact, if a few things had been different, particularly the last 15 minutes, it might have been one of my favourites of the year.
The change of setting was an excellent idea, and allowed for the film to have a different look and feel from every other Comic Book film you see... and it capitalises on its new environment by setting scenes in a variety of places that all look very different from one another. Also, I liked the fact that this big comic book film was Hugh Jackman and pretty much all Japanese peoples supporting actors. Not only that, but these Japanese people - shock horror - actually speak in Japanese when they're conversing with each other! What a concept.
I also liked how this film rooted itself in the X-Men world, and specifically, how it actually made X3 (which is a terrible film) matter. The use of Jean Gray was very good, and worked as an excellent character point for Wolverine. This film felt like it mattered and other films around it mattered - where as the first Wolverine felt like a different entity altogether, and was basically just Hugh Jackman on his jollies.
The story was a bit ridiculous and overly complex, I think it could probably have been streamlined and had a character remove to make the film a lot tighter (namely Viper, who didn't work in this film at all - the acting was bad, her motivations were unclear and she basically had no real point or purpose that another more interesting character, that didn't have to be a mutant, could have taken on). Wasn't a fan of that last 10/15 minutes, which was just daft and only served to remind me what the rest of the film had made me forget - that I'm watching a Comic Book film.
Overall though, liked the characters, liked the setting, liked 90% of the action set-pieces (The train scene is easily the best action scene I've seen this year - brilliant it is) and I liked that the film took it's time with all of these things and never felt rushed at any point. All of these factors made me forgive the plot points that didn't make a whole lot of sense and come away a happy man.
Oh, and finally, that post credit scene was fan-fecking-tastic.
The change of setting was an excellent idea, and allowed for the film to have a different look and feel from every other Comic Book film you see... and it capitalises on its new environment by setting scenes in a variety of places that all look very different from one another. Also, I liked the fact that this big comic book film was Hugh Jackman and pretty much all Japanese peoples supporting actors. Not only that, but these Japanese people - shock horror - actually speak in Japanese when they're conversing with each other! What a concept.
I also liked how this film rooted itself in the X-Men world, and specifically, how it actually made X3 (which is a terrible film) matter. The use of Jean Gray was very good, and worked as an excellent character point for Wolverine. This film felt like it mattered and other films around it mattered - where as the first Wolverine felt like a different entity altogether, and was basically just Hugh Jackman on his jollies.
The story was a bit ridiculous and overly complex, I think it could probably have been streamlined and had a character remove to make the film a lot tighter (namely Viper, who didn't work in this film at all - the acting was bad, her motivations were unclear and she basically had no real point or purpose that another more interesting character, that didn't have to be a mutant, could have taken on). Wasn't a fan of that last 10/15 minutes, which was just daft and only served to remind me what the rest of the film had made me forget - that I'm watching a Comic Book film.
Overall though, liked the characters, liked the setting, liked 90% of the action set-pieces (The train scene is easily the best action scene I've seen this year - brilliant it is) and I liked that the film took it's time with all of these things and never felt rushed at any point. All of these factors made me forgive the plot points that didn't make a whole lot of sense and come away a happy man.
Oh, and finally, that post credit scene was fan-fecking-tastic.
I re-watched Sinister the other day, I still have the same opinion of it: pretty well down, quite atmospheric, disturbing at time and good soundtrack. Ethan Hawke is perfect in the lead role and it does create a few scares (well not so much the second time around but for my fiancée who hadn't seen it).
Also watched End of Watch yesterday and very much enjoyed it, it's not an unforgetable film, but the duo of Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena works very well and it's a nice trip down the road of what two ordinary LA cops are confronted with over a certain amount of time. Well worth a watch.
Also watched End of Watch yesterday and very much enjoyed it, it's not an unforgetable film, but the duo of Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena works very well and it's a nice trip down the road of what two ordinary LA cops are confronted with over a certain amount of time. Well worth a watch.
Mud Really enjoyable film with an excellent performance by the young lead, supported well by Matthew Mcconaughey in a much better performance than the overrated Killer Joe. It's a slow burner but well worth sticking through even if it isn't as good as Jeff Nichols' previous two films which are high up on my all time list.
The Master - felt like I was watching 'There Will Be Blood' again, which isn't a good thing. Well shot and well acted but lacked something... heart? Maybe. 6/10
Pain & Gain - Pretty bad. That's all I can say. 3/10
Pain & Gain - Pretty bad. That's all I can say. 3/10
The Wolverine 3/10
I thought it was crap from start to finish and like one caftard in the corresponding, best thing about the movie was the bed the old man was on. The fight scenes were poor, the CGI was average and the story was plain shit.
I agree, the movie turned out to be completely different than what I thought, I thought it was gonna be about bodybuilding but it really was shit.
I thought it was crap from start to finish and like one caftard in the corresponding, best thing about the movie was the bed the old man was on. The fight scenes were poor, the CGI was average and the story was plain shit.
I agree, the movie turned out to be completely different than what I thought, I thought it was gonna be about bodybuilding but it really was shit.
I thought it was far from being as tedious as There Will be Blood but it all ended up being a bit empty/pointless in the end because of how it ended and the fact that he didn't have the balls to dissect the cult. PTA was definitely "making it up as he went along".
I watched Mud after reading Wibble's and Ivor's reviews and I wasn't disappointed. Really good.
I actually hadn't realised it was the same director until I looked it up just now! Everything makes sense now. I actually think he's really good though; he seems to know how to get the best out of actors and his films are incredibly well shot but... the end product is really cold. You can only get away with that if you're being as innovative as Kubrick was, for example. I've only seen two of his films so far though, and the other ones sound interesting so I'll be checking them out!
He's definitely one of the better directors out there!
Not having the balls to dissect the cult is spot on. PTA is a friend of Cruise, and apparently screened it for him before it's release to check his reaction.
Boogie Nights and Magnolia are brilliant films and not as cold as There Will be Blood I thought. And I really enjoyed Punch Drunk Love but it's probably not everyone's cup of tea.
I'm glad you enjoyed it. I really enjoyed it but it you never know how others will enjoy a film.
Michael Shannon and Joel Edgerton have signed on for his next film
Great news, just read the brief synopsis for it and it sounds like it could be a very interesting subject in Nichols' hands. Could be a bit of a departure for him.
Glad you liked it mate, it's certainly a slow amble but the dialogue is well written and the characters well formed so it never feels like it. Plus you get all those wonderful shots, he really knows how to frame a scene. I'd certainly suggest checking out his other two films Take Shelter and Shotgun Stories if you haven't already.
I've still got to watch Take Shelter... had it on demand for ages but haven't got round to putting it on.