Wow, hadn't heard about this documentary at all.... on my must watch list now. Thanks.
Film The Redcafe Movie review thread
- Thread starter golden_blunder
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Wow, hadn't heard about this documentary at all.... on my must watch list now. Thanks.
Tracks: Solid adventure Drama staring Mia Wasikowska; this is an enjoyable and often charming watch that is easy to like but lacks a little direction to really give you much to cling to in term of the motivations of the central character. It is beautifully shot (I’ve said that a lot lately but the Australian outback really is one of the co-stars of this movie). Wasikowska does her usual great job in the central role and the movie is an easy watch, but it just lacks that sense of direction that could have turned it into something more than just a pleasant watch. Still worth tracking(
) down if you have the time.
6.5/10
) down if you have the time.6.5/10
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There wasn't a lot of conflict in Tracks, things worked out pretty well. She was also pretty unlikeable.
Love Mia though.
The Character she plays in quite hard to like yeah, possibly because they haven't explained her motivations properly (hence the movie lacking direction in some aspects) I have to say though despite the lack of conflict I enjoyed it, but it is hard to recommend it to all because the scenery apart there isn't really any one outstanding feature.
Yep, she is great, fast becoming one of my favorite actresses of the modern era/her generation.
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Godzilla (2014)
Not impressed. The CGI and this classic Godzilla, really nice. But the story and dialogues were weak. Plus not enough screen time for Godzilla. And the great Heisenberg, hired just so they can put him on the trailers and posters.
5/10
Not impressed. The CGI and this classic Godzilla, really nice. But the story and dialogues were weak. Plus not enough screen time for Godzilla. And the great Heisenberg, hired just so they can put him on the trailers and posters.
5/10
Vivre Sa Vie - Stunning.
Omer 2013: Excellent Palestinian drama set in the occupied territories; this is smartly scripted and well acted as well as thought provoking. Perhaps the smartest choice made with this film is the decision to have a main character – a Palestinian ‘freedom fighter’ – who is not driven by any religious ideology and instead is driven mainly by an intense sense of injustice and necessity fuelled by his daily life living in occupied Palestine. Part coming of age drama, part love story and part thriller this is recommended to fans of foreign cinema as well as anybody even remotely interested in the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. An excellent watch and a very even-handed look at a complex political and social situation.
8/10
8/10
Guardians of the Galaxy. Plot was non existent really but it's the most fun I've had watching a flick in a long time. Meaningless drivel but done with such love, affection and just plain desire to entertain an audience that you can't help but be swept away. Magic stuff. Helps that there was a David Bowie song midway through it for me.
The Cranes Are Flying
Soviet melodrama about young lovers separated by WW2. Fantastic cinematography, but at times it felt unnecessarily expressive, and at others the highly stylised nature came across as downright ridiculous. For a relatively simple plot and message, it felt a bit visually overcooked. Nevertheless, the visual style is the main reason why the film maintained my interest, and what lifted the film from decent to pretty good. 7/10
Although I much prefer I Am Cuba, as far as the director's work is concerned.
Soviet melodrama about young lovers separated by WW2. Fantastic cinematography, but at times it felt unnecessarily expressive, and at others the highly stylised nature came across as downright ridiculous. For a relatively simple plot and message, it felt a bit visually overcooked. Nevertheless, the visual style is the main reason why the film maintained my interest, and what lifted the film from decent to pretty good. 7/10
Although I much prefer I Am Cuba, as far as the director's work is concerned.
Aye, might be the Godard film that holds up the best today.
That shot when the soldier is falling and stares at the moon is just sensational.
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More Sirk...
All That Heaven Allows - A melodramatic critique on 1950's society, I didn't like it as much as Written on the Wind but I enjoyed the colours and the occasional directorial flair. Rock Hudson is a perfect presence in these types of films.
Imitation of Life - A lot of things in common with the aforementioned film but with some commentary on racism too, it was okay but nothing great, Susan Kohner did lit up the film every time she was on the screen though.
All That Heaven Allows - A melodramatic critique on 1950's society, I didn't like it as much as Written on the Wind but I enjoyed the colours and the occasional directorial flair. Rock Hudson is a perfect presence in these types of films.
Imitation of Life - A lot of things in common with the aforementioned film but with some commentary on racism too, it was okay but nothing great, Susan Kohner did lit up the film every time she was on the screen though.
Sin City 2 - I haven't seen the first one, but my friends wanted to see this so I went along. It was basically just Eva Green naked for 60% of the film for basically no reason. The story was weak and transparent. There was so much that was pointless about this movie, including why it was made. They threw in Joseph Gordon-Levitt for a story that added nothing to the film. 4/10
Does one need a reason for Eva Green to be naked?
Well she obviously doesn't, she's doing it constantly.
Does anyone really care about anything else in a movie when Eva Green is naked most of the time?
Sin City 2 : A Dame To Kill For
Sin Shitty.
Seriously this was a complete mess. The timeline was all over the place (made even more confusing by watching the far superior first movie directly before it), several of the characters had been replaced by different actors which added to the confusion (I mean Ffs Josh Brolin couldn't be any more different to Clive Owen) and Mickey Rourke just looked fat.
Not a single one of the stories was as interesting as any of the three in the first film and the one they made up to shoehorn in Jessica Alba, Bruce Willis and give Mickey Rourke some more ass kicking time was terrible.
Sin Shitty.
Seriously this was a complete mess. The timeline was all over the place (made even more confusing by watching the far superior first movie directly before it), several of the characters had been replaced by different actors which added to the confusion (I mean Ffs Josh Brolin couldn't be any more different to Clive Owen) and Mickey Rourke just looked fat.
Not a single one of the stories was as interesting as any of the three in the first film and the one they made up to shoehorn in Jessica Alba, Bruce Willis and give Mickey Rourke some more ass kicking time was terrible.
Lucy:
The trailer looked alright and I liked 5th Element so thought this should be okay. It wasn't. If you like stupid pseudo-intellectual crap then you'll love this film.
The start would have been promising except that for some reason the director has interspersed the early scenes with weird clips from nature documentaries. This I think was intended to increase the tension in an unusual way but it just served to annoy.
After the first 30 minutes or so I didn't care what happened any more because it was clear that there was going to be no actual threat to the main protagonist. There are a few action scenes used as ways to show us Lucy's powers which pretty much straight away make her invincible.
Most of the time after that first 30 minutes is spent either listening to Scarlett Johansson say big words that don't actually make any sense in a monotone or Morgan Freeman making up fake science. Neither of which were enjoyable or interesting to me. They presumably used Morgan Freeman because he could read out a takeaway menu and sound wise and insightful but he still came across as an idiot in this film.
Special mention goes to the car chase type scene near the end where other cars were rolling and flipping everywhere for no discernible reason a lot of the time. Despite the sheer amount of carnage going on it was somehow boring and lacked any sort of real excitement.
The film seemed to be leading up to a "what will happen when she reaches 100% of her mental capacity?" crazy finale. I just didn't care about finding out what the answer to this would be because it was clear from the previous nonsense that it would be a complete anti-climax that would not have any sort of actual deeper meaning. This is exactly what it turned out to be.
The trailer looked alright and I liked 5th Element so thought this should be okay. It wasn't. If you like stupid pseudo-intellectual crap then you'll love this film.
The start would have been promising except that for some reason the director has interspersed the early scenes with weird clips from nature documentaries. This I think was intended to increase the tension in an unusual way but it just served to annoy.
After the first 30 minutes or so I didn't care what happened any more because it was clear that there was going to be no actual threat to the main protagonist. There are a few action scenes used as ways to show us Lucy's powers which pretty much straight away make her invincible.
Most of the time after that first 30 minutes is spent either listening to Scarlett Johansson say big words that don't actually make any sense in a monotone or Morgan Freeman making up fake science. Neither of which were enjoyable or interesting to me. They presumably used Morgan Freeman because he could read out a takeaway menu and sound wise and insightful but he still came across as an idiot in this film.
Special mention goes to the car chase type scene near the end where other cars were rolling and flipping everywhere for no discernible reason a lot of the time. Despite the sheer amount of carnage going on it was somehow boring and lacked any sort of real excitement.
The film seemed to be leading up to a "what will happen when she reaches 100% of her mental capacity?" crazy finale. I just didn't care about finding out what the answer to this would be because it was clear from the previous nonsense that it would be a complete anti-climax that would not have any sort of actual deeper meaning. This is exactly what it turned out to be.
Stagecoach
Classic western, with John Wayne as an outlaw who has to help fight off Indians who attack a stagecoach of assorted townsfolk. I'm not normally a fan of John Ford, but I thought this was fantastic. Really simple in premise and story, just a get from point A to point B plot, but complex in execution and theme. The stagecoach essentially becomes a microcosm of sociological and moral issues present during the fading of the Antebellum South. Yet you could ignore all of that and still enjoy as a nuts and bolts action western. 9/10
Classic western, with John Wayne as an outlaw who has to help fight off Indians who attack a stagecoach of assorted townsfolk. I'm not normally a fan of John Ford, but I thought this was fantastic. Really simple in premise and story, just a get from point A to point B plot, but complex in execution and theme. The stagecoach essentially becomes a microcosm of sociological and moral issues present during the fading of the Antebellum South. Yet you could ignore all of that and still enjoy as a nuts and bolts action western. 9/10
Lucy - Easily the dumbest movie ever made about a supposed-to-be smart person. A mindless action film, just without the action part (because nothing actually happens) with a script that was probably written by an idiot, who's idea of sounding smart is putting together words that don't mean anything into a sentence. A film that features a car chase without the car actually being chased. A film that asks you to suspend your disbelief, and carry on suspending it to a point that isn't actually mentally possible. A film with some of the worst CGI you'll likely see at the cinema this year. A film so spectacularly shit, it offended every fiber of my being.
If you hadn't guessed, I hated this film... with a passion. It's genuinely one of the worst I've ever seen.
If you hadn't guessed, I hated this film... with a passion. It's genuinely one of the worst I've ever seen.
And he's really good at talking on the phone. Seriously, that's all he does nowadays, sit on a chair and talk on the phone and have a conversation where his face will turn to shock at some point. He may even rise from his chair due to the shock... but he'll still be on the phone.
I'd say that just about sums it up, had the misfortune of paying to see this today. Was expecting Besson to at least get the action side of things right. Its not very often I can say that my low expectations weren't met and then some.
Agreed, on every point.
Sin City: A Dame To Kill For
Awful, awful, awful, awful. I liked the original as a spotty teen, but this is one of those sequels that's so bad it makes you wonder if the original was even any good to begin with.
I reviewed for your sins: http://www.mistercinecal.com/2014/08/sin-city-dame-to-kill-for-movie-to-die.html
Awful, awful, awful, awful. I liked the original as a spotty teen, but this is one of those sequels that's so bad it makes you wonder if the original was even any good to begin with.
I reviewed for your sins: http://www.mistercinecal.com/2014/08/sin-city-dame-to-kill-for-movie-to-die.html
I'm not the biggest fan of the original either but it's miles better than this.
That review is spot on btw.
@ the Marv rant.It is utter garbage. 80% of the movie is spent on US army propaganda. 10% on the cheesy back story and 10% on monster fights. And then at the end of the movie they declare Godzilla their saviour.
Charulata
Satyjit Ray's masterpiece is illuminated by a spellbinding performance from Mhadabi Mukherjee, in whose beautiful and expressive face the film's story unfolds.
Satyjit Ray's masterpiece is illuminated by a spellbinding performance from Mhadabi Mukherjee, in whose beautiful and expressive face the film's story unfolds.
Saw a rave review of that in the paper today. Will have to check it out.
Kill Your Darlings - insufferable. Felt like it was written by a 17 year old with a serious hard on for the beat poets. Cliched, pompous, boring. Daniel Radcliffe is an irritating presence in any film. Dane DeHaan did the best he could.
Agree with all previous posts for Sin City 2...seriously shit.
3 Men and a Baby
Love it. Saw it again since I was a kid and it still has the charm it did the first time I saw it. The cast are excellent and have great comic timing and although it is quite predictable, you dont really care as it is so fun to watch 8/10
Willow Creek
Another "found footage" film making the mistake of having jack shit happen for the first entire hour. The last 30 mins, especially a supposedly one-shot take in the tent were excellent and VERY tense but because it takes so long to get to this point, you really find yourself not giving a shit what happens by this point. A shame really as that tent scene was a masterclass in building suspense 4/10
Love it. Saw it again since I was a kid and it still has the charm it did the first time I saw it. The cast are excellent and have great comic timing and although it is quite predictable, you dont really care as it is so fun to watch 8/10
Willow Creek
Another "found footage" film making the mistake of having jack shit happen for the first entire hour. The last 30 mins, especially a supposedly one-shot take in the tent were excellent and VERY tense but because it takes so long to get to this point, you really find yourself not giving a shit what happens by this point. A shame really as that tent scene was a masterclass in building suspense 4/10
Lucy - Seemed to forget it's own premise after about an hour. When the protagonist is established as being able to down a room of opponents with a hand wave, is there really any point in ending the film with a drawn out gun battle? Also the threshold for sympathy with her went extremely early. Basically when she started indiscriminently killing people within hours of her "incident"
Also it was nonsense.
Also it was nonsense.
Yeah, I'm a Beat groupie and I thought this film was absolute cack. Watched about 20 minutes and gave up.
Kill Your Daniels!
It was complete rubbish.
A film so bad, that if anyone told me they liked it, I would immediately discount their opinion on anything in life.
Luc Besson is a bit of a pox. I remember like The Fifth Element - might have to reevaluate - but everything else he's made has been shit.
Le grand bleu was beautiful, even though the ending was a bit shit. Most of his other films are overrated, especially Nikita and Léon. Fifth Element was fun, but it's really not a good film. I thought The Lady was surprisingly good, but I'd still call it a wasted opportunity, someone could have made a more important film about Aung San Suu Kyi. Still worth watching in my opinion.
Out of curiosity, how old were you when you watched the Fifth Element? I ask cos I wonder whether there's an element of nostalgia to it. I also had the recollection that I liked it. Then I watched it again in the past couple of years and found it unsufferable.
Probably last saw it when I was 15. I saw it at the cinema when I was about 7. So good chance I wouldn't have the same high opinion of it. I basically remember Milla Jovovich been a total babe and the big turtles.