Film The Redcafe Movie review thread

I watched The Prestige last month, enjoyed it, but found it all a little daft by the end. Middle of the road kinda film.
 
Much to my surprise, I was quite impressed with Hunger Games: Catching Fire..Especially considering my review of the first one was..

Mockney said:
The Hunger Games - The Running Man for Twilight tweens as designed by Vivienne Westwood doing a Gilbert & Sullivan opera. About as deep as a shot glass.
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There was far less silly production design, and less of the half baked Battle Royal element in this. This was actually well written, and political, with characters who did things for interesting reasons.

Alright it's not Battleship Potemkin, but if it's the kind of thing teenagers are being encouraged to read/watch these days, I'm all for it. Pisses on something like Twilight or even Harry Potter from a great height.
 
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So Gone Girls good. Not Social Network, Dragon Tattoo or Zodiac levels for Finch adaptating, but not Benjamin Button levels of trash(actually not even close), but I guess he did alrite since a lot of the flaws in it have to come from the source material which I haven't read, and they let her do the script too. Actings strong, Reznor/Ross create the mood superb again, Cronenweth again creates a beautiful looking film.....some daft inconsistencies, also some odd moments of humour. 7/10.

Pretty sure Interstellar will steal it's spot for Best Picture as the mainstream film, and Nolan too. Unless that bombs, but I saw a second trailer for it beforehand and it does look good tbf.
 
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Gone Girl - tremendously made, crafted, shot, whatever. Totally soulless. Ben Affleck is very good. It's all good. Just not a lot under the surface. And the plot is ridiculous.

You see Afflecks cock too. For no particular reason.
 
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Mockney said:
Much to my surprise, I was quite impressed with Hunger Games: Catching Fire..
There was far less silly production design, and less of the half baked Battle Royal element in this. This was actually well written, and political, with characters who did things for interesting reasons.

Alright it's not Battleship Potemkin, but if it's the kind of thing teenagers are being encouraged to read/watch these days, I'm all for it. Pisses on something like Twilight or even Harry Potter from a great height.
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I saw Catching Fire first and thought it was pretty good, the first one didn't have much depth and was more focused on the setpieces than the characters/political dimension. Had I watched 1 first I doubt I'd have bothered with 2.
 
peterstorey said:
I saw Catching Fire first and thought it was pretty good, the first one didn't have much depth and was more focused on the setpieces than the characters/political dimension. Had I watched 1 first I doubt I'd have bothered with 2.
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All the stuff in the battledrome thingy was pretty uninteresting, which is what the majority of the last film was comprised of, but outside of it I found the (albeit simplistic) political stuff impressive. Yeah it's not any great dystopian masterpeice and's pretty straightfoward morally but if it's for kids (or teens) I'm quite encouraged. It's certainly better than a lot of supposedly adult Orwell rip offs. It's not about a Wizard in a school or the frustrated mythological sex fantasies of a suburban housewife, it's got some substance. Plus I reckon we can probably use it as a short hand rallying cry for the next generation if we can't get rid of the Tories.
 
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I was onboard with District 13 (*gives funny finger sign*), the oppressed masses here should rise up too.
 
Look what V for Vendetta and the Guy Fawkes mask did for Anonymous. Movie iconography can be a big pull. Hundreds of tweens doing the silly finger sign whilst being kettled in Parliament square is a powerful image.
 
The finger sign is just the Scouts' salute, therefore we must assume Scout troupes will be the breeding ground for revolution.
 
Taste the Blood of Dracula: One of those horror movies that can't live up to the bombastic title but still a solid Dracula movie. Funny how horror movies today are all about horny teenagers getting picked off but this is about Dracula going after their hypocrite dads instead. 6/10

A lil' more comprehensive review here: http://filmfixx.com/cult-film-club-taste-blood-dracula-1970/
 
Gone Girl

Superbly made. Visuals are exquisite, casting is perfect, acting is strong (Pike should earn an Oscar nod here), plot is exhilarating. Best film of the year so far for me. Two and a half hours flew by.

That one scene, holy feck.
 
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JohnDoe said:
Gone Girl

Superbly made. Visuals are exquisite, casting is perfect, acting is strong (Pike should earn an Oscar nod here), plot is exhilarating. Best film of the year so far for me. Two and a half hours flew by.

That one scene, holy feck.
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I liked it, it was also quite funny cant really say much more than that without giving the plot away.

Ben is after beefing up big time for the batman role but he has to work on his running from some of the scenes in this film.
 
Ida

Shot in B&W (which mirrors the drabness of post-war Poland and the sadness of the story), it's set in 1962 and plays as if it was made in the early 60s. With great performances from the two female leads Agata Kulesza and Agata Trzebuchowska), it's quietly brilliant and won best film at the LFF last year.
 
BAMSOLA said:
I haven't seen the film yet but aren't some scenes supposed to be from the subjective view points of both characters?
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I wouldn't want to spoil it, but as it goes on it becomes clear what the objective reality of the situation is, and when it becomes clear about who Rosamund Pike's character really is, I became very uncomfortable with how she was being constructed for the viewer, and the implications that had on the themes of gender that are in the film.

Reading other reviews, no one else seems to have this problem, so maybe I'm reading too much into it. But, as someone who generally rolls their eyes when such and such film or show is accused of being racist or sexist (e.g. Breaking Bad), it seemed to me very blatant that the film's perspective on women was problematic. I don't know if that's the problem of the film or the book, frankly I have no interest in reading the book now.
 
DoubleDinhos said:
I wouldn't want to spoil it, but as it goes on it becomes clear what the objective reality of the situation is, and when it becomes clear about who Rosamund Pike's character really is, I became very uncomfortable with how she was being constructed for the viewer, and the implications that had on the themes of gender that are in the film.

Reading other reviews, no one else seems to have this problem, so maybe I'm reading too much into it. But, as someone who generally rolls their eyes when such and such film or show is accused of being racist or sexist (e.g. Breaking Bad), it seemed to me very blatant that the film's perspective on women was problematic. I don't know if that's the problem of the film or the book, frankly I have no interest in reading the book now.
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Ok thanks. I will be watching it soon so I guess I'll have an opinion soon enough.
 
DoubleDinhos said:
I wouldn't want to spoil it, but as it goes on it becomes clear what the objective reality of the situation is, and when it becomes clear about who Rosamund Pike's character really is, I became very uncomfortable with how she was being constructed for the viewer, and the implications that had on the themes of gender that are in the film.

Reading other reviews, no one else seems to have this problem, so maybe I'm reading too much into it. But, as someone who generally rolls their eyes when such and such film or show is accused of being racist or sexist (e.g. Breaking Bad), it seemed to me very blatant that the film's perspective on women was problematic. I don't know if that's the problem of the film or the book, frankly I have no interest in reading the book now.
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I don't get this viewpoint at all.

Nothing sexist about it at all - it's a character. You're looking for an issue that just isn't present, let alone relevant. If a man was portrayed similarly would it be sexist?
I guess Shakespeare's interpretation of Cleopatra is sexist, too. Tell me, what sort of female character is acceptable so as not to be sexist?
Sorry, but this view you have is so prevalent now, this strange, relentless victimisation of everything, and it's so frustrating. It's like a modified Murphy's law: anything that can be wrong, is wrong.

Plus, it was written by a woman. Unless women can be sexist towards... women?
 
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TooBias said:
I don't get this viewpoint at all.



Nothing sexist about it at all - it's a character.
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Me too. People can be too politically correct at times.

Fantastic entertainment. I was like watching a train wreck from afar and you just couldn't do anything about it.

I thought casting was great. Affleck just seemed to be perfect for that role. Rosamund Pike has that cold creepy controlled personality, proving that the apple did not fall far from the tree ie product of her mum.
 
@TooBias I agree entirely with the idea that a just because a character is such a way doesn't necessarily mean the film's ideology is a reflection of that character. My favourite film is Taxi Driver; Travis Bickle is an explicitly racist character, but the film's not racist because the viewer isn't made to easily identify with him and his views. If this was just the case of a character, I wouldn't mind, but I think Gone Girl's doing something else. I'll briefly give examples but they'll include spoilers, and Liverpool are just about to kick off and so I'll leave it to after the game to post them here. I do want to justify my view though.

Also, I don't really read all that much into the author being a woman, if you're critiquing a piece of art you take that art on its own merits, what you see in it, not what you think the artist's personal politics are. After a piece of art is made it's out of the artist's hands imo.
 
DoubleDinhos said:
@TooBias I agree entirely with the idea that a just because a character is such a way doesn't necessarily mean the film's ideology is a reflection of that character. My favourite film is Taxi Driver; Travis Bickle is an explicitly racist character, but the film's not racist because the viewer isn't made to easily identify with him and his views. If this was just the case of a character, I wouldn't mind, but I think Gone Girl's doing something else. I'll briefly give examples but they'll include spoilers, and Liverpool are just about to kick off and so I'll leave it to after the game to post them here. I do want to justify my view though.

Also, I don't really read all that much into the author being a woman, if you're critiquing a piece of art you take that art on its own merits, what you see in it, not what you think the artist's personal politics are. After a piece of art is made it's out of the artist's hands imo.
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To an extent, I agree. But there's a limit. Fanciful interpretation can go too far, and it does often.The Turner Prize is the best example of third-person perspective artistic interpretation being taken too far.
With a novel, you have to examine the author's intentions. Only in some Derrida dream is the author not important.

Plus, Gone Girl is hardly a cerebral work, it's a thriller at its core.
 
tbf, she wrote the film as well. And took full credit for the writing. So yep, the sexism you see is on her. As are the general flaws of the film, but being a big hollywood mystery thriller, those flaws have gotta be accepted to enjoy it. I don't think it's a stayer for the awards, too early a release, not baity enough and not good enough. It'll get a few nods.
 
Jack Ryan shadow recruit: Not bad, although I was constantly distracted by the lump on Captain Kirk's face between his right ear and his sideburn. It kept breaking my concentration and if I'd seen it at the cinema in 3D then I might have left early for my own sanity.
 
The Rover

I thought this was a quality film. I went into it knowing absolutely nothing about it other than it was Australian. It's set in a sort of post-apocalyptic outback 10 years after a global economic depression. It's about a man trying to get his stolen car back, that's the plot in a nutshell. Obviously the film is more than that. Guy Pearce is brilliant. Really liked the ending.

7/10
 
Sally Cinnamon said:
The Rover

I thought this was a quality film. I went into it knowing absolutely nothing about it other than it was Australian. It's set in a sort of post-apocalyptic outback 10 years after a global economic depression. It's about a man trying to get his stolen car back, that's the plot in a nutshell. Obviously the film is more than that. Guy Pearce is brilliant. Really liked the ending.

7/10
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Ditto, quite impressive. Not paced at a speed that everyone can get on board with but enjoyable and well put together. Liked the ending too as it fits well with some of the themes throughout.
 
DoubleDinhos said:
I wouldn't want to spoil it, but as it goes on it becomes clear what the objective reality of the situation is, and when it becomes clear about who Rosamund Pike's character really is, I became very uncomfortable with how she was being constructed for the viewer, and the implications that had on the themes of gender that are in the film.

Reading other reviews, no one else seems to have this problem, so maybe I'm reading too much into it. But, as someone who generally rolls their eyes when such and such film or show is accused of being racist or sexist (e.g. Breaking Bad), it seemed to me very blatant that the film's perspective on women was problematic. I don't know if that's the problem of the film or the book, frankly I have no interest in reading the book now.
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Gillian Flynn has talked about it a bit, and quite well. I don't think it has a sexist agenda, the characters are just cliches.
 
I think The King's Speech is an excellent film but my choice for the Oscar in 2011 would have been The Social Network. Then maybe Black Swan as no. 2, followed by TKS. It was a strong year.
 
I really liked Gone Girl. Sexy, creepy and surprisingly funny. Not Fincher's best but still superbly made and the soundtrack was brilliant yet again from Reznor and Ross.

 
DoubleDinhos said:
I wouldn't want to spoil it, but as it goes on it becomes clear what the objective reality of the situation is, and when it becomes clear about who Rosamund Pike's character really is, I became very uncomfortable with how she was being constructed for the viewer, and the implications that had on the themes of gender that are in the film.

Reading other reviews, no one else seems to have this problem, so maybe I'm reading too much into it. But, as someone who generally rolls their eyes when such and such film or show is accused of being racist or sexist (e.g. Breaking Bad), it seemed to me very blatant that the film's perspective on women was problematic. I don't know if that's the problem of the film or the book, frankly I have no interest in reading the book now.
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I had the same feeling to be fair.
 
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