Film The Redcafe Movie review thread

The Equaliser

Comfortably the shittest film I've seen in ages. It was so arse numbingly derivative I couldn't even muster up the energy to turn it off. Grow up Denzel.
 
Spoony said:
I'm going to watch Badlands. Anything will do to get that contrived nonsense Gone Girl out of my system. How can Zodiac be brilliant yet Gone Girl be a utterly pointless waste of time...? That said I'll give Social Network a look. I'm hoping it's more nearer to Zodiac than Fincher's lesser efforts.
Click to expand...
The book's rubbish as well, no idea why Fincher loved it so much. Even worse, he's got the author writing the script of his next project. Social Network's brilliant though, definitely more in the league of Zodiac.
 
Rurouni Kenshin : Kyoto Inferno (2014)

Probably not everyone's cup of tea, but for those who have read the manga or watch the TV series will be delighted with this movie, the depiction in there is as close as they can get shrinking the Kyoto arc into 2 split movies (Rurouni Kenshin : The Legend Ends is the third movie)

They use less CGI, and the swordfight is "I must say very very very very good" in a way that you can see why Battousai is so scary with his blitzing speed, and you really can feel this small guy is deadly even with a sakabato. My only qualm is that with being hit with a blunt sword shouldn't make anyone simply collapsing like they're slashed with a hatori hanzo katana, but hey.. it's a movie afterall.

Very stylish

9/10
 
Sky1981 said:
Rurouni Kenshin : Kyoto Inferno (2014)

Probably not everyone's cup of tea, but for those who have read the manga or watch the TV series will be delighted with this movie, the depiction in there is as close as they can get shrinking the Kyoto arc into 2 split movies (Rurouni Kenshin : The Legend Ends is the third movie)

They use less CGI, and the swordfight is "I must say very very very very good" in a way that you can see why Battousai is so scary with his blitzing speed, and you really can feel this small guy is deadly even with a sakabato. My only qualm is that with being hit with a blunt sword shouldn't make anyone simply collapsing like they're slashed with a hatori hanzo katana, but hey.. it's a movie afterall.

Very stylish

9/10
Click to expand...
I thought the first movie was good but I sort of miss some of the animes darkness. I'll give it a watch
 
Scott Pilgrim vs the World

Decent movie, but was expecting a lot more since I really like Edgar Wright's Cornetto Trilogy. Whereas they give you constant laughs, I didn't feel the same with this despite it being a comedy. It has its moments where it sort of comes to life, and Wright is a very good director with his own clear style and the whole concept for the movie is quite interesting. Overall though, didn't feel it packed the punches a film like Hot Fuzz did. Plus it's basically Michael Cera playing George Michael Bluth again, as he does in pretty much every movie he's in. Although I did appreciate the (I'm guessing) intentional subtle nod to AD that it had.

6/10
 
Phantoms
Stars Ben Affleck and Liev Shreiber. About two sisters and some town sheriff who are in a town that has all it's residents die mysteriously. It really was a film of two halves. The first built up suspense well and was very intriguing and the second half had military gung-ho bullshit and spiritual and scientific mumbo jumbo all round. The topic of the film was interesting but the execution, mainly due to the second half was appalling 5/10

Dread
Film about three students who do a study on what people fear but one of them takes it too far and starts torturing the subjects. The setup took too long but overall it was just about satisfying once the film was finished. With the subject matter, it could have gone up a level or two but instead just loitered around the levels of being pretentious. The grading and cinematography really helped it and made it look decent for a low budget film. The acting was decent but the characters never felt developed properly. Decent film, if not to everyones taste 6.5/10
 
Wild (2014)

Just out and based on a true story that happened in 1995. Reese Witherspoon is a messed up, divorced, former drug addict who decides to change her life and test herself by hiking the Pacific Crest Trail that runs from Mexico to Canada through California, Oregon and Washington. It weaves incidents on the trail with multiple flashbacks of her past. Her naive approach to wilderness backpacking is alarming at the start, but then with help she works it out. Enthralling, and might even get her an Oscar nomination. 8.5/10
 
El-Manos said:
Gone girl - Great performances, very tense movie, unpredictable, great directing. Rosamund Pike should be nominated for this one, what a performance.

9/10- one of the best movies I've seen this year. Thumbs up for David Fincher once again.
Click to expand...

Agreed, best film this year for me just finished watching it and was really surprised. The hype for once had merit and Ben Affleck was bloody good.
 
Interstellar

Decent. Better than I expected it to be, to be honest. It's not earth-shattering, and it's certainly nowhere near the sort of the sci-fi films that it's aspiring to be like, but it's another solid Nolan blockbuster. Great visuals and a well paced, entertaining action adventure film. As usual for Nolan it let's itself down in terms of writing at times (I don't know what he was getting at with the constant Dylan Thomas), and ultimately using an interesting concept as wrapping for a ludicrously safe and conventional thematic message, but the concept's interesting enough to carry it. 6/10

Two Days, One Night

One of the best films of 2014, easily. Storytelling at its simplest and rawest. The Dardennes make a beautiful human drama around nothing more but the confrontations between desperate people trying to hold onto the money they need to put food on the table. Marion Cotillard gives the best performance I've seen all year, entire scenes are communicated purely through where her eye-line is or how her throat moves as she's swallowing water. What's most interesting is how as the film went on, the line between soldarity and self-interest became blurred, it was unclear just how righteous Cotillard was in her mission. 9/10
 
Cheesy said:
Scott Pilgrim vs the World

Decent movie, but was expecting a lot more since I really like Edgar Wright's Cornetto Trilogy. Whereas they give you constant laughs, I didn't feel the same with this despite it being a comedy. It has its moments where it sort of comes to life, and Wright is a very good director with his own clear style and the whole concept for the movie is quite interesting. Overall though, didn't feel it packed the punches a film like Hot Fuzz did. Plus it's basically Michael Cera playing George Michael Bluth again, as he does in pretty much every movie he's in. Although I did appreciate the (I'm guessing) intentional subtle nod to AD that it had.

6/10
Click to expand...
Her?
 
Been a while since I posted in here.

Interstellar.
First hour great. Second hour so so. Last hour a big bowl of meh. It was three hours long, right? If not, it certainly felt like it was. My main beef was how incredibly seriously it took itself, while being kind of silly in a lot of ways that you would forgive in any other blockbuster. The wee girl was great. McConaughey as charismatic as ever. Michael Caine was... Michael Caine. He used to be good. A long time ago. The score did my head in too. Loud, overblown, pompous and annoying. Adjectives that all applied to the movie at various different points. Interesting but not enjoyable.

Guardians of the Galaxy
Now here's a movie that didn't take itself seriously at all and was all the better for it. Dumb as a bag of rocks but good fun all the same. Enjoyed it thoroughly. Especially the whistle controlled arrow thingy. Coolest sci fi weapon since the light sabre.
 
Last edited:
Gone Girl is to noir B pictures what The Artist was to Hollywood silent cinema. A dumb, fun flimsy immitation. I enjoyed most of it but am left slightly bemused by the attention it has recieved. Yeah it's slick and expensive looking but you used to be able to find a smarter version of this type of thing, made on a shoe string and slapped together with a main feature.

The scene where our femme fatale is revealed, driving down the highway, is about as good as the film got and would be my ending. Everything that comes afterwards is pretty rubbish and seems designed solely as a means to stretch credulity.
 
Cheesy said:
Scott Pilgrim vs the World

Decent movie, but was expecting a lot more since I really like Edgar Wright's Cornetto Trilogy. Whereas they give you constant laughs, I didn't feel the same with this despite it being a comedy. It has its moments where it sort of comes to life, and Wright is a very good director with his own clear style and the whole concept for the movie is quite interesting. Overall though, didn't feel it packed the punches a film like Hot Fuzz did. Plus it's basically Michael Cera playing George Michael Bluth again, as he does in pretty much every movie he's in. Although I did appreciate the (I'm guessing) intentional subtle nod to AD that it had.

6/10
Click to expand...
I love it. One of my guilty pleasures. I think I gave it a 10 earlier in the thread.
 
dumbo said:
Gone Girl is to noir B pictures what The Artist was to Hollywood silent cinema. A dumb, fun flimsy immitation. I enjoyed most of it but am left slightly bemused by the attention it has recieved. Yeah it's slick and expensive looking but you used to be able to find a smarter version of this type of thing, made on a shoe string and slapped together with a main feature.

The scene where our femme fatale is revealed, driving down the highway, is about as good as the film got and would be my ending. Everything that comes afterwards is pretty rubbish and seems designed solely as a means to stretch credulity.
Click to expand...
It's not an imitation, but it is as shallow as genre pics.
 
Rooney in Dublin said:
:lol: I only watched AD after Scott Pilgrim so I didn't pick up on this but that's quite good! Love Scott Pilgrim, I think Edgar Wright is one of the most exciting directors out there.
Click to expand...

He's great, although I couldn't get into this like with his Cornetto trilogy. Not sure why though.

And yeah, it's subtle but really obvious to someone who watched AD recently.:lol:
 
Dante said:
I love it. One of my guilty pleasures. I think I gave it a 10 earlier in the thread.
Click to expand...

It was decent overall and had its moments, but couldn't quite get fully into it...not sure why. Can see why it's got a bit of a cult rep though admittedly.
 
The Immigrant

Very good period drama about a Polish immigrant in 1920s New York, torn in an existential crisis between morality and survival. Probably the best looking film I've seen all year, some of the exterior shots were very reminiscent of Once Upon A Time In America, and I don't feel this film suffers from that comparison. A solid character study that balances both a human drama with a consideration of the corrupt social structures that non-citizens fall into. 2014 has been a good year for Cotillard, she was brilliant in this just as she was in Two Days, One Night. 8/10
 
DoubleDinhos said:
Two Days, One Night

One of the best films of 2014, easily. Storytelling at its simplest and rawest. The Dardennes make a beautiful human drama around nothing more but the confrontations between desperate people trying to hold onto the money they need to put food on the table. Marion Cotillard gives the best performance I've seen all year, entire scenes are communicated purely through where her eye-line is or how her throat moves as she's swallowing water. What's most interesting is how as the film went on, the line between soldarity and self-interest became blurred, it was unclear just how righteous Cotillard was in her mission. 9/10
Click to expand...

Am a massive Dardenne Brothers fan, but I was disappointed with this effort. The plot seemed too contrived, the whole suicide schtick and the last 5 minutes were the poorest filmmaking I've seen of the Brothers. To be honest, when I saw it had French it girl, Marion Cotillard, in it, I knew it would be a step down. She is a master actor however.

Enjoyable watch though.
 
Enemy (2014) - Wow, wasn't expecting that at all. Requires some serious thought but it's well worth the effort. 8.5/10.
 
Camp 14: Total Control Zone

Booted up Netflix for the first time in months today and with all the North Korea stuff going on I decided to watch this. I did download the book a while ago but forgot about it. More of a documentary than a movie, but I really enjoyed it, gives a good insight into the Labour Camps in North Korea. Isn't bias or propaganda-ish either, as you'll see in the final third of the film if you decide to watch it.

Definite recommend if you're interested in this sort of stuff, or even if you're just looking for something different.

8/10
 
Watched 2001 at the cinema for the first time yesterday and it was flawless. How a film getting on now for 50 years old still looks and sounds so good is mind boggling. Kubrick must have been from the future.
 
CassiusClaymore said:
Watched 2001 at the cinema for the first time yesterday and it was flawless. How a film getting on now for 50 years old still looks and sounds so good is mind boggling. Kubrick must have been from the future.
Click to expand...
Given how poor cinema is now a days i don't think so! But i too saw it recently on the big screen and its scary how well it holds up after all these years
 
CassiusClaymore said:
Watched 2001 at the cinema for the first time yesterday and it was flawless. How a film getting on now for 50 years old still looks and sounds so good is mind boggling. Kubrick must have been from the future.
Click to expand...
I love how they were pretty much using ipads on the spaceship.
 
Nas: Time is Illmatic - Kinda underwhelming, pretty short, wanted to know more about the album, the childhood stuff didn't interest me that much.

Our Vinyl Weighs a Ton: This Is Stones Throw Records - Great documentary, great label, great music.
 
Edward Scissorhands
One of my favourite Tim Burton films. Charming and emotional but Winona Ryder's character in it still pisses me off to this day. Dumb bitch 8.5/10
 
The Guest
I liked the premise, started out really well too, but it ended poorly. What I didn't like was how predictable it was. I expected twists for this kind of movie, but they never came. Dan Stevens' acting was pretty good though, he nailed it whenever a scene got suspenseful. Decent movie overall. 6/10.
 
Last edited:
R.N7 said:
Nas: Time is Illmatic - Kinda underwhelming, pretty short, wanted to know more about the album, the childhood stuff didn't interest me that much.
Click to expand...

Really?? I think the childhood stuff is fairly essential to the entire construction of that album. I thought it was great. One of the those magic moments in time where it seemed like all the right elements came together at the right moment. Everyone had the perfect beat for him as well.
 
CassiusClaymore said:
Really?? I think the childhood stuff is fairly essential to the entire construction of that album. I thought it was great. One of the those magic moments in time where it seemed like all the right elements came together at the right moment. Everyone had the perfect beat for him as well.
Click to expand...
I don't know, it just felt like it only touched the surface mostly, and that the story was all too familiar.
 
Pacific Rim

Considering I watched the whole thing I'm labelling this as the single biggest waste of time I've ever had. Stupid idea, stupid boring stupid story, stupid effects that are so fecking stupidly shit you can't tell what's going on. What a load of fecking bollocks, frankly.
How del'Toro can go from Pans Labyrinth to that shit fest in little over 5 or 6 years, astounding drop in form.
It doesn't even make a good kids movie because it's so fecking boring.
I don't believe a film has ever made me angry before.
 
Jacob said:
Under the Skin - 1/10

Got ebola half way in so I gave up.
Click to expand...
Watched this a few days ago and yeah I can why it's getting 1 stars or 5. Personally I thought it was pretty much perfect and one of the films of the decade so far.

Out of interest what didn't like about it?
 
Sweet Square said:
Watched this a few days ago and yeah I can why it's getting 1 stars or 5. Personally I thought it was pretty much perfect and one of the films of the decade so far.

Out of interest what didn't like about it?
Click to expand...

Horses for courses really. I'm not really into slow-paced movies, especially when it's science fiction. Thought the whole knowingly walking into liquid part was weird and repetitive.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.