Film The Redcafe Movie review thread

NK86 said:
I hate the Avengers series because it has been crap and I really have a hard time recalling much, if any, of the "story". Just found it funny that you thought you had seen three of them already ;)
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:lol: To be fair, this was pretty much an Avenger's movie itself with a "Captain America loves his bestie" tilt.
 
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I need a good batshit crazy conspiracy movie. Anyone got recommendations?
 
Money Monster:

Not quite the anti-capitalist movie that I thought this was going to be or that the trailers hinted at. Instead what you’re left with is a more straight forward B-movie with very little focus on the intricacies of the stock market and more focus on the action/events angle presented by the main premise of a guy seeking retribution after losing everything by gambling on stocks promoted by a smarmy hack in the shape of Clooney’s financial show presenter. It’s probably just as well that they avoided the more cerebral end of the finance film market as there are dozens of good films covering that area of the market the most recent of which being The Big Short, however what you get left with is a reasonably entertaining if never overly taxing or particularly intricately plotted movie that relies heavily on the charisma of its three main leads.

Without the solid performances of Clooney, Roberts and O’Connell this might have fallen by the wayside as its pretty unspectacular in its sense of timing and plotting, however with those three on screen for over 90% of the movie I was never really bored at any stage and even pretty entertained at some points so much so that when it reached the final thirty minutes where the plot strays from being slightly improbable to completely preposterous I was never really angry or disappointed as it was in keeping with the overall non-taxing nature of the film. Decently entertaining if unspectacular or intricately plotted this is also pretty short by modern standards with a running time of 90 minutes which allows it to just about avoid overstaying its welcome.

6/10
 
Anyone seen The Witch?

I watched it the other day and loved it. One of the best horrors I've seen in years.
 
Central Intelligence - Rock and kevin Hart. What you expect from these two, so if you like them, you will like this movie.
I really like them, so really enjoyed the movie.
Also helped the movie was "hosted" by Kevin Hart who was there and is a funny dude live.
 
Found The Witch very enjoyable. It takes a simple idea and executes it really well. I love that it holds true to its folklore logic throughout and doesn't cop-out with fussy rationalism or sloppy horror cliche. The animal imagery is fantastic; it really helps to punctuate moments of dread and horror (somewhat similar to Von Trier's usage in Antichrist). The score too is great.

A bewitching brew of christian/pagan mythology, European fairtales and Francisco Goya.
 
Hardcore Henry
I was so hyped when I first saw the trailer to this but it should have just been a trailer because the gimmick grows old real fast. Had to watch it in two halves because it was giving me a migraine. I like that they tried something new with the genre but the gimmick is the only reason this film got released 3/10


The Nice Guys
Absolutely loved it. Good story, good acting and good soundtrack… what’s not to love? Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling (especially Gosling) were really funny and the daughter character was brilliant also. Shane Black is back! I urge people to watch this, it was brilliant 9/10
 
The Nice Guys is great. I want to see more of Gosling in that sort of role.
 
Tarkovsky double at the Astor this evening.

The Mirror -
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Ivan's Childhood - almost glaringly conventional next to the Mirror. Was a relief to be honest. Powerful tale of the costs of war, namely women and children.
 
R.N7 said:
Both contain two of my favourite movie endings ever.
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I read Jean-Paul Sartre's defence of Ivan's Childhood which helped frame it really well, the idea that Ivan's this broken, insane victim of war bent on vengeance. I don't understand the scene with Kholin and the nurse, it was very unsettling but wasn't followed through on.
 
Archie Leach said:
I read Jean-Paul Sartre's defence of Ivan's Childhood which helped frame it really well, the idea that Ivan's this broken, insane victim of war bent on vengeance. I don't understand the scene with Kholin and the nurse, it was very unsettling but wasn't followed through on.
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Yeah, it's been a long time since I saw it but I remember that side story feeling rather undeveloped, pretty beautifully filmed though.
 
R.N7 said:
Yeah, it's been a long time since I saw it but I remember that side story feeling rather undeveloped, pretty beautifully filmed though.
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What's your thoughts on Mirror. Undeniably beautiful but so obtuse. I get that it's meant to be his impression of dreams. Some of the images were incredible, his mother dipping her hair in the invisible water, the burning barn.
 
Archie Leach said:
What's your thoughts on Mirror. Undeniably beautiful but so obtuse. I get that it's meant to be his impression of dreams. Some of the images were incredible, his mother dipping her hair in the invisible water, the burning barn.
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It's a hard film to grasp, even thinking about it now has exhausted my mind. It remains the greatest film I've seen yet my perception of it constantly changes, and I enjoy reading different takes on it. Some quick googling led me to these pages.

http://www.123helpme.com/view.asp?id=43818

https://aestheticsofthemind.com/2012/01/16/mirror-zerkalo/
 
Mildred Pierce - Pretty disappointed with this, just very bland and too melodramatic.

The Ballad of Narayama - The colours and painted backdrops were beautiful but I found the kabuki schtick pretty grating after a while.
 
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High-Rise - stylish dystopian thriller from Ben Wheatley. Has the Kubrick look down pat and like a lot of his work, lacks any recognizable human characters. Portishead do a great cover of S.O.S which makes it all worthwhile.
 
The Nice Guys

Pretty entertaining buddy flick from the master of them (Shane Black) although I don't think it would break his top 5 personally and I didn't laugh nearly as much as I'd hoped I would. I also got the impression we'd seen a lot of the best gags in the trailer but the chemistry between Gosling and Crowe is good and Gosling in particular plays an excellent likeable goofball character that the likes of Marky Mark seemed to have down pat. Also really liked the 70's setting which is an era that I don't think will ever not be cool. Great soundtrack and "I think I might be invincible...it's the only thing that makes sense" did made me :lol:
 
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The Maid's Room - not a new movie it's on Sky Movies just now. 2013 i think. Not sure what to make of it, the storyline sounded promising enough, but it was a bit hard to fathom and just lost the plot - literally - after the central event of the film about halfway through. By the end, I was wondering where it was going but it just stopped abruptly. Hard to believe that Paula Garces was actually 40 when this was made, she could easily pass for around half that in the film, which was the age I think she was supposed to be.
 
45 Years

I thought this was outstanding, absolutely superb. It just felt so true all the way through, with every emotion and act seeming completely real, from the heart-warming to the completely heart-breaking. It surprised me how much I was relating to both characters' experiences as well, and I'd be amazed if anyone who's been in a long term relationship didn't - what breaks trust? What does losing trust mean? How much should the past really matter? I loved it. Charlotte Rampling gave one of the best acting performances I've ever seen as well, especially the final scene. Highly recommended.
 
The Brothers Grimsby This is a terrible film with a plot that makes no sense whatsoever. Probably BSC's worst film or at best a tie for last with The Dictator. That said I laughed until I cried at least once and there were quite a few belly laughs even if many of the jokes and set pieces miss the mark. It helps if you have a very juvenile sense of humor. 1-6/10
 
ThierryHenry said:
45 Years

I thought this was outstanding, absolutely superb. It just felt so true all the way through, with every emotion and act seeming completely real, from the heart-warming to the completely heart-breaking. It surprised me how much I was relating to both characters' experiences as well, and I'd be amazed if anyone who's been in a long term relationship didn't - what breaks trust? What does losing trust mean? How much should the past really matter? I loved it. Charlotte Rampling gave one of the best acting performances I've ever seen as well, especially the final scene. Highly recommended.
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I´ve been eager to see this film. I loved his last one, Weekend, and he also directed a great series, Looking, that was criminally cancelled after two seasons. I think it was too good and gay for the masses.
 
Sylar said:
Central Intelligence - Rock and kevin Hart. What you expect from these two, so if you like them, you will like this movie.
I really like them, so really enjoyed the movie.
Also helped the movie was "hosted" by Kevin Hart who was there and is a funny dude live.
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It's not out, how did you see it?
 
Warcraft: The Beginning (2016)

Seen at Odeon Cinema in 2D. Have never played WoW so this was completely new to me. Movie was very long and seemed to drag in the first hour but the rendering of the Orcs were pretty impressive. Of course they had to have a human-like version for the love interest but thankfully it never got too freaky. Nice little cameo from Ms. Close by the way. Did enough to keep me interested but seriously a human taking on those guys in one-to-one combat was a bit far-fetched. The Orcs tended to go down too easily for my liking, considering their size and vastly superior strength but overall it was an ok movie. Hopefully, now the story has been set the sequels will get straight to the action and raise the bar a little. Probably one of those films that I'll appreciate more second time around.

I'm giving this a 6/10.


Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of The Shadows (2016)

Seen at Odeon Cinema in 2D. This took me back to my younger days watching the cartoon series. I'd completely forgotten about Bebop, Rocksteady and Krang so it was good to see those guys again though I would have liked them to have been a bit more menacing rather than moronic and comedic most of the time. That being said, it's great that technology enables us to have these films done properly rather than the men in suits or ropey CGI. The interaction is really seamless in modern movies these days. Allows the viewer to appreciate the film and not be sidetracked by those "that clearly ain't real" moments. I watched this straight after Warcraft and enjoyed it more...but not as much as the first Turtles movie. Raphael by far my favourite of the 4 bros. Just enough mileage for a third I think but would love a more darker movie.

I'm giving this a 7/10.
 
Just re watched Source Code. I really enjoyed it. Such a nice, unique twist on a standard thriller flick.
 
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