Film The Redcafe Movie review thread

Arrival | http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2543164/?ref_=nv_sr_1

A fine film. I liked how the aliens were a bit of a mystery and that they didn't go OTT with them. Also like others the twist caught me by surprise, I thought the clue were their ships and not what it was.
But must admit that the whole emotional aspect involving humans really didn't resonate much with me. I think the whole emotional thing got done way better in Interstellar.

I do love these grand sized Scifi flicks, altough this one doesn't come near to Interstellar, which I absolutely fecking adore.

7,5/10
 
Did no one else think Hunt for the Wilderpeople started off quite charming then just became rather twee? The character of the head of child services quickly became a parody of itself. Sure it'd be a good one to watch if you had a family tbf.
 
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SwansonsTache said:
Arrival | http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2543164/?ref_=nv_sr_1

A fine film. I liked how the aliens were a bit of a mystery and that they didn't go OTT with them. Also like others the twist caught me by surprise, I thought the clue were their ships and not what it was.
But must admit that the whole emotional aspect involving humans really didn't resonate much with me. I think the whole emotional thing got done way better in Interstellar.

I do love these grand sized Scifi flicks, altough this one doesn't come near to Interstellar, which I absolutely fecking adore.

7,5/10
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A good example of how films can mean different things to different people. Interstellar started off good imo, but I was rolling my eyes towards the end, while Arrival gave me goosebumps and pretty much blew me away.
 
Keenst said:
A good example of how films can mean different things to different people. Interstellar started off good imo, but I was rolling my eyes towards the end, while Arrival gave me goosebumps and pretty much blew me away.
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And that's how i would describe both films.
 
Just watched La La Land and I enjoyed it immensely. Never been a fan of musicals but I went in with an open mind and I got used to it surprisingly quickly. Those scenes were still my least favorite from the movie but they weren't as much as I thought and were shot well enough for me to spend the time admiring the cinematography and superb editing (must win the Oscar there) instead of rolling my eyes. The story was good, with a very strong ending. The acting was good - fantastic Emma Stone and an ok Gosling. He can't sing much though, can he?

I'd give it an 8. Good way to start the year.
 
La La Land - I liked it... i didn't love it, and it's not the best film ever... but i liked it. It's main strength is just the overall production of the thing.... it looks great, it's shot great, the editing is great, the camera work is great, the costumes, the settings etc. etc... it all just looks brilliant (bar one floating dance scene, which I wasn't a big fan of). The two leads are both good - without being spectacular (I could do without seeing Emma Stone acting as if she's acting mind you), the music is mostly good, though you could argue there aren't enough songs in the film, and they're not really spaced out all that well (You're hit with 2 in the first 10 minutes, and then it feels like you don't hear another one for about half an hour... but the plot is just ok, if not a bit uninspired... and i'm not sure I was a fan of the ending where they
both got exactly what they dreamed of having... felt a bit easy
but the"what if" montage was done quite nicely.

I also really liked how all the music in the film was coming from somewhere, and not just soundtrack, was a neat touch... and also, who doesn't love I Ran by Flock of Seagulls?
 
Orlando - The visuals, music and Tilda Swinton's face...all gorgeous, but it all felt rather shallow in the end.

Whatever happened to these artsy and lavish British films? There seemed to plenty of them in and around the 80's, directed by the the likes of Peter Greenaway, Derek Jarman and so forth.
 
The Good Neighbour
Two boys use a few cameras and gadgets to convince their elderly neighbour (James Caan) that he is being haunted... but they see much more than they bargained for. I thought this will be B-horror trash but I really enjoyed it. Firstly, James Caan does very well with minimal dialogue. The narrative keeps the mystery well hidden and releases nuggets of information to keep the viewer on board. Nothing revolutionary but a worthwhile watch, and it isn't that long so not too much of a commitment. Some of the filming techniques/decisions baffled me though 7/10
 
Moonlight - what a beautiful film. Hard to think of a movie where you invest so much in the characters. Small conversations hold such weight. And it looks incredible, a marker for the potential of digital cinematography. Deserves the plaudits.
 
The Graduate

Very well done in places with a good script, but some of the character choices render the whole thing very hard to believe and quite contrived at times. Especially in the latter half of the film. Plus I struggle to take Sound of Silence in a serious context anymore after Arrested Development.
 
In the heat of the night (1967)

Won the best picture Oscar and was described to me as one of the seminal movies of the 60's. Not sure I would go that far but still worth watching, particularly for Rod Steiger's performance which won him the best actor Oscar. 8/10
 
Grinner said:
She was so bland in this...and some other bloke...with a fridge...no idea what his name was. The oppressiveness of the institution was done far more effectively in All The President's Men, plus you had the drama of Deep Throat and the tension between the two leads. This was just a load of boring people. feck me, how boring was Liev Shreiber? The white-haired bloke? Even Keaton had feck-all juicy lines. Tucci was weird-boring, eating his soup and being busy all the time.
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Definitely. No idea why it got any hype incredibly bland film. A good to decent ensemble acting okay with one righteous indignation speech thrown in for good measure long after the story is interesting enough for anyone to care.
 
Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment - From 1963, a fascinating look at the players and the decision making process behind the registration of two black students into the University of Alabama. Intriguing to see Robert Kennedy and George Wallace being fatherly at home before going to work and then deciding how to enact their polar opposite views, with two young, erudite black students caught in the middle of one of the most important civil rights showdowns of the era. JFK in the background with a measured approach to the age-old tension between states rights and the power of the federal government. It's sad to see how far we've fallen from these great men to the leaders of today. The RFK family scenes are particularly poignant with the knowledge of what was to come.

An interesting footnote is that Wallace totally recanted his earlier position on separation and did a fair bit for integration in his final years.
 
Seen La La Land last night. Girlfriend loved it - listening to the OST today as well.

I thought it was pretty good. Enjoyed the music pieces, especially the jazz stuff, of particular scenes more than the singing personally. Decent story and admirable delivery of it.

Don't think it's aimed at me though but I grew into it.
 
Minimalist said:
Seen La La Land last night. Girlfriend loved it - listening to the OST today as well.

I thought it was pretty good. Enjoyed the music pieces, especially the jazz stuff, of particular scenes more than the singing personally. Decent story and admirable delivery of it.

Don't think it's aimed at me though but I grew into it.
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Seemed to be more of a chick film but definitely able to be enjoyed by all. Twas mostly women in the theater when I saw it.
 
Manchester by the Sea I thought this was rather well done! The teenage lad absolutely stole the show
although his character was surprisingly nonchalant about the fact his father had just died
. Hit the humour notes well for the most part, despite the entire premise being inexplicably depressing. Although who still thinks those scenes where everyone shouts at each from across the room in a crowded place so nobody understands what's being said so everything is misinterpreted and noisy and loud are funny!? Shows like the Thick of it do it well, but yanks can't seem to pull it off. If anyone gets the point I'm trying to make. Anyway, definitely worth watching.
 
Harrisamo said:
Did no one else think Hunt for the Wilderpeople started off quite charming then just became rather twee? The character of the head of child services quickly became a parody of itself. Sure it'd be a good one to watch if you had a family tbf.
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No. It was brilliant IMO.

And the Head of Child Services was great and consistently played from beginning to end. As it was a comedy what you interpret as parody was deliberate. Twee? No. Charming? Yes.
 
Watched La La land. Absolutely loved it. Looked fantastic on the big screen. I did like Stone and Goslings chemistry too.
 
The Amityville Legacy

A cursed antique toy monkey from the original DeFeo home wrecks havoc and possesses a father after being gifted during an annual family reunion.
Yet another film to try and cash in on the Amityville name, its only on for 66 mins, but that is 65 mins too long.
Horrible film in every way.
There is no way I can score this, it is even worse than Birdmic !!!
 
Blair Witch (2016)

Has the saying goes , fool me once shame on you , fool me twice shame on me.
I hated the first one and stupidly thought this would be better, it was not.
There was nothing about this film I remotely liked.
I cant give this any other score.

ZERO/10
 
Have that one, and I did like the original Blair Witch Project, might be fine for those kind of people? Second was monstrous garbage thou.
 
pauldyson1uk said:
Blair Witch (2016)

Has the saying goes , fool me once shame on you , fool me twice shame on me.
I hated the first one and stupidly thought this would be better, it was not.
There was nothing about this film I remotely liked.
I cant give this any other score.

ZERO/10
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I didn't mind the original when it first released. Wife refuses to let me watch this sequel though.
 
They Shoot Horses, Don't They? - I really wanted to like it more than I did. Very exhausting and miserable, just like the dance competition in it. It wasn't bad, had some really good moments but I thought the flash forwards were unnecessary and the acting/writing of the main character in the penultimate moment just didn't sit right with me. Jane Fonda was absolutely brilliant though. I would have liked to have seen it directed by a less uninspiring director than Sydney Pollack. Also, it could really use a restoration, the crappy version I watched almost everything blended together into a brownish mosh. I can picture a future Black Mirror episode with a similar concept that people will accuse of copying the Hunger Games.

I thought It Follows was alright, but mostly meh. After a strong opening it just sort of fizzled out and remained nothing more than an uninspired pastiche.
 
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I kept waiting for something to happen in It Follows. There was some nonsense in a swimming pool then it just went back to cack. I'm trying to recall what happened if the thing actually caught up with the victim. Did that just stop it from happening again?
 
Finally saw Moonlight and it was well worth the wait. I haven't enjoyed a film that much for yonks.

Has anyone seen Silence? The Mrs wants to watch it in the cinema but to me it looks a bit meh.
 
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