Film The Redcafe Movie review thread

Mystry said:
Lion - Absolutely fantastic. Thought it'd be really contrived, and perhaps it was in a few places, but it was very well made, wonderfully shot and the performances, especially the young Saroo, were excellent. I could quite happily be very cynical about a film like this but it actually got to me a bit.
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I think the fact that it was a true story makes it hit so much harder, otherwise you'd think it a bit to "hollywoody". Mental that it's actually what happened, incredible story, had me in bits :(
 
R.N7 said:
The Omen - Spectacular death scenes, the rest of the film I'd say was fairly...now there's a perfect word for this in Swedish but the English translation of it sounds a lot more poncier than the Swedish word, the word is 'adroit'. So, yeah, a very adroit thriller, competent but nothing more than that.
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I hope you watched the original? The remake is functional, largely carried by Liev Schrieber's charisma, but ultimately pointless.
The original is masterful. Still holds up today as a horror great. Suspenseful, atmospheric and well-paced, it's a great film.
 
I'll never forget Billie Whitelaw as Mrs B. Brilliantly sinster, the stuff of a child's nightmare (ironically).
 
Regulus Arcturus Black said:
Heartless bastard :p
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Don't get me wrong it was a great story, but they somehow managed to turn a genuinely great story into run-of-the-mill oscar-bait with a not so subtle undertone of 'white people = good and brown people = bad' running through it.

I mean, God knows how this poor little 5-year-old managed to out-wit the hoards of bum-rapers going about Calcutta.. but thank Jesus, he luckily found some good wholesome white people to save the day.

I enjoyed the first half, but the rest was crap.
 
White people: the cause, and solution, of all life's problems.
 
Silence - too long, too Jesus-y, way too many voice-overs, Liam Neeson as the most Irish Portuguese Jesuit to ever exist. I liked it, more than most of the hyperactive cartoons Scorsese has released in the last twenty years. It's a long 161 minutes, a few people walked out, so beware.
 
Airplane v Volcano

When a commercial airliner is trapped within a ring of erupting volcanoes, the passengers and crew must find a way to survive - without landing. But when the relentless onslaught of lava and ash causes fear and distrust amongst those onboard, it isn't just the volcanoes that are life-threatening. Everyone must learn to work together if they are to survive their epic flight of fire.
Its an Asylum film for Sci-Fi, it was never going to be a blockbuster.
Dean Cain is in this, a massive drop from Superman.
The acting is bad , the story is just unbelievable, the CGI is poor at best.
It also had a nutter, all these films seem to have one.
The rescue idea is the daftest I have ever seen in any film.
It is cheesier then the chessest Cheese at the World Cheese Fair , in Cheese Town.
99% wont like this but it was better than I thought it would be :lol:

4/10
 
Jippy said:
I hope you watched the original? The remake is functional, largely carried by Liev Schrieber's charisma, but ultimately pointless.
The original is masterful. Still holds up today as a horror great. Suspenseful, atmospheric and well-paced, it's a great film.
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The first 2 are utter classics and very watchable over and over again, but the 3rd stinks, they had a chance to make a great trilogy but they used Sam Neil in the last very badly written Oman 3, he was bad very bad.
 
Tarrou said:
Don't get me wrong it was a great story, but they somehow managed to turn a genuinely great story into run-of-the-mill oscar-bait with a not so subtle undertone of 'white people = good and brown people = bad' running through it.
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What?

His "brown" family was incredible, his "brown" friends at Uni were great, the "brown" adoption lady was amazing, the "brown" guy at the restaurant was great, and there were only like 3 white people in the entire movie and let's be honest, in the real World his Aussie parents are an absolute inspiration for anyone.

Yes, there were some bad people in India, and well, that's the truth, 80,000 children children DO go missing there every year.
 
Anthropoid

I thought this was some crappy sci-fi film with the title , but I could not of been further from what it was.
Based on the extraordinary true story of Operation Anthropoid, the WWII mission to assassinate SS General Reinhard Heydrich, the main architect behind the Final Solution and the Reich's third in command after Hitler and Himmler.
It is not an easy watch, but I was on the edge of my seat for most of the film.
The Nazi reprisals after the assassination were brutal and not easy to watch.
The acting was top notch.
I found myself holding my breath on many occasions A truly gripping finale and I will definitely be watching this again.

This is an easy

10/10
 
Regulus Arcturus Black said:
What?

His "brown" family was incredible, his "brown" friends at Uni were great, the "brown" adoption lady was amazing, the "brown" guy at the restaurant was great, and there were only like 3 white people in the entire movie and let's be honest, in the real World his Aussie parents are an absolute inspiration for anyone.

Yes, there were some bad people in India, and well, that's the truth, 80,000 children children DO go missing there every year.
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Fair enough. It felt very contrived to shoe-horn that paedo story in. Call me a cynic but that just screamed Oscar-baiting to me.

Putting that aside, I thought the second half of the movie was weak. It felt rushed despite not having that much ground to cover or bothering to go into much character depth.
 
dumbo said:
Moonlight. Stylish and ambitious film that falls a little short.

The acting is sometimes excellent but not always (Kevin the teeanger in particular was great). It's clean and handsome, full of wistful pans and lingering portrait shots, scored by very noticeable classical arrangements. It occasionally resembles a fashion shoot, where everyone from the corner boys to the rock head mother look absolutely beautiful. That's not to say that it's all style over substance - and some of that style acts as worthy substance - but it felt a little ephemeral, or like a delicately crafted yet brittle sugar sculpture. An entirely different film (and perhaps it's not a fair comparison) but besides something like Tongues Untied the film looks awfully parochial.

One thing that I did like was the critical focus on visual representations of overt masculinity. Muscles and fists, wealth, power and aggression are shown in contrast with character's sexual and human insecurities.

I think it's a good film, that provides a social good - perhaps a better, more challenging film might not be so accessible. The academy will no doubt love it. I'd just rather have a great film.
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I kinda liked that it didn't delve too much into some of the themes, I wouldn't really have wanted it to have been an angry avant garde work like Tongues Untied for an example, tender and brittle was the way to go, there's been a dire need for something that is both artistic and relatively mainstream to raise all these questions and it did a better job than I expected it to do.
 
I thought Moonlight was a good film that could have been another 45 minutes long. I thought all three segments were a bit too short and therefore never quite pulled me in.

Also, nitpicky, but in the third act
it's been ten years since that happened at school, are we really supposed to believe those two, especially Kevin, are only 27/28 years old? Strange choice of actors.
 
Before I Wake

A young couple adopt an orphaned child whose dreams - and nightmares - manifest physically as he sleeps.
Not a trypical horror film , it has some jump scenes in it.
Kate Bosworth was very good has was Tremblay has the boy.
A very solid film with a heavy emotional punch at the end.

7/10
 
Black Fly.

A troubled teenager and his older brother reconnect, setting off a powder keg of buried secrets, paranoia and murder. Inspired by true events.
I am on a roll today , another very good film.
Well written , well acted, the cinematography is outstanding, Denman Island looks stunning.
This is a cracking little thriller. It is intense, depressing, and dark. based on a series of murders in New Brunswick 30 years ago.

7.5/10
 
pauldyson1uk said:
Before I Wake

A young couple adopt an orphaned child whose dreams - and nightmares - manifest physically as he sleeps.
Not a trypical horror film , it has some jump scenes in it.
Kate Bosworth was very good has was Tremblay has the boy.
A very solid film with a heavy emotional punch at the end.

7/10
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Enjoyed that one. Mike Flanagan is a horror director to watch. Enjoyed all of his films (Before I wake, Hush, Ouija 2 and Oculus).

Moonlight
Not getting what the hype is all about. Yes, I like the overall theme of the film as it's something that needs to be looked at more often in such mediums. It had really good cinematography and decent performances but I found it really ponderous and boring for most of the runtime. The segments were not fleshed out enough and I just couldnt connect to it. Felt like pure Oscar bait. I did however really enjoy the first segment, that was really interesting and second segment was really well acted but in the final segment was just stupid and unbelievable 6/10
 
Nerve - solid movie. Good concept behind it. The ending / third act kinda lets it down though. Though it was kinda ... meh for that part, but overall enjoyed it.
 
Doctor Strange

Messy and non-sensical special effects. Might look cool for a second or so, but afterwards it's just annoying. Nice characters, save for Mordo - who they imply might be a villain in future (ugh!), but forgettable film.

And in this world of Avengers, aliens, gods, why is there still wonder and scepticism about supernatural stuff?

Of course, real world with all of that would be completely different than the one from these movies.
 
Hacksaw Ridge - Just skip the first hour of the movie, which is absolute shite save for a few good performances. Once it gets to the actual battle scenes then the film becomes interesting and like others have said it's very visceral and intense and loud. Cut out most of the cheese, a lot of which didn't seem that necessary and you'd have a very good film but as it stands, meh.
 
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I watched Moonlight last night.

I liked it very much but I think all the hype as led it to be a slight let-down for me. Don't get me wrong, I thoughht it was very good, but not 'Best Film of the Deacde' good, like some critics are claiming.

The IMDb user reviews seem split between 10/10s and 1-2/10s. Clinton supporters and Trump supporters, judging by the content of the reviews.
 
I actively tried not to read any Moonlight reviews or watch the trailer more than once as I didn't want to let the hype get to me. Movies rarely live up to my expectations if I read too much about them on beforehand.
 
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Dirty Schwein said:
Moonlight
Not getting what the hype is all about. Yes, I like the overall theme of the film as it's something that needs to be looked at more often in such mediums. It had really good cinematography and decent performances but I found it really ponderous and boring for most of the runtime. The segments were not fleshed out enough and I just couldnt connect to it. Felt like pure Oscar bait. I did however really enjoy the first segment, that was really interesting and second segment was really well acted but in the final segment was just stupid and unbelievable 6/10
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I initially preferred the first half of the film too but the final segment seems better and better on reflection.
The way he gradually shed his tough guy persona was so subtle you almost didn't notice it happening, then the closing line was heart-breaking and brilliantly delivered. Loads of memorable moments in the film but that has really stayed with me.

Definitely think it's a film that can be ruined by reading reviews. For me it was a slow-burner. Wasn't blown away while I was watching it but I've been thinking about it constantly since.
 
R.N7 said:
Edvard Munch (1974) - An utter masterpiece. It's not often I can say that I've watched something that is unlike anything I've ever seen before, but this was definitely such a case. It's such an encompassing work and it's kinda hard to break it down into details now straight after I've seen it, but I'm gonna give it a try...It's essentially a docudrama biopic of Edvard Munch, it's formalist, impressionistic and sensual, puts his work in a cultural and historical context, uses clever editing techniques, told in a linear way but jumps in time to show flashbacks of formative moments containing death, illness and lost love...sometimes juxtaposing different images and sounds against each other. It's a beautiful work that needs to be more widely known.
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Wow! Watched it last night and it might just be my all time favourite movie. It's certainly up there. I read afterwards a critic say that it's like Tarkovsky's Mirror and Andrey Rublev combined and I'd say that's pretty accurate. It jumps through time and puts sounds and images together when they shouldn't be, showing the chronology of Munch's life by juxtaposing his emotional, sexual, and spiritual conflicts. The way the story is told means that it's quite hard to grasp all of it, so I'll definitely be watching it again.
 
verminater said:
You are aware it is a true story?

Anyway, Manchester by the sea
tumescent. Like attending a 2 hour funeral.
Casey Affleck doing his Gosling-Driver impersonation, and getting acclaim for acting by not acting.
Seems like playing a role "aspergers" get positive attention.
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:lol:

I've been searching for a way to describe this film to friends and this is perfect. Typical Oscar film, the critic reviews are absurd. The film was so flat.
 
The Good Dinosaur (2015)

Watched this on NOWTV. Not sure what to make of this one. Visuals are the of the usual excellent Pixar standard but as far as the story is concerned, I found it a little flat. This film only takes off in the last 20 minutes or so. Story revolves around a runt of a dinosaur who loses his father in a rainstorm and befriends a lone wild young'un as they embark on the perilous journey home. On the way they encounter a few characters who really end up becoming inconsequential as the film does not really develop any real depth or relationships with them...so they just flit in and out of the movie. As mentioned, it only really takes off in the final quarter and to that end, it's probably the least favourite Pixar film I've seen to date.

I'm giving this a 5/10.
 
Peyroteo said:
Wow! Watched it last night and it might just be my all time favourite movie. It's certainly up there. I read afterwards a critic say that it's like Tarkovsky's Mirror and Andrey Rublev combined and I'd say that's pretty accurate. It jumps through time and puts sounds and images together when they shouldn't be, showing the chronology of Munch's life by juxtaposing his emotional, sexual, and spiritual conflicts. The way the story is told means that it's quite hard to grasp all of it, so I'll definitely be watching it again.
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It's a gem alright.

Peter Watkins is a sorely underrated filmmaker, I think he might have related to Munch a lot.
 
Mystry said:
Hackshaw Ridge - Just skip the first hour of the movie, which is absolute shite save for a few good performances. Once it gets to the actual battle scenes then the film becomes interesting and like others have said it's very visceral and intense and loud. Cut out most of the cheese, a lot of which didn't seem that necessary and you'd have a very good film but as it stands, meh.
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Is that the Sean Connery version?
 
Watched Training Day the other day which I hadn't rewatched since it first came out more than a decade ago.

Denzel Washington really puts in an incredible performance, definitely the best I've ever seen from him. Great film, better than I remembered.
 
Vato said:
Watched Training Day the other day which I hadn't rewatched since it first came out more than a decade ago.

Denzel Washington really puts in an incredible performance, definitely the best I've ever seen from him. Great film, better than I remembered.
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They don't make movies like Training Day anymore, do they? My fav scene is the ending with the cold-as-feck Russians driving up to him.
 
VorZakone said:
They don't make movies like Training Day anymore, do they? My fav scene is the ending with the cold-as-feck Russians driving up to him.
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The scene where Hawk gets left behind in the house with the latin gangbangers playing poker would be mine I think. It's tense as feck.
 
It wasn't a typical Oscar film either, if it was we'd have seen the obvious emotional pay-off at the end.

That being redemption, putting the past in the past and stepping up to be a the hero for his nephew. Instead he just fecked off and dumped him with someone else.
 
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