Film The Redcafe Movie review thread

Chasing the dragon

Wong jing back to his best in the period crime action drama starring donnie yen, andy lau as the drug dealer and police buddies duo.

Those familiar with 90s gangster movies would love this as its nostalgic and they don't make many of these gems no more.
 
The Wailing
A stranger arrives in a little village and soon after a mysterious sickness starts spreading. A policeman is drawn into the incident and is forced to solve the mystery in order to save his daughter. Absolutely LOVED this. Great plot, the film makes you work to figure out what's happening, rather than spoon feed, which I find great. I enjoyed the hell out of it and will be watching again soon 8.5/10

Bright
Starts off quite funny but quickly descends into stupidity. The overarching race message is too heavy handed, Will Smith is as usual playing himself and the second half of the film is a typical on the run thriller. Was very disappointed 3/10

The Silenced
A girl is transferred to a mysterious boarding school, where she is forced to discover its secrets to survive. I loved the setup of the story and the way the film was shot was very pleasing to the eye. Once you figure out what is actually going on, it just turns silly and uninteresting. Nearly fell asleep a few times 3/10

Better Watch Out
On a quiet suburban street, a babysitter must defend a twelve-year-old boy from intruders, only to discover it's far from a normal home invasion. This was quite a fun Christmas based horror/slasher. The performances of the three young leads were impeccable, especially the main dude. It keeps itself entertaining throughout and is not too long so it's worth a watch 6.5/10

Train To Busan
While a zombie virus breaks out in South Korea, passengers struggle to survive on the train from Seoul to Busan. Fun zombie flick that has heart as well as action and gore. This is the film World War Z wishes it was. I had a great ride and my only gripe was the inconsistencies in the zombie's abilities depending on what the plot needed. Still, a fresh and intriguing film 7.5/10

Greatest Showman
LOVED LOVED LOVED it! Hugh Jackman was great, the songs gave me goosebumps, the musical numbers were very emotive and catchy, I have the soundtrack on my Spotify playlist. Just a really fun film... It made me feel like I was actually watching a show rather than a movie. I urge people to watch it at the cinema, really enhances the experience. I think this is my favourite film to 2017 9/10

Super Dark Times
Teenagers Zach and Josh have been best friends their whole lives, but when a gruesome accident leads to a cover-up, the secret drives a wedge between them and propels them down a rabbit hole of escalating paranoia and violence. A very indie style movie about friendship and adolescence. Quite a dark plot as suggested by the title of the film but interesting enough to keep you hooked. My main issue was the audio mix, very difficult to hear the dialogue as it was so low but the score was overly loud so I was constantly fighting with the bloody volume 6/10

Flatliners
Five medical students, obsessed by what lies beyond the confines of life, embark on a daring experiment: by stopping their hearts for short periods, each triggers a near-death experience - giving them a firsthand account of the afterlife. Pointless remake of a film that wasn't exactly great in the first place. Every character was stupid and the scare moments were laughably bad. Probably one of the worst films I seen this year 1/10

Atomic Blonde
Great action scenes, good soundtrack, you get to see Charlize Theron and Sofia Boutella's boobs in a lesbian scene... it's great. The plot is a bit contrived but who cares... Charlize Theron looking sexy... I'm all in 7/10

Coherence
Strange things begin to happen when a group of friends gather for a dinner party on an evening when a comet is passing overhead. A thinking person's thriller mystery, can't say too much because it's worth seeing this fresh. I will say that you will be guessing the whole film and once the mystery is revealed, it's not a cheat, everything makes sense. Probably a film you'll want to see twice 8/10
 
Dirty Schwein said:
Coherence
Strange things begin to happen when a group of friends gather for a dinner party on an evening when a comet is passing overhead. A thinking person's thriller mystery, can't say too much because it's worth seeing this fresh. I will say that you will be guessing the whole film and once the mystery is revealed, it's not a cheat, everything makes sense. Probably a film you'll want to see twice 8/10
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Loved this movie. When done well these dialogue and interaction based movies really are a treat.

The Man from Earth is another gem in that style.
 
Last Tango in Paris

Weird and disturbing but memorable film. Brando at his best and the young girl is superb too. Wasn't completely sure what I thought of it but it'll certainly linger and made an impression.

Bicycle Thieves

Simple premise but superbly executed. Acting is great and the general vibe of Rome is so vibrant and involving.
 
Jumanji - Welcome to the Jungle. 5/10. Didn't enjoy it as much as I wanted to really.
 
The Killing of a Sacred Deer - 8/10

Thought this is what Funny Games should have been but failed to become. Great and intense atmosphere, wonderfully morbid humor and great acting. Liked the general awkwardness of the dialogue.
 
Cheesy said:
Last Tango in Paris

Weird and disturbing but memorable film. Brando at his best and the young girl is superb too. Wasn't completely sure what I thought of it but it'll certainly linger and made an impression.
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Classic '70s full on triangle.

Wild things

Sleazy, steamy drama with perhaps one or two twists too many. Strong cast with Matt Dillon, Bill Murray, Kevin Bacon, peak Denise Richards and Neve Campbell, but feels somewhat vapid at heart and probably tries a bit too hard to surprise. Watchable enough, been years since I watched it, and Denise Richards is stunning.

6.95/10
 
The Greatest Showman

I'm sure there's things wrong with this film. I just don't care. I can't recommend the film enough. I don't think it's one for your top ten lists (it wasn't in mine), but sometimes you just need a film that's just positive. One that makes you leave the cinema with a huge smile. I could watch it again right now, the soundtrack is so joyous.

I'm actually listening to From Now On for the fourth time...today.
 
The Killing of a Sacred Deer or: If Euripides then Eumenides*

Doc Farrel is made to account for the past with his familiy's future, in this wonderful new-old Greek tragedy. It's dark, bleak and disturbing in tone, has superb acting and oodles of perfectly measured dramatic tension. I really really enjoyed it. Colin is great, even Nicole is great (it's the kind of role she's likely to overdo), the kids are perfect and Keoghan steals the show. It thematically fecks out all the old faves from Sophoclean patriarchs, to the Roman-revenge familial cannibalism of Seneca and Shakespeare, amongst others. In other words, the perfect family Christmas film. It's beautifully staged and the music and visuals combine to create a perfectly uncanny setting.

I was a fan of Lanthimos' Greek films but The Lobster did very little for me. I felt that the direction and acting failed to sell the premise and the tone was never well enough established to support the absurdist story elements. Sacred Deer however judges it's tone perfectly and the direction and acting support an entirely believable world. Back on form.

*obviously not my joke.
 
dumbo said:
The Killing of a Sacred Deer or: If Euripides then Eumenides*

Doc Farrel is made to account for the past with his familiy's future, in this wonderful new-old Greek tragedy. It's dark, bleak and disturbing in tone, has superb acting and oodles of perfectly measured dramatic tension. I really really enjoyed it. Colin is great, even Nicole is great (it's the kind of role she's likely to overdo), the kids are perfect and Keoghan steals the show. It thematically fecks out all the old faves from Sophoclean patriarchs, to the Roman-revenge familial cannibalism of Seneca and Shakespeare, amongst others. In other words, the perfect family Christmas film. It's beautifully staged and the music and visuals combine to create a perfectly uncanny setting.

I was a fan of Lanthimos' Greek films but The Lobster did very little for me. I felt that the direction and acting failed to sell the premise and the tone was never well enough established to support the absurdist story elements. Sacred Deer however judges it's tone perfectly and the direction and acting support an entirely believable world. Back on form.

*obviously not my joke.
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HTG said:
The Killing of a Sacred Deer - 8/10

Thought this is what Funny Games should have been but failed to become. Great and intense atmosphere, wonderfully morbid humor and great acting. Liked the general awkwardness of the dialogue.
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Not sure if serious.
 
Session 9
Tensions rise within an asbestos cleaning crew as they work in an abandoned mental hospital with a horrific past that seems to be coming back. Seen this a few times and it always remains creepy and very atmospheric. Yes, there's some dodgy acting and the ending feels slightly flat or predictable but a well paced horror that stays in your mind 6.5/10

Triangle
A group of friends suffer a yachting accident and take refuge on a cruise drifting on the open sea, but quickly realize they were better off on the upturned yacht. Another that I watched when it came out but didn't enjoy at the time. Thought I'd give it another chance and hated it even more. The concept is quite decent but the actual story and especially the character motivations/decision are beyond stupid. Not sure why people seem to love this film 3/10

The Outcasts
After falling victim to a humiliating prank by the high school Queen Bee, best friends and world-class geeks, Mindy and Jodi, decide to get their revenge by uniting the outcasts of the school against her and her circle of friends. Why the hell did I watch this? Clearly not made for me :lol: Hate when films put glasses on a gorgeous actress/handsome actor and suddenly we're supposed to be convinced that they are nerds 2/10

Last Shift
A rookie cop's 1st shift alone in the last night of a closing police station turns into a living nightmare. Seen this film a couple of times and I always enjoy it. Slow burn horror and has a thread of pure tension running throughout. Ending is slightly predictable but that's ok because the journey is so much fun 8/10

Jeepers Creepers 3
This might have been passable in the 90s but how does bile like this get made today? Totally awful, stupid, poorly acted, bad make up and effects. Nothing good about it 1/10
 
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Table 19 (2016)

Available on Now TV/Sky Cinema. 'Rom com' starring Anna Kendrick as an erstwhile maid of honour who gets dumped by her boyfriend (the best man) by text but still decides to turn up at the wedding that she mostly planned, to prove to herself that she has moved on. Having been ousted from her wedding duties she is subsequently demoted to the dreaded lowest table at the reception....table 19. She is consigned to a ragtag group of unwanted wedding guests including a socially awkward teen out to lose his virginity, a guy who has just come out of prison for defrauding his uncle, the bride's first nanny and a couple whose marriage has clearly seen better days.

Now if you're expecting a film like Bride Wars, The Wedding Crashers or The Wedding Singer, you'll be a little disappointed as this is a film with a bit more heart rather than going for all out humour. The film's setting is completely based around the reception but apart from the obligatory cake disaster, it avoids descending into farce. Rather, this is an exploration into the lives of the guests at Table 19 and how they got to where they are in their lives and why they turned up. The film gains its charm from the relationships they develop with each other as they discuss and gradually work through their issues together. Their angst is revealed through disclosures and revelations from the individuals as they struggle to make sense of their lives. The story unfolds as this disparate group of strangers connect with each other and strive to support each other though their misery.

The main dilemma revolves around Anna Kendrick, trying to make sense of her break up through encounters with the best man/ex boyfriend during the reception and things soon become more complicated as their relationship unravels. Of course, these films would not be complete without the dramatic reconciliation as the final act and with Anna Kendrick's character finally coming out on top, the other guests also all appear to leave the event in a much better place than when they arrived. You won't be splitting your sides with laughter but after 85 minutes or so, you will feel satisfied. The guests are played by mainly well-known stars including Lisa Kudrow, Craig Robinson and Stephen Merchant and they do their jobs well...apart from the young virgin guy who probably could have been replaced with a better character. Not a bad watch at all.

I'm giving this a 7/10.
 
Just wanna say Gary Oldman is a great actor. Watched him in "Leon", "Romeo Is Bleeding", "State of Grace", "True Romance" and other movies.
 
Molly’s Game: Good, solid Aaron Sorkin vehicle this time with him at the helm as director. Contains all of the standard Sorkin tropes namely quick fire dialogue and snappy witticisms. You won’t really see anything here that you won’t have seen in other Sorkin written works and even the direction seem to fall perfectly in line with how other directors have visualized his work for screen so a lot of your enjoyment of this depends on if you like Sorkin’s oeuvre or not. As I’ve always enjoyed his screen works to varying degrees I must say I enjoyed it even whilst realizing that it wasn’t really breaking any new ground and is probably a lot less interesting than The Social Network or A Few Good Men (if you count those as the best of his screen works). Solid work pretty much all around from the actors as well with Elba and Chastain on good form but if there was one actor I’d rather wasn’t here it would be Michael Cera who I’ve always found to be an anemic screen presence and he serves to be no different here and should have been replace by an older looking more grizzled looking actor preferably one who hasn’t made a living playing himself in every movie he's been in. That aside a good but not exceptional movie that you will have seen before in some capacity if you’ve seen any of Sorkin’s work, however if you're even quite partial to his work then worth a watch.


6.5/10
 
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Breathe (2017)
True story about a man who contracts Polio and becomes paralyzed from the neck down and unable to breathe without a respirator. He invented the wheelchair apparently, in the 1960s?! About bloody time. Solid movie. Somewhat inspiring, but I felt it should have had more emotional impact. 6.5/10
 
Creep 2
A video artist looking for work drives to a remote house in the forest to meet a man claiming to be a serial killer. But after agreeing to spend the day with him, she soon realizes that she made a deadly mistake. Found footage style film, I thought this was ok, if you liked the first film you'll probably enjoy this. I didn't like the main character, very unbelieveable and constantly making the wrong decisions, which is super annoying in a film where you're watching from their perspective... however, Mark Duplass' character/acting is what held this whole thing together. He was great 5/10
 
whatwha said:
Marshall (2017)

Decent court room drama involving the to-be first African American Supreme Court Justice, and on his behalf a Jewish attorney arguing his first criminal case, and a black defendant in 1940 US of A. Solid movie, just not that compelling, and average acting.

6.5/10
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The movie is a bit of a scam really. Going in I thought it was about Marshall's career, overcoming racist barriers in order to serve at the SC etc. so I was underwhelmed when it was only about this one case. It could also be that I wasn't informed properly.

Still the case itself is okay-ish. Token racist attack*, token racist community, token turn of events. No bigger picture sadly and indeed average acting. 6.5 at best really.

*although they didn't go for the brick into the window thing like many others (Remember the Titans, Missisippi Burning, 42)
 
Javi said:
The movie is a bit of a scam really. Going in I thought it was about Marshall's career, overcoming racist barriers in order to serve at the SC etc. so I was underwhelmed when it was only about this one case. It could also be that I wasn't informed properly.

Still the case itself is okay-ish. Token racist attack*, token racist community, token turn of events. No bigger picture sadly and indeed average acting. 6.5 at best really.

*although they didn't go for the brick into the window thing like many others (Remember the Titans, Missisippi Burning, 42)
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I felt the same way. The blurb given on imdb is this: "About a young Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American Supreme Court Justice, as he battles through one of his career-defining cases."
Quite misleading. A career-defining case where he can't even get up and speak? :lol:
 
Dirty Schwein said:
Creep 2
A video artist looking for work drives to a remote house in the forest to meet a man claiming to be a serial killer. But after agreeing to spend the day with him, she soon realizes that she made a deadly mistake. Found footage style film, I thought this was ok, if you liked the first film you'll probably enjoy this. I didn't like the main character, very unbelieveable and constantly making the wrong decisions, which is super annoying in a film where you're watching from their perspective... however, Mark Duplass' character/acting is what held this whole thing together. He was great 5/10
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Oh cool I didn't realise they'd made a sequel!
 
Dirty Schwein said:
Creep 2
A video artist looking for work drives to a remote house in the forest to meet a man claiming to be a serial killer. But after agreeing to spend the day with him, she soon realizes that she made a deadly mistake. Found footage style film, I thought this was ok, if you liked the first film you'll probably enjoy this. I didn't like the main character, very unbelieveable and constantly making the wrong decisions, which is super annoying in a film where you're watching from their perspective... however, Mark Duplass' character/acting is what held this whole thing together. He was great 5/10
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Hmmmm :lol:
 
Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri - hoo boy, I didn't think I could hate a movie from 2017 more than mother! but here we are. This film has some pretty well publicised racial politics problems and I can see why people, especially black people, might hate it for that, but worry not, there's plenty of other reasons to dislike this turd. McDonagh is a monumentally hacky director, with no idea where to place a camera, how to cut a scene, how to direct an actor. His dialogue is clumsy and unfunny, I've never seen actors struggle so much to crowbar expletives into their speech, and some of the performances are borderline embarrassing, Abbie Cornish I'm looking at you. I won't even go into why Sam Rockwell's character is such a balls-out disaster. feck Three Billboards, feck it in its stupid ass.
 
Archie Leach said:
Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri - hoo boy, I didn't think I could hate a movie from 2017 more than mother! but here we are. This film has some pretty well publicised racial politics problems and I can see why people, especially black people, might hate it for that, but worry not, there's plenty of other reasons to dislike this turd. McDonagh is a monumentally hacky director, with no idea where to place a camera, how to cut a scene, how to direct an actor. His dialogue is clumsy and unfunny, I've never seen actors struggle so much to crowbar expletives into their speech, and some of the performances are borderline embarrassing, Abbie Cornish I'm looking at you. I won't even go into why Sam Rockwell's character is such a balls-out disaster. feck Three Billboards, feck it in its stupid ass.
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I remember seeing the trailer and cringing hard at it.
 
The Florida Project - I couldn't help but recognize the visual style from somewhere and it turns out it's the same cinematographer that Carlos Reygadas usually employs, which made sense. This was way better than anything Reygadas has ever done though. Another gleaming vision of America that sits right alongside American Honey.
 
R.N7 said:
The Florida Project - I couldn't help but recognize the visual style from somewhere and it turns out it's the same cinematographer that Carlos Reygadas usually employs, which made sense. This was way better than anything Reygadas has ever done though. Another gleaming vision of America that sits right alongside American Honey.
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Have you seen Tangerine? Sean Baker has an amazing and palpable energy to his directing.
 
The Vault
Two estranged sisters are forced to rob a bank in order to save their brother but didn't count on the bank being haunted. The start of the film, when it's in heist/thriller mode is actually quite fun, great chemistry between the characters and I was having a good time. Then the supernatural bit takes over and it turns pretty bad because at that stage you've lost the heist/thriller fans and the supernatural part isn't scary so horror fans won't like it... makes you think what's the point? 5/10
 
Mega Shark v Giant Octopus

A huge iceberg calves that holds a megalodon (mega shark) and a giant octopus frozen inside it. Deployment of a LFAS (low frequency automatic sonar) unit causes it to shatter. The two behemoths thaw and return to life. The shark terrorizes the California coast while the octopus creates havoc things near Japan.
It has Debbie Gibson in, 80's pop singer turned actress
It was not dreadful, typical Asylum stuff.

3.5/10
 
Archie Leach said:
Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri - hoo boy, I didn't think I could hate a movie from 2017 more than mother! but here we are. This film has some pretty well publicised racial politics problems and I can see why people, especially black people, might hate it for that, but worry not, there's plenty of other reasons to dislike this turd. McDonagh is a monumentally hacky director, with no idea where to place a camera, how to cut a scene, how to direct an actor. His dialogue is clumsy and unfunny, I've never seen actors struggle so much to crowbar expletives into their speech, and some of the performances are borderline embarrassing, Abbie Cornish I'm looking at you. I won't even go into why Sam Rockwell's character is such a balls-out disaster. feck Three Billboards, feck it in its stupid ass.
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ROVrjW9.gif
 
Minkaro said:
The Greatest Showman

I'm sure there's things wrong with this film. I just don't care. I can't recommend the film enough. I don't think it's one for your top ten lists (it wasn't in mine), but sometimes you just need a film that's just positive. One that makes you leave the cinema with a huge smile. I could watch it again right now, the soundtrack is so joyous.

I'm actually listening to From Now On for the fourth time...today.
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Was supposed to see Star Wars but because we were late we ended up seeing this today. I thought there was some problems with it (maybe a bit too fast paced at times and didn't deal with some important issues I thought) but overall it was an enjoyable experience. I would recommend the movie.
 
pauldyson1uk said:
Mega Shark v Giant Octopus

A huge iceberg calves that holds a megalodon (mega shark) and a giant octopus frozen inside it. Deployment of a LFAS (low frequency automatic sonar) unit causes it to shatter. The two behemoths thaw and return to life. The shark terrorizes the California coast while the octopus creates havoc things near Japan.
It has Debbie Gibson in, 80's pop singer turned actress
It was not dreadful, typical Asylum stuff.

3.5/10
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Isn't this the one which actually kicked it all off? Brilliant film 10/10
 
pauldyson1uk said:
Yes I think it was , but 10/10 , for an Asylum film it was OK , maybe my 3.5 was a bit harsh but it is far from brilliant.
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Brilliant comedy :p

They're all dire really, but they're that bad they're good, I can't stop watching any of them if they come on. I always wonder which acting school some of these people went to, but then you see a big star in there somewhere too.
 
Minkaro said:
The Greatest Showman

I'm sure there's things wrong with this film. I just don't care. I can't recommend the film enough. I don't think it's one for your top ten lists (it wasn't in mine), but sometimes you just need a film that's just positive. One that makes you leave the cinema with a huge smile. I could watch it again right now, the soundtrack is so joyous.

I'm actually listening to From Now On for the fourth time...today.
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That's great to hear because the trailer definitely gives that vibe of what you describe, I am definitely looking forward to it
 
My flight yesterday had a totally garbage selection of films to choose from, watched Horrible Bosses 2 for about 30 minutes before I had to call it quits. Made it through Me, Earl and the Dying Girl which started off really cringey but got slightly less cringey as it went on.

I also watched Brothers. How has Tobey Maguire made a career out of acting? How do any of the people involved in these fairly high budget, completely dumb feck films get jobs in the industry? Crap editing, crap script, crap choice of films big feck you cnut to COPA airlines.
 
The Foreigner

Meh. He wasn't foreign either. He was a British citizen.

The Killing of a Sacred Deer

Much preferred The Lobster. This was mostly dull and the dialogue got on my tits after about 20 minutes. People left the Cinema presumably because they were bored to tears?

Wind River

Predictable but really enjoyable drama/thriller with a great climax. Recommended.
 
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