Film The Redcafe Movie review thread

The Pack
A family in a farm house are intruded by a pack of vicious dogs. I watch a lot of tripe but even I couldn't get through this awful film 1/10

Escape Room
Not the theatrical one, this was on Netflix. Some good kills but the film takes way too long to even get to the first proper kill, very slow, bad acting, story threads workout pay offs, random b-roll shots to fill time. Not very good 3/10
 
The Hole In The Ground
A woman and her son move into an isolated house in rural Ireland but one day, after running into the forrest that surrounds their house, the son comes back not quite the same. Was really excited for this. I like the director's short films, it's an A24 movie and some reviewers are calling it "this year's Hereditary". So watched it finally, and I was quite disappointed. It's shot very well, some of the shot composition was truly fantastic. The acting was generally good. The story, whilst not innovative, was intriguing enough. The score was one of my favourite in quite a few years. However, the film was SO SLOW. I normally love a slow burn horror if the pay off works but here, the film takes an age to get going then rushes through all the interesting plot areas in about ten minutes. Was hoping for much better but still, it's a decent movie and better than most shitty low budget horror flicks 6.5/10
 
The Kid Who Would Be King. Joe Cornish returns with a charming and optimistic rallying cry against societal division and dresses it up as a fun kids fantasy film. I dig it. This isn't as good as Attack the Block, it does feel its length and I wasn't convinced by all of the lead performances, but Joe's channelling as much of his inner Edgar Wright as he possibly can here and it pays off. In the end this is the sort of film that we need right now, what with all the chaos in the world. 8.
 
If Beale Street Could Talk - bits and pieces of a great film orbit the emotional and dramatic blackhole at the centre of this film; namely the very attractive, very earnest and pretty dull leading couple played by Stephen James and Kiki River. Supporting characters, like Regina King and Brian Tyree Henry, come in and out and suggest more interesting avenues this film could have pursued. It looks amazing and I can't fault any of the craft, although I could see why the sanitisation of 70s New York may rile some.

Thelma - works as a familiar genre film, made over with Joachim Trier's icy austerity, but is pretty light as allegory, touching on the dangers of religious oppression without saying too much about it. Eili Harboe and Kaya Wilkins are something else though.
 
Instant Family. Well-intentioned but flawed and disposable. A comedy-drama that's a pretty lacklustre on the comedy front and only half-decent on the dramatic front. 5.
 
Spy

Melissa Mccarthy vehicle that looked terrible in the trailers but was surprisingly enjoyable. She was actually competent when thrust into her new spy role instead of being played as a lucky newbie which was good to see. And Jason Statham stole the show, was great.

7/10 with some decent belly laughs.
 
Finally got around to watching Bohemian Rhapsody.

It's badly made movie. There's no getting around that.

But on the other hand, it's easy to see why so many people like it. There's 2 hours of wishy washy melodrama building up the tension for the final act. Then the Live Aid performance comes along and it's great - if only for the music. I had a smile on my face watching it.

If you're a fan of Queen's music, and can tolerate waiting till the final 15 minutes, it's just about worth it.

It doesn't deserve any recognition from the awards bodies, though. Malek's performance was barely even average.
 
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R.N7 said:
Yeah, but did you see when the rich family hugged her at the end. GOOD, CARING PEOPLE.
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The cinematography is great,the acting is on point but Cuarons' narrative is placed on a foundation of wilful ignorance for the most part.
The film tip-toes around the issues of Cleo ,and her maid colleague , for a rather simplistic Disney-esque outlook.

The finale of Roma is one of the most depressing endings I've seen and yet Cuarons' execution of the scene was anything but.
The family glee on its return home and the children waxing lyrical over Cleo's amazing efforts in saving the two children from a certain catastrophe is all but forgotten about as she happily wonders back up into her small,congested ramshackled apartment for retreat. The ending suggested a happily-ever-after conclusion which I was largely uncomfortable with.

The praise of the story ,from a factual standpoint, seems to have been swept under the carpet in replace of the aesthetic qualities of the film.

Saying all this I'm intrigued to see what my response will be when I sit down to view it sometime again in the near future.
 
Velvet Buzzsaw
After a series of paintings by an unknown artist are discovered, a supernatural force enacts revenge on those who have allowed their greed to get in the way of art. Loved Nightcrawler, a big fan of Jake Gyllenhaal and the trailer for this was beyond amazing… so naturally, this was a huge let down. Whilst it had good performances and tried to be different, which I appreciate, it was kind of a mess. A little bloated, tonally all over the place and it really should have stuck to being a dark satire on the art world, (which is the time the film really shone)… instead, it had some super hammy horror elements that really didn’t work 4/10


Suspiria (2018)
A darkness swirls at the center of a world-renowned dance company, one that will engulf the artistic director, an ambitious young dancer, and a grieving psychotherapist. Some will succumb to the nightmare. Others will finally wake up. Whilst I feel I should like t he original, I never thought it was as good as people make it out to be. Barely had a plot, the acting, sound mix and ADR were beyond a joke but it looked really nice. This is the kind of remake I like. It payed homage to the bright colourful look of the original at certain points but was mostly washed out greys to tie in to the cold war era in Berlin, where this is set. The acting was really authentic and powerful and had some truly gorgeous cinematography and imagery. There was however, a LOT of plot, quite the opposite of the original. I think I would have enjoyed this more if the copy I had included subtitles as long parts were in german and I had no clue what the feck was happening but I generally kept up with the narrative and is a film I’ll remember for a while. It will probably go up a score or when I re-watch with subtitles. Thought this was much better than the original 7/10
 
Argentos' Suspiria was all about the aesthetics.The use of colours was a excellent foil in creating that bizarre and fantastical dream like quality but the acting and the story itself were rather lacking.This re-make purposefully avoids going down a similar visual path while grounding the film in a more murky realistic late 70's socially divided Berlin while also focusing more strongly on the overall story and developing more intrigued with the main character.Simply put its a better film,imo.
 
Long Day's Journey into Night (2018) - The sophomore effort by freewheeling Chinese hotshot Bi Gan. After 75 minutes of woozy, elliptical storytelling the title card was finally dropped and a 50 minute uninterrupted take in 3D proceeded to wrap ut the film. Was kinda like Raymond Chandler by way of Weerasethakul, with images of Stalker never too far away. Perhaps a little too ponderous at times, especially in the beginning but never not beguiling. Definitely could use another watch.

also:
Chinese arthouse film breaks box office records after viewers mistake it for romcom

Long Day’s Journey Into Night took $38m on its opening day, but some viewers complained that marketing suggested it was a seasonal romcom, rather than a challenging drama
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https://www.theguardian.com/film/20...marketing-bi-gan-long-days-journey-into-night
 
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I wish I had the knowledge to write film reviews like that. Mine are like this:

Nessie vs Ronaldo

It was good.

10/1
 
Rooney in Paris said:
A story as old as time
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Perfected in The Wicker Man (2006).

SteveJ said:
I wish I had the knowledge to write film reviews like that. Mine are like this:

Nessie vs Ronaldo

It was good.

10/1
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I can only write about films in English. I'm completely lost when trying to write anything in my native language.
 
Outlaw King

Quite enjoyed this, better than reviews are suggesting. It's got a sufficiently gritty feel to it and is a much more accurate portrayal of history than Braveheart...even though that's hardly difficult and the history isn't exact. Edward I and Edward II are given much more nuanced portrayals, although they do sort of ham up the Bruce-Edward II rivalry more than is probably necessary. Sometimes felt a bit rushed and like they could've done more with it had they wanted to. A short series of five or six episodes concluding at Bannockburn, would've been ideal, but Braveheart sort of already did that, and budgetary demands would've perhaps been too high. Fairly sure I also saw like at least half the Game of Thrones cast in this at some point.

Roma

Very well made, took a while to draw me in but enjoyed it. Reminded me a little bit of Fellini's Amarcord, albeit focusing much more heavily on the grim aspects of everyday life back in the day as opposed to whimsical nostalgia. I imagine it'll pick up a few Oscars considering the competition this year.
 
SteveJ said:
I wish I had the knowledge to write film reviews like that. Mine are like this:

Nessie vs Ronaldo

It was good.

10/1
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Same.

Blindspotting. It's excellent and one of my favourites from 2018.

 
R.N7 said:
I can only write about films in English. I'm completely lost when trying to write anything in my native language.
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Blimey, that's surprising. And a credit to you.
 
I’m currently watching Velvet Buzzsaw and what the feck is this. It’s atrocious.
 
Hurricane (also known as Mission of Honour it seems)

I liked it in a 7/10 kinda way.

Decent enough film, CGI looks a bit basic/dated.

I wouldn't watch it, if you don't like war films but passable enough if you do. Decent story, bit of stuff to think about.
 
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil & Vile
This film chronicles the murders of Ted Bundy from the viewpoint of his long term girlfriend, who refused to believe the truth. What a pile of crap. Begins by telling the story through the eyes of the girlfriend, then she goes missing for ages, whilst it focuses on Effron as Bundy before shoehorning her back in towards the end. It skips over all of the murders and is just a boring court room drama. Shame as it had a really good cast 2/10
 
Dirty Schwein said:
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil & Vile
This film chronicles the murders of Ted Bundy from the viewpoint of his long term girlfriend, who refused to believe the truth. What a pile of crap. Begins by telling the story through the eyes of the girlfriend, then she goes missing for ages, whilst it focuses on Effron as Bundy before shoehorning her back in towards the end. It skips over all of the murders and is just a boring court room drama. Shame as it had a really good cast 2/10
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Ffs
 
BrianMcClair'sBarnet said:
The cinematography is great,the acting is on point but Cuarons' narrative is placed on a foundation of wilful ignorance for the most part.
The film tip-toes around the issues of Cleo ,and her maid colleague , for a rather simplistic Disney-esque outlook.

The finale of Roma is one of the most depressing endings I've seen and yet Cuarons' execution of the scene was anything but.
The family glee on its return home and the children waxing lyrical over Cleo's amazing efforts in saving the two children from a certain catastrophe is all but forgotten about as she happily wonders back up into her small,congested ramshackled apartment for retreat. The ending suggested a happily-ever-after conclusion which I was largely uncomfortable with.

The praise of the story ,from a factual standpoint, seems to have been swept under the carpet in replace of the aesthetic qualities of the film.

Saying all this I'm intrigued to see what my response will be when I sit down to view it sometime again in the near future.
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On the spoiler part: Not sure what you expected to happen?? Just curious. To me it portrayed really well the relationship between maids and the family.
I've not seen this 1st hand in Mexico, but in the Philippines I did and it's very similar. I was uncomfortable at first and it was justified to me that it's a better life than the staff would have in the provinces where they grew up. I think growing up working/middle class we're quite removed from what can be an ordinary, but also an extraordinary, dynamic.
 
Dirty Schwein said:
Velvet Buzzsaw
After a series of paintings by an unknown artist are discovered, a supernatural force enacts revenge on those who have allowed their greed to get in the way of art. Loved Nightcrawler, a big fan of Jake Gyllenhaal and the trailer for this was beyond amazing… so naturally, this was a huge let down. Whilst it had good performances and tried to be different, which I appreciate, it was kind of a mess. A little bloated, tonally all over the place and it really should have stuck to being a dark satire on the art world, (which is the time the film really shone)… instead, it had some super hammy horror elements that really didn’t work 4/10


Suspiria (2018)
A darkness swirls at the center of a world-renowned dance company, one that will engulf the artistic director, an ambitious young dancer, and a grieving psychotherapist. Some will succumb to the nightmare. Others will finally wake up. Whilst I feel I should like t he original, I never thought it was as good as people make it out to be. Barely had a plot, the acting, sound mix and ADR were beyond a joke but it looked really nice. This is the kind of remake I like. It payed homage to the bright colourful look of the original at certain points but was mostly washed out greys to tie in to the cold war era in Berlin, where this is set. The acting was really authentic and powerful and had some truly gorgeous cinematography and imagery. There was however, a LOT of plot, quite the opposite of the original. I think I would have enjoyed this more if the copy I had included subtitles as long parts were in german and I had no clue what the feck was happening but I generally kept up with the narrative and is a film I’ll remember for a while. It will probably go up a score or when I re-watch with subtitles. Thought this was much better than the original 7/10
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Totally agree with you on both of these.

I purposely didn't watch the trailer for Velvet cos people were saying it was spoiler heavy, so I had no idea what the film was about. It was a terrible mess.

I really liked this new Suspiria. I've tried to watch the original a few times but like you say the ADR is really weird. I tried to watch it again the other night but I couldn't get past the first five minutes. The score is annoyingly distracting and the acting reminded me of The Room.
 
Cedric said:
Enders Game. God it was awful. Whoever thought that a supersmart arrogant kid who gets everything thrown his way would be a good lead character should be fed to an alien queen. Also the ending pissed me off big time.

So there is an alive alien 5 metres next to the human base and nobody ever bothered to have a look? And in the end they just let him fly off with the queen to repopulate the enemy race that they were desperate to destroy?

1/10.
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God this was terrible. Also close ups on peoples noses was doing my head in. .5/10
 
Green Book

I've seen a negative review of this elsewhere in the thread but I'm going to completely disagree.

Went to see this last night and thought it was fantastic. The 2 lead performances are as good as you will see and I thought the way it dealt with the subject (which is of course based on real events) was absolutely spot on.

I was hooked from the opening to the end credits. It's a real feel good film with some great moments including some really funny ones although I don't think it's in any way a comedy.

I would give this a comfortable 8.5/10
 
Dont ask me how but only just got around to watching Kubrick's Paths of Glory. Blown away, genius stuff. Hard to believe it was released in 1957 way ahead of its time. The ending was one of the most memorable piece of cinema I've ever seen.
10/10
 
Instant Family (2018)
Genre - Drama / Comedy-drama
IMDb Link - https://m.imdb.com/title/tt7401588/
Starring Mark Wahlberg and
Rose Byrne, a story about a couple, who find themselves in over their heads when they decide to foster three children.
A heart warming family story which deals with many serious issues like parenting, kids in foster care, bonding with children, family and has a very good message too.
Watched it with zero expectations but am glad I did - 7/10
 
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