I liked Grave Encounters and As Above So Below. Both very enjoyable. The first Paranormal Activity was good, it's the ones after that where it went completely to shit when they tried to explain things.
Film The Redcafe Movie review thread
- Thread starter golden_blunder
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@Peyroteo, stop talking about Ronaldo in the football forum and start talking about Joao Cesar Monteiro in this one instead. I watched The Last Dive yesterday and Recollections of the Yellow House today. Pure irreverent genius.
I've been wanting to see this film for years. Where is it available?
I really need to rewatch that, loved it the first time.
I go through phases of watching a movie every day or going weeks without one which is what's happening now. I'll make sure to write some reviews here once I get back to it.
Teen Titans Go! To The Movies
Fun feature length version of the cartoon. Has something for kids and adults alike. Good cameos and had me laugh a bunch of times. Just wish the story was a little bigger in scope. Probably one of the better DC superhero films 6.5/10
Fun feature length version of the cartoon. Has something for kids and adults alike. Good cameos and had me laugh a bunch of times. Just wish the story was a little bigger in scope. Probably one of the better DC superhero films 6.5/10
The plot and dialogue kind of clunks along and I don't know if I cared anymore about the overall themes than I did about things like Interstellar or Arrival, even with its more scabrous political slant. I found it pretty high concept and it's treading some overly familiar themes* (reproductive autonomy and purpose via cosmic debasement). Which perhaps makes it an interesting film because I loved it.
It's got the usual rhythmic storytelling, dazzling set pieces and commitment to cinema as visual actualisation, that sets her apart. I didn't regret a second of the overlong running time, whilst also acknowledging that I would have smashed it up if some vastly inferior filmmaker (Nolan or Villeneuve) had served up their versions of the same script.
It's the way she tells 'em.
*To serve man, Alien 3, Solaris, Handmaid's Tale, Never Let Me Go. (no Peterson-esque vagueness here.)
Andre 3000 only ever seems like Andre 3000 to me, he seems to have an inherent boldness of character that doesn't lend itself to acting diverse roles. Nice film guys but what was with the new Outkast verse in the middle of the script?
Cheers!
I kinda forgot it was him due to the low key nature of his performance and getup. So used to see him with some sort of a chic hat on, though there was a moment when he said something like 'black people die first in space too" when I felt oh yeah it's him.
Howl
British horror film involving a late night train breaking down out in some woods outside London and being attacked by werewolves. It had Shauna MacDonald from The Descent 1 and 2 and a small roll for Sean Pertwee from Dog Soldiers the greatest Werewolf film ever made. It wasn't brilliant, but was a perfectly watchable. Creature effects started off shoddy but got better as the film went on. They ended up looking creepy enough and not like traditional werewolves where they would have falled down compared to Dog Soldiers most likely. The one woman that turns kind of ruined it though, her werewolf acting was straight out of a Michael Jackson video. The human interactions weren't great, but that's not why I was watching it.
It does that thing though where stupid people infuriate me. You've been attacked by a monster, you're on a train, it's covered in metal. Pull things apart and make weapons! Then they do find axes, tools and whatnot, but randomly forget they have them. One guy going outside with a massive fire ax and a torch. If you need a torch then take something you can swing one handed you bellend! Jesus it infuriates me. Also barricading doors with bits of metal, where did they get it? Because those carriages were still fully intact.
6/10
Halloween (the sequel to the first that's also called Halloween and isn't Halloween 2 because there's already a Halloween 2...)
I saw this in the cinema and loved it. Watched it again in 4k and loved it again. It falls down a bit towards the end with it's logic, but other than that it's a worthy sequel to the original which is my favourite horror film ever. It makes Michael scary again in that he's not controlled by a cult or hell bent on killing his family. He just kills because it's what he does, Lori means nothing to him, he's only trying to kill her because she's there. It could be anyone, it could be you...
9/10
I also tried watching something on Netflix I think it was called Welcome Home. It starred Aaron Paul who looks like a giant midget and some woman called Emily Ratajkowski who's acting ability suggested she would probably get naked at some point. Shower scene at the start, all I got was sideboob and I wasn't putting up with it any longer after that. Awful acting.
British horror film involving a late night train breaking down out in some woods outside London and being attacked by werewolves. It had Shauna MacDonald from The Descent 1 and 2 and a small roll for Sean Pertwee from Dog Soldiers the greatest Werewolf film ever made. It wasn't brilliant, but was a perfectly watchable. Creature effects started off shoddy but got better as the film went on. They ended up looking creepy enough and not like traditional werewolves where they would have falled down compared to Dog Soldiers most likely. The one woman that turns kind of ruined it though, her werewolf acting was straight out of a Michael Jackson video. The human interactions weren't great, but that's not why I was watching it.
It does that thing though where stupid people infuriate me. You've been attacked by a monster, you're on a train, it's covered in metal. Pull things apart and make weapons! Then they do find axes, tools and whatnot, but randomly forget they have them. One guy going outside with a massive fire ax and a torch. If you need a torch then take something you can swing one handed you bellend! Jesus it infuriates me. Also barricading doors with bits of metal, where did they get it? Because those carriages were still fully intact.
6/10
Halloween (the sequel to the first that's also called Halloween and isn't Halloween 2 because there's already a Halloween 2...)
I saw this in the cinema and loved it. Watched it again in 4k and loved it again. It falls down a bit towards the end with it's logic, but other than that it's a worthy sequel to the original which is my favourite horror film ever. It makes Michael scary again in that he's not controlled by a cult or hell bent on killing his family. He just kills because it's what he does, Lori means nothing to him, he's only trying to kill her because she's there. It could be anyone, it could be you...
9/10
I also tried watching something on Netflix I think it was called Welcome Home. It starred Aaron Paul who looks like a giant midget and some woman called Emily Ratajkowski who's acting ability suggested she would probably get naked at some point. Shower scene at the start, all I got was sideboob and I wasn't putting up with it any longer after that. Awful acting.
You should watch his Silvestre (1981) if you haven't already.
How had I not heard about this...
Totally agree. I've loved some if Dyson's stories but this episodic adventure seemed a pale imitation of the horror anthologies of the 70's.
The stories offer little more than some jump scares in creepy locations.
The whole teenagers messing around near the railway line just felt a bit too close to Jamie Bulger to be uncomfortable but not actually engaging.
Do yourself a favour and watch one of the 70's classics rather than this pallid effort.
Probably because you don't even register French-ish films, u heathen!
Most are shit in fairness.
As is everything.
The Neighbor
A middle-aged man in a stagnant marriage finds his life upended when an attractive young woman and her seemingly abusive husband move in next door. Well shot and a good central performance by the ever reliable William Fichtner but the pace was lagging with a flat ending 3/10
A middle-aged man in a stagnant marriage finds his life upended when an attractive young woman and her seemingly abusive husband move in next door. Well shot and a good central performance by the ever reliable William Fichtner but the pace was lagging with a flat ending 3/10
Long Shot
Kind of woke version of Pretty Woman with the roles reversed and a commentary on both politics and gender politics in general. I enjoyed it for what it was with Charlize Theron carrying the movie and Seth Rogan providing the Seth Rogan with obligatory f bombs, drug references and slapstick. Cameos from Andy Serkis as a slimy Rupert Murdoch media mogul and Bob Odenkirk as an egotistical US President come off kind of stupid but don't look out of place.
Kind of woke version of Pretty Woman with the roles reversed and a commentary on both politics and gender politics in general. I enjoyed it for what it was with Charlize Theron carrying the movie and Seth Rogan providing the Seth Rogan with obligatory f bombs, drug references and slapstick. Cameos from Andy Serkis as a slimy Rupert Murdoch media mogul and Bob Odenkirk as an egotistical US President come off kind of stupid but don't look out of place.
I agree on this. It was really talked up so I checked it out a few months ago and was very disappointed. Too many similar films been made over the years and this didn’t stand out.
Shot Caller was pretty good, nothing new really but worked quite well overall. Good film.
Avengers: Endgame
After the excellent Infinity war, an utter incoherent shambles of a film. 3 hours of cheesy and shameless fan service to adolescent fan boys. A complete and utter let down on almost every level imaginable.
4/10
After the excellent Infinity war, an utter incoherent shambles of a film. 3 hours of cheesy and shameless fan service to adolescent fan boys. A complete and utter let down on almost every level imaginable.
4/10
Agreed. Good film. Quite bleak, but recommended.
Greta
Decent thriller with a run-time that's just about right about a lonely widow who befriends a young working Boston girl Frankie (Chloe Grace Moretz) who has recently moved to Manhattan to be with her friend and move on with her life following the death of her mother. As the relationship with the titular widow unfolds, Frankie realizes to her horror that not everything is as it seems in this lonely woman's world.
However this is just the beginning of her problems as Greta is not so keen to call time on her new-found best bud. Resorting to more and more drastic measures to keep the relationship on track, we see Greta becoming increasingly unhinged. Not willing to take no for an answer, Frankie finds her life being consumed by this crazed woman. Isabelle Huppert does a sterling job as the granny from hell, playing it straight and simmering along nicely into madness without going over the top as some of these characters tend to do. Moretz puts in a very satisfying performance too.
The film is devoid of the atmospheric themes that you tend to find in these chillers such as the lack of lighting, minimal soundtrack and those jump in your seat moments. What we have here though is a slow burner not intending to shock or give the viewer a sense of impending dread but more of an examination of the relationship between Greta and Frankie and the question of who will ultimately come out on top. We get the usual back story insights on the main characters as the story unfolds. Apart from one mini reveal at the end though it's pretty standard fare, done by the numbers but a good watch nonetheless.
I'm giving this a 7/10.
Avengers: Endgame
Well, what can I say. After so much hype, I must say that I am feeling a little underwhelmed and very disappointed. This is what you get when you have so many leading characters and no idea what to do with them in any meaningful way. Coming in at a whopping 3 hours, the film surprisingly didn't feel like it though Act I dragged on a bit as the world, and the Avengers come to terms with the 'Decimation'. The first time any of the Marvel movies has spent a good chunk of a film developing the characters and committing to story-telling just felt unnecessary and was way too long, although it did set the mood and highlight the helplessness and despair of the once powerful Avengers.
Without giving anything away, for those familiar with Back to the Future Pt II, you get an idea of what happens in Act II. However this was Endgame at it's most messiest and jumbled. The story seemed to lose all cohesion during this part and although necessary to set up the final Act, it seemed rushed was quite simply all over the place, a little contrived and very lazy. The final showdown however is probably the biggest let down of all. We've had 20-odd films in the MCU leading us up to this point. Marvel had the chance to finish this phase and go out with an almighty bang but barely managed to muster up a whimper.
Don't get me wrong, the effects were amazing and they have certainly come a long way with the rendering of the facial features and expressions. But this was half as good as Infinity Wars. I get that if they did all the main characters justice, the film would have had to be at least 5 hours long. But to reduce the Hulk to just a bit of comic relief and using Captain Marvel just to hasten the showdown at the end was just criminal. This was a chance for Marvel to unleash the full force of the Avengers but sadly they dropped the ball here...and now it's over. It's really frustrating that Marvel tends to nerf it's super-heroes and render them a bit one-dimensional, but it's no different with Wonder Woman, Aquaman etc. to be fair.
Two steps backwards from Infinity Wars and not as good as Thor: Ragnarok or Civil War, this will surely rake it in at the Box Office but will leave viewers quite deflated. Don't be expecting any stellar standout performances from any of the Avengers, though Nebula was probably my personal favourite character in this movie.
I'm giving this a 6/10.
Decent thriller with a run-time that's just about right about a lonely widow who befriends a young working Boston girl Frankie (Chloe Grace Moretz) who has recently moved to Manhattan to be with her friend and move on with her life following the death of her mother. As the relationship with the titular widow unfolds, Frankie realizes to her horror that not everything is as it seems in this lonely woman's world.
However this is just the beginning of her problems as Greta is not so keen to call time on her new-found best bud. Resorting to more and more drastic measures to keep the relationship on track, we see Greta becoming increasingly unhinged. Not willing to take no for an answer, Frankie finds her life being consumed by this crazed woman. Isabelle Huppert does a sterling job as the granny from hell, playing it straight and simmering along nicely into madness without going over the top as some of these characters tend to do. Moretz puts in a very satisfying performance too.
The film is devoid of the atmospheric themes that you tend to find in these chillers such as the lack of lighting, minimal soundtrack and those jump in your seat moments. What we have here though is a slow burner not intending to shock or give the viewer a sense of impending dread but more of an examination of the relationship between Greta and Frankie and the question of who will ultimately come out on top. We get the usual back story insights on the main characters as the story unfolds. Apart from one mini reveal at the end though it's pretty standard fare, done by the numbers but a good watch nonetheless.
I'm giving this a 7/10.
Avengers: Endgame
Well, what can I say. After so much hype, I must say that I am feeling a little underwhelmed and very disappointed. This is what you get when you have so many leading characters and no idea what to do with them in any meaningful way. Coming in at a whopping 3 hours, the film surprisingly didn't feel like it though Act I dragged on a bit as the world, and the Avengers come to terms with the 'Decimation'. The first time any of the Marvel movies has spent a good chunk of a film developing the characters and committing to story-telling just felt unnecessary and was way too long, although it did set the mood and highlight the helplessness and despair of the once powerful Avengers.
Without giving anything away, for those familiar with Back to the Future Pt II, you get an idea of what happens in Act II. However this was Endgame at it's most messiest and jumbled. The story seemed to lose all cohesion during this part and although necessary to set up the final Act, it seemed rushed was quite simply all over the place, a little contrived and very lazy. The final showdown however is probably the biggest let down of all. We've had 20-odd films in the MCU leading us up to this point. Marvel had the chance to finish this phase and go out with an almighty bang but barely managed to muster up a whimper.
Don't get me wrong, the effects were amazing and they have certainly come a long way with the rendering of the facial features and expressions. But this was half as good as Infinity Wars. I get that if they did all the main characters justice, the film would have had to be at least 5 hours long. But to reduce the Hulk to just a bit of comic relief and using Captain Marvel just to hasten the showdown at the end was just criminal. This was a chance for Marvel to unleash the full force of the Avengers but sadly they dropped the ball here...and now it's over. It's really frustrating that Marvel tends to nerf it's super-heroes and render them a bit one-dimensional, but it's no different with Wonder Woman, Aquaman etc. to be fair.
Two steps backwards from Infinity Wars and not as good as Thor: Ragnarok or Civil War, this will surely rake it in at the Box Office but will leave viewers quite deflated. Don't be expecting any stellar standout performances from any of the Avengers, though Nebula was probably my personal favourite character in this movie.
I'm giving this a 6/10.
arctic. Nads Nikkelsen crawling about the snow for 1 hour and a half trying to survive. It's like the one about the rugby team but with less people and more bears. Familiar survival genre stuff but still quite fun. The movie event of a lifetime.
Robert Altman's Popeye. Disney joined the film as part of a two-picture co-production deal with Paramount. The film grossed US$6,000,000 on its opening weekend in the U.S., and made US$32,000,000 after 32 days. The film earned $49,823,037 at the United States box office—more than double the film's budget—and a worldwide total of US$60,000,000.: Opening Weekend: $6,310,520 (901 theaters, $7,004 average), % of Total Gross: 12.7%, Domestic Total Gross: $49,823,037, Budget: $20 million, (estimated) Rentals: $24.6 million. Putting it 98th highest grossing comic book movie. Film was kind of neat.
the set they built for this still exists as a tourist attraction in Malta, for some reason
Yeah I read about that. The whole production for all it's flaws is really quite fascinating and I would have skipped over the film entirely if someone hadn't put me on to it. But also money.
I Trapped The Devil is a story about a man who has trapped the devil. I watched it because its title is the premise of one of my favourite Twilight Zone eps. It's the same thing but less good and longer and cheaper. To its credit it has a couple of interesting shots, but as much as I like to see a bunch of amatuers take an idea and spin it out on a shoestring, there seems to be a glut of these slick-imaged, digitally produced wonky films that do nothing but approximate the bigger budget indie junk. A real lack of creativity and craftsmanship from top to bottom in this biz it seems and we've been fooled into settling for cardboard cinema. Very few good films, very few bad films, mostly safe homogeneous nothingness. I'm off now to give a standing ovation to some money.
BlacKKKlansman
Tells the incredibly surreal true story of Ron Stallworth, an African American police officer who managed to infiltrate the KKK in the late 70's. Directed by Spike Lee who returns with another brilliant visceral depiction of KKK (Malcolm X the other). Here, Lee manages to manages to comically deride the KKK throughout, tearing apart the racist propaganda "Birth of a Nation" and in the opening scenes we see Alec Baldwin play Dr Kennebrew Beauregard where he fumbles over his lines with said film playing in the background, it sets up the dialogue and tone for what we are about to experience for the remainder of the story.
Lee manages to balance disgusting racist insults with nicely timed comedic moments to throughout and the story is a slow burner and builds to one particular incident. It held my interest throughout as the story is remarkable and after we get our pay off Lee adds in some modern day incidents to tie in with how our society sadly hasn't evolved all that much from the 1970s and clips of David Duke (Former head of the KKK) giving his idiotic rants after the Charlottesville car attack in 2017.
Probably one of Lee's best movies ever for me, a solid 8/10
Tells the incredibly surreal true story of Ron Stallworth, an African American police officer who managed to infiltrate the KKK in the late 70's. Directed by Spike Lee who returns with another brilliant visceral depiction of KKK (Malcolm X the other). Here, Lee manages to manages to comically deride the KKK throughout, tearing apart the racist propaganda "Birth of a Nation" and in the opening scenes we see Alec Baldwin play Dr Kennebrew Beauregard where he fumbles over his lines with said film playing in the background, it sets up the dialogue and tone for what we are about to experience for the remainder of the story.
Lee manages to balance disgusting racist insults with nicely timed comedic moments to throughout and the story is a slow burner and builds to one particular incident. It held my interest throughout as the story is remarkable and after we get our pay off Lee adds in some modern day incidents to tie in with how our society sadly hasn't evolved all that much from the 1970s and clips of David Duke (Former head of the KKK) giving his idiotic rants after the Charlottesville car attack in 2017.
Probably one of Lee's best movies ever for me, a solid 8/10
Is Righteous Kill as bad as people make out?
It's pretty bad, yeah.
Damn.
Thanks.
Thanks.
FFS Steve, stay away from the bargain bins and watch some classy gothic horror instead!
*hides copy of The Departed*
I watched this on the plane this week and agree with most of what you say. I just really didn't like the end and the links to Charlottesville, for me it felt forced and unnecessary. But it's a good film overall, and well acted. I really like Adam Driver.
I get what you mean, I guess he was just using a modern day example where racism is still quite clearly a massive issue and David Duke behind a lot of it.
The Dark
An undead teenage girl befriends a blind boy that she meets in a forest she haunts and hunts in. Both have been victims of unimaginable abuse, and each finds solace in the other. There may be a chance of light at the end of their tunnel, but it will come with a body count. Shot with confidence and well acted but feck me this was boring as hell. So slowly paced and a slog to get through 2/10
Avengers Endgame
Don't want to spoil anything so will just say that I loved the first hour. The second hour was a drag, could have easily been shaved down to 30 minutes. The final hour was cheesy but also fun. Overall, it had great moments but also had a tonne of plot holes, which you have to look past to enjoy the movie 6.5/10
Southbound
Five interlocking tales of terror follow the fates of a group of weary travellers who confront their worst nightmares - and darkest secrets - over one long night on a desolate stretch of desert highway. Seen this before but forgot all about it. Decent movie with some interesting stories and paced really well. I'd recommend this for someone with 90 minutes to spare 7/10
An undead teenage girl befriends a blind boy that she meets in a forest she haunts and hunts in. Both have been victims of unimaginable abuse, and each finds solace in the other. There may be a chance of light at the end of their tunnel, but it will come with a body count. Shot with confidence and well acted but feck me this was boring as hell. So slowly paced and a slog to get through 2/10
Avengers Endgame
Don't want to spoil anything so will just say that I loved the first hour. The second hour was a drag, could have easily been shaved down to 30 minutes. The final hour was cheesy but also fun. Overall, it had great moments but also had a tonne of plot holes, which you have to look past to enjoy the movie 6.5/10
Southbound
Five interlocking tales of terror follow the fates of a group of weary travellers who confront their worst nightmares - and darkest secrets - over one long night on a desolate stretch of desert highway. Seen this before but forgot all about it. Decent movie with some interesting stories and paced really well. I'd recommend this for someone with 90 minutes to spare 7/10
Gone Baby Gone (2007)
8.5/10
Really excellent and understated film, featuring a great performance by Amy Ryan.Wikipedia said:
8.5/10
The Town (2010)
Pretty standard, though good, heist movie.
7/10
Pretty standard, though good, heist movie.
7/10