Film The Redcafe Movie review thread

Zen said:
Yeah, it's the worst...that and Life Aquatic mid-life crisis for him really. Did something unoriginal with his own spin with Mr. Fox which seemed to have made him refind his mojo, his last two were great, up there with Rushmore and Bottle Rocket for me.

Blue Rain is a cracking little film. Revenge thriller without any flash whatsoever, and just works because it's executed to perfection.
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I really liked the bizarreness of Life Aquatic. The Royal Tenenbaums is my personal favourite of his as it's the perfect combination of his earlier looser style and his later more suffocating style. It also has the best soundtrack.
 
How To Train Your Dragon 2 - Probably the best animated sequel I've ever seen.... granted that's not a massive compliment, but still, I thoroughly enjoyed this. First off, it looks fantastic (apparently Deakins' is a visual consultant for these movies, and it shows) - with some shots being really quite something - it's got some nice laughs, the acting is all fine and it manages to avid some regular story tropes, whilst still managing to remain wholly familiar. Gets a thumbs up from me.
 
DoubleDinhos said:
Boyhood

If there's a better film coming out this year then I can't wait to see it. Masterful filmmaking by Linklater, I might rank it as his best. The scale of the film is totally justified, there's something pretty overwhelming about seeing the passage of time fully dramatised in one viewing experience. What I liked most of all was not watching the boy learn and develop, but seeing how much is glossed over by time, how conflicts are forgotten and life lessons are ignored, and mistakes are repeated. Sublime stuff. 9.5/10
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Would agree with that. Loved the soundtrack and the touches like the development of video games/music players, the boys perving at the lingerie section of a catalogue etc. I found myself laughing more through it then most 'comedies' too.
 
Transformers 4 - Age of extinction

Utter dross. Limp story, non existent screenplay, garbage of dialogues and more predictable than a C grade flick.

Totally destroys any good feelings you may have had of the series till now.

Shite movie

Rating: 1/10.
 
Safety Not Guaranteed

Nah, not for me. Bar the time-travel MacGuffin, which was periphery throughout, a pretty generic indie rom-com. Mark Duplass's character was the only one who was vaguely interesting and didn't feel like an archetype poached from a dozen similar films since the turn of the century. Suffered from that annoying habit most indie films have, in that you get the sense the director is itching to get to montage sections so he can play his favourite bands. The one thing I did like was the pacing, it cut out a lot of the dramatic fat you usually get to create romantic conflicts. 3/10
 
Edgar Allan Pillow said:
Transformers 4 - Age of extinction

Utter dross. Limp story, non existent screenplay, garbage of dialogues and more predictable than a C grade flick.

Totally destroys any good feelings you may have had of the series till now.

Shite movie

Rating: 1/10.
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another dreadful review, for a summer blockbuster, it is really getting slatted.
 
I'm really looking forward to the sequel of Planet of the Apes. Just re-watched it to get in the mood, it was a good film I thought, and everyone (critics and people on here) are saying that the sequel builds on the good stuff from that one and is better in all aspects.
DoubleDinhos said:
Safety Not Guaranteed

Nah, not for me. Bar the time-travel MacGuffin, which was periphery throughout, a pretty generic indie rom-com. Mark Duplass's character was the only one who was vaguely interesting and didn't feel like an archetype poached from a dozen similar films since the turn of the century. Suffered from that annoying habit most indie films have, in that you get the sense the director is itching to get to montage sections so he can play his favourite bands. The one thing I did like was the pacing, it cut out a lot of the dramatic fat you usually get to create romantic conflicts. 3/10
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Ah shame you didn't enjoy it, though it's a bit special so I can understand why. I loved it though, I thought he seemed very real for lack of a better word.
 
Wibble said:
Snowpiercer Korean/Hollywood film of a French graphic novel. Ambitious but didn't quite work. Elements of Brazil are commonplace but the film is nowhere near as coherent. Enjoyable but hugely flawed. 6.5/10
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I thought this film was terrific, it was the closest thing to a Bioshock film. I'll give it a second watch in a month or so and see if I like it as much as first viewing.
 
pauldyson1uk said:
another dreadful review, for a summer blockbuster, it is really getting slatted.
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It really is that bad. I'm watch movies for entertainment value and not usually for critical content, but this one was just so pathetic. Wahlberg is good, but could not pull off the person 'overwhelmed by events' thing that Shia Labeouf pull off so well. The underlying humour is missing and the film is just not fun. Scenes added just so they can perform a cliche scene or give screen time for a product advert. And it's way too long that past halfway, you give up and wish the director can show audience some pity by ending it soon. Sadly not.

Apart from Wahlberg, none of the characters Optimus Prime included even register as important and Bumblebee is just a passing presence throughout the movie. Even the spec effects do not register at all!
 
I'm surprised by all the praise Boyhood is getting, reading about it made me feel the concept was a bit of a gimmick. Will definitely watch it sometime this week.
 
A Bullet For The General

Decent Spaghetti/Zapata Western. Gian Maria Volonté (who I seem to remember as being in every single Spaghetti Western I ever watch, even though apparently he was only in four) plays a Pancho Villa bandit figure who oscillates between fighting for the Mexican revolution, and for his own profit. Some great set-pieces, and some decent political subtext. Klaus Kinski was good as a slightly psychotic bandit who fancies himself a priest, but he has frustratingly little screen time considering the potential of the role. 7/10
 
So, I've just watched Boyhood and it has moved me somewhat undefinably. I am inclined to write a more studied review when I can gather my feelings.

Until then, 10/10.
 
Boyhood - It's a remarkable bit of film making from Linklater... and on the whole a really unique viewing experience. It's not perfect by any means, it may lose you in parts, and some scenes don't work quite as well as others, but ultimately I find it hard it difficult to hold it against an immense amount of enjoyment in watching... and in fact, thinking about it, I find it's imperfections actually to be quite endearing. (life isn't always perfect etc. etc.)
 
Edgar Allan Pillow said:
It really is that bad. I'm watch movies for entertainment value and not usually for critical content, but this one was just so pathetic. Wahlberg is good, but could not pull off the person 'overwhelmed by events' thing that Shia Labeouf pull off so well. The underlying humour is missing and the film is just not fun. Scenes added just so they can perform a cliche scene or give screen time for a product advert. And it's way too long that past halfway, you give up and wish the director can show audience some pity by ending it soon. Sadly not.

Apart from Wahlberg, none of the characters Optimus Prime included even register as important and Bumblebee is just a passing presence throughout the movie. Even the spec effects do not register at all!
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Bays really lost the plot, i think he realises that he isnt a good director and has just become a parody of himself just as a big screw you to his "haters"

Honest i didnt watch the third movie after the shambles of the second and i thought this might be different... boy was i wrong
 
Wibble said:
Snowpiercer Korean/Hollywood film of a French graphic novel. Ambitious but didn't quite work. Elements of Brazil are commonplace but the film is nowhere near as coherent. Enjoyable but hugely flawed. 6.5/10
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Yeah I recall it been a bit pants. But yeah Brazil it clearly wasn't.
 
Brwned said:
Is Planet of the Apes worth seeing in 3D?
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I saw it in 3D, I don't know if it was worth it with nothing to compare it against. But it was one of the better looking 3D films I've seen, never felt gimmicky, didn't need to give my eyes a rest at all.
 
Lola - The second film of Fassbinder's BRD trilogy that I've seen, about the corruption in the post war years and it made several allusions to the old classic The Blue Angel. It wasn't as good as Veronika Voss I thought but was still a fine film. Contrary to the other film which was in black and white, this one had rich neon colours that looked gorgeous at times, the score too...Wong Kar-Wai even used a piece from it in the short 'The Hand'.
 
RedSky said:
I was told it isn't as good as the first? I'll watch it anyway.
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It's a different type of film to the first, whilst still retaining all stuff from the first... which probably makes no sense, but yeah, it's feckin' amazing.
 
I watched the first half hour of The Raid 2 but was a bit disappointed. Felt like Infernal Affairs with more action but less intelligence, and didn't quite have the same dynamism as the first one. Does it pick up afterwards?
 
Bit of a movie weekend:

Rewatched Blood Diamond, and it confirmed my very good impression from a while ago. Really solid movie all around, great acting from Di Caprio and good scenario I thought. Engrossing film with loads of interesting stories developed throughout.

Watched Frozen this morning, perfect lazy Sunday morning Disney film. I enjoyed it and thought it was very good looking, with good themes, songs and just the right amount of comedy to keep it going. I think I enjoyed Tangled more, but in any case both good "Disney princess movies".

Finally watched Prisoners this evening, and I loved it. I seem to recall some had been a bit annoyed about the running time or the last part of the film, I have to say I was really absorbed through the 2hrs30 of the film and wasn't bored once. Jackman and Gylenhaal are both superb, as is Dano, and the rest of the cast is fine as well. Thought Villeneuve's directing was great, gave it a somber, cold and gloomy feel which was just right for the film. Not quite at the level of Mystic River or Zodiac (I actually chuckled when Gylenhaal couldn't solve the maze!), but very good film nonetheless.

One (very) minor disappointment:
right at the end, I would've loved the film to stop with Gylenhaal scoffing after hearing the faint whistle noise, suggesting he was going to follow through. Would've had a slightly more nihilistic feel to it, and would've been more ballsy. Still very good though, and it was nice they didn't finish it with him being discovered and the follow through to all that
 
Can anyone tell me what all the fuss is about Fargo? I'm completely underwhelmed by it.

I don't think I've liked any film from the Coen brothers yet.
 
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