Film The Redcafe Movie review thread

Ive just watched Creed again and I can't for the life of me work out why it's so good. It's literally a beat by beat unashamed remake, and not even in the way Jurassic World is a "remake with everything bigger and dumber" I mean literally a tonal, visceral and thematic doppleganger in every way, bar the retroactively creepy courting scene where Rocky basically forces himself on an autistic girl (which is understandable - the change, not the forcing)

Even the score is trying incredibly hard to sound like Bill Conti, but just pulling away at the crucial moment with one slightly different note. And even the one time they actually use it, which in itself should be incredibly cheesy and cheap, somehow isn't....

The only thing I can think of to compare it to is, bizarrely, Specific Rim. Another film that is daft as a bag of spiders in curly wigs, with appalling acting and derivative cheese seeping from it's every pore, but despite this is somehow quite good just by sheer force of it's director.
 
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Mockney said:
The only thing I can think of to compare it to is, bizarrely, Specific Rim. Another film that is daft as a bag of spiders in curly wigs, with appalling acting and derivative cheese seeping from it's every pore, but despite this is somehow quite good just by sheer force of it's director.
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How dare you... Ron Perlman, Idris Elba and Charlie Hunnam giving performances of a lifetime. They went full method for that one.
 
Annihilate Now! said:
The Big Short - This is really excellent stuff. How the film managed to get across high-end concepts and allow your average joe to understand elements that led to the recession, and then make it entertaining on top of that is really quite brilliant. The performances are all solid (Carrell is certainly the stand-out), it all moves along at a very fast pace to the point where 2+ hours flew by and you completely forget you're watching a film about Mortgages.

I think my biggest criticism (apart from dodgy wigs) would be McKay's tendancy to use too many stock footage cuts into the film (especially in the first part of the movie) ... almost as if he didn't trust his own screenplay to be entertaining enough on it's own. He really should have done though, as it's one of the best scripts of the year I'd say... funny, interesting, thought-provoking... exactly what it needs to be.
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I really liked it. Particularly enjoyed how 'un-triumphant' the ending was, which I was half dreading as I went through the film. Farkin capitalists.

Minor complaint was that I found Bale's part of the story less engaging than the rest, and thought his performance was just a bit annoying. Didn't help that he had no-one else to interact with, but I'm surprised that he's the one getting the majority of the awards buzz. Carell was the star, miles better than his overacting in Foxcatcher last year.
 
ThierryHenry said:
I really liked it. Particularly enjoyed how 'un-triumphant' the ending was, which I was half dreading as I went through the film. Farkin capitalists.

Minor complaint was that I found Bale's part of the story less engaging than the rest, and thought his performance was just a bit annoying. Didn't help that he had no-one else to interact with, but I'm surprised that he's the one getting the majority of the awards buzz. Carell was the star, miles better than his overacting in Foxcatcher last year.
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This. They should have just let Margot Robbie explain all the capital market stuff instead of getting other people.
 
Hot Fuzz

Funny but no where near funny as it should be. Also could be cut down quite a bit, found it a bit too long.

5/10
 
Ex Machina

Moving over to the Canadian Netflix has opened me up to a lot of movies. Started with this one and quite enjoyed it. I enjoyed the look of it and how they made use of the few cast members but it left something to be desired. Plot wasn't very interesting and how it unraveled wasn't very satisfying. Simply a fine movie that relies on its actors a bit too much. Could work on stage with some creativity.
 
Just watched Reservoir Dogs. Very good movie considering. Although in parts the camera work and editing felt clunky and the setups were odd (Very obvious it was low budget) the dialogue is beautiful, the way he drip feeds the story to you and draws out your focus little by little and the top notch acting keeps you interested. Not much is told (In fact, more happened offscreen then onscreen) but that is worked expertly to keep you interested to find out more. Nice, contained film and an 8/10 IMO. Now to watch Pulp Fiction.
 
Gol123 said:
Just watched Reservoir Dogs. Very good movie considering. Although in parts the camera work and editing felt clunky and the setups were odd (Very obvious it was low budget) the dialogue is beautiful, the way he drip feeds the story to you and draws out your focus little by little and the top notch acting keeps you interested. Not much is told (In fact, more happened offscreen then onscreen) but that is worked expertly to keep you interested to find out more. Nice, contained film and an 8/10 IMO. Now to watch Pulp Fiction.
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I've only watched each one once, but I liked Reservoir dogs more than Pulp Fiction.
 
The Big Short I really enjoyed this when I didn't really expect to with good to very good performances all round and even Ryan Gosling wasn't terrible. The breaking the 4th wall stuff did a good job of explaining the complexity of the deals but did break up the flow of the film. Not sure how you would have done a better job as it both added to and detracted from the film. Well worth a watch. 8/10
 
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The Big Short is easily the best of the late-eary year award bait films I've seen. It's too irreverent to win, and contains no faux-whimsical aspirations of profundity, but it's comfortably the one that engaged and entertained me the most.

Though I'm not sure Gosling needed to be painted like an SNL parody of a Jersey Shore extra.
 
Shame if Natalie Portman is really adamant about never exposing her labia on film. Selfish.
@Rooney in Paris
 
Big Short should be winning, it's campaigned itself into the frontrunner superbly. Spotlight is slipping, and I can't see the big name of Leo finally winning carrying Revenant to win, especially when they aren't fond of rewarding the same people back to back often, whether they are deserving or not. Winning a comedy award did nothing for the Martian. So it's one of those 3.
 
Sigma said:
Hot Fuzz

Funny but no where near funny as it should be. Also could be cut down quite a bit, found it a bit too long.

5/10
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What in the feckity feck!?

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Beasts of No Nation was pretty good, the kid that plays Agu was brilliant, so was the mute kid that plays Striker. Touching little relationship between two child soldiers who happen to kill mercilessly. Idri Elba's hair became very distracting as the film went on. Like a black Ernie McCracken.
 
Spotlight

Very good film that manages to handle its subject matter well. It's very understated for much of it, and almost has more of a documentary feel. Good cast, with plenty of decent performances. I've seen some accusing Ruffalo of overacting, but I think he got it spot on. Managed to convey his frustration/anger with the whole situation perfectly.

8/10
 
Creed - 7/10 - Really enjoyable.

I haven't seen any of the original Rockys, only bits here and there - they look too cheesy for my liking, but this works well as standalone film.

Kind of tempted to give the originals a second chance.
 
MannyB said:
Creed - 7/10 - Really enjoyable.

I haven't seen any of the original Rockys, only bits here and there - they look too cheesy for my liking, but this works well as standalone film.

Kind of tempted to give the originals a second chance.
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Rocky gets cheesy after 2, but you should watch the first one. It's a classic.
 
The Big Short - wow, this is excellent. I'll type up a bit more when I'm on the laptop, but go see this movie. It's brilliantly made, superbly acted. The way the story is told is so refreshing and clever. This is miles better than the Revenant (and I gave that an 8/10, might be a 7 now). This is great stuff. I'll come back and edit this with more detail. 9/10
 
ThierryHenry said:
I really liked it. Particularly enjoyed how 'un-triumphant' the ending was, which I was half dreading as I went through the film. Farkin capitalists.

Minor complaint was that I found Bale's part of the story less engaging than the rest, and thought his performance was just a bit annoying. Didn't help that he had no-one else to interact with, but I'm surprised that he's the one getting the majority of the awards buzz. Carell was the star, miles better than his overacting in Foxcatcher last year.
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The guy Bale played had Asperger's. He was meant to be hard to engage with and awkward.
 
MannyB said:
Creed - 7/10 - Really enjoyable.

I haven't seen any of the original Rockys, only bits here and there - they look too cheesy for my liking, but this works well as standalone film.

Kind of tempted to give the originals a second chance.
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The first one is a gigantic fist pump in film form. Definitely worth another go.
 
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All hail Macbeth!

nice cinematography, but to be honest I don't understand a word they're saying. Bits and pieces there, but I admit I'm reading the Indonesian text in the cinema (which they've done a good job translating it into something coherent). Fassbender and Cotilard I don't find their acting anything other than overreacting. I know it's shakespeare but it's not adapted well into movie imo.

6/10
 
Intruders
3 Thugs get more than they bargained for when they break in to the home of a grieving agoraphobic woman. I thought this was ok. Filmed quite well and acted quite well also, which I did not expect based on the trailer. It had a claustrophobic feel and the suspense was always lingering around each scene. However, DO NOT watch the trailer as it spoils the entire bloody film. Still, a pretty short (90 minute) film for a lazy Sunday afternoon 6/10
 
Mockney said:
Ive just watched Creed again and I can't for the life of me work out why it's so good. It's literally a beat by beat unashamed remake, and not even in the way Jurassic World is a "remake with everything bigger and dumber" I mean literally a tonal, visceral and thematic doppleganger in every way, bar the retroactively creepy courting scene where Rocky basically forces himself on an autistic girl (which is understandable - the change, not the forcing)

Even the score is trying incredibly hard to sound like Bill Conti, but just pulling away at the crucial moment with one slightly different note. And even the one time they actually use it, which in itself should be incredibly cheesy and cheap, somehow isn't....

The only thing I can think of to compare it to is, bizarrely, Specific Rim. Another film that is daft as a bag of spiders in curly wigs, with appalling acting and derivative cheese seeping from it's every pore, but despite this is somehow quite good just by sheer force of it's director.
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It's got a couple of things going for it that elevate it - Coogler obviously being the main one - with how he keeps the plot moving at a brisk pace, writes fully fleshed out characters and the fight scenes/choreography is possibly the best fictional boxing that's ever been commited to screen.

I think another reason the film works is that it isn't a rags to riches story (which is a bit too tried and tested in the genre of sports film.. or indeed, film) - the fact that it's just about Creed trying to earn his place in the world / feel like he belongs is different enough and worthy enoguh to make an impact.
 
Gol123 said:
No Country for Old Men. A masterpiece in nihilism.
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I can't understand why (in the film) so much is made of mankind's apparently escalating passion for mindless violence - like this is a new thing - when so much of McCarthy's writing is concentrated on claiming that wanton aggression is a never-changing aspect of human experience. Blood Meridian makes this completely clear.
 
The Hole (2009)

From Joe Dante of Gremlins fame, so I was expecting it to be good and overall, it didn't disappoint.
It's surprisingly creepy for a kid's film and It puts a lot of supposed horror films to shame in some respects.
Overall, it's worth a watch and is genuinely very good for the first hour or so, it tapers off towards the climax, which was a bit of a let down at the end although it didn't ruin the experience.

If you're scared of clowns, avoid it!

The Revenant:

Leo in the snow.

I really enjoyed it, although I'll concede that it could have been trimmed by 20 minutes or so with no detriment to the film's outcome whatsoever, although we'd have missed some beautiful shots. It was barbaric and beautiful in equal measure and I enjoyed watching Leo's struggles against his injuries and the elements.

Well worth a watch.
 
SteveJ said:
I can't understand why (in the film) so much is made of mankind's apparently escalating passion for mindless violence - like this is a new thing - when so much of McCarthy's writing is concentrated on claiming that wanton aggression is a never-changing aspect of human experience. Blood Meridian makes this completely clear.
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I think it's because NCfOM was set in the 70's (or 80's...can't remember), and Blood Meridian is set in 'more' barbaric times, i.e. No Country is meant to be when man is more rational and less prone to violence.
 
Ah, I see. Cheers for that. :)
 
I didn't
SteveJ said:
I can't understand why (in the film) so much is made of mankind's apparently escalating passion for mindless violence - like this is a new thing - when so much of McCarthy's writing is concentrated on claiming that wanton aggression is a never-changing aspect of human experience. Blood Meridian makes this completely clear.
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I always assumed it was more about a man struggling with the ever changing and more violent world he lived in. Almost as if he had out lived and was too old for the harshness and often evilness of life and how he had grown to yearn for death. Especially considering he just watched a younger man who was a war veteren (like himself) get chewed up and spit out right before his eyes, it was the metaphorical opening of his eyes (And a metaphorical death for him too) and his realisation that he didn't belong anymore. I think that's why they hit home with the mindless violence. Showing the worst of the world (Because in real life there are people like that) as we are seeing it through the narrators eyes (Tommy Lee Jones) who is at an impasse where he is struggling to actually care anymore.

The ending of course shows him starting to pass, to yearn for the past when he was more ignorant to the world and also for death and to see his father in death once again.

As I said, beautifully nihilistic.
 
SteveJ said:
I can't understand why (in the film) so much is made of mankind's apparently escalating passion for mindless violence - like this is a new thing - when so much of McCarthy's writing is concentrated on claiming that wanton aggression is a never-changing aspect of human experience. Blood Meridian makes this completely clear.
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The exchange towards the end holds the key to the film's message for me.
Bell: When did he die?
Ellis: 1909
Bell: No I mean was it right away or in the night
Ellis: I believe it’s that night. She buried him the next mornin’. Diggin’ in that hard old caliche. What you got ain’t nothin new. This country is hard on people. You can’t stop what’s comin’. Ain’t all waitin’ on you. That’s vanity.

Furthermore the book seems to take the sherrif's "in our day" view to almost mocking proportions when he talks of kids with green hair and nose piercings representing moral decay.

Both the film and the novel seem to hold firm to the Mccarthy view that the world and it's inhabitants are intransigently hopeless and brutal.
 
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James Franco as Tommy Wiseau
 
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