It's very marmite indeed, you'll probably end up having mixed feelings about it as well.
I'm finally able to catch up with some of this years films, I'll try and catch Cold War later tonight and watch the new Coens and Welles on Netflix next week.
Film The Redcafe Movie review thread
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I'm finally able to catch up with some of this years films, I'll try and catch Cold War later tonight and watch the new Coens and Welles on Netflix next week.
Creed 2 is really good the story is much more detailed than the first.
Cold War was a very classy affair, yet at least 20 minutes too short I thought.
Did you enjoy it @Rooney in Paris ? I think I saw an instagram post that you made about it a while ago.
Did you enjoy it @Rooney in Paris ? I think I saw an instagram post that you made about it a while ago.
I loved it. Very classy as you say, loved the use of music in it and the two main actors were excellent, had a very "Hollywood Golden Age movie star" vibe about them (in the best possible way). I thought it was pretty perfect in terms of timing, not overstaying its welcome, grabbing you and keeping you involved throughout. One of my favourite films (if not the favourite) this year. Though I really haven't been to the cinema much this year with all the moving and traveling, it's disgraceful.
A Star Is Born
Had big expectations going into this one. It was disappointing for me. Truly a movie of two halves. the first half is amazing, really touching and very memorable. Then the big duet scene that's in all the marketing material for the film happens and this is where the film peaks. After that, it's pretty much a downward spiral. Feels very manipulative and it's hard to feel anything for Gaga's character because:
The acting and singing was top notch though and there were some decent songs peppered throughout. Shallow is particularly one that I will enjoy for a long time. But overall, this felt very disingenuous 6/10
Had big expectations going into this one. It was disappointing for me. Truly a movie of two halves. the first half is amazing, really touching and very memorable. Then the big duet scene that's in all the marketing material for the film happens and this is where the film peaks. After that, it's pretty much a downward spiral. Feels very manipulative and it's hard to feel anything for Gaga's character because:
The manufactured popstar that the film is so against is exactly what she is in real life.
The acting and singing was top notch though and there were some decent songs peppered throughout. Shallow is particularly one that I will enjoy for a long time. But overall, this felt very disingenuous 6/10
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Buster Scruggs is basically every Cohen Bros movie ever, condensed into a bitesized lunchables snack pack.
The Other Side of The Wind is good in parts - and undoubtedly would’ve been revelatory at the time - and there are some gorgeous shots in the film within a film, but a lot of the mockumentary stuff is incredibly stagey with toe curlingly terrible dialogue. I mean, I know everyone was doing a lot of drugs back then, I haven’t been to that many parties where it’s perfectly normal for people to walk in circles around the person they’re talking to, whilst taking it in turns to let everybody in the room ask invasively dramatic questions... it’s like something out of a Rodgers and Hammerstein number.
I preferred the accompanying doc They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead which is not only really good, but also kinda sets itself up to work as an alternate version of the film itself...
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I think (through weariness, frustration etc etc) that Orson was running short of inspiration in the latter years of his life. Some of his later themes speak as much of vanity & self-loathing as the more explicit 'poison pen love letter to Hollywood' stuff.
Fitting, considering his major theme of many decades: the great but hollow man.
Fitting, considering his major theme of many decades: the great but hollow man.
I've finally got myself to watch "the curious case of Benjamin Button" and gotta say I loved it, it's a wonderful movie.
I was 25 too the first time I watched it...…….Back in 1982
Ballad of Buster Scruggs - I could watch these vignettes all day long. They're slight but combine all the best elements of the Coen Bros filmography. Except the one with Franco, cos he sucks.
Shoplifters - what starts as a sort of lighthearted off-kilter wacky family comedy becomes one of the most morally complex films I've seen all year. Seemingly good people doing awful things for understandable reasons. Will be thinking about it for a while.
Shoplifters - what starts as a sort of lighthearted off-kilter wacky family comedy becomes one of the most morally complex films I've seen all year. Seemingly good people doing awful things for understandable reasons. Will be thinking about it for a while.
Mountains of the Moon
1990 movie starring two actors who are vaguely familiar but I can't quite place as Sir Richard Burton and John Hanning Speke exploring East Africa in their search for the source of the Nile. Not sure how historically accurate it is, the performances are OK and it is beautifully shot throughout, but was in the end a bit unsatisying. 5/10
1990 movie starring two actors who are vaguely familiar but I can't quite place as Sir Richard Burton and John Hanning Speke exploring East Africa in their search for the source of the Nile. Not sure how historically accurate it is, the performances are OK and it is beautifully shot throughout, but was in the end a bit unsatisying. 5/10
The Equalizer 2
I throughly enjoyed the first film and even wanted to watch cinema but didn't in the end. Boy, am I glad I didn't! I couldn't even watch the end. There is no reasonable plot or anything of significance happening at any point in the film. 3/10.
I throughly enjoyed the first film and even wanted to watch cinema but didn't in the end. Boy, am I glad I didn't! I couldn't even watch the end. There is no reasonable plot or anything of significance happening at any point in the film. 3/10.
Turn brain off and watch dragons rip shit up.
Yeah I was pretty disappointed as well, just a carbon copy of the first movie.
The Predator (2018)
Possibly the worst film that I have ever seen.
Possibly the worst film that I have ever seen.
The Predator (2018)
I so wanted to like this , the first one was a classic, this was just horrible, acting story line were dreadful , no redeeming quantities what so ever.
2/10
I so wanted to like this , the first one was a classic, this was just horrible, acting story line were dreadful , no redeeming quantities what so ever.
2/10
Our House
A young genius accidentally invents a device that amplifies the paranormal activity within his family's house, possibly bringing back the spirits of loved ones, and unleashing things far worse. Starts super sloooooow and the first act was a drag. It kept me watching because the performances were good and the premise was just about intriguing enough but the payoff lets it down big time. CGI ghosts just don't do it for me and that's all it had in the end. There's a good film in there somewhere, just needed better pacing and more budget 4/10
A young genius accidentally invents a device that amplifies the paranormal activity within his family's house, possibly bringing back the spirits of loved ones, and unleashing things far worse. Starts super sloooooow and the first act was a drag. It kept me watching because the performances were good and the premise was just about intriguing enough but the payoff lets it down big time. CGI ghosts just don't do it for me and that's all it had in the end. There's a good film in there somewhere, just needed better pacing and more budget 4/10
Agreed theses 3 are a must to watch.
Did I get a recommendation for Dark City from here? Otherwise dunno how it ended up on my Netflix list. Anyways, it was shite.
I watched that recently too. Was pretty shit.
Stop recommending good flicks to the guy.
Cam
Alice, an ambitious camgirl, wakes up one day to discover she's been replaced on her show with an exact replica of herself. Very powerful opening scene but the rest of the first act is really slow, which is expected from these types of films. Once the inciting incident happens, it gets quite intriguing and kept me hooked. However, the final explanation of the premise needed to be tighter. It finished really vague and I had to go online to look for an explanation, and even then, most theories I found were tenuous. Has boobs 6/10
Alice, an ambitious camgirl, wakes up one day to discover she's been replaced on her show with an exact replica of herself. Very powerful opening scene but the rest of the first act is really slow, which is expected from these types of films. Once the inciting incident happens, it gets quite intriguing and kept me hooked. However, the final explanation of the premise needed to be tighter. It finished really vague and I had to go online to look for an explanation, and even then, most theories I found were tenuous. Has boobs 6/10
The one with Rufus Sewell and Kiefer Sutherland? Its one of my favourite movies, love the cross between film noir and dreamy sci-fi. I can get why not everyone would like it but I found it thoroughly engaging and very mysterious.
Aquaman
It's not bad, one of the better DCEU ones but that's not saying much. The humour was cringe. Visually stunning and very ambitious. Don't think the actor can lead a movie. Met James Wan after the movie so was giddy like a child. A step in the right direction 6/10
It's not bad, one of the better DCEU ones but that's not saying much. The humour was cringe. Visually stunning and very ambitious. Don't think the actor can lead a movie. Met James Wan after the movie so was giddy like a child. A step in the right direction 6/10
Right, I've got Grabbers for tonight. It'd better be good, you bastards.
Shoplifters is legit fantastic.
I've been working on a scientific formula for watching films and I think it's now complete. It's this; if Jason Momoa is in it then it's most likely not very good. I call it the Jason Momoa is crap theory.
I've been on something of a late 80's/early 90's movie binge recently. I didn't intend to be, it just kind of happened.
Crocodile Dundee
Still great and I'll still roundhouse anyone that says it isn't. It's a fun enjoyable romp about a man that likes to shit in bushes going to New York. 8/10
The Princess Bride
Speaking of fun enjoyable romps. Cary Elwes at his best, which probably isn't much of an advertisement really. A good, clever film that's aged well. 9/10
Willow
It's not great, but it's not terrible either. Joanne Whalley may have been the woman that first sparked the fires of my desire back in the day. Which is a bit of a startling realisation and makes me feel old. It's just kind of middle of the road fantasy with some nice ideas. At least it didn't have Jason Momoa. 6/10
Bram Stoker's Dracula
Half of it looks like a weird play. Bits of it have Keanu Reeves and Wynona Ryder doing English accents. Most of it is weird. The vast majority of it is shit. Some of it looks like an old Disney cartoon. Gary Oldman is completely over the top, but it kind of works. Anthony Hopkins appears to be in a comedy that no one else is participating in. Which is their problem, not his. Cary Elwes was in it. 3/10
Night of the Living Dead (The early 90's Tom Savini version)
I loved this when I was a kid, now I see some of the acting was completely over the top crap. But it still has a charm to it and still holds a place in my zombie loving heart. It's enthusiastically shit in a way that just works. You can totally see that woman's nipples too. Yoyos! You bunch of yoyos! It uses yoyo as an insult, what's not to love? 9/10
Fractured
Not from the early 90's or late 80's! It's from like 2016 or some other nebulous post 2010 year, they are all the same really. It's recent. It's also quite good. It's about a couple that go to an old house in the English countryside and become the victims of sinister forces. It's a horror and I can really say no more for it would spoil the fun. Worth a watch if you fancy a horror and have nothing else to watch. No one get's called a yoyo which is a minus. No Carey Elwes, which gets it neither a plus nor a minus. No Jason Momoa is a plus. It might have been a lot funnier if the leads were Keanu Reeves and Wynona Ryder reprising their English accents. Alas it's just an enjoyable horror film. 7/10
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OH MY GOD!
Creed 2 is even better than the 1st one in my opinion.
It is shit in the same way that The Day After Tomorrow and Armageddon are shit. You need to be in the mood to take your brain out and watch shit blow up or freeze or whatever.
Films have got faster and faster. This wasn't considered a slow film at the time by any means. I love it BTW.
Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Highly entertaining with a great cast and great performances. But like reading a series of good short stories not being a good as a great novel this isn't as good as a great film. Still well worth a watch as the parts range from good to great. 7/10
Highly entertaining with a great cast and great performances. But like reading a series of good short stories not being a good as a great novel this isn't as good as a great film. Still well worth a watch as the parts range from good to great. 7/10
Why the feck is Rich Evans hanging out with Julia Roberts?!
Halloween (2018)
I've never been a big fan of this franchise. I liked the original but do feel it's a bit over hyped. The rest fall on a scale of average to awful. This is probably better than all the sequels and remakes but still, didn't love out. Had tropes that annoyed me even back in the day, the characters make stupid decisions, many plot holes etc. And all that is present here. I did however like the way they paid homage to the original, was very clever in those moments. The film just felt messy, rather than a good narrative, it felt like a set of murder set pieces but it had its moments and the kills were quite gruesome 6/10
Venom
Wow. Tom Hardy was beyond shit in this. If he's not careful, he'll become an internet meme like the great Nic Cage. The film was so flat, the comedy didn't work (except once or twice), the action scenes were forgettable, the story was generic etc. Once the villain came into play, it got a little better 4/10
I've never been a big fan of this franchise. I liked the original but do feel it's a bit over hyped. The rest fall on a scale of average to awful. This is probably better than all the sequels and remakes but still, didn't love out. Had tropes that annoyed me even back in the day, the characters make stupid decisions, many plot holes etc. And all that is present here. I did however like the way they paid homage to the original, was very clever in those moments. The film just felt messy, rather than a good narrative, it felt like a set of murder set pieces but it had its moments and the kills were quite gruesome 6/10
Venom
Wow. Tom Hardy was beyond shit in this. If he's not careful, he'll become an internet meme like the great Nic Cage. The film was so flat, the comedy didn't work (except once or twice), the action scenes were forgettable, the story was generic etc. Once the villain came into play, it got a little better 4/10
Been meaning to watch this for a while, might give it a lash tonight.
The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
Another great comedy from Wes Anderson with his trademark cartonish cinematography and preposterous humor. Pretty damn fun movie tbh.
8/10
Another great comedy from Wes Anderson with his trademark cartonish cinematography and preposterous humor. Pretty damn fun movie tbh.
8/10
Manchester By The Sea
Just watched it yesterday, damn it's so hard to watch but it's absolutely amazing. There are many scenes where it's absolutely heart-wrenching that I almost cried. Casey Affleck is brilliant
9/10
Just watched it yesterday, damn it's so hard to watch but it's absolutely amazing. There are many scenes where it's absolutely heart-wrenching that I almost cried. Casey Affleck is brilliant
9/10
Ditto