Film The Redcafe Movie review thread

Wibble

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The Deer Hunter

Seen it before of course. For some reason decided to subject myself to the entire thing again last night, thinking maybe that I’d missed what is so great about it on previous viewings. But no, apart from the obvious scene I still find it almost unwatchable.

Boring 4/10
I loved it when I saw it on release but watching it again is excruciating. Even the obvious scene is terrible.
 

Wibble

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I don’t understand the acclaim regarding My Octopus Teacher. If I wanted hi-res underwater shots with some guy going on about his feelings, I’d put Planet Earth on mute and listen to Dashboard Confessionals. DNF/10
Anthropomorphic bollocks. I hated it despite the great footage.
 

Nou_Camp99

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Any movie from the Marvel Universe is a 3 out of 10 from me. My lad is nearly 7 so I have started to watch them with him as he loves superheroes as you're supposed to at that age.

They are incredibly successful movies I realise but they are literally all the same. It's just 2hrs of explosions and special effects. When you have seen one of them you've seen them all for me.
 

Deery

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The Notebook

Wasn’t expecting much when I switched it on not my kind of thing at all but sat through the whole thing and it wasn’t too bad at all. If anyone is thinking of a Valentine’s Day movie to watch that won’t get you reaching for the remote after 10 minutes maybe this the one for you.

5/10
 

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All-Star Superman (2011)

1/10 stars
Review from IMDB

I'm one of those people who having enjoying a so-bad-it's-good movie, still give that movie a low rating, and after watching this dross, I have half a mind to petition for this site to have a zero(0) rating. This...ahem...movie, amply deserves it.

A few months ago I asked for recommendations for newish Superman comics. One of them was All Star Superman. Sigh. I don't think Superman comics are compatible with my sensibilities, let's put it that way. I also think Batman both in comic book form(Dark Knight Returns) and in Nolan's offerings, are absolutely laughable, so I'm not a Bat fan either. I'll still try to wade through the myriad comic books regarding Superman because there must be something that will click with me. Superman is supposed to be a very alien but also very down to earth type of guy. This should make him interesting and also be identifiable with.

Then why, if this is the resume of a new fangled comic book, why did I find Clark Kent a sissy and even more ridiculous than the much maligned Tobey Maguire's emotive Peter Parker in Spider Man 3? Note to the director; close ups of your character acting abashed or some kind of thoughtful or whatever, that may go down well in a comic book(and in my humble opinion it rarely does, actually) but do avoid this in a movie, especially given this Clark Kent's resemblance to a kid with cookies stuffed in his face. Frankly he doesn't even look like a character from anime. He instead resembles someone from "amar chitra katha"(google it).

I have no idea what timbre is ideal to voice Superman so I'll give Denton the benefit of the doubt. Lois Lane however falls flat in the hands of Christina Hendricks. What's more, the former is drawn very, very plainly. If this was a real actress she would never get cast as one of the leads. Hey I've just realized something. This movie took 76 minutes from my life. I think I'll cut this review short, okay?

There were a few, surreal, times when I honestly thought the dialog between Superman and Samson and his pal were intentionally funny. They were utterly ridiculous, beyond cheese. I don't know what to make of the Ultra Sphinx. Why give him that tail, groan.

I had always thought that the best Superman story had to lack one crucial ingredient, Lex Luthor. He never should be a threat to Superman, no matter how rich, intelligent, and ruthless he is. Parasite and those Kryptonians had bizarre cameos. Same for Martha Kent. This movie makes Harry Potter movies seem independent of their source material. And those robots made by Superman, oh my! They irreparably remind me of the relationship between God and humans. Superman gave them not only intelligence, but also remorse, the wish for atonement? Laugh out loud!

But the biggest laugh was reserved for that 10 watt Sun, Solaris."Mercy!" That will be the last word.
 

AaronRedDevil

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The Deer Hunter

Seen it before of course. For some reason decided to subject myself to the entire thing again last night, thinking maybe that I’d missed what is so great about it on previous viewings. But no, apart from the obvious scene I still find it almost unwatchable.

Boring 4/10
Glad it’s not just me. Jesus it was boring.
 

Vidyoyo

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Just copying some of my recent letterbox'd reviews:

Achilles and the Tortoise - Takeshi Kitano

I especially love Kitano’s commentary on how creating art can drive people to maddening lengths. In (main character) Machisu, we have a tragic figure; a person who means well but can’t see beyond his limitations. There's tongue in cheek criticism of critics too, who are so far up their own backsides that they find fault with the only piece he ever sells. It's a little rough around the edges but playful/good-natured. A seemingly personal take on Kitano's own relationship with the art/film world.

Rhapsody in August - Akira Kurosawa

Enjoyed this. It has plenty of bold themes about history and anti-militarism but keeps things fairly simple. As with Kurosawa's other late movies (e.g. Dreams and Madayayo) it's interesting to see his message about not forgetting the past. The ending isn’t particularly good I must say (it's a bit weird) but the parts before certanly it leave a strong impression. I mean, who knew Richard Gere could remember lines of broken Japanese so well? Not me that’s for sure! Great.

A Bride for Rip Van Winkle - Shunji Iwai


An astute take on the difficulty of being honest in today's world. Through Nanami and Mashiro, we have two strong characters who hide their true selves in a bid to fit in better, particularly Nanami whose addiction to social media deftly accounts for how much freer she feels expressing herself online (irony permitting!). It ends up lamenting much about modern Japanese culture, especially the commoditization of social connection.

Turtles are Surprisingly Good Swimmers - I forget the director

Granted it doesn't address many 'deep' questions but it is in its own way quite philosophical. It asks us to consider why people might look for ways to escape the daily grind. In Suzume and Peacock we have characters who delight as much as they confuse. There's plenty of laugh-out-loud moments to enjoy—my favourite being when Suzume runs into a spade man (yes, literally a man with a spade for a head!). Overall, a wonderfully fun film.
 

Dirty Schwein

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Wonder Woman 84
Wow. Probably one of the worst superhero films I've ever seen, and I've seen some shit. If Gal Gadot wasnt super hot, she would be nowhere near a Hollywood movie. Beyond bad this was 1/10
 

Superunknown

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Synecdoche, New York

Utter pretentious trash. Like a cake with 40 different flavours, which just proves to be ultimately too sickly. Clearly a film where the writer and director needed to be two different people. Kaufman has too many messages and can't decide which ones to explore and which ones to sideline, so he throws them ALL at the audience, which just leads to an utter mess. A complete disappointment and one of the worst films that I've seen.
 

Hugh Jass

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Synecdoche, New York

Utter pretentious trash. Like a cake with 40 different flavours, which just proves to be ultimately too sickly. Clearly a film where the writer and director needed to be two different people. Kaufman has too many messages and can't decide which ones to explore and which ones to sideline, so he throws them ALL at the audience, which just leads to an utter mess. A complete disappointment and one of the worst films that I've seen.
They are saying the same thing about I am Thinking of Ending Things.

Apparently, very pretentious.
 

Superunknown

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They are saying the same thing about I am Thinking of Ending Things.

Apparently, very pretentious.
That's a shame because I've added that to my watchlist. Synecdoche was achingly disappointing. Just so far up itself...there's a decent story in the somewhere. Maybe. Meh.
 

Hugh Jass

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That's a shame because I've added that to my watchlist. Synecdoche was achingly disappointing. Just so far up itself...there's a decent story in the somewhere. Maybe. Meh.
I am thinking of ending things is getting really good reviews from the critics, but really poor reviews from the audience. You can read them both on rotten tomatoes.

Apparently the first forty minutes is them just talking in the car.

It was on my watch list as well, but i wont bother now with it.
 

Wibble

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The Little Things. Some good performances but the plot is a bit of a mess which makes the ending far from satisfying. 4/10
 

Dirty Schwein

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Below Zero
An armoured truck escorting a group of dangerous criminals is hijacked by an unknown assailant, forcing the policeman and the criminals to work together to find a way to survive. Conair meets Assault On Precinct 13. My kind of film. Fun, tense and easy on the brain 7.5/10
 

dumbo

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Judas and the Black Messiah is a really excellent film with mighty fine acting and direction.

It depicts the events leading up to the United States' murder of Fred Hampton, through the life of the FBI informant.
It works as a drama, parable, portrait and an honouring of the spirit of the age.

The film's balance of tone and drama make it a superlative piece of historical fiction. It brilliantly deploys a stylised shorthand, making the story concise and accessible and avoids relying on reductive cliche.

Rather than a biography of Fred Hampton (something that in addition needs making), the film serves as a portrait of place and time - of feeling.

It's working in the same area as Blackkklansman and The Trial of the Chicago 7, but what sets Judas and the Black Messiah apart is its politically astuteness, its creativity and dramatic intelligent, and its ability to provide real historical insight.

Shaka King has made a great film.
 

Sweet Square

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Judas and the Black Messiah is a really excellent film with mighty fine acting and direction.

It depicts the events leading up to the United States' murder of Fred Hampton, through the life of the FBI informant.
It works as a drama, parable, portrait and an honouring of the spirit of the age.

The film's balance of tone and drama make it a superlative piece of historical fiction. It brilliantly deploys a stylised shorthand, making the story concise and accessible and avoids relying on reductive cliche.

Rather than a biography of Fred Hampton (something that in addition needs making), the film serves as a portrait of place and time - of feeling.

It's working in the same area as Blackkklansman and The Trial of the Chicago 7, but what sets Judas and the Black Messiah apart is its politically astuteness, its creativity and dramatic intelligent, and its ability to provide real historical insight.

Shaka King has made a great film.
What site did you watch this on ?

I can't seem to find it anywhere.
 

Sweet Square

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Terminator 2(Directors Cut/Special Edition)
For whatever reason I've never seen the directors cut. So the cpu scene, the Kyle dream scene and the more depth scenes of the Dyson family were all pretty new to me. It results in a more sci fi and oddly enough more family friendly movie. There's a lot Arnie comedy in this cut(Terminator trying to smile)for better or worse, the mother and son angle gets more screen time and Miles Dyson has an actual character arc. Overall it feels more expansive, that the events of T2 are now hitting a large number of people rather than one ''family unit''(Sarah, John and the Terminator).

I'm sure somewhere there's a fan cut which has the perfect combination of both the theatre cut and the directors cut but it's still T2 at the end of the day and still the greatest action film all of time. It's big american Hollywood movie making at it's best and moved Cameron one step closer to his now God status.


10/10
 

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Judas and the Black Messiah is a really excellent film with mighty fine acting and direction.

It depicts the events leading up to the United States' murder of Fred Hampton, through the life of the FBI informant.
It works as a drama, parable, portrait and an honouring of the spirit of the age.

The film's balance of tone and drama make it a superlative piece of historical fiction. It brilliantly deploys a stylised shorthand, making the story concise and accessible and avoids relying on reductive cliche.

Rather than a biography of Fred Hampton (something that in addition needs making), the film serves as a portrait of place and time - of feeling.

It's working in the same area as Blackkklansman and The Trial of the Chicago 7, but what sets Judas and the Black Messiah apart is its politically astuteness, its creativity and dramatic intelligent, and its ability to provide real historical insight.

Shaka King has made a great film.

Excellent. I'm looking forward to this one. Chicago Police need covering by a documentary too. Love that Wikipedia list his death as an assassination.
 

Fingeredmouse

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Terminator 2(Directors Cut/Special Edition)
For whatever reason I've never seen the directors cut. So the cpu scene, the Kyle dream scene and the more depth scenes of the Dyson family were all pretty new to me. It results in a more sci fi and oddly enough more family friendly movie. There's a lot Arnie comedy in this cut(Terminator trying to smile)for better or worse, the mother and son angle gets more screen time and Miles Dyson has an actual character arc. Overall it feels more expansive, that the events of T2 are now hitting a large number of people rather than one ''family unit''(Sarah, John and the Terminator).

I'm sure somewhere there's a fan cut which has the perfect combination of both the theatre cut and the directors cut but it's still T2 at the end of the day and still the greatest action film all of time. It's big american Hollywood movie making at it's best and moved Cameron one step closer to his now God status.


10/10
Did not have you pegged as a Cameron fan. I'm trying not to imagine you framing Terminator 2 in the Marxist dialectic.
I'm not sure I'd even consider T2 the best Cameron action film of all time with, to my mind, the space marine hokum of Aliens being superior.
Oh...and feck Avatar.
 

dumbo

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About Endlessness. Further collection of bleak, hilarious dioramas, depicting the panoply of human absurdity, in all its grisly, vain tedium. A joyous salve.

At only 75 mins though it leaves you wanting more.
 

Sweet Square

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Did not have you pegged as a Cameron fan. I'm trying not to imagine you framing Terminator 2 in the Marxist dialectic.
I'm not sure I'd even consider T2 the best Cameron action film of all time with, to my mind, the space marine hokum of Aliens being superior.
Oh...and feck Avatar.
Click here to read my Jacobin article - Why Terminator 2 shows us the need for worker democracy in automation!.

I'm not sure I'd even consider T2 the best Cameron action film of all time with, to my mind, the space marine hokum of Aliens being superior.
It's a tough choice but I rate the stunts in T2 more. They have real DIY quality to them, it adds a level of charm(You can very clearly see the stunt actors at certain points.)



Plus the helicopter flying under and over the bridges was real. No CGI or miniatures. It was such a dangerous stunt that most of the crew refused to take part.
 
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sullydnl

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About Endlessness. Further collection of bleak, hilarious dioramas, depicting the panoply of human absurdity, in all its grisly, vain tedium. A joyous salve.

At only 75 mins though it leaves you wanting more.
United have had whole seasons like that.
 

dumbo

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I was at home but... Quite hated it. Obnoxiously staged scenes made up of contrived situations and stilted mannerisms. Indulgent and humourless. Reminds me of something like Garden State in its inauthenticity - a wanky Euro art version.
 

Dirty Schwein

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When Nadja becomes pregnant, they make an attempt to rekindle their relationship by traveling to the north of Sweden for a hiking trip but soon their romantic trip turns into a nightmare. Starts ok, quite tense. But as the film progresses, it becomes more and more convoluted 4/10

The Occupant

Javier Muñoz, once a successful executive, struggles to find work as he is over-qualified and thus has to give up his lovely home and move into a small flat with his family. He starts stalking the new owners of his old flat and worms his way into their life. I was really enjoying this, mainly due to the performance of the lead actors, who happened to be in another film I watched recently called Below Zero. The issue was the ending, kind of made me think "what the hell was the point in all that and what was I meant to take away from it?". If it stuck the landing, I would have given this a higher score for sure. Still, not a bad movie at all 6/10
 

decorativeed

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Terminator 2(Directors Cut/Special Edition)
For whatever reason I've never seen the directors cut. So the cpu scene, the Kyle dream scene and the more depth scenes of the Dyson family were all pretty new to me. It results in a more sci fi and oddly enough more family friendly movie. There's a lot Arnie comedy in this cut(Terminator trying to smile)for better or worse, the mother and son angle gets more screen time and Miles Dyson has an actual character arc. Overall it feels more expansive, that the events of T2 are now hitting a large number of people rather than one ''family unit''(Sarah, John and the Terminator).

I'm sure somewhere there's a fan cut which has the perfect combination of both the theatre cut and the directors cut but it's still T2 at the end of the day and still the greatest action film all of time. It's big american Hollywood movie making at it's best and moved Cameron one step closer to his now God status.


10/10
I went to the cinema to watch T2 a few years back and didn't realise they were showing the directors cut. Despite being a fan of the film when I was a teenager and loving the Aliens DC, I had no idea about it. I loved the ending, as it would have saved us from a good few awful sequels.