I thought the same. It felt like posturing for the overly cynical generation and I can't see what the point of the movie is.
It's like a bad mix of DCron and Yorgos Lanthimos.
Film The Redcafe Movie review thread
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik @Rood and Imran @Annihilate Now! start with the good news by celebrating Manchester United Women's emphatic FA Cup win over Spurs at Wembley and the future of manager Marc Skinner.
Then it's the bad news and the ever worsening form of our Men with losses to Arsenal and Palace.
Finally the main debate - ETH Out now or keep him until the end of the season - if not longer. Are you Team Nik or Team Imran?
It's like a bad mix of DCron and Yorgos Lanthimos.
Rewatched Fish Story last night and found it held up well. It's a Japanese comedy/drama about the impact of an obscure punk rock song and how it persists across generations despite the band having no understanding of it.
There's a heap of optimism in there about things being more important than you realise but it doesn't take itself too seriously. Mostly it's fairly playful and energetic.
Kinda like Magnolia but also not at all.
There's a heap of optimism in there about things being more important than you realise but it doesn't take itself too seriously. Mostly it's fairly playful and energetic.
Kinda like Magnolia but also not at all.
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Yeah, that's pretty close to what I said in my review. To me, it seems like they had a good concept (including the message - even if it's rather on-the-nose), but not really a good film - and so the whole thing kinda fades out once the whole story has become clear and everything has been put in place.
Yeah that's pretty much it. By far not the worse film out there, but just felt underwhelming after a strong first hour.
Quo Vadis, Aida? A 2020 Bosnian film about the Srebrenica massacre (link), where Serbian troops enacted genocide and murdered over 8000 Bosniak men and boys. I spoilered that bit for those who don't know about this event yet and want to watch the film - but I hope people are generally aware of what happened in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the 90s war. Hailing from the Netherlands, I definitely was, specifically regarding Srebrenica, since the city was (supposed to be) protected by a Dutch UN battalion. In any case, the film tells the story from the perspective of a Bosniak translator working for the Dutch battalion, who has a special status as a UN employee and is trying to use that to keep her husband and sons away from the Serbian army.
It's an extremely tough watch because of the story (whether or not you already know what will happen), which made me (once again) feel miserable about humanity; but also a very good film: a gripping war drama thriller, well told, well acted, well shot, with great impact. 4/5
It's an extremely tough watch because of the story (whether or not you already know what will happen), which made me (once again) feel miserable about humanity; but also a very good film: a gripping war drama thriller, well told, well acted, well shot, with great impact. 4/5
Agree with your observation re: the ending. That can’t be their first choice of endings. It felt like a reshoot to me.
Is this the one where the shark joins Ethan Hunt’s team, or does he drive fast and furiously with Dom?
Sounds like a really good film - but I can’t usually watch stuff this gnarly because, like you, end up feeling miserable. Did you ever see the Dennis Quaid movie “Savior”? It’s a US merc who has to escort a Bosnian woman and her baby to a UN safe zone while atrocities are happening all around them.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savior_(film)
Never even heard of it! From the story, it sounds quite awful - the main guy seems to be on the wrong side of stuff pretty much all the time!
His eyes are opened during the course of events. If Quaid hadn’t been such a raging alcoholic he could have been one of the greatest. Have you ever seen Everybody’s All-American? Probably too American sounding for non-Americans, but he was so good in it. I think Savior was a really good role for him.
https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0095119/reference/
Is Three Thousand Years of Longing worth a watch? I've got the option of sober or on hallucinogens just in case that impacts your recommendation.
Two grams of coke a day also didn’t help matters.
Yeah i really enjoyed it. Probably wont make much difference, its not that trippy a movie but then everything is better on hallucinogens really so go for it.
You can pretty much see it in Great Balls Of Fire. Cocaine gets them there quickly but burns them out quickly too.
Never heard of that either! Looking at his filmography on Wikipedia, I actually haven't seen much by him full stop (compared to his output, anyway). Mostly Dragonheart and In Good Company stand out, and then a bunch films where he probably had smaller roles (or at least, I don't particularly remember his part in them).
The Big Easy, The Right Stuff, Frequency were good, Dreamscape, DOA, and Innerspace to a lesser extent. I think when he and Meg Ryan split up it all fell apart for him. He had real promise.
Medusa Deluxe. More vacuous A24 style-wankery.
There's a great Orson Welles interview where he talks about acting in close up, and breaks down the camera as a distancing tool, which basically explains everything that doesn't work in this film. The direction is relentlessly distracting and annoying and often does a disservice to the actors. It's cribbing too much from Irreversible and further supplies the empty spectacle trend that seems to have consumed independent film.
But feck it, the actors all look great and give committed performances and I have to say begrudgingly that the whole thing sometimes works, and it's pretty darn good in places.
I'm an old, jaded cynic that's been around too long (like seriously, has everyone got the memory of a gold fish?), but for all it's flaws, this is probably the type of thing that should be supported. If only to encourage you to give your lips respite, what with all that corporate cock you've been sucking.
There's a great Orson Welles interview where he talks about acting in close up, and breaks down the camera as a distancing tool, which basically explains everything that doesn't work in this film. The direction is relentlessly distracting and annoying and often does a disservice to the actors. It's cribbing too much from Irreversible and further supplies the empty spectacle trend that seems to have consumed independent film.
But feck it, the actors all look great and give committed performances and I have to say begrudgingly that the whole thing sometimes works, and it's pretty darn good in places.
I'm an old, jaded cynic that's been around too long (like seriously, has everyone got the memory of a gold fish?), but for all it's flaws, this is probably the type of thing that should be supported. If only to encourage you to give your lips respite, what with all that corporate cock you've been sucking.
Not seen this, but you don't like A24's output in general?
I generally associate them with already established independent filmmakers and visually flashy new comers for the hip kids to go gaga over. They put out a fair amount of good stuff but The Witch is probably the only time I thought well this is something other. I was already up on the likes of Jonathan Glazer and Kelly Reichardt, they're gimmes. I see the brand less and less as a seal of quality.
Fair enough. I still think in terms of overall quality output, they're pretty great, but the ratio of good to bad might have become slightly unbalanced, and I haven't necessarily seen all their recent films.
Togo closely based on a true dog story. You don't need to know the plot but if you love dogs or like dog films you will love this film. 9/10 although less if you don't love dogs, which is irrelevant as your opinion doesn't matter, because you are worse than Hitler.
Can you explain more about this bit, or point me to the interview? It sounds interesting but I don't quite get it based on what you're writing here.
Four uses of 'like' & only one was actually needed.
Underlined bit: I was forced to sit through The Lincoln Lawyer (movie, "starring" Mathew MConnaghey) again this past week, and on this second viewing it was an absolute mess, exactly what you described, above. The camera style was the constantly shifting, moving, adjusting "edgy" thing that was popular, and every actor in it is swinging for the fecking fences in every scene. Particularly shit were Shea Wigwambam as a jailhouse snitch, and William H. Macy as an investigator, but the king of affectation was Matthew himself. Good golly. Have you seen this?
Bolded bit: Irreversible was harrowing. It made me feel utterly wretched afterwards, I needed a shower and a drink and a hug. It was brilliant but the negative should be burned.
Ikiru
Wow, wow and wow. I loved it. I've come to associate Kurosawa with cool samurai films, but despite not containing a single katana this is the best I've seen from him so far. The best description I can give is that it's sort of a mix between Wild Strawberries and 12 Angry Men. Not quite as poetic as the former nor as succinct as the latter, but possibly better than both. In any case it's a must watch if you like either of those two.
Wow, wow and wow. I loved it. I've come to associate Kurosawa with cool samurai films, but despite not containing a single katana this is the best I've seen from him so far. The best description I can give is that it's sort of a mix between Wild Strawberries and 12 Angry Men. Not quite as poetic as the former nor as succinct as the latter, but possibly better than both. In any case it's a must watch if you like either of those two.
I agree with this. Even during the period where I loved the whole cast (Armisen, Hader, McKinnon, Samberg, Sudeikis, Forte, among others), I was downloading full episodes every Sunday morning and they were a slog to get through. I kept up with that much longer than it was worth, maybe because of FOMO than anything else, but even with a solid cast, best case scenario was 2 good sketches per episode, though it was usually more like 1. The best stuff usually ends up on Youtube now, so at least you don't have through 90 minutes of rubbish anymore.
Best thing about that era was Bill Hader never being able to keep a straight face, even during the crap sketches.
Spiderman: Across the Spiderverse
A bloated mess of a tale with more melodrama than plot. Only the bare minimum of what made the first movie great got carried forward.
The last 30 or so mins was the movie. Rest was just bloat. Still, those 30 mins did enough to make make me wait for the sequel.
6/10
A bloated mess of a tale with more melodrama than plot. Only the bare minimum of what made the first movie great got carried forward.
The last 30 or so mins was the movie. Rest was just bloat. Still, those 30 mins did enough to make make me wait for the sequel.
6/10
The Interview. Yes, that movie - where Seth Rogen and James Franco go to North Korea to interview Kim Jong-un. Everyone said it was crap when it came out, but I figured I'd give it a go anyway, as opinions seem to have changed a bit since then, the trailer was alright, and I like Seth Rogen. (I know he has zero depth or variety and basically just plays himself, but it works for me in the right context. And while this opinion might invalidate everything I have ever said, in my defense, Spielberg agrees: he casted Rogen in The Fabelmans!)
So yeah, it's better than I expected. There's some absolutely too dumb stuff in there and obviously it's all rather simplistic, but it was funny, kept going nicely, had some heart (it's not all just gross nonsense), and was basically just an enjoyable experience. 3/5
So yeah, it's better than I expected. There's some absolutely too dumb stuff in there and obviously it's all rather simplistic, but it was funny, kept going nicely, had some heart (it's not all just gross nonsense), and was basically just an enjoyable experience. 3/5
The Boogeyman
A new re-telling of the short story by Stephen King. Was really looking forward to this as the same director made Host, which was brilliant and Dashcam, which was good but let down by a horrible and annoying protagonist. This started on, had a few good jump scares, decent acting and an impressive monster design but most of it was very generic and I'll probably forget I watched this movie in a few days. Might be a good gateway for horror newbies but for me, it was just a bit boring and flat 5.5/10
Spiderman: Across The Spiderverse
Very impressive animation once again and a kicking soundtrack. I found the first half quite bloated and not really interesting but the second half was really fun and grand in scale. Looking forward to the third part 7.5/10
A new re-telling of the short story by Stephen King. Was really looking forward to this as the same director made Host, which was brilliant and Dashcam, which was good but let down by a horrible and annoying protagonist. This started on, had a few good jump scares, decent acting and an impressive monster design but most of it was very generic and I'll probably forget I watched this movie in a few days. Might be a good gateway for horror newbies but for me, it was just a bit boring and flat 5.5/10
Spiderman: Across The Spiderverse
Very impressive animation once again and a kicking soundtrack. I found the first half quite bloated and not really interesting but the second half was really fun and grand in scale. Looking forward to the third part 7.5/10
The Lost City, (2022), with Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum, Daniel Radcliffe, and Brad Pitt.
Listen, it's really fecking hard to agree on a movie to watch around here. It came down to, "You like Sandra Bullock, don't you?" and I caved. So here we are. This movie, in another life, was called Romancing The Stone. I'm not sure if this is an unofficial remake, a blatant rip, or a reboot. It's a rom-com/adventure film.
The plot, as it exists, is a writer of cheesy bodice-rippers (Bullock) and the male model cover star of her books (Tatum) are thrown into an adventure to find a lost city. Bullock is a successful but schlocky writer who at one point was a world-classCF archaeologist, and the only person in the world who can decipher this lost civilization's writings. She is approached by a toff played by Daniel Radcliffe, who has obtained a fragment of text that shows the location of some tomb. Bullock is kidnapped
, and Tatum enlists ex-Navy SEAL Brad Pitt go to rescue her, and tags along.
From there, you can pretty much fill in the blanks. It was so generic, or "breezy", and thinly plotted, and low-stakes, that it felt almost like a TV episode of some long-running show on ABC. It didn't have any real set pieces, serviceable VFX but nothing spectacular, Tatum's ass was all the nudity you got, and generic music. Generic all 'round. What was weird was how safe and bland it all felt, practically cartoony. Radcliffe is a terrible actor in everything I've ever seen him in, and this is no exception. His voice breaks at the drop of a hat. Bullock + Tatum have decent chemistry, but it felt like a part anyone could play. It was the hospital food of movies. I made it to the bitter end, to the "bonus" scene in the credits, while the missus slept soundly through it, so joke's on me.
Hard to rate something like this, because my expectations were not the movie makers' expectations. It was not funny, not sexy, not thrilling, had precious little eye candy, and almost zero jeopardy. For what it was trying to do, probably an 7/10, for what I wanted it to do, 5/10. It was fecking boring, and I do like Sandra Bullock!
Listen, it's really fecking hard to agree on a movie to watch around here. It came down to, "You like Sandra Bullock, don't you?" and I caved. So here we are. This movie, in another life, was called Romancing The Stone. I'm not sure if this is an unofficial remake, a blatant rip, or a reboot. It's a rom-com/adventure film.
The plot, as it exists, is a writer of cheesy bodice-rippers (Bullock) and the male model cover star of her books (Tatum) are thrown into an adventure to find a lost city. Bullock is a successful but schlocky writer who at one point was a world-class
by Radcliffe
From there, you can pretty much fill in the blanks. It was so generic, or "breezy", and thinly plotted, and low-stakes, that it felt almost like a TV episode of some long-running show on ABC. It didn't have any real set pieces, serviceable VFX but nothing spectacular, Tatum's ass was all the nudity you got, and generic music. Generic all 'round. What was weird was how safe and bland it all felt, practically cartoony. Radcliffe is a terrible actor in everything I've ever seen him in, and this is no exception. His voice breaks at the drop of a hat. Bullock + Tatum have decent chemistry, but it felt like a part anyone could play. It was the hospital food of movies. I made it to the bitter end, to the "bonus" scene in the credits, while the missus slept soundly through it, so joke's on me.
Hard to rate something like this, because my expectations were not the movie makers' expectations. It was not funny, not sexy, not thrilling, had precious little eye candy, and almost zero jeopardy. For what it was trying to do, probably an 7/10, for what I wanted it to do, 5/10. It was fecking boring, and I do like Sandra Bullock!
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I think this take on Lynch's work is well wide of the mark. His stuff is nothing like what A24 would get behind. I don't recall any of Lynch's movies having an agenda other than being oddball for oddity's sake. A24 is twee, while Lynch is like an acid trip that starts out all twee but quickly becomes nightmarish.
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Blackjack 1998
John Woo directed tv film. Staring Dolph Lundgren as a blackjack player/body guard who has to protect a super model. Oh also he scared of the colour white(The man literally has a panic attack due to getting covered in milk!)
A truly awful and beautiful film at the same time. Woo and Lundgren go full self aware dumb guy action mode. It’s pretty much the McBain film from the Simpsons. A glorious way to kill 2 hours(It’s on YouTube)
8/10
John Woo directed tv film. Staring Dolph Lundgren as a blackjack player/body guard who has to protect a super model. Oh also he scared of the colour white(The man literally has a panic attack due to getting covered in milk!)
A truly awful and beautiful film at the same time. Woo and Lundgren go full self aware dumb guy action mode. It’s pretty much the McBain film from the Simpsons. A glorious way to kill 2 hours(It’s on YouTube)
8/10
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You're an interesting one, Sweet Square, I'll give you that.Blackjack 1998
John Woo directed tv film. Staring Dolph Lundgren as a blackjack player/body guard who has to protect a super model. Oh also he scared of the colour white(The man literally has a panic attack due to getting covered in milk!)
A truly awful and beautiful film at the same time. Woo and Lundgren go full self aware dumb guy action mode. It’s pretty much the McBain film from the Simpsons. A glorious way to kill 2 hours(It’s on YouTube)
8/10
There’s slow mo shots of milk! A motorcycle on fire cashes into a car on fire and then explodes!
It’s so deliberately dog shit but with moment Woo brilliance. I couldn’t stop cheering.
Missing
A girl uses every online source available to her in an attempt to locate her missing mother. I really enjoyed Searching so was looking forward to this. I liked that they took a new angle with the child being the one doing the locating. The film didn't have the same emotional punch as Searching but it was still a decent film that feels very exciting, which is pretty impressive as we're essentially watching things unfold on a computer screen. The final act had one too many twists but that doesn't ruin a pretty effective thriller 6.5/10
A girl uses every online source available to her in an attempt to locate her missing mother. I really enjoyed Searching so was looking forward to this. I liked that they took a new angle with the child being the one doing the locating. The film didn't have the same emotional punch as Searching but it was still a decent film that feels very exciting, which is pretty impressive as we're essentially watching things unfold on a computer screen. The final act had one too many twists but that doesn't ruin a pretty effective thriller 6.5/10
I was reading the other day that Face/Off was one of the inspirations behind Infernal Affairs, where Lau/Mak loved the concept but wanted a more believable story than two people literally swapping faces. And to be honest, they did nail the storyline. Thought you'd appreciate that nugget of info.Blackjack 1998
John Woo directed tv film. Staring Dolph Lundgren as a blackjack player/body guard who has to protect a super model. Oh also he scared of the colour white(The man literally has a panic attack due to getting covered in milk!)
A truly awful and beautiful film at the same time. Woo and Lundgren go full self aware dumb guy action mode. It’s pretty much the McBain film from the Simpsons. A glorious way to kill 2 hours(It’s on YouTube)
8/10