Wild Style. Wild enough to send redcafe's street art connaisseurs running to call the police on their nearest urbans. The bitch mades.
Film The Redcafe Movie review thread
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Needlessly sadistic, teenage revenge fantasy stuff. Scorched female hippie, bet Trump got a mighty hard-on.
I don't agree with that at all. They were real and terrible people.
I thought it was a beautifully done movie. The first five to ten minutes of the movie may have misled folks into thinking that its all action. Its a pretty cerebral movie -- makes you think of things after leaving the cinema. People you know who are similar; the loneliness of life; the socialisation of human behaviour etc.
I was a bit ambivalent about the ending.
Sure we like it to have a hopeful message. But part of me wished or actually interpreted it as a darker ending; a fantasy flashback prior to him dying -- considering that Earth was billions of miles away and he was banking on the explosive powers of the nuclear bomb on Lima to get him home.
Rambo: Last Blood
I saw some reviews, most I laughed at when they brought up stuff like Trump or the white male rescuing the female or other such nonsense. Then other reviews saying it's great and gory just like you want from a Rambo film. I dunno, I never watched Rambo for the gore. So I was going into this wanting to like it given I love Rambo, but feeling very confused by the reviews.
It's not good. Not because of any Trump or "toxic masculinity", it's just not very good as a film and doesn't even feel like a Rambo film. It has nods, some of the score is classic Rambo which has a very underrated score. He's got a knife which he loves. He's got the jacket he wore in the first film. He's got a bow and arrow. He's called John Rambo. After that though it just feels a bit weird and not like the other films.
The first hour or so is pretty crap. He mumbles weirdly at his niece, seeing him interact with civilians is just odd now. Him happily living on a farm popping pills to help his PTSD and keeping his darkness hidden away is again just odd. It just feels strange seeing him actually do that at this point. Then stuff happens but it doesn't make a lot of sense, it's all just an excuse to send him looking for vengeance. Then he turns up in Mexico off his meds, sporting a knife and gun and you think it's all about to kick off Rambo style. Then it just leaves you thinking he's a Green Beret, he's trained in unconventional warfare, hit and run tactics. He's won the congressional medal of honour, twice. He has a purple heart. He's trained to live off the land, to eat things that would make a billy goat puke...I've gotten off track. Basically he knows what the feck he's doing, he hits hard and fast where people least expect it. Disappears then hits again somewhere else. He's a guerrilla fighter, that's what he's trained for. So why would he turn up with his knife and gun ready for war, only to basically knowingly let himself get surrounded and outnumbered right in the open so he can say "Give her back!" to someone's face? It makes no sense, the film should be over right there and they should have shot him. What happens next is harrowing and hard to watch. Then the Rambo-ing kicks off and you're watching an old man that can barely move his neck take on half of Mexico.
There's a bit where he's basically Michael Myers, it's brutal. Then it turns into Home Alone with explosives and lots of dismemberment. He blows someone's head off with a double barrel shotgun. Decapitates someone. Does various grizzly things with traps. Goes through people like butter with his knives. Turns into Robin Hood. It's good clean, bloody fun at that point. The problem is the set up to get there is just crap and feels like a half baked excuse to give him a reason to go on a killing spree. It picks up story threads then abandons them like a lot was cut out. There's apparently a great scene at the start with some hikers that has been removed for some reason, reviewers saw it but audiences did not.
He never feels like Rambo, even when he starts ranting there's one that's similar to the "Nothing is over!!" outburst from the first film but it just fizzles to nothingness.
Fair play to Stallone for soldiering through, but it's painful watching him now he can barely move a lot of the time. He can barely speak and his face doesn't move much. It's harsh but if he had a stroke I don't know how anyone would be able to tell. The fact he was able to make this with all the action is incredibly impressive, it looked painful on the guy. The man is a legend and Rambo is a fantastic character, but it's time Stallone retired him I think.
All in all, it's not good, but it's not unwatchable either. It just feels like a film too far for John Rambo. I mean it's not Predators levels of bad. It just feels unnecessary. To be fair everything after the first film probably is uneccessary and they should have stuck with Trautmann shooting him. The ending was a weird monologue and then a montage of better Rambo films. It's probably a very middling film that I'm extra disappointed by given it's Rambo, so I'll be fair and just give it a 5 I think. I don't think it's much worse than that and not likely to be any better on repeat viewings.
They should do a prequel like Solo so we can find out very important details like where he bought his jacket and knife.
5/10
I saw some reviews, most I laughed at when they brought up stuff like Trump or the white male rescuing the female or other such nonsense. Then other reviews saying it's great and gory just like you want from a Rambo film. I dunno, I never watched Rambo for the gore. So I was going into this wanting to like it given I love Rambo, but feeling very confused by the reviews.
It's not good. Not because of any Trump or "toxic masculinity", it's just not very good as a film and doesn't even feel like a Rambo film. It has nods, some of the score is classic Rambo which has a very underrated score. He's got a knife which he loves. He's got the jacket he wore in the first film. He's got a bow and arrow. He's called John Rambo. After that though it just feels a bit weird and not like the other films.
The first hour or so is pretty crap. He mumbles weirdly at his niece, seeing him interact with civilians is just odd now. Him happily living on a farm popping pills to help his PTSD and keeping his darkness hidden away is again just odd. It just feels strange seeing him actually do that at this point. Then stuff happens but it doesn't make a lot of sense, it's all just an excuse to send him looking for vengeance. Then he turns up in Mexico off his meds, sporting a knife and gun and you think it's all about to kick off Rambo style. Then it just leaves you thinking he's a Green Beret, he's trained in unconventional warfare, hit and run tactics. He's won the congressional medal of honour, twice. He has a purple heart. He's trained to live off the land, to eat things that would make a billy goat puke...I've gotten off track. Basically he knows what the feck he's doing, he hits hard and fast where people least expect it. Disappears then hits again somewhere else. He's a guerrilla fighter, that's what he's trained for. So why would he turn up with his knife and gun ready for war, only to basically knowingly let himself get surrounded and outnumbered right in the open so he can say "Give her back!" to someone's face? It makes no sense, the film should be over right there and they should have shot him. What happens next is harrowing and hard to watch. Then the Rambo-ing kicks off and you're watching an old man that can barely move his neck take on half of Mexico.
There's a bit where he's basically Michael Myers, it's brutal. Then it turns into Home Alone with explosives and lots of dismemberment. He blows someone's head off with a double barrel shotgun. Decapitates someone. Does various grizzly things with traps. Goes through people like butter with his knives. Turns into Robin Hood. It's good clean, bloody fun at that point. The problem is the set up to get there is just crap and feels like a half baked excuse to give him a reason to go on a killing spree. It picks up story threads then abandons them like a lot was cut out. There's apparently a great scene at the start with some hikers that has been removed for some reason, reviewers saw it but audiences did not.
He never feels like Rambo, even when he starts ranting there's one that's similar to the "Nothing is over!!" outburst from the first film but it just fizzles to nothingness.
Fair play to Stallone for soldiering through, but it's painful watching him now he can barely move a lot of the time. He can barely speak and his face doesn't move much. It's harsh but if he had a stroke I don't know how anyone would be able to tell. The fact he was able to make this with all the action is incredibly impressive, it looked painful on the guy. The man is a legend and Rambo is a fantastic character, but it's time Stallone retired him I think.
All in all, it's not good, but it's not unwatchable either. It just feels like a film too far for John Rambo. I mean it's not Predators levels of bad. It just feels unnecessary. To be fair everything after the first film probably is uneccessary and they should have stuck with Trautmann shooting him. The ending was a weird monologue and then a montage of better Rambo films. It's probably a very middling film that I'm extra disappointed by given it's Rambo, so I'll be fair and just give it a 5 I think. I don't think it's much worse than that and not likely to be any better on repeat viewings.
They should do a prequel like Solo so we can find out very important details like where he bought his jacket and knife.
5/10
Ad Astra (2019)
A decent performance from Bradley and some stunning visual effects cannot detract from a pretty ludicrous ending which I felt, without saying too much left me wondering why the hell I'd sat there for 2 hours.
Expected much, much more, 6/10.
Rambo: Last Blood (2019)
It's a little OTT, even for an action movie which is my favourite genre.
I thought Angel Has Fallen was streets ahead.
Starts off OK and you can see exactly where the plot is going but then it goes a bit south (no pun intended regarding Mexico!).....
Overall I think Sly would have been better leaving this alone back in 2008 and trying a few more mellow characters in his twilight years, but then who knows maybe he feels he's not quite there yet.
But it will be a huge surprise if this franchise is resurrected after this. I saw a review online earlier this week calling it a 'mess' and really it's hard to disagree, 5/10.
A decent performance from Bradley and some stunning visual effects cannot detract from a pretty ludicrous ending which I felt, without saying too much left me wondering why the hell I'd sat there for 2 hours.
Expected much, much more, 6/10.
Rambo: Last Blood (2019)
It's a little OTT, even for an action movie which is my favourite genre.
I thought Angel Has Fallen was streets ahead.
Starts off OK and you can see exactly where the plot is going but then it goes a bit south (no pun intended regarding Mexico!).....
They try to justify the huge amounts of violence by killing off the second biggest character. A previous review in this thread compares the first half of the film to Taken and the second half to an adult Home Alone and I think this is a fair comment but the Taken trilogy was really enjoyable and the girl survives
Overall I think Sly would have been better leaving this alone back in 2008 and trying a few more mellow characters in his twilight years, but then who knows maybe he feels he's not quite there yet.
But it will be a huge surprise if this franchise is resurrected after this. I saw a review online earlier this week calling it a 'mess' and really it's hard to disagree, 5/10.
Sid Haig just died - a bit of an iconic figure in exploitation cinema, he starred in Rob Zombie's films and small parts in a couple of Tarantino films.
RIP
RIP
Also I saw Ad Astra last night but it was off the back of a 14hr flight which wasn't my brightest idea ever, so I kinda nodded off at some point, but I really enjoyed everything I did see. Brad was fine in this, as were Tommy Lee Jones and Donald Sutherland. Visually impressive and overall low key and charming. I'll have to go back to see it all when I'm not totally jetlagged cos I feel I missed some key moments.
Nocturnal Animals (2016)
I thought I had seen this movie but it seems I had it confused with something else as I saw it for the first time last night and loved it. I've thought about the the dual story concept before (although for novels) and I was just thinking about whether I have seen it done so well as movie. I don't think I have. While I love recent films like Under the Silver Lake, Standoff at Sparrow Creek, Shoplifters, Climax, Shadow there was something more literary about Nocturnal Animals in the way it shows the symbolism and metaphor that I really appreciated. Can't believe I missed this one earlier.
9/10
I thought I had seen this movie but it seems I had it confused with something else as I saw it for the first time last night and loved it. I've thought about the the dual story concept before (although for novels) and I was just thinking about whether I have seen it done so well as movie. I don't think I have. While I love recent films like Under the Silver Lake, Standoff at Sparrow Creek, Shoplifters, Climax, Shadow there was something more literary about Nocturnal Animals in the way it shows the symbolism and metaphor that I really appreciated. Can't believe I missed this one earlier.
9/10
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Gyllenhaal was superb in this one. Especially that scene where he comes face to face with the villain for the first time.
Someone should slap Adam Sandler each and every time he suggests opting for a comedy over a dramatic role.
I think we might've been in the same cinema
Yeah that should be excellent.
Ad Astra: 9/10
This film is one of the best science fiction films in decades. The score, cinematography, editing and visuals are top calibre. The performance by Pitt is so impressive, a subtle understated but controlled performance. His body language and the depth of his emotional range is something else. Brad Pitt is one of the greats, except for that trash he done with Angelina Jolie, his roles are getting more refined with age.
This film will not do well because audiences expect more a Gravity type format. The slow burn transitions and pacing won't go down well. The craft on display is something else. In my opinion it's up there with 2001 and Solaris. My favourite films of all time are Alien and Blade Runner. This film has came out at the wrong time, probably be looked back in years by audiences differently.
This film is one of the best science fiction films in decades. The score, cinematography, editing and visuals are top calibre. The performance by Pitt is so impressive, a subtle understated but controlled performance. His body language and the depth of his emotional range is something else. Brad Pitt is one of the greats, except for that trash he done with Angelina Jolie, his roles are getting more refined with age.
This film will not do well because audiences expect more a Gravity type format. The slow burn transitions and pacing won't go down well. The craft on display is something else. In my opinion it's up there with 2001 and Solaris. My favourite films of all time are Alien and Blade Runner. This film has came out at the wrong time, probably be looked back in years by audiences differently.
From what I do remember of it, I felt it's a film that will age well though maybe not hugely appreciated at first - though I feel that way with most Gray films.
Very excited for this
I watched Ad Astra as well and enjoyed it. Halfway through it reminded me of Apocalypse Now, in that the exceptional commander of an expedition had gone rogue and the powers that be had sent someone after him to take him out (and that the would be assassin does a lot of monologues through the film).
I read a review on Google last night that suggested that the film was a criticism of rampant consumerism and it made a lot of sense to me. I've put it in a spoiler below.
I read a review on Google last night that suggested that the film was a criticism of rampant consumerism and it made a lot of sense to me. I've put it in a spoiler below.
Seraphim S
2 days ago
I've been reading quite a few reviews since seeing the movie and I feel like there's some very deep philosophical points that most everyone has missed. There is the surface level "daddy issues" that everyone picked up on, but there's so much more going on that's much deeper. It is an incredibly existential film that highly critiques contemporary society.
Spoiler alert:
In the beginning of the film following and during Pitts travels to the moon he makes a comment about how we ran to the cosmos to escape our miserable lives in earth, but then turned the cosmos into that which we were trying to escape (overpriced airplane pillows, Applebee's on the moon, advertising everywhere. There is no escape from the crushing presence of consumerist capitalism). The technological revolution couldn't save us from the meaningless of existence without true purpose. And in fact, it has served to alienate us further. We search for meaning in technology and all over the world (artificial reality through the internet and social media) while forgetting the actual meaning and reality in front of our faces every day. This then transitions into people going to war with one another for resources, even in space. Human greed pervading even when we've expanded to the cosmos and have access to the entire solar system.
The biggest points are shown in the father who, in his blind and senseless pursuit of progress for the sake of progress in looking for life outside of Earth actually murdered and took the lives of innocent people who were with him. In his search for life far away, he took life right in front of him. In fact, his search for distant intelligent life was so insane that he chose to kill himself rather than going home to actual "distant" (from his place near Neptune) intelligent life on Earth. There is a lot that can be said here about societies that focus on some arbitrary progress and "good" for society that completely forgets the individual.
Pitt starts out in the same position as his father: single minded and driven towards progress, so much so that he completely abandoned his wife and refused to have children. But by the end, he realized that the meaning of life can be found in being present with those whom we love and sharing in each other's burdens.
I was also surprised by the amount of times that God was mentioned. It's very rare to see a character in a contemporary movie saying a prayer to St Christopher (pilot praying to the patron saint of travelers) as well as prayers being read over the bodies of those who have reposed.
It was a fantastic and beautiful movie that I deeply enjoyed, and continue to appreciate the more I sit and think about it.
143 people found this helpful.
2 days ago
I've been reading quite a few reviews since seeing the movie and I feel like there's some very deep philosophical points that most everyone has missed. There is the surface level "daddy issues" that everyone picked up on, but there's so much more going on that's much deeper. It is an incredibly existential film that highly critiques contemporary society.
Spoiler alert:
In the beginning of the film following and during Pitts travels to the moon he makes a comment about how we ran to the cosmos to escape our miserable lives in earth, but then turned the cosmos into that which we were trying to escape (overpriced airplane pillows, Applebee's on the moon, advertising everywhere. There is no escape from the crushing presence of consumerist capitalism). The technological revolution couldn't save us from the meaningless of existence without true purpose. And in fact, it has served to alienate us further. We search for meaning in technology and all over the world (artificial reality through the internet and social media) while forgetting the actual meaning and reality in front of our faces every day. This then transitions into people going to war with one another for resources, even in space. Human greed pervading even when we've expanded to the cosmos and have access to the entire solar system.
The biggest points are shown in the father who, in his blind and senseless pursuit of progress for the sake of progress in looking for life outside of Earth actually murdered and took the lives of innocent people who were with him. In his search for life far away, he took life right in front of him. In fact, his search for distant intelligent life was so insane that he chose to kill himself rather than going home to actual "distant" (from his place near Neptune) intelligent life on Earth. There is a lot that can be said here about societies that focus on some arbitrary progress and "good" for society that completely forgets the individual.
Pitt starts out in the same position as his father: single minded and driven towards progress, so much so that he completely abandoned his wife and refused to have children. But by the end, he realized that the meaning of life can be found in being present with those whom we love and sharing in each other's burdens.
I was also surprised by the amount of times that God was mentioned. It's very rare to see a character in a contemporary movie saying a prayer to St Christopher (pilot praying to the patron saint of travelers) as well as prayers being read over the bodies of those who have reposed.
It was a fantastic and beautiful movie that I deeply enjoyed, and continue to appreciate the more I sit and think about it.
143 people found this helpful.
Pandorum
Two crew members of a spaceship wake up from hypersleep to discover that all their colleagues are missing. Despite this, it appears that they are not alone. A pretty much 'nothing' film. I liked the cast and was on board for the first act but never really goes anywhere and just becomes more and more silly as it goes on. There were some tense scenes and the potential for a better film just yearning to come out 5/10
Long Shot
Journalist Fred Flarsky reunites with his childhood crush, Charlotte Field, now one of the most influential women in the world. As she prepares to make a run for the Presidency, Charlotte hires Fred as her speechwriter and sparks fly. I'm a fan of Charlize Theron and Seth Rogan so was expecting to really like this and I did for the first half. Was quite funny and charming but slowly it becomes generic and cliched and quite frankly, boring. Shame as the setup was quite interesting 5.5/10
The Intruder
A young married couple buys a beautiful house on several acres of land, only to find out that the man they bought it from refuses to let go of the property. Wow. What a pile of shit. Felt like a generic, predictable, made-for-tv movie. Dennis Quaid was bloody brilliant in the movie as a likeable psycho but everything else was just awful. The female lead was probably the worst written character I've ever seen in a film. Just pure shit. Only gets extra point for Dennis Quaid 2/10
Blackhat
A furloughed convict and his American and Chinese partners hunt a high-level cybercrime network from Chicago to Los Angeles to Hong Kong to Jakarta. Decent first half, convoluted second half. Didn't buy Chris Hemsworth as an intelligent hacker. The action scenes felt like they could be from any Michael Mann film 4.5/10
Crazy Stupid Love
A middle-aged husband's life changes dramatically when his wife asks him for a divorce. He seeks to rediscover his manhood with the help of a newfound friend, Jacob, learning to pick up girls at bars. Really enjoyed this one. Funny, interesting and just a good time all round. The cast were all great and it helps that my two crushes (Emma Stone and Julianne Moore) were in the film together! Really liked it 7.5/10
Two crew members of a spaceship wake up from hypersleep to discover that all their colleagues are missing. Despite this, it appears that they are not alone. A pretty much 'nothing' film. I liked the cast and was on board for the first act but never really goes anywhere and just becomes more and more silly as it goes on. There were some tense scenes and the potential for a better film just yearning to come out 5/10
Long Shot
Journalist Fred Flarsky reunites with his childhood crush, Charlotte Field, now one of the most influential women in the world. As she prepares to make a run for the Presidency, Charlotte hires Fred as her speechwriter and sparks fly. I'm a fan of Charlize Theron and Seth Rogan so was expecting to really like this and I did for the first half. Was quite funny and charming but slowly it becomes generic and cliched and quite frankly, boring. Shame as the setup was quite interesting 5.5/10
The Intruder
A young married couple buys a beautiful house on several acres of land, only to find out that the man they bought it from refuses to let go of the property. Wow. What a pile of shit. Felt like a generic, predictable, made-for-tv movie. Dennis Quaid was bloody brilliant in the movie as a likeable psycho but everything else was just awful. The female lead was probably the worst written character I've ever seen in a film. Just pure shit. Only gets extra point for Dennis Quaid 2/10
Blackhat
A furloughed convict and his American and Chinese partners hunt a high-level cybercrime network from Chicago to Los Angeles to Hong Kong to Jakarta. Decent first half, convoluted second half. Didn't buy Chris Hemsworth as an intelligent hacker. The action scenes felt like they could be from any Michael Mann film 4.5/10
Crazy Stupid Love
A middle-aged husband's life changes dramatically when his wife asks him for a divorce. He seeks to rediscover his manhood with the help of a newfound friend, Jacob, learning to pick up girls at bars. Really enjoyed this one. Funny, interesting and just a good time all round. The cast were all great and it helps that my two crushes (Emma Stone and Julianne Moore) were in the film together! Really liked it 7.5/10
Having a sexy action star like Hemsworth playing an intelligent hacker >>>>>>> having some dweeb like Jesse Eisenberg playing a more realistic hacker.
Don't forget this guy is doing the soundtrackLove the Safdie brothers, and Adam Sandler.
Been waiting for this all year
Haha yeah maybe so. I just kept expecting him to whip out a lightning hammer!
I enjoyed that film, then again I'm partial to some Mann.
Also I watched an Avengers film and John Wicks on the flight the other day Nilssy, do you hate me?
I think it's culmination of his avant garde experiments and his career as a whole. I was as uninterested in following the plot as Mann probably was, instead focusing on the visual and aural landscapes, the blurriness of the tangible and intangible and whatnot. Hemsworth's physicality brought a lot to it as well.
You're history's greatest monster.
Though I have been meaning to give the Wick movies a shot.
Harsh but fair.
I will get back to proper film watching when I'm a bit more settled. Traveling every week makes it a bit hard.
Yep
I think you'll hate them. Well maybe the first one you'd get through, but the second and third ones are bloated and a bit repetitive in their action sequences. They're fine for plane films, but I don't think I'd watch them otherwise.
The opening 20/30 mins of the third one are great. It goes downhill afterwards though.
Yeah, one of the first action scenes with the knife throwing might have been one of the best set pieces I've seen in a while but it gets too ridiculous afterwards, and not in a good way.
I liked that bit in John Wick where he killed the guy.
What do you like to watch for an action movie?
Giving them a "shot" *snickers*
The best way to describe the Wick movies is this - proof that animal activists are fkin intense. Kill one dog and hundreds of dead bodies later he's still not over it.
Something with style, grit.
Well can you enjoy something like Commando?
If he says no we're going to beat him with his own shoes, right?
feck yeah