No, not yet. You say Miike is a more dynamic version of Kitano (no complaints, it's Kitano style)? Then definitely will watch. Thanks for the recommendation.
Film The Redcafe Movie review thread
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik and Imran hold a long overdue conversation about United's awful league form with 1 win in 7. They discuss a disappointing draw at Bournemouth, a not so disappointing draw against Liverpool and a crushing defeat at Chelsea - Is time nearly over for Erik Ten Hag?
Then in a special second half of the pod, Nik welcomes Natalie ( https://twitter.com/natalie_17) to discuss the fortunes of Manchester United Women as they booked a place in the FA Cup Final after a historic first ever win vs. Chelsea.
He's different, I'd say he's more a kin to David Lynch. Also check out Ichi the Killer, Audition and Visitor Q.
Not seen that one, I’ll check it out.
I got really into eastern movies in the 90’s - early 2000’s but drifted out of the loop a little.
I haven’t seen them, not watched any of his films for years, probably need to revisit his stuff at some point. I watched a lot of Japanese movies in the 90’s and burnt myself out a bit and haven’t been back since! Got a lot still on dvd.
Embattled.
A young MMA star reconciles with his abusive father who happens to be the biggest star in MMA
Not as good as Warrior but pretty good nonetheles. Stephen Dorff is Conor McGregor.
A young MMA star reconciles with his abusive father who happens to be the biggest star in MMA
Not as good as Warrior but pretty good nonetheles. Stephen Dorff is Conor McGregor.
Soul (2020)
Finally got round to watching this tonight on Disney+ after all the favourable reviews and hype. Pixar really excel at producing movies with heart. They always manage to get the balance right in terms of engaging with audiences of all ages and this is very much in evidence here. At the core of every Pixar movie, you will always find the themes of friendship, family, courage and love. Although Soul is no different, I found it a little disjointed and chaotic and overall just a little underwhelming by Pixar's high standards. It probably wouldn't even get in my Pixar all-time top 10, currently reserved for the likes of Toy Story, The Incredibles, Monsters Inc., Cars, Finding Nemo, Up, A Bug's Life etc. Then again, I still haven't seen Coco or Onward yet but plan to rectify that this week.
But back to Soul, it is a great movie with some great moments and visual gags, another key staple of Pixar movies. Visually it's standard Pixar stuff, an opportunity missed in my opinion and just lacking a real standout character to elevate it to memorable status. Still, it was quite enjoyable and the time seemed to fly by.
I'm giving this a 7/10.
Finally got round to watching this tonight on Disney+ after all the favourable reviews and hype. Pixar really excel at producing movies with heart. They always manage to get the balance right in terms of engaging with audiences of all ages and this is very much in evidence here. At the core of every Pixar movie, you will always find the themes of friendship, family, courage and love. Although Soul is no different, I found it a little disjointed and chaotic and overall just a little underwhelming by Pixar's high standards. It probably wouldn't even get in my Pixar all-time top 10, currently reserved for the likes of Toy Story, The Incredibles, Monsters Inc., Cars, Finding Nemo, Up, A Bug's Life etc. Then again, I still haven't seen Coco or Onward yet but plan to rectify that this week.
But back to Soul, it is a great movie with some great moments and visual gags, another key staple of Pixar movies. Visually it's standard Pixar stuff, an opportunity missed in my opinion and just lacking a real standout character to elevate it to memorable status. Still, it was quite enjoyable and the time seemed to fly by.
I'm giving this a 7/10.
Seems like that trailer shows most of the film.
Saw Soul yesterday and loved it. I thought it definitely makes Pixar Top 10 above Monsters Inc, A Bug's Life, The Incredibles and a few more. Personally I thought both Joe and 22 were standouts and highly memorable characters.
Finally got around to watching Toy Story 4 and I’m fecking furious.
6/10 because it still made me laugh.
The third was a beautiful ending...yes sad because Andy had grown up but also happy because they were all still together. Facing certain death in the dumpster they all joined hands and it was glorious. To do what they did at the end of this one...childhood ruined! Feck off Disney. This is my Jar Jar moment.
6/10 because it still made me laugh.
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Soul has nicely designed animation, and so long as it stays earthbound it remains quite charming. However it goes metaphysical and it goes bad.
The film presents to your children this Hellish, technopath's vision of a cold, corpo-essentialist Great Beyond, where existence is constructed like an iPad on a sweatshop production line; a quick firmware upgrade and then cast down into the corporeal. It's all dressed in calming pastel hues and a calming medieval geocentrism. It's a brand of irresponsible bro-philosophy you often see espoused by Intellectually Dull Webbers like Joe Rogan or Sam Harris; a Ted-Talky pseudophilosophy that has become ubiquitous, and which denigrates the ontological.
Pixar do have form for this type of careless overreaching with the director's previous film playing fast and loose with philosophy of mind, rousing the homunculi; Brad Bird and his creepy Objectivist obsession; Toy Stories promoting a rather grim view of agency and subjugation.
Do we really want our kids to be a Kurzweil wet dream, being digitally molested by Jobs, Bezos, Elon and Zuckerberg? I'm so over these tech-atheist fairytales, bring me my Augustine. 101/1010
The film presents to your children this Hellish, technopath's vision of a cold, corpo-essentialist Great Beyond, where existence is constructed like an iPad on a sweatshop production line; a quick firmware upgrade and then cast down into the corporeal. It's all dressed in calming pastel hues and a calming medieval geocentrism. It's a brand of irresponsible bro-philosophy you often see espoused by Intellectually Dull Webbers like Joe Rogan or Sam Harris; a Ted-Talky pseudophilosophy that has become ubiquitous, and which denigrates the ontological.
Pixar do have form for this type of careless overreaching with the director's previous film playing fast and loose with philosophy of mind, rousing the homunculi; Brad Bird and his creepy Objectivist obsession; Toy Stories promoting a rather grim view of agency and subjugation.
Do we really want our kids to be a Kurzweil wet dream, being digitally molested by Jobs, Bezos, Elon and Zuckerberg? I'm so over these tech-atheist fairytales, bring me my Augustine. 101/1010
Monsters Inc., The Incredibles, Cars, Toy Story 1 & 2 in particular were some of the best outings with some of the slickest scripts, original stories and pure entertainment value of the Pixar Canon. I would probably put Soul in the 15-20 Pixar ranking positions around the Inside Out, Wall-E mark.
I even watched Zootropolis and The Croods yesterday and although they were produced by Disney and Dreamworks respectively, even they were head and shoulders above Soul. I guess it's all about opinions at the end of the day.
Yeah, it's all personal taste. I personally preferred Wall-E to every other Pixar you mentioned for instance and I wasn't as much of a fan of Incredibles or Monsters, Inc which were meh to me.
I watched Zootropolis with the kids again yesterday. The story is a little meh, but the world they created is amazing. So much variation and detail that largely just flies by in passing. I keep thinking it could spawn any number of spin-off series. I see now that a series will indeed appear in 2022 - and that a sequel is also coming, but if that's based on the same characters, it doesn't sound as appealing to me.
Undoubtedly true. I thought it was fantastic. My two daughters were a bit meh about it. I think the strangeness of the first 30 minutes lost them a bit
Yeah mine didn't think much of it either but I got a lot out of it. Suppose a lot depends on you're own life experiences.
Hundred percent agree.
Granted I haven't seen the film(Although this doesn't stop me from having an opinion about it!) but just going off the trailer that part seemed incredibly bleak. A good dose of religious hell fire and the eternal burning of the sinned is clearly needed tbh.
Although imo the most disturbing part of Soul is that it seems to be another movie off the pixar production line designed mostly for adults rather than children. Back in the good old days, the idea was to make a children animated film with a few grown up jokes/references chucked in to make sure it didn't feel like a compete waste of time for the unlucky parent who got dragged along but now it seems to be the complete opposite. Bright and colourful images are used to make sure it doesn't feel like a compete waste of time for the unlucky child who gets dragged along to see a movie about a middle aged jazz musician(Also I honestly I can't shake the very dystopian feeling that a lot adults watched this film because of the animation style).
What it looks like when you respect the parameters:
A masterpiece.
A masterpiece.
I've been avoiding Pixar ever since watching that dull psychotherapy flick.
The Fundamentals of Caring
Another great little movie. Great performance by Paul Rudd and and even better one by Craig Roberts. Lovely buddy / road movie. Touching and funny in equal measures recommend this one of you have Netflix.
8/10
Another great little movie. Great performance by Paul Rudd and and even better one by Craig Roberts. Lovely buddy / road movie. Touching and funny in equal measures recommend this one of you have Netflix.
8/10
There were some good bits in but they should have just left it alone.
Soul :
I don't have much to say. This is a fascinating watch, beautiful, simple and heartwarming story that's really enjoyable and leaves you with a smile on your face throughout the whole movie. A must watch in my opinion. It knows what it wants to offer for the viewers and sticks with it.
9/10.
I don't have much to say. This is a fascinating watch, beautiful, simple and heartwarming story that's really enjoyable and leaves you with a smile on your face throughout the whole movie. A must watch in my opinion. It knows what it wants to offer for the viewers and sticks with it.
9/10.
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom - it’s a play. You’ll notice it’s a play about 3 minutes in, and then never at any point not be anything less than 95% aware that it’s a play. It’s a pretty good play, as it happens, acted by pretty good actors... but it’s not really a film.... it’s a play - possibly the most playey play that’s ever played, with long dramatic but somewhat unnatural monologues about characters backstories that come out of nowhere and force all the people not monologuing to sort of disappear into the furniture, and with a very play-like Chekov’s gun ending that only makes it seem 77% more like a play...
It’s a play. And the director has made very little effort to make it seem like a film. Aside from that one thing all directors do when adapting plays, of setting a big scene with lots of extras at the very beginning and the very end to disguise the fact that everything in between takes place in two rooms between 5 people... like a play.
So, It’s a play.
6.5/10
8 as a play.... cos that’s what it is
It’s a play. And the director has made very little effort to make it seem like a film. Aside from that one thing all directors do when adapting plays, of setting a big scene with lots of extras at the very beginning and the very end to disguise the fact that everything in between takes place in two rooms between 5 people... like a play.
So, It’s a play.
6.5/10
8 as a play.... cos that’s what it is
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Goonies, a flawless classic with some flaws. Still entertaining and fun, enjoyed this new years morn/early afternoon with it. First twenty-thirty minutes are my favourite.
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Everest
I don't understand when these things are being cast that just because all the guys looked alike in real life with the beards, that that will make a good movie. Hard to follow who was who, even with the first 50% of it being showing who who was. 6/10 because the women looked different.
Chernobyl
I know it's a series, but I got it on 4K so watched again. It's great, but similar to the Everest problem, just cos all the chaps happened to be dark haired moustache wearers in real life doesn't mean the casting needs to reflect this, it just makes the series hard to follow til they're thinned out a bit. Still an easy 9/10 though.
I don't understand when these things are being cast that just because all the guys looked alike in real life with the beards, that that will make a good movie. Hard to follow who was who, even with the first 50% of it being showing who who was. 6/10 because the women looked different.
Chernobyl
I know it's a series, but I got it on 4K so watched again. It's great, but similar to the Everest problem, just cos all the chaps happened to be dark haired moustache wearers in real life doesn't mean the casting needs to reflect this, it just makes the series hard to follow til they're thinned out a bit. Still an easy 9/10 though.
We did our round of Christmas films in the course of the week. We started with The Christmas Drop, which, I posted about earlier. It's set up as a romcom, but that part is underdeveloped; it's rather a feelgood movie about this annual charity goodies drop that's done in Pacific (a real thing), and that's a fun watch. Plus they randomly do kiss at the end. (Not spoiling anything by saying that about a Christmas film.)
Next was Christmas with a Prince. That's a very bad film. Yes, these films are predictable, but they don't have to be this predictable. Punchlines and acting are also pretty poor. Additionally, the usual romcom setback (they get into a fight at about two-thirds, to be resolved before the film ends) came back twice and took about 30 sec to resolve - just as an example of the movie's nonsense. We should have known though: it says at the start it's based on a Harlequin book...
After that, we were a little more careful and checked trailers first. Hence, The Christmas Prince Pt 2, Switched Again, and Christmas Wonderland all went swiftly off the list. Instead, we watched A Christmas Catch. That was pretty enjoyable. The two detectives and police captain had some good banter together and the story worked out well enough. The ending is pretty crappy (not disappointing, just poorly done), but overall it's a fun watch.
Finally, we saw A California Christmas. That's a nice way to round this set off, as there's as much snow in California's wine region as in the Pacific. Also a fun feelgood film that does its job as you'd want it to. Its timeline is way too contracted though. There is a montage at some point that feels like it's depicting developments covering several weeks - while in fact only one or two days pass by. The story does not really make sense given its very short timespan, but apart from that, it's fine.
That's all from the perspective of expecting a cliché'd Christmas movie of course. This isn't high art in any way.
Also not high art, but rather different in atmosphere: Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters. A gory steampunk romp set in the Middle Ages, where Hansel (Jeremy Renner) and Gretel (Gemma Arterton) have become hunters of vile and evil witches. It's pulp nonsense, but the film and actors are fully aware of that, and it's a lot of fun if you set your mind to it the right way. The film also lasts only 1h29, which is perfect. A lot of similar nonsense films (take the Transformers franchise) stretch out well over two hours, which is far more than the story or concept can sustain. Being able to keep things short & sweet is an undervalued quality.
Next was Christmas with a Prince. That's a very bad film. Yes, these films are predictable, but they don't have to be this predictable. Punchlines and acting are also pretty poor. Additionally, the usual romcom setback (they get into a fight at about two-thirds, to be resolved before the film ends) came back twice and took about 30 sec to resolve - just as an example of the movie's nonsense. We should have known though: it says at the start it's based on a Harlequin book...
After that, we were a little more careful and checked trailers first. Hence, The Christmas Prince Pt 2, Switched Again, and Christmas Wonderland all went swiftly off the list. Instead, we watched A Christmas Catch. That was pretty enjoyable. The two detectives and police captain had some good banter together and the story worked out well enough. The ending is pretty crappy (not disappointing, just poorly done), but overall it's a fun watch.
Finally, we saw A California Christmas. That's a nice way to round this set off, as there's as much snow in California's wine region as in the Pacific. Also a fun feelgood film that does its job as you'd want it to. Its timeline is way too contracted though. There is a montage at some point that feels like it's depicting developments covering several weeks - while in fact only one or two days pass by. The story does not really make sense given its very short timespan, but apart from that, it's fine.
That's all from the perspective of expecting a cliché'd Christmas movie of course. This isn't high art in any way.
Also not high art, but rather different in atmosphere: Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters. A gory steampunk romp set in the Middle Ages, where Hansel (Jeremy Renner) and Gretel (Gemma Arterton) have become hunters of vile and evil witches. It's pulp nonsense, but the film and actors are fully aware of that, and it's a lot of fun if you set your mind to it the right way. The film also lasts only 1h29, which is perfect. A lot of similar nonsense films (take the Transformers franchise) stretch out well over two hours, which is far more than the story or concept can sustain. Being able to keep things short & sweet is an undervalued quality.This short was on a video tape I had and it traumatised me. Tom did not deserve that. Put me right off the afterlife.
You know film.
You're pushing it.
I watched The Dead Zone this morning. I enjoyed it a lot. I was kind of hoping (white text ->) that it would end a bit more positively for Johnny, but at least he saw what was going to happen to that twat Stillson, I was worried he was going to get away with it for a little bit at the end there.
Cherry picking excerpts from muh blog:
One Cut of the Dead
One Cut of the Dead is the debut film from Shin’Ichiro Ueda and tells the story of a movie-making exercise gone wrong when the cast and crew are randomly attacked by ferocious zombies. As they’re picked off one by one, the director sees a window of opportunity so keeps filming so as to create the most realistic film possible. As it turns out – and without spoiling anything major – this reality isn’t quite how it seems. The latter parts show us what’s really going on behind the scenes, which ends up being a seriously amusing exercise in meta-filmmaking.
The beauty of the film isn’t how traditionally good it is but instead how strange things are. At one point, the cast and crew head upstairs to take a break, which ends up feeling like an eternity of listening to them have pointless dragged out conversations. It only stops – and thank god for that – when one heads outside for cigarette to get his arm chewed off (I guess smoking is bad for you). The next twenty or so minutes range from a mix of exciting to ridiculously slap-stick. It elicits one single appropriate response – what the feck is happening here? By the end, it’s obvious and most of the joke is on us.
The appeal isn’t obvious but you’ll have to trust me that it all makes sense by the end. The humour is playful, and the characters are both warm and likeable. To me it feels more like a movie made in 2008 rather than the more cynical times of today. I’m really interested to see what this talented young man by the name of Shin’Ichiro Ueda does next because I’m sure it’ll be equally as brilliant.
4/5
One Cut of the Dead
One Cut of the Dead is the debut film from Shin’Ichiro Ueda and tells the story of a movie-making exercise gone wrong when the cast and crew are randomly attacked by ferocious zombies. As they’re picked off one by one, the director sees a window of opportunity so keeps filming so as to create the most realistic film possible. As it turns out – and without spoiling anything major – this reality isn’t quite how it seems. The latter parts show us what’s really going on behind the scenes, which ends up being a seriously amusing exercise in meta-filmmaking.
The beauty of the film isn’t how traditionally good it is but instead how strange things are. At one point, the cast and crew head upstairs to take a break, which ends up feeling like an eternity of listening to them have pointless dragged out conversations. It only stops – and thank god for that – when one heads outside for cigarette to get his arm chewed off (I guess smoking is bad for you). The next twenty or so minutes range from a mix of exciting to ridiculously slap-stick. It elicits one single appropriate response – what the feck is happening here? By the end, it’s obvious and most of the joke is on us.
The appeal isn’t obvious but you’ll have to trust me that it all makes sense by the end. The humour is playful, and the characters are both warm and likeable. To me it feels more like a movie made in 2008 rather than the more cynical times of today. I’m really interested to see what this talented young man by the name of Shin’Ichiro Ueda does next because I’m sure it’ll be equally as brilliant.
4/5
Nomadland (2020) - 10/10
Wonderful. First ten out of ten for me in a long time.
Wonderful. First ten out of ten for me in a long time.
Wow. Talk about a deep cut.
Watched The Siege of Jadotville yesterday. Well done and a good story. I was a little disappointed that it doesn't say anything about Congo's history and development: there must be some very disturbing stories there about how Belgium, France, the UK, the USSR, and the US were playing local politics for their own gains after Congo gained it's independence - plus everything that local players did. But that's my bad, cause it's not the point of the film; it's about showing how that Irish battalion made the best of the terrible circumstances that the UN created for them, and helping set the historical record right on that issue. The film does a great job at that, telling a gripping story while staying very close to what really happened. I'd recommend it.
It's one of the best war movies I've watched and historically accurate as you've said, would highly recommend it to anyone interested in this genre.
Venom (2018) :
I honestly don't believe the critics reviews after watching it? I found it a pretty fun and entertaining movie to watch
Not anything exceptional but a fun enough watch with a nice and different take on Venom as a character. I don't think it's in any way worse than the worst MCU movies.
I was surprised though that it was only 1.5 hour movie which hurts the last 3rd of it a lot. I feel it needed about 15 more minutes to bridge the gab between the 2nd and 3rd part of it, as the progression to the final battle was rushed, but overall, still an entertaining watch. I hope it gets a sequel as the mid credit scene was very promising and a big fan service.
7/10
I honestly don't believe the critics reviews after watching it? I found it a pretty fun and entertaining movie to watch
Not anything exceptional but a fun enough watch with a nice and different take on Venom as a character. I don't think it's in any way worse than the worst MCU movies.
I was surprised though that it was only 1.5 hour movie which hurts the last 3rd of it a lot. I feel it needed about 15 more minutes to bridge the gab between the 2nd and 3rd part of it, as the progression to the final battle was rushed, but overall, still an entertaining watch. I hope it gets a sequel as the mid credit scene was very promising and a big fan service.
7/10
I think it benefits from going in with low expectations. Being short helps too, it doesn't overstay its welcome. I'd like to see a second one a lot but it'd probably have to be a bit better for me to still enjoy it.
Wonder Woman 1984
Awful, plot wise, acting wise, screenplay wise, even the CGI are seriously bad for a Superhero 1 hour series on TV let alone a blockbuster movie such as this. Can't believe it's made by the same Patty Jenkins (not that the 1st WW is superb, they're just not as bad as this)
Where do I start:
Gal Acting is wooden, Chris Pine tried his best and as likeable as he is he doesn't have much to work with
The villain is comical, it's the sort of villain that you see in Adam West Batman (God rest his soul)
Action is comical, it's like a mudfight of chicks
The golden armor was supposed to be super powerful they can break free all Amazons from enslavement yet looks soft as tin foil
The flying scene was What the feck was that
Plot holes gaping all overs (you can fly from DC to Cairo using a jet , return trip)
I've read before that it wasn't good, I just didn't expect it to be this bad.
Awful, plot wise, acting wise, screenplay wise, even the CGI are seriously bad for a Superhero 1 hour series on TV let alone a blockbuster movie such as this. Can't believe it's made by the same Patty Jenkins (not that the 1st WW is superb, they're just not as bad as this)
Where do I start:
Gal Acting is wooden, Chris Pine tried his best and as likeable as he is he doesn't have much to work with
The villain is comical, it's the sort of villain that you see in Adam West Batman (God rest his soul)
Action is comical, it's like a mudfight of chicks
The golden armor was supposed to be super powerful they can break free all Amazons from enslavement yet looks soft as tin foil
The flying scene was What the feck was that
Plot holes gaping all overs (you can fly from DC to Cairo using a jet , return trip)
I've read before that it wasn't good, I just didn't expect it to be this bad.
We can be heroes
Total kids film but still a fun time pass. Has Pedro Pascal, Priyanka Chopra and a few others who you might recognise but it's not about them. It's about the kids
Total kids film but still a fun time pass. Has Pedro Pascal, Priyanka Chopra and a few others who you might recognise but it's not about them. It's about the kids
Enemy (2013):
I really liked every other Denis Villeneuve movie I have seen, so decided to watch his lesser known psychological drama 'Enemy' yesterday. Probably not the most unique premise, but nonetheless, the movie will keep you guessing about the plot, while also speculating about the symbolism and deeper meaning. For a relatively short film, it is a bit of a slow burner in the first third, but it makes up for it with style, atmosphere and tension. The performances are strong as well, especially from Jake Gyllenhaal and Sarah Gadon. Oh, and it has one of the more disturbing endings I can remember seeing in a film.
7/10. Would recommend to anyone who likes a psychological/surreal drama.
I really liked every other Denis Villeneuve movie I have seen, so decided to watch his lesser known psychological drama 'Enemy' yesterday. Probably not the most unique premise, but nonetheless, the movie will keep you guessing about the plot, while also speculating about the symbolism and deeper meaning. For a relatively short film, it is a bit of a slow burner in the first third, but it makes up for it with style, atmosphere and tension. The performances are strong as well, especially from Jake Gyllenhaal and Sarah Gadon. Oh, and it has one of the more disturbing endings I can remember seeing in a film.
7/10. Would recommend to anyone who likes a psychological/surreal drama.