Our media college is looking at cancelling its long-running filmmaking course due to low application numbers. By contrast, the new eSports course (which teaches all students everything they need to run their own Youtube channel) and is in its second year is oversubscribed several times over.
Film The Redcafe Movie review thread
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Nik (@Rood) and Imran (@Annihilate Now!) discuss United's fantastic win away against Athletic Club in the semi-final of the Europa League.
They also pick out the positives of United's 4-3 loss away at Brentford, and Nik reviews a day out at Old Trafford watching Manchester United Women qualify for the Champions League.
Our media college is looking at cancelling its long-running filmmaking course due to low application numbers. By contrast, the new eSports course (which teaches all students everything they need to run their own Youtube channel) and is in its second year is oversubscribed several times over.
They're probably just hitting a point of being old enough to go themselves. Wouldn't blame them for finding the line up unappealing when they do.
I don't think it is a kids' thing in general, but the cinema as a whole in the UK is in decline. I have a monthly subscription to Cineworld, meaning I can go and watch, say, three films a day, every day. Sometimes I have had the entire screen to myself. It's madness.
Without the deal it is ludicrously expensive. Two elderly women were shocked that it cost £11 each to watch Bridget Jones. That's the same as I pay per month. And then there's the hyper-inflated cost of drinks and snacks.
Edit; I've just realised I haven't really answered your original question. Ah well.
Without the deal it is ludicrously expensive. Two elderly women were shocked that it cost £11 each to watch Bridget Jones. That's the same as I pay per month. And then there's the hyper-inflated cost of drinks and snacks.
Edit; I've just realised I haven't really answered your original question. Ah well.
Speaking of kids and cinema they do know how to enjoy the whole experience more than older generations. Exhibit A. The scenes at cinemas during Minecraft movie. Similar stuff happened with the last Minions movie too.
Just got around to watching this on Prime and I think you two are the only ones who've mentioned seeing it so far.
Agree with your take RiP that Stewart is excellent. The tension in the middle is strong and I really like the setting. It has a natural 80s quality to it without feeling too forced. Good music too!
One thing I didn't like as much, which you both mentioned, is how the story loses its way towards the end. It's fun but avoids testing the audience's moral stance on the lead characters, sort of, wrapping itself in knots to let them off scot-free. Every character except the wife that gets beaten feels morally flawed and I think the film could’ve been braver exploring that, leaving us thinking about whether their choices were worth it. But I guess it's not that sort of movie.
I haven't seen Saint Maud so I'll check that out.
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I liked the end. Had no idea what it meant but gave me an immense 'feck yeah!' feeling.
Yeah I get that. It seems like it wants to provide that cathartic relief and does it well.
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I was enjoying it well enough up to that point but it just kind of made the movie for me. It had good characters too, Ed Harris was very skeezy
By Dawn's Early Light
Prompted by a post about Threads, I gave this a watch.
Its not a bad made for TV film, watcable, there is better fims about there, Fail Safe, Wargames to name 2.
6/10
I suppose geography is similar where I am in Canada. I have no idea about cinema visits, and I anyway never went much myself either. But I know my kids watch movies regularly and have no problem sitting through them (it's rather beating them away from anything with a screen that's the problem). I know they watched movies at school and daycare also.
I have no idea of course how that will translate into their interest in movies when they're older and should transition to movies not primarily made for kids, but so far so good as far as I'm concerned. (Acknowledging that my kids don't seem average and that I don't see them become regular cinema goers (we're too stingy and lazy). And of course it's all anecdotal. End of disclaimers.)
"Daddy, we don't want to watch The Decameron again! Let's watch The Holy Mountain!"
Almost, but I rather meant that they're kinda nerdy probably.
My son watches far more films than we do. Mainly crap like horror although he is as sick of superhero stuff as the rest of us and he does watch some real films as well.
He does the half watching 2 or 3 thi gs at a time when home which drives me nuts as it is very distracting when watching something.
Looking forward to seeing Sinners next weekend, it's received rave reviews so far.
I'll be going too. It looks really good from the trailer.
The Body
Another murder mystery by Oriol Paulo, the guy who wrote and directed The Invisible Guest, which I reviewed recently. This isn't as good, in my opinion, but that might be because I watched The Invisible Guest without knowing anything about it, and I expected twists and turns this time round.
A rich milf is murdered by her younger husband, in a seemingly perfect crime of passion. He uses a traceless poison, and it looks like he's going to get away with it, but then her body goes missing from the morgue. Lots of weird things begin to happen, leading him to believe that she's not really dead and is trying to frame him. All the while, a dogged detective smells a rat.
I enjoyed it. It's not as slick as The Invisible Guest, but this one came out first. Still worth a watch. 8/10
Another murder mystery by Oriol Paulo, the guy who wrote and directed The Invisible Guest, which I reviewed recently. This isn't as good, in my opinion, but that might be because I watched The Invisible Guest without knowing anything about it, and I expected twists and turns this time round.
A rich milf is murdered by her younger husband, in a seemingly perfect crime of passion. He uses a traceless poison, and it looks like he's going to get away with it, but then her body goes missing from the morgue. Lots of weird things begin to happen, leading him to believe that she's not really dead and is trying to frame him. All the while, a dogged detective smells a rat.
I enjoyed it. It's not as slick as The Invisible Guest, but this one came out first. Still worth a watch. 8/10
The Rule of Jenny Pen
Geoffrey Rush and John Lithgow star in this film where Geoffrey, a judge, gets put in an old people's home and realises that Lithgow is terrorising the other helpless people at the home. Really slow and boring, was begging for it to end. The performances were decent and it was funny watching Lithgow walk around with a doll and tell old men to lick it's arse, but as a whole, this wasn't great 2/10
Hell House LLC
A found footage film about a group of people that set up a haunted house experience after taking over a hotel with a dark past. I saw this before but forgot about it. It had a few good scares and nice slow build, so the scares felt more memorable but the characters were awful and you kind of root for them to die, which shouldn't be the case 5.5/10
Hell House LLC 2: The Abaddon Hotel
A documentary crew go to the hotel to investigate how the people of the first film died. A mess of a movie, narratively all over the place and the acting was drama school level 2/10
Hell House LLC 3: Lake of Fire
A new haunt experience company takes over the hotel, with the financier having an ulterior motive. A step up from part 2, it was decent until the final act, where they clearly ran out of budget and started using Windows Movie Maker graphics. At least the narrative tried something a little different and makes me wonder if they leaned into that more, they could have had a good film on their hands 4.5/10
Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor
A woman and her girlfriend head to the Carmichael manor to investigate the mysterious disappearance of the family 30 years prior. Serves as a prequel and sequel to the rest of the series, this is what I was hoping for this entire time. Streamlined narrative and less (but more focused) scare moments that are inventive and stick with you. The acting went up ten notches and the narrative was far more interesting 6.5/10
Geoffrey Rush and John Lithgow star in this film where Geoffrey, a judge, gets put in an old people's home and realises that Lithgow is terrorising the other helpless people at the home. Really slow and boring, was begging for it to end. The performances were decent and it was funny watching Lithgow walk around with a doll and tell old men to lick it's arse, but as a whole, this wasn't great 2/10
Hell House LLC
A found footage film about a group of people that set up a haunted house experience after taking over a hotel with a dark past. I saw this before but forgot about it. It had a few good scares and nice slow build, so the scares felt more memorable but the characters were awful and you kind of root for them to die, which shouldn't be the case 5.5/10
Hell House LLC 2: The Abaddon Hotel
A documentary crew go to the hotel to investigate how the people of the first film died. A mess of a movie, narratively all over the place and the acting was drama school level 2/10
Hell House LLC 3: Lake of Fire
A new haunt experience company takes over the hotel, with the financier having an ulterior motive. A step up from part 2, it was decent until the final act, where they clearly ran out of budget and started using Windows Movie Maker graphics. At least the narrative tried something a little different and makes me wonder if they leaned into that more, they could have had a good film on their hands 4.5/10
Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor
A woman and her girlfriend head to the Carmichael manor to investigate the mysterious disappearance of the family 30 years prior. Serves as a prequel and sequel to the rest of the series, this is what I was hoping for this entire time. Streamlined narrative and less (but more focused) scare moments that are inventive and stick with you. The acting went up ten notches and the narrative was far more interesting 6.5/10
Please call for help!
Coherence
Strange things begin to happen when a group of friends gather for a dinner party on an evening when a comet is passing overhead.Very good film, well worth a watch.
7/10
I think he just did
Blink Twice
WOW that was a tough watch , I can see why there is a warning before you watch.
The acting was brilliant all round, thought the ending was very good.
8/10
WOW that was a tough watch , I can see why there is a warning before you watch.
The acting was brilliant all round, thought the ending was very good.
8/10
Double Blind
After an experimental drug trial goes awry, the test subjects face a terrifying side effect: if you fall asleep you die. Trapped in an isolated facility, panic ensues as they try to escape and somehow stay awake.
It was pretty meh TBH , watch once never again.
4/10
After an experimental drug trial goes awry, the test subjects face a terrifying side effect: if you fall asleep you die. Trapped in an isolated facility, panic ensues as they try to escape and somehow stay awake.
It was pretty meh TBH , watch once never again.
4/10
This is a great little film. One of the best sci-fi films of the century for my money.
I agree.
Blood Star
A petty thief driving through the New Mexico desert finds herself the target of a psychopathic small town sheriff who views his badge as a license to prey on vulnerable young women. She must use all of her street-smarts to survive.
Better film than I thought it would be, worth a watch.
6/10
A petty thief driving through the New Mexico desert finds herself the target of a psychopathic small town sheriff who views his badge as a license to prey on vulnerable young women. She must use all of her street-smarts to survive.
Better film than I thought it would be, worth a watch.
6/10
Labor Day. A 2013 thriller/drama by Jason Reitman featuring Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin. Winslet is a single mom who's depressed and stuck at home, where she is visited and brought back to life (so to speak) by Brolin, who just escaped prison and is now on the run. It's really a drama that's made to feel like a thriller. That's fine for the first part, as the constant tension suggest things can explode any moment; but it's a bit disappointing that yhe 'payoff' is really a rather straightforward drama plot. The characters are also all rather flat and too stereotypical. But the film keeps you in well enough all the same. 3/5
Québec-Montréal. Ricardo Trogi's first film, from 2002. We follow three parallel stories as three groups take a car trip from Quebec (the city) to Montreal and discuss or experience different aspects of love, sex, and relationships. As such, the film is 99% conversation. Unfortunately, most of those conversations involve nog very likeable characters saying not very interesting, and sometimes downright stupid, stuff. There are also some good and really funny moments, but most of the film was a slog. 2/5
Québec-Montréal. Ricardo Trogi's first film, from 2002. We follow three parallel stories as three groups take a car trip from Quebec (the city) to Montreal and discuss or experience different aspects of love, sex, and relationships. As such, the film is 99% conversation. Unfortunately, most of those conversations involve nog very likeable characters saying not very interesting, and sometimes downright stupid, stuff. There are also some good and really funny moments, but most of the film was a slog. 2/5
Black Bag
Never did I think I would enjoy a thriller where the action set-pieces consist of conversations around a dinner table Really well made movie with an intriguing plot and good performances 7/10
The Crow (2024)
I love the original but this was just awful. One really fun action sequence doesn't make up for all the bullshit surrounding it. Trying to give Eric and his partner more screen time to bring out their romance was a stupid idea and there was zero authenticity about their relationship. What a waste of time 2.5/10
Carved: The Slit-Mouthed Woman
A suburban town in Japan is the victim of what is supposedly just an urban legend, a woman's spirit with a horribly disfigured face who is intent on kidnapping children for unknown reasons. I remember watching this years ago but dont recall any of the plot so gave it another watch. I think my brain must have blocked it out because this was really bad. They show the ghost waaaaaay too much, without even using light and shade, it's just out there in the open, with flat, long, drawn out mid-shots, looking as scary as a cosplayer at a horror convention. Every female mother in this film is also an awful mother, including the protagonist. What the feck was the point of this movie? I guess it had a good scene near the end and it wasn't too long... that's about it 1.5/10
Never did I think I would enjoy a thriller where the action set-pieces consist of conversations around a dinner table
Really well made movie with an intriguing plot and good performances 7/10The Crow (2024)
I love the original but this was just awful. One really fun action sequence doesn't make up for all the bullshit surrounding it. Trying to give Eric and his partner more screen time to bring out their romance was a stupid idea and there was zero authenticity about their relationship. What a waste of time 2.5/10
Carved: The Slit-Mouthed Woman
A suburban town in Japan is the victim of what is supposedly just an urban legend, a woman's spirit with a horribly disfigured face who is intent on kidnapping children for unknown reasons. I remember watching this years ago but dont recall any of the plot so gave it another watch. I think my brain must have blocked it out because this was really bad. They show the ghost waaaaaay too much, without even using light and shade, it's just out there in the open, with flat, long, drawn out mid-shots, looking as scary as a cosplayer at a horror convention. Every female mother in this film is also an awful mother, including the protagonist. What the feck was the point of this movie? I guess it had a good scene near the end and it wasn't too long... that's about it 1.5/10
The Amateur (2025)
I really enjoyed this. It's a sort of Bourne/Mission Impossible take but with many differences. Rami Malek plays a CIA computer analyst who, for reasons I won't go into, finds a personal need to seek vengeance and hunt down four killers. One problem - he is a nerdy weakling, not a killer. He is laughed at by the "tough" CIA operatives when he suggests his mission, but ends up being sent for "training" to the excellent Laurence Fishburne. And then the fun begins.
It's implausible in parts, and a tad sentimental, but I found it really entertaining, putting aside the fact that the Sky Pool Bridge is in Nine Elms, London, rather than the film's Madrid. The tech stuff is done really well, and I quite like the twist on the genre, where intelligence is seen as superior to brute strength.
7/10
I really enjoyed this. It's a sort of Bourne/Mission Impossible take but with many differences. Rami Malek plays a CIA computer analyst who, for reasons I won't go into, finds a personal need to seek vengeance and hunt down four killers. One problem - he is a nerdy weakling, not a killer. He is laughed at by the "tough" CIA operatives when he suggests his mission, but ends up being sent for "training" to the excellent Laurence Fishburne. And then the fun begins.
It's implausible in parts, and a tad sentimental, but I found it really entertaining, putting aside the fact that the Sky Pool Bridge is in Nine Elms, London, rather than the film's Madrid. The tech stuff is done really well, and I quite like the twist on the genre, where intelligence is seen as superior to brute strength.
7/10
This is good to know. From the trailer it’s not at all clear he isn’t supposed to be some asskicking super spy, a role he’s not particularly suited for. Might just see this now!
Saw Warfare earlier this week in IMAX and loved it for the audio spectacle that it was.
Going for Sinners tomorrow. It looks extremely good from early reviews.
Going for Sinners tomorrow. It looks extremely good from early reviews.
Warfare (2025)
Wow, just wow! You can tell when a film has an impact when the audience remain in their seats until the end of the credits and then walk out in silence. There is no room for words as people try to process what they have just experienced.
I saw the trailer for this at the cinema and knew I had to watch it. I read nothing about it beforehand other than a Guardian headline that simply asked "Is this the most realistic war film ever made?" I suspect that it is.
It is brutal, relentless, intense, visceral. Directed by Ray Mendoza/ Alex Garland (who collaborated on Civil War) it follows a few hours of a Navy Seal team on one patrol on one single day, Iraq, 2006. The entire film is based on the recollections of that team, of which Mendoza was a part.
It does not adhere to any Hollywood conventions, we are not introduced to characters, there is no narrative development as such, there are no back-stories or clichéd "when this war is over I will ..." The language used is military and not explained. It's neither glamorised nor patriotic - in fact, I did not find it political at all.
The cinematography is outstanding - the extensive use of close-ups left me breathless at times. Claustrophobic. The combat choreography is Mendoza's background. And the sound design - deliberately avoiding any soundtrack to trigger or guide an emotional response - is remarkable.
Watch it. Watch it at an IMAX. Don't take popcorn.
10/10
Wow, just wow! You can tell when a film has an impact when the audience remain in their seats until the end of the credits and then walk out in silence. There is no room for words as people try to process what they have just experienced.
I saw the trailer for this at the cinema and knew I had to watch it. I read nothing about it beforehand other than a Guardian headline that simply asked "Is this the most realistic war film ever made?" I suspect that it is.
It is brutal, relentless, intense, visceral. Directed by Ray Mendoza/ Alex Garland (who collaborated on Civil War) it follows a few hours of a Navy Seal team on one patrol on one single day, Iraq, 2006. The entire film is based on the recollections of that team, of which Mendoza was a part.
It does not adhere to any Hollywood conventions, we are not introduced to characters, there is no narrative development as such, there are no back-stories or clichéd "when this war is over I will ..." The language used is military and not explained. It's neither glamorised nor patriotic - in fact, I did not find it political at all.
The cinematography is outstanding - the extensive use of close-ups left me breathless at times. Claustrophobic. The combat choreography is Mendoza's background. And the sound design - deliberately avoiding any soundtrack to trigger or guide an emotional response - is remarkable.
Watch it. Watch it at an IMAX. Don't take popcorn.
10/10
It's an interesting film conceptually, but I agree with the CBC reviewer that it is in fact highly political. By only showing one side's perspective, you dramatize their experiences (even if you don't add drama beyond what happened) and depersonalize the ofher. As a result, the film plays strongly in the 'US military good, Iraqi militias bad' narrative , similar to American Sniper. I understand there's also some scenes before and after that play into the US drama aspect.
I haven't seen the film, so I might be relying on this reviewer too much. But overall, I would anyway say that Garland's intention to make an objective, apolitical film is an intellectual cop-out. It doesn't exist, and most certainly not when it relates to such a politically and ethically complex episode of history.
Here is the review: https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/warfare-review-1.7507171
Interesting, but as you say, you haven't seen the film. I could debate forever about this, but my post was my personal reaction to a film without giving spoilers away.
Yes, the viewpoint of the film is one-sided, but there is a subtle and sympathetic angle to the portrayal of the Iraqis too. I certainly do not agree that there is a good/bad narrative - it is nothing like American Sniper.
Go and experience it. It will be worth your while.
Now I just hope I won't have to completely disagree with myself once I've seen it.
But if you do, then you do. Film is a personal experience.Now I just hope I won't have to completely disagree with myself once I've seen it.
The soundtrack is fairly minimalist from memory. Decent atmospheric music and the pop songs from the club and her flatmate getting killed.
Never been to one of these live things.
Bring Them Down
A tale of sheep rustling, unrequited love, the Irish language, poverty and vendetta.
Starring Barry Keoghan and Colm Meaney, among others, I thought it was good, but maybe held your hand a bit too much.
7.5/10
A tale of sheep rustling, unrequited love, the Irish language, poverty and vendetta.
Starring Barry Keoghan and Colm Meaney, among others, I thought it was good, but maybe held your hand a bit too much.
7.5/10