Film The Redcafe Movie review thread

If anyone wants an exciting chase, The Yellow Sea that i just watched has fantastic ones. The first one, where the main character is on foot and the cops are chasing him on foot and in cars, was very like the start of 28 Weeks Later. It was epic.
 
Tuner
A talented piano tuner who suffers from hyperacusis discovers an unexpected aptitude for cracking safes, turning his life upside down. Liked the concept, had some great sound design and decent acting for a film like this but overall, it felt disjointed. It's a crime thriller / romantic movie but rather than interweaving these in a coherent narrative, it focuses on the thriller side for the first and last act but the middle is mostly a romantic drama. That kind of structure made the film feel completely off-pace. The final act was a let down as well 5.5/10

Strange Frequencies: Taiwan Killer Hospital
Reality TV stars face mounting supernatural horrors while filming at haunted Xinglin Hospital in Taiwan. As paranormal activity intensifies, group dynamics crumble and a dark force manipulates their survival choices. Right from the start, I felt like this was a rip-off of Gonjiam (which is a fantastic Korean found footage horror with a similar premise) and suddenly, a character within this film literally says Gonjiam is the inspiration. But clearly, this group of filmmakers didn't understand what made Gonjiam such a cult favourite within the horror sphere. Whilst the characters were okay and the premise lead to some nice build up of suspense, the scare were abysmal. Most of them were telegraphed from a mile out and had shitty digital effects that made them laughable. It's a pointless exercise and if you wanna watch a film like this, just watch Gonjiam instead 4/10
 
Cheimoon said:
One Battle After Another. I had high hopes, but the film really failed to grab me in any way; I felt it wasn't very interesting, funny, moving, exciting, or anything else. Basically, I was bored a lot of the time. Yes, some great acting and characters and some beautiful scenes (like that car chase - which was however also rather boring). I see reviewers like all the issue Anderson touches upon and how they relate to the current-day US, but I didn't notice anything particularly insightful, impactful, or just fully developed. 2/5
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I agree. Booooring and pointless.
 
Dirty Schwein said:
Tuner
A talented piano tuner who suffers from hyperacusis discovers an unexpected aptitude for cracking safes, turning his life upside down. Liked the concept, had some great sound design and decent acting for a film like this but overall, it felt disjointed. It's a crime thriller / romantic movie but rather than interweaving these in a coherent narrative, it focuses on the thriller side for the first and last act but the middle is mostly a romantic drama. That kind of structure made the film feel completely off-pace. The final act was a let down as well 5.5/10

Strange Frequencies: Taiwan Killer Hospital
Reality TV stars face mounting supernatural horrors while filming at haunted Xinglin Hospital in Taiwan. As paranormal activity intensifies, group dynamics crumble and a dark force manipulates their survival choices. Right from the start, I felt like this was a rip-off of Gonjiam (which is a fantastic Korean found footage horror with a similar premise) and suddenly, a character within this film literally says Gonjiam is the inspiration. But clearly, this group of filmmakers didn't understand what made Gonjiam such a cult favourite within the horror sphere. Whilst the characters were okay and the premise lead to some nice build up of suspense, the scare were abysmal. Most of them were telegraphed from a mile out and had shitty digital effects that made them laughable. It's a pointless exercise and if you wanna watch a film like this, just watch Gonjiam instead 4/10
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I really enjoyed Tuner. 5.5/10 seems quite low.
 
Nickelodeon said:
I really enjoyed Tuner. 5.5/10 seems quite low.
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I really wanted to, but it just didn't do it for me. Everything seemed predictable and there were large parts in the middle that bored me. Maybe I'm being a little too harsh though, maybe it's more like a 6 or 6.5.
 
Gladiator 2. I have to admit I didn't watch it with full attention, but I don't regret it. The Hanno story is largely an inferior rehash of the Maximus story, the many references to Gladiator 1 are a distraction, and the link between Hanno and Maximus makes little sense from the perspective of Gladiator 1. (Also, Mescal does not fit the role; he makes the character underwhelming.) And then they brought in so many additional elements (plus random spectacle and gore) that the story becomes a complex muddle that doesn't have enough time to properly motivate why things happen as they do or people do what they do. Denzel Washington and the Marcinus story are good and interesting though. If the latter had been the film's primary focus (preferable completely without the Hanno part), this would have been much better. 2/5
 
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Signal One

Interesting take on the question of: "Are we alone in the universe?"

Dennis Quaid is a billionaire with a private island, which he's turned into a state of the art lab. David Thewlis is a flawed genius who has found a way to communicate with aliens (should they exist). Isabelle Fuhrman and Josh Hutcherson are also megabrains, hired by Quaid to help Thewlis' research.

I really enjoyed it. Worth 90 minutes of anyone's time.

8.2/10
 
After Yang An excellent thoughtful sci-fi pondering about what makes us human or a person, with added themes about memory, loss and grief. Some great performances, and it looks and sounds georgeous. The only real criticism is it might be a bit slow and one paced for some - I was in the mood for it, my wife a bit less so. 9/10
 
Better Man. I'm not entirely sure why I wanted to see this Robbie Williams biopic; I guess due to the chimpanzee gimmick? It's actually pretty good though, and that gimmick works well: it's not a distraction and prevents you from wondering if the actor is enough like Williams. I'm not sure how accurate it is overall and don't care much for the song scenes, but it's often pretty funny and seems quite honest. 3/5
 
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Wibble said:
After Yang An excellent thoughtful sci-fi pondering about what makes us human or a person, with added themes about memory, loss and grief. Some great performances, and it looks and sounds georgeous. The only real criticism is it might be a bit slow and one paced for some - I was in the mood for it, my wife a bit less so. 9/10
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A beautiful film. Agree with the rating. Have you seen Columbus?
 
pauldyson1uk said:
The House That Jack Built

This has been sat on my HHD for a good while
Brillant film , Matt Dillon was outstanding.
One of the best films I have seen in a while

9/10
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It's excellent. Very disturbing also, with some incredible imagery throughout. Dillon was amazing in it indeed.
 
Project Hail Mary

Watchable interspecies sci-fi buddy movie. Not his biggest fan, but Gosling is very good and his charisma carries the movie through it's fairly humdrum plot. Some nice visuals and charming alien for family fun viewing.

6/10
 
Cheimoon said:
Gladiator 2. I have to admit I didn't watch it with full attention, but I don't regret it. The Hanno story is largely an inferior rehash of the Maximus story, the many references to Gladiator 1 are a distraction, and the link between Hanno and Maximus makes little sense from the perspective of Gladiator 1. (Also, Mescal does not fit the role; he makes the character underwhelming.) And then they brought in so many additional elements (plus random spectacle and gore) that the story becomes a complex muddle that doesn't have enough time to properly motivate why things happen as they do or people do what they do. Denzel Washington and the Marcinus story are good and interesting though. If the latter had been the film's primary focus (preferable completely without the Hanno), this would have been much better. 2/5
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There've been some epic historical movies made in recent years but they all seem to lack the quality of the first Gladiator.

I just watched The Odyssey and I really enjoyed it as a cinema spectacle. But even Nolan seems to struggle sometimes with pacing, editing, writing and some cohesiveness in his films. The first Gladiator is just a fantastic piece of filmmaking. Never did I feel like the pace was bad, the writing bad or the editing chaotic. It's like the movie organically flows well from scene to scene in the first Gladiator.
 
Watched a couple of decent is British Horror films, both from a few years ago

The Severed Sun

Magpie lives in an isolated church community ruled over by her father, The Pastor. When a man is murdered, paranoia sets in and people start to whisper about a strange 'Beast' that lives in the forest.
It was OK , a bit slow and preachy but overall not a bad watch.

5/10
Ghost Stories
After receiving a file with details of three unexplained cases of apparitions, skeptical professor Phillip Goodman embarks on a terrifying trip.
Paul Whitehouse and Martin Freeman in this.
Again another decent watch, few jump scares and a nice twist, that was not expected.

6/10
 
VorZakone said:
There've been some epic historical movies made in recent years but they all seem to lack the quality of the first Gladiator.

I just watched The Odyssey and I really enjoyed it as a cinema spectacle. But even Nolan seems to struggle sometimes with pacing, editing, writing and some cohesiveness in his films. The first Gladiator is just a fantastic piece of filmmaking. Never did I feel like the pace was bad, the writing bad or the editing chaotic. It's like the movie organically flows well from scene to scene in the first Gladiator.
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Yeah, that flow point is important. It's part of why I'm not sure if I want to see The Odyssey in cinema. For me, Nolan tends to unnecessarily overcomplicate his movies. Coupled with his lack of humor and often not having much to say, I find quite a few of his movies a tough watch.
 
Cheimoon said:
Yeah, that flow point is important. It's part of why I'm not sure if I want to see The Odyssey in cinema. For me, Nolan tends to unnecessarily overcomplicate his movies. Coupled with his lack of humor and often not having much to say, I find quite a few of his movies a tough watch.
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Yeah and The Odyssey fits that exact mold. Don't expect a free flowing straight forward narrative on screen. Even though the reliance on heavy mythological fantasy considering the source - Nolan still used his own artistic depictions of elements to make it feel more otherworldly in a less traditional historic epic fashion.
 
Redplane said:
Yeah and The Odyssey fits that exact mold. Don't expect a free flowing straight forward narrative on screen. Even though the reliance on heavy mythological fantasy considering the source - Nolan still used his own artistic depictions of elements to make it feel more otherworldly in a less traditional historic epic fashion.
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Of course, the Odyssey itself is a messy story: the elements that people generally know of it are a story told by Odysseus to the Phaeacians, and that story is very 'one damn thing after another'. Penelope holding off the suitors for 10 years by undoing her weaving at night also isn't peak storytelling. And other outcomes of the Trojan war are told to Telemachus in his otherwise somewhat pointless side quest. It makes sense to play with timelines (and leave a lot out) to condense all that into a movie if you don't want it to become too weird or boring. It's just that I don't trust Nolan too much anymore, personally.
 
pauldyson1uk said:
Ghost Stories
After receiving a file with details of three unexplained cases of apparitions, skeptical professor Phillip Goodman embarks on a terrifying trip.
Paul Whitehouse and Martin Freeman in this.
Again another decent watch, few jump scares and a nice twist, that was not expected.

6/10
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I saw this as a play (which I think it originally was) about a year ago. Worked better on stage than as a film, although the Whitehouse bit is pretty creepy.
 
Enola Holmes 3. Better than part 2 and fun overall. Some really illogical plot developments though, and an overly sentimental ending. But fun enough. 3/5
 
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BeforeKeanetherewasRobson said:
Watched it recently, “illogical” is being generous. It’s run it’s course.
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In particular,
all that talk about how brilliant Moriarty is, but the plot is super straightforward and she does some really dumb things in the final sequence of events.
And more generally, the plot is more spy than detective stuff.
 
Cheimoon said:
In particular,
all that talk about how brilliant Moriarty is, but the plot is super straightforward and she does some really dumb things in the final sequence of events.
And more generally, the plot is more spy than detective stuff.
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And the bit at the end (don’t think needs a spoiler)… where did all those people hide in the middle of nowhere?!
 
Somewhere (2010)
Golden Lion (best picture) winner at Venice, directed by Sofia Coppola. Actor lives at Chateau Marmont and tries to have fun, but can’t. Then, his 11 year old daughter comes to live with him. Really slow and dull. Did not finish.
100/1000
 
Slow West (2015)
Scottish teen traverses the American Old West aka New Zealand, to find his “sweetheart”
who actually doesn’t give two shits about him.
Michael Fassbender is a desperado. People get shot. Looked like they ran out of time, money, film, or all three.
300/1000
 
Wing Attack Plan R said:
Slow West (2015)
Scottish teen traverses the American Old West aka New Zealand, to find his “sweetheart”
who actually doesn’t give two shits about him.
Michael Fassbender is a desperado. People get shot. Looked like they ran out of time, money, film, or all three.
300/1000
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Are you the new pauldy.
 
The Odyssey
I've loved some Nolan films (TDK, Memento) and hated others (Inception, Tenet)... This falls firmly into the "loved" category. The scale of the production is mind-blowing, the score is hauntingly beautiful and Nolan's more grounded take on the story had me hooked. Matt Damon was excellent, as were most of the cast. I think I only had slight issues with Tom Holland, I struggled to buy him in this movie. Also, shout out to actually mixing the film in a way where we can actually hear the dialogue, which is normally an issue with Nolan films. Top notch and dshould be watched on the biggest screen possible 8.5/10
 
Dirty Schwein said:
The Odyssey
I've loved some Nolan films (TDK, Memento) and hated others (Inception, Tenet)... This falls firmly into the "loved" category. The scale of the production is mind-blowing, the score is hauntingly beautiful and Nolan's more grounded take on the story had me hooked. Matt Damon was excellent, as were most of the cast. I think I only had slight issues with Tom Holland, I struggled to buy him in this movie. Also, shout out to actually mixing the film in a way where we can actually hear the dialogue, which is normally an issue with Nolan films. Top notch and dshould be watched on the biggest screen possible 8.5/10
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The
body horror scene
was pretty gnarly for a summer blockbuster, wasn’t it?
 
Dirty Schwein said:
The Odyssey
I've loved some Nolan films (TDK, Memento) and hated others (Inception, Tenet)... This falls firmly into the "loved" category. The scale of the production is mind-blowing, the score is hauntingly beautiful and Nolan's more grounded take on the story had me hooked. Matt Damon was excellent, as were most of the cast. I think I only had slight issues with Tom Holland, I struggled to buy him in this movie. Also, shout out to actually mixing the film in a way where we can actually hear the dialogue, which is normally an issue with Nolan films. Top notch and dshould be watched on the biggest screen possible 8.5/10
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Have you seen Inception a second time? I ask because it didn’t appeal to me on first viewing, then on rewatch it blew me away. Not saying that’ll be the case for you - it’s not for everyone, my missus doesn’t enjoy it - but it’s now up there as one of my favourite movies. Tenet on the other hand wasn’t my cup of tea, but I have admittedly only seen that the once.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
The
body horror scene
was pretty gnarly for a summer blockbuster, wasn’t it?
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That and the Cyclops scenes were my favourite but moreso the scene you're talking about. It makes me wish Nolan would try his hand at horror, because he clearly would be great at it!

Parma Dewol said:
Have you seen Inception a second time? I ask because it didn’t appeal to me on first viewing, then on rewatch it blew me away. Not saying that’ll be the case for you - it’s not for everyone, my missus doesn’t enjoy it - but it’s now up there as one of my favourite movies. Tenet on the other hand wasn’t my cup of tea, but I have admittedly only seen that the once.
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Nah, I only saw it the one time on release and started getting annoyed when people mistook me not liking it with me not understanding it (despite Leo playing the "helpful" Microsoft Word paper clip throughout the film). Maybe I should give it another go.
 
Dirty Schwein said:
Nah, I only saw it the one time on release and started getting annoyed when people mistook me not liking it with me not understanding it (despite Leo playing the "helpful" Microsoft Word paper clip throughout the film). Maybe I should give it another go.
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On second viewing I thought it was a fantastic love story, having not appreciated that aspect the first time. Worth giving it another go I reckon.

Changing subject, watched Giant tonight and enjoyed it. I’ve a soft spot for sports movies and this reminded me of just how electric Naseem Hamed was to watch back in the day. Incredible he retired at 28. Good little movie and enjoyed Pierce Brosnan in it.
 
Dirty Schwein said:
Nah, I only saw it the one time on release and started getting annoyed when people mistook me not liking it with me not understanding it (despite Leo playing the "helpful" Microsoft Word paper clip throughout the film). Maybe I should give it another go.
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Paprika by Satoshi Kon is far more interesting both visual and how it views modern life. Plus no ear piercing Zimmer score shite but instead Susumu Hirasawa going wild on synths.
 
Cheimoon said:
Gladiator 2. I have to admit I didn't watch it with full attention, but I don't regret it. The Hanno story is largely an inferior rehash of the Maximus story, the many references to Gladiator 1 are a distraction, and the link between Hanno and Maximus makes little sense from the perspective of Gladiator 1. (Also, Mescal does not fit the role; he makes the character underwhelming.) And then they brought in so many additional elements (plus random spectacle and gore) that the story becomes a complex muddle that doesn't have enough time to properly motivate why things happen as they do or people do what they do. Denzel Washington and the Marcinus story are good and interesting though. If the latter had been the film's primary focus (preferable completely without the Hanno), this would have been much better. 2/5
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I thought Mescal killed the movie irrelevant of the story. He was just awful in it.
 
Dirty Schwein said:
That and the Cyclops scenes were my favourite but moreso the scene you're talking about. It makes me wish Nolan would try his hand at horror, because he clearly would be great at it!


Nah, I only saw it the one time on release and started getting annoyed when people mistook me not liking it with me not understanding it (despite Leo playing the "helpful" Microsoft Word paper clip throughout the film). Maybe I should give it another go.
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I watched Interstellar for a second time recently (with my daughter) and enjoyed much more than I did the first time (mainly because I wasn’t a dad first time round and the daddy-daughter stuff landed much better). Tried the same with Inception, hoping for a similar outcome. Turns out everything that bugged me the first time bugged me all over again. Maybe even more because I was annoyed at myself for putting myself through it more than once!
 
Sweet Square said:
Paprika by Satoshi Kon is far more interesting both visual and how it views modern life. Plus no ear piercing Zimmer score shite but instead Susumu Hirasawa going wild on synths.
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Ah yeah that's an excellent movie. Remember watching it stoned back in the day.
 
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