Film The Redcafe Movie review thread

pierrethesnack said:
What did you make of Burning? It has been bugging me since I saw it, feel like I missed something. Not sure whether I just wasn't paying close enough attention or if it was actually quite confusing.
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My interpretation:

There are multiple themes, but the main theme is wealth inequality. However, even if the movie depicts wealth inequality as unjust, the "villain" is actually not a villain beyond being filthy rich. We see the story through the eyes of the protagonist who's gotten quite mad from the unfairness of the system. He sees things and patterns that aren't actually there and constructs a reality where the wealthy "villain" is a serial killer. A large part of the movie is trying to determine what's actually real and what just happens in the protagonist's imagination.

I think the very last scene gives us the best clue of this. When the villain arrives at the meeting spot we finally(?) get to see both the protagonist and the villain through a truly objective lens. The camera angle changes in a way that makes us seem further away than usual. We then see that the villain has a completely different demeanour than he normally has. He's not cocky or particularly suave at all. There's no threatening undertone. He doesn't move with confidence. And he genuinely seems concerned for the missing girl. If he was truly the killer as we're lead to believe, then it goes completely against his character to play dumb. That is not at all the character the protagonist has interacted with up until that point.

And then he's brutally stabbed by the protagonist, who doesn't even say a word. His madness has finally lead him to this.
 
OleBoiii said:
My interpretation:

There are multiple themes, but the main theme is wealth inequality. However, even if the movie depicts wealth inequality as unjust, the "villain" is actually not a villain beyond being filthy rich. We see the story through the eyes of the protagonist who's gotten quite mad from the unfairness of the system. He sees things and patterns that aren't actually there and constructs a reality where the wealthy "villain" is a serial killer. A large part of the movie is trying to determine what's actually real and what just happens in the protagonist's imagination.

I think the very last scene gives us the best clue of this. When the villain arrives at the meeting spot we finally(?) get to see both the protagonist and the villain through a truly objective lens. The camera angle changes in a way that makes us seem further away than usual. We then see that the villain has a completely different demeanour than he normally has. He's not cocky or particularly suave at all. There's no threatening undertone. He doesn't move with confidence. And he genuinely seems concerned for the missing girl. If he was truly the killer as we're lead to believe, then it goes completely against his character to play dumb. That is not at all the character the protagonist has interacted with up until that point.

And then he's brutally stabbed by the protagonist, who doesn't even say a word. His madness has finally lead him to this.
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I absolutely loved Burning and really like your take. The ending I think is more Dostoyevsky than Murakami, despite its source.

From what I've seen, Chang-dong's films are always subtle but powerful takes on how aspects of society make people feel and the pressures it causes them to face. They're mostly anti-melodramatic because people don't act out; they simply find themselves crushed and adjust according to expectation. Burning is superlative the way it does, as are Poetry and Peppermint Candy (I really recommend those if you haven't seen).

More personally Burning just moved me a lot. It distilled the sensation of being out of control and finding yourself in a situation where people you think you know act in what feel like irrational ways (which happens all the time). The girl is really taken by Ben and lends herself to this dual persona so you never understand if she's more like him or the MC. Like the MC, we never get to know what's really happened. It's a privilege neither of us are afforded.

@pierrethesnack too
 
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Vidyoyo said:
Burning is superlative the way it does, as are Poetry and Peppermint Candy (I really recommend those if you haven't seen).
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It's on my list! My wife and I have been watching a lot of classics lately, so I reckon it's time for some good and modern Korean cinema again :)
 
OleBoiii said:
My interpretation:

There are multiple themes, but the main theme is wealth inequality. However, even if the movie depicts wealth inequality as unjust, the "villain" is actually not a villain beyond being filthy rich. We see the story through the eyes of the protagonist who's gotten quite mad from the unfairness of the system. He sees things and patterns that aren't actually there and constructs a reality where the wealthy "villain" is a serial killer. A large part of the movie is trying to determine what's actually real and what just happens in the protagonist's imagination.

I think the very last scene gives us the best clue of this. When the villain arrives at the meeting spot we finally(?) get to see both the protagonist and the villain through a truly objective lens. The camera angle changes in a way that makes us seem further away than usual. We then see that the villain has a completely different demeanour than he normally has. He's not cocky or particularly suave at all. There's no threatening undertone. He doesn't move with confidence. And he genuinely seems concerned for the missing girl. If he was truly the killer as we're lead to believe, then it goes completely against his character to play dumb. That is not at all the character the protagonist has interacted with up until that point.

And then he's brutally stabbed by the protagonist, who doesn't even say a word. His madness has finally lead him to this.
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Vidyoyo said:
I absolutely loved Burning and really like your take. The ending I think is more Dostoyevsky than Murakami, despite its source.

From what I've seen, Chang-dong's films are always subtle but powerful takes on how aspects of society make people feel and the pressures it causes them to face. They're mostly anti-melodramatic because people don't act out; they simply find themselves crushed and adjust according to expectation. Burning is superlative the way it does, as are Poetry and Peppermint Candy (I really recommend those if you haven't seen).

More personally Burning just moved me a lot. It distilled the sensation of being out of control and finding yourself in a situation where people you think you know act in what feel like irrational ways (which happens all the time). The girl is really taken by Ben and lends herself to this dual persona so you never understand if she's more like him or the MC. Like the MC, we never get to know what's really happened. It's a privilege neither of us are afforded.

@pierrethesnack too
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Good comments, cheers.
 
Burning... Is that the Korean one with the dude from Walking Dead? If so, I read some great theories on Reddit, one I especially liked about the dude from Walking Dead being the Grim Reaper. Really good movie.
 
Dirty Schwein said:
Burning... Is that the Korean one with the dude from Walking Dead? If so, I read some great theories on Reddit, one I especially liked about the dude from Walking Dead being the Grim Reaper. Really good movie.
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That's the one and yeah it's great.
 
OleBoiii said:
It's been ages since I saw The Godfather 2, but isn't that a pretty straight-forward film? As in: what you see is what you get? There may be some symbolism here and there, but overall it's not a very confusing film and the ending is pretty conclusive.
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The actual story may be fairly straightforward but the themes of the film are complex and handled utterly brilliantly. Family relations, decline of the west/patriarchy with added Catholicism/Mafia loyalties complicating things. It is everything a Kubric film isn't. The characters are real humans and you have an emotional connection. A kubric film is like watching an alien describing what a human behaves like. Nothing rings true and he is horrible with female characters. His films also always seem so smug somehow.

I also love highly artistic films but they have to be good. I know people love Kubric and that is normal as art is of course subjective. Personally if I have no emotional connection to any characters in a film (even at a superficial level) I don't usually enjoy a film.
 
berbatrick said:
Contract Killer (1998):
Hong Kong action film starring Jet Li. The opening 25 minutes is absolutely insane and great fun, just watch that and nothing else. So many great scenes. The closing 10 minute action climax is very good. The middle ... the plot stops multiple times for no reason, and it gets way too complicated. The dub was AWFUL, added a totally out-of-place rap soundtrack, and also killed some plot elements (Chinese and Japanese are apparently both spoken, but nothing here indicates what's what).
6/10 mostly for the beginning.
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Check out The Killer from 1989 if you're still interested in Hong Kong action films. It's up on youtube in pretty decent quality.

A John Woo classic.
 
Excalibur (1981)
Closest things I've seen to LotR in terms of atmosphere, quite cool. 8/10

Possession (1981)
Not quite sure what I was supposed to get out ot this. 5/10

Trance (2013)
Really cool movie. Thought I had it figured out, but surprised me. Recommended if you like mystery/thrillers. 8/10

Take Shelter (2011)
Gave me a mild depression. Guess it was good, but slightly too heavy for me. 6,5/10

Embrace of the Serpent (2015)
Long and ponderous, but really atmospheric and beautifully done. Kind of an Odyssey in the Amazon. 8/10

Revolver (2005)
I have no idea how to rate this movie. I am genuinely puzzled whether it's just awful or some next level narrative structure that I don't get. ?/10
 
Escape From Pretoria
Based on the real-life prison break of two political captives, Escape From Pretoria is a race-against-time thriller set in the tumultuous apartheid days of South Africa. Decent prison break drama with quite a few tense scenes and a really good performance from Daniel Radcliffe. But unfortunately, it's not as good as some of the best movies in this sub-genre and in the end felt like a bunch of skits on how Radcliffe nearly got caught unlocking doors 6/10
 
I Care a Lot

I have just watched this today and I can safely say I was gripped from the minute the film started. It was one of the most enjoyable films I have watched in a while. I don't want to give a lot away but I thought Rosamund Pike was outstanding in the role she played.

You can watch this via Netflix/Amazon

I must say the story is very sad at times and it does certainly make you think about things which happen in the world today.

8.5/10
 
Tottenhamguy said:
I Care a Lot

I have just watched this today and I can safely say I was gripped from the minute the film started. It was one of the most enjoyable films I have watched in a while. I don't want to give a lot away but I thought Rosamund Pike was outstanding in the role she played.

You can watch this via Netflix/Amazon

I must say the story is very sad at times and it does certainly make you think about things which happen in the world today.

8.5/10
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I'm planning to watch this. Probably tomorrow. Good news, hopefully I like it too.
 
I thought it was terrible. Ridiculous plot, poorly directed and a quite terrible performance by Dinklage as the baddy. It's also really hard to root for a character that's such an utter cnut which it expects you to do. Pike is good in the role and that's about it. Honestly couldn't get over why it had such great reviews.

Promising Young Woman is a far, far superior film.
 
Take Care of my Cat

Liked this. It's a surprisingly tender Korean coming-of-age story about four women(?) without the usual melancholy attached. Found it via The Guardian's recent list of best modern Korean cinema.

Well worth highlighting its presence to your local constabulary for there's no way to access it otherwise.
 
Wibble said:
The actual story may be fairly straightforward but the themes of the film are complex and handled utterly brilliantly. Family relations, decline of the west/patriarchy with added Catholicism/Mafia loyalties complicating things. It is everything a Kubric film isn't. The characters are real humans and you have an emotional connection. A kubric film is like watching an alien describing what a human behaves like. Nothing rings true and he is horrible with female characters. His films also always seem so smug somehow.

I also love highly artistic films but they have to be good. I know people love Kubric and that is normal as art is of course subjective. Personally if I have no emotional connection to any characters in a film (even at a superficial level) I don't usually enjoy a film.
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The same but I think his cold, analytical style suits some of his films, particularly the ones with difficult themes like Full Metal Jacket and Clockwork Orange.

I've no doubt he made films to make people uncomfortable and create talking points. Some of them are plain disgusting (thinking the phallic symbolism in Clockwork).
 
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Persona

Wow, that was a trip. An enjoyable one, mind you. I'm glad that I saved this for last. Going from The Seventh Seal to Wild Strawberries to Persona seems to have been a good decision. I'm not sure which of the last two I liked more, but they're both great so let's just leave it at that.

That concludes my "Bergman project" for now. I'll definitely see more of his films in the future, though.

In my little quest of watching classic films for the first time, there were two directors I was particularly interested in; Hitchcock and Bergman. I got to say that I prefer the latter director. By far.
 
I Care A lot :

Really liked it ! It's a very enjoyable movie with a well written and coherent story that got me engaged in it from the first scene, with a set of characters that're written well to the point I pretty much hated all of them, :lol: (But that was intended). The villain was a little bit cliched but it's not a big deal.

The ending though was going in a route I found absolutely ridiculous and made no sense at all to the point I was fuming about it but then the last few seconds of it came and salvaged it for me, without spoilers, thank God for that ! Now I feel satisfied about the whole experience. The sequence of the ending though will cut a little bit from the rating, can't be helped.

7/10.
 
el3mel said:
I Care A lot :

Really liked it ! It's a very enjoyable movie with a well written and coherent story that got me engaged in it from the first scene, with a set of characters that're written well to the point I pretty much hated all of them, :lol: (But that was intended). The villain was a little bit cliched but it's not a big deal.

The ending though was going in a route I found absolutely ridiculous and made no sense at all to the point I was fuming about it but then the last few seconds of it came and salvaged it for me, without spoilers, thank God for that ! Now I feel satisfied about the whole experience.

8/10.
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I was told it's absolutely awful but maybe I'll give it a go as I love a good divisive movie.
 
Dirty Schwein said:
I was told it's absolutely awful but maybe I'll give it a go as I love a good divisive movie.
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I thought about it again and dropped my rating to 7. Thought the sequence of the ending deserved a lower rating unfortunately. Can't be helped, even if it was salvaged at the end.
 
Falling Down

Classic 90s movie, loads of familiar faces and an LA setting and atmosphere later replicated to some extent in Training Day and Harsh Times. Thematically it would hold up well enough if it was released in 2021. Packed with cop cliches though, or maybe they only became cliches after this. Anyway it’s pretty enjoyable still after almost 30 years.

7/10
 
The Outpost If you like war movies it is decent but it didn't really engage me as much as some other movies of this type. I was very tired after a huge week so maybe that and a few beers didn't help as I was falling asleep by the end. If you like war movies then well worth watching. 6/10
 
Wibble said:
The Outpost If you like war movies it is decent but it didn't really engage me as much as some other movies of this type. I was very tired after a huge week so maybe that and a few beers didn't help as I was falling asleep by the end. If you like war movies then well worth watching. 6/10
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You know if it's more on the accurate side of things? Been considering it for a while.
 
Massive Spanner said:
It is absolutely awful.
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The film is not going to be everyone's cup of tea I can understand that but you're making it out that it's one of the worst films ever made where it really isn't. The film plot can be a bit daft and some of the acting is maybe subpar but generally it's a decent film more so with the acting of Pike.
 
From what I read the most divisive things about it are the lack of any morally good characters and how unrealistic it became in its 3rd act. The second problem I fully agree on and talked about it but I'm pretty sure you were supposed to hate everyone in this movie.
 
el3mel said:
From what I read the most divisive things about it are the lack of any morally good characters and how unrealistic it became in its 3rd act. The second problem I fully agree on and talked about it but I'm pretty sure you were supposed to hate everyone in this movie.
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The film was pretty much unrealistic throughout, Not just in the 3rd part of the film, The amount of legislation involved in in regards to the 'individuals care is more complex and thorough shown in the film.

The film was made for purely entertainment purposes and that is basically it.
 
Tottenhamguy said:
The film was pretty much unrealistic throughout, Not just in the 3rd part of the film, The amount of legislation involved in in regards to the 'individuals care is more complex and thorough shown in the film.

The film was made for purely entertainment purposes and that is basically it.
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I agree. I don't think it is a movie that's trying to take itself seriously and just wants to entertain and it did decently well from this perspective. Of course, they could have done more with the premise and it will end up being forgettable in the future but I quite enjoyed watching it, up until the sunken car scene.
 
Has anyone seen this. I read part of the first book but something very upsetting happened in the book and I just couldn't keep reading. Tom Holland is a decent actor so I might give it a shot.
 
el3mel said:
I Care A lot :

Really liked it ! It's a very enjoyable movie with a well written and coherent story that got me engaged in it from the first scene, with a set of characters that're written well to the point I pretty much hated all of them, :lol: (But that was intended). The villain was a little bit cliched but it's not a big deal.

The ending though was going in a route I found absolutely ridiculous and made no sense at all to the point I was fuming about it but then the last few seconds of it came and salvaged it for me, without spoilers, thank God for that ! Now I feel satisfied about the whole experience. The sequence of the ending though will cut a little bit from the rating, can't be helped.

7/10.
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Watched this last night and loved it.
I was a bit annoyed when they started to make it seem like they were the victims. I was so mad too but then Karma stepped in :lol:
 
2cents said:
Falling Down

Classic 90s movie, loads of familiar faces and an LA setting and atmosphere later replicated to some extent in Training Day and Harsh Times. Thematically it would hold up well enough if it was released in 2021. Packed with cop cliches though, or maybe they only became cliches after this. Anyway it’s pretty enjoyable still after almost 30 years.

7/10
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I completely get what you mean here. Its like the Samuel L film 187, everything seems to have a yellowy hue. Is it because of smog or something or is it directorial?
 
LuisNaniencia said:
I completely get what you mean here. Its like the Samuel L film 187, everything seems to have a yellowy hue. Is it because of smog or something or is it directorial?
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Yeah it seems a bit like the way every movie set in the Middle East has that weird glaze. I’m not a big movie buff but with films set in America I only associate that with LA. It may be because these movies have a rather heavy emphasis on the city’s non-white neighborhoods, and so seek to give them the mood of a Middle Eastern war-zone. But probably also due to the unique characteristics of the city itself (e.g. smog, sun, heavy traffic, etc.)
 
White Tiger

I read the book ages ago and remember enjoying it but not much more about it. So can’t say for sure how closely this sticks to it. But it’s an entertaining movie in any case, full of the type of visual and thematic contrasts and paradoxes that we’ve become accustomed to seeing in movies and other mediums concerning modern India. But with a tight plot and enough engaging characters to elevate it above most of those in this genre. I recommend it if you’ve never heard of it and are stuck for something to watch, it might surprise you.

7/10
 
2cents said:
White Tiger

I read the book ages ago and remember enjoying it but not much more about it. So can’t say for sure how closely this sticks to it. But it’s an entertaining movie in any case, full of the type of visual and thematic contrasts and paradoxes that we’ve become accustomed to seeing in movies and other mediums concerning modern India. But with a tight plot and enough engaging characters to elevate it above most of those in this genre. I recommend it if you’ve never heard of it and are stuck for something to watch, it might surprise you.

7/10
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There seems to be a copy of that book in every single second-hand book store in the world, which has weirdly put me off reading it.
 
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