Triangle of Sadness
Film The Redcafe Movie review thread
- Thread starter golden_blunder
- Start date
Ha. Funnily enough, I rewatched the Naked Gun last night to see if it still had the laughs, and it definitely does. Just the problem of the murderer being in it, really.
I'd never seen my father laugh at anything on television before until this scene came rolling around. He was literally crying.
Another strong scene.
Whiplash
Fantastic film.
9/10
Fantastic film.
9/10
Bull Revenge "thriller" but really just revenge until the supernatural explanation/twist at the end. Not terrible but nothing top notch. 5/10
The reveal in The Visit is a truly masterful piece of cinema.
Said previously in this thread that he’s a really great thinker. If he had the ability to hand his ideas off to competent film makers we’d all get some great stuff.
Instead… nah. Steaming piles of shite.
Last edited:
I beg to differ. Night is not a great thinker, what he is good at is coming up with a hook: what if plant spores were deadly, what if aliens were too fecking stupid to know that water kills them and they visit a water planet, what if a group of dumbfecks live in a commune in a park and think it's 150 years ago, what if you go to a beach and you turn old, etc.
He can't write coherent scripts to save his life, his movies always rely on some big "twist" and usually those are either completely implausible or unsupported by everything in the story that came before. His twists are always cop outs, the equivalent of a jump scare you can't see it coming because it literally doesn't make sense.
Brilliant film.
It might be Veroheven peak. It’s the best modern anti war film and insane how the real world is copying it.
Yeah there’s probably a landing patch of sensible between my post and yours.
I stand by the comment on The Visit though. Genuinely harrowing and plays out really well.
I didn’t mean to rain on your parade so hard, sorry. I knew someone who spent a few months out in Pennsylvania working on hooks / pitches with Night. I’m distilling things I was told with things I felt after watching one of his movies that leave me feeling ripped off.
Plane - Far more entraining then a film called Plane had any right to be
Film based on a book by Robert A. Heinlein? Directed by Paul Verhoeven? With a supporting role for Michael Ironside? What's not to love?
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
It was OK , it was never going to be a classic, Ford is far too old to e running round and fighting, although he did do very well, but there was quite few times you could see how old he was.
I found the film to be a mix of Raider and Hunt for the Grail, which was not a bad thing both were excellent films.
I thought the references to previous films were well worked in.
The story was decent, would have liked to had more time travel stuff, thought they could've done more with that.
Ford did a good job, the rest of the cast were on the whole forgettable, there was a few exceptions.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge was good and Mads Mikkleson also played his part well.
Pity they did not use Banders more or Rhys-Davies.
Overall it was not the disaster of a film I was expecting, sadly not the ending Indiana deserved, but still better than Temple of Doom and Crystal Skull.
6.5/10
It was OK , it was never going to be a classic, Ford is far too old to e running round and fighting, although he did do very well, but there was quite few times you could see how old he was.
I found the film to be a mix of Raider and Hunt for the Grail, which was not a bad thing both were excellent films.
I thought the references to previous films were well worked in.
The story was decent, would have liked to had more time travel stuff, thought they could've done more with that.
Ford did a good job, the rest of the cast were on the whole forgettable, there was a few exceptions.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge was good and Mads Mikkleson also played his part well.
Pity they did not use Banders more or Rhys-Davies.
Overall it was not the disaster of a film I was expecting, sadly not the ending Indiana deserved, but still better than Temple of Doom and Crystal Skull.
6.5/10
The Nun 2
The first one was dreadful, this was better.
The first hour or so was slow and plodding, the last 30-40 mins was decent.
Blonquet as Maurice, Farmiga as Irene and the young girl who played Sohpie were I thought very good, the rest, were OK.
The ending and mid credit scene hints at Nun 3 or maybe another film in the Conjuring universe.
A decent watch in the end , if not spectacular.
5/10
The first one was dreadful, this was better.
The first hour or so was slow and plodding, the last 30-40 mins was decent.
Blonquet as Maurice, Farmiga as Irene and the young girl who played Sohpie were I thought very good, the rest, were OK.
The ending and mid credit scene hints at Nun 3 or maybe another film in the Conjuring universe.
A decent watch in the end , if not spectacular.
5/10
I saw last year's Indian Telugu film RRR the other day. Well, spread out over multiple days really, I have no idea when I'd have time to watch a 3h film in one sitting. Anyway, what a spectable. It's got all the subtlety of a sledgehammer, but what an sledgehammer it is: ornately decorated, perfectly symmetrical, swung perfectly, and slamming with amazing musicality.
Not really, but it's definitely an impressive film in its stuffedness. It's also a ridiculous film in its caricatures (including of Bheem as a more primitive creature), the superhero-ness of its main characters, and on-the-nose story, but I don't suppose that's why one would watch this.
All in all a pretty unique experience. Just a pity Netflix doesn't have the original version (I ended up watching the English dubbing). 7/10
Not really, but it's definitely an impressive film in its stuffedness. It's also a ridiculous film in its caricatures (including of Bheem as a more primitive creature), the superhero-ness of its main characters, and on-the-nose story, but I don't suppose that's why one would watch this.
All in all a pretty unique experience. Just a pity Netflix doesn't have the original version (I ended up watching the English dubbing). 7/10
The Killer (2023) - Quite disappointing tbh. Everything we’ve seen a million times before from the day of the jackal like prep for kills to the simple revenge tale. Still a few good moments made it mediocre and not shit.
4/10
4/10
The killer
Honestly the spoiler doesn't even matter at this point. 3/10
Go watch Starship Troopers instead. It's not similar but whatever. If you've already seen it...Watch it again or something.
The Expendables 3
3rd worst movie of the year. @Massive Spanner. Enjoy.
Honestly the spoiler doesn't even matter at this point. 3/10
It was so shit. I loved how serious he is at the start and pretends he's this amazing Assassin, only to miss the easiest shot in history and then murder some innocent people because of his feck up. He's the worst Assassin I've ever seen. 
. Sending in Austin Powers would have been more effective and entertaining.
. Sending in Austin Powers would have been more effective and entertaining.The Expendables 3
3rd worst movie of the year. @Massive Spanner. Enjoy.
Last edited:
I don’t get why Fincher made The Killer. It’s so forgettable. It certainly looks slick and has some good scenes (and one really great fight scene) but it just felt like a big long advert for The Best of The Smiths.
Take my money!
The caf takes no prisoners. The Killer has had good reviews for the most part.
It’s fine and it looks great and has some nice sequences, it’s just very forgettable. I wouldn’t say it’s a waste to sit down and watch it on Netflix which is more than I’d say for most of their films.
I was going to be charitable and give The Killer a 6/10 when I watched it last night. But I can't disagree with any of the grades given here. The whole Smiths thing was really weird and didn't work for me. The story itself was less ambitious than what you'd find in even the worst Jason Statham film. A nothing movie.
Last edited:
Just watched LION again. Crikey I bloody love it. My eyes were leaking very heavily at the end.
Film of two halves and the second half ain’t as classy as the first half but the payoff at the end is well worth it.
8/10
Film of two halves and the second half ain’t as classy as the first half but the payoff at the end is well worth it.
8/10
I just watched Spy Game (2001, with Robert Redford & Brad Pitt), having not seen it in ages... really enjoyed it for the most part.
Any fans around here?
Any fans around here?
It’s a movie I will always revisit.
The Killer is brilliant. Its not really breaking any ground, but its well executed. One of the better ones i have seen this year - granted i have exceptionally high standards when it comes to film.
Reptile (2023)
Starring Benecio del Toro.
Very well crafted cop story. I really liked the camera work, the director kept a good tone of somber moodiness and set up his shots to really convey that vibe.
A lot of getting into scenes with creative details. An example: think of a typical car-pulls-up-person-gets-out type of shot. They are boring. In this we see the quarter panel and tire, then abruptly the door clicks open - and cut. Economic but also propulsive. With the music and sound design it’s presented like a David Fincher “Seven” eerie mystery, when it’s just a basic whodunnit.
Great cast. Even Timberlake, who has no business trying his hand at acting, was decent. Good to see Alicia Silverstone acting again. I can’t tell if her part was cut down or if they gave her extra scenes. To wit: BDT will bring details from the murder investigation home and she helps him figure things out, but they haven’t written her as a forensics person. She is the dutiful wife but they add some details like she figures out a clue. I kept expecting her to have more to do with the plot. Some side details like she’s really into square dancing, and now he has the nickname “Oklahoma” because he can cut a rug (?). She also flirts with their building contractor but nothing comes of it.
Michael Pitt was in this too and he’s someone I like. I think he’s rehabilitating his career because he’s listed as “Michael Carmen Pitt”, maybe to distance himself from the person who got himself written out of his own show (Boardwalk Empire) because he was being so erratic/method/high on drugs. Pitt was good.
Story had some problems. When you cast shady looking actors
Now let’s talk about the ending. I am all for movies being more about character and setting than plot, but when you have ostensibly a murder mystery, the clues and plot points need to add up. Here, they don’t. So
Now for the “why” behind why the realtor woman was murdered in the first place:
.
I can’t tell if they botched the ending by trying to make it shocking or if that was part of the story all along. They never explain why it’s called Reptile, but BdT does resemble a lizard, so maybe that’s why. If the ending was plausible I would have given this an 8.
6/10
Starring Benecio del Toro.
Very well crafted cop story. I really liked the camera work, the director kept a good tone of somber moodiness and set up his shots to really convey that vibe.
A lot of getting into scenes with creative details. An example: think of a typical car-pulls-up-person-gets-out type of shot. They are boring. In this we see the quarter panel and tire, then abruptly the door clicks open - and cut. Economic but also propulsive. With the music and sound design it’s presented like a David Fincher “Seven” eerie mystery, when it’s just a basic whodunnit.
Great cast. Even Timberlake, who has no business trying his hand at acting, was decent. Good to see Alicia Silverstone acting again. I can’t tell if her part was cut down or if they gave her extra scenes. To wit: BDT will bring details from the murder investigation home and she helps him figure things out, but they haven’t written her as a forensics person. She is the dutiful wife but they add some details like she figures out a clue. I kept expecting her to have more to do with the plot. Some side details like she’s really into square dancing, and now he has the nickname “Oklahoma” because he can cut a rug (?). She also flirts with their building contractor but nothing comes of it.
Michael Pitt was in this too and he’s someone I like. I think he’s rehabilitating his career because he’s listed as “Michael Carmen Pitt”, maybe to distance himself from the person who got himself written out of his own show (Boardwalk Empire) because he was being so erratic/method/high on drugs. Pitt was good.
Story had some problems. When you cast shady looking actors
and have them act shady - while ostensibly good guys - it is not surprising when they turn out to be villains (as happens here). Oh look, it’s that obnoxious mouthy dip shot from The Wire, as a good guy! How could that go wrong? The woman playing the real estate matriarch was about as on the nose as you can get for being one of the bad guys. She was arch.
Now let’s talk about the ending. I am all for movies being more about character and setting than plot, but when you have ostensibly a murder mystery, the clues and plot points need to add up. Here, they don’t. So
a big deal is made in this of a thumb drive given to BdT by Pitt. Pitt is shown living in absolute filthy squalor, he himself is unhinged and dirty, yet he’s somehow a super hacker who stole all the relevant files from the shady realtors. Then at a cop birthday party BdT goes to get a beer from the garage and finds the mystery car they’ve been searching for. Now he knows his cop pal is in on it. He also knows the other shady cop pal is in on it. So instead of calling Internal Affairs or the FBI, he calls the 3rd cop he knows and assumes he is *not* part of it, for reasons unknown. Spoiler within a spoiler: he is. Then everybody starts shooting but it makes no sense. If the 3 dirty cops are already part of the janky scheme, then why does everything fall to pieces when the thumb drive is presented, telling them what they already know? Crooked Cop A shoots Crooked Cop B for no reason, as Crooked Cop C ducks into the toilet while BdT is to be murdered . Except that doesn’t happen of course. The question is why? Why not just shoot BdT and continue, if you’re going to shoot him anyway?
Now for the “why” behind why the realtor woman was murdered in the first place:
I have no idea. She is separated from her husband and dating Timberlake. She sells 6 houses and gets no commission because the money goes into a property to avoid taxes. That’s not how taxes work, btw. Timberlake and his mommy are stereotypical rich southern wasps. They earned / stole this wealth by having a crooked cop loan them heroin, then they plant the heroin at a house and call the pigs, and then the house is forfeited and sold at auction. They apparently win all of the auctions. Then they sell the place for a lot more and keep the difference. Seems like it would be a lot easier to make money simply selling the heroin. The girlfriend has cottoned on to this Rube Goldberg plot, and called the FBI, who did nothing. She is found with a carving knife in her hip, and a bunch of defensive wounds and bite marks on her hands (which are given a lot of screen time but ultimately don’t matter). Timberlake kills her because she still fecks her husband? Then the cops go to talk to the husband, who is an artist, and he steals a cops gun and gets into a shootout (and loses). Why? If he did nothing wrong, why do all that?
I can’t tell if they botched the ending by trying to make it shocking or if that was part of the story all along. They never explain why it’s called Reptile, but BdT does resemble a lizard, so maybe that’s why. If the ending was plausible I would have given this an 8.
6/10
Last edited:
And the whole hitman genre has been done to death. Not sure why filmmakers assume audiences think cowardly murderers are interesting. La Femme Nikita gave us the twist of a supermodel suborned into it. Kate gave us a hit woman who had to take out her whole agency. Grosse Point Blank gave us a comedy version with the hitman going to his high school reunion. Vantage Point gave us the inside job version. What’s left? Some dude listening to The Smiths while he jerks off in a vacant building waiting for his target to get out of the limo so he can snipe him with an impossibly large rifle?
Last edited:
Explain Jason Statham having an acting career without using the phrase “sold his soul to the devil”.
Money laundering producers.
Watch The Killer and yep pretty much agree with everyone else here. It’s decent and Fincher heightens the little details which is something new. But after the first chapter when it turns into a revenge plot it was all a bit meh.
23 mins into Expend4bles and my God this is terrible. I’m not expecting much from it but Jesus the CGI is so cheap looking. The action set pieces look like a PS3 era cut scene. Everything is green screen, even the opening scene where Stallone calls to Stathams house.
Okay, you win. That does make sense.
Totally agree with this. I really liked the style, pacing and the fact it didn’t try to spoon feed but, too many plot holes and the story was all over the place.
Still enjoyed it.
Magic Mike’s Last Dance
Hopefully it is the last one. Been on Sky all week so finally watched it last night, one of the less good movies I’ve sat through in the last few years. Salma as much as I admire her feels too old for the role, never mind her problems with acting. Channing too has noticeably aged since the first movie. There’s really no point to the story, nothing we learn about Mike that’s new or adds to our understanding of him.
2/10
Hopefully it is the last one. Been on Sky all week so finally watched it last night, one of the less good movies I’ve sat through in the last few years. Salma as much as I admire her feels too old for the role, never mind her problems with acting. Channing too has noticeably aged since the first movie. There’s really no point to the story, nothing we learn about Mike that’s new or adds to our understanding of him.
2/10
Please Dear God Let It Be Magic Mike’s Last Dance