Film The Redcafe Movie review thread

Anchorman I finally finished watching this film and wished that I hadn't started. What might have been a good sketch or two on SNL made a totally shit film. The odd smile but not much else. 2/10

Dead in France Wanted to be LSATSM or Snatch. It wasn't.2/10

The Hunger Games Dystopia for teens 5/10
 
Climates - Nuri Bilge Ceylan (2006)

Turkish movie starring the director himself and his wife, dealing with faltering and unclear couple relationships, beginning in the sun of the Turkish coast and ending in the big-flaked snowfall of northern Turkey. Very slow, not too much dialogue, with many of the scenes shot from a distance. I could see how many wouldn't like this, but I rather enjoyed it as it gave an engagingly vague account of alienated relationships. A modern Euro/Turkish film. I was surprised to find some critic of a big US paper had this in his top ten of films of the decade. Definitely a good film, but not that great. Then again, I saw this same critic's other picks and he obviously didn't know what the feck he was talking about.

7 cocks up.
 
R.Nilsson7 said:
Yeah.


It's very hard to pick a favourite Hitchcock film for some reason. I've been unsure for a while but on the second viewing Vertigo made much more sense and everything just came to together brilliantly. Dial for M is great but I'd have Vertigo over it as it's more challenging.
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I rate vertigo above Dial M for Murder as well and is my favourite hitchcock movie so far.
 
The Avengers

After all the hype I finally got around to watch this and I have to say it was hugely disappointing. Yeah, alright, multiple superheroes in one movie, that's something you don't get to see very often. Sure, the action was fairly good I guess. But I can't actually say the movie had me gripped at any point in time. Things were happening, and I was seeing them happen, but I honestly couldn't give two hoots about why it was or what could the implications be. I know unlike Nolan's Batman, this is a popcorn flick but it is supposedly a fantastic popcorn flick which means it should really entertain and at the very least form some sort of connect with me. At no point in time did I feel that connect during The Avengers. It was basically a bit soulless.

And even the superheroes are pretty lame. You don't actually see the point of most of them. What's so super about Scarlet Johansson's character? And the main villain was just awful.

So basically, yeah, a visually appealing film with some interesting action. But that was just about it for me.

5/10
 
The Cube (1997)

A most excellent Sci-Fi/Horror B-movie... with all the standard and neccesary ingrediants of; an interesting concept, bad/hammy acting, practical effects, stupid decision making and odd plot-devices. I'd say it's a fine way to spend 90 minutes of your time.
 
R.Nilsson7 said:
Yeah.


It's very hard to pick a favourite Hitchcock film for some reason. I've been unsure for a while but on the second viewing Vertigo made much more sense and everything just came to together brilliantly. Dial for M is great but I'd have Vertigo over it as it's more challenging.
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What do you plan to do with a film studies degree?

Yeah I definitely think Vertigo's the best with maybe Rear Window next, can't separate Rope and Dial M for Murder as my favourites. They're all so similar thematically and have so many of the same great actors/actresses, that's why you can't separate them!

Spartacus (1960) - 8

The only Kubrick movie I've seen that looks dated. And it was very slow for the first hour, and it's loooooong...still great though. The cinematography for the main battle scene was just breathtaking (though the close-up battle scenes just look a little laughable), the relationship between Kirk Douglas and Jean Simmons was great and Charles Laughton was perfect in the comparatively little scene-time he got.

Mystic River (2003) - 7

Sean Penn hammed it up for a while but other than that he was great along with the rest of the big-name lineup, it seemed to lose track around halfway through after an absorbing opening, the manipulative build-up before the overly sudden twist...I dunno, just a bit hit and miss. Much better than the average murder-mystery and a good watch all the same.

Goodfellas (1990) - 8

I think I'd prefer to have watched this before the Godfather because for whatever reason I think it's taken away some of the greatness. And auto-pilot gangster mode is absolutely spot on re: De Niro. Still, fantastic story and a great, great movie.

Downfall (Der Untergang, 2004) - 9

Fantastic.

Trying to watch some of the 'modern classics' recently, anyone got any suggestions for great movies over the last two decades?
 
Brwned said:
What do you plan to do with a film studies degree?
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Not sure, at the moment. I'm mostly doing it as a fun way of passing the time but you never know.

Trying to watch some of the 'modern classics' recently, anyone got any suggestions for great movies over the last two decades?
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Here's a bunch off the top of my head

Y tu mama tambien
Naked
Jean de Florette/Manon des Sources
La haine
A Prophet
Chungking Express
Hana-bi
The Assassination of Jesse James
All About My Mother
Abre los ojos
Before Sunrise/Before Sunset
 
Heat isn't that great of a film really if you don't buy into the fawning of De Niro and Pacino being in the same film together and having a scene where they sit face to face to each other. The bank robbery scene was good but otherwise a very, very overrated film.
 
I love it. The story may not be anything spectacular... but the acting and directing set it apart for me. The leads are superb, they get great dialogue to work with, and Mann's directing is excellent... which helps elevate the whole thing.

Worth saying that De Niro and Pacino were together again in that Righteous Kill movie, but no one really gave two shits about it because it was just a bad movie.
 
Chop Shop - Ramin Bahrani (2007)

A Pixote-inspired film with the travails of an industrious young Latino youth hustling about in the world of Chop Shops in Queens. The movie was quite well done and all, I just think the Pixote schtick with natural actors has been done to death. I like how Bahrani showed that part of Queens as if it were the Third World. The film looked like it could've been in Colombia or any other Latin American country, and with a great effect of many shots with luminous Shea Stadium in the background. That was quite nicely done. I still think the film should've been done mostly in Spanish instead of a bunch of Latinos speaking crap English among themselves, as it would've proved a bit more authentic and given more flavor of the third world USA I think he was trying to capture, but I realize pathetic US audiences don't deal well with subtitles. All in all, a good film.

7 cocks up
 
Decades down the line, every one will appreciate just how timeless The Assassination of Jesse James is.
 
I think you're right that it's timeless and I really like Casey Affleck and his character in it, Brad Pitt too, it just felt a bit soulless to me. Need to watch it some other time I guess.
 
It's far from soulless. Watch it again.

Dominik has only made 2 films but they've both been fantastic. Really looking forward to his new one.
 
Yeah, it being soulless doesn't feel like the most poignant criticism of it. It does place a huge emphasis on the visuals, the authenticity and the atmosphere but also on the characters. It could be argued what Dominik wanted to say with it though. Also it did feel a lot better the second time around, from being just a great film to a bit of a masterpiece, the melancholy mindset I was in at that moment just fitted with the film so perfectly.

And yeah I think it's reputation will definitely grow over the decades.
 
Contagion

Decent story, that kept me interested for the whole film. Enjoyable enough. 6/10.
 
CassiusClaymore said:
Ah, my joint favourite film. Not a bad performance in it.

How good is Jack Lemmon though? He's the heart of that movie. If it has a heart.
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Even the bit part performances in it were great. We have Lemmon to thank for Gil Gunderson and I'm glad Pacino didn't go into full blown shouting mode as there definitely was a platform for him to do just that.
 
Soul isn't the right word, mainly because I'm not even sure what it means in this context...it was just a word I used to say it lacked a certain something that really sets it apart. I didn't think Casey Affleck's performance was enough to elevate it to greatness and I thought the cinematography and script were just very good rather than great. I thought the same about the Lives of Others until I re-watched it though. One of those things.

Naked (1993) - 8

Bit depressing but there's enough dry humour to balance it out and it's certainly original...hard to say I really enjoyed it though. Entranced, maybe. Well worth a watch.
 
Saliph said:
Glengarry Glen Ross is brilliant. So many zingers.
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Spot on because, "You see this watch? You see this watch? This watch cost more than your car."

Lemmon was brilliant in this film. I started to really dislke the character but at the same time felt sorry for him.
 
pauldyson1uk said:
watching Under Seige, god knows why I have many things to watch.
Steven Segal has got to be the most wooden actor ever any more wooden and he would get splinters going for a piss.
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Yea but a good action film. One of his better ones. Maybe it's more Tommy and Busey that makes it worth the watch.
 
Brwned said:
Naked (1993) - 8

Bit depressing but there's enough dry humour to balance it out and it's certainly original...hard to say I really enjoyed it though. Entranced, maybe. Well worth a watch.
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Depressing to say the least, brutal at times too.

Louise: "How did you get here?"
Johnny: "Well, basically, there was this little dot, right? And the dot went bang and the bang expanded. Energy formed into matter, matter cooled, matter lived, the amoeba to fish, to fish to fowl, to fowl to frog, to frog to mammal, the mammal to monkey, to monkey to man, amo amas amat, quid pro quo, memento mori, ad infinitum, sprinkle on a little bit of grated cheese and leave under the grill till Doomsday."
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paceme said:
Anyone seen Lawless yet? Going to see it today, shame that guy from transformers is in it but looks good all the same.
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I think you'll look at him in a new light after you see the film. he did really good and was cast perfectly.
Did you ever see 'A guide to recognizing your saint' ? You should check that out as well,he's feckin wicked in that
 
paceme said:
Anyone seen Lawless yet? Going to see it today, shame that guy from transformers is in it but looks good all the same.
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8/10 for me. Friggin love Tom Hardy.

Don't get the hate for Shia though. The guy does what is asked of him, which is usually playing the average joe / awkward nice guy role. He was pretty solid in the movie, but if you simply hate his face then dont see it. Lawless is a well paced, uncompromising and sometimes downright brutal story set in the Prohibition era.

ps- Oh and Guy Pearce... just wow.
 
The Cabin in the Woods.

90 mins of my life that I wont get back, WTF have I just watched it was dreadful.
I thought it was a horror? There was no horror in that film, well maybe the horror that somebody was paid to make this pile of shit but nothing else.

1/10
 
R.Nilsson7 said:
Depressing to say the least, brutal at times too.
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Surely you needed subtitles to understand some of the accents?! I think I liked the security guard banter best but this was pretty good...

Louise: So what happened, were you bored in Manchester?

Johnny: Was I bored? No, I wasn't feckin' bored. I'm never bored. That's the trouble with everybody - you're all so bored. You've had nature explained to you and you're bored with it, you've had the living body explained to you and you're bored with it, you've had the universe explained to you and you're bored with it, so now you want cheap thrills and, like, plenty of them, and it doesn't matter how tawdry or vacuous they are as long as it's new as long as it's new as long as it flashes and feckin' bleeps in forty feckin' different colors. So whatever else you can say about me, I'm not feckin' bored.
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Unforgiven (1992) - 7

Gene Hackman's the only actor who really brought his character to life yet he wasn't given much screen time, and a slow pace with uninspiring acting isn't really a good mix...disappointed, but it's still enjoyable.
 
Brwned said:
Surely you needed subtitles to understand some of the accents?! I think I liked the security guard banter best but this was pretty good...
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I watched it with subtitles but the only ones I reckon I would have had trouble understanding without them would have been the Scottish couple.
 
Compliance Uncomfortable but rather compulsive viewing. I spent most of the film being annoyed that the characters were acting so stupidly and that the film makers thought we were dumb enough to believe their story. When I checked later it turns out that the entire plot was true. Kinell. So I had to give back the 2 points I deducted for the story not being believable.8/10

Wikipedia page about the real case. It WILL spoil the film if you haven't seen it yet.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strip_search_prank_call_scam
 
The Hot Potato This had the possibility of being a British comedy drama to rival the original Italian Job. It missed all it's targets being neither dramatic nor funny. And the plot made little sense. 1/10
 
Hesher - Gordon-Levitt plays a misanthropic metalhead loner who randomly decides to stay at the house of a bullied kid and his incompetent dad. It's basically like the plot of Visitor Q but without out any of the atrocities (still pretty idiosyncratic mind you). All in all a worthwhile watch.
 
Criminal Lovers - Francis Ozon (1999)

Perversion ensues as a murderous young French couple dispose of their victim in a creepy forest but get lost and end up in a horrendous Hansel and Gretel-ish fairy tale schtick that doesn't bode well for anyone, except maybe the viewer, as it's an entertaining story.

7 1/2 cocks up.
 
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