Film The Redcafe Movie review thread

Snow said:
Watching Double Indemnity. I firmly believe old movies like this are generally overrated. Usually about half of the cast are poor actors. Most of them speak in the same tone the whole time. Don't know what this movie would be like without Edward G. Robinson.
Some great lines in it though.
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R.N7 said:
Yeah, I'm not that crazy about Double Indemnity either. It was very influential at the time but there's so many better film noir films from that era.
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Wibble said:
Like most films of its time, no matter how good, it now seems very dated and the acting very unnatural and stiff. They also talk too fast, no time to absorb what the other person said, as seemed to be the norm then. It doesn't make it a bad film, far from it, but it isn't something I'd watch for entertainment.
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Damn skippy. Though I maintain it's main problem is that it went on to inspire so many parodies of it's style that it's style now looks like a parody of itself. I found it faintly hilarious to be honest, it's all pretentious narration, wooden monologues and improbable motivations - with the word "baby" interjected liberally throughout the script to keep me amused whenever it threatens to get too up it's own arse - that can't help but seem ridiculous in the wake of all the imitations it inspired.

Edward G is the only great thing about it from a modern perspective, apart from the hats. But that's probably because he's the only one not playing a parody of himself from the future.

mehro said:
Like what? I also happened to rewatch it recently and still think its top class.
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With these types of dated genre films it's only really fair to compare it to it's contemporaries.

Sunset is so far ahead of it, D.I is like Norma Desmond rambling incoherently on the stairs as modern cinema leaves her behind.
 
R.N7 said:
The Last Seduction - A quite brilliant neo-noir. I don't know why but it reminded me a bit of Glengarry Glen Ross with it's amoralness and jazziness. Linda Fiorentino was amazing and just ridiculously sexy.
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Can't believe it must be 16 or 17 years since I saw it in the cinema. Cracking film.
 
Grinner said:
The only thing that lets it down slightly is that Linda has small tits.
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Each to their own Grin, prefer them to be honest ;) Nice to know that's what you base your film critique on though, Barry Norman would be most impressed.
 
peterstorey said:
Sunset Boulevard looks like hammy crap to me, whereas Double Indemnity is highly stylised and still retains its power.
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Sunset doesn't seem of its time, whereas DI definitely does. Personally, I love the old noir stuff, together with the OTT acting.
 
mehro said:
DI is the definitive noir film. I cant understand how anyone who likes the genre cannot like this movie. It' like saying I like sci-fi but dont like Blade runner.
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I like DI. However, if you're not accustomed to the genre, it maybe more difficult to enjoy than say Sunset. It's like anything, you have to develop a taste to fully enjoy.
 
Watching Catch Me If You Can just now, great fun.
 
Strangers on a train: My fifth hitchcock movie and another solid one. Behind vertigo, rear window and dial m for murder but ahead of psycho for me.
 
PhilipB said:
The Warriors - I don't get the big deal behind this film. Some of the acting was dodgy as feck, the dialogue is just stupid at times, the fight scenes are pretty terrible and it was only mildly entertaining. 6/10
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I think it's one of those films where it's just bad enough to be good.
 
Dances with Wolves (1990)

Considering that I'm very interested in all things Native American, I was quite bored by this film. Even Kevin Costner sounded bored to death while he was narrating/reading his journal; it was like The Waltons with wolves. And it didn't help that the Lakota-to-English subs were missing...

6/10
 
The Possession

Thought I would start the year watching a horror film, the film is about A young girl who buys an antique box at a yard sale, unaware that inside the collectible lives a malicious ancient spirit. The girl's father teams with his ex-wife to find a way to end the curse upon their child.

It was a decent enough film, music added to the nature of the film.
There was a subplot about a divorce, which was not really needed and contributed to a very predicable ending.

Not the best horror I have seen but it was way better then the Devil Inside from last year.

5/10
 
Killing Them Softly - A really enjoyable film with some good performances across the board. The fact that it's supposed to be a sort of political satire is very unsubtle, but it doesn't completely ruin the film. 6.5/10

Also watched:

Cloud Atlas - This film is a complete mess. 3/10

...and;

Skyfall - Meh. If you enjoy watching a terribly bland actor play a terribly bland character who does a bland Bourne impression, then this is for you. Otherwise, steer well clear. 2/10
 
Andrew~ said:
Killing Them Softly - A really enjoyable film with some good performances across the board. The fact that it's supposed to be a sort of political satire is very unsubtle, but it doesn't completely ruin the film. 6.5/10

Also watched:

Cloud Atlas - This film is a complete mess. 3/10

...and;

Skyfall - Meh. If you enjoy watching a terribly bland actor play a terribly bland character who does a bland Bourne impression, then this is for you. Otherwise, steer well clear. 2/10
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I am actually looking forward to Cloud Atlas but it's three hours long which totally puts me off.
 
Mihajlovic said:
I am actually looking forward to Cloud Atlas but it's three hours long which totally puts me off.
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It's a terrible film, by all measures, but the length wasn't too noticeable. I'm not sure if I would recommend you watch it, but if you've been waiting for it, best to see for yourself what you think.
 
WeasteDevil said:
Some women have no choice in the matter, same as men with small willies like Zarlak and Spoony, not a lot that they can do.
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Nah, all women can grow a couple of cup sizes. It's all about diet and the right types of exercise.
 
peterstorey said:
Sunset Boulevard looks like hammy crap to me, whereas Double Indemnity is highly stylised and still retains its power.
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Sunset Boulevard is timeless. Double Indemnity could have done with a better leading actor than Fred MacMurray.

Mihajlovic said:
I am actually looking forward to Cloud Atlas but it's three hours long which totally puts me off.
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Watch it. I found it riveting and the time pretty much flew by.
 
Mihajlovic said:
I am actually looking forward to Cloud Atlas but it's three hours long which totally puts me off.
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It doesn't feel that long and in fact I think it does run for "only" 2hr 45mins. It isn't genius but is is surprisingly coherent and quite enjoyable. It's biggest flaw IMO is being a bit pointless but I've watched far far worse this year.
 
This Is 40 yet another Aptow comedy, an almost sequel to Knocked Up which wasn't that bad despite the casual sexism, but this one is a stinker. Far to long for the number of laughs which are really few and far between. Don't bother with this as you will never get these 2 hours of your life back. 2/10
 
The Last Seduction - Watched it earlier. Agree with what RN said, great film.

What happened to Linda Fiorentino though? From 2002 to 2009 she wasn't in any films. Anyone know why?

X-Men Origins: Wolverine - Decided to watch it as a bit of light entertainment. I kept remembering bits of scenes even though I was convinced I'd never seen this film before. I must have watched it some other time when I was really drunk. So between me wondering how I knew what was going to happen in some parts of the film and from wondering, "is that really the guy from Black Eyed Peas?", it was alright. 5/10
 
Wibble said:
It doesn't feel that long and in fact I think it does run for "only" 2hr 45mins. It isn't genius but is is surprisingly coherent and quite enjoyable. It's biggest flaw IMO is being a bit pointless but I've watched far far worse this year.
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I enjoyed the book, so I'll definitely see this.
 
Wibble said:
This Is 40 yet another Aptow comedy, an almost sequel to Knocked Up which wasn't that bad despite the casual sexism, but this one is a stinker. Far to long for the number of laughs which are really few and far between. Don't bother with this as you will never get these 2 hours of your life back. 2/10
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His movies are shockingly long, who wants to watch a comedy for two hours?
 
People who need a two hour sleep.

I don't know, I've liked some of his comedies, others just bored me or I found complacent, but I recognize that in the genre (rom-com), he's been very important in the last 10 years. He's not just the crude retard some depict, I think he understands his generation and has translated it to screen pretty well quite a few times. I'd enjoyed Knocked up so I was looking forward to This is 40, if it's really as crap as Wibble say, I'll be disappointed. Oh and the length of his comedies doesn't bother me. What bothers me is that some people think there should be a pre-requisite duration for each film in a certain genre: 90 minutes for horror flicks and comedies, 2 hours for dramas, 2 1/2 - 3 hours for biopics and historical/war films, or so on. That's the best way for films to adopt formulaic patterns and kill out all originality.
 
Rooney in Paris said:
People who need a two hour sleep.

I don't know, I've liked some of his comedies, others just bored me or I found complacent, but I recognize that in the genre (rom-com), he's been very important in the last 10 years. He's not just the crude retard some depict, I think he understands his generation and has translated it to screen pretty well quite a few times. I'd enjoyed Knocked up so I was looking forward to This is 40, if it's really as crap as Wibble say, I'll be disappointed. Oh and the length of his comedies doesn't bother me. What bothers me is that some people think there should be a pre-requisite duration for each film in a certain genre: 90 minutes for horror flicks and comedies, 2 hours for dramas, 2 1/2 - 3 hours for biopics and historical/war films, or so on. That's the best way for films to adopt formulaic patterns and kill out all originality.
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It isn't a patch on Knocked Up I'm afraid.
 
Rooney in Paris said:
People who need a two hour sleep.

I don't know, I've liked some of his comedies, others just bored me or I found complacent, but I recognize that in the genre (rom-com), he's been very important in the last 10 years. He's not just the crude retard some depict, I think he understands his generation and has translated it to screen pretty well quite a few times. I'd enjoyed Knocked up so I was looking forward to This is 40, if it's really as crap as Wibble say, I'll be disappointed. Oh and the length of his comedies doesn't bother me. What bothers me is that some people think there should be a pre-requisite duration for each film in a certain genre: 90 minutes for horror flicks and comedies, 2 hours for dramas, 2 1/2 - 3 hours for biopics and historical/war films, or so on. That's the best way for films to adopt formulaic patterns and kill out all originality.
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Do people really think that?

Apatow films can seem 15 - 30 minutes too long. I liked knocked up, Superbad, The 40 year old virgin, Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Funny People, but they all could have been trimmed a bit as they seemed to hit a lull at certain points.
 
Skyfall A great fun Bond movie and nearly as good as the first Craig Bond and very much back to basics Connery style in many ways. Of course it is all a bit silly at times but it a Bond movie after all. So if you like Bond movies you will love this one and if you don't why are you watching a Bond movie? What did you expect? 7/10 Less if you expected something else.
 
Bill.s.preston said:
Do people really think that?

Apatow films can seem 15 - 30 minutes too long. I liked knocked up, Superbad, The 40 year old virgin, Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Funny People, but they all could have been trimmed a bit as they seemed to hit a lull at certain points.
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Those are really tautly directed and edited in comparison to this turd.
 
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