Film The Redcafe Movie review thread

The Clouds of Sils Maria - this is very good although a good fifteen minutes could be cut from the middle. Kristen Stewart is excellent! and so predictably is Juliette Binoche. Beautiful setting too. Chloe Grace Moretz is irritating.
 
Noah
Turned it on about an hour in. Strange film. Didn't quite get the big stone giant things protecting the ark. My biblical knowledge is scant, but that was weird even by old testament standards.

EDIT: Not seen any animals on the ark yet.
 
The Homesman
A female western since 80% of the main cast is women. Set in 1850's Nebraska. Gets the point across effectively that it was hardest of all for women in that frontier culture. 7 ears of corn
 
I enjoyed Ex Machina for what it was. It doesn't pose any new questions about technology and advanced AI that haven't already been posed but it does get 'under the skin' which is ironically the film (and imo a much better one) that it reminded me of in terms of tone.

I felt the final act was a bit disappointing although I can't really pinpoint why. Perhaps I expected some clever plot twist that didn't materialise?
 
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CassiusClaymore said:
I enjoyed Ex Machina for what it was. It doesn't pose any new questions about technology and advanced AI that haven't already been posed but it does get 'under the skin' which is ironically the film (and imo a much better one) that it reminded me of in terms of tone.

I felt the final act was a bit disappointing although I can't really pinpoint why. Perhaps I expected some clever plot twist that didn't materialise?
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I liked that it suggested at a twist and then didn't really deliver one. It's a bit of a hack move these days. My only criticism is the ending could have occurred a scene before it.

Mad Max: Fury Road - big, beautiful and wonderfully weird, it didn't quite hit me as I was hoping. That said it's probably the outstanding blockbuster of the last ten years with Gravity and The Dark Knight. It's original and they haven't sanded any of the edges of the original style. It's batshit. Minor annoyances: Charlize doesn't even attempt an Australian accent and Tom Hardy is in his mumble core mode. Rosie Huntington-whitely is so incredibly beautiful it almost seems artificial. Highly recommended.
 
Jupiter Ascending (2015)

Better than i thought. Pretty much same concept that in Matrix... (yeh, human living their lives lives thinking they are free, but in reality they are being harvested... this time not by machines.). Some ok action, a bit of comedy... but it lacks real emotion... probably because its all just a green screen. Must be shitty for the actors to act like that.

5/10
 
Archie Leach said:
Ex Machina - lived up to my expectations, very slick, enjoyable sci-fi and the best thing Alex Garland has done. Oscar Isaac is becoming one of my favourite actors, Alicia Vikander is awesome but I'm not totally sold on Domnhall Gleeson.
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Just saw it and really liked it. I definitely would fall in love with Ava in those sessions.

Donaldo said:
Not a very difficult role, in all fairness. Ice queens and psychopaths are notoriously easy characters to play. Her heavy, laboured dialogue delivery in the first half put me off.
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And this! Didn't know a detail like that would have such an impact on how I rated a movie.
 
The difference in quality between The Desolation of Smaug and An Unexpected Journey is pretty substantial. The latter was some boring ass shit whereas the former was pretty damn fun and such a visual feast for the eyes. Looking forward to Battle of Five Armies now.
 
DatIrishFella said:
The difference in quality between The Desolation of Smaug and An Unexpected Journey is pretty substantial. The latter was some boring ass shit whereas the former was pretty damn fun and such a visual feast for the eyes. Looking forward to Battle of Five Armies now.
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Don't.

I agree with the rest.
 
Mad Max: Fury Road:

Relentless from start to finish with barely a pause for breath. Some films, such as Transformers and Superman that had extended action sequences ended up as a yawn-fest for me as there's no sense of peril and all the cgi crap just washed over me as bland building after bland building crumbled around the characters. Mad Max was refreshingly thrilling and I felt tense throughout, rather than bored!

It was very similar in tone to what I can remember from Mad Max 2, from the truck being assaulted by waves of enemies, through to the collection of Grotesque, deranged and odd characters. One particular recurring highlight for me was a certain musical character.

It won't win any awards for plot or dialogue but if fast paced action is your thing and you enjoyed any of the previous Mad Max films, this will not disappoint.
 
Kingsman
It was fun, but strange because it almost felt like a family film but at the same time clearly wasn't.
Doesn't deserve the 8 on IMDB. Using the full scale, which apparently no one does, I'd give it a 6.25. Because it's no where near a 7, but it's slightly better than a 6.

Ex Machina
Interesting and thought provoking. Perfectly cast. Slightly creepy.
He should've banged Ava while he had the chance.
To be fair to him, he didn't stand much of a chance with an attractive 'women' who can read facial movements and quickly work out how to charm.
What a bitch though. If I got out I'd be straight to the busiest intersection in New York to punch right in her robot mouth.
7/10
 
OneUnited24 said:
If you haven't seen it i don't want to spoil it for you but its start was in kin with district 9 which really excited me... Unfortunately it lost its way in the second act, and the less i say about the final act the better.

A little worrying given how he's doing the next alien movie :S
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Just saw it last night...oh man I didn't think it would be this bad. What was he thinking casting those two as well? There were so many major flaws in the movie aside from the terrible acting (from everyone?), even the pacing between following scenes didn't make any sense at times and completely jarred. Awful, awful movie.

Wonder Pigeon said:
The problem is, even though I liked District 9, by all accounts the problems with that are the exact same problems he keeps making, and his 3 films share so many elements story-wise. I wonder if he directed a film he didn't right would things improve, because it looks like he's just not a good writer or as smart as he thinks he is. And keep him away from Sharlto Copley.
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Yep, he has a one track mind it seems, you could probably mix whole scenes from District 9, Elysium & Chappie and not really notice. Looks like this next Alien movie will answer the what if question, but I'm losing hope fast.
 
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Demonic.

Pretty standard stuff, mass killing in a house , house becomes possessed.
Back story was pretty good , the acting was OK , music adds to the overall effect , there was one of 2 parts that did make me jump
There is nothing in this you have not seen a hundred times before, there is a decent twist or 2 at the end.
Definably worth a watch.

5/10
 
Project Almanac

A group of friends discover plans for a time machine, they build it and use it to fix their problems and personal gain. But as the future falls apart with disasters.
This has been done before , The Butterfly Effect did it better , but this was OK.
You pretty much know what will happen.

4/10
 
Mad Max : Fury Road (2015)

An enjoyable movie, it's like Need for Speed with action. It's a strange combination : post apocalypse, buddy journey, mutants and sexy chicks, V8 cars and rock'n'roll (not that strange), guns and spears and shits. But it's amazingly enjoyable, a nonstop 2 hours or so ride. Charlize teron ooze badass sexyness, while still maintaining a very human side of hers.

Lots of characters needs explanation, and Max looks clueless to me, he's not BAMF enough, and his background stories aren't explained, neither does Teron.

But, it's a very good enjoyable 2 hours

7.5/10
 
Area 51

Three young conspiracy theorists attempt to uncover the mysteries of Area 51, the government's secret location rumored to have hosted encounters with alien beings. What they find at this hidden facility exposes unimaginable secrets.
This will meant to be a horror but the only horror was the film , it was dreadful, 90% consisted of watching these kids run around in the dark , yes there was an alien , well I think there was and the ending was just WTF.
I cant recommend you watch this, easy in my top 10 of worst films ever.

1/10
 
Dante said:
The Raid 2 is even more insane, though not as 'tightly' choreographed.
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Wasn't a big fan of this one. Focused too much on the 'story' elements, which were to be honest pretty shit. This is one film that needed a studio to come in and chop to 90 mins.
 
Archie Leach said:
I liked that it suggested at a twist and then didn't really deliver one. It's a bit of a hack move these days. My only criticism is the ending could have occurred a scene before it.
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My thoughts too. When...

she left the compound with the music swelling and the door closing behind her....done. End there. Why there was then an extra 5 minute silent coda seemingly just so the DOP could get in that shot of her shadow on the street I don't know. It added nothing.

But I thought the film was largely excellent in all. And the lack of a twist was a blessed relief in a Garland script, where his often brilliant writing is consistently undermined by a batshit ending. The conspicuous lack of zombie Mark Strong is always a step in the right direction.

Though I still don't get Domnhall Gleeson at all.
 
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Nightcrawler

Darkly funny, outstandingly directed, one of the most creepy fecked up stories you will find and an excellent performance by Jake Gyllenhaal.

Brilliant film, 9/10.
 
Where Eagles Dare

Been a while since I've seen it so I ordered it from Netflix. It definitely seems like a slow-starter now. Takes ages for the action to get going and Clint is just a lump next to Burton for the first hour. But the excitement kicks in and it's boys own stuff from then on in. Exploding cars, silenced pistols, clambering over cable cars, booby traps and loads of shooting. Great cast all round and these are perfectly evil Nazis just like you want your nazis to be. Great performance by Derrin Brown with the Thunderbirds lip as the menacing Gestapo Major. Anton Diffring makes an SS commander somewhat likeable. The Jerries die in all sorts of admirable ways and Burton makes it look cool and effortless. The cable car sequence is cracking as is Eastwood holding off the Jerries and the long chase at the end. Great score too.

Still my favourite war film even though Tarantino has robbed loads of it. Mary Ure was gorgeous and I read up on her tragic story. Ingrid Pitt...yowzah!
 
Grinner said:
Where Eagles Dare

Been a while since I've seen it so I ordered it from Netflix. It definitely seems like a slow-starter now. Takes ages for the action to get going and Clint is just a lump next to Burton for the first hour. But the excitement kicks in and it's boys own stuff from then on in. Exploding cars, silenced pistols, clambering over cable cars, booby traps and loads of shooting. Great cast all round and these are perfectly evil Nazis just like you want your nazis to be. Great performance by Derrin Brown with the Thunderbirds lip as the menacing Gestapo Major. Anton Diffring makes an SS commander somewhat likeable. The Jerries die in all sorts of admirable ways and Burton makes it look cool and effortless. The cable car sequence is cracking as is Eastwood holding off the Jerries and the long chase at the end. Great score too.

Still my favourite war film even though Tarantino has robbed loads of it. Mary Ure was gorgeous and I read up on her tragic story. Ingrid Pitt...yowzah!
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Great fecking movie.
 
Wild Geese

I remember vividly seeing this as a kid, and it's quite brutal at that time for a wee one, specially the part where one of the dude just run out of bullets and getting chopped up by angry Afrikaans. Quite a daring action and a lot of touching moment. Was an all star cast back then. Worth the revisiting value

7/10
 
The Wicker Man - Looked crisp and quite beautiful, far from a great film but an interesting watch. I had a bit of hard time believing that Christopher Lee ever looked so 'young'.
 
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