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Julie & Julia
As enjoyable as a movie can get, especially if you like food! Nora Ephron deftly weaves the contemporary story of Julie Powell who spends a year recreating Julia Child's recipes for her blog with a biography of Julia and her husband Paul in France from 1948 on. Based on Julia's book and a collection of letters we learn how she took up cooking as a way to fill the time while he husband was stationed in Paris and later Marseille. After taking classes she was asked to co-author a book on French cooking for American women. It took 8 years and all sorts of setbacks but it finally succeeded. In contrast, Julie Powell's blog on Salon.com brought her to the attention of the NY Times and the publishing world very quickly. Meryl Streep outdoes herself with that Julia Child accent. To be perfectly honest I had no idea who Julia Childs was but then again here in the UK we had our own eccentric TV chef during the 60's and 70's in Fanny Craddock. Overall, the movie is beautifully shot, well written and a joy to watch.
6 years, 9 months ago
6 years, 9 months ago
Keeping Up with the Joneses
Keeping Up with the Joneses is a good movie with a reasonably well developed plot and a great comedic cast. The highlight of the movie is certainly the connection and chemistry between the four main cast members, all of the individual relationships between Zach Galifanakis, Isla Fisher, Jon Hamm and Gal Gadot is what makes this movie watchable. They all have great comedic timing with one another. I did feel the plot did not go as far as a viewer would expect a movie about spies to go. The final third is very underwhelming. I was expecting something big to happen but it actually ends up being very straight forward and predictable, nothing shocking or truly exciting really occurs. There are some good laughs to be had. All in all, it's a fun movie, worth the watch if you are looking for a good comedy, but do not go out of your way to see it.
6 years, 9 months ago
Una
A young woman Una confronts a man, a grown neighbour who seduced her when she was but 13 years old. They even planned to run away together when things fell apart and he was sent to prison. Now he has changed his name and put his life back together. But she is a mess, understandably and cannot move on with her life. Fifteen years may have passed but both of them are scarred and emotionally damaged by the affair. A tough, psychological drama about the trauma caused by pedophilia and the repercussions because of it. The movie shows their tense meeting years later and regularly flashes back to the moments of their taboo liaison. The wonderful performances keep it interesting. Rooney Mara is fascinating at playing characters like this and it's no wonder that she is great here. We get to feel the longing, pain, and echo of her memories in her glances throughout the movie. It's a performance that relies on someone who is naturally gifted in conveying emotions under the surface and Mara is up to the task. Ruby Stokes playing the precocious, teenaged Una delivers also a vivid, mature performance. I found this movie to be a little uncomfortable as it tries to romanticise pedophilia. I don't think this movie will appeal to a lot of viewers due to the subject matter but it's still watchable enough.
6 years, 9 months ago
AKB48Fan added 2 items to their collection
Una

have watched

6/10

Level Up

5/10


6 years, 9 months ago
Level Up
Matt is a 28 year old waster who has to run all over London to deliver a mysterious package after his girlfriend Anna is kidnapped by unknown people and he is assaulted inside his own home by men in balaclavas. If he tries to raise the alarm, she'll be killed. I'm not sure what to make of this low budget British movie. It tries to be something similar to a real life video game but doesn't really succeed. Even the name of the movie implies that it's like a video game! Some of the tasks that Matt has to do is stupid (the karaoke scene in particular). Characters come and go with no explanation where they've come from and the ending is a bit of a let down. The acting isn't that good either. Josh Bowman doesn't make for a good lead. The only positive thing about this movie is the location filming around London and it moves along at a fast pace. In the end, I don't think this movie is that great as there's far too many plotholes.
6 years, 9 months ago
The Trap
 The Trap 8/10
6 years, 9 months ago
The Trap
A fur trapper nicknamed La Bete or The Beast arrives in a Canadian village after three winters in the snow and takes a mute girl as his unwilling wife to live with him in his remote cabin in the woods of British Columbia. A very underrated movie with beautiful Canadian scenery that stretches as far as can be imagined. Oliver Reed and Rita Tushingham play off each other very well and whilst Tushingham's character Eve never says a word during the entire movie she shows powerful emotions in her facial expressions and body language. Reed as La Bete gives one of his best performance as a brute trying to show his underdeveloped tender side. The plot is tight, the cinematography excellent, and the acting first-rate. The main music score in the movie will be familiar to British viewers as it is used every year by the BBC for their coverage of the London Marathon. What a shame that this movie seems to have been forgotten these days. It's well worth taking a look and you definitely won't be disappointed.
6 years, 9 months ago
Pilgrimage
 Pilgrimage 6/10
6 years, 9 months ago
Pilgrimage
The movie is set in the early 1200's in Ireland where superstition and the struggle for Christian domination of the country are rife. An envoy from Rome is sent to collect a supposedly sacred relic from some rural monks so that it may help them in the upcoming Crusades. This movie offers a glimpse of the burgeoning Christian faith, ancient and mysterious pagan traditions, and military upheaval. It's also grim, and conveys the horrible conditions people existed/lived in back then. The movie captures the bleak Irish landscape perfectly and as such makes it quite atmospheric. The violent action scenes are brutal and gory. The acting is fine with Tom Holland as a young monk on his very first trip outside the monastery where he lives and works. Richard Armitage is the villain who plays a French soldier. Overall it's not too bad a historical movie considering the low budget of the production. Give it a go.
6 years, 9 months ago
Gascoigne
This is an enjoyable documentary about the genius footballer and cheeky chappie that is Paul 'Gazza' Gascoigne, one of the most gifted players to ever wear the England shirt. You are not going to hear or see anything you haven't before and he doesn't get into the personal side of his life too much but if you want a historical account of his life, with some great footage, from the man who knows best (himself!) - this is it. Gazza speaks joyfully, fondly, happily and at times emotionally about his career. There are some contributions from people that he played with and inspired them such as Gary Lineker and Wayne Rooney. Those who love football and especially Newcastle, Spurs and England fans will enjoy this movie.
6 years, 9 months ago
AKB48Fan added 2 items to their collection
Gascoigne

have watched

8/10

Guilt Is My Shadow

7/10


6 years, 9 months ago
Guilt Is My Shadow
Cowardly Peter Reynolds, the driver of the getaway vehicle of a bank raid drives off when he sees that the robbery has gone wrong. He ends up at his uncle's remote Devon farm and abuses the hospitality given to him. Getting a new job at the local garage, things turn for the worse for him when his wife Linda turns up. Beautifully shot on location in rural Devon, this British drama is a pleasure to watch. The lead character is such an obnoxious and annoying man whom the viewer will despise due to the way he is and how he behaves towards his wife. I didn't like having to sit through scenes and scenes of him treating everybody like dirt whilst the warm and sympathetic characters don't get half as much screen time. This is quite a slow paced story but it does pick up with a murderous twist later on. The acting is generally of a strong standard with the lovely Elizabeth Sellars standing out as Peter's wife. Even Q himself, Desmond Llewelyn has a small part. The plot does fall apart quite quickly during the final 15 mins but on the whole it's a great movie to watch and very enjoyable.
6 years, 9 months ago
6 years, 9 months ago
The Earth Dies Screaming
A village in rural England has it's inhabitants dropping dead with only a handful of survivors left alive. Nobody knows what has happened until the arrival of white suited robots whose deadly touch kills their victims and then revives them as white eyed mindless zombies. A low budget British alien invasion movie with a rather silly title. Veteran Hammer horror director Terence Fisher relates the absorbing story in a taut and efficient manner; he maintains a steady pace throughout and does an expert job of creating a supremely eerie atmosphere. The cast may not be filled with A-list British horror stars, but everyone involved gives a good account of themselves. Dennis Price gives a particularly good performance as the selfish, self-centered character out for only himself. Those wanting a harmless little British chiller will find this a nice effort.
6 years, 9 months ago
The Body
Spanish cinema delivers once again with yet another thriller/mystery spectacular. The movie is superb! The way that every thriller should be: it leaves you lost, but arrives somewhere. And this place is beyond the obvious. The unwinding of the movie is fantastic, amazing and high quality. It does not disappoint at any time. I was surprised as the quality of the excellent climate of suspense. The final part is amazing, leaving the viewer with an open mouth. Do not pass up this movie, it really is that damn good.
6 years, 9 months ago
AKB48Fan added 2 items to their collection
The Body

have watched

8/10

What a Crazy World

6/10


6 years, 9 months ago
What a Crazy World
A fun British musical comedy set in London during the Swinging Sixties about a young layabout who is ordered to look for a job or he'll be turfed out of his home. A job is the last thing he wants as he has set his sights on creating a song that will make him famous. This is a great movie with some catchy numbers performed and has a mixture of new and established stars in the cast. Joe Brown isn't what I would call a good actor and this movie was supposed to showcase his talents. He's OK in his role but is rather outshone by Marty Wilde as his best friend. The movie is a snapshot of what life was like in London during the time with plenty of outside location filming. With a bunch of likeable characters and good songs, this was quite an enjoyable movie.
6 years, 9 months ago
AKB48Fan posted a image

6 years, 9 months ago
Wake in Fright
A teacher stays over at a small town in the Outback en route to Sydney during the Summer holidays and finds the destructive influence of the townspeople starting to have an effect on him. The men of the town don't have that much to do: they fill their days with drinking, gambling, getting involved in bar fights, drinking again, kangaroo hunting and drinking some more. The teacher initially disapproves their savage habits and looks somewhat down upon them, but slowly and gradually he becomes one of them as he wastes his entire year salary on booze and primitive roulette games. At times Australians have a bad rap with an image by many people of them constantly drinking and this movie hardly does them any favour! The copious amount of drink that is consumed during this movie is staggering. This movie is a cautionary example of the lure of peer pressure as the schoolteacher, is drawn into the ugly, alcohol-fueled violence of an isolated town and nearly dies in the process. Everything revolves around booze and if an offer of being given a free drink is refused it's seen as a bit of an insult. There's a controversial scene involving kangaroo hunting which isn't very nice to see because it's real. They were killed and filmed during an official kangaroo culling programme. The acting by the mostly male cast is great with the standout being Donald Pleasance as an alcoholic doctor. A very good Australian movie which comes recommended.
6 years, 9 months ago
AKB48Fan added 2 items to their collection
Wake in Fright

have watched

8/10

Run and Kill (1993)

7/10


6 years, 9 months ago
Run and Kill (1993)
This is a notorious Cat III revenge thriller about a man called Fatty who drunkenly agrees for his wife to be killed after she is caught having sex in his house. After her murder, things start to spiral out of control for Fatty. What a bleak and gloomy movie this is. The movie is not for the queasy. Unlike most HK thrillers with their stylised fighting, the violence here comes suddenly and with shocking savagery. Be prepared for probably the most sadistic child murder I've ever seen on screen when a little girl tied up to a chair is burned alive. Kent Cheng plays the unfortunate Fatty who happens to tangle with Simon Yam who is at his nastiest and psychotic best in this movie as Ching Fung. It all boils down to a fight to the death between Fatty and Ching Fung at the climax. A really good but controversial Cat III movie.
6 years, 9 months ago
AKB48Fan posted a image

6 years, 9 months ago
GLOW: The Story of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling
GLOW was a wrestling organisation that featured only female wrestlers and was fairly successful during it's time. It ran from 1986 to 1990 on TV. During the height of it's popularity in 1990, the plug was pulled and GLOW disappeared. This documentary charts the highs and lows of GLOW and talks to the women who embodied the larger than life characters in the squared circle. I sort of have a vague memory of watching GLOW when it was aired in the UK. It was camp, the promos/comedy skits were cheesy and it was very OTT but you couldn't help but tune it week in week out. Despite what many of you might think of wrestling, the women in GLOW worked really hard, were very proud of what they'd done, and formed some lifelong bonds. It was nice to see them have a lovely reunion over 20 years after many last saw each other. This documentary bought some good memories back of GLOW for myself. If you remember GLOW you're sure to have a good time watching this.
6 years, 9 months ago
Dragon Chronicles: The Maidens of Heavenly Mountains
This HK fantasy tale which stars the beautiful trio of Brigitte Lin, Sharla Cheung and Gong Li has a really incomprehensible plot. Trying to make sense of it will probably spoil your enjoyment of the movie so I didn't bother. The only thing I got out of it was various factions battling for supremacy with the heads of these factions being 4 women who are squabbling aand fighting amongst themselves. Eventually they team up to take on the ultimate enemy. That's all you really need to know. I've never been a big fan of wire fu and there's a lot of flying battles going on in this movie. The sets and costumes on display are probably the best thing here along with the ladies who provide lovely eye candy. The ridiculously OTT battles get really tiresome after a while. This genre has it's fans I'm sure but this movie didn't really excite at all.
6 years, 9 months ago
AKB48Fan added 3 items to their collection
GLOW: The Story of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling

have watched

8/10

Dragon Chronicles: The Maidens of Heavenly Mountains

have watched

5/10

Kizudarake no akuma

6/10


6 years, 9 months ago
Kizudarake no akuma
Mai has moved to the country from Tokyo to live with her mother. She enrols at the local high school where she meets Shino, one of her new classmates but they have a history because in junior high Shino was bullied by Mai's friends whilst she watched from the sidelines. Now the tables are turned and Mai finds herself bullied by her classmates with Shino being the main instigator behind all of it. An interesting high school drama about bullying which is rife in Japan's high schools and one of the main reasons that many teenagers commit suicide. I don't think there's been a Japanese teen movie where the bullied becomes the bully so this is a nice and fresh slant. I can understand why Shino wants to get revenge on Mai but she becomes slightly unhinged with the measures she takes out on her. It doesn't surprise me that teachers turn a blind eye to bullying and let all this abuse carry on in this movie. I think that's been one of the main criticisms of the Japanese school system for so long. The acting is great from the young female cast and it builds up to a good conclusion. Definitely worth checking out.
6 years, 9 months ago
The Hunters of the Golden Cobra
A British officer and an American man go deep inside the South American jungles to try and find a relic The Golden Cobra which if it should fall into the wrong hands could potentially bring about world instability due to it's magical properties. Director Antonio Margheriti tries to make a cheap rip-off of Indiana Jones here. It's a fairly good b-movie with some nice action set pieces. It seems the kitchen sink has been included in the storyline as it has plane crashes, car chases, truck explosions, wild shootouts, fistfights, spiders, eerie snake pits, romance, violent aboriginal tribes, black magic, poisonous darts, volcano eruptions, death traps, double-crossing plus some dry humour courtesy of the British officer played by John Steiner. The movie goes at a fair pace and as so much is going on it never gets boring. It's not a bad Indy rip-off and you could do far worse than checking this movie out.
6 years, 9 months ago
AKB48Fan added 2 items to their collection
The Hunters of the Golden Cobra

have watched

5/10

The Winslow Boy

8/10


6 years, 9 months ago
The Winslow Boy
A British classic movie about a youngster who is expelled from a naval academy over a petty theft, and his parents raise a political furor by demanding a trial. There are several reasons why this movie is so good. Firstly, three brilliant actors in the cast: Cedric Hardwicke as the father of the accused; Robert Donat, who had another definitive role in this to add to Mr Chips; and the lovely Margaret Leighton, as the suffragette Winslow daughter Catherine who isn't at all militant. Secondly, the plot, which manages to weave quite a few threads along with the central story of little Ronnie Winslow and the stolen postal order. And lastly, because of the sparkle and energy of the script and the detail put into every frame. It's a wonderful movie to watch.
6 years, 9 months ago

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