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AKB48Fan rated The Lady in the Van

The Lady in the Van 8/10

8 years, 11 months ago

AKB48Fan added 1 item to From The Superb To The Crap - Movies Seen In 2016 list

Based on a 1970's biographical drama of the same name by noted British playwright Alan Bennett, The Lady in the Van is a "mostly true story" as mentioned at the beginning of the movie. That's because Bennett had to put up with an old homeless woman for 15 years by allowing her to live in her van in his driveway. Then in 1999, Bennett cast Maggie Smith as the person in his own play. Ironically, Smith plays the same character on screen little over 15 years later. It is a breathtakingly stunning performance from Smith and a brilliant performance by Alex Jennings. The script is warm, insightful and witty, with the clever device of having two Alans - the writer who observes and the man who lives and interacts with the world outside. It's not the biggest comedy drama of 2015 and not even the funniest, but The Lady In The Van is bound to please just about anyone. And like the title character, it's a movie that's hard to love, but once you do, it's equally hard to resist. Brilliant.

8 years, 11 months ago

AKB48Fan rated Unfinished Business

Unfinished Business 6/10

8 years, 11 months ago

AKB48Fan added 1 item to From The Superb To The Crap - Movies Seen In 2016 list

This movie turned out to be a commercial failure but that's not to say it's a bad movie at all as it isn't. It's a fairly funny comedy. It's not great, but it ain't terrible either! The movie made me laugh, at parts. Especially in the first-hour, where I was enjoying the journey of its primary characters. The lead trio is well worth watching led by Vince Vaughan and particularly Tom Wilkinson's lively turn as the dirty old man and Dave Franco makes a sincere effort to enact the idiot. Though the first-hour has energy & humour, the second-hour is shabby and the climax isn't effective at all. The penultimate moments don't work and that definitely is a disadvantage for any movie. Overall it isn't all out hilarious, nor it is flat out bad. It has some moments, that do work. Give it a go

8 years, 11 months ago

AKB48Fan rated Training Day

Training Day 7/10

8 years, 11 months ago

AKB48Fan added 1 item to From The Superb To The Crap - Movies Seen In 2016 list

Training Day is engrossing, shocking, and powerful going three fourths of the way through. Denzel Washington is great as a corrupt cop in one of the best performances to date. Ethan Hawke is also good as one who's just getting to know this corruption. It's over produced but still believable, that is until the last 20 minutes or so. The ending has some effectiveness, but is implausible. The movie could have been great had the ending lived up to the rest of it. Still most of the movie is quite good.

8 years, 11 months ago

AKB48Fan rated Samurai Cop 2: Deadly Vengeance (2015)

Samurai Cop 2: Deadly Vengeance (2015) 5/10

8 years, 11 months ago

AKB48Fan added 1 item to From The Superb To The Crap - Movies Seen In 2016 list

This sequel to the 1991 cult movie Samurai Cop is so bad it's good and it's been made like that on purpose I think! Matt Hannon & Mark Frazer reprise their roles and kick ass as though their last exploits were only yesterday. The movie is the result of a dedicated crowd-funding campaign and the devotion of director Gregory Hatanaka. It's like an over-the-top 80's movie with a large dollop of humour. It's not to be taken seriously at all. Everything about it is absurd but if you take it in the right spirit you might enjoy it. Apart from the leads, I really liked Bai Ling's performance as the psycho woman Dogge Sakamoto. Overall, it's not too bad of an actioner despite the terrible script.

8 years, 11 months ago

AKB48Fan rated Still Alice (2014)

Still Alice (2014) 9/10

8 years, 11 months ago

AKB48Fan added 1 item to From The Superb To The Crap - Movies Seen In 2016 list

An Oscar winning performance by Julianne Moore as a 50 year old woman diagnosed with early onset of a rare form of Alzheimers disease. The viewer is shown from the stages early forgetfulness, to the diagnosis and then the family reaction, and finally coping with the worsening disease. There are some unexpectedly moving scenes because they are done without excess sentimentality: when Alice finds out her elder daughter has inherited the gene for the disease, when Alice gives a speech on the disease, when her younger daughter becomes the caregiver. There are some funny situations too that help lighten the mood during some deeply dramatic moments especially the bungled suicide attempt. Julianne Moore gives a all encompassing performance and she deserved the Oscar for this role. She portrays the pain, fear, joy and affection without making things too awful during the deterioration. It's a heartbreaking story to watch and one of a kind. Anybody struggling with the disease, or who knows someone who is, should watch this movie.

8 years, 11 months ago

AKB48Fan rated Selma

Selma 8/10

8 years, 11 months ago

AKB48Fan added 1 item to From The Superb To The Crap - Movies Seen In 2016 list

A wonderful movie about Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement during the 60's. This tale of Martin Luther King doesn't follow his entire life, but it doesn't need to. It follows a very important moment in his fight for equal rights in Selma, Alabama to give blacks the same rights to vote as whites. While the story was indeed engaging and had me in it from start to finish, its the respect they give the characters that really shines. David Oyelowo delivers a tour de force performance as King. The movie doesn't shy away from the truths of violence, it delivers its messages respectfully, and best of all it gives us the best portrayal of Martin Luther King to date. David Oyelowo should be commended, as should director Ava DuVernay for giving us a real depiction of bravery and what a true hero really looks like. It's a great historical movie.

8 years, 11 months ago

AKB48Fan commented on a list

Favourite Places In Tokyo (11 places items)

"I'm sure in the future you'll be able to visit. It might take 5 years, 10 years or more but you will visit Japan eventually."

10 years, 4 months ago

AKB48Fan commented on a list

The Good & The Bad - Movies Watched In 2014 (441 movies items)

"I'll be watching the first appearance of The Rutles on Eric Idle's Rutland Weekend Television soon as I've never seen it. Neil Innes is a genius in how he parodied the Beatles' original songs in the m"

10 years, 4 months ago

AKB48Fan commented on a list

The Good & The Bad - Movies Watched In 2014 (441 movies items)

"Thanks for your comments. I've read that the first Boggy Creek movie was the 11th most popular movie at the US box office in 1972 so it definitely made a profit. There are a couple of other inferior B"

10 years, 4 months ago

AKB48Fan commented on a list