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AKB48Fan added 2 items to their collection

4 years, 2 months ago

AKB48Fan added 1 item to A New Decade! A New Year! Movies Watched In 2020 list

Isabella, the daughter of the noble York family, is enrolled in an all-girls academy to be groomed into a dame worthy of nobility. However, she has given up on her future, seeing the prestigious school as nothing more than a prison from the outside world. Her family notices her struggling in her lessons and decides to hire Violet Evergarden to personally tutor her under the guise of a handmaiden. I really enjoyed the Violet Evergarden anime series but this movie left me cold. It's not that the story wasn't sad (in a good way), it's just the execution of it and it missed the flair that made the series so memorable. I didn't really care for any of the characters. Kyoto Animation delivered as they usually do on the artistic side of things and the soundtrack was also good. Unfortunately as the movie wore on, I became totally bored and couldn't wait for it to end. Fans of the series might want to take a look but IMHO it's not worth watching.

4 years, 2 months ago

AKB48Fan rated Nowhere to Go

 Nowhere to Go 6/10

4 years, 2 months ago

AKB48Fan added 1 item to A New Decade! A New Year! Movies Watched In 2020 list

A professional thief Paul Gregory is sprung from prison with the assistance of a new partner who wants to know where he’s hidden his loot. A bleak but stylish film noir from Ealing Studios. The plot is steeped in shadow and hopelessness with some good solid acting from George Nader, Bessie Love and Bernard Lee and even a cameo appearance from Harry H Corbett. It marks the first on-screen film credit of Dame Maggie Smith. And even at this early point in her career, you can tell that she has that certain something. A certain something that the others (as good as they are) don't possess. The movie has a good pace and the story kept my attention all the way through to the end. This is a quiet, brooding sort of movie that's well worth seeing.

4 years, 2 months ago

AKB48Fan rated Departure

 Departure 5/10

4 years, 2 months ago

AKB48Fan added 1 item to A New Decade! A New Year! Movies Watched In 2020 list

An English mother and her teenage son spend a week preparing the sale of their remote holiday house in the South of France. Fifteen-year-old Elliot struggles with his dawning sexuality and an increasing alienation from his mother, Beatrice. She in turn is confronted by the realisation that her marriage to his father, Philip, has grown loveless and the life she knows is coming to an end. When an enigmatic local teenager, Clément, quietly enters their lives, both mother and son are compelled to confront their desires and, finally, each other. Theatre director Andrew Steggall makes a decent debut with this sincere if overly familiar tale of adolescent self-obsession and sexual confusion. Drifting between family secrets and lustful interludes, Steggall makes evocative use of shimmering views of woodland and reservoir but the pacing of the story is slow at times. Fairly good performances from Alex Lawther and Juliet Stevenson. It's one of those movies you'll have forgotten about completely the next day after watching it. Average.

4 years, 2 months ago

AKB48Fan rated Fire Over England (1937)

 Fire Over England (1937) 7/10

4 years, 2 months ago

AKB48Fan added 1 item to A New Decade! A New Year! Movies Watched In 2020 list

In 1588, relations between Spain and England are at the breaking point. With the support of Queen Elizabeth I, British sea raiders such as Sir Francis Drake regularly capture Spanish merchantmen bringing gold from the New World. King Phillip of Spain plots to kill the Queen by sending the greatest sailing armada ever seen in the world to invade England. A solid historical costume drama with a stacked cast which includes a young Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh. Flora Robson is absolutely superb as Queen Elizabeth I. The plot creates good moments of drama, romance, and action, along with some good cat-and-mouse games between the characters. It builds to a good climax. The movie easily holds your interest all the way through. Overall, it's pretty good and well worth seeing.

4 years, 2 months ago

AKB48Fan added 1 item to A New Decade! A New Year! Movies Watched In 2020 list

When a bank clerk tries to dodge paying a bus fare on his way home, it sparks a series of unforseen consequences. Another non Carry-On b-movie outing for Gerald Thomas and Peter Rogers. The story is a nice idea and works rather well, although the manner in which it's all set off is rather questionable. It all finishes in a wildly over the top manner which would seem to suggest that fate, or the Universe, or whatever, sees to it that the guilty all receive their proper punishment in the end, and that there's no way to outrun natural justice. The cast which includes Dermot Walsh, Susan Shaw and Jack Watling give fine performances. It makes for an interesting 60 or so mins. If you've got nothing better to see, I suggest giving this a go.

4 years, 2 months ago

AKB48Fan rated Chain of Events

 Chain of Events 6/10

4 years, 2 months ago

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4 years, 2 months ago

AKB48Fan rated Howling V: The Rebirth

 Howling V: The Rebirth 4/10

4 years, 2 months ago

AKB48Fan added 1 item to A New Decade! A New Year! Movies Watched In 2020 list

When a group of people from different walks of life converge in a Hungarian castle situated in Budapest which has been sealed for 500 years, they bring with them a werewolf which slowly begins to cut their numbers down. Another poor entry in the Howling franchise. The castle is a neat setting and a nice change of pace from the previous movies. The whodunit aspect doesn’t work nearly as well as it wants to...mostly because the characters are not interesting enough to care about. The acting is laughable. The werewolf effects are minimal and, unfortunately, so is most of the gore. You’ll also see the ending coming a mile away. Not worth bothering about to be honest unless you're a completist.

4 years, 2 months ago

AKB48Fan added 1 item to A New Decade! A New Year! Movies Watched In 2020 list

Galo and the Burning Rescue Fire Department face off against BURNISH, a group of mutants who are able to control and wield flames, and the fire disaster they have unleashed on Earth. Way too loud and fast for my liking with aggressive jumpcuts and flashy animations, which could have been great if used sparingly, but it just doesn't stop. The vivid colours used in the anime is excellent but that's about it. The story didn't interest me one bit and it has uninteresting characters. There's definitely going to be an audience for this in-your-face movie but I'm afraid I'm not one of them. I had an inkling that I wasn't going to like this so I wasn't too disappointed in the end.

4 years, 2 months ago

AKB48Fan added 2 items to their collection

4 years, 2 months ago

AKB48Fan added 1 item to A New Decade! A New Year! Movies Watched In 2020 list

A beautiful young woman named Molly begrudgingly gets involved with her brother Mike in a diamond heist, meticulously planned by a small-time crook. It's a risky heist, involving the impersonation of the police, but amazingly, they get away with it. Sadly, a boy named Freddie, who has a crush on Molly, also becomes involved without his knowledge, and now he's in danger too. Clive Donner's directorial debut has an engaging story, adding layers that keep interest high, especially when Freddie finds something he shouldn't have, which sets off an entirely new, somewhat amusing chain of events. All the performances (including the beautiful Belinda Lee and future Bond star Geoffrey Keen) were enjoyable, but Michael Brooke as Freddie is the stand out. The backdrop of London after the war is atmospherically filmed. I was pleasantly surprised with this movie and it's worth checking out.

4 years, 2 months ago

AKB48Fan added 1 item to A New Decade! A New Year! Movies Watched In 2020 list

Daphne is a young woman negotiating the tricky business of modern life. Caught in the daily rush of her restaurant job and a nightlife kaleidoscope of new faces, she is witty, funny, the life of the party. Too busy to realise that deep down she is not happy. When she saves the life of a shopkeeper stabbed in a failed robbery, the impenetrable armour she wears to protect herself begins to crack, and Daphne is forced to confront the inevitability of a much-needed change in her life. This movie is a remarkably real and well-realised big screen version about a self-destructive single girl. A brittle 31-year-old Londoner who wears some heavy emotional armour on her sleeves and doesn't believe in love. She goes through life under the influence of drugs and casual sex and doesn't realise how much the robbery has affected her. Emily Beecham's portrayal of Daphne is just brilliant and raw by keeping herself from emotions or the excitement of disappointment of love. The viewer is drawn in by Daphne's frustrating, abrasive character and her descent in to self loathing. The script is spot on and the direction by Peter Mackie Burns is superb. I wasn't too enamoured with the ending though but overall I thought it was a cracking movie.

4 years, 2 months ago

AKB48Fan rated Daphne

 Daphne 7/10

4 years, 2 months ago

AKB48Fan rated Funny Cow (2017)

 Funny Cow (2017) 8/10

4 years, 2 months ago

AKB48Fan added 1 item to A New Decade! A New Year! Movies Watched In 2020 list

A comedian uses her own troubled past as material in her stand-up comedy routine, as she tries to break into the comedy circuit by playing Northern England's working men's clubs. A fantastic British dark comedy/drama movie, filled with great period detail and a real passion for showing the grittiness of everyday life back in the 70's. It's about a woman who suffers abuse for her entire life and finds the one thing that makes her feel loved - stand up comedy. Maxine Peake is phenomenal giving one of her best performances and aided by a superb supporting cast. There's one, maybe two, overdramatic missteps, but mostly this movie nails its comedy/drama tonal balance. It's hardly a deep or mesmerising movie, but I pretty much loved watching this all the way through. Definitely well worth watching.

4 years, 2 months ago

AKB48Fan rated The Magic Box (1951)

 The Magic Box (1951) 6/10

4 years, 2 months ago

AKB48Fan added 1 item to A New Decade! A New Year! Movies Watched In 2020 list

Now old, ill, poor, and largely forgotten, William Freise-Greene was once very different. As young and handsome William Green he changed his name to include his first wife’s so that it sounded more impressive for the photographic portrait work he was so good at. But he was also an inventor and his search for a way to project moving pictures became an obsession that ultimately changed the life of all those he loved. Director John Boulting, probably most famous for Brighton Rock up until this point at least, turns his hand to the pained origins of cinema. It’s a really well put together movie, that while maybe not entirely accurate, and almost certainly somewhat romanticised, manages to communicate the struggle of its subject so wonderfully well, and there’s nothing phony about that. Robert Donat is fantastic as William Friese-Greene. He’s a dreamer, sort of damaging to all around him in the obsessive pursuit of his dream who went from a highly successful photographer to a bankrupt inventor, and how his obsession with film and colour controlled his life. Although slow at times, those interested in movie history should enjoy this.

4 years, 2 months ago

AKB48Fan added 5 items to their collection

4 years, 3 months ago

AKB48Fan added 1 item to A New Decade! A New Year! Movies Watched In 2020 list

Johnny O’Flynn is an adventurer who tries to stop a group of thieves who have stolen a formula for producing steel. However, he discovers that other nasty people are also on the trail as well. Just your average British b-movie thriller. The script is only written to a fair standard as it is weak in places and considering that this movie runs for only 70 minutes, it’s a pity and a shame, because there isn’t much of a story happening at times. Terence Morgan gives a good performance as O'Flynn and the rest of the cast are fine as well. This could have been a better movie but it is let down by the the weak script.

4 years, 3 months ago

AKB48Fan added 2 items to their collection

4 years, 3 months ago

AKB48Fan rated Angels One Five

 Angels One Five 5/10

4 years, 3 months ago

AKB48Fan added 1 item to A New Decade! A New Year! Movies Watched In 2020 list

The year is 1940, Pilot Officer T.B. Baird arrives straight out of flight school to join a front line RAF squadron at the height of the Battle of Britain. After an unfortunate start and a drumming down from his commanding officer, Baird must balance the struggle to impress his Group Captain, regain his pride, fit in with his fellow pilots, and survive one of the most intense air battles in history. Don't come into this war movie expecting to see many air combat scenes as that doesn't happen. Most of the movie is set in the Operations room getting to know the squadron members in what is a deliberately slow paced character drama imbued with that distinctively British resolve and fighting spirit. The combination of on location shooting, studio sets, documentary footage and use of models makes the movie uneven in terms of how realistic it looks, but it's all skilfully assembled in a way that never gets distracting. The cast are good in their roles. All in all, it's a mostly routine British war drama with a few strong moments.

4 years, 3 months ago

AKB48Fan rated It's a Great Day!

 It's a Great Day! 4/10

4 years, 3 months ago

AKB48Fan added 1 item to A New Decade! A New Year! Movies Watched In 2020 list

Bob Grove, a builder has problems with the council, over building supplies that he needs to complete a job on a local housing estate. Under pressure to finish the job, his son gets them from a local crook. When the council find out, they call in the police, so the Grove family get together, to clear themselves, in time for the grand opening and for a visit by Princess Margaret. This is the big screen spin-off from the BBC's soap opera series The Grove Family. It was the UK's 1st ever soap opera and sadly only 3 episodes from the 147 episodes made remain in the archives. It was very popular in it's time. Sadly time has made this rather dated and I'm not really sure if it represented a typical lower middle class family in suburbia during the mid 50's. It's all a bit too twee for my liking and the drama is rather tame. It's nice to see a very young Christopher Beeny as the annoying son and a small cameo from Sid James as a dodgy car seller. This movie serves as a curiosity more than anything for those who want to see how a typical episode of The Grove Family might have looked on TV. I can't say I recommend it though.

4 years, 3 months ago

AKB48Fan rated Skin Trade

 Skin Trade 5/10

4 years, 3 months ago