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

Alcoholic former country singer Mac Sledge makes friends with a young widow and her son. The friendship enables him to find inspiration to turn his life around. Although this movie was nominated for an Oscar, it did not do well when it was released. It's a story of simple but genuine folks whose lives centre on basic human values like dignity and honesty. The lonely, barren spaces of West Texas provide the backdrop for the story. There's not much in the way of high drama here; there's no suspense; nor is there any mystery. The entire plot plays out in a natural sort of way, as does life for most people. Things just happen; we ponder why; we move on. The movie has a slow pace to it and features country music so if you dislike either then this won't be for you. Robert Duvall is excellent as Mac Sledge and he won the Best Actor award for his role as the recovering alcoholic. Overall, this movie offers viewers a plausible and deeply thematic story of life in a rural setting with characters that are believable and fairly likable. Definitely worth having a look.

4 years, 4 months ago

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

Judith Wynter is a happily married novelist whose romantic works are eagerly devoured by scores of female readers. When Carlo, a handsome young Italian chauffeur, arrives to work for Judith and her husband, a professor currently recovering from an attack of paralysis, he causes quite a flutter; when he then reads the manuscript of Judith’s latest novel, he jumps to a rather unfortunate conclusion… and life in the Wynter household becomes very complicated indeed! I'm not sure why this movie has been deemed a comedy when there's hardly any humour to be had in this dreary tale. It's an early attempt at comedy by future 'Carry On' producer Peter Rogers but it doesn't work at all. The movie is part b&w and part colour (the b&w show the reality side of things and the colour tell the fantasy sequences). The b&w sequences are far better than the colour ones. Considering that the Italian chaffeur Carlo says he doesn't understand a lot of English, he somehow manages to read an entire novel in English in a couple of hours so go figure. In the end, this was a load of rubbish and a waste of time.

4 years, 4 months ago

AKB48Fan added 2 items to their collection

4 years, 4 months ago

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

JC is the hero of the Cornish surfing community. Staring thirty hard in the face, he fears that the wave that has carried him through a prolonged adolescence is heading for the rocks as his girlfriend pressures him for commitment and his friends contemplate growing up. This isn't just any surfing movie, it's a British surfing one. Savaged on its release, Blue Juice now has something of a curiously nostalgic value to any viewer. The main problem with this movie is its lacking a vital spark to proceedings making it all feel rather empty. It's a relatively pleasing enough if ho hum affair with much enjoyment gained from just seeing how fresh faced the likes of Sean Pertwee, Ewan McGregor and Catherine Zeta Jones all look. There's even appearances from Jenny Agutter and Keith Allen. The cinematography of the beautiful and rugged Cornish landscape is good. Give it a go and see what you think.

4 years, 4 months ago

AKB48Fan rated Hindle Wakes

 Hindle Wakes 6/10

4 years, 4 months ago

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

During a holiday to Blackpool, mill worker Jenny meets Alan, the mill factory boss' son and agrees to spend the week with him over at Llandudno, North Wales. Wanting to keep this a secret from her parents Jenny gets help from her friend Mary to pretend her whereabouts but disaster strikes during a boating accident. It is soon discovered Jenny was not with Mary. When the parents find out the truth they pressure the couple to get married, but Jenny thinks otherwise. A historical snapshot of social attitudes and how life was in the early 50's when the factory workers of the North went to the seaside town of Blackpool to enjoy themselves on holiday. It's fascinating to see the town in it's pomp and heyday full of thronging people and it was also nice to see the Welsh resort of Llandudno as well. The story itself is only so so but it's interesting that if a man and a woman went off together on holiday, the parents would try and make them get married in order to avoid a scandal. Lisa Daniely and Brian Worth are fine in their roles as the two lovers with Leslie Dwyer and Joan Hickson also doing well as Jenny’s parents Chris and Mrs Hawthorne, who aren’t happy to find out what their daughter has been up to. For myself, it was seeing Blackpool (notably the long gone Blackpool Central station) and Llandudno nearly 70 years ago that made me watch this more than the story itself. The movie does have a sort of charm about it which hooks you quickly and keeps you watching till the end.

4 years, 4 months ago

AKB48Fan rated The Arrival

 The Arrival 6/10

4 years, 4 months ago

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

Zane Ziminski is an astrophysicist who receives a message that seems to have extraterrestrial origins. Eerily soon after his discovery, Zane is fired. He then embarks on a search to determine the origins of the transmission that leads him into a Hitchcockian labyrinth of paranoia and intrigue. This was one of the earliest Hollywood movies made to cash in on the success of The X-Files on TV. After a slightly slow introduction, the movie picks up pace in its depiction of a large-scale conspiracy, an alien invasion done in a different style to most. Unfortunately the early CGI effects work hasn't really stood the test of time and it looks bad at times. Charlie Sheen gives a good performance as the lead character along with Ron Silver as the bad guy. All in all, it's an OK movie but it is not one I could watch over and over again, like some others.

4 years, 4 months ago

AKB48Fan rated Sunstruck

 Sunstruck 4/10

4 years, 4 months ago

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

Stanley Evans, a Welsh schoolteacher, decides to emigrate to Australia for a better life but ends up working in a school in the dead-end town of Kookaburra Springs. He forms a school choir and decides to compete in a singing competition in Sydney. This is the last movie that Welsh comedian Harry Secombe did before sticking to TV and it's not a good one I have to say. It's another of those fish out of water movie set in Australia in a community full of hardened drinkers. There is hardly any laughs at all and the best part of the movie was right in the beginning when it was set in a mining town in South Wales. The cinematography of the Australian landscape is interesting but the plot about a small Aussie school taking part in a choir competition is dreary and dull. I couldn't wait for it to end. Harry Secombe was a nice man but some of the roles given to him in movies were poor. I can't really recommend this to be honest.

4 years, 4 months ago

AKB48Fan rated It's Great to Be Young!

 It's Great to Be Young! 2/10

4 years, 4 months ago

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

When autocratic new headmaster Frome begins imposing all sorts of repressive rules, music teacher Dingle does his best to stand up for his students, only to be dismissed for his troubles. The kids conspire to not only reinstate their favourite teacher, but to circumvent Frome’s refusal to purchase new instruments for an upcoming music festival. This terrible musical comedy tries to be The Dead Poets Society meets The Young Ones. I tried very hard to like this movie as I enjoy most of John Miles' work and he does perform well in his role but the story did not interest me one bit and the music aspect of it was annoying. The young cast aren't that good although I did spot Richard O'Sullivan as one of the school pupils. The location shooting is great but I'm afraid that's all the praise I can give this movie.

4 years, 4 months ago

AKB48Fan rated The Devil's Doorway

 The Devil's Doorway 5/10

4 years, 4 months ago

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

In the autumn of 1960, Father Thomas Riley and Father John Thornton were sent by the Vatican to investigate a miraculous event in an Irish home for ‘fallen women’, only to uncover something much more horrific. A reasonable found footage horror movie. I found the story to be quite creepy. The visuals were largely solid but things like the bulb on the camera constantly flashing off and on with no explanation quickly become trite and repetitive to diminishing effect. The sound design was also a mess, with sense of direction and volume all over the place. Perhaps a lot of this was meant to disorientate the viewer, such as scenes of the two Priests chasing a dark figure through the convent. Still, it does manage to create an atmosphere of dread and everyone gives a strong performance.

4 years, 4 months ago

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

A race car driver marries a woman for her money and plans to murder her. An old suitor steps in to help her but the driver takes steps to eliminate the rival. But there’s a flaw in the driver’s plans. One in a series of low budget crime thrillers that future Hammer director Terence Fisher made in the 1950's. It's far from his most distinguished work although it works reasonably well and at only an hour in length it never outstays its welcome. Fisher's direction adds a little life and style to the proceedings although the plot is very ordinary and simplistic and the outcome easily guessable. The three main actors are great. Worth a look if you like Terence Fisher's work.

4 years, 4 months ago

AKB48Fan added 2 items to their collection

4 years, 4 months ago

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

Sailor Albert gets a message from the Navy saying he can’t marry his girlfriend Shirley for certain unexplained legal reasons. Everyone, including his domineering mother-in-law to be, jumps to the conclusion that there must be another woman involved. This movie is based on a play of the same name which is similar to Sailor Beware, also filmed, and both of which feature the same characters attempting to marry one another, with a slightly different plot. I found this movie to be amusing with the best character being Irene Handl's dotty Edie. She steals every scene she's in. Marjorie Rhodes as Shirley's mother spends the majority of the movie ranting, raving and bullying, not letting anyone else get a word in, and generally holding the plot up. Liz Frazer plays the best friend of the intended bride and Frankie Howerd has a tiny role as the organist in a church. All in all, a decent comedy that I enjoyed.

4 years, 4 months ago

AKB48Fan added 2 items to their collection

4 years, 4 months ago

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

Following the death of his employer and mentor, Bumpy Johnson, Frank Lucas establishes himself as the number one importer of heroin in the Harlem district of Manhattan. He does so by buying heroin directly from the source in South East Asia and he comes up with a unique way of importing the drugs into the United States. The true story of one of the most powerful drug lords in the United States: Frank Lucas. Director Ridley Scott tells the rough gangster story with epic breath and big pictures. The excellent camera work gives the movie an elegance from the start that corresponds to the appearance of the main characters: tough, but with style. The plot runs at a leisurely narrative pace, but without the viewer being bored for a longer time. The attention to detail, equipment and setting, the lifelike and profound characters as well as the well thought-out story, which brilliantly captures the late 60's and early 70's in the United States, pulls the viewer under its spell and captivates them consistently to the rousing, exciting finale. Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe are fantastic in their roles but many of the supporting actors are also brilliant. You'll even see a blink-or-miss it moment with Idris Elba before he's shot in the head. This is definitely a gripping, top-class thriller which comes highly recommended.

4 years, 4 months ago

AKB48Fan rated The Net

 The Net 5/10

4 years, 4 months ago

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

A secret jet aircraft capable of traveling three times the speed of sound is being developed by a group of scientists secretly. On the day of the test flight, one of the scientists dies in a mysterious accident, and there are many arguments concerning the flight itself. Then there is the question of just who is the enemy agent on the project? A movie that takes us back to a time when Britain ruled the skies with innovative new aircraft. At the heart of the movie is a disagreement between the man in charge of the project and the plane's designer about that first flight, should it be piloted or remotely controlled. The supersonic delta wing aircraft designed to reach into the upper reaches of the atmosphere in the story is a seaplane for some reason. The special effects are really quite nifty, helped no end by the howl of the plane's engines as it flies stupidly quickly at ridiculous low levels just to make sure that all and sundry can get a good look at this top secret aircraft. The cast give good performances though I can't say anybody really stands out. This is the kind of movie that once seen you'll probably have forgotten about it the next day.

4 years, 4 months ago

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

A soldier-of-fortune steals some Russian nerve gas from Afghanistan, and brings it to the U.S. to be analyzed. A greedy millionaire rancher finds out about it and sets out to steal it. A fairly good 80's actioner which really only picks up in the final 30 mins. There's excellent gore makeup, including a juicy face-melting, to demonstrate the nerve gas’ effects. Plenty of location footage of Dallas as well which makes me think this was like a video tourist brochure for the city. There are some decent shootouts, chases, explosions, dangerous helicopter stunts, and an impressive finale with Eddie Albert crawling around the outside of Reunion Tower. Audrey Landers is there as the eye candy with Joe Don Baker playing the bad guy. With a bigger budget, I'm sure this movie would have been better but as it is, it's just average for me.

4 years, 4 months ago

AKB48Fan added 2 items to their collection

4 years, 4 months ago

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

A 9 year old boy named Joey, who after the tragic death of his father, begins to experience psychic powers such as allowing him to move inanimate objects with his mind, set things on fire, and even communicate with his dead father. However, not everything is good for Joey as his newly gained powers accidentally awake an evil supernatural force that is contained inside the body of an old ventriloquist’s dummy that Joey found in an abandoned house. This is a German production of a morbid children's movie hoping to capitalise on the success of Steven Spielberg's movies of the early 1980's. Roland Emmerich directs and rips off Poltergeist and Close Encounters of the Third with many Star Wars references throughout. There are 2 versions floating about - the US cut and the extended German one which is 15 mins longer. It's the German version I watched. The movie works more as a creepy adventure movie than a horror one, mainly because the story is written in a way that highlights the main character's fight versus an evil force. The special effects at times is poor and the kids acting is fair at best. However, despite those flaws, Emmerich manages to pull off a nice entertaining adventure of this that while not perfect, is a lot better than what could had been. Worth a watch.

4 years, 4 months ago

AKB48Fan rated Shadow Man

 Shadow Man 4/10

4 years, 4 months ago

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

A nightclub owner falls in love with the abused wife of a heavy gambler. He is snared into a web of intrigue when an ex-girlfriend is found murdered in his apartment. An obscure British noir starring Cesar Romero (The Joker from the Batman TV series) and Kay Kendall. What action there is, that is, for this is fairly lame stuff with the various fairground staples like the laughing policeman and a fortune telling clown being relied upon to 'spice things up'. The London street scenes have a certain charm and there are little touches like the 'rag and bone man' and the real life fortune teller, who looks like she stepped out of the music hall. I found myself getting more and more disinterested as the movie wore on so I was glad when it finished. Not my cup of tea I'm afraid.

4 years, 4 months ago

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

When a Hong Kong police negotiator is informed about the sudden disappearance of his 16-year-old daughter in Thailand, he travels there to search for her whereabouts. This is essentially a Chinese/Thai version of Taken but with a twist which I won't spoil. The exciting fight choreography by Sammo Hung was brilliant and over the top with characters punching each other with great sound effects. The acting from the Chinese/Thai actors is also great especially Louis Koo who plays the father looking for his daughter. Tony Jaa also appears but doesn't have a big presence in the storyline, he's mostly on the sidelines. Director Wilson Yip keeps things going at a fair old pace so things never slow down at all. To sum it up, if you're happy to see a rehash of Taken in another language with some fine action choreography, then you should like this movie.

4 years, 4 months ago

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

Trevor is ‘between jobs’. He spends his days avoiding his nagging heifer of a wife by hiding out in his allotment shed and painting figurines for his wargames with his agoraphobic friend, Graham, and dreaming of his heroic alter-ego, the battle mage Casimir the Destroyer. Then a zombie apocalypse happens but this is just the beginnings of Trevor’s problems. More pressing is whether or not he should try and save his wife and her beautiful best friend, who both he and Graham have a thing for. You can spoof zombie movies, but when you try to make a spoof of a spoof that's just called ripping it off. Also if you're going to rip off a zombie comedy, you should probably not rip off the greatest one ever made. It really is basically Shaun of the Dead with minor tweaks to try and change the similarities. It does have it's moments though. In typical low budget horror fashion it manages to cast some horror legends in Kane Hodder, Bill Moseley and Michael Berryman. You might get a couple of chuckles out of this movie but it isn't a great horror comedy.

4 years, 4 months ago

AKB48Fan added 2 items to their collection

4 years, 4 months ago

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4 years, 4 months ago