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

Wolf is a war veteran who recounts the tale of his legendary youth to a young upstart killer. Flashback to a post-World War II time when the young Wolf is wandering the Chinese countryside in search of his missing memories. He only knows to meet someone at an abandoned temple. He ends up hooking up with a local villager who intends to guide the Wolf to his destination. Some villains come to find him and they bear the terrible secret of the Wolf’s past. Marking his directorial debut, Donnie Yen attempts to make this movie into a cross between a kung fu classic and a thinking man’s love story. Sadly, it doesn’t come close to being the latter, mainly due to some fairly inept storytelling. The movie has been called in some quarters a kung fu classic - it's definitely not one believe me! Some of the fights on display are impressive but you have to wait until the final 20 mins to get to the really good stuff with Yen displaying lightning speed with his fists. The final fight is worth the admission price alone but I'm afraid the rest of the movie is not that good.

4 years, 5 months ago

AKB48Fan added 2 items to their collection

4 years, 5 months ago

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

Successful businessman Joe Lampton is married to the wealthy Susan, has two children and lives in the mill town of Warley in northern England. But his career seems to have plateaued, leaving him disillusioned. This feeling is only exacerbated when he discovers his wife’s infidelity with local man Mark. So he takes up with attractive TV host Norah and moves with her to London, aiming to reignite the fire that drove him to the top. This is an overlooked, lesser but still very admirable sequel to 1959's Room At The Top. Set 10 years after the events of the previous movie, it sees Joe Lampton with everything he ever dreamed of ever since he set eyes on 'The Top' in the Yorkshire mill town of Warley following the end of the war. Laurence Harvey resumes his role as Joe alongside returning cast members Donald Wolfit, Ambrosine Phillpotts and Allan Cuthbertson, with Jean Simmons now playing the role of Susan previously played by Heather Sears. Joining the cast this time around is Honor Blackman as Joe's love interest. The harsh class structure of the 1960's is shown in full effect during Joe's interview at a London firm. Director Ted Kotcheff keeps the plot ticking along very nicely and Oswald Morris' cinematography is definitely a bonus. A worthy sequel to watch.

4 years, 5 months ago

AKB48Fan rated The Resurrection of Zachary Wheeler

 The Resurrection of Zachary Wheeler 6/10

4 years, 5 months ago

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

A U.S. Senator is spirited away to a secret New Mexico medical lab after a serious car crash. His injuries are completely healed by a secret organisation that has developed advanced medical technology. What does the organisation want in exchange for saving his life? Meanwhile, a reporter who witnessed the accident decides to investigate the Senator’s disappearance. This was one of the first movies to depict medical exploitation of cloning even though that term had not been used yet. It's an intriguing low-budget thriller that prefigures many of the medical paranoia thrillers of the late 1970's. The script is structured well, building an intriguing mystery. Interesting to see Leslie Nielsen as the reporter who gets chased all over New Mexico by a secretive government oreganisation. The most irritating aspect about the movie is its anti-climactic non-ending wherein Bradford Dillman and Leslie Nielsen’s characters threaten about going to the media seems to be dissipated by the announcement of the arrival of some VIP whereupon the movie just stops dead. It's a shame it had to end that way. A good if rather obscure sci-fi thriller that's well worth tracking down.

4 years, 5 months ago

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

An infamous terrorist has evaded capture for a long time by being extremely clever and ruthless. Things get interesting when he hijacks a plane carrying famous security expert John Cutter, who isn’t about to stand this sort of thing. More than Die Hard on an airplane, Passenger 57 is prime Wesley Snipes and the movie that made him a star. Not only does Snipes take on some evil terrorists, but he does a lot of his own stunt work as well. The action is non-stop. It has to be. The runtime is only around 85 minutes but this is great. Not all movies need to be long. There's enough action and character development to satisfy the viewer's action needs. A worthy actioner.

4 years, 5 months ago

AKB48Fan rated Emma

 Emma 8/10

4 years, 6 months ago

AKB48Fan added 1 item to The 2020 TV Show List list

4 years, 6 months ago

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

A group of kids get hold of an atomic playset and after setting off an explosion (complete with a mushroom cloud), set about putting the splitting of atoms to good use by building a nuclear powered mini factory producing popcorn. This comedy kids movie is not to be confused with the horror movies about a killer doll and probably just as well! It involves a group of kids called The Holy Terrors getting up to all sorts of mischief. It shows a Middle England which has since disappeared such as a local policeman on a bike in every village. Although the script is a bit slapdash and should have been better, the main draw of the movie is to see up and coming stars as Peter Sallis and future Dr Who assistant Anneke Willis as a young girl in the gang. Overall, Child’s Play is an unsatisfactory and unfunny comedy, due to the OK performances, direction, weak script and no humour.

4 years, 6 months ago

AKB48Fan rated Child's Play

 Child's Play 4/10

4 years, 6 months ago

AKB48Fan posted a image

4 years, 6 months ago

AKB48Fan rated Ha'penny Breeze

 Ha'penny Breeze 5/10

4 years, 6 months ago

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

A demobbed serviceman finds that his village has fallen on hard times. With the help of family, friends and the villagers he enters his boat in a yacht race. Winning will mean orders for new boats and life for the village. A nice little movie showing bygone life in little boatyard in isolated village up a muddy river. I'm not sure whether it's supposed to be a light hearted comedy or not but there's hardly any laughs in the story. The plot is believable and the cast are perfect and natural. The movie was shot on location in an actual tiny hamlet called Pin Mill in Suffolk and even the pub shown in the movie is still there today. I wouldn't say this is a great movie but it's OK due to the cast, story and pleasant atmosphere.

4 years, 6 months ago

AKB48Fan posted a image

4 years, 6 months ago

AKB48Fan rated Left Right and Centre

 Left Right and Centre 5/10

4 years, 6 months ago

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

At the Earndale by-election, natural history expert and TV personality Bob Wilcot for the Conservatives finds himself up against Billingsgate girl Stella Stoker for the Labour party. This comedy is an uneasy mix of romcom and satire. Surprisingly it is the romantic part that doesn’t work. The political comedy is lightweight, choosing a general “politicians are bad” message instead of anything with teeth, but the gags only sometimes work and that's partly due to the script. Even the heavyweight cast of the time in Ian Carmichael and Alastair Sim can only do so much to save this movie. Don't come into this movie expecting a barrel of laughs - there aren't any to be honest. A disappointing comedy overall.

4 years, 6 months ago

AKB48Fan rated Room 43

 Room 43 6/10

4 years, 6 months ago

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

aka Passport To Shame. A young French girl on the run from the Parisian police falls prey to a violent, scheming pimp. A pre-credit introduction to this movie attempts to sell this as an expose of vice in London with special reference to human trafficking but it quickly segues into just another girl-in-jeopardy thriller in which vice is only peripheral. It is still a fine little British thriller shining a light on the murky world of prostitution, with Herbert Lom at his sleaziest playing the movie's antagonist, a pimp who keeps the girls in his care in an iron grip. Much of the attention in the story goes to the glamorous Diana Dors as one of the girls. You'll even spot a young Michael Caine as a guest at a wedding. The movie does well with the thriller aspects, although it's a potboiler for part of the running time; the best part is the lavish extended climax which brings together large-scale action, pyrotechnics and some high-rise stunts for superb effect. Definitely worth catching.

4 years, 6 months ago

AKB48Fan rated Fresh Meat

 Fresh Meat 8/10

4 years, 6 months ago

AKB48Fan added 1 item to The 2020 TV Show List list

4 years, 6 months ago

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

Hailed as one of the most innovative and intimate documentaries of all time experience, Kurt Cobain like never before in the only ever fully authorised portrait of the famed music icon. I really don't understand the big deal about Kurt Cobain. Sure Nirvana made some good music but the way some fans paint him as some Messiah and a genius is odd. He was simply a miserable, self-loathing drug addict. This documentary charts Cobain's sad life from his childhood until his death showing home movie footage, animation and family interviews. It is NOT a documentary about Nirvana so if you expect that it's best to switch off. There's just an enormous amount of useless filler shoved in this movie and the unique animation used just got irritating in the end. This documentary is a complete waste of time and filled with the scribbles of an obviously depressed human being. Terrible.

4 years, 6 months ago

AKB48Fan added 2 items to their collection

4 years, 6 months ago

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

Angela, a corporate climber, gets stuck working late on Christmas Eve and finds herself the target of an unhinged security guard. With no help in sight, the woman must overcome physical and psychological challenges to survive. This is a fun little horror story. There’s nothing extraordinary about this but I do enjoy a good cat and mouse thriller and this one certainly delivers on that. There are several tense chase scenes and I was impressed with the things they were able to come up with given the limited location: multiple levels, stairways, elevators, etc. There's also some unexpected scenes of gore that come out of nowhere. Wes Bentley does a good job of playing the psychopath security guard. The director lingers too much at times on Rachel Nichols' 'charms'! All in all, a well paced and exciting horror thriller.

4 years, 6 months ago

AKB48Fan rated A Touch of Sin

 A Touch of Sin 7/10

4 years, 6 months ago

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

Four independent stories set in modern China about random acts of violence. A great Chinese movie about living at the bottom of the economic class may lead to random violent acts of aggression - as your only way of releasing the anger inside. The 4 stories are: A man living in a village getting drained by the coal mine industry reaches his ultimate limit - and takes out everyone involved in the corporate scandal. A motorcyclist with an excitement to gun violence ; sibling in an aging family, he robs people as his way of making a living. A woman is having an affair with a married man but calls it quits for fear it'll ruin her image and finally a kid gets blamed for injuring a coworker and has to pay his debt. When his life reaches a dead end he decides to end it there. Apparently each story is based on a true event. This movie is suitably shocking in many ways in exposing not only the difficulties of the characters in focus but also the extreme reactions some of them have in dealing with their circumstances. The only thing I did not like was the animal cruelty shown with a horse being relentlessly whipped by it's owner and a duck having its throat cut. If you want to know what life is like for the lower classes in China, give this movie a go.

4 years, 6 months ago

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

Dispatched to a small Italian town to build a new powerful rifle, assassin Jack embarks on a double life that may be more relaxing than is good for him. As a real throwback to cinema of the 70's, this movie's atmospheric mood refuses to conform to the modern thriller format. There are no extensive showdowns or final pay-offs that end an adventure, choosing instead to carefully build the tension around the protagonist the viewer is aligned with until the bitter end. George Clooney is perfectly cast as an American contact killer holed up in the idyllic hilltops of rural Italy. It is beautifully shot and the director Anton Corbijn does a great job. The sedate pace of the movie gives the viewer time to absorb the mood of the setting. I was glued to this movie from start to finish. Very enjoyable.

4 years, 6 months ago

AKB48Fan rated Capturing The Friedmans

 Capturing The Friedmans 7/10

4 years, 6 months ago

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

A documentary movie about a middle-class American family who is torn apart when the father Arnold and son Jesse are accused of sexually abusing numerous children. Director Andrew Jarecki interviews people from different sides of this tragic story and raises the question of whether they were rightfully tried when they claim they were innocent and there was never any evidence against them. This award winning documentary deals with two very unpleasant themes: pedophilia and destruction of a family. The director presents both sides of the contradictory story with a total exemption and neutrality. The viewer is shown home camcorder footage of the family through the years. The viewer can witness the process of an apparently normal family being completely shattered. In the end, there is manipulation, ambiguity, contradiction in the case, but never the truth. Who knows what really happened and if both defendants were guilty or not? An interesting but disturbing movie.

4 years, 6 months ago

AKB48Fan rated Out of the Past (1947)

 Out of the Past (1947) 4/10

4 years, 6 months ago

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

Jeff Bailey seems to be a mundane gas station owner in remote Bridgeport, CA. He is dating local girl Ann Miller and lives a quiet life. But Jeff has a secret past, and when a mysterious stranger arrives in town, Jeff is forced to return to the dark world he had tried to escape. I know this movie has been touted as a classic but I found it so very dull and dated that I switched it off after an hour. The plot is lame. The photography is passable and the direction far more competent than this would-be film-noir flick deserved. Robert Mitchum comes across as a kind of vacant halfwit, mumbling his way through his lines, apparently disinterested. Kirk Douglas is silly, snide and smarmy. No one in the cast was a standout, nothing memorable. I was deeply disappointed after seeing many glowing reviews.

4 years, 6 months ago