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AKB48Fan added 2 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

After leaving the British Secret Service, David Somers finds work cataloging butterflies at the country house of Nicholas and Jess Fenton. After the murder of a local gamekeeper, suspicion (wrongfully) falls on their niece, Sophie Malroux. Somers helps Sophie to escape arrest and they go on the run together. After a cross-country chase they arrive at Liverpool with the intention of leaving the country by ship. Prolific director Ralph Thomas covered a wide range of styles with varying success throughout his career but is probably best remembered these days for comedies. However, there was a bit more to his bow than low brow comedies and this fantastic movie is one of those efforts. It's an underseen British gem of a suspense thriller in the vein of Hitchcock. Trevor Howard is excellent in another 'troubled man' performance which he tended to excel in and Jean Simmons' fragile heroine is a good foil for the older, more experienced actor as the two flee on a whistle-stop tour of the UK which affords the chance to see Newcastle, the Lake District and Liverpool all the while being pursued by Kenneth More and the police. In the end, it's an effective and exciting movie with two great leads, gorgeous location photography, and some thrilling action set-pieces.

4 years, 3 months ago

AKB48Fan rated Judgement Day

 Judgement Day 4/10

4 years, 3 months ago

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

Two travelers stop over in a small village named Santana. Unbeknownst to them, Santana is a village where, once a year, Satan comes to Earth to claim souls, and they just happened to enter the village on that day. This is an uneven supernatural thriller. Director Ferde Grofe Jr captures an eerieness in some ruins where this movie was shot in the Phillipines and there's some chilling shots of marching demons during the night plus it has a fairly good cast which features Cesar Romero and Peter Mark Richman but somehow it doesn't hit the heights it should have been. Perhaps part of it was down to the poor performances of the two leads. Overall, this movie is never going to be re-discovered as a buried gem or anything like that. It might satisfy some viewers though.

4 years, 3 months ago

AKB48Fan rated A Candle For the Devil

 A Candle For the Devil 5/10

4 years, 3 months ago

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

Two batty sisters running a small hotel in Spain kill female tourists whose morals do not meet their strict religious standards. A lackluster Spanish horror flick with an unimpressive British star in Judy Geeson is rendered moderately interesting by making the murderous acts of two seemingly benign old maids/hoteliers a direct result of their sexual repression brought on by Catholic hypocrisy. Certainly, there have been horror movies about two sisters before, and certainly, there have been horror movies about evil doings going on in hotels before. This one establishes tension, not only between the sisters and Geeson, but between the sisters themselves. The only real problem for me was the lack of a real climax and a satisfying resolution. I didn't see any gore either but that could be because there are various versions of this movie floating about with different running times. An average horror in the end.

4 years, 3 months ago

AKB48Fan rated The Strange Affair

 The Strange Affair 6/10

4 years, 3 months ago

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

When rookie P.C Strange falls for an under aged girl, he is unknowingly compromised by a pair of pornographers. Meanwhile, seasoned Det. Pierce is out to catch mob boss Quince and soon both plots intertwine. An interesting crime drama. Director David Greene chooses to start the movie with the young copper Strange getting sent down and then flashing back to tell us how he went from being a new young lad on his first day to being banged up like a common criminal. Strangely for a movie with such dark subject matter it is often played light and quirky. There's a frivolous fantasy-like dreamy sex scene featuring a jail-bait Susan George, P.C Strange having two holes drilled in his face with a powertool and a rather strange relationship between Susan George's character and her pornographer guardians. The movies ends on a bleak note. Good acting from Michael York as the naive P.C Strange and Susan George looks so beautiful as a young woman. This movie is certainly worth having a look at.

4 years, 3 months ago

AKB48Fan rated Why Bother to Knock

 Why Bother to Knock 3/10

4 years, 3 months ago

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

An Edinburgh travel agent loses his keys and his fiancé in one night. A friend finds the keys and makes loads of copies with his address attached as a joke. She gives them to him as he leaves for a holiday. He gives the keys to several women he romances across the continent. He gets engaged again by phone and arranges to meet his fiancé at his flat, but the flat isn’t empty. A fairly tedious British comedy. Although the story is a bit of fun and should warrant a decent amount of screwball or smutty laughs the actual result is so dull. Despite co-starring the lovely Elke Sommer, there are no laughs to be had at all. I don't even remember smiling to myself at a set piece or line of dialogue. It doesn't help that Richard Todd seems so ill suited to the role. Somebody like Leslie Phillips would have been so much better as the lead as he was used to playing this kind of character. In short, don't bother to watch.

4 years, 3 months ago

AKB48Fan rated The Secret of Dorian Gray

 The Secret of Dorian Gray 4/10

4 years, 3 months ago

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

Dorian Gray is a young man who somehow keeps his beauty eternally, while a mysterious portrait of himself gradually reveals his moral decay. A faithful plod through Oscar Wilde's Victorian shocker with the story now being moved to the 70's. It's not that interesting though with the majority of the movie all about various women (and one gay man) wanting to shag Dorian. Many have said that Helmut Berger is the best looking Dorian Gray that's ever been but as I haven't seen any other versions of the story I cannot say. This adaptation of Dorian Gray promises tons of sex and depravity, but its fairly chaste when all is said and done. The story is too slow and boring for my liking although I'm sure there will be fans of this movie. Quite forgettable.

4 years, 3 months ago

AKB48Fan rated The Act of Killing

 The Act of Killing 8/10

4 years, 3 months ago

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

In a place where killers are celebrated as heroes, these filmmakers challenge unrepentant death-squad leaders to dramatise their role in genocide. The result is a surreal, cinematic journey, not only into the memories and imaginations of mass murderers, but also into a frighteningly banal regime of corruption and impunity. This is a surreal and shocking documentary that left me utterly speechless and bewildered. It's unlike anything I have ever seen before - a haunting, absurd and frightening glimpse into a period of Indonesian history that has still not been condemned by its own country. It is a movie too ridiculous and far-fetched to be anything but a true story as director Joshua Oppenheimer and his crew get Indonesian death-squad leaders to reenact their mass communist murders in a variety of different movie genres of their choosing. What follows is a searing and provocative documentary about the cruelty of man and how these mass-murderers have yet to face justice. These people genuinely think that killing Chinese communists was the right thing to do for their country. You'll be gobsmacked by the end of the movie about the evil acts that human beings can do to another. A very troubling documentary but one that has to be seen.

4 years, 3 months ago

AKB48Fan rated Drive Angry

 Drive Angry 6/10

4 years, 3 months ago

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

Milton is a hardened felon who has broken out of Hell, intent on finding the vicious cult who brutally murdered his daughter and kidnapped her baby. He joins forces with a sexy, tough-as-nails waitress, who’s also seeking redemption of her own. What a gloriously violent action movie this is! People being shot with blood splattering out and limbs being maimed with female nudity, fast cars, explosions etc etc and you have the ultimate movie for the lads after a night out on the beer! Don't expect deep characterisation or a great plot or an intelligent script because you won't get that and you won't like this if you take it seriously, it's just absolute ridiculous over the top trashy fun. The script is very cheesy and cliché but the actors use it and make the dialogue and one liners funny. Nicolas Cage gives an enjoyable performance and Amber Heard is smoking hot but William Fichtner steals the show as The Accountant. This movie is a very guilty pleasure from start to finish and I liked it.

4 years, 3 months ago

AKB48Fan rated Role Models

 Role Models 6/10

4 years, 3 months ago

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

Two salesmen trash a company truck on an energy drink-fueled bender. Upon their arrest, the court gives them a choice: do hard time or spend 150 service hours with a mentorship program. After one day with the kids, however, jail doesn’t look half bad. This is a generic yet likable comedy with some genuinely funny individual scenes. As you would expect, this movie is thin in terms of plot, in fact I'm pretty sure you've seen virtually the same plot done several times before. That isn't to the movie's detriment though as it does still produce some good laughs. Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott make a good pairing together. If you're looking for some brainless, harmless fun to pass the time then this movie is an ideal choice. This movie is nothing special and it never tries to be, but it is effective as a comedy.

4 years, 3 months ago

AKB48Fan rated Hell or High Water (2016)

 Hell or High Water (2016) 8/10

4 years, 3 months ago

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

A divorced dad and his ex-con brother resort to a desperate scheme in order to save their family’s farm in West Texas. This is a low-key, slow burning Western crime drama that requires a degree of patience. It will probably be quickly dismissed by a lot of people, but those willing to give it a chance will find an intelligent and very well-written movie. The plot is simple: a middle-aged father and his brother resort to robbing banks after their dead mother's ranch is about to be repossessed by the bank. The local Rangers attempt to catch them before they strike again. Don't be fooled into thinking this is an action movie though, because it isn't. The vast majority of the movie is dialogue and focuses on the relationship between the main characters. Fantastic acting from Jeff Bridges and Chris Pine. This is probably one of the best modern Westerns I've seen. The ending was very well done. Go check it out.

4 years, 3 months ago

AKB48Fan rated Twisted Nerve

 Twisted Nerve 7/10

4 years, 3 months ago

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

Martin Durnley is a rich but damaged Oxford University drop-out with a hatred of his banker stepfather. His mother babies the boy, a consequence of Martin’s elder brother, a Down Syndrome sufferer being in full-time care, and the doctors having warned Martin’s parents not to have any more children – just to be on the safe side. It seems that Martin is a bit of a psychopath... A relentlessly dark and creepy thriller about a young man who pretends to be a backwards manchild to hide his secret sexually twisted psychosis. He ingratiates himself with a family and all the while plotting to kill his step-father. Hywel Bennett does such a good job as the screwed up Georgie. Hayley Mills is absolutely lovely as the object of Georgie's obsession but seems a little out of place in such an unrelentingly morbid movie. No happy endings here for anybody. This movie is certainly not for the easily offended and viewing the whole thing makes for a pretty wild watch.

4 years, 3 months ago

AKB48Fan rated Bachelorette

 Bachelorette 2/10

4 years, 3 months ago

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

Three friends are asked to be bridesmaids at a wedding of a woman they used to ridicule back in high school. A quite dreadful comedy in which I didn't laugh at all. I'm sure many people will think this is going to be as good and funny as Bridesmaids but it's not. Basically it is simply a waste of time. The filmmakers hire a great cast but the script doesn't deliver. It's an unfunny and moronic comedy with unpleasant characters, gross jokes and stupid situations. A total crapfest and one which you should avoid like the plague.

4 years, 3 months ago

AKB48Fan added 1 item to The 2020 TV Show List list

4 years, 3 months ago

AKB48Fan posted a image

4 years, 3 months ago

AKB48Fan added 2 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

Brenda moves to London to begin living those intoxicated fantasies that all young women imagine city life to offer. Soon after her arrival she begins a relationship with Peter with whom she is tremendously happy. When she becomes pregnant Peter’s behaviour towards her alters as he reveals the most frightening and unpredictable side of his personality. In the 70's, Hammer tried to reconnect with a changing cinema audience by trying new kinds of movies, hoping that one might be the model for a new franchise. This is one of those attempts, mixing the psychological horror genre with the new frankness of kitchen sink drama. It’s not entirely successful but it has a grim fascination to it and it is carried by a good performance from Rita Tushingham as its introverted, vulnerable lead character. Perhaps what stops the movie becoming as gripping as it could be is that the viewer knows from early on that Peter is a serial killer and spends most of the story waiting for Brenda to find out too. Overall, this is an intriguing, rarely seen experiment from Hammer but it just didn't work out for them.

4 years, 3 months ago

AKB48Fan rated Jackie

 Jackie 7/10

4 years, 3 months ago

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

An account of the days of First Lady, Jacqueline Kennedy, in the immediate aftermath of John F. Kennedy’s assassination in 1963. Framed around a frank interview with President Kennedy's widow, this movie is a biopic that deals almost exclusively with her reaction to JFK's assassination, and paints the portrait of a woman who both loves history and is aware she is living it. Jackie Kennedy essentially throws herself onto the sword of history and makes her grief and suffering as grandiose and epic as the death of a President deserves. Director Pablo Larraín mixes the story up with the nitty-gritty of funeral arrangements, while at the same time underscoring the woman's trauma. Natalie Portman's performance is, of course, fantastic. I wasn't really sure what to expect from this movie but I really liked it in the end.

4 years, 3 months ago