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AKB48Fan rated Nothing But the Night

 Nothing But the Night 5/10

4 years, 2 months ago

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

After the death of several trustees from an orphanage, Colonel Bingham investigates the situation. When he interviews one of the orphans, he is taken aback by what is happening in the orphanage. Complex with a slow to unfold story with multiple murders and a hint of the supernatural is what is at play in this movie which stars Christopher Lee and his Hammer co-star Peter Cushing. The movie rambles but does have its moments and surprises. The lengthy and the twisty horrific climax is rewarding if dramatically denied and a bit dull getting there. It's shot matter of fact like a mystery and is talky to a fault. There's hardly any exciting set-pieces. Diana Dors and a young Gwyneth Strong round up the main cast. Worth a watch with low expectations. Some thrills and chills but the movie is void of style and too heavily plotted to be memorable.

4 years, 2 months ago

AKB48Fan rated The Big Gamble

 The Big Gamble 6/10

4 years, 2 months ago

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

An Irishman decides to use his family's fortune and move to Africa to open a truck-hauling business with his French wife and meek cousin. This is basically a take on another movie (The Wages of Fear), only here the volatile cargo is not TNT but cans of beer with which they load the lorry as they travel from the coast inland to the place where they will actually be basing the business. You get all the usual stuff, hanging off the side of a mountain, fording a raging river and running out of brakes as well as barreling along mercifully empty (and surprisingly well maintained dirt roads) at quite alarming speeds. Stephen Wayne gives an OK performance as the Irishman with the delectable Juliette Greco as his wife. It's no masterpiece but worth checking out.

4 years, 2 months ago

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

When Dr. Martin goes on a job interview at a British insane asylum, he learns that he must interview the asylum's inmates in order to be considered for the position. Dr. Rutherford, who is wheelchair-bound because of an assault by an inmate, tells Dr. Martin that he will consider him for the position if he can discover which of the inmates is Dr. Starr, a former head doctor at the asylum who suffered a nervous breakdown. This is Amicus' 5th anthology horror movie with 4 great stories: a man decides to kill his wife in order to be with his mistress but some things don't seem to want to stay dead. A tailor desperate for money agrees to make a suit for somebody out of some strange fabric. After finishing it, he discovers the suit' real purpose. A woman returns home from a mental hospital seemingly cured until her naughty friend decides to visit and creates chaos and finally Dr. Martin sees a former doctor who creates small lifelike figures, into which he plans to place his conscience and use as his means of escape. I really enjoyed all of the stories which have a number of startling twists. There's a great cast which includes Robert Powell, Richard Todd, Charlotte Rampling, Britt Ekland and many more. The movie is solidly directed by Roy Ward Baker. Another fine anthology movie by Amicus which is well worth seeing.

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

An international hit man is targeted by villains when he arrives in Hong Kong to pick up a payoff, having completed a political assassination in Africa. This was Hammer Studios' 2nd collaboration with Shaw Brothers. It has a tired looking Stuart Whitman playing the title character. It's a fairly average movie and not a James Bond-style adventure. It does have a couple of great fight scenes handled by Lung Ti as the local martial arts expert. The acting takes a back seat to the martial arts and the great scenery of a bustling Hong Kong in the mid 70's. Peter Cushing has a small role as a British secret service agent and his cameo is the best thing in the movie. In the end, this isn't a very engaging movie, but the direction is solid, there is enough action and gore to satisfy many people but it's no classic!

4 years, 3 months ago

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

12 boys and girls gather at an abandoned hospital to die for various different reasons. There, they find the body of a dead boy. The 12 boys and girl attempt to find the person who killed the boy. During their search, the reasons why they want to die are revealed. This is a Japanese movie that may have seemed to be exciting on paper, but it’s important not to be fooled by that. At first, it’s the mystery that is in the driver’s seat, but then the movie starts to change completely and you end up with a bad drama movie. At the end I felt I'd wasted my time following poorly written characters who just whine and complain. The title of the movie is cool, and that’s the only positive thing I have to say about this silly movie. If you think this is a new Suicide Club, then I can assure you that you will be disappointed.

4 years, 3 months ago

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

Co-written by Jack Nicholson, this 60's psychedelic surreal movie tries to do for The Monkees what A Hard Day's Night did for The Beatles. There is no plot as such. Basically, it's a crazy, mixed up pastiche of various, unrelated sequences. But, it IS interesting AND entertaining in its own peculiar way once you get onto its wavelength. It's cleverly conceived and well crafted example of late 60's experimental cinema. It contains some good songs, some ultra-groovy cinematography and plenty of other worthwhile ideas in terms of film technique. It didn't do well when it was released but now is considered a minor cult movie. If you're in the right mood, give this movie a whirl.

4 years, 3 months ago

AKB48Fan added 2 items to their collection

4 years, 3 months ago

AKB48Fan rated Cantonen Iron Kung Fu

 Cantonen Iron Kung Fu 7/10

4 years, 3 months ago

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

Leung Kwan lives and works as a foreman in a village with his friends. A corrupt businessman named Black Eagle wants to take over the supply routes of the area. When Kwan's friend is killed by Black Eagle's henchmen, he tries to take revenge but is rescued by Master Lin Tao-hoi who becomes Kwan's friend and trains him in martial arts. Black Eagle then kills Lin and Kwan's friends. The stage is set for Kwan to confront Black Eagle but not before going through his henchmen. This is a great low budget martial arts movie which has a plot seen in similar stories around this period with basically the same template in slapstick and comedy to begin with followed by intense training sequences and wild kung fu fights until the story gets serious before the climax. The first half of the movie isn't particularly that good but that doesn't matter as you're just waiting for things to liven up and it certainly does that with a fantastic lengthy climatic battle in a forest between Kwan and Black Eagle. Good acting from Leung Kar Yan as the hero with Phillip Ko working hard as the chief villain Black Eagle. Whilst this martial arts movie isn't that well known, it's definitely worth seeking out just for the second half alone.

4 years, 3 months ago

AKB48Fan rated Not Tonight, Darling

 Not Tonight, Darling 2/10

4 years, 3 months ago

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

Karen is a beautiful and intelligent housewife, but she is tired of her solicitor spouse and her empty, suburban lifestyle. She is lonely and wants something more. With a title like this, you're probably thinking this is a British sex comedy that the general public was so fond of at the time but it isn't. It's a pretty glum affair, enlivened by Luan Peters, lovely and sympathetic as the vulnerable Karen. The husband's strange attitude is not explored and the ending is abrupt and unsatisfactory. I thought it might get interesting when Karen starts to get blackmailed by her lover but it doesn't go anywhere. There's really nothing to entice the viewer to watch this movie at all as it's so dull and boring. A truly appalling movie.

4 years, 3 months ago

AKB48Fan rated Hell Drivers

 Hell Drivers 7/10

4 years, 3 months ago

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

Tom Yately is an ex-con who takes a job as a construction-supply trucker. He soon befriends Lucy and Gino, who help him adjust to the fast-paced, competitive nature of the dangerous job. Red, the company foreman, encourages the truckers to drive as fast as possible in order to complete more trips, while he pockets the extra money. Yately finds himself torn between beating Red's driving record and exposing his crooked schemes. This is a very well acted British movie. Stanley Baker isn't an obvious choice for a mild mannered everyman but he pulls the role off very well. There's a host of faces who'd be well known in 1957 like William Hartnell, Herbert Lom, Sid James and Gordon Jackson alongside lesser known faces at the time such as Sean Connery and David McCallum. The best performance is by Patrick McGoohan as Red, the psycho workmate from hell who is the stuff nightmares are made from. Just one thing I didn't like is the story has too much melodramatic roots and is tied up a little too easily even though it does have a suspenseful ending. The plot contains intense drama, action, violence, brawls and truck races in their high-speed vehicles. Definitely well worth seeking out.

4 years, 3 months ago

AKB48Fan rated Highly Dangerous

 Highly Dangerous 5/10

4 years, 3 months ago

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

The British government asks entomologist Frances Gray to go behind the Iron Curtain and examine insects that might be used for germ warfare. Grudgingly accepting the job, Frances goes undercover as a tour director and meets American reporter Bill Casey in the process. Unfortunately, the chief of police quickly sees through Frances' cover. When her contact is murdered, Frances is taken into custody and harshly questioned, prompting Casey to come to her aid. A so and so movie with a plot that is extremely daft with the inclusion of some nonsense about how Frances incorporates a radio show to determine her actions in order to get the job done. The problem with this movie is that there is no real tension or feeling of danger. The lives of Frances and Bill are in danger and yet there is no suspense. Margaret Lockwood makes for a very beautiful and personable innocent, drawn into a story about a form of biological warfare. Overall, this isn't a movie to write home about and as such not worth bothering to seek out.

4 years, 3 months ago

AKB48Fan rated Venetian Bird

 Venetian Bird 6/10

4 years, 3 months ago

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

aka Venetian Bird. Richard Todd is Edward Mercer, who comes to Venice on behalf of an insurance company, looking for a man named Uccello who has a reward coming for the rescue of an Allied airman during the war. Unfortunately for Mercer, the first person he's supposed to see is dead. Then he meets Adrianna, who knew Uccello, and he is told that Uccello is dead. After a while, though, he begins to think that's not the case. This is a bit of an underrated and forgotten British thriller. The director, Ralph Thomas, borrows a good deal from Hitchcock in this movie and does some effective things, particularly at the end, which is great. He also uses Venice and its surroundings very well to create an excellent atmosphere. If only the script had been less talky and the plot better, you might really have something here. Richard Todd is effective as the leading character. There's a small cameo from Carry On star Sid James as well. A good British noir movie.

4 years, 3 months ago

AKB48Fan rated Personal Services

 Personal Services 7/10

4 years, 3 months ago

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

Christine is a struggling single mother who reluctantly rents out rooms in her apartment to prostitutes to make ends meet. But when a financial jam forces her to sell her own body, Christine forsakes her reservations about her tenants. Soon, with help from veteran hooker Shirley, Christine transforms her apartment into a house of ill repute, her makeshift brothel servicing a gaggle of older male clients with decidedly kinky sexual appetites! This is a fictionalised version of famous London brothel keeper Cynthia Payne's life. Director Terry Jones and screenwriter David Leland concoct a bawdy farce which manages to be quite funny and always engrossing without ever getting too vulgar or sleazy. Instead they treat the sordid subject matter of sex with admirable wit, taste and sensitivity. There's a surprising and even touching sense of compassion and humanity for the seedy main characters and their seamy profession. Julie Walters is fantastic as Christine and she shines in her role ably supported by Shirley Stelfox as brash tart Shirley, Danny Schiller as wise old transvestite pal Dotty and Alec McCowen as jolly regular Wing Commander Morten. Well worth seeing if you're not offended by the subject matter.

4 years, 3 months ago

AKB48Fan rated Blood Beach (1980)

 Blood Beach (1980) 5/10

4 years, 3 months ago

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

People are mysteriously disappearing off a beach, literally getting sucked under the sand by an unknown creature. This is a fairly typical example of a B-grade horror movie. It's fairly entertaining but should have been a lot better. It's a little drawn out at times but if you can override that hindsight it's a neat little movie...plus it's got John Saxon in it! The cast of characters is predictable: the stoic male lead doing his best to look moody, the typical love interest, the sceptic, the comic relief, and the wise all-knowing scientist who no-one listens to. All the boxes have been checked here. The creature under the sand is never shown until right at the end but it's really disappointing if I'm honest about it. The movie ends the way all good horror movies do in that something has survived and the threat under the beach is still there. The movie might not be special but as a bit of late-night disposable viewing it's good enough.

4 years, 3 months ago

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

A London female punk rocker named Kate rises and falls with her group Breaking Glass, backed by her hustler manager and a shady producer. A fantastic movie set in the post punk era of Britain. The story is decent, the acting is good, and the music is absolutely in tune with the period. The depiction of the music industry with it's main players often exploiting every new trend, sound and artist until it and they are completely exhausted is spot-on. What truly makes this movie is the music. Each track is a perfect reflection of Kate's journey and is pretty darn catchy to boot. The cast is excellent with Phil Daniels sharing top billing with Hazel O'Connor alongside a young Jonathan Pryce and The Bill's Mark Wingett who support them. For anyone aspiring to be a musician for a living, take heed of the moral behind this tale.

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

After his master and fellow students at a school are killed by a bloodthirsty Premier, Nie Zheng escapes to a nearby province where he tries to live a normal life but when another fugitive on the run comes to Nie and tell him his friend was killed by the Premier, he promises to kill him. This great heroic bloodshed Shaw Bros movie is based on a true story that has been passed through the ages in China. It's a character driven movie and not a story that is full of action and blood because there are only 4 action scenes in total but don't let that put you off this movie as its compelling and rich with strong characters, excellent acting and fascinating interplay of characters' social roles and the accompanying little rituals and ceremonies. It's all very well acted and beautifully photographed on a mix of studio sets and outdoor backlots. Jimmy Wang Yu cuts an impressive figure as the assassin tormented by his inability to achieve what he strongly feels is his destiny. I did find it off-putting that some music from the James Bond movie You Only Live Twice has been copied here. All in all, this is a very good movie that I really enjoyed.

4 years, 3 months ago

AKB48Fan rated Billy Jack

 Billy Jack 3/10

4 years, 3 months ago

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

Half-breed Vietnam-vet Billy Jack lives on a Reservation protecting the natives, wild horses, and the peace-loving people. He confronts a man named Posner and his men poaching wild mustangs for dog meat. Billy Jack is asked to protect a young woman who is pregnant and hide her at the native school from some corrupt cops. The school is home to every race run by Jean Roberts. The tension between the school and the locals grow until it boils over. I came into this movie thinking it was some kind of martial arts movie having watched a clip on a documentary but it isn't (in fact there's only 1 martial arts scene throughout the entire movie). Most of the storyline is about hippie ethics and a sympathetic depiction of the native Indian plight. The story is very predictable and the dialog is sometimes terrible. There are some brief action scenes but even those aren't really done that well. At the time this movie was well received but it has badly dated and is quite embarrassing to watch now. Can't really recommend this to anybody at all.

4 years, 3 months ago

AKB48Fan rated Zombieland: Double Tap

 Zombieland: Double Tap 7/10

4 years, 3 months ago