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AKB48Fan added 2 items to their collection

4 years, 3 months ago

AKB48Fan added 1 item to Hit Or Miss? Good Or Bad? 2019 Movies Watched list

Nothing seems to go right for young Kate, a frustrated Londoner who works as an elf in a year-round Christmas shop. But things soon take a turn for the better when she meets Tom, a handsome charmer who seems too good to be true. As the city transforms into the most wonderful time of the year, Tom and Kate's growing attraction turns into the best gift of all - a Yuletide romance. This Christmas feel-good movie was slated by the critics but they've been proved wrong by how popular it has been with cinema-goers. It's definitely was nowhere near as bad as I expected, in fact it was really enjoyable. Emilia Clarke as Kate is wonderful and likable, the story is somewhat endearing, feels current and has it's heart in the right place. However, this movie has the worst plot twist I have seen in quite some time. It just didn't work at all. Other than that, it was great. I loved the cast which includes Michelle Yeoh and Emma Thompson as Kate's batty mother. There are plenty of jokes (some of them miss their mark) but this movie will make you laugh and smile. The addition of so many George Michael songs that are featured will appeal to his fans as well. Overall, if you're after a movie to get you into the festive spirit then this one gets the job done.

4 years, 3 months ago

AKB48Fan rated Shodô gâruzu!!: Watashitachi no kôshien

 Shodô gâruzu!!: Watashitachi no kôshien 7/10

4 years, 3 months ago

AKB48Fan added 1 item to Hit Or Miss? Good Or Bad? 2019 Movies Watched list

Satoko leads her high-school calligraphy club, but struggles to keep the numbers of people up. Their little world is rocked when a new substitute teacher, Ikezawa, arrives and brings a fresh new approach to calligraphy. With a full complement at the club after some trials and tribulations, the girls enter themselves in the “Shodo Girls Koshien”, in which they must make calligraphy on giant sheets of paper to music. I wasn't sure what I was letting myself in for when I started to watch this movie as I was sure this was going to be boring and shodo doesn't really interest me but how wrong I was. This is an inspirational movie and based on a true story. There's a clash between the modern and the traditional as a theme running throughout with the adults telling the kids to stop doing shodo and concentrate instead on passing their college entrance exams in order to get a good job at a big company. There's nothing new in the storyline that you haven't seen before: that of a small team of misfits overcoming great odds at competition level and how each member of the team goes on a gentle journey through their own personal development. The young cast are a joy to watch and you will them on to success in the competition. It's a thoroughly enjoyable character-driven piece that's well worth watching.

4 years, 3 months ago

AKB48Fan rated The Black Torment

 The Black Torment 6/10

4 years, 3 months ago

AKB48Fan added 1 item to Hit Or Miss? Good Or Bad? 2019 Movies Watched list

A young wench is raped and left for dead but not before she says the name of her murderer. Sir Richard Fordyke returns to the vast Fordyke Estate with his lovely bride and second wife, Elizabeth and is met with disdain by his staff as he has been accused of the wench's murder even though he was miles away in London at the time. There is also talk that the ghost of Sir Richard's 1st wife appears on the estate's lawn. When more sinister things start happening, Sir Richard is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery. While this movie is hardly a great horror masterpiece, or even one of the best British horrors of the 60's; it's certainly a good yarn. The story focuses more on its atmosphere, and director Robert Hartford-Davis ensures that the themes of murder and insanity are always bubbling on the surface of the movie. It has a slow start but things gradually improve with the first half of the movie merely sets up the basics of the story. The characters are nothing to write home about, and the script doesn't do a very good job of balancing them with the plot. The mystery comes about through several small threads, and although the climax is easy to guess; it's fun getting there. The gothic themes provide the movie with a dark horror atmosphere and are sure to appeal to fans of gloomy horror. Worth watching if you enjoy gothic 60's horror movies.

4 years, 3 months ago

AKB48Fan added 1 item to Hit Or Miss? Good Or Bad? 2019 Movies Watched list

Takada receives a request to find a missing woman. The missing woman is university student Reiko. While tracking Reiko down, Private Detective and Takada meet Mari, the owner of a model agency. They trio get involved in a big incident. This is the third of The Detective Is In The Bar trilogy and I haven't seen the other two so I thought perhaps I would be lost with the main two characters already having been developed in the previous movies but it made no difference as this is a stand alone movie. The story is set in the snowy region of Hokkaido and it involves a nameless private eye who uses a bar called Keller Ohata in Sapporo as his base of operation along with his university technician friend Takada. This is a comedy drama which freely mixes humour and violence. It shouldn't really work but bizarrely it does. The duo of Yo Oizumi and Ryuhei Matsuda work well together and the beautiful Keiko Kitagawa performs solidly as the mysterious Mari. I'm sure at some point I'll see the other two movies. If they're just as entertaining as this one I'm sure I'll enjoy them too.

4 years, 3 months ago

AKB48Fan added 2 items to their collection

4 years, 3 months ago

AKB48Fan added 1 item to Hit Or Miss? Good Or Bad? 2019 Movies Watched list

Emperor Palpatine is back and the surviving Resistance faces the First Order once more as Rey, Finn and Poe Dameron's journey continues. With the power and knowledge of generations behind them, the final battle commences. So it's come down to this - the final movie in the 9 episode saga of the Skywalker clan. Quite a tragic end I have to say. The original trilogy was superb and even the prequels were sorta OK but I'm afraid this new trilogy has been awful. This movie is basically damage control by director JJ Abrams after the outcry from The Last Jedi which is the worst Star Wars movie ever in my opinion. The plot is nonsensical and everything's shoehorned to fit the roughly 2:30 hours of the movie, characters with no payoff, no development having laughable dialog with each other. The original trilogy built iconic imagery and characters in the context of them doing things and bonding and building. This was not always perfectly done, but it was done well enough to feel meaningful. You get none of that in this trilogy. This movie and the other two feels hollow, unnecessary hectic, without soul and the good old Star Wars magic. I put the blame squarely on Disney. They have wrecked what was a brilliant franchise. I wonder if George Lucas would have done it differently? I'm sure there will be plenty of people that will enjoy this movie. A very disappointing end to what has been a terrible trilogy.

4 years, 3 months ago

AKB48Fan rated Death Goes to School

 Death Goes to School 6/10

4 years, 3 months ago

AKB48Fan added 1 item to Hit Or Miss? Good Or Bad? 2019 Movies Watched list

The body of a teacher is discovered at an all-girls school with another teacher's scarf cinched around her throat. Scotland Yard dispatches Detective Inspector Campbell to lead the investigation. Campbell interviews the teachers and pupils, but encounters one major issue: Everybody hated this teacher. This makes narrowing down the suspects rather difficult. But one of the teachers has a very strong suspicion that the killer is a member of the staff. A well done mystery story that moves along steadily until the poignant ending. It portrays the pettiness and pressure of a closed human environment - in this case a girls school. It's not a fast moving movie but a nice study of a certain place and time. It's well directed on a low budget. The scene of the finding of the body is very well handled. Gordon Jackson is good as D.I Campbell and even better is the gorgeous Barbara Murray as Miss Shepherd, the teacher who starts her own investigation into the murder. The motive for the murder is not a usual one which makes it more interesting. A solid early 50's whodunit.

4 years, 3 months ago

AKB48Fan added 1 item to Hit Or Miss? Good Or Bad? 2019 Movies Watched list

An unknown, and potentially lethal, microorganism from a Mars probe is accidentally set loose aboard the freight train that's carrying it through rural Wisconsin. As a result, the five people involved are quarantined at the nearest railroad depot. This is a poor low budget version of The Andromeda Strain. Though classified as a sci-fi movie, it really isn't one. Most of it plays out in the railroad depot and features the 5 characters bickering. A skilled director would have built up the tension to an excruciating level, but not here. Ultimately, director Bill Rebane does far too little with an interesting (if unoriginal) premise. It suffers from a weak script, too little sets, uninspired acting, shoddy production values, and characters about whom one simply does not give a shit about. Avoid it.

4 years, 3 months ago

AKB48Fan added 2 items to their collection

4 years, 3 months ago

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4 years, 3 months ago

AKB48Fan added 1 item to Hit Or Miss? Good Or Bad? 2019 Movies Watched list

Mitsuru Sasaki is a world-class chef, but he has lost his passion for cooking. He can create any dish by just tasting it once. His restaurant went bankrupt, because of Mitsuru Sasaki's extreme perfectionist ways. To pay off his debts, he offers to personally make a last meal for anyone willing to pay 1 million yen. Mitsuru Sasaki then gets an offer by Yang Qingming in China. The Chinese man offers Mitsuru Sasaki 50 million yen if he can recreate the legendary Japanese Imperial Feast created by Chef Naotaro Yamagata in the 1930's. This is an interesting and moving movie that switches back and forth from the present day to 1930's Japanese occupied Manchuria as the viewer discovers all about Chef Naotaro Yamagata, his cooking skills and his family life and not spoiling things how it connects back to Mitsuru Sasaki's quest to find his famed recipe book. The scenes set in the present are much less absorbing than those in the past as the main character in the present isn't one you can really warm up to. The more compelling characters are all in 1930's Manchuria such as Naotoro's wife, Chizu, and young Japanese assistant, Shotaro as well the young Yang Qingming. This is where you'll get to see the amazing dishes made by Naotoro which are all mouthwatering and will seriously make you want to taste them yourself. By the time of the climax, many secrets are unearthed that shake Sasaki's world apart. The cast are fantastic from Kazunari Ninomiya, Aoi Miyazaki, Hidetoshi Nishijima and the rest of the supporting actors. Overall, this is an excellent movie. Try not to salivate when looking at the meals that are created!!

4 years, 3 months ago

AKB48Fan rated Make Mine a Million (1959)

 Make Mine a Million (1959) 7/10

4 years, 3 months ago

AKB48Fan added 1 item to Hit Or Miss? Good Or Bad? 2019 Movies Watched list

Sid Gibson a shady pedlar who is trying to flog Bonko, a brand of washing powder in the shape of a pill, but who can't afford to advertise on TV. He enlists the help of Arthur Ashton, a makeup man working for National TV. They manage to plug an advert for Bonko on National Tv by interrupting a live feed of a programme. The advert proves extremely popular and demand for the product soars. This great comedy was clearly designed as a vehicle for Arthur Askey and his particular approach to comedy with Sid James also getting a large role even though he plays second fiddle to Askey's antics. It's the familiar little man against the system fluff with the movie also taking a pop at stuffiness of the BBC at that time. The influence and power of TV advertising also gets a poke in the ribs. There's plenty of laughs to be had and some quick cameos from Tommy Trinder and Dickie Henderson amongst others. I enjoyed this movie a lot - it's well enough made, busily paced, has a decent supporting cast and best of all it's a lot of fun.

4 years, 3 months ago

AKB48Fan rated Inuyashiki (2018)

 Inuyashiki (2018) 7/10

4 years, 3 months ago

AKB48Fan added 1 item to Hit Or Miss? Good Or Bad? 2019 Movies Watched list

Ichiro Inuyashiki is a loser in life. His family despises him, his boss at work is close to firing him and worse of all he's been diagnosed with cancer and has only 3 months to live. One night at a nearby park, he and a high schooler named Shishigami Hiro are struck by a mysterious explosion that turns their bodies into powerful machines. Both of their lives begin to change when they discover that they have abilities to effortlessly save and take lives. This is a great Japanese movie and despite a few far-fetched concepts, which you shouldn't think too much about, I was blown away by the story, the twists and especially how it was told. The build up of the two main characters is done right. The plot is meaningful and shows the two sides of the coin of having powers. The storytelling was no doubt helped by tremendous acting performances from the leads in Kinashi Noritake and Satō Takeru. You feel sympathy for the kind but disrespected Inuyashiki and you definitely feel the menace that eminates from the evil Shishigami. The action scenes and special effects are fantastic. The movie feels refreshing, heartfelt and exhilirating considering how boring Marvel's superhero movies have become. This was like a breath of fresh air. The ending is left wide open which hints that there might be a sequel in the offing. As someone who hasn’t read the manga or watched the anime series, I find Inuyashiki to be quite a unique and satisfying superhero movie.

4 years, 3 months ago

AKB48Fan rated Miracle: Devil Claus' Love and Magic

 Miracle: Devil Claus' Love and Magic 6/10

4 years, 4 months ago

AKB48Fan added 1 item to Hit Or Miss? Good Or Bad? 2019 Movies Watched list

Hikari has been best friends with Anna since they were children when she defended the young dreamer against bullies. Now an adult, he is a mild-mannered and gentle soul who works in a bookstore but dreams of writing and drawing manga. He has produced his own work over the years, and sells one or two copies at conventions, though his most successful character is Devil Claus, who appears in anonymous and pithy flyers he puts up around town. Anna has been in love with Hikari for years but hasn't plucked up the courage to confess. However, Hikari falls for newly arrived Korean beauty So-Young who happens to be running the Christmas illumination spectacular that Anna is working on. Christmas is a time for romance in Japan (even more so than Valentine's Day I think) so this slushy movie is targeted for those that want to share warm feelings with their other half. It is all engagingly old-fashioned mainstream stuff, and delivers the right amount of warm-hearted romance. It's predictable every step of the way, it at least never pretends to be anything other than frothy festive fun. The lovely Nana Eikura and Korean actress Han Hyo-Joo shine in this movie.

4 years, 4 months ago

AKB48Fan rated The Lost Continent

 The Lost Continent 6/10

4 years, 4 months ago

AKB48Fan added 1 item to Hit Or Miss? Good Or Bad? 2019 Movies Watched list

Passengers travelling on a dilapidated steamer find themselves marooned on a misty sea, surrounded by killer seaweed, murderous crustaceans and descendants of the Spanish Inquisition. A very bizarre b-movie by Hammer Studios which has to be seen to be believed. You'd think this is just your routine ship mutiny story until it changes into a weird creature feature where the crew and passengers are trapped in a ship's graveyard. It's a shame that this scenario wasn't incorporated earlier into the movie as I found the first hour to be a bit tedious. Even though the whole thing is ludicrous, it's still entertaining. The monsters are terrible and are guaranteed to make you laugh. There's a good cast with Eric Porter leading the way as the initially unlikable Captain alongside Nigel Stock (of Peter Cushing Sherlock Holmes fame) and the ample charms of Dana Gillespie. The sheer wealth of funny monsters and well-staged action keeps this movie from being boring. Give it a whirl and see what you think of it.

4 years, 4 months ago

AKB48Fan added 1 item to Hit Or Miss? Good Or Bad? 2019 Movies Watched list

This tearjerker is based on a true story. It's about a teacher Chie who gets diagnosed with breast cancer and has to have a mastectomy to remove one of her breasts. Her boyfriend Shingo shows his support by asking her to marry him. Despite being told that the cancer treatment will leave her unable to have children, a miracle occurs and the couple have a daughter called Hana. However, the cancer returns with a vengeance and eventually spreads throughout her body. Knowing her life is coming to an end, Chie begins to teach Hana life skills, including how to cook traditional miso soup. Even though the movie has a sad tale to tell, it's quite entertaining and uplifting. The cast who perform in their roles extremely well have a big part in making this movie so good. The husband Shingo was easily the funniest and quirkiest character because he usually had the most bizarre reactions to things. I also loved the special bond within the family members. It's guaranteed to make you shed a tear or two by the time the climax arrives. Those who like this kind of movie will enjoy this one a lot.

4 years, 4 months ago

AKB48Fan added 2 items to their collection

4 years, 4 months ago

AKB48Fan added 1 item to Hit Or Miss? Good Or Bad? 2019 Movies Watched list

3 young martial arts brothers go in search of fellow patriots dissatisfied with Imperialist foreigners and wind up joining a rising sect of the Boxers, led by an opportunistic conman. A rather long but still a great martial arts movie by Shaw Brothers Studios. The story is rather drawn out at times leaving you fiddling with your fingers waiting for the next action scenes to appear. The action when it arrives though is absolutely fantastic and that alone makes the movie a worthwhile watch. Shaw regulars Alexander Fu Sheng, Beardy, and Chi Kuan-Chun are fantastic in their roles as the brothers who want to help drive the foreigners army out of China. The rest of the movie is a hit and miss affair. Scenes involving the Empress Dowager are routine and unnecessary in my opinion. This movie is not quite a masterpiece, but the action is complimented by the involving politics of the story and it keeps you engaged from beginning to end.

4 years, 4 months ago

AKB48Fan added 1 item to Hit Or Miss? Good Or Bad? 2019 Movies Watched list

In a post-apocalyptic Earth, a group of punk friends looking for food and water in an abandoned city find themselves against millions of bloodthirsty and intelligent rats. This movie has the sort of plot line that could go either way - but if you've seen any of director Bruno Mattei's other efforts, you probably already know which way this one went. The movie is something of a cross between John Carpenter's influential Escape From New York, and James Herbert's book Domain. The rats themselves are hardly fear inducing as they're not giant or even menacing, and basically they're just your usual bog standard rats. The script is ridiculous and there is pretty much no attempt to capitalise on the horror of this situation as Mattei prefers to keep the focus on his ragtag bunch of characters, the most ridiculous of which is a bald idiot with a triangle on his head. Apart from a couple of gory moments of rats burrowing their way out of human corpses, there isn't that much to recommend it.

4 years, 4 months ago

AKB48Fan added 2 items to their collection

4 years, 4 months ago

AKB48Fan added 1 item to Hit Or Miss? Good Or Bad? 2019 Movies Watched list

A young boy named Kun feels forgotten by his family when his little sister Mirai arrives. Running away from home, Kun stumbles upon a magical garden that serves as a time-travelling gateway where he encounters his mother as a little girl and has a series of adventures with his baby sister, who is all grown up, opening a new perspective on his world. I liked the idea of a young boy turning to make-belief and fantasy in order to grow as a human being and as a big brother. Unfortunately the focus of the movie is on his temper tantrums and his difficulties in accepting that he is not the sole focus of his parents' love. The problem with that being that almost the entirety of the movie is him acting like a total brat. And it's hard to get behind a character like that. I would also have liked for the movie to confirm that he was in fact imagining all these things that happened to him. Director Mamoru Hosoda's style is so pleasing on the eye. The almost too simplistic character designs set against elaborate backgrounds are a joy to watch and there's a really great sense of movement in everything he does but it's not his best movie. It's still a very well animated movie with some truly inspired pieces though.

4 years, 4 months ago

AKB48Fan added 1 item to Hit Or Miss? Good Or Bad? 2019 Movies Watched list

A crime syndicate places a hit on a billionaire's daughter, making her the target of an elite assassin squad. A small band of down-and-out mercenaries protects her, fighting tooth and nail to stop the assassins from reaching their target. This is a pretty simple but also entertaining action movie that is a poor man's Expendables pitting various mercenaries with and against each other. There's not much more to the story, but the movie is not as bad as some suggest even though the dialogue is poor at times. Director Jesse V Johnson brings together a dream team of Asian martial artists together with Tony Jaa, Iko Uwais, Tiger Chen, Jeeja Yanin and Scott Adkins. Some are better used than others for example Jeeja Yanin is wasted in the movie and is killed off in the first third. If you don't really care about the generic plot and just want some action then you have it in droves here. This movie could have been a whole lot better though.

4 years, 4 months ago