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Emma286
Reviews
For My Daughter's Honor (1996)
A disturbing but good film!
Warning: Spoilers
An interesting attention grabbling/holding film that I thought did a great job of illustrating of how some people out there are sexual predators who target young and vulnerable targets to give them sex (and as a result seriously unfit to hold teaching positions). I thought Gary Cole and Nicholle Tom were both very good in their roles, and the same for the rest of the cast.
I 100% agree with the movie message, that this wasn't about a school teacher having an affair with a student but an abuse of power. What would any reasonably healthy minded 40 plus male teacher see he's likely to have in common with a 14 year old? Why repeatedly put personal compliment notes into a homework folder or ask a student to see them in private only to unexpectedly kiss them if not deliberately up to no good early on? It's also made obvious this teacher isn't sincere on respecting Amy's feelings on sex and repeatedly guilt trips her over things which aren't her fault to manipulate her into doing what he wants (I kept thinking what a totally selfish tosser this character was! Especially considering how much he lies to his family too). Also, if this was just about feelings for Amy why do as he did with two other girls before?
Another thing I appreciated about this film was hearing The Mavericks song "Oh What a Thrill." I hadn't heard that track before and instantly liked it.
I just had a few small issues with the movie as follows:
1.) Firstly, I don't think a serious enough atmosphere was given to the scene when Pete Nash was told he was being suspended/that the police were coming for him for it to be the most convincing.
2.) I think if Amy could have been shown having at least a bit more of a conversation with Missy Ross on what had happened the film would have been even better. That's because I thought Missy was also an important character in relation to the story (same for the other girl this teacher targeted who we never get to see at all, I think it would have also been good if her appearance could have also been included).
3.) I also didn't find the court scene, when Pete Nash pleaded guilty, at the point his wife approached and hugged him too convincing either. Not in the absence of a scene that explained why she did this anyhow. It struck me as far more likely she'd want no more to do with him!
4.) I think it could have been better explained as to why the prison sentence given to coach Nash was as light as it was all things considered!
Overall, well worth the watch though!
Pâfekuto burû (1997)
Not for those looking for easy anime viewing
For anybody hoping for an anime with a straightforward easy to understand storyline upon their first view, I would not recommend this movie. You will be disappointed. However for those looking something thought provoking, I would enthusiastically say "give it a go!"
Perfect Blue is one of those films which if simply taken at face value is only too easy to misunderstand. To begin with, on the surface, it appears to be a typical story about a young upcoming pop idol/actress Mima who is being stalked due to the fan attention her career in the public eye is bringing her. But then as events move forward suddenly things become very confusing, to the point they appear to make no kind of logical sense at all. By the time you reach the end you might well be left with the thought, as I initially was, "What a jumbled up mess that turned out to be." But this really is an anime which can only be appreciated how it was supposed to be if you're willing to watch it with an open mind, and consider that it might take you a few viewings before you're likely to understand it properly. The clues which take you to a clearer conclusion as to how the different story elements add up are present within the movie, but easily missed if you're unwilling to think about the visual information presented to you from any alternative perspective. It's not enough just to follow what's happening on-screen, but from time to time also ask yourself questions about your initial judgements on the scenes.
Though initially my thoughts were different, I now think that this anime has been very cleverly put together. It's by no means the scariest film I've seen or the best animated. And when it comes to some of the voice dubbing and the ending scene I still feel there's much room for improvement. But overall I still feel that the film works fantastically as a psychological thriller, and has the right kind of eerie/disturbing atmosphere throughout to define it as a classic amongst its kind.
I give it a 7 out of 10!
Dragon (2006)
I could not believe how bad this was
A member of my family recently picked this up, and I watched it today.
Even though I'd been warned, before viewing this movie, that this was low standard, none of what I'd been told prepared me for just how poor this was. I've seen a number of low budget movies in my time, but this one has to be just about the worst one that I've yet come across.
The actors came across as being merely amateurs, many of the scenes were clumsily shot and as for plot there was barely any of it.
Despite early warning signs, I continued to watch the movie. As this is supposed to be an epic adventure production, I was sure that there would at least have to be some action worth seeing. However there wasn't even that!
The overall impression I had was that the film makers started this off with a few ideas in mind, but then abandoned most of these later.
A movie that I can only describe as being laughable at best.