GamerTab That was an excellent one.

ChanBot i must have seen a different film!!

Glucedee It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

Raymond Sierra The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

ratcityfilmsociety This film combines a multitude of genres into a delightful romp through the end of a high school year, climaxing in a talents show performance for the ages. The resulting movie is simply delicious. There is that whole "lets enter the talent show" element along with several other teen related or specifically Japanese sub-genres involved in this beautiful brew. When I saw this at the Seattle International Film Festival, everyone exited the theater congratulating each other and ourselves for selecting this particular film. It entertains, strikes all kinds of right chords, sparks memories in the old and empathy in the young. As satisfying a film experience as I've ever had. I can not imagine ANYONE not being completely charmed by this engaging and quirky movie.

DrSmooth (This review will have some very obvious spoilers, so beware.)A friend brought this over, and we made it through 45 minutes of the movie before we decided that Fast Forward 8x Speed was the only way that this film should be watched. There were points when we were watching the movie at normal speed where I would leave, prepare part of lunch, and return, to find that literally nothing had happened. 2 lines of meaningless dialogue were exchanged. Nothing happened the background, no important facial gestures were made, nothing but mind-numbing awkward silence.This is NOT how to make a thoughtful film, especially when the movie's plot follows all the same basic Hollywood movie tropes. If I told you that Disney was making a film about 4 girls starting a band, and the singer was a French exchange student, what you would expect to be the "conflicts" that arise?The lead singer has to overcome stage fright? Someone has an unspoken crush? The band is late for their performance, and a side-character has to buy them time?*SPOILER ALERT*All of those things happen in this movie.At no point in this film do you have even the slightest fraction of concern that these girls won't be able to accomplish their goal.*THIS ENDS THE SECTION OF SPOILERS*I like Japanese films. I've spent a lot of time in Japan. I work for a Japanese company. Heck, I even know all the bands referenced in the record collections and MDs that they're going through, and I've sung along to the title track with friends at karaoke.This is probably the worst film from Japan I've ever seen. Do not be confused. Though the characters will have points in the movie where they do typical Japanese high school things, this is not a "typical day in the life of" movie. This is "a day in the life of 4 extremely random, heavily-conflicted, awkward Japanese students."There are noticeable problems with the DVD, as well. Viz decided that a great extra would be a producer reading aloud the Wikipedia entry about the Blue Hearts. What a value! In addition, they care so little about the subtitling that the band's name in the subtitles, "Paran Maum" is different than it is in the chapter selection menu, "Paran Marum". In the final auditorium scene, there is a VERY visible reflection/ghosting effect on everything, but this seems to be the fault of the original film.2/10, do NOT view if you do not absolutely love awkward silences.

ridleyrules Story told in a documentary-style, about 4 girls at a Japanese high-school campus who start a rock band. The goal is to perform at a festival of their school.The movie starts out quite flat, with a distant and static camera. While the story progresses, the movie becomes more intimate as we learn a little bit more about the characters. We see the coming together of the band, rehearsing and interaction of band members with teachers, boyfriends and family.There are not so many laughs. Script and acting are pretty straight. Highlight is the actress who plays the Korean exchange student and lead singer Son. She delivers a few very welcome comedic moments.This almost two hour long movie really takes its time to get to its point. The finale delivers, though. There is even some suspense towards the end. 7/10

ssslithe Saw this yesterday at the London Film Festival, and as a fan of The Blue Hearts, I wasn't disappointed. Four schoolgirls start a covers band so they can play at the school festival, and have to overcome a tight time-limit and personal dramas before they get there.The film is beautifully acted and shot, and totally sweet from start to finish. At two hours it's a tad over-long, but some mesmeric camera-work and subtle humour helps it along nicely. The casting is superb, with every character believable and captivating. And of course the music's fantastic - the title song gets played to death but it's still a cool cover of a great Japanese punk song, and James Iha of Smashing Pumpkins does a brilliant job with the incidental music.I'm so glad this film got an English sub, and considering how quickly the tickets sold out for these two London screenings, a full release would be warmly welcomed. Highly recommended.