The Most Terrible Time in My Life

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Jan 24, 2012 The first part of a trilogy (which I now regret not buy the rest of), this introduces us to a modern day neo noir hero Maiku Hama, who operates out of an office above a cinema showing classic films in Japan. He finds himself involved in a case searching for a missing Taiwanese immigrant, whose brother he saves in a brawl in a restaurant. Hama is an interesting character, as he appears cool, but is very accident prone and finds himself getting his ass handed to him more often than not. It makes for an interesting take on the genre, that's for sure. Worth a look, give it a rental. See more

Jun 27, 2011 A 1990's Japanese detective film lovingly and respectfully shot in black and white in the style of a 1950's American detective film, complete with fallable PI , twists and turns and a bitter-sweet denouement. Fun. Starring Masatoshi Nagase of Mystery Train / Cold Fever / Suicide Club etc etc fame. <img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ZAECHDaEk4g/RuG3JH5GiZI/AAAAAAAABGM/8mmXEZ6pxTA/s400/MaikuHama_videodvd-1.jpg"> See more

Nov 27, 2010 Would like to rewatch some time with increased focus. Feels like it might generate an increase in score. See more

Apr 14, 2010 I like it cause Masatoshi Nagase, which if there is a more underrated and underloved Japanese actor it's him, plays a guy named Maiku Hama and if you know anything about Mike Hammer you will understand why this is all genius. It's also a pretty decent movie. Too bad the rest of it isn't up to the same level as Nagase. He's freaking brilliant. See more

May 11, 2009 I saw the write up on this in Shock Cinema Magazine (Issue 6) If I remember right. So when it arrived by mail I put it on the shelf saying when I get to it, little did I know that it was a Kino Video Release. And little did I know that it was a 5 star great film, 6 stars if I could. Its a Japanese film shot in Black & White (Shot in 1993) to give it that film noir look. Its suppose to be a spoof n the American Crime films of 1950-19660 time frame, and after all with a detective named Maiku Hama, how could it not be nothing but funny and interesting at the same time. Its not really a comedy and Director Kazio Hayashi has done a excellent job with this one. This is the first of a trilogy the other two being Stairway to a distant past and the Trap, which I will now order and review as soon as possible. This is a good film, not only for the comedy part but also for overall story. One other thing it has English Subtitles. Enjoy, and if you haven't seen a Kino Video yet you need to try them out and get there catalog, use a search engine just type Kino Video for some excellent world films. See more

Feb 16, 2009 (80/100) Goofy but stylish and enjoyable crime tale that plays on New Wave, film noir, and hard-boiled gangster movies. Although the backgrounds are obviously early 1990s Yokohama, there is a pleasant temporal ambiguity to the film from the black and white cinematography, to the 70s cop music theme, to the retro cars and locales. Doesn't take itself too seriously but seriously enough to compose each frame and set up some nice shots. On a personal note, I enjoyed the number of foreigners speaking Japanese in the movie. Easier to understand and amusing. See more

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The Most Terrible Time in My Life

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