Intcatinfo
A Masterpiece!
Voxitype
Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.
Deanna
There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.
Petia Vladimirova
If it was not that ending I should vote with 10. I really liked the movie, actors, playing, story... But is that some kind of a joke? They reborn to be together and she chose the other boy? How that? If I understand right love is beyond everything, she knew his song from the very beginning, she died for him, and she suddenly chose the other one. It's not fair. "You will find me again, promise? Till I'm playing with someone else you will wait for another eternity 'till I get tired and come back to you." Well, I realised Japanese movies are quite good and actually I missed a lot not watching them. My bad. I think they should make more scenes with Adam and Mizuki, we actually can't see their strong bound, only a few scenes from their memories. And I really liked the song, it was pretty good for the movie. All I can say it worth the watch.
sitenoise
I'm sorry for perhaps unfairly skewing the rating on this film by giving it two stars, but I could barely sit through it. I don't think it is necessarily a poorly made film. but it's a film clearly targeted at Asian early- and pre-teens with the inclusion of super-secretive Japanese rock star "Hyde" in a prominent, though not leading, role. Every time he appeared on screen I would roll my eyes and groan because he looked like a Keith Partridge wannabe trying to appear tough by smoking cigarettes. He might be a talented musician but he's a terrible actor, at least in this film.The rest of the cast did a credible job. Model, actress, and hair-do, Chiaki Kuriyama is always refreshing on screen. Western audiences may recognize her as Gogo from Quentin Tarentino's Kill Bill Vol 1. She appears to play the piano quite well, vamping on the film's musical theme, "Last Quarter", a couple times. I liked the theme a lot, but in the end this modern fairy-tale was just too sugar-coated and precious for my aged sensibility.
LadyBeth10
When I first saw this movie I got a little bored and confused in the beginning until I got into it further. This is one of those rare gems that reveals it's secrets gradually, like the petals of a lotus. Not undercutting the wonderful visual components, the music score is was what really hooked me. It was absolutely, heartbreakingly wonderful. In fact, without HYDE's achingly sad and beautiful song, and equally sad and beautiful presence, I don't think this movie would have "worked." His music transcends language. I loved all of the actors and actresses. This production was as first rate as any "Hollywood" movie you can name. At first glance you might dismiss this movie as mere "fluff." However, if you stick with it you will see the deeper meanings: Life and death, love and loss, betrayal and redemption. It is a perfect circle. What better way can I describe this movie.Beth
Madison1974
*this review MAY contain a spoiler*Kagen No Tsuki (English Title: Last Quarter) is a welcome and well executed modern fairytale of two tragic love stories accidentally mixed up. Chiaki Kuriyama (Kill Bill) does a wonderful job playing Mizuki and the supporting cast perform equally well if not outperform her in several moments. However I did not care much for Japanese pop idol Hyde playing the English rock star Adam (with an English accent so bad it is virtually impossible to understand the man). But the true strength of this film lies in it's storytelling. The atmosphere that Ken Nikai creates, the decors, the colors, the costumes, the lighting: they are simply all perfect. It is hard to get into the story without giving away any clues but in short, without any spoilers to the plot: Mizuki is bored with her life and moves in with a British musician named Adam, in a rather sinister looking house. As soon as Adam tells her he is going away she runs after him to join him. However she is hit by a car. Suddenly and without explanation Mizuki finds herself trapped in the old house, where she meets a girl who is looking for her cat. When Mizuki helps her find the cat the girl disappears in front of her very eyes,.. and somewhere in a hospital the girl (named Hotaru) wakes up in a hospital bed. All she remembers is getting hit by a car when she was looking for her cat, and a girl in her dreams who helped her find her cat and woke her up in the real world. This is where the story starts when Hotaru sets out to find a way to help solve Mizuki's mystery and why she is trapped inside the house.In short? A delightfully different and wonderfully made film from Japan. It is hard to find anything wrong with this film. Go see it if you have a chance! (This review is based on the recently released Japanese DVD with English subtitles which is a stunning release in terms of image quality, sound and subtitle quality).
