Jie you za huo dian

This is one of those stories where you just have to go along for the ride. The three young characters don't know what's going on any more than we do and so we get to discover with them this strange place where time is folded a bit. They are three teens on the cusp of adulthood learning about how others faced that moment in their lives.

All the acting is well-done. From the three main characters to all the smaller parts. Jackie Chan as the old man is wonderful. I wish people who love him for his action abilities would let him have these quieter moments.

Superb story telling that is engrossing and delightful. This needs to be on your watch list. This is not a typical "action" Jackie Chan movie. Jackie really demonstrates his acting capability, though truly this is an ensemble movie with no single star. This is sophisticated story telling and deserves your full attention.

As is accustomed with Mr. Chan simply amazingly brilliant...!!

Jackie Chan is old. And in Namiya, he is really old. First of all, kudos to the makeup team for doing a good job. It could've been better, but it wasn't off putting. Namiya is a movie about three teenage runaways who hide out in an abandoned general store after committing a burglary. Through a series of supernatural events, they are connected to the kind old owner of the store who lived many years ago. The story is about how the lives of these three orphans are changed by this man named Namiya.

In paper, it looks good. It has an interesting theme and it has the potential to be a feel good family entertainer. And to be fair, for the most part, it tries. The movie maintains a certain charm but it's let down by bad and unbelievable storytelling. It's quite a stretch even for suspension of disbelief. When watching the movie, all I see is how well this movie could've been. The storyline is unnecessarily complicated, and even for a fantasy film, quite unbelievable.

Being a die-hard Jackie Chan fan, I was so delighted to see him in a completely unusual role to which he does justice. Unfortunately, everything good about the movie was that: Jackie Chan being loveable. That however, doesn't even amount to how badly the movie was executed.

In conclusion, all I see in this movie is a missed opportunity. Something that could've been an entertaining feel good movie turns out to be a "what on earth is going on" movie. Wouldn't recommend it as a movie, but maybe just check out the trailer and a few clips for Jackie's sake.

First, I must say that I have not read the book yet so I cannot compare it.

A slow beginning to introduce the runaway characters. We ease into the mystery. This is not a time travel as much as a retrospective on lives.

The acting is o.k. For kids. It tries too hard to be ethical. It is trite to wait for the ending to unravel the mystery as this means you have to wade through the movie.

"Your Future is unbound" - Namiya

"The Miracles of the Namiya General Store" by Keigo Higashino Hardcover: 320 pages Publisher: Yen On (September 24, 2019) Language: English ISBN-10: 1975382579 ISBN-13: 978-1975382575.