Once Upon a Crime

TLDR: Its basically a japanese murder mystery drama told through a lot of narrative, with a fairy tale backdrop.

I love the name "Once upon a crime" so I had to dive in. While I'm not generally a fan of grim/fairy tales in general (even if told is some edgy new-age way), I gave this one a chance because honestly, I had nothing else to watch.

I was pleasantly surprise the spin they took on the 'Cinderella' story. The ending genuinely surprised me. You have your expectations of how these stories will end (both the fairy tale and the murder mystery), but this one had a decently good twist to it. Definitely something to watch if you're into Japanese type murder drama. Probably not something that would fly too well with American audiences.

Its fun, its whimsical, its different. Its okay.

This movie has a great thought out story, real emotions and otherwise do not take itself too seriously. If you like Gintama and other similar anime, then you will probably enjoy this movie a lot. It has good quality in all aspects in my opinion.

But if you want a traditional Hollywood style movie, then this is definitely not it. People who has never seen anime will probably be very confused about this movie lol, and thus the low score ?

Also better with the original audio and not the dub (in my opinion at least).

This movie might not be for the majority of people (especially if you do not like anime), but will be a fun watch if it is your nisch (basically like anime and fairy tales I guess). It is a really good movie for what it is meant to be.

This one is a twisted take on Cinderella and Red Riding Hood fairytales, with a detective true crime story.

It is quite a weird one I must say, full of these deadpan attempts to be funny and ending up not being funny at all- but it's still enjoyable for no good reason.

One huge plus though, the creativity in this is immense. The COSTUMES, let me tell you, those costumes are STUNNING, and the color of the movie is just a feast to the eyes!

I would say to watch this one if you have nothing better to do, but want to watch something easy and comfortable. No search for deeper meanings, no explosion- just comfort and lightness. But isn't that something we all need once in a while?

First of all the actors were all great. They were trying so hard to sell it, especially the older ones going ham on their roles trying to turn it into a cartoon/anime.

The wardrobe deserves a shout out, everything on screen was beautiful and unique.

Then you have the actual plot and execution. This... this is insulting even at a child's level, it's beyond just bad. Execution wise there is way too much dead space in the shots that the movie feels empty most of the time. Shots linger far too long on the actors doing nothing that it just comes off as awkward.

The twist at the end was a fun one. It just didn't makes sense within context.

It had potential, I like the cartoonish sense of humor, but it needed better writing and a decent editor.

Little Red Riding Hood (Kanna Hashimoto), an adventurous and inquisitive girl, sets off on a journey to enrich her life. She meets a bedraggled girl who introduces herself as Cinderella (Yûko Araki). Little Red Riding Hood goes to the ball with her. She also helps authorities uncover a mystery or two.

Those who think this is just another take on an oft-repeated tale, think again. The story is very daring, turning as beloved a fairytale as Cinderella on its head. I bet you would not expect what happens in the end. Question every scene and see if you can find clues along the way.

I actually liked it. Mysteries and twists always entertain when they are plausible. And the story makes them so.