Fridae

Adapted from a hugely popular Japanese manga, Detroit Metal City is not to everyone's taste, but it's certainly fun for J-pop fans.

Teen idol Kenichi Matsuyama (best known for playing L in Death Note) plays a sweet-natured country bumpkin leaves home for the bright lights of Tokyo, hoping to find his big break as a pop singer.

Instead, he gets signed on to paint his face and sing for an extreme Death Metal band, something he has a knack for but can't come to grips with. Things come to a head when he has to square off with the legendary metal singer Jack Il Dark (played by KISS frontman Gene Simmons, no less)�

Directed by Toshio Lee, Detroit Metal City is a cutesy film with cookie-cutter characters and a simplistic plotline that should satisfy undemanding viewers. Kenichi looks surprisingly twinky when not playing his grim personae in Death Note. And he carries the film well on the slender shoulders.

Of all the dreadful films opening this week, this is probably the most watchable - though that still isn't saying much.