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Reviews
The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse (2005)
League of Gents pull it off again
Say what you like, but the League have done it again. When I last saw an interview with them they said that they may well be abandoning Royston Vasey to start another project. That statement may well have been the foundation for this movie and, boy, did they abandon Royston Vasey in style. I guess some reviewers here expected more R.V. zany antics, but if you keep the above quote in mind, this movie suddenly makes a lot more sense and becomes a lot more enjoyable. After all, this movie is not about the inhabitants of the little village, it is about the League of Gentlemen. In that, it's enjoyable to both fans of the TV series and complete newcomers alike.
Dune (2000)
Almost there...
I've read the Dune books about a dozen times and I have also watched the 1984 movie a few times, and, while it had good ideas, it didn't thrill me. So I decided to give this mini series a try.
The first time I watched it I switched off after hearing Lady Jessica use the Voice for the first time. I disliked the 'spatializer' effects in the movie, and I didn't like them in the series. Months later I decided to give it another try.
I was quite astonished. The series has lots of very strong points.
The Fremen sietches have a very arabian feel to them, just the way they were intended in the books. Having lots of foreign actors added to the overall feel of a universe populated by a race that has split out into different planets. Of course, everyone would speak Galach with their own accent.
The passage to Arrakis is very unique in its approach to the navigators and their skills and I really liked the idea.
Unfortunately it had a few downright flops.
Paul should have been replaced. He is too old, he is too plain and he is way too 2 dimensional. The dream sequences are too unconvincing.
The Voice. It hardly appears in the series, and it's badly done. Trying to copy from the movie as a poor idea. I would have preferred a normal tone of voice, maybe some underlying sound effects and extremely voice trained actors who can snap out harsh commands unexpectedly and at will. The complete denaturalisation the spatializer gives the voice just makes me cringe.
What spoilt it even more was knowing the movie and then watching the series. You find yourself longing for the original Gurney, Leto, Feyd and Paul. Fortunately, you also adore the new Dr Kynes, Chani and Baron Harkonnen.
Finally, as was expected in any adaptation of Frank Herbert's novel that is shorter than 12 hours, I found myself explaining parts of what was going on to my friend, who hadn't read the book.
Overall, it is an excellent series, one to watch and one to buy. It is not perfect, but it is almost there.
Hints for future producers: Skip the spatializer, exploit the arabian and islamic Fremen theme, less technology, Harkonnens are evil, 6 hours are not enough.
Matilda (1996)
Astonishingly and surprisingly entertaining.
I turned on the TV by chance and thought 'Ah, well, an average comedy.'. But it turned out to be a refreshing tongue-in-cheek review of school and family life as a kid. Once more, Roald Dahl shows his unique and direct approach to the unusual. I can really imagine kids of all ages (up to 25 at least) wanting to rebel against the world with telekinesis. Great fun and a movie to watch with your kids.