Heorot Reviews

Johnny and the Dead (1995)

Recommended for all Pratchett fans

[7/10 · 2 April 2009]

After just watching the entire series I am compelled to report. This is a series made with feeling for Pratchett's fine book of the same title. The casting was surprising and jolly well done. Brian Blessed tend to steal the show at times with his spirited portrayal of William Stickers, the last communist in a world without communists.

And the parts of the children might be even better than the new series about Johnny and the bomb. I especially liked Jo-less, who is absolutely true to the books. Though I had my doubts about the casting of Andrew Falvey as Johnny Maxwell, it dissipated through the course of the series; his performance during the public meeting was stunning.

Practically every line in the series was almost verbatim from the book, and the cemetery location was beautiful. It was (positively) surprising to see Mrs. Tachyon in the pub and later in the cemetery. Stanley Roundway is visible in the dance sequence, but had no other role here.

The only addition to the book are the strange (and almost disturbing) dream sequences of Johnny. It added, however, to the whole.

All in all, certainly recommended, but certainly for any fans of this Johnny book.

Los Totenwackers (2007)

Strange and whacky children's horror

[6/10 · 31 March 2009]

I saw the DVD of this movie lying around in a store. The cover and the blurb looked strange, somewhat whacky (and therefore interesting).

What is there to say? The strange apartment building, the spooky landlady... But first and foremost the children: Sara who just moved in (but already has a best friend called), Mahdi who is somewhat overprotective of his girlfriend, and John, the boy who dresses in suits with vests and suspenders, playing a bit of a boy genius.

The performance of Elisa Drabben as Sara is the most captivating. She remains the lead, as Mrs. Salgado (played by Geraldine Chaplin) is the 'baddie' of the movie (nicely played though). The parts of the boys, Mahdi and John seem somewhat inconsistent at times.

At the end it began to look like this was a pilot. Other 'missions' await in the distance. If there are, I would be interested.

As the opening credits rolled by I noticed it was co-produced by Walt Disney Iberia (which I didn't know existed). It was a fun film to watch, and I would certainly recommend it. Before you show it to children, I recommend you watch it first. Have fun!

V for Vendetta (2005)

Entertainment, warning and wake-up call

[8/10 · 26 April 2007]

Having just seen this cinematic extravaganza, I am compelled to comment on it. I was especially moved by the crowd that gathered to march on Parliament. People banding together because each and every one person believes that what he or she is doing is right(!) does tend to move any one watching, such as I. What Evy underwent at the hands of V may strike many as going too far. It was however, in the conviction of V, the only way he knew to set her free from her fears. And that strikes right back at a central issue of the film , which is that fear can control you, and hold you silent when you should not be. Justice is not a building, but an idea, that lives in the hearts of men and women. And that has much to do with what V tells us in the beginning of the movie: "People shouldn't be afraid of their governments; the government should be afraid of the people." The film is full of ideas; is V the flesh under his mask? should we be allowed to make fun of authority figures? should anyone have to suffer injustice? The movie was very stylish and true to the feeling of its parent, the comic, while at the same time being an enthralling movie. It was not perfect; the birth of V, due to medical experiments to create a virus, is weak to say the least. The total story of ruthless men who used a biological weapon to gain control of an election is not. It may seem unlikely, but so many events do, in the political games we see played from afar, all over the world. An entertainment, a word of warning, and a wake-up call.

Plop en het vioolavontuur (2005)

Your kids (4-10) will probably like it

[5/10 · 2 January 2006]

This film is nice to see with your young kids. Though you may not like it, they probably will. Plop, Klus, Lui and Kwebbel have a simple adventure, regrettably lacking in the characteristic interplay between the characters which has made Plop so enjoyable on TV. The Belgian TV-series has many simple stories (5 minutes per episode), but are always enjoyable by the repeating antics of the characters: Lui (Lazy) finds most things too tiring and sleeps more often than not; Klus (Busy) is a naughty character with many practical jokes unenjoyable for the rest, maintains he is always the best in what he is doing, but rarely is; Kwebbel (Chatter) always talks too much; and Plop is the most down-to-earth character who tells the story. What I missed was Klus doing something but being very bad at it. I was surprised at Lui's behaviour, which was far too active, and Kwebbel did not talk enough. My 5-year old daughter liked it, though (half the people in the theatre were 3-8 or so).

Kung Fu Hustle (2004)

Entertaining counter-effect to dramatic kung-fu movies

[9/10 · 8 April 2005]

The funniest movie I have seen for quite some time. Compared to Shaolin Soccer, this movie is much more sophisticated in terms of plot and effects. Apparent is that Stephen Chow has watched a lot of movies, and when you watch the movie, you will be reminded of that. Kwok Kuen Chan's performance of brother Sum reminds you of Johnny Depp's portrayal of Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean; the cloud effects on several occasions are indeed, as some people have already mentioned, of reminiscent effects in Ghostbusters; the mass scene of one or few heroes against an overwhelming amount of enemies repeats, but with nice comic effects. The kung-fu movies which have had some success in the West, like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Hero and House of Flying Daggers, are all drama and take themselves very seriously. This movie comes from those same sources, but puts a very entertaining counter-effect. On several occasions during the film, I could not help but laugh.