ferry_rudolph Reviews

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)

Great effects, if only the story was half as good.

[7/10 · 16 November 2005]

If I can say one thing about Lucas it is this: he cannot write. Or very poorly.

I have to admit that I am more a Trekkie than a Star Wars fan but the first 3 movies (episodes 4&5&6) are rather memorable even if the story is not top notch.

In the 3 latest Star Wars episodes one should not expect a good story at all which is a shame because from the Star Wars Knights Of The Old Republic I know it is possible to create a very compelling and interesting story.

In both games the player can follow Anakin's path but in each that is a slow path, not influenced by a single event. It takes awhile for the character to become evil but then one is really evil. Anakin is more pathetic than evil. A puppet if you will. The emperor talks to him and suddenly he turns to the dark side? Sounds like poor story telling to me.

The same goes for Padme. She just dies because she does not want to live anymore. It would have made far more sense for the emperor to have killed her and then blame the Jedi for it causing Anakin to turn on them but no she just "dies".

Anakins transformation in Darth Vader is cool but him shouting at the ceiling does ruin the character of Darth Vader. He should have learned of Padme's death as Anakin, then had his ass kicked (along with the disfigurement) and then to return as Darth Vader. And then Darth Vader should have been responsible for the destruction of the Jedi.

Look at that, guess like many others I too can write this movie better. Not that it would be an accomplishment as Lucas is a bad writer.

In all the story was quite meager indeed but it is wrapped in a delicious mix of action and special effects. That is Lucas' specialty as much as writing is not. It does not all fan out though.

The opening battle is cool but it lacks heart. I recall seeing the battle for Deep Space Nine in the DS9 episode Sacrifice Of Angels. Of course that was broken up in parts but it is a battle I can watch over and over. The viewer knew what was at stake and also knew the odds. Starfleet was desperate and needed to go to battle even if this one that they might lose seeing they were outnumbered 2 to 1. Their Klingon allies had not sent reinforcements either so things were looking really grim.

The attack started and things were going quite badly but then all of a sudden the Klingons decloaked and turned the tide. What a battle that was! Sure it was not as spectacular as the battle in Revenge Of The Sith in terms of explosions and all that but that episode was made before even episode 1 and with a much lower budget so that is to be expected. Still it did have a large amount of ship and most of all heart and that is what I missed in this movie.

Then again, no space battle in Star Wars really impressed me after seeing the Dominion war episodes of Star Trek. Which is probably why Lucas did not even try in episode 3. The last Star Trek movie was rated negatively by a lot of people but at least that too had and awesome space battle.

Oh well, one cannot win them all but Lucas wins on a very few points. Star Wars has its charms which I really found in Knights Of The Old Republic. I really liked the Ithorians and Mandalorians, both very distinct and interesting races. A lot could be do with them, if only the time is taken.

The Force is one of the high points of the game granting the player a lot of interesting and powerful abilities. Sadly in the movies they are rarely used. In Kotor 2, the exile, can destroy droids without even touching them or stun opponents. Perfect stuff for a movie which sadly went unused.

As I noticed in both this movie and the Kotor games, there are beautiful worlds and in Kotor one spends hours on Nar Shaddaa which is quite an interesting place in its own way. Dantooine is very pretty with open plains and even Korriban has its charm. In this movie people jump from planet to planet without a viable explanation.

Not only is this highly annoying but it also deprives fans to get to "know" these planets and their people. It is just another way to show case the abilities of Lucas to show off pretty worlds. Why one should spend a boatload of money on a world that one only sees for a few minutes I do not understand.

But it does look pretty and in that aspect, Lucas outdoes pretty much everyone and rivals Peter Jackson. He needed that positive though as there were not many.

The fighting was done very impressively but light-saber duels are always very impressive.

Well, I am not sure what else to write so I am going to close off. In short, if you are looking for a movie with great story then you will be disappointed. The action is good, the special effects top notch but the story is below par. So this movie gets a 7 (out of 10) from me.

The movie is worth buying for the hidden bit. Go to language selection and enter "11, enter, 03 enter, 08.". Quite hilarious indeed!

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)

Excellent!

[10/10 · 11 November 2005]

Reading a lot of negative reviews and that really saddens me.

I too did not like it that Cameron did not want to direct this movie. But that is his mistake. I would have done it as it would have been a sure hit and it was a huge box office hit. But it is also a good movie.

The story is excellent. Sure it does not match the story from the first two movies but that is because the future was changed because of the interventions from the first two movies. With Cyberdyne destroyed a future was also destroyed.

But Judgment Day was or rather is inevitable and that is where the movie shines. I mean Judgment Day IS coming. And it is not some movie thing but the future of humanity. Our arrogance will be our undoing one day and the first two Terminator movies made me realize that. This movie ends in the only way I feel it could have ended. With the near destruction of the human race.

It was a new ending and a most controversial one. But I loved it. Not a crappy ending where the humans stop the evil machines or alien invasion. But an ending where we are on the losing side. It was most unexpected but that is what I loved.

I also liked the T-X. It seemed right to have a female Terminator and Kristanna Loken played her parts nicely. And Arnold was great as his usual character. Of course the older Terminator model stood little or no chance against the T-X but that was not the point. The Terminator's mission was to ensure the survival of John and Katherine and not to fight the T-X.

It seems a bit odd for the resistance to send such an old Terminator model back trough time but this was probably the best they could get. Which would make sense as the T-X is probably a prototype and/or very costly to produce. The T-101 's are foot soldiers so obtaining one of those would be easier.

John and Katherine were well cast and played their roles perfectly. Stahl really looked as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders.

There were a few minor complaints such as Dr. Silberman. It was neat to see him again but he was head of a entire mental hospital. How did he get to work for a Sheriff's office? I guess seeing the T-1000 really drove him over the edge.

I also missed the few key phrases such as "I'll be back." "Or Come with me if you want to live." I mean the first is one of the best movie quotes ever so having it omitted in this movie was a downer.

But the story and action scenes were excellent. The story did not measure up to Terminator or Terminator 2 but was still excellent. There was not a dull moment in the movie whatsoever and even though it was rather straightforward the ending made it perfect.

Thanks to the T-X's ability to control other vehicles, the chase scene could be expanded upon greatly, having several vehicles chase the heroes which was a very cool idea and well executed. The other action scenes did their part as well as did the fight scenes.

By the way, I loved those. Sure it may be silly watching Arnie fight a woman but it makes sense. Generally woman are seen as the "weaker" sex although there are a lot of woman whom that does NOT apply to. But still, a woman tends to blend in the crowds easier than a big muscle man such as Arnold. Which seems to be what a Terminator does best.

She could of course take on the form of other humans and at one point she could have killed Kate in the guise of her fiancée but instead reverted to her normal form. Seeing how Kate needed to survive this error was necessary but I like to think that the T-X was just over confident and changed back or perhaps needed to do so in order to access its weaponry.

And I am not really a nitpicker because then one can nitpick about a lot of stuff. I mean, in Terminator Sarah is last seen with a dog just in case a Terminator does appear. If John is so worried about the future (and trying not to be registered anywhere so to avoid being tracked), why does he not have a dog himself? I would have one.

So I ignore those little tidbits and focus on the good stuff. Which this movie has in spades. I know it is not Terminator 1 or 2 but this movie is still a great addition to the franchise.

Spider-Man (2003)

Why does everyone like it so much?

[21 September 2005]

Saw an episode of this show on a Dutch TV channel and I was very disappointed.

The thing I disliked most was the animation. I think the animators tried to go for a special art award because it is very different but not in a good way. The show is really dark and I am not fond of that look.

Even then the characters look bad. Peter is tolerable but I have never seen a blonde Harry Osborn in any comic or previous TV show and it just looks plain bad. Especially as he does not have blonde hair in the movie.

Mary Jane's short hair makes no sense either as she never had it in any previous show or the comics. If the animation prevents it then have it in a bun or something. That way it would have been more accurate.

The faces lacked emotions and they seemed rather lifeless to me.

The voice acting did not help. Spidey only wise-cracked once (I think) but it came out in a way that did not even make it funny. In cartoons voice acting can make or break them but in this case it is definitely break.

Since the series ties in to the movies, there are not many famous villains making it less cool than the 1994-1998 series. Some might say that this show recycled a lot of old Spider-Man story lines.

True but that is why I liked it so much. I am not liking this show at all. I actually saw it on DVD but I am glad I did not buy it.

Fantastic Four (I) (2005)

Fantastic, Fantastic, Fantastic, Fantastic!

[9/10 · 18 July 2005]

When I heard a Fantastic Four movie was being made I was excited. I mean we are talking about the best super hero team ever. And of course everything had to be perfect to properly represent the world's greatest comic magazine.

So when I first learned that Jessica Alba was going to play Sue and that Ben would not be computer animated I feared the worst. I also disliked the casting of Kerry for Alica.

But I decided to keep an open mind until I had seen the movie. Today I did and I was blown away. Sure Ben did not look quite alright and Jessica Alba only made a decent Sue. (She was OK but there were better actresses for the role.) That did not matter though as the movie was great. Sure, the origin was changed but not in a really bad way. Despite the origin taking up a lot of time, there was plenty of action and the fight against Doom was pretty cool.

There was also plenty of humor in the movie, something which most movies really lack.

Ioan, Chris and Micheal did their parts very well and adequately resembled the comic counter parts (though for Micheal this was more a case of the right attitude than looks). Jessica Alba's acting was good but she simply did not resemble Sue. Just dying her hair was not enough.

But during the movie one completely forgets such "details". As well as odd storyline plots as Doom having invented unstable molecules instead of Reed and Reed being nearly bankrupt.

In all, the movie was a fantastic experience and I am eagerly awaiting part 2!

Bambi (1942)

20 big ones for this?

[10/10 · 22 February 2005]

Yes, and it is well worth it. ;-) The movie may not seem that long but a lot happens in it. And do not worry, it is not rushed or anything. It just cuts back on the boring parts other movies have.

As everyone knows, this movie deals with the deer Bambi as he goes trough life and follows his ups and downs. The movie is probably best known for the part where Bambi's mother is shot by a hunter.

(Note: I hereby nominate the hunter for worst fictional movie character EVER!) The most striking thing about this movie is the animation. It has been enhanced but it still shows that it is from WAY before Shrek or Finding Nemo.

Not that that is a bad thing. On the contrary, the backgrounds are done magnificently and the animation of the characters is done excellently. One can clearly see that the characters are painted like regular cell cartoon characters but that the backgrounds are actually painted as in paintings. But that makes the movie so beautiful, 2 art styles mixed into one whole.

The music won an Academy Award and why should it not. Best movie music I heard in a long time and it matches the scenes perfectly and adds even more magic to the movie.

The story was very entertaining and beautiful and it had everything: interesting/cute characters, humor and excitement and also a few tears.

The only downside is that the movie is a tad short although one would not notice it while watching it.

I am not a Disney fan by default but this movie I highly recommend to anyone!

Star Trek: Voyager (1995–2001)

Why Enterprise was cancelled and this was not, I do not understand.

[7 February 2005]

Recently learned of the cancellation of Enterprise and wondered why it was cancelled. Sure it had its flaws but no more than this piece of ****.

The main things that are bad about this show is the lack of continuity. Despite taking place on a starship traveling trough unknown space alone without help, the topics you expected to be tackled are not.

There is no mention of a crew shortage at any time while one would expect it despite crew members dying all the time. Well not by loads but enough people die to make ship operation more difficult.

I had also expected the Maquis issue to pop up more. But the Maquis crew simply merge with the Starfleet crew without any major problems.

But that is not all, the characters are also somewhat boring. Janeway does not appeal to me. She pretends to be a Federation do-gooder but when it suits her needs she does not mind violating Starfleet rules to get what she wants. When Voyager encountered Borg space instead of turning around Janeway meddles in an internal Borg conflict.

The Borg had started a war with Species 8472 and were losing. Janeway choose to help the Federation and the universe's worst enemy by choosing to ally with the Borg and defeating Species 8472 in exchange for passage trough their space.

This allowed the most dangerous species in the galaxy to continue their conquest resulting in the death of millions and may even lead to the destruction of the Federation. For which Janeway is responsible.

Any captain with a bit of decency and honor would NEVER have dealt with the Borg. But Janeway did.

To make matters worse, in the episode Equinox Janeway discovers that the captain of another Federation ship in the Delta Quadrant has been killing aliens to use their remains to soup up their warp drive and get home faster.

So she gives him "this is bad lecture" and that Federation officers should not resort to that. And this coming from the woman who doomed entire worlds at the hands of the Borg! So I do not like her at all! Sadly her supporting cast is lame for the most part. Chakotay as similarities with DS9's Kira. Spiritual and a rebel. But the spiritual part is soon phased out and he immediately becomes Janeway's lapdog except for a few occasions.

Tuvok is the classic Vulcan. Boring, boring, boring! B'Elanna is a decent character but nothing more than that. She could have been a rebel but was soon softened as well. A missed chance.

Paris and Kim are both rather bland and their friendship is a direct copy of the friendship shared by O'Brien and Quark.

Voyager's resident chief Neelix is a former trader. He is a bit similar to Quark. Both are traders and now run the main source of entertainment/food on the ship/station. But Quark was a lot funnier than Neelix though Neelix is not all that bad.

Kes is another boring person so it is no surprise she left the cast at the beginning of season 4.

Her replacement Seven Of Nine is a neat character but she was heavily over-used. The show might as well have been renamed Seven Of Nine and her adventures on the Voyager.

But since she is so cool and the majority of the cast is so lame that it does not really batter.

The only real highlight is The Doctor who is the best character of the show and along with Seven shows real character development. The other characters develop a little but are largely the same at the end of the show.

So that all adds to the badness of Voyager. And it gets worse still.

The biggest problem I have with the show is that it is totally unbelievable.

Sure sci-fi can be a little unrealistic at times but Voyager pushes the limits too far. They have a "We can do anything without getting hurt!" show and that annoys me to no end.

Flash back to Star Trek: First Contact we see dozens of Federation ships attacking a Borg cube headed for Earth. This includes the U.S.S. Defiant, the strongest warship the Federation has. Soon even the Defiant is disabled.

In Star Trek: Voyager the Voyager attacks a much stronger Borg cube, a class 4 tactical cube and manages to escape. How is that possible while the Voyager is much weaker than the Defiant? It has no ablative hull armor, pulse phasers or quantum torpedoes.

This attack results in a Borg rebellion to emerge and in the assimilation of Janeway, Tuvok and Torres. Every Borg (save for the Queen) we see has an ocular implant but all 3 of the Voyager crew do not and keep both of their eyes which proves "We can do anything without getting hurt!" All 3 are easily recovered in the next episodes and make a full recovery from an experience that should have been traumatic. But noo this is the "We can do anything without getting hurt!" so we cannot have people being hurt.

As for the Borg rebellion, no mention is made of it again. The Borg do not even retaliate for this. If someone would be responsible for a rebellion in my empire I would make sure that that was the last thing they ever did.

On DS9 that would have happened. But nooo, this is Voyager and we cannot have that. Voyager must always come on top easily without any similar setbacks that DS9 had to suffer.

Of course, Voyager does make it home as expected but it was more due to luck, stupid enemies and a captain willing to sacrifice millions of innocent lives than anything else.

It has its decent episodes but overall this series is sadly lacking making it the weakest Star Trek show and my least favorite.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993–1999)

The Star Trek show with the most aliens is the most human.

[7 February 2005]

Unlike all the other Star Trek shows, Deep Space Nine takes place on a space station.

What that means is that you have the same setting every week. Would sound boring. But it is not actually. The shows strong cast and interesting recurring topics more than compensate for it.

A lot of the cast consists of alien which generally make the best characters. Garak deserves a special mention as he was only supposed to appear in one episode but returned throughout the entire series and becoming a fan favorite soon.

The first 2 seasons are to introduce the characters and the setting. Starting with season 3 the Dominion is introduced which continues in season 4. In that season Worf also joins the cast. Season 5 sees the Dominion war escalating with the season finale seeing the Dominion taking over the season and starting the Dominion War which is the main focus for seasons 6 & 7.

Despite being the darker Star Trek, there is a lot of humor in the show with a lot of hilarious episodes. And which show features the cast of the original series interacting with its cast? So this is by far the best Star Trek show.

The Punisher (2004)

Punisher kicks ass!

[8/10 · 21 January 2005]

Just saw this movie on DVD and loved it.

From the menu screen (with dark and moody music) until the end, it is clear that this is no regular super-hero movie. And that is for good reason as The Punisher is no regular hero.

So this movie has none of that romance crap that plagued the Spider-Man movies. No this movie is just action although not non-stop. The story is quite cool too.

It is based somewhat on the Welcome Back Frank comic mini-series written by Garth Ennis. But the parts they did took out are not all that great. Joan is portrayed nicely but Mr Bumpo is not big enough and Dave does not have enough piercings.

I was also disappointed by The Russian, he did kick Frank's ass but he was also killed relatively easy. True in the comic Frank also got him quite fast when he learned that The Russian dislikes fire (threw a pizza in his face, tripped him and then threw Mr Bumpo on top of him to make him suffocate.

I also missed a real car chase but that was about it. I had hoped Frank would kill Liv himself but it was actually way cooler what he actually did.

In all, a really good action flick that is not too predictable. And it has a healthy dose of black humor. I love this movie and cannot wait for The Punisher 2!

Seed of Chucky (2004)

What the ? - SPOILER

[4/10 · 8 December 2004]

For as long as I can remember it, I have been a Chucky fan.

I mean, he is a cute doll on the outside but a killer on the inside. His line "Wanna play?" is legendary. The first movie was well made and had suspense all over. I loved it.

I loved part 2 even more. I know it was "more of the same" but that did not matter as I loved Chucky so much. Part 3 was different enough to make it fun.

Then things went bad with Bride Of Chucky which was more of a comedy than a real horror movie. I still liked that move though.

This however I cannot like at all. The basic story is pathetic. Chucky's son (who did indeed fell off an ugly tree while hitting every branch on it) wants to meet his folks to brings them back to life.

That in itself is not so bad but then the story gets really bad as nothing really happens. They do a bit of killing but that is not suspenseful at all.

Granted, it has a few really good jokes such as Chucky commenting "Ooops, I did it again." after killing Britney. But that is all about it actually.

The ending was rather bad as well though it did have one good side. It meant that the movie was over. I own the whole collection of Chucky movies on DVD so I "have" to get this one to complete the set but I will wait for it to be on sale.

I think the producers should just forget Bride Of Chucky and Seed Of Chucky were ever made and make Child's Play 4 with Chucky as he was meant to be.

How to bring him back? Well I doubt that would matter much. The fans would be so happy the real Chucky is back that they would not care how he was brought back.

This movie is one that you should try to avoid. Of if you have to get it, get it on sale. Otherwise it is a waste of money.

Medabots (1999–2004)

Gotta love it!

[23 September 2004]

About a year I came across this show. I am a person who watches pretty much everything if I got nothing to do. But I soon found that I rather liked this show.

Unlike most Japanese shows it does not try to sell a product (Yu-Gu-Oh!). Sure there are the Medabots toys but the show never indicated that. It could have been just another cartoon which did not even have a toyline to support.

The story is great. Ikki a young boy who has always wanted a Medabot finds an medal in a river and buys an outdated Medabot which he names Metabee. But Metabee is a little different than Ikki wanted because he has attitude and will not obey Ikki.

But over time the two develop a friendship and that will help them face every challenge and the people who want to steal Metabee's rare medal.

I love the show because it has great characters and a lot of humor. The characters are well done and are nice and distinct. Ikki could have been better because he is the typical arrogant kid (think Pokemon's Ash) but that changes slowly as well.

But Metabee is great and so is Rokusho another of my favorites. And who could forgetb Mr. Referee? I also liked how the French Team was depicted in the final episodes with the World Robattle. They tried to win with cheating which is so realistic. So French.

In all this show is a must see! Try it for yourself, you will not be disappointed!

Yu-Gi-Oh! (I) (2000–2006)

Worst commercial ever!!!!

[19 August 2004]

Sadly I was unfortunate to see a few episodes of this. I had nothing better to do or was too lazy to change channels or something. So I watched Yu-Gi-Oh.

To me every episode pretty much goes like this: weirdo challenges Yugi (or some other dude) to a duel and at first kicks his ass. Then Yugi suddenly draws the card he needs (yeah, like that is gonna happen in real life) and turns the tables.

That is pretty much it. The series is just about the card duels with little time for anything else making it nothing more than a long commercial.

And I can think of wash detergent commercials that are more fun to watch than this crap. For one, acting is much better. And secondly wash detergents does not tend to wash your kids brains.

So save yourself the trouble and avoid this show like the plague. Stare at a blank wall or look at grass growing. Or stand on your head and wait for your socks to drop to your knees. ;-)

Anything to avoid having to watch this crap.

Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)

The REAL Clone Wars: Star Trek Nemesis versus Attack Of The Clones.

[20 June 2004]

Bought this movie as an ex-rental for a really low price because the Star Wars name is really big. Even as a Trekkie I cannot deny that.

Since Star Trek Nemesis and Star Wars Attack Of The Clones were both released in 2002 and carry a common theme (cloning), I thought about comparing both movies.

First off, the central theme: clones. In Star Trek, Captain Picard is cloned. Picard is a man who holds a high rank in the Federation and has a lot of influence as well as won battles behind his name.

He won the fight against the Borg, The So'Na and various other races. He is also an accomplished diplomate and archaeologist. And he can hold is own in hand to hand combat.

Star Wars sees the cloning of Boba Fett, supposedly a successful bounty hunter. Yet, he is killed without too much effort. Has to happen for the story but still. He simply did not stuck me like a great fighter.

To me it seems like a drunk Klingon could easily defeat him in a bar fight. And Trekkies know that Quark (who is not a fighter at all) defeated a drunk Klingon in a bar fight. So Boba Fett seems like the wrong man to clone.

So that is a major advantage for Star Trek Nemesis.

Secondly, the single most important thing in a sci-fi movie like Star Wars and Star Trek are the space battles. Nearly every movie has had them.

Star Trek Nemesis delivers on that just fine with a long battle between the Enterprise-E and the Scimitar. I loved that part, especially since the Enterprise-E was hopelessly outclassed even with the help of 2 Romulan Warbirds.

Star Wars had a space chase but that was it. Granted, having a grandiose space battle with small primitive ships is not easy. A Starfleet shuttle craft is better armed than the average Star Wars ship. Still, Episode One had a space battle so this movie is quite disappointing.

But given they have had "real" wars in Star Trek Deep Space Nine I can understand that George Lucas does not dare try to improve on that. Why bother if you know you will not beat Star Trek.

Just take a look at the battle scenes in "Sacrifice Of Angels", "Tears Of The Prophets", "The Changing Face Of Evil" and "What You Leave Behind.". Those were excellent.

Star Wars does beat Star Trek in one area, boredom. The story was boring, most the characters were uninteresting and boring (did not care at all for the love relationship between Amedalia and Anakin) and the characters that were fun (JarJar Binks) were cut from the movie.

The movie was basically a long roller-coaster ride going from one action scene to another, similar to the James Bond movies. But unlike the James Bond movies, it is not working.

Most of the scenes though very impressive, have been done better in other movies. And even if they had not, they simply failed to excite or impress me.

Whereas Star Trek Nemesis kept me on the edge of my seat for the whole time. It was exciting, it was witty and it was refreshing. All what a movie needs to be.

So I declare Star Trek Nemesis the winner of the clone wars.

Kees & Co (1997–2020)

Seen it once.

[11 May 2004]

Saw this show once while visiting a relative.

I like comedies a lot and every comedy had something good. So I thought.

The episode I saw had NOTHING funny in it. Every joke was lame and uninspired. All comedies worth watching have at least one good joke in even their worst episode.

This show had none so that was not a good sign. Granted, I am being judgemental but my time is limited and I do not have time to watch more episodes hoping that those will be any better.

The show has had its chance and lost. Why it is still on the air, I do not know. I should have been cancelled a long time ago is my opinion.

King of the Hill (1997–2010)

Makes me think of Beavis and Butt-Head

[19 March 2004]

Since Mike Judge made this show it is logical to think of his previous work on Beavis and Butt-Head but not in a good way.

Hank makes me think of Mr. Anderson. Never liked that dude, always drinking beer and complaining. Yuck! It was a good thing that Beavis and Butt-Head occasionally trashed his yard and house.

Hank is not completely like Anderson, he has a lot of better qualities but somehwhere there is a faint resemblance.

Peggy does not make me think of anyone but she give me strange vibes. Why I just do not know. The same goes for Luanne, she seems like a dumb bimbo to me.

The one chacacter copied almost directly from Beavis and Butt-Head is Bobby. He makes me think of Stewart, that little wiener. Of course the "character" of Stewart was not seen too often, fortunately.

I have occasionally seen an episode of King Of The Hill, it is decent and occasionally makes a point about things happening in real like, like The Simpsons does.

But that is about it. I think it was a shame that Mike Judge gave up on Beavis and Butt-Head. That show ruled! Sadly Mike's second show falls far short of his first.

Matt Groening did much better, both The Simpsons and Futurama were excellent. Sadly Futurama was cancelled why this show is still on the air. Sometimes tv-networks do not make any sense to me.

De schippers van de Kameleon (2003)

Worst Casting Ever!

[19 December 2003]

Sorry to be blunt but that is the way it is. I have been reading these books ever since I was little and I love then to death. They have everything a good book has: humor, excitement, interesting characters and so on.

The idea of turning those books into a movie is a great idea. But unlike Peter Jackson who casted people who looked as they stepped right out of the books, Steven de Jong did not take similar care in this book.

Gerben Zonderland is a man I remember as a clever and intelligent person. Sure, he was scared in the dark and Sietse and Hielke as well as the other characters in the book often fooled him with practical jokes. But German was a prankster himself and a great story teller.

Maarten Spanjer exhibits none of those characteristics. No offense but he looks like a gullable fool and I see no resemblance with Gerben whatsoever. And to cast a man from Amsterdam as Gerben, well that is as if you an American boy play Harry Potter.

Joep Sertons is also miscasted as the doctor but he is only a minor character so that is not a real big problem.

And then comes the director's stint of arrogance. He casts himself as father Klinkhamer. But that man is a blacksmit and those are huge men with big muscular arms and all that. (One would have to be in that job.) Again the director does not live up to that. He more has the build of an ice skater.

And finally the director also changed the books and that is something I cannot forgive. Ester was never a part of the books. She should have been a boy named Cor who always visited his aunt and uncle during vacations.

He was featured in most of the early books but suddenly dissapeared and we never heard from him again. But such inconsistencies happened a few more times. A new boy came into town and befriended the cast. But the next book he was gone again.

Girls were not much in the books until one of the last books written by Hotze de Roos but one must remember that it was a different age back then. Being a history buff I love that and so the idea of "modernizing" the story by adding a girl is just plain wrong.

Another character from the books also did not make it in the movie. At first the cast in the books consisted of only Sietse, Hielke and Cor who went on boatrides in the "Kameleon" and then encountered other people such as Gerben and Zwart.

After a few books 2 more charcters were introduced to enable more storylines or possebilities: Louw Vrolijk and Kees Dijkstra. Louw was a pretty normal kid but Kees was really a "piece of work". Often up to no good and always in the mood for food.

So I can understand that he was a charater you would want in the movie. Technically he is not even supposed to be in it but of course from a commercial view he has to be.

But what about Louw? Is he supposed to banned from this movie? To be left out? He may not have been a chacter who was really definable such as Kees or Gerben but he was nevertheless a character in the book.

To see that Kees (whom I like a lot) has made the book but that Louw has been left out is another bad idea from the director.

So I am going to close with the statement that it could have been one of the greatest Dutch movies ever. The books were excellent so you got a good start. But sadly this movie is ruined by the people who made it.

Why else would a group of students make their own version of the books? I think that illustrates my point quite nicely.

For My Daughter's Honor (1996 TV Movie)

Best movie I have ever seen!

[10/10 · 2 December 2001]

This is my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE of Nicholle Tom's movies. Nicholle was the perfect choice to play Amy Dustin and her acting is superior! I think Nicholle should have won an Academy Award for her performance in this movie. When Amy is forced to by Pete have sex with him you can clearly see the fear in her eyes. I have seen this movie several time and I am still impressed and deeply touched by the way the movie tells the story of Amy Dustin. It is a tragic tale of how a young girl can be abused by a older man. I think everyone (and not just Nicholle fans) should see this movie.