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Reviews
Enola Holmes (2020)
Very entertaining
Having read all of the Sherlock Holmes stories I could find and having seen several seasons of Stranger Things, I think I am entitled to write a review about this movie. For those who hope to see a movie of a female Sherlock Holmes, yes, you are going to be disappointed. For those who want to see 11 from Stranger Things in a completely different role, in some nice English surroundings, with a few touches of Holmes and lots of moments that will make you smile, this is an entertaining movie.
I will admit that this Sherlock Holmes is quite different from the one in the books, but in the books we have never experienced Sherlock interacting with a sister or talking about his mother. Anyway, the movie is not about Sherlock, it's about Enola, and I found it very enjoyable (me being an adult male, not a young female).
De hel van '63 (2009)
This could have been a much better movie
The Eleven Cities ice skating race of 200 kilometers, edition 1963, has an infamous name in The Netherlands. So it should give enough inspiration for an exciting movie. I found the last minutes of this movie the most impressive: to see the real people, around whom the movie is centered. And the simple statement: "Of the 10,000 amateur skaters who took part in this race, only 69 managed to finish".
In its execution, however, this movie has some big problems. Some of these have already been mentioned in the other reviews. My biggest objection was this: in the movie two languages are spoken: Dutch and Frisian. One of the main characters - Sjoerd, played by Lourens van den Akker - is not a native Frisian speaker and you can hear it. It's really terrible for people who can speak or understand Frisian. It's distracting, to say the least. This spoiled a lot for me. All other Frisian speaking actors are native speakers: that's how it should be!
Question: how can Willeke van Ammelrooy play the mother of Chantal Janzen? What genius came up with that? On the other hand: I think Chris Zegers was cast properly, even though his hair was too long for 1963.
What is also good about the movie are the cameos. Look at the full cast at IMDb and spot the famous people: professional ice skaters, an ice skating coach, the winner of the Elfstedentocht of 1997.
Some scenes have been shot in Friesland, or look like they have been shot there, and some obviously have not been. Friesland does not have hills. Along the route are no woods. The weather was depicted as horrible, it's what we expect: legend has it, it was truly dreadful. The movie has some funny details as well, such as the smoking nurse in the hospital.
I have given this movie a 6/10: the fact that it's there is good. The cameos are good. The weather is good. Most Frisian actors speak well. All other things are not good. Some director: please do this one more time! But better please!
The Count of Monte Cristo (2002)
Inspired by, not based on, the book
By pure coincidence I saw the movie only two days after I had finished reading the book (over 1,000 pages). So I had an excellent opportunity to judge the movie, to see how truthfully it would follow the book. And I was curious which actors would play which characters. I had already seen on IMDb that Haidee was not listed. Almost immediately you can see that the movie is more inspired by, than based on the book. The names are usually taken from the book, the roles they play are similar to the roles in the book, but many times you're in for a surprise. Of course, it is not possible to put 1,000 pages in a tolerably long movie, so some shortcuts can be understood. The story of the carnival in Rome can easily be shortened from many chapters to a few minutes. Other story lines are also cut short. But: in the book, both Fernand and Mercedes are poor in the beginning. In the movie they're rich! In the book the mount of MC does not kill or harm anyone directly, in the movie he does. These are notable deviations from the book that don't appear to be shortcuts. And in the movie Edmond Dantes is whipped once a year, while in prison. In the book this simply doesn't happen. And of course, the movie was made in the 21st century, the book was written in the 19th century, so some changes are to be expected: more action, more fighting, more sex. So... if you're looking for a straight translation from book to movie, move along, this is not for you. I really missed Haidee! So what about this movie on its own? Well... I give it a 6. It's all too rushed, too hasty. And, having read the book, I know how good it could have been. The only character true to the book was, in my opinion, Abbe Faria. Well, there are many other movies about the count of MC, so plenty of alternatives.