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howard-dickins
Reviews
The Magic Roundabout (2005)
New for old?
OK, I loved it, and yet I was (slightly) disappointed too. Tom Baker voicing the part of the villainous Zeebad was absolute genius. His crazed, maniacal lines were wonderful. And Dylan was brilliant too - Bill Nighy was just the right choice. But I missed Dougal's cynical, world-weary quips from the original Magic Roundabout. And Ermintrude was disappointing too.
The animation is certainly very good, although again I missed the original 'cardboard cutout' feel of the garden backdrops. (It was very good, but just not like the original!) I'm glad they kept the train the same! The 70's soundtrack was very welcome. It's not entirely obvious what music would work well, but I think they got that right.
Generally, the original show's short format is not an easy task to expand upon, and I think they did pretty well really.
Reign of Fire (2002)
A great film
Well, I loved this movie. I found it was refreshingly different from the normal Hollywood offerings. It did have action and special effects - albeit not in the quantities that other reviewers wanted to see. But the movie wasn't *about* the action or special effects - it had more human drama in it than that. The storyline was also not too 'dumbed down' - but showed intelligence. Of course the story is far fetched - but it was still dealt with in an intelligent manner.
I particularly liked the tension and distrust between the UK and US characters, and the way the film was written from a more British viewpoint.
So what could have been done better? I thought the journey to London was a bit short - a good place to add another battle-scene perhaps? And maybe a little more set-up to show how the castle in Northumberland was run (although that might have made that part of the film a little too long)
Anyway. An excellent film. Maybe I'll buy a copy...