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peterdevries
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Game of Thrones: The Bells (2019)
Although largely satisfying, it missed the payoff that was necessary
There is a lot of criticism here on Daenarys' change in character, but if you didn't see this coming than you haven't paid attention in the first few episodes. This was coming and the way it was handled here is one of the only ways to solve the issue of Jon and Daenarys' claims to the throne resolved other than just "talking it out". So, I was satisfied with what happened (though not for King's Landing's citizens...).
Then Cleganebowl happened which was awesome and quite well handled. I liked that Gregor immediately ignored commands when his brother showed up. Showing that the hatred even runs deeper than death and subsequent zombification.
What makes the episode fail in my eyes is the demise of Cersei. For 8 seasons we have talked about the prophecy and we "knew" what the broad circumstances would be of her death. At this point I guess we were all expecting her to die at the hand of Jamie. Most likely by pulling a last minute stunt with wildfire once she sees that she has lost King's Landing. That Cersei and Jamie die together is somehow still poetic, but anticlimactic in the way that it happened.
After the quick ending of the Night King in last week's episode and now the anticlimactic ending of Cersei, I sure hope that they handle the end of Daenarys in a more explosive way. This series really needs to close with a 10/10 episode.
The Martian (2015)
Rushed, shallow but very very pretty
I was very much looking forward to this movie. I read the book a while ago, and was immediately hooked due to the realistic depictions of technology and science. The book made me truly believe that the survival strategy of James was possible.
I know it is difficult to jam the content density of a book into a movie. Nevertheless I think too much of the book was left out of the film. Events that occurred were not explained properly in the movie and therefore come off as pure chance (e.g. the airlock explosion). The trips that Watney needed to take to get to the Mars Rover and to the final crater seemed like afternoon trips, whereas in reality they were journeys of weeks in length. Never do we get an explanation of what is needed for any of these trips to happen. We see him cutting a hole in the roof of the transporter to make room for something but it is never explained what goes there and why it is significant. In 70% of the movie Damon is clean shaven and muscular, while at some point he gets out of the shower thin and with a long beard. That beard is subsequently shaven off in one of the next scenes. Somehow the editing did not make me believe that everything in this movie did not take place within a few weeks, but in a time frame of about two years. The final rescue by the crew also seems very rushed and overplayed. Where the book made the disasters that happened along the way believable, the absence of any explanation make the disasters in the movie seem a collection of events to make things exciting.
Overall this is a movie that would have been very boring if it would have the realistic pacing of the book. Nevertheless I think the book deserves a more linear translation into the movie and with better editing to make the passage of time more believable. The movie seemed to me to be rushed and shallow. But the landscapes are wonderful.
De Heineken ontvoering (2011)
Pacing and script ruined this movie
The producers of this movie stressed that this movie was not strictly based on the book by Peter R. de Vries, the crime reporter. This book is (claimed to be) an accurate account of what the planning, kidnapping and aftermath actually was like. One of the greatest features of that book is the planning stage, which was incredibly meticulous and exciting.
The producers decided to go their own way, but made a critical error. They assume that people know the story, and subsequently leave out key parts of the narrative. This leaves the audience guessing at times what is actually happening. The planning stage is almost completely skipped with the kidnapping taking place in the first 10 minutes of the movie. A bit later there is a scene where the kidnappers are waiting for a ransom money transfer but this goes awry. The problem is that it is not explained that this is a ransom transfer attempt, and uninformed people that are not familiar with the actual kidnapping do not have a clue what is going on.
So the producers decide to NOT base the movie on the book, but trust that the plot is explained by the knowledge people have of the book. It's easy to see that this will not work, and so it doesn't.
Pacing is also a problem as scenes seem to drag on forever and overall atmosphere is very negative and pressing. It seems like there is a fire burning underneath the movie and pressure is building, but it is never released soon enough to be a pay off for the audience.
Acting is quite good, but the script and wooden dialogue aren't doing the actors much favor. Hauer as Heineken is a good fit, as is the main character who is a dead ringer for Willem Holleeder.
It was a mistake to make a movie about a topic so famous that (almost) everyone knows the complete story and subsequently twist the story in the extent that they did. I almost wish Peter R. de Vries will go through with a script more strictly based on his book.