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mc_polman
Reviews
Babe: Pig in the City (1998)
Take Babe, add a bit of Gilliam
A very excellent family movie, whose anarchic attitude might be off putting to some people - especially if you don't expect it. Approach this with the kind of mindset you would approach a Terry Gilliam movie (just let your imagination take seat and drive), and you will find much to love and think about here. There is plenty of ridiculously chaotic and fun action to make it a treat for even the youngest of viewers as well.
Just like Gilliam usually does, it manages to express its worry over the continuing creep of alienation between us all, but never gets preachy about it. Furthermore, it is fun, smart, humane, and above all, it teaches mutual respect and tolerance. We're all in this together right, nobody really knows what's up, it's nice if people would be generally more aware of that fact. This movie encourages that attitude, which is why I think it is a pretty important piece of family cinema, as innocuous as it may seem on first glance.
TBS (2008)
Great
Accidentally stumbled upon during a sneak preview in Leiden, in my opinion the best Dutch movie since 'Simon'! Apparently Pieter Kuijpers has a strong connection to some of the darker figures of the Dutch entertainment industry (Tygo Gernandt, Theo Maassen), and with that sense creates a very tense atmosphere, where everything seems possible at any given moment. The only relief comes when the girl Tessa, who is beautifully played by Lisa Smit, is seduced into a smile by Johan (Theo Maassen). The biggest impact of this movie is the constant urge to be compassionate for Johan, while either consciously or subconsciously you know he doesn't deserve it, whether you already guessed the ending (which is very predictable, but nonetheless the most powerful scene), or not. On top of the continuous suspense of Johans' capriciousness the movie is very claustrophobic (nearly all small spaces, even the wood scenes are mostly shot under cover of thick trees), has nervous music, fast cuts and long shots of Johan looking angry, which took me as a prisoner as well. I almost never felt such a sense of relief when the ending came along, and that's not meant as a criticism. It feels so real that it's almost like waking from a bad dream. I'd recommend this to everyone, very good!