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Reviews
Winx Club 3D: Magica avventura (2010)
Actually it was tolerable
I have 3 daughters (6-year-old twins and a 3-year-old) and Winx has been part of our daily life for years. They love the girls, the wings, the magic,... and there are far worse shows they could be fond of. But we, the adults, are cringing whenever the intro starts :)
The first movie was bought on DVD for Christmas and very much appreciated. Personally I feel the series have more charm because they are drawn instead of the graphics which I don't appreciate, but that's personal. The girls prefer the smoothness of the CGI, the even brighter sparkles, the flowing of the hair...
With the second movie in the cinema (not 3D) we went on an all-girls trip (the things we do for our children, the intelligence of my husband to skip this adventure ;). And this movie is just the same as the first. Smooth, slick, easy to digest, like the buckets of popcorn crunched down. It is filled with clichés and regular Winx action. The girls save the day, Stella is even more shallow than usual, the specialists make virtual cameo appearances to help out, the mothers mediate, the fathers do the right thing, a horse is transformed into a winged unicorn (much to the delight of all children in the theater), evil is conquered and we all live to see another day.
I managed to stay awake (as did our littlest, she didn't even want to sit on my lap!), found myself humming the transformation tune (with my eldest singing out loud), smiling at the jokes, aah-ing as Sky and Bloom kiss, just drifting on the cloud of ecstasy created by very enthusiastic girls (Mum, can we watch it again? PLEASE!?!?!? Of course, my angels, just not right away...).
It is harmless, shallow, black-white, good-evil, fairy-witches fun. Don't expect too much, don't try to read too much into it all and you will survive ;)
But we all wondered where Nabu came from. Wasn't he dead? Apparently he is back.
Sprookjesboom de Film (2012)
Clever harmless fun
I went to see it with my 3 daughters (6-year-old twins and a 3-year old), thinking it would be a 'long' movie. It turned out to be funny, thrilling without being scary, a typical children's' adventure tale. The graphics were identical to the series they love so much and the settings and characters took them back to the Efteling Park, which we visited last summer. They loved it! Trapped in Winterland: the Big Bad Wolf set upon eating Little Red Riding Hood, Little Thumbling in love with Little Red Riding Hood, The Giant looking for his boots, stolen by Little Thumbling, and Cinderella as Head of the Fairy Tale Kingdom. 5 crystals, scattered throughout Winterland, needed to open the gate to their world, each retrieved by the strengths of the characters. A quest where even the 'bad' characters are needed. Back home: the Witch crowns herself Head of Fairy Tale Forest and moves into the castle, but is fought by the 7 Little Goats and Long Neck, another one of Grimm's fairy tale creatures. Let's not forget your necessary dragon, a maze and other magical ingredients. What can I say? Maybe I should quote the Big Bad Wolf: You double the half once you've added what you subtracted. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and so did the girls.
Fitna (2008)
What a disappointment!!!
When I started to watch the movie I was acutely aware that the pooha preceding its release was mainly to enhance expectations, but what a letdown!!!
A warning for fragile souls only to be followed by news-footage we have seen before and in greater detail: nothing new there.
The verses from the Quran that prove the Muslims are bloodthirsty monsters. I am sure the bible and the Thora contain equal amounts of arousing words. No mention of the softer side of Islam: the sharing, caring,... Very convenient and unbalanced.
And then the very cute postcard: greetings from the Netherlands. Yes, didn't you know: all the windmills, the Dutch cheese-girls and red-light-districts have been replaced by mosques!!!
Very disappointing, totally meaningless and totally missing every point. One could make a nice blond-joke about Geert Wilders, but that would be too easy though wouldn't it?
Pity they had to remove his 15 minutes of fame from LiveLeak because of threats. This creates the appearance of there being some truth to Fitna. A great pity indeed!