Permutation City Blog

If you've read the original book you'll enjoy following the character a little bit further. Assuming that intelligent dogs are normal this book has a lot more fantasy and the dogs learn how to fly by the end of it. All in all this book has less to offer than the original, fun but not much more than that.

This was a wonderful story in my childhood and it's still a wonderful story now. A mother mouse fighting to protect her sick child and dealing with the mysterious rats of NIMH. There are a lot of nice characters: the mother, her friend the crow, the wise owl, and the rats themselves. It has some good child-friendly tension balanced with small victories along the way.

With a high IMDb rating I was hoping to enjoy this but was disappointed. There are some funny moments, for example the song and dance routine in the middle. The plot seemed forced, dragged in the wake of the book rather than finding its own path. Go and watch Blazing Saddles instead which has the same director, some of the same cast members, and was even released in the same year.

I vaguely remember back in the early '80s that people talked about nuclear weapons, now they talk about terrorists. This film starts with ordinary people and lets you get use to them. Then there is a nuclear war and, well, lots of bad things happen. The population of the United Kingdom would drop to between 4 and 11 million within 10 years. It really makes you think. I wouldn't recommend this film unless you are specifically interested in the topic. For a slightly gentler but still powerful film try When the Wind Blows.

I was expecting a Hollywood blockbuster and it is definitely that. Special effects, including explosions, are all over the place. In the last movie I thought a lot of the mutant powers were created for specific scenes; a bit like James Bond always managing to use each of his gadgets. There were yet more mutant powers but, most of the time, they seemed more reasonable. It made some choices that, for a Hollywood film, surprised me which was nice. Not sure what to make of the end of the film. Did it spoil the rest of the film?

This book was a let down after the TV series. Everything you saw is still there but when turned into written form it just doesn't seem like enough. Books require more depth than a visual medium and the difference hasn't been made up.

One man's life is turned into a nightmare when he starts walking the streets of London Below. Gaiman has produced a typically dark story with a lot of interesting characters. It all fits together very well and you get to see a lot of unusual places in London (perhaps you want to find out what is underneath Glasgow.) After a good build up the big disappointment at the end is the beast but, excepting that, it's a very good show.

There are some good and bad bits here but much more good than bad. I like the cityscape at the beginning with skyscrapers interwoven by lines of aerial traffic. It has a tiny Chinese-style junk which serves food direct to your window (in the giant tower where you and everyone else lives.) Then there are the guardian aliens inside their globular metal environment suits (or is it a suit at all?) Great comedy value when trying to hide five people in an apartment meant for one. I suppose you just have to put up with Ruby Rhod.

I just remember going to see this as a kid, I was seven at the time, and must have liked it. Watching it since has been a retro experience. Many of the special effects stand up remarkably well because they knew their limitations and scripted within them.

Fun combination of animation, music, and the bizarre. It's basically a series of animated set pieces based on The Beatles songs strung together into a story. What's most amazing is that they do manage to string it all together. There is much silliness especially in the Sea of Monsters and Pepperland itself.