No Halloween trickery is involved in this announcement: The Little Vampire is a treat.
Not often does a family film come along that is literate, clever, mischievous and just plain fun. Directed by Uli Edel Christiane F and Last Exit to Brooklyn) and based on the popular Little Vampire novels by Angela Sommer-Bodenburg, this delightful juvenile adventure upsets the all-too-familiar autumn applecart in various ways.
First of all, the vampires, though tormented, are sweet. They'd really rather be humans, and rather than sup on their own previous species, they turn to cows, though not for the milk. This preference leads to scenes in which some hefty bovines, having joined the undead, spurn the sunlight of the field and choose the darkness of the barn, where they hang head down from the rafters, much to the bemusement of Farmer Mclaughlin (Jake D'Arcy).
PHOTO COURTESY OF HUACHAN
And what fun it is to hear Anna (Anna Popplewell), a pouty-lipped little vampire, tell Tony Thompson (Jonathan Lipnicki), a nine-year-old human, "If you ever need me, just whistle. You know how to whistle, don't you?"
And to hear Anna's brother Rudolph (Rollo Weeks) speak the king's English when he bids Tony goodbye, saying, "I suppose I must take my leave."
Anyway, pleasures of all sorts are to be found in The Little Vampire, which revolves around Tony, uprooted from his home in San Diego to move with his parents to Scotland, where his father is designing a golfing resort for Lord Mcashton (John Wood), whose family has a few secrets. Tony, played with un-self-conscious charm by the actor who portrayed Rene Zellweger's little boy in Jerry Maguire, has been having repeated nightmares about a cliffside vampire ceremony involving a comet, an amulet, an incantation and the untimely intervention of a vampire killer. In the manner of adults, his parents (Pamela Gidley and Tommy Hinkley) are concerned but dismissive. To make Tony's life more difficult, Lord Mcashton's grandsons are bullying him.
PHOTO COURTESY OF HUACHAN
But Tony's dreams are portents of reality, and soon he has encountered and been befriended by Rudolph. And through Rudolph, he meets Rudolph's parents, Frederick and Freda, played with stylish comic spirit by Richard E. Grant and Alice Krige.
With the comet set to reappear, the time is ripe for Frederick to restore his vast clan to human form. But with the vampire killer Rookery (Jim Carter) lurking in the darkness and the amulet still missing after hundreds of years, it will be up to Tony to save the day. Sorry. Save the night.
That US assistance was a model for Taiwan’s spectacular development success was early recognized by policymakers and analysts. In a report to the US Congress for the fiscal year 1962, former President John F. Kennedy noted Taiwan’s “rapid economic growth,” was “producing a substantial net gain in living.” Kennedy had a stake in Taiwan’s achievements and the US’ official development assistance (ODA) in general: In September 1961, his entreaty to make the 1960s a “decade of development,” and an accompanying proposal for dedicated legislation to this end, had been formalized by congressional passage of the Foreign Assistance Act. Two
President William Lai’s (賴清德) March 13 national security speech marked a turning point. He signaled that the government was finally getting serious about a whole-of-society approach to defending the nation. The presidential office summarized his speech succinctly: “President Lai introduced 17 major strategies to respond to five major national security and united front threats Taiwan now faces: China’s threat to national sovereignty, its threats from infiltration and espionage activities targeting Taiwan’s military, its threats aimed at obscuring the national identity of the people of Taiwan, its threats from united front infiltration into Taiwanese society through cross-strait exchanges, and its threats from
Despite the intense sunshine, we were hardly breaking a sweat as we cruised along the flat, dedicated bike lane, well protected from the heat by a canopy of trees. The electric assist on the bikes likely made a difference, too. Far removed from the bustle and noise of the Taichung traffic, we admired the serene rural scenery, making our way over rivers, alongside rice paddies and through pear orchards. Our route for the day covered two bike paths that connect in Fengyuan District (豐原) and are best done together. The Hou-Feng Bike Path (后豐鐵馬道) runs southward from Houli District (后里) while the
March 31 to April 6 On May 13, 1950, National Taiwan University Hospital otolaryngologist Su You-peng (蘇友鵬) was summoned to the director’s office. He thought someone had complained about him practicing the violin at night, but when he entered the room, he knew something was terribly wrong. He saw several burly men who appeared to be government secret agents, and three other resident doctors: internist Hsu Chiang (許強), dermatologist Hu Pao-chen (胡寶珍) and ophthalmologist Hu Hsin-lin (胡鑫麟). They were handcuffed, herded onto two jeeps and taken to the Secrecy Bureau (保密局) for questioning. Su was still in his doctor’s robes at
RSS