Fantasy

Once Upon a Time – A Tale of Two Sisters

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Once Upon a Time – A Tale of Two Sisters
  • wiki: link

Once Upon a Time - A Tale of Two Sisters

While Regina (Lana Parrilla) is tempted down a dark path dealing with Emma‘s (Jennifer Morrison) choice to bring Robin‘s (Sean Maguire) long-lost wife back in time with her from the past, the rest of Storybrooke has to deal with the other unforeseen consequence of Emma and Hook’s time-travel when Storybrooke gets a new visitor. Although Regina’s tale takes up a good portion of the season premiere, most of “A Tale of Two Sisters” deals with Elsa‘s (Georgina Haig) arrival in Storybrooke and the flashbacks with the Ice Queen and her sister Anna (Elizabeth Lail) explaining why Elsa walked through the door which Emma opened.

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Once Upon a Time – The Complete Third Season

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Once Upon a Time – Season Three
  • wiki: link

Once Upon a Time - The Complete Third SeasonSeason Three took characters to Neverland, the Enchanted Forest, Oz, and back home to Storybrooke. It featured a second curse, a missing year, the deaths and resurrections of multiple characters, and the introduction of both a sister (Rebecca Mader) and love interest (Sean Maguire) for Regina (Lana Parrilla).

The second-half of the season centered around a character from Oz works better than the Neverland arc which grows a bit stale as Emma Swan (Jennifer Morrison) and her family attempt to save Henry (Jared Gilmore) from Peter Pan (Robbie Kay). Highlights from the season include the time-traveling season finale, Regina taking another step on her hero’s journey, Hook‘s (Colin O’Donoghue) time away from Storybrooke, the escape from Neverland, a battle between sisters, the death and the return of Rumpelstiltskin (Robert Carlyle), and Regina and Zelena’s first meeting.

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Hercules

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Hercules (2014)
  • IMDb: link

HerculesBased on the comic book mini-series from writer Steve Moore and artist Admira Wijaya, Hercules removes the myth and legend of the figure choosing to cast Hercules (Dwayne “It’s Okay to Call Me The Rock Again” Johnson) as a weary nomadic mercenary rather than the true son of Zeus (although he certainly trades on the legend for his own profit) well after completing his legendary 12 labors. With a band of loyal warriors around him, Hercules’ legend has grown over time as his exploits have been exaggerated to the point that everyone believes the mythic warrior to be the unstoppable son of a god.

Director Brett Ratner‘s film reminds me a little of Antoine Fuqua‘s King Arthur which similarly removed the mythical trappings and magic surrounding a legendary figure in an attempt to focus on the man behind the legend and those closest to him. Hercules may not be as successful as Arthur, but The Rock is perfectly cast in the role and Ratner surrounds him with a strong supporting cast and impressive effects for a B-movie that’s better than expected.

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2004 – King Arthur

/ / Home Video
  • Title: King Arthur
  • IMDb: link

King Arthur

Released in 1981, John Boorman‘s Excalibur remains the standard against which every King Arthur film is measured. Setting itself apart, Antoine Fuqua‘s film (released in theaters 10 years ago today) chose to ignore the more mystical and mythological aspects of the King Arthur legend while providing a more grounded version set during the end of the Roman occupation of Britain.

Here Arthur (Clive Owen) is a half-Celtic Roman cavalry officer in charge of a select group of indentured knights: Lancelot (Ioan Gruffudd), Tristan (Mads Mikkelsen), Gawain (Joel Edgerton), Galahad (Hugh Dancy), Dragonet (Ray Stevenson), and Bors (Ray Winstone). Rome’s withdrawal should mean the end to their service, but the group is tasked with final mission to rescue an important Roman family from the invading Saxon horde. The result of which will spill the blood of Arthur’s knights, introduce him the Welsh warrior princess Guinevere (Keira Knightley) and her father Merlin (Stephen Dillane) – Arthur sworn enemy, and change the course of his destiny.

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How to Train Your Dragon 2

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: How to Train Your Dragon 2
  • IMDb: link

How to Train Your Dragon 2Picking up five years after the events of the first film, How to Train Your Dragon 2 finds Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) dealing with new challenges including his father‘s (Gerard Butler) plans to hand over the kingdom of Birk to his son, an enemy (Djimon Hounsou) creating his own army of dragons to conquer the world, and the unexpected return of Hiccup’s mother Valka (Cate Blanchett) who disappeared and has been presumed dead since Hiccup was a baby.

Returning the original cast of characters including Astrid (America Ferrera), Gobber (Craig Ferguson), Fishlegs (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), Snotlout (Jonah Hill), Tuffnut (T.J. Miller), and Ruffnut (Kristen Wiig), the sequel leaves time for the events of the the television show to take place without forcing the viewer to have seen the series to make sense of the current state of events. Blanchett’s addition of Valka, a woman more at home with dragons than her own son, and that of Hounsou as the film’s new villain Drago Bludvist prove to be excellent choices, but the heart of the film remains Hiccup and Toothless.

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