Fantasy

Tim Burton’s Dumbo

  • Title: Dumbo (2019)
  • IMDb: link

Tim Burton's Dumbo movie reviewLove him or hate him, words you don’t usually hear to describe filmmaker Tim Burton are the exact same adjectives which are impossible not to use in talking about the latest Disney live-action remake of one of their animated classics. Burton has delivered a number of memorable films, and when he has failed he has often failed in spectacular fashion. Dumbo isn’t bad, but it’s bland, safe, unoffensive in the extreme, and utterly forgettable. Don’t get me wrong, Dumbo is an okay way to while away a lazy afternoon. The CGI of the title character is impressive, and the performances from the human cast are more than adequate. There’s just not much Disney magic this time around. And since Dumbo never talks, he comes off more of a trick dog than a fully fleshed-out character.

Making the choice that animals don’t talk, to humans or each other, necessitates a rather large change from the original animated film. In the new version, Dumbo’s path from freak to star attraction comes at the assistance of two human children (Nico Parker and Finley Hobbins) and their father (Colin Farrell), recently returned from WWI to the travelling circus run by Max Medici (Danny DeVito).

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Highlander: The Series – The Gathering

  • Title: Highlander – The Gathering
  • wiki: link

“Damn you! Damn your Gathering! Damn your whole race!”

Highlander: The Series - The Gathering television review

Today’s Throwback Tuesday post takes us back to a man born in the Highlands of Scotland more than 400 years ago and a murderous game between sword-wielding immortals where there can be only one. A spin-off of the Highlander movie series, Highlander: The Series focuses on the adventures of Duncan MacLeod (Adrian Paul), the younger clansman of Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert). “The Gathering” sets up the basic formula for the show’s First Season introducing Duncan, his girlfriend Tessa (Alexandra Vandernoot), and a young thief (Stan Kirsch) whose role will greatly expand over time. The show’s pilot episode also features Richard Moll as the evil immortal of the week, who targets not only Duncan but Tessa as well, and features Lambert in a guest-role passing the torch to Paul.

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How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

  • Title: How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
  • IMDb: link

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World movie review2010’s How to Train Your Dragon was a fun film about an awkward Viking prince and his unexpected relationship with the most dangerous creature possible: a dragon. An enjoyable coming-of-age tale featuring dragons and Vikings and centered around the awkward relationships between a boy and his father and that same boy’s relationship to his dog (errr… dragon), the movie spawned a sequel, which was even better than the original, and a television show. With How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, Dean DeBlois returns to write and direct the final chapter to Hiccup‘s (Jay Baruchel) story (at least for now).

After stepping up for his fallen father at the end of How to Train Your Dragon 2, the third film in the franchise focuses on Hiccup growing into his leadership role while facing a new threat in a deadly dragon hunter named Grimmel (F. Murray Abraham) and Toothless‘ fascination with another dragon (both of which threaten the status quo of Berk which Hiccup has worked so hard to achieve). Believing it’s the best way to save the dragons and his people, Hiccup leads the Vikings on a search for the mythical hidden world where dragons come from and possibly the only place the Vikings and their dragons can live in peace.

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The Dragon Prince – Book Two: Sky

  • Title: The Dragon Prince – Book Two: Sky
  • wiki: link

The Dragon Prince - Book Two: Sky TV review

The Second Season of The Dragon Prince continues the journey of the human princes Callum (Jack De Sena) and Ezran (Sasha Rojen) and their new Elven friend Rayla (Paula Burrows) to return the newly hatched Dragon Prince to his mother. Much like The Lord of the Rings, the fellowship’s journey stretches long and wide, but there’s plenty of character developement along the way as Callum attempts to find a way to access primal magic without a stone, Ezran attempts to teach the baby dragon to fly, and Rayla puts aside her fear of water for a voyage on a boat with a blind sea captain suffering from narcolepsy.

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Red Sonja #1

Red Sonja #1 comic reviewBelieving the prophecy that the day when his empire stops expanding he will die, Dragan the Magnificent has set his eyes on Hyrkania where a weary traveller known as Red Sonja has just returned home to an unexpected welcome. Dynamite Entertainment relaunches the title bringing the She-Devil with a Sword home from her travels and battles to face a new foe who offers either death or slavery under his rule.

There’s not much action in Red Sonja #1, other than our heroine rather brutally dealing with some trouble on the road. Instead, much of the issue is spent setting up the current situation in the region, Dragan as an illogical but bloodthirsty enemy, and offering a chance for Sonja to defend a home she really has little reason to fight for (until of course they make her a queen and Dragan’s insulting demand of surrender forces an equally strong response).

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