Fantasy

Red Sonja #25

/ / Comics

Red Sonja #25 comic reviewA song in the woods and the sound of battle break Red Sonja‘s solitary travels in the latest issue of Red Sonja from writers Amy Chu and Erik Burnham, and artist Pasquale Qualano. The She-Devil makes short work of a pack of thieves attacking a small traveling party, but when the dust clears only one survivor remains.

Despite the pair’s philosophical differences, Sonja takes the job of seeing the last pilgrim to his destination. Running into more trouble while attempting to barter passage across the sea with pirates, Sonja discovers there is more to her charge than meets the eye as the power of his song is able to stop the bloodthirsty mercenaries in their path allowing Sonja to go to work.

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Breakable

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Glass
  • IMDb: link

Glass movie reviewGlass is an unusual sequel to a pair of movies made 16 years apart which are, at best, only loosely connected by a single scene. The film unites the main character from 2016’s Split with the primary characters from 2000’s Unbreakable, throwing the unlikely trio together to be examined by a psychiatrist (Sarah Paulson) specializing in a growing mental disorder of people believing themselves to be super-heroes.

If you’ve seen either of the previous two M. Night Shyamalan films you know that David Dunn (Bruce Willis) and Kevin Wendell Crumb (James McAvoy) are indeed super-human while Elijah “Mr. Glass” Price (Samuel L. Jackson) fits the bill of the genius super-villain to stir the drink of this unusual cocktail.

Knowing Dr. Staple’s (Paulson) premise is faulty makes it hard to legitimize her point of view, but it does create tension waiting for the truth to be revealed. While messy in spots, and rather slow to get started, Glass is never boring. As expected, the film features a few Shyamalan twists as it delivers a suitable sequel to Split, even if it doesn’t reach anywhere near the heights of Unbreakable.

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The Kid Who Would Be King

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The Kid Who Would Be King
  • IMDb: link

The Kid Who Would Be King movie reviewFar more successful than 2017’s dreary King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, there may be a lesson for Hollywood to adapt a lighter touch when embracing the legend of King Arthur. The Kid Who Would Be King is a family movie that kids are likely to enjoy more than adults, but what surprised me was how smart the film turned out to be and how earnest its themes which will help adults get onboard as well.

After a brief recap of the Arthur legend, the film opens in modern day with a slightly pudgy Alex (Louis Ashbourne Serkis) attempting to save his best friend Bedders (Dean Chaumoo) from a pair of older bullies (Tom Taylor and Rhianna Dorris). While running away from the bullies, Alex stumbles on a sword in a stone which he removes allowing the legend to begin.

Initially discounting what he sees, Alex is forced to believe by the sudden appearance of Merlin (played interchangeably by Patrick Stewart and Angus Imrie) and undead riders from the underworld attempting to retake the sword and deliver it to the evil sorceress Morgana (Rebecca Ferguson), who after being imprisoned for centuries is about to break free.

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Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle
  • IMDb: link

Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle movie reviewRudyard Kipling‘s work has been adapted to film numerous times over the years. While some enjoyed Disney’s 2016 live-action version of their earlier animated film, the mix of a realistic look with Disney sensibilities (animals that both sang and danced and then brutally murdered) didn’t work for me.

Delayed because of the Disney release, Andy Serkis‘ version feels a bit more on point (and far more tonally consistent). The actor, who made a name for himself as one of the most famous CGI performers over the years, delivers a vibrant film making the most out of continued advancements of motion capture techniques. The film doesn’t run from the dangers of the jungle, or try to make the animals into cute sidekicks to sell toys and merchandise to younger viewers.

The story follows Kipling’s basic plot of a human baby raised by wolves. After brief set-up introducing Mowgli (Rohan Chand) to the tribe, the film jumps forward several years catching up with the man-cub when he’s old enough to begin questioning his world and his place in it.

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