Sign up
Search
Advanced search settings

Search only in certain items:

Search results
All (81)
Content
People
Apps
Books
Orbs
Movies
Music
Podcasts
Shows
Tabletop Games
Tech
TV
Video Games
YouTube Channels
Videos
40x40

Ross (3284 KP) rated The Kid Who Would Be King (2019) in Movies

Feb 19, 2019  
The Kid Who Would Be King (2019)
The Kid Who Would Be King (2019)
2019 | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
8
7.1 (29 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
Great fun British film
This film seems pretty timely - the backdrop of the country being split and in turmoil with everyone miserable and/or arguing perfectly nails pre-Brexit Britain, without actually naming the cause of the upset. Seeing kids sensing their parents' and teachers' stress levels and looking to help really nails home how much we are all struggling with the current climate and need to think about the impact that has on our homelives.
The plot is fairly standard Arthurian legend - boy pulls sword from stone and seeks to unite his enemies behind him in battling against forces of evil. The film does this with full knowledge and gentle telling of the actual legend, and doesn't look to be a re-telling, rather a modern day "second coming of Arthur".
There are plenty of laughs throughout the film, with a typical British flavour.
There is also action aplenty with some really powerful battle scenes and excellent SFX.
Director Joe Cornish (of Adam & Joe fame - there is also a nice cameo from Adam Buxton in the film) does a fantastic job of telling the story through the eyes of a child but without it being patronising or twee.
The cast are superb, with the young Merlin really being a star (and creepily like a young Joe Cornish). While I enjoyed Patrick Stewart's role as Merlin, I felt it added less gravitas than I think was intended and wasn't really necessary, the young incarnation perfectly playing the role himself.
A great, fun and thrilling adventure.
  
40x40

Lee (2222 KP) Feb 19, 2019

I seem to be the only one who found the young Merlin annoying as hell ?
40x40

Jordan Binkerd (567 KP) rated Excalibur (1981) in Movies

Sep 4, 2019  
Excalibur (1981)
Excalibur (1981)
1981 | Action, Sci-Fi
7
7.7 (10 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Lush, beautiful visuals (1 more)
Stellar performances from all involved
Long movie, but feels like it rushes from highlight to highlight without fleshing out the story. (1 more)
More mythic fantasy of "knights in shining armor" as my younger self would have conceived it than anything grounded in reality.
Long on visuals, short on narrative cohesion and characterization
Excalibur is a classic, and deservedly so. The visuals and performances from the entire cast are outstanding, and you get to see early appearances from the likes of a then-unknown Patrick Stewart or Liam Neeson. The film is epic in scope, and that's part of the problem--in trying to tell the entire Arthurian legend, the film only has time (even at nearly two and a half hours) to hit the highlights without adding sufficient connective tissue to make sure that we care about the characters. Then there's the fact that the film caters to more of a child's fantasy version of knights in shining armor than anything else. I don't mind the anachronism of plate armor in the "dark ages," but characters living in their plate day on and day out, in peacetime, in the middle of their fortress? That crap is uncomfortable! Ten year old me would have bought that reality, but this film would have been (and in fact specifically WAS) denied to ten year old me based on the nudity and gore. I'm not asking for gritty realism, but I also wasn't expecting a return to the fantasties of my youth. Worth seeing, to be sure, but not timeless or without it's flaws.
  
40x40

Ari Augustine (10 KP) rated Realm of Knights (Knights of the Realm, #1) in Books

May 4, 2020  
Realm of Knights (Knights of the Realm, #1)
Realm of Knights (Knights of the Realm, #1)
Jennifer Anne Davis | 2019 | History & Politics, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
8
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
In case you haven’t heard about this hidden gem, Realm of the Knights is the first book in a new series by Jennifer Anne Davis. Long story short: Since the day of her birth (and subsequent death of her mother) Reid Ellington has been forced to live as her father’s sole male heir. She’s had to walk like a boy, talk like a boy, and do all kinds of boyish things. It’s the only way she can inherit her father’s estate.

But when the beans are spilled — and by a prince with a taste for blackmail — she’s forced to accept his offer of silence in exchange for an act of treason. She’s sucked into a whole world of secrets, far more dangerous and deadly than the one she’s fighting to keep. And it may cost her more than she realizes.

To be honest, Realm of the Knights isn’t my usual cuppa. The last time I read anything close to a high or epic fantasy was during my Forgotten Realms phase, especially ones with courts or royal families.

But Realm of the Knights caught my eye — first (admittedly) by its bold, beautiful cover and second, the major Arthurian-Mulan vibes I was getting. This was all I needed to abandon my High-Fantasy famine and dive right in.

And I don’t regret it one bit.

You can hear more about my reflections at <a href="https://www.bookishvalhalla.com">Bookish Valhalla</a>