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The King of Queens - Season 9
6.3
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TV Season
Delivery man Doug Heffernan has a good life: He has a pretty wife (Carrie), a big television, and...
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword (2017) in Movies
Jun 19, 2019
Over countless decades the legend of King Arthur has been depicted across a range of mediums. The timeless tale of love, betrayals, action, and adventure has remained a popular and enduring tale ever since it was first introduced.
Director Guy Ritchie has crafted a very different take on the tale as he even contributed to the screenplay for the film. As such “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword”, is brimming with many of his signature elements ranging from a caper story and characters who are filled with quirks and issues.
Charlie Hunnam plays Arthur who is orphaned at an early age when his family is betrayed by his Uncle Vortigern (Jude Law). Arthur is raised in a London brothel with no knowledge of his true lineage.
Arthur learns combat and life on the streets and quickly learns how to make money through various dealings, some of which are not exactly on the level. This is where Ritchie shows his trademark style as there is a caper element to the early part of the story and a scene of Arthur and his pals walking through the aftermath of an event is complete with his signature, start, stop, and rewind moments that made up his recent “Sherlock Holmes” films.
Naturally events put Arthur and Vortigern against each other when Arthur is able to pull the legendary Excalibur from a stone as part of a test imposed on all young men of a certain age.
With his true identity in place, Arthur is marked by his Uncle as he is the only threat to his power and this forces Arthur into the protection of the resistance where he must embrace his past and find his destiny.
The film does take some liberties with the Arthurian Legend and does go a bit heavy on the FX especially with the inclusion of giant creatures which made me think at times I was watching something from the “Lord of the Rings”. The film does drag in parts but does rebound with a finale that seemed very video game esque, but sets up future films well. The cast is strong and there is plenty to like about the film as long as you are willing to be patient with the pacing of the film.
http://sknr.net/2017/05/10/king-arthur-legend-sword/
Director Guy Ritchie has crafted a very different take on the tale as he even contributed to the screenplay for the film. As such “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword”, is brimming with many of his signature elements ranging from a caper story and characters who are filled with quirks and issues.
Charlie Hunnam plays Arthur who is orphaned at an early age when his family is betrayed by his Uncle Vortigern (Jude Law). Arthur is raised in a London brothel with no knowledge of his true lineage.
Arthur learns combat and life on the streets and quickly learns how to make money through various dealings, some of which are not exactly on the level. This is where Ritchie shows his trademark style as there is a caper element to the early part of the story and a scene of Arthur and his pals walking through the aftermath of an event is complete with his signature, start, stop, and rewind moments that made up his recent “Sherlock Holmes” films.
Naturally events put Arthur and Vortigern against each other when Arthur is able to pull the legendary Excalibur from a stone as part of a test imposed on all young men of a certain age.
With his true identity in place, Arthur is marked by his Uncle as he is the only threat to his power and this forces Arthur into the protection of the resistance where he must embrace his past and find his destiny.
The film does take some liberties with the Arthurian Legend and does go a bit heavy on the FX especially with the inclusion of giant creatures which made me think at times I was watching something from the “Lord of the Rings”. The film does drag in parts but does rebound with a finale that seemed very video game esque, but sets up future films well. The cast is strong and there is plenty to like about the film as long as you are willing to be patient with the pacing of the film.
http://sknr.net/2017/05/10/king-arthur-legend-sword/
The Once and Future King (The Once and Future King #1-4)
7.7
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Book
T.H White′s masterful retelling of the Arthurian legend is an abiding classic. Here all five...
Andrew Koltuniuk (762 KP) rated King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword (2017) in Movies
May 29, 2021
Alright. Guy Ritchie is another one of my favorite directors. He has a visual style that is really beautiful, and I enjoy watching his movies. King Arthur had a lot of really cool visuals and definitely had a fun story. There were a lot of moments that had me laughing out loud.
David McK (3425 KP) rated Excalibur (The Arthurian Chronicles, #1) in Books
Oct 26, 2024 (Updated Oct 26, 2024)
King Arthur.
There's no proof he ever existed, with the 'original' (for want of a better word) imagining of him being all Medieval style, Knights on horses, shining armour, lances etc (think the film 'Excalibur').
More recently, that's shifted to post-Roman Dark Ages, in the period between the Romans leaving Britain and the Saxon invasion.
Which is very much the time period in which this novel is set, (re)imagining Arthur to belong to this period (and all that entails), and with Merlin as a Druid rather than a Wizard.
This also 'brings in' several notable characters from the Arthur story alongside both Arthur and Merlin - Guinevere, Kai, Igrainne and Uther all make appearances here - but there is one notable absence (Lancelot) who, I presume, will appear in later books.
Well worth a read.
There's no proof he ever existed, with the 'original' (for want of a better word) imagining of him being all Medieval style, Knights on horses, shining armour, lances etc (think the film 'Excalibur').
More recently, that's shifted to post-Roman Dark Ages, in the period between the Romans leaving Britain and the Saxon invasion.
Which is very much the time period in which this novel is set, (re)imagining Arthur to belong to this period (and all that entails), and with Merlin as a Druid rather than a Wizard.
This also 'brings in' several notable characters from the Arthur story alongside both Arthur and Merlin - Guinevere, Kai, Igrainne and Uther all make appearances here - but there is one notable absence (Lancelot) who, I presume, will appear in later books.
Well worth a read.
Dean (6926 KP) rated King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword (2017) in Movies
May 24, 2017
Felt too long (1 more)
Typical Ritchie editing doesn't suit this type of film
Not the King of this story
It's not bad, but it's far from the best film about King Arthur and Excaliber. The Sfx are good and so are the fight scenes. There are too many characters and it times it has a lock stock, Snatch style elements to it. They didn't suit this film at all. It's ok but doesn't take the crown.
Knights of the Round Table Puzzle Quest
Book
The legend of King Arthur the Knights of the Round Table - there is no more evocative source for...
David McK (3425 KP) rated Albion: The Legend of Arthur in Books
May 22, 2020
For some reason, and I don't know why, but modern stories about Arthur, the once and future King, always seem to miss the mark with me. Maybe it's because little can compare to T.H. White's The Once and Future King?
(That's not to say that there are enjoyable stories set in and around the same period - Giles Kristian's Lancelot, for example.)
Still, I live in hope.
It was that hope that led me to pre-order this Audible exclusive, described as somewhat akin to Bernard Cornwell's The Winter King: A Novel of Arthur trilogy (incidentally, the authors favourite, and that I couldn't really get into that much the last time I tried: might be time for another re-read!).
Now I've read (listened) to it, and I feel it could probably best be summed up in one word: "M'eh".
This Arthur, I found, was thoroughly unlikeable. Yes, I know he could be at times in the originals, but the key phrase there is 'at times'; not for the entirety of the story! Never the less, I persevered throughout to see if it would improve: I have to say, however, that the other recent Audible original (Assassin's Creed: Gold) was far better, in my opinion.
(That's not to say that there are enjoyable stories set in and around the same period - Giles Kristian's Lancelot, for example.)
Still, I live in hope.
It was that hope that led me to pre-order this Audible exclusive, described as somewhat akin to Bernard Cornwell's The Winter King: A Novel of Arthur trilogy (incidentally, the authors favourite, and that I couldn't really get into that much the last time I tried: might be time for another re-read!).
Now I've read (listened) to it, and I feel it could probably best be summed up in one word: "M'eh".
This Arthur, I found, was thoroughly unlikeable. Yes, I know he could be at times in the originals, but the key phrase there is 'at times'; not for the entirety of the story! Never the less, I persevered throughout to see if it would improve: I have to say, however, that the other recent Audible original (Assassin's Creed: Gold) was far better, in my opinion.
Heathski (173 KP) rated Robin Hood (2018) in Movies
Feb 3, 2019
Very enjoyable
This is similar to the King Arthur movie with Charlie Hunnam. Urban street meets classic legend. It was fun and action packed adventure with the right amount of rogueish antics. Again my only issue was with the villain of the story, who just seemed too weak. Overall, it was well made and enjoyable. Id watch it again
Russell Evans (179 KP) rated Excalibur in Books
Mar 2, 2020
3rd and final part of the fantastic Warlord Chronicles!
Excalibur is the third and final book in the Warlord Chronicles series and is just a compelling and captivating as the first 2 books. (See my earlier reviews for the first 2 parts of this trilogy, ’The Winter King’ and ‘Enemy of God’)
Some epic battles and betrayals conclude this tale of Arthur, told by his loyal friend and Warlord Derfel, now an aged Christian Monk. Overall, the trilogy is a superbly realistic and gritty yet fictional account of the dark ages and the epic journey of Arthur and a magnificently strong cast of characters.
If you liked ‘The Vikings’ or ‘The Last Kingdoms’ series on TV, I would highly recommend that you give this trilogy a read – starting with The Winter King.
Some epic battles and betrayals conclude this tale of Arthur, told by his loyal friend and Warlord Derfel, now an aged Christian Monk. Overall, the trilogy is a superbly realistic and gritty yet fictional account of the dark ages and the epic journey of Arthur and a magnificently strong cast of characters.
If you liked ‘The Vikings’ or ‘The Last Kingdoms’ series on TV, I would highly recommend that you give this trilogy a read – starting with The Winter King.