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Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Robin Hood (Disney) (1973) in Movies
Jan 1, 2020
The Legend
Robin Hood- rewatching this movie, i loved it. I love the charcters, the plot, the music, everything about it i love it. The action, the comedy, the adventure, the suspense, the thrills, so excellent, so great.
The Plot: An amiable rooster called Alan-a-Dale (Roger Miller) tells stories and sings songs of the heroic Robin Hood (Brian Bedford) and his trusty sidekick, Little John (Phil Harris), in this animated animal-themed adaptation of the legendary story. When evil Prince John (Peter Ustinov) deputizes the Sheriff of Nottingham (Pat Buttram) to collect unreasonable taxes from the animals of Sherwood Forest, Robin, Little John and the other merry men wage a lighthearted battle against their evil foes.
Such a classic, if you havent watch it, then go and watch it.
The Plot: An amiable rooster called Alan-a-Dale (Roger Miller) tells stories and sings songs of the heroic Robin Hood (Brian Bedford) and his trusty sidekick, Little John (Phil Harris), in this animated animal-themed adaptation of the legendary story. When evil Prince John (Peter Ustinov) deputizes the Sheriff of Nottingham (Pat Buttram) to collect unreasonable taxes from the animals of Sherwood Forest, Robin, Little John and the other merry men wage a lighthearted battle against their evil foes.
Such a classic, if you havent watch it, then go and watch it.
Merissa (12038 KP) rated The Rules of Enchantment in Books
Sep 4, 2020
The Rules of Enchantment is a steamy fantasy story where good and bad aren't always as clear-cut as you might imagine. It reminded me of a mixture between Harry Potter and Robin of Sherwood - and that is not a bad thing!
Leith and Kyler make for excellent main characters, superbly supported by Rowan. The world-building was wonderful, giving the reader enough information to be able to navigate through the world without it just being an overload of information.
I don't know if this is going to be a series or not but I sincerely hope it is. I would love for Rowan to have his story! And I still need more from Leith and Kyler.
This was a brilliant fantasy story that I thoroughly enjoyed and have no hesitation in recommending.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Leith and Kyler make for excellent main characters, superbly supported by Rowan. The world-building was wonderful, giving the reader enough information to be able to navigate through the world without it just being an overload of information.
I don't know if this is going to be a series or not but I sincerely hope it is. I would love for Rowan to have his story! And I still need more from Leith and Kyler.
This was a brilliant fantasy story that I thoroughly enjoyed and have no hesitation in recommending.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Awix (3310 KP) rated Robin Hood (2018) in Movies
Nov 26, 2018 (Updated Nov 28, 2018)
Bog-standard looks-like-a-computer-game action movie populated by a mixture of blandly good-looking non-actors and people who should probably know better; would have been forgettable tosh but for the fact that the Robin Hood name has inexplicably been plastered onto something bearing virtually zero resemblance to the legend.
Corrupt establishment has embarked upon a series of foreign wars for its own shady purposes, ordinary people are being screwed to pay for it all, plus their young men are being sent off to die. Good-hearted young chap gets his draft letter in the post and is sent off to Afghanistan, or so it seems, he gets sent home on the grounds of excess heroism only to find that someone has moved Nottingham sixty miles and it is now on the coast and has its own harbour. Needless to say he resolves to become a superhero with a secret identity and sort everything out.
The thing that will kill this movie for anyone who actually cares about the Robin Hood legend is that it seems to have no appreciation of the fact that Things Were Different In The Past, and is fairly up front about it: 'we're not going to bore you with history,' the script announces in so many words right at the start. Well, if you really think history is boring, possibly you shouldn't have tried to make a film with a historical setting, then, but thank-you for making your low opinion of your audience's intelligence obvious from the start.
All the things the legend is actually about, and most of the things you would automatically associate with it (sword-fights, the band of Merry Men, Sherwood Forest, King Richard's ransom) are chucked out in favour of a glib and opportunistic one-size-fits-all form of anti-capitalist and anti-establishment agitprop. You may argue that we've seen the classic version of the story so many times before, and this is about doing something new, but if you get rid of the Robin Hood element of the Robin Hood story, you're left with something pointless and stupid, which is really what we have here. The Disney version with the talking fox is much more entertaining, not to mention historically accurate.
Corrupt establishment has embarked upon a series of foreign wars for its own shady purposes, ordinary people are being screwed to pay for it all, plus their young men are being sent off to die. Good-hearted young chap gets his draft letter in the post and is sent off to Afghanistan, or so it seems, he gets sent home on the grounds of excess heroism only to find that someone has moved Nottingham sixty miles and it is now on the coast and has its own harbour. Needless to say he resolves to become a superhero with a secret identity and sort everything out.
The thing that will kill this movie for anyone who actually cares about the Robin Hood legend is that it seems to have no appreciation of the fact that Things Were Different In The Past, and is fairly up front about it: 'we're not going to bore you with history,' the script announces in so many words right at the start. Well, if you really think history is boring, possibly you shouldn't have tried to make a film with a historical setting, then, but thank-you for making your low opinion of your audience's intelligence obvious from the start.
All the things the legend is actually about, and most of the things you would automatically associate with it (sword-fights, the band of Merry Men, Sherwood Forest, King Richard's ransom) are chucked out in favour of a glib and opportunistic one-size-fits-all form of anti-capitalist and anti-establishment agitprop. You may argue that we've seen the classic version of the story so many times before, and this is about doing something new, but if you get rid of the Robin Hood element of the Robin Hood story, you're left with something pointless and stupid, which is really what we have here. The Disney version with the talking fox is much more entertaining, not to mention historically accurate.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Robin Hood: Hero of the People in Tabletop Games
Jun 13, 2019
“Yer a hero, Travis!” … said no Hagrid to me ever in my life. However, I do enjoy playing heroes in my board games. As Robin Hood you live by few rules: rob from the rich, give to the poor, and save your fellow Merry Men. That dastardly Sheriff of Nottingham is out to foil and jail you and your crew. Can you use your skills to rob enough from the rich, recruit your fellows, and keep your bounty on your head low enough to win the game? Such is your plight in this one-player game from first-time designer, Rodney Owen.
Disclaimer: This review is for a Kickstarter preview. We are not being paid for this preview, but we were sent the game from the designer. Components and rules may be changed before the product and project is finished. -T
As this game is not yet in full production, I will paraphrase the rulebook here for you so you can get an idea of how the game plays. Then I will give my opinions on this little card game.
Robin Hood: Hero of the People is a one-player card game that is played over three phases. To win the game you must have all Merry Men and Maid Marian recruited and active, while the bounty on your head is less than 500. You lose by seeing the bounty at or above 1,000 or by playing through the entire deck of Story Cards without winning. You may set the difficulty level by choosing how much you would like the bounty to start at before you begin play (100, 200, or 300). The rulebook instructs you how to setup the game using several piles of cards to create the play area. Deal yourself three Loot (skill) cards and the game is on!
The first phase of the game is Robbing from the Rich. During this phase you draw three (or more depending on other cards currently in play) Loot cards from the big deck. These cards consist of different skills to use later – like Archery, Strength, Swords, etc. You will also find Gold and Influence cards. These Loot cards are needed to recruit Maid Marian and all the Merry Men, as well as used for negating powerful negative Story Card effects in the third phase of the game. Once you have drawn your Loot cards, you may play up to three of them into your Inventory in front of you (unless a card instructs you otherwise). Only your cards in the Inventory will be used to recruit and rescue Merry Men, or be affected by Story Cards.
You have placed your skills and bargaining cards in the Inventory. It is now time to use them to recruit your Merry Men! The second phase is the Actions phase. You have several options of actions to take on your turn, but you may only take one action. One option is to recruit Merry Men characters. Each character card begins the game face-down in a grid. The card backs show the recruitment costs (paid in skills) for each. They all have different skill cost combinations on each back so you must choose your Inventory cards carefully in the first phase. During the game some characters may become jailed through the Story Cards. Also on the backs of the character cards are the costs to rescue your friends from jail, and the costs are different than the recruitment costs. This throws a wrench into your plans as you are trying to recruit and protect all your Merry Men, just to have them thrown in jail and made unavailable to you. Curse you, Sheriff of Nottingham!
Also during this phase, in addition to recruiting and rescuing your allies, you may purchase King Richard cards, Sherwood Forest cards, or decrease your bounty. King Richard cards are very very costly (requiring up to nine skills to purchase!) but also very powerful and very helpful to your cause. There are three of these in the game and when you have used one you must discard it out of the game. Do you have an abundance of skills and Loot cards to use? Would you like to protect your Merry Men from becoming jailed? Well during this phase you may also purchase Sherwood Forest cards to begin building a hideout. It costs two Strength skills, but once you have acquired all six Sherwood Forest cards, most of the Merry Men are protected from being jailed. Huzzah! The final option you have in this phase is spending any three Loot cards from your Inventory to reduce your bounty by 100.
The third and final phase is the Story Card phase. During setup you are instructed to separate this deck into two piles, shuffle them independently, and place the Story Cards in set one on top of the story cards in set two. Set one cards are annoyances that can bleed you of skill cards or raise the bounty on your head. Annoying! The cards in set two are far worse, as they will jail your unprotected Merry Men and set you back further from victory… also whilst raising your bounty. Super annoying!! Curse you again, Sheriff!!
If no win or lose conditions have been met at this time, you will return to the first phase with this additional rule: switch your active character (you start the game with Robin Hood) with another character you have recruited in the grid. Each character has a different special ability to be used on your next turn as well as a different set of skills printed on the face that you may use as discounts for recruitment, rescues, and purchasing of King Richard and Sherwood Forest cards. Example: Much the Miller shows 1x Sword and 1x Strength. You can use his skills as a discount to purchase a Sherwood Forest card by spending just one Strength card from your Inventory. Time to stick it to the Sheriff!
So how does it all shake down? Overall I say the game is really good. It is unfinished, and has not yet made it to Kickstarter, and I suspect that has something to do with any drawbacks I have experienced. Upon reading the provided rulebook and attempting Game 1, I had several rules questions. Rodney was quick to provide answers and it made the game so much more playable and enjoyable. Since it is a solo game only, every decision you make directly impacts how the game is played (duh, right?). There’s nobody else to mess with your plans, nor help them succeed. There’s no AI or ghost player. Just you versus the game. I have played this many times now on different difficulty levels and have won and lost on each. It would seem balanced, however…
There are a few strategies I attempted to use on my different plays to see how they might add to the complexity and change the results. I noticed that I won more when I completely ignored Sherwood Forest and King Richard’s cards. Yes, one of the King Richard cards reduces the bounty by quite a bit, and that’s just in one turn, but the cost is so mighty that I rarely found them enticing enough to pull the trigger. Same goes for Sherwood Forest. Though the cards cost a paltry two Strength, I found that I needed those Strength cards to recruit or rescue my Men and could not justify spending two per card (and six total cards to build the hideout) for that protection. Your play style may vary, and I am itching to play again to try new things out. Maybe I’m wrong about Sherwood Forest. I think that’s a really great trait for a game – to have its players thinking about different strategies while not playing, and just waiting for when they can play again.
I have to say, I am very excited to see this go to Kickstarter, and to learn what Rodney has in mind for improvements to the components, or rule tweaks, and the almighty stretch goals. I might be backing this one, even though I have a great working version of it now…
Disclaimer: This review is for a Kickstarter preview. We are not being paid for this preview, but we were sent the game from the designer. Components and rules may be changed before the product and project is finished. -T
As this game is not yet in full production, I will paraphrase the rulebook here for you so you can get an idea of how the game plays. Then I will give my opinions on this little card game.
Robin Hood: Hero of the People is a one-player card game that is played over three phases. To win the game you must have all Merry Men and Maid Marian recruited and active, while the bounty on your head is less than 500. You lose by seeing the bounty at or above 1,000 or by playing through the entire deck of Story Cards without winning. You may set the difficulty level by choosing how much you would like the bounty to start at before you begin play (100, 200, or 300). The rulebook instructs you how to setup the game using several piles of cards to create the play area. Deal yourself three Loot (skill) cards and the game is on!
The first phase of the game is Robbing from the Rich. During this phase you draw three (or more depending on other cards currently in play) Loot cards from the big deck. These cards consist of different skills to use later – like Archery, Strength, Swords, etc. You will also find Gold and Influence cards. These Loot cards are needed to recruit Maid Marian and all the Merry Men, as well as used for negating powerful negative Story Card effects in the third phase of the game. Once you have drawn your Loot cards, you may play up to three of them into your Inventory in front of you (unless a card instructs you otherwise). Only your cards in the Inventory will be used to recruit and rescue Merry Men, or be affected by Story Cards.
You have placed your skills and bargaining cards in the Inventory. It is now time to use them to recruit your Merry Men! The second phase is the Actions phase. You have several options of actions to take on your turn, but you may only take one action. One option is to recruit Merry Men characters. Each character card begins the game face-down in a grid. The card backs show the recruitment costs (paid in skills) for each. They all have different skill cost combinations on each back so you must choose your Inventory cards carefully in the first phase. During the game some characters may become jailed through the Story Cards. Also on the backs of the character cards are the costs to rescue your friends from jail, and the costs are different than the recruitment costs. This throws a wrench into your plans as you are trying to recruit and protect all your Merry Men, just to have them thrown in jail and made unavailable to you. Curse you, Sheriff of Nottingham!
Also during this phase, in addition to recruiting and rescuing your allies, you may purchase King Richard cards, Sherwood Forest cards, or decrease your bounty. King Richard cards are very very costly (requiring up to nine skills to purchase!) but also very powerful and very helpful to your cause. There are three of these in the game and when you have used one you must discard it out of the game. Do you have an abundance of skills and Loot cards to use? Would you like to protect your Merry Men from becoming jailed? Well during this phase you may also purchase Sherwood Forest cards to begin building a hideout. It costs two Strength skills, but once you have acquired all six Sherwood Forest cards, most of the Merry Men are protected from being jailed. Huzzah! The final option you have in this phase is spending any three Loot cards from your Inventory to reduce your bounty by 100.
The third and final phase is the Story Card phase. During setup you are instructed to separate this deck into two piles, shuffle them independently, and place the Story Cards in set one on top of the story cards in set two. Set one cards are annoyances that can bleed you of skill cards or raise the bounty on your head. Annoying! The cards in set two are far worse, as they will jail your unprotected Merry Men and set you back further from victory… also whilst raising your bounty. Super annoying!! Curse you again, Sheriff!!
If no win or lose conditions have been met at this time, you will return to the first phase with this additional rule: switch your active character (you start the game with Robin Hood) with another character you have recruited in the grid. Each character has a different special ability to be used on your next turn as well as a different set of skills printed on the face that you may use as discounts for recruitment, rescues, and purchasing of King Richard and Sherwood Forest cards. Example: Much the Miller shows 1x Sword and 1x Strength. You can use his skills as a discount to purchase a Sherwood Forest card by spending just one Strength card from your Inventory. Time to stick it to the Sheriff!
So how does it all shake down? Overall I say the game is really good. It is unfinished, and has not yet made it to Kickstarter, and I suspect that has something to do with any drawbacks I have experienced. Upon reading the provided rulebook and attempting Game 1, I had several rules questions. Rodney was quick to provide answers and it made the game so much more playable and enjoyable. Since it is a solo game only, every decision you make directly impacts how the game is played (duh, right?). There’s nobody else to mess with your plans, nor help them succeed. There’s no AI or ghost player. Just you versus the game. I have played this many times now on different difficulty levels and have won and lost on each. It would seem balanced, however…
There are a few strategies I attempted to use on my different plays to see how they might add to the complexity and change the results. I noticed that I won more when I completely ignored Sherwood Forest and King Richard’s cards. Yes, one of the King Richard cards reduces the bounty by quite a bit, and that’s just in one turn, but the cost is so mighty that I rarely found them enticing enough to pull the trigger. Same goes for Sherwood Forest. Though the cards cost a paltry two Strength, I found that I needed those Strength cards to recruit or rescue my Men and could not justify spending two per card (and six total cards to build the hideout) for that protection. Your play style may vary, and I am itching to play again to try new things out. Maybe I’m wrong about Sherwood Forest. I think that’s a really great trait for a game – to have its players thinking about different strategies while not playing, and just waiting for when they can play again.
I have to say, I am very excited to see this go to Kickstarter, and to learn what Rodney has in mind for improvements to the components, or rule tweaks, and the almighty stretch goals. I might be backing this one, even though I have a great working version of it now…
Merissa (12038 KP) rated Horns of Power: Manifestations of the Horned God in Books
Dec 17, 2018
What an amazing book!
This, as you may already be aware, is a collection of different people's thoughts, meditations, dreams and meetings with the Horned God. As you read through each story you will travel the world, from Crete to Egypt to the wilds of Wales to London. Each story is as individual as the author and I loved every one of them, although I admit that I read the ones about Egypt and Crete with a mostly detached but isn't this informative kind of air.
The Horned God that I love, the one that has fascinated me all of my life is Cernunnos, the Lord of the Forest and the Wild Animals. For me, one of the best stories in the book was A Quest For Horns by Stephen Blake, and not only because he mentions Robin of Sherwood which still remains a favourite of mine!
Unfortunately, as people begin looking at Paganism to see if it is right for them, they usually tend to favour the Goddess only as they are usually changing from a patriarchal religion. This may work for a while but you need balance, and the Horned God is part of the equation!
If you have any interest in Herne the Hunter, Cernunnos, Pan or Puck then this is the book for you.
<blockquote> Above me and around me he roared and I, like the mouse, curled up, safe, secure and loved by this storm of rage; the emotional and physical pain that had engulfed me fled before his terrible gaze and I fell asleep. The rage of the Horned God is mighty indeed, but the love and blessings he bestows are greater still.</blockquote>
This, as you may already be aware, is a collection of different people's thoughts, meditations, dreams and meetings with the Horned God. As you read through each story you will travel the world, from Crete to Egypt to the wilds of Wales to London. Each story is as individual as the author and I loved every one of them, although I admit that I read the ones about Egypt and Crete with a mostly detached but isn't this informative kind of air.
The Horned God that I love, the one that has fascinated me all of my life is Cernunnos, the Lord of the Forest and the Wild Animals. For me, one of the best stories in the book was A Quest For Horns by Stephen Blake, and not only because he mentions Robin of Sherwood which still remains a favourite of mine!
Unfortunately, as people begin looking at Paganism to see if it is right for them, they usually tend to favour the Goddess only as they are usually changing from a patriarchal religion. This may work for a while but you need balance, and the Horned God is part of the equation!
If you have any interest in Herne the Hunter, Cernunnos, Pan or Puck then this is the book for you.
<blockquote> Above me and around me he roared and I, like the mouse, curled up, safe, secure and loved by this storm of rage; the emotional and physical pain that had engulfed me fled before his terrible gaze and I fell asleep. The rage of the Horned God is mighty indeed, but the love and blessings he bestows are greater still.</blockquote>
Merissa (12038 KP) rated Once Upon a Dream (Mystic Beach #1) by Aislinn Archer in Books
May 13, 2022 (Updated Jun 20, 2023)
ONCE UPON A DREAM is the first full-length story in the Mystic Beach series. I first met Ellie and Hunter in their short story - Here Comes the Sun - which takes place when they are six years old. This one takes place over a longer amount of time, and they both grow and change in a number of ways.
Both of them lose their mothers and neither of their fathers will ever win a 'Father of the Year' award! Ellie - who changes her name to Brighid - is hands down my favourite. She deals with what life throws at her, loves her best friend, and does the best she can. Hunter - I love him and hate him at the same time. He's got a long way to go before I'll forgive him for how he treated both Ellie and himself. And those pathetic excuses he makes to himself just aren't going to cut it. Too many excuses and not enough thought. Being completely honest here, the longer the book went on, the more I disliked him!!!
There is enough mysticism here to keep me happy whilst definitely leaving me wanting more. In fact, that's the feeling I've got now that I've finished this story. I want - no, I NEED - more! I want to see how the paranormal becomes normal for Brighid. I want to know more about Mystic Beach. I want to know more about the guys in the band, especially Kieran! And not forgetting Mace.
The world-building - whether in Virginia, Delaware, or New York - is first class. The characters are all different and don't blend into each other. The pacing is perfect. And the part near the end in New York? Had me in tears! Good on Brighid for showing backbone though and doing what was best for her. Still had me in tears though.
A fantastic book that I thoroughly enjoyed and can't wait for the next one. Highly recommended by me.
PS - LOVED the Robin of Sherwood references!!!
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
May 12, 2022
Both of them lose their mothers and neither of their fathers will ever win a 'Father of the Year' award! Ellie - who changes her name to Brighid - is hands down my favourite. She deals with what life throws at her, loves her best friend, and does the best she can. Hunter - I love him and hate him at the same time. He's got a long way to go before I'll forgive him for how he treated both Ellie and himself. And those pathetic excuses he makes to himself just aren't going to cut it. Too many excuses and not enough thought. Being completely honest here, the longer the book went on, the more I disliked him!!!
There is enough mysticism here to keep me happy whilst definitely leaving me wanting more. In fact, that's the feeling I've got now that I've finished this story. I want - no, I NEED - more! I want to see how the paranormal becomes normal for Brighid. I want to know more about Mystic Beach. I want to know more about the guys in the band, especially Kieran! And not forgetting Mace.
The world-building - whether in Virginia, Delaware, or New York - is first class. The characters are all different and don't blend into each other. The pacing is perfect. And the part near the end in New York? Had me in tears! Good on Brighid for showing backbone though and doing what was best for her. Still had me in tears though.
A fantastic book that I thoroughly enjoyed and can't wait for the next one. Highly recommended by me.
PS - LOVED the Robin of Sherwood references!!!
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
May 12, 2022