Fantasy Flix: Medieval

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Dawn of the Dragonslayer (2011)

Directed by
Anne K. Black

Writing credits
Anne K. Black
Kynan Griffin
Justin Partridge

When Will's father is killed by a dragon, he embarks on an epic journey filled by vengeance that leads him to an ancestral home which he stays at and works for the tyrannical Sterling in order to learn how to slay the beast. While he is training, he befriends Sterling's daughter Kate, and Sterling becomes increasingly suspicious of and threatened by Will. He orders his men to kill him but Will escapes. Now Will must evade Sterling's men whilst trying to avenge his father.

I'll just start by saying that I really enjoyed this movie. A lot of people will dismiss this as just another Syfy original, but it's not. This movie is much higher quality than any of the Syfy movies. There is real heart here, as well as nice cinematography and direction. It is a love story at heart with a fantasy background. That's not to say there is no action, because there is.

While the action and adventure is not the main portion of the movie, it is nicely interspaced within. I suppose if I have one complaint about the movie, it would be that the fighting and swordplay seem a bit stiff. This movie could have greatly benefited from a good fight choreographer.

The acting is very good and I have no complaints here. I enjoyed Richard McWilliams as an actor and thought he was pretty good, although he needs to work a bit on his physical skills. Someone who does not need to work on her physical skills is Nicola Posener, who is simply adorable. Although, I would like to work on her physical skills... ahem..

The special effects here are very good for an independent, low budget film, and in my opinion, better than anything you normally see on Syfy. The dragon itself is not big-budget Hollywood quality, but I think it was nicely done, especially when seen at a distance looming overhead.

Overall, this is a very nice and well made action/adventure/romance set in a fantasy world. I look forward to the other movies of this ilk coming from this company.

Verdict: Recommended

The Cast

Richard McWilliams ... Will Shepherd

Nicola Posener ... Kate Sterling

Ian Cullen ... Baron Sterling

Maggie Daniels ... Lady Spriggs

Philip Brodie ... Rogan ap Cynan

Anthony Murphy ... Tom

Michael O'Flaherty ... Crow

Nick Devlin ... Sam

Adam Johnson ... Lance

Ciaran O'Grady ... Dirth

Lemuel Black ... Baron DeGuilbert

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Crociati (2001) AKA Crusaders

Director: Dominique Othenin-Girard

Writer: Andrea Porporati

I could not find a trailer for this movie.

Towards the end of the eleventh century, Pope Urban II announces a crusade against the Saracens, who have occupied the holy city of Jerusalem. Three young friends # Richard, Peter and Andrew # set off to join the crusading army. The three friends come from very different backgrounds: Andrew is a shepherd; Peter is a poor bell founder, and the illegitimate son of a Christian woman and a Saracen man; and Richard is the deeply religious son of Baron William of Aurocastro, who was murdered by his rival brother Corrado. The violent methods used by the crusaders soon cause the three friends to fall out with each other, and after a bloody attack on a Jewish monastery, they go their separate ways: Andrew remains with the crusaders, while Peter and Richard accompany the attractive Jewess Rachel whose teacher, a rabbi, was killed in the raid to Jerusalem. Andrew is very reluctant to see Rachel go, having like Peter fallen in love with her at first sight. In Jerusalem the situation is very tense: the Saracen governor is having the Christians expelled from the city, out of fear of crusader spies. Peter, Richard and Rachel manage to trick their way into the city, but shortly afterwards Richard is arrested. When the crusaders, with Andrew at their head, arrive at the gates of Jerusalem, the former friends now face each other as enemies because to save Richard, Peter has joined the side of the Saracens. The city cannot withstand the onslaught of the crusaders and their fierce fighting spirit, and soon falls into Christian hands. Peter prepares an escape route for himself and Richard. Rachel has decided to stay with Andrew, however, who has also confessed his love to her. Peter and Richard return to their homeland. Richard, already seriously ill, dies on arrival. Peter marries his childhood sweetheart Maria and works as a bell founder again. Years later he meets Rachel and Andrew again. Andrew is now the feudal baron of Aurocastro. He has built an enormous cathedral and wants Peter to make the bells for it.

I knew nothing about this movie before I started watching it. What I got was a pretty epic tale of three dudes joining the crusades and picking sides. I generally love me some epic adventure story telling, but I am not too sure about this one. The plot overall is pretty straight-forward. It does have some nice moments story-wise. But frankly, I was a little bored.

Even though the movie is nicely paced, I couldn't help but watch the clock. I guess I just didn't care that much and the action wasn't very good. Perhaps I am too "used to" the over-the top violence of such movies as Braveheart and 300 that the action sequences here just seemed ho-hum. I'm not saying they were badly done, they were just a bit boring.

I suppose my other prblem with the movie was the acting... or was it? Frankly, I couldn't tell if the acting was any good or not because the over-dub was atrocious. I suppose I should have expected that in an Italian made movie, but most of the actors appeared to be speaking english, but their voice just didn't match well and the "voice" acting was not very good and sometimes laughable.

To keep up with my routine, I suppose I have to talk about the women. The women (there were only really 2) were fairly attractive, but nothing to write home about. There is one quick moment of nudity in this film, which surprised me because without it, this would be pretty much "family-fare".