Fantasy Flix: October 2011

Sunday, October 16, 2011

The Norseman (1978)

An 11th-century Viking prince sails to America to find his father, who on a previous voyage had been captured by Indians.

Director: Charles B. Pierce
Writer: Charles B. Pierce

Now I generally love me some Lee Majors. He was definitely one of my favorite actors growing up. I've recently been watching episodes of The Fall Guy (1981) on Hulu and they really hold up. But, I have to say, The Norseman is a pretty big pile of crap. Why does it seem no one knows how to make a good viking movie? There are some decent ones out there, but most of them are poo. The summary above is pretty much the whole story. There's not a lot to it.

The whole thing starts because a viking tried to hit on a Native American girl. So this is the rescue of the previous vikings to land here; which is supposed to be somewhere in Canada, but looks an awful lot like Florida to me. There's not a whole lot of good I can say about this movie. The story, while initially campy fun turns boring very quickly. The armor and weapons are obviously plastic. There's a black viking. The Native Americans are mostly white actors. The whole thing is pretty bad.

Again, while I love Lee Majors, this is definitely not the role for him. He's not bad here, he just doesn't seem to fit; although he tries really hard. The other actors are fine, not bad, just wrong. The whole thing could have been better if they'd have made it more camp and less trying to be serious about it. The native actors don't seem to do much and I'm really not sure what was going on in the cave with the initial vikings.

The action isn't horrible, they seem to try pretty hard. It's just difficult to take it seriously when there is bright red paint on their plastic swords. There's even some slo-mo action scenes for even greater dramatic effect.

This flick is rated PG, so there is no skin here. Though Susie Coelho is frankly gorgeous and very pleasant to look at. A nice skinny dip in the lake scene would have made this film a whole heck of a lot better.

Verdict: Not recommended

The Cast

Lee Majors ... Thorvald

Cornel Wilde ... Ragnar

Jimmy Clem ... Olif

Jack Elam ... Death Dreamer

Denny Miller ... Rauric

Mel Ferrer ... King Eurich

Deacon Jones ... Thrall

Christopher Connelly ... Rolf ??

Susie Coelho ... Winetta

Kathleen Freeman ... Old Indian Woman

Chuck Pierce Jr. ... Young Eric

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

First Knight (1995)

Lancelot lives by the sword. In fact, they're next door neighbours, so teaming up to fight for money comes pretty naturally. Lady Guinevere, on her way to marry King Arthur is ambushed by the evil Sir Malagant. Fortunately Lancelot is lurking nearby and he rescues his future queen. They fall in love, but Guinevere still fancies the idea of wearing a crown, so she honours her promise to Arthur. Can Lady Guinevere remain faithful, or will this Pretty Woman become a lady of the knight?

Director: Jerry Zucker

Writers: Lorne Cameron (story), David Hoselton (story)

Here we have another King Arthur story. There are a ton of these, and most are very similar. First Knight is not my favorite Camelot story, but it's a pretty good one. You all know the story, Lancelot falls in love with Guinevere, Guinevere falls in love with Lancelot, Arthur falls in love with Guinevere, Arthur falls in love with Lancelot....

The acting here is very good. For some reason I really enjoy Richard Gere as Lancelot here. I think he does a very good job. Sean Connery does an excellent job in anything he is in, but he makes a perfect Arthur. The rest of the cast is very good

The action here is good, but fairly sparse. This really is more of a love story than an action piece, but I wish there were a bit more action in it. There is very little blood here and of course no nudity. I really can't say there was any good eye-candy to be had at all. But even though this film is lacking in the adolescent boy categories, I dug the story for what it was. The pace was pretty well done and I enjoyed the characters.

Check this one out if you haven't seen it, just don't expect a violent action flick. This one is a romance with a bit of action.

Verdict: Recommended

The Cast

Sean Connery ... King Arthur

Richard Gere ... Lancelot

Julia Ormond ... Guinevere

Ben Cross ... Prince Malagant

Christopher Villiers ... Sir Kay

Colin McCormack ... Sir Mador

John Gielgud ... Oswald

Liam Cunningham ... Agravaine

Paul Kynman ... Mark

Ralph Ineson ... Ralf

Valentine Pelka ... Sir Patrise

Stuart Bunce ... Peter, King's Stableman

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Camelot (TV Series 2011)

In the wake of King Uther’s sudden death, chaos threatens to engulf Britain. When the sorcerer Merlin has visions of a dark future, he installs the young and impetuous Arthur, Uther’s unknown son and heir, who has been raised from birth as a commoner. But Arthur’s cold and ambitious half sister Morgan will fight him to the bitter end, summoning unnatural forces to claim the crown in this epic battle for control. These are dark times indeed for the new king, with Guinevere being the only shining light in Arthur’s harsh world. Faced with profound moral decisions, and the challenge of uniting a kingdom broken by war and steeped in deception, Arthur will be tested beyond imagination. Forget everything you think you know…this is the story of Camelot that has never been told before. (Source: Starz)

Creators: Michael Hirst, Chris Chibnall

Camelot was a very recent series on Starz, a more adult version of the classic tale. Unfortunately, it only lasted one season. I'm really not sure the main reason for the cancellation, but I can only assume it was because of low ratings.

Personally, while I didn't love the series, I thought it was pretty good. I enjoyed the more adult nature of the series. King Arthur stuff tends to usually be toned down quite a bit. This series was a typical pay-cable series. Lots of nudity, violence, sex and blood. If you enjoy shows like Game of Thrones, or Spartacus, you should enjoy this show as well.

The reason I didn't love the show as much as the previously mentioned series is because the "romantic" portions of the show really seemed to drag this series down. The interaction between Arthur and Guinevere were not well done, and they seemed to have little chemistry. I'm not against romance in my films in any way, but this seemed to have too much of a CW feel to it.

The acting is fantastic from an exemplary cast. Save maybe Jamie Campbell Bower who just doesn't seem like a good Arthur to me. In all honesty I prefer Merlin's Bradley James to him. The action is good when there is some and the story moves along ok. Joseph Fiennes is definitely the star of this show, I just wish this guy could get a gig that sticks.

All in all, this is a great King Arthur rendition and I wish there could have been more seasons for the show to get it's legs. Check it out if you enjoy the pay-cable shows or have a pension for King Arthur stuff.