Dungeons & Dragons: Wrath of the Dragon God (2005)

Based on the phenomenally successful role-playing game, Dungeons & Dragons 2 takes you deeper into the dark and fantastical world of this fantasy epic. When the evil sorcerer Damodar braves a perilous whirlwind vortex to steal the elemental black orb he declares a sinister plan of vengeance against the kingdom of Ismir. Berek, a decorated warrior, and Melora, an amateur sorceress join four heroes representing Intelligence, Wisdom, Honor and Strength to battle against Damodar's growing army of gruesome creatures, flying harpies and an ice dragon to reach a vault room holding the orb. Together, they build their own army to retrieve the orb using elemental forces to defeat Damodar before he summons the sleeping black dragon whose omnipotent evil powers could lay waste to the entire kingdom.

Director: Gerry Lively

D&D: Wrath of the Dragon God is a sequel to the first Dungeons & Dragons movie released in theaters.  If you've seen that movie then the first thing you'll notice is this is WAY better.  The biggest complaint of the original D&D movie (besides the fact that it was not very good) was that it was overly silly and not like D&D much at all.  If you were a D&D player growing up, as I was of course, you'll agree with me.

This movie, while not great, is actually quite good and entertaining.  There are lots of elements that D&D players will recognize throughout the movie.  The action is good, the effects are decent, and there's a hot elf chick.

I would recommend readers of my blog to look this one up.  Don't let the first movie dissuade you from seeing this one.  Lets hope we'll see more D&D movies some time.

The Cast

Mark Dymond ... Berek

Bruce Payne ... Damodar

 Clemency Burton-Hill ... Melora

 

Ellie Chidzey ... Lux

Lucy Gaskell ... Ormaline

Roy Marsden ... Oberon

Tim Stern ... Nim

Black Death (2010)

Director: Christopher Smith

Set during the time of the first outbreak of bubonic plague in England, a young monk is tasked with learning the truth about reports of people being brought back to life in a small village.

Black Death is a story about men on a mission.  During the time of the Black Plague, A rumor has surfaced that there is a village that is completely free of the disease.  Ulric (Sean Bean) has been tasked with wiping out the village because it is believed that necromancers are raising the dead there and that is why there is no disease. (or something like that)

This is definitely not your typical fun medieval adventure.  On the contrary, this movie is dark, gloomy, and very unfun.  While I didn't hate this movie, I certainly didn't love it either.  Truthfully, this is a very well made movie, and I'm sure there are many of you who will enjoy it.  It was just a little too dark and gloomy for me.

The cast is superb, and the story well written.  The sets are very well done.  I did not, however, enjoy the occasional POV perspective and shaky camera action.  In fact I hate this new trend of hand-held camera work.  It all seemed to start with Battlestar Gallactica.  But I digress...

It's difficult for me not to love anything with Sean Bean in it.  He is fantastic as always.  It is understandable how he is type-casted in these kind of roles.  They suit him.

Once again, while I did not love this movie, I would definitely recommend you check it out and make your own decision.  I just prefer a little more "fun" in my movies.

Cast

 

Sean Bean ... Ulric

Eddie Redmayne ... Osmund

John Lynch ... Wolfstan

Johnny Harris ... Mold

Jamie Ballard ... Griff

Carice van Houten ... Langiva

Andy Nyman ... Dalywag

Emun Elliott ... Swire

Tygo Gernandt ... Ivo

Kimberley Nixon ... Averill

Dark Knight (TV series - 2000)

Dark Knight was a fantasy action series adaptation of Sir Walters Scott's famous novel entitled "Ivanhoe". The story takes place in England in the year 1193, with the land reduced to submission under the weight of constant foreign invasions and the capture of their true King Richard the Lionheart.
Each episode follows the journey of Ivanhoe (Ben Pullen) battling against the fake King's tyranny and oppression and the dark arts of his necromancer named Mordour. Join Ivanhoe accompanied by the beautiful healer/swordfighter Rebecca (Charlotte Comer) and apprentice sorcerer Odo (Peter O'Farrell) in their exciting epic adventure into the Dark Ages with their fight against supernatural evil and absolute dictatorship.

(taken from thattvshow.blogspot.com)

I'm not sure what to say about this series.  I guess the first thing that comes to mind is; How the hell did this last for two seasons?

Dark Knight is a blatant attempt to cash in on the then popular Hercules and Xena series.  While there were a lot to do this (New Adventures of Robin Hood, Beastmaster, Conan, etc.), this has to be the worst that I've seen.

Now Just to let you know, I haven't actually seen the whole series.  What I saw was a DVD "movie" ,called Darkest Knight, that is actually a compilation of stuff from the series.  This isn't the first one I've covered.  If you remember the movie Hexer I reviewed previously did the same thing.  (Hexer was 10 times better)

I'm really not sure why I didn't like this so much.  Frankly, it just bored me.  I don't even care that the effects were god-awful, or that the chicks were not attractive, or the action was pretty terrible.  It just bored me.

While Ben Pullen has the look, he has no charm.  While his acting isn't atrocious, he has no personality.  There isn't much humor in him or this show in general.

 

With the lack of good action, hot chicks, humor, or anything that makes these shows enjoyable to me, I cannot in good conscience recommend this to anyone.  I would point you towards Legend of the Seeker, Hercules, Xena or Robin Hood (BBC) for good examples of series of this ilk.

 

The Cast

 Ben Pullen ... Ivanhoe

 Charlotte Comer ... Rebecca

Peter O'Farrell ... Odo

Cameron Rhodes ... Prince John

Jeffrey Thomas ... Mordour

Marama Jackson ... Lady Rowena

Michael Wilson ... Friar Bacon

Fantasy Film Aspects