Fantasy Flix: January 2012

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Legend of the Seeker (TV Series 2008–2010)

Millions of readers the world over have been held spellbound by this valiant tale vividly told. Now, enter Terry Goodkind's world, the world of The Sword of Truth. In the aftermath of the brutal murder of his father, a mysterious woman, Kahlan Amnell, appears in Richard Cypher's forest sanctuary seeking help...and more. His world, his very beliefs, are shattered when ancient debts come due with thundering violence. In their darkest hour, hunted relentlessly, tormented by treachery and loss, Kahlan calls upon Richard to reach beyond his sword-to invoke within himself something more noble. Neither knows that the rules of battle have just changed...or that their time has run out. This is the beginning. One story. One Rule. Witness the birth of a legend.Written by Terry Goodkind

Legend of the Seeker was the latest (and IMO best) of the syndicated fantasy series. Seeker was based on an excellent series of novels by Terry Goodkind and I believe did an excellent job translating the novels to television. I've read most of the novels and the series, while a bit "lighter" for television does a pretty good job with them. The books can be more "adult" then television allows however.

Oh, how I miss this show. I was so sad when it was cancelled. I'm not saying this show was perfect, but it was excellent for people like me. The cast was very good and I have no complaints there. Craig Horner and Bridget Regan had excellent chemistry, In fact they all had excellent chemistry. Tabrett Bethell was awesome as the bad girl Cara, and Bruce Spence is always good.

The action here is good and non-stop. If I ever had a complaint about Seeker it was the obligatory fight scenes with the D'Haran soldiers that often appeared out of nowhere. There always seemed th have to be at least one per episode. Obviously this is TV so don't expect alot of blood and gore.

The special effects were well done and not overly used. While this world has monsters and magic, it doesn't proliferate the story. While higher fantasy than a Game of Thrones, it's not paramount.

And of course the women in this show were freaking gorgeous. Even without nudity or even too much "scantly clad"-ness you won't help but find yourself drooling quite often.

The atmosphere and photography are excellent as well as the costumes and sets. The production value is very good, higher than what you would see come out of many of the 90's syndicated fantasy series'.

If for some reason you decided not to check this out, I say shame, shame. This is some good television here and I highly recommend you check it out.

Verdict: Highly recommended

The Cast

Craig Horner ... Richard Cypher

Bridget Regan ... Kahlan Amnell

Bruce Spence ... Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander

Tabrett Bethell ... Cara

Craig Parker ... Darken Rahl

Kevin J. Wilson ... General Egremont

Danielle Cormack ... Shota

Elizabeth Blackmore ... Sister Marianna

Jay Laga'aia ... Chase

David de Lautour ... Michael Cypher

Jessica Marais ... Denna

Alison Bruce ... Sister Verna

Renato Bartolomei ... Demmin Nass

Emily Foxler ... Sister Nicci

Jolene Blalock ... Sister Nicci

Brooke Williams ... Jennsen

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Centurion (2010)

Director/Writer: Neil Marshall

A splinter group of Roman soldiers fight for their lives behind enemy lines after their legion is decimated in a devastating guerrilla attack.

Centurion is one of the fairly recent movies about the Roman 9th legion. This movie came out just before the movie The Eagle, which I haven't seen yet, but aparently it's a similar story. I think this movie gets a pretty bad rap, but I was quite entertained.

It's a mainstream film with a pretty high production value. The film looks really good in production and costumes. The effects look good, although there is a fair amount of CGI blood here, which I'm usually not a big fan of. It looks good in over-the-top, stylized films like 300, but I'd have preferred classical blood and gore effects.

The cast is very good here. I really enjoy Michael Fassbender in most everything he is in, and Olga Kurylenko is fucking beautiful and plays a really good bad-ass chick here. It's probably a good thing that she doesn't speak at all in this movie.

The story itself is pretty straightforward and simple. And, of course, don't expect an oscar winning movie here, but I think it does what it set out to do. The pacing slows down a couple times. I wasn't really a fan of the "sit in a cave and talk for character development" scene, but I lived through it.

If you're looking for some good action with swords, arrows and spears, and good blood and gore, then this movie is for you. It can get a little slow at times, but picks up nicely.