Swords, Sorcery, and Sex - Camelot comes to Starz

Whoa.

I was not expecting to come home, plop down in front of the TV and watch Camelot tonight. Although I had interest in the series, I had completely forgot that the new Starz series premiered tonight. Lucky for me, the television was on Starz and a crawling scroll informed me that - indeed - Camelot was going to be on tonight.

Lucky, lucky me.

Highly impressed with the show, Camelot is certainly a show that I will continue watching during it's duration. And already contemplating buying a season boxset in the future. Dish Network has generously given their customers a free year of Starz so we ditched HBO in lieu of Starz...and I couldn't be happier even with the looming fourth season of True Blood (which I may or may not watch. Last season bored me.)





Taken from the Starz Website:

"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."


Incredibly stunning, the world that they inhabit is beautiful. It was filmed primarily in Ireland with bright green scenery and brilliant waterfalls.

I knew very little about the cast prior to watching the premier. It was certainly time to do a little digging after watching their amazing performances. (VERY AMAZING. I was blown away!) King Arthur is played by Jamie Campbell Bower who has appeared in such films as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and The Twilight Sage: New Moon. Whether you a Twilighter or a Potterhead, the franchises are huge enough for everyone to know it. Although Bower had minor roles in the two wildly popular YA book adaptions, he will be returning in all the final films for the series'.



Staring opposite of him as his step sister, Eva Green plays Morgan. Ruthless. Ambitious. Morgan is certainly a force to be reckoned with. Green has appeared and starred in such films as The Golden Compass, Casino Royale and Kingdom of Heaven.



As the CEO of Starz Chris Albrecht said "The story of Arthur isn't history, it's mythology, and Camelot isn't a place but an idea of hope that has resonated at different times throughout history." This ten-episode series - with hopefully more seasons to follow - is a creative re-imagining of the tale, taking it and realistically redefining it expertly. I am looking forward to seeing more of this very adult, very dark, and very real tale.

Seventh Film is Exhilarating - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

It is the beginning of the end. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 is the seventh film in the Harry Potter series, bringing the events of J.K. Rowling’s last book to the big screen. After seeing the film and remember the outrage of the film being split - with many thinking Warner Brother’s was milking fans of money - the decision to have two separate films was a great choice. Now, instead of heavily rushed films like Order of the Phoenix and Half Blood Prince, viewers have a film incredibly rich with moments and scenes straight from the book making this the best Potter film out of all of them.
It is dark times. Voldemort is particularly powerful, taking over a great deal of aspects of the Wizarding and Muggle world alike. He dishes out Avada Kedavra curses like he’s handing out candy. He is terrifying, seemingly even making his own followers fear him which is evidence in the Malfoy family.
However, The Chosen One - Harry Potter - knows how to make the formidable Voldemort vulnerable again. That is why he and his two best friends, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, go on a quest to find the Horcuxes - objects that hold a piece of Voldemort’s nasty soul.
Deathly Hallows is a slow start to the epic finale of the movies, as it probably should be since it is setting up for the big showdown in Part 2. The dark tone of the movie allows viewers to feel the heavy emotion that is showing on screen. Even happy occasions are ruined by Death Eaters and we find the trio on the run, avoiding getting themselves killed. Daniel Radcliff, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint deliver outstanding performances. Of course, they have had ten years to perfect their roles as the infamous trio. Radcliff said they gave it all they got for their last time playing these characters. It shows.
The movie is not all doom and gloom, however. The juxtaposition of the light hearted moments make the film even more believable, makes the audience feel even more connected to these characters. Use of comedic moments, either with dialogue or magical accidents, provide a nice break from the hardcore atmosphere of the impending doom of the Wizarding world. Fred and George, the hilarious pair of Weasley twins, always provide a laugh or two. Deathly Hallows allows others to provide some chuckles including Fleur Delacour/Weasley turned into a bra-wearing Harry via Polyjuice Potion.
Let’s talk about magic as it is not a Harry Potter movie without magic. Deathly Hallows does not have as much magic as the past films and magic is certainly not the focus of the movie. However the scenes in which use a great deal of magic, such as the chase scene near the beginning and the incredibly swirling mass of Voldemort’s soul coming out of the locket Horcrux, are very subtle yet effective moments that says “Hey, we know this is a fantasy, magical movie. Here’s your magic.”
Exhilarating. That is what Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was. Although probably the slower of the two movies, Part 1 was still a great ride for the audience. The movie is probably more suited for those who have been devoted to reading the books or a fan of all the movies, as this particular movie jumps right into the thick of things instead of explaining past events. And if you have not been apart of this phenomenon in some way, then why not? Pick up Sorcerer’s Stone and get started. You do not want to miss being apart of this.

movie review - Explosive Manilness

If ever there was a manly man movie that grew hair on the chest of everyone in the audience - male or female - it is The Expendables.

The movie is excellent for what it is - putting together a dream cast of action stars in one over-the-top, balls-to-the-wall action flick with explosions, killing, guns, and knives. Whether or not the story makes sense is up to the viewer, but we’ll get to that. Let’s talk about that cast.

Amazing New Series: Avatar The Legend of Korra

There has been speculation that a new Avatar series would be happening.

Speculate no more.

It was just announced that Avatar: The Legend of Korra is now a go and we can expect to see it sometime next year. This is a blast of fresh air after the incredibly failure of a live action movie, The Last Airbender. Now, fans can rejoice that we have a new series to look forward too.

Here's what we know about Avatar: The Legend of Korra so far:

Movies that excite me: The Last Airbender

*i was going to provide pretty pictures and handy links, but I decided to write this from my phone. Gotta love a Blackberry

Despite the fact this movie should have been called Avatar except the fact some huge movie about huge blue aliens took the name, The Last Airbender is based on a highly popular and amazing Nickelodeon cartoon. The series ended in 2008 and consists of series refered to as Books and the episodes are Chapters.

The tale follows Aang, the last of his kind and the Avatar, and the brother/sister pair of Sokka and Katara. They are in a world where the elements - water, earth, fire, and air - can be "bent" by certain people who have the innate ability to do so. The firebending nation is out to rule the world and Aang, the avatar who can bend all the elements, is supposedly the only one who can stop him.

That's the basic story. There are so many layers to the Avatar world that make the series very successful.

When a movie was announced, fans got antsy. They wanted this done, but they wanted it done right. M Knight Shamalan is the director and many people are still worried this movie will not give justice to the series. When actors were being chosen, fans were quite upset as many white actors were rumored to have been chosen when the Avatar world has characters who clearly are not white. Petitions exploded on the internet and so did communities against the moviemakers (such as aang_aint_white on Livejournal)

So, what do I think? I love Avatar...a lot. It is one of my favorite animated series ever. I was worried about the movie. Very worried. I still am quite worried that this will not live up to my expectations, but that is the problem with movie goers these days. They judge movies too harshly. From what I have seen in the trailer, the movie will be taking the entire season 1 (which takes place in the Water tribe area of the Avatar world) and it looks darn good. The bending looks fantastic and I can not help but love the cute kid who will be Aang.

I will be at this movie. I will even be wearing a costume. I'm excited.

This Weekend in Movies

I'll be seeing The A-Team tomorrow and The Karate Kid on Saturday.

Born in 1987, neither of these remakes' original sources are fresh in my mind which is - in my opinion - good because I can go in with no preconcieved notions. My boyfriend, a very big fan of A Team and Mr. T, will be unable to accompany me to the movie so I will try to read up a little on the A Team tonight, just to get a feel of what fans loved about the show.

My family will be accompaning me to see The Karate Kid or, as I affectionately call it, The Kung-Fu Kid. Our family business seems to be karate. My father and two uncles have been Karate instructors all my life. They even own a Dojo here in town. It's my dad's idea to go see this movie and I happily oblige. The trailer's look entertaining for this movie and Jaden Smith is adorable.

I also owe this blog a Prince of Persia review. I loved that movie so much.