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King Arthur Never Met Transformers: The Last Knight

23 Jun

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By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)
* Spoiler Alert

Only morbid curiousity motivates me to continue watching the live-action version of Transformers. The fifth film, subtitled The Last Knight, offers opportunities to explore the world in new ways. To watch vehicles morph into bipedal form gets the kid in me giddy in delight. But as anyone who love the original animated material and toy lines will tell you, they will not be seeing this film because it’s not their Transformers anymore. I know folks vehement in their disdain of this cinematic (i.e. Michael Bay) treatment. Despite my longing to simply loathe it because of the people involved or how terrible the ideas get executed, I have to observe how far gone this universe is.

At the same time, as an enthusiast of King Arthur‘s literary and historical legacy, I wanted to see if this film has any redeeming factors. Pairing the Transformers with this legend has been done before (“A Decepticon in King Arthur’s Court”), and I hoped part of this movie will see this warrior’s messianic return to save the day. Instead of mighty robots, a human (or ancestor of) can certainly turn the tide.

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Is the Third Time a Charm for the Cars Franchise?

19 Jun

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By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)​

The big question I have after watching Cars 3 is if there is anymore gasoline to keep this franchise moving? Technically, this film has Lightning McQueen’s story finish running its course. When younger and sleeker looking hotshots are coming into the field of competitive racing, the “older” generation can not compete. Some opt to retire and for McQueen, he can leave with his head held high or go do something else. Sadly, when an accident nearly destroys him, the question of when he will come back, if he does, if put into question.

This main plot point is a great one to show to anyone watching this computer animated film that life is not over unless you want it to. Director Brian Fee certainly drives the point home in a story he developed with Ben Queen, Eyal Podell and Jonathan E. Stewart. The visuals developed by PIXAR always improves with each new film. If the car’s front did not have faces, the illusion of watching a real race is perfect. Add the camera angles of being positioned like you’re watching it from the perspective of the latest camera equipment mounted on varying vehicles and drones in the track, I swear I am right there.

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The Little Tears in Captain Underpants, A Movie Review

4 Jun

captain-underpants-new-posterBy Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

DreamWorks adaptation of Dav Pilkey‘s Captain Underpants, The First Epic Movie is deserving of one half juvenile delinquency at its finest and the other, I don’t get it. The humour can garner giggles to a very select crowd of young boys but for everyone else who are not familiar with the source material, this film is better off skipped.

I admire this studio’s original work and many adaptations because the writing teams often create a well-meaning tale about relationships. Whether that’s between unlikely personalities, family members or brothers in arms, the joy is in seeing how the bond becomes firm. Underpants is a tale about two mischief fourth graders, George Beard and Harold Hutchins, dealing with elementary school life. They try to brighten up life there because the place feels like it should belong in Pink Floyd’s The Wall, and they also fear where their friendship will go if the mean principal, Mr. Krupp, separates them.

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What are the Myths behind King Arthur: Legend of the Sword? An Analysis and Review

11 May

kingarthur_sdcc2016By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

* Spoiler Alert

Guy Ritchie is certainly trying to shake up traditions in King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (KA:LotS). While I’m not sure which country’s folklore the snake-ladies came from, they certainly are not Celtic. I get the sense he’s offering his take on Shakespeare’s Macbeth (The Three Witches) and is borrowing from Hindu legends (Nagas). When he is in control as writer-director and actor, playing the warlord Vortigern to claim the throne from Uther Pendragon, this filmmaker is certainly going to insure his stamp is all over the tale!

Many liberties on the Arthur’s origins are taken and early promotional material alleges Richie is drawing upon the Welsh interpretation. There’s plenty of nuances within the film which shows he is, and they work when he’s not trying to add his trademark on top.

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