Tag Archives: Adventure

The Science with Spider-Man, Far From Home and My Wishlist with the MCU

7 Jul

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

* Spoiler Alert

Spider-man: Far From Home is an action-packed fun-filled ride that’s less about being an epilogue to Avengers Endgame and more about Peter Parker (Tom Holland) growing up. The explanations of those returning from nothing gets explained very conveniently and felt more like a tacked on response.

At the same time, this movie also very similar to the first one as Petey leaves New York to stay with the decathlon team when trouble keeps on showing up–whether he likes it or not! (and also tries to get used to new Spidey suits)

Just who disappeared in the main and supporting cast of Sony’s Spider-Man universe show no trauma of being displaced. We know from the main Marvel Cinematic Universe films that people were emotionally affected by the sudden disappearances. The discourse in Far From Home went by too fast before jumping into a story about a small group of high school students going on summer vacation.

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Hellboy and King Arthur, Who’s the King? A Movie Review

2 May

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

As overstuffed the Hellboy reboot movie is, the King Arthur influenced moments had me excited. Instead of Morgan le Fay as the adversary, Nimue is far worse. She’s the undisputed Queen of the Damned and the film doesn’t take for granted if audiences know the lore behind the literary figure or not.

Had the plot was more in line with Nennius’ The History of the Britons, I’d be all over the film. The other side stories–Darkness Calls, The Wild Hunt, The Storm and the Fury–are interconnected and based on what I can remember, most of the narrative takes place in England. The sequence of events leading up to Hellboy being “cursed” is almost like Sir Thomas Malory‘s work. That is, an ill-fated destiny exists for Red and Camelot will fall.

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From Manga to Film, Alita: Battle Angel Reaching Zalem & Sequel Hopes

25 Feb

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

James Cameron and Robert Rodriguez’s live-action adaptation of Yukito Kishiro’s Gunnm (Alita: Battle Angel in America) barely scratches the surface of what the 28 volume manga is (including Last Order and excluding Mars Chronicles which is still ongoing). Ever since Cameron announced he secured the rights in 2000 to bringing Gally’s (her name in the original manga) story to the cinema, I wondered if all the series will be covered. The anime barely scratched the surface. According to Polygon, this producer secured the rights for future video treatments and no further animation is likely to happen.

This film uses most of the American naming conventions than stick to the original. The CGI and motion capture technology to realize what Cameron wanted was not there and the wait for this film was frustrating. Cameron’s first idea was to turn the heroine into a Joan of Arc type figure and thankfully Kishiro corrected him. Gally is a rōnin. She serves no master. It makes sense, because in all her travels in the manga, she either had to leave people she cares for behind or they will die. This detail was revealed in a taped Q&A in early screenings of this film and to have this manga artist give his nod of approval is a good sign.

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The Incredible Story of the Giant Pear Sails Away on VOD!

6 Dec

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

The cinematic adaptation of Jakob Martin Strid‘s Den Kempestore Pere (The Incredible Story of the Giant Pear) may well have some fans of children’s works wonder how it stands to Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach? Both shine as solid pieces of family entertainment. The Danish work is getting distribution in North America courtesy of Uncork’d Entertainment and is available on VOD services like iTunes and Google Play.

This delightful work is comparable to Hayao Miyazaki‘s Castle in the Sky, Laputa. This filmmaker was the key animator to notable early works like Animal Treasure Island and Puss in Boots, and for this newest film, it may have drawn some inspiration by it. When two anthropomorphic kids, Sebastian (Alfred Bjerre Larsen), an elephant, and Mitcho (Liva Elvira Magnussen), a cat, find a message in a bottle, revealing where J.B. (the Mayor of Sunnytown) disappeared off to, they embark on a wondrous adventure (in a pear).

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