Tag Archives: History

Romulus & Remus: The First King … But Who’s the only King?

23 Sep

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Well GO USA
Release Date: Sept 24, 2019

Romulus and Remus, we know the legend about them, but have we ever seen a movie about the founding of Rome? Despite the debate over how this city truly developed (there’s another account concerning a lady named Roma), what this movie, The First King (Il primo re), by director Matteo Rovere offers is plenty of true grit. Filippo Gravino and Francesca Manieri co-wrote the screenplay with this filmmaker, and what I saw is the relationship of the two brothers as they struggle against a greater enemy–destiny–as who will ultimately be leader.

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What’s Next for Chimera Theatre after Robber’s Bride?

26 Aug

chimera theatre, chimera logoBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Kamloops based Chimera Theatre takes part of their shows to many a Fringe Festival. Over the past couple of years, the variety they offer range from dance to folklore to history to myth and the list does not necessarily end there. I may have to consider moving to their home base to see the remaining half of what they produce.

Their latest performance is The Robber Bridegroom. This adaptation of the Brothers Grimm take differs from their last tribute from years ago which blended equal parts live action with puppet theatre. This revision is far darker and the spectacle is told with glorious haunting imagery which defines many a piece of Germanic folklore. Writer Andrew G. Cooper injected a lot of wonderful additions which lives up to this company’s name. To see puppets whose only lines which sounds like Beaker from the Muppets is quite often what I recall from my dreams too.

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The Shadow You Are & Deep Within, the Shadow You Aren’t

16 Aug

Available to purchase on Amazon (4K)

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Released Aug 13, 2019
Well GO USA

Zhang Yimou’s Shadow is a kind of wuxia film to be best watched on the big screen for its details and colour contrasts. After being enthralled, it should be viewed again on home video to understand its complex narrative. I certainly needed it especially since it last played theatrically at Fantasia Fest 2019.

This tragic tale of court drama is the type I feel Shakespeare will love, and if there is a person whom I feel is damned, that would be the king’s Commander Ziyu (Deng Chao). He challenged General Yang (Hu Jun) from a nearby settlement to a duel without royal authorization and this battle complicates things.

King Peiliang (Zhang Kai) wants that city back under his rule. He goes as far as offering his sister Princess Qingping (Guan Xiaotong) as a wife for Yang’s son, and she doesn’t like the idea at all. To make matters worse, the shadow (to which this movie gets its name) is a doppelgänger masquerading as Ziyu while the real one is recovering. Only his wife Madam (Sun Li) knows and if things are not bad enough, she has feelings for the lookalike.

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Video

The Name of the Game is… Eugene Jarvis!

30 Nov

Gunpowder & Sky’s Filmbuff and media brand Futurism are teaming up to release Finnish documentary The Name of the Game, on November 30th worldwide. It will be available on streaming services such as iTunes, Amazon Video, VUDU, Google Play, Microsoft Movies & TV, STEAM, and Vimeo

This feature-length film gives unprecedented access into the video game industry, documenting the collaboration between legendary arcade game designer, Eugene Jarvis and the Finnish game developer, Housemarque.

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