Tag: History

Top 10 Animated and Cinematic Fantasy Worlds to (Re)visit after Watching Dungeons and Dragons Honor Among Thieves

We got a list that considers how cinematic fantasy worlds should look like in both the cinematic and broadcast front.

Cinematic Fantasy Worlds - 300 Rise of an Empire Movie Poster

After Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, I felt the need to cleanse the palette. I wanted to visit other cinematic fantasy worlds that truly delivers the mediaeval aesthetic. To find a film that’s true to the feel is tough, and to nail a top ten is even harder! I hit streaming services and my library to see what’s there, and I was being tough on myself since any element that’s off meant taking it out of this list.

Movies based on mythology are a given. And I’ve removed literary works like The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings because that would be cheating. What I offer here is listed in alphabetical order and the links go to Amazon USA for those wanting to stream it or to buy. Final movie trailers are also included to separate each entry.

300 (2006)

Zack Snyder’s colourful and gritty story about a bunch of Spartans protecting a pass is a movie to truly marvel at. When all of Greece gets threatened, what else can an elite warrior class do? Here, we learn about what it takes to defend a nation. As for the sacrifices, it’s the stuff of legends. Although the sequel doesn’t fare as well as the original, this pairing is a must for fans of this filmmaker.

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Tetris. Must All The Bricks Fall Break Down?

Nobody in America knows who truly owns Tetris, and to find out who can license the rights is a lot more difficult than playing the game when the bricks are falling fast!

Tetris (2023) Movie PosterPlaying on Apple Plus

Despite a lot of exaggerated moments about how the Tetris licence is acquired, this historical thriller is very exciting to watch. If only more semi-biographical works were like this, I wouldn’t need to consult the huge book library I have concerning the golden era of video games.

Anyone can go online to learn how this game was invented. It’s nicely summarised in this film, but to dramatise the legal problems to the level that director Jon S. Baird stylises it as requires more than an intimate knowledge of all that went on. Noah Pink wrote a script that chronicles the events leading up to the discovery of a simple but addictive puzzle game. What he adds includes how Henk Rogers (Taron Egerton) is feeling the pressure. He’s a family man who wants to succeed as a business manager. This subplot shows everything he’s willing to sacrifice.

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How to Love Going Back to the Drive-in. It’s All About The Family.

That American entrepreneurship to own your own business and give back to your community is the spirit we see in Going Back to the Drive-in.

Director April Wright is Going Back to the Drive-In.Now streaming on Amazon Prime and other platforms

Some people may think of the drive-in theatre as antiquated, but it is not. They still exist far and wide, and as for why they are worth going to is because it helps foster local communities. And for one passionate filmmaker, April Wright, her lifelong examination of this culture is part of a series called Going Attractions. Her latest work, Going Back to the Drive-In, looks at not only this aspect but also what goes on to maintain these operations in today’s global climate.

I had the opportunity to speak to Wright, and we talked about history, its rise back into the public consciousness because of the pandemic, and its future. She said, “My very first documentary came out in 2013, and it was called Going Attractions: The Definitive Story of the American Drive-in Movie (available on Tubi). It explored the whole history of drive-ins.”

After making a few other works, she decided on producing Going Attractions: The Definitive Story of the Movie Palace. It was about the indoor cinema experience the big old theatres built by the studios. Afterwards was Stuntwomen, The Untold Hollywood Story. Although she could have gone on to produce other movies about the studio system, a little voice said something else.

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Layma’s Poem Prepares Us for a Magic Carpet Ride

The pen is mightier than the sword, and in Layma’s Poem care more than your standard mystical meaning as a world in chaos tries to wreck one poor girl’s soul.

Layma’s PoemFreestyle Digital Media
On Demand (Apple TV+) and Digital, Feb 21st

In Syria, a young girl (voiced by Millie Davis) is getting ready to embark on a magic carpet ride while a civil war breaks out in Aleppo. And what we witness in Layma’s Poem is a tale that delicately balances between the reality of her life and another fantasy that’s not too different from Pan’s Labyrinth. Thankfully, it’s not totally scary. But to help her during this trying time is a book of wisdom by Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Balkhī. This author is more commonly known as Jalaluddin Rumi.

It helps her understand everything that’s going on not only from his time (800 years ago) but also now. What we hear can also teach us something too about patience and virtue. Although the younger version of this poet hasn’t earned his recognition as a person of wisdom yet, what he learns from his peer and later imparts to the girl is very inspiring.

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It’s Been A Slice. Hidden Blade’s Political Intrique Will Delight!

Everything Er Cheng presented in Hidden Blade is fascinating and scary at the same time.

Hidden BladeWell GO USA
Release Date: Feb 17, 2023

Mori Hiroyuki‘s enigmatic role in Hidden Blade (长空之王) is perhaps the most telling about all that transpired within to save China from itself, and the occupation that took place during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Multiple eyes are on Wang Jingwei’s Puppet Regime and they aren’t doing anything to give the Chinese people peace of mind.

What we hear from this Japanese diplomat is that he’s involved. Nearly a quarter of his dialogue is about defining our expectations for this movie. When he said, “Japan and China are inseparable partners. It’s our shared goal to boost the economy, join hands against the Communists, and achieve prosperity in East Asia. We wish that more and more Chinese people could understand Japan’s true intentions,” I got the shivers.

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Are We Ready to Run 3000 Miles of Chang’an?

Light Chaser Animation’s 3000 Miles of Chang’an is slated for release this Summer, and it’ll be different from their previous works.

3000 Miles of Chang'an Light Chaser Animation‘s upcoming 3000 Miles of Chang’an is a radical departure from their New Gods line of films, and it’s only a mere six or seven months away from release! In what I could dig up about this upcoming title is that the story will focus on a different aspect of Chinese History. Instead of focusing on further heroics from characters from classic folklore, what this latest tale will deal with is brotherly love, and the life and times of two famous poets.

Perhaps the switch is for the better. As much as I love to see further adventures from Ne Zha and Yang Jian from the New Gods series of films, perhaps they are meant to be sunsetted in favour for further tales to expound on a world today’s Chinese children don’t know about.

Although the tease at the end of New Gods: Yang Jian suggested Monkey will get to tell his story about those times from his persepctive, I suspect that won’t happen anytime soon.

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