From Dragon Master to Dragon Knight. Can Kung Fu Panda Regain His Honour?

Kung Fu Panda The Dragon Knight is better than Legends of Awesomeness because we have a stronger ongoing narrative.

Kung Fu Panda Dragon Knight PosterAvailable to view on Netflix
Spoiler Alert

Po (Jack Black) has to make “The Journey to the West” in true Monkey King fashion if he’s to regain his honour. In the latest entry to the Kung Fu Panda franchise, he’s neither the Dragon Master nor the Dragon Knight (the title of this latest series) because his tomfoolery destroyed a village. Also, he let it lose its most precious protected relic to two weasels. If he can’t recover the stolen WuGao Gauntlet with Luthera of Landreth (Rita Ora), a bear from England, then he’ll have a lot more to lose. But this female knight has problems too.

If this plot sounds familiar, that’s because we’ve seen it before in Avatar: The Last Avatar and Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu. It combines ideas from the early seasons. One is in finding your true potential all over again. To see Po wanting to see people to have faith in him is far more important than the other arc about saving the world from a Thanos level threat.

Continue reading “From Dragon Master to Dragon Knight. Can Kung Fu Panda Regain His Honour?”

Taking Jumanji to the Next Level …

Jumanji Movie PosterBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Spoiler Alert

The world of Jumanji is dangerous, and The Next Level proves just how vicious it can be. This third film of the series shows that “players” from our reality are not simply transported there for fun. It’s sentient and the reason is with how it recognizes select individuals and helps them out in crazy vicious ways.

When it was first discovered, it was a board game. But when it realizes that video games are the in thing, like a Motherbox from the DC Comic book world, it reconfigured itself so anyone finding it will try the game out. Usually those who are baited in discover for themselves how much life is better afterwards.

Continue reading “Taking Jumanji to the Next Level …”

TIck Tock, The House With A Clock In Its Walls Chimes in Tues, Dec 18th!

Not every trope needs to be explored in The House With A Clock in Its Walls. It’s essentially a movie about a haunted house.

House with a Clock in its Walls
Click here to pre-orderHouse with a Clock in its Walls

Horror maestro Eli Roth proves he can make a family-friendly film and still remain loyal to his humble beginnings. When considering certain production elements gave the cast the creeps, I had to chuckle. This admission can be found in the bevy of extras (5 to 7-minute clips) included in The House With A Clock in Its Walls home video release. It’s already available on digital and can be bought online or purchased at media outlets come December 18th. 

Fans of the 1973 novel by John Bellair and newcomers to his works can hear about how his book was adapted. Included are alternate opening and ending sequences which would have entirely changed the tone of the film. Though I have not read the book in years, I do know filmmakers record a collection of ideas, and work with editors to fashion the best narrative possible. Full details of deleted scenes and the creation of can be found listed at the end of this article.

Roth imbues this work with a lingering sense of dread. Screenwriter Eric Kripke is best known for creating Supernatural and to see him writing screenplays with that jovial camaraderie as the series makes this tale shine. The film even slimes it up Nickelodeon style! The terror is soft enough to give goosebumps and when I share the same sentiment as Uncle Jonathan (Jack Black) for rustic looking porcelain dolls, I had to bite my lip. His goal is to find where that clock is and he gives this work the comic relief to make it just as fun as Robin Williams Jumanji. He is aided by Blanchett as Florence Zimmerman (Cate Blanchett). Isaac Izard (Kyle MacLachlan) is the villain, and he makes no bones about it; he wants to turn back time.

Continue reading “TIck Tock, The House With A Clock In Its Walls Chimes in Tues, Dec 18th!”

Counting the Goosebumps found in the Sequel…

House with a Clock in its WallsBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

* Spoiler Alert

Jack Black is more than R. L. Stine in the Goosebumps film franchise. His goofy charm on screen makes for a lot of fun. But when considering he’s also in The House with a Clock in Its Walls, which was in theatres last month, perhaps the lack of his presence was intentional so no confusion is made.

In the sequel, the heroes are Sarah Quinn (Madison Iseman), younger brother Sonny (Jeremy Ray Taylor) and friend to the family Sam Carter (Caleel Harris). The boys start up their own junkyard business and on their first job; they find a mysterious book inside a Pandora’s box. Before they know it, Slappy the Dummy (Mick Wingert), appears and they speak the words to give him life again.

Continue reading “Counting the Goosebumps found in the Sequel…”

Could there be a trilogy with the new Jumanji? A Late Movie Review & Thoughts

In reality, the characters in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle are social outcasts. When they find the game, they transform into avatars of renown.

Jumanji

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

More eyes were on Star Wars: The Last Jedi last month than Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. After all, it’s tough to beat the Robin Williams classic. When compared to movies of today, the effects are dated and a lot of blue screening was done to get animals to overlay with the human actors. The 1995 film had elements which played around with the themes of taking responsibility for one’s actions.

Flash forward to the 2017 film. The premise skirts around a few of the original themes, but instead simply have fun with it. The world is expanded upon and it feels like Temple Run, the mobile and online game. If anyone plans on taking the treasure, they better be darn sure they can escape! Instead of a board game, the product transforms into a video game and sucks new people into its world, like the 1982 film TRON.

Continue reading “Could there be a trilogy with the new Jumanji? A Late Movie Review & Thoughts”

%d bloggers like this: