Dragon Age: Dawn Of The Seeker (2012)

Title: Dragon Age: Dawn Of The Seeker
Release: 2012, Video
Starring: Colleen Clinkenbeard, J. Michael Tatum, Chuck Huber
Directed by: Fumihiko Sori
IMDB Page: Link opens in a new window
Description: In the land of Orlais, the chantry's elite soldiers known as the seekers have tracked down a blood mage cult bent on using a dragons blood and a young girl to free mages from oppression all over Thedas through terror, but as their plot is foiled a much larger and dangerous conspiracy is unveiled.

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Dragon Ball Z: The World's Strongest (1990)

Film: Dragon Ball Z: The World's Strongest (Doragon bôru Z: Kono yo de ichiban tsuyoi yatsu)
Release: 1990, theatrical
Starring: Sean Schemmel, Stephanie Nadolny, R. Bruce Elliot
Directed by: Daisuke Nishio
Previous in the series: Dragon Ball Z: The Dead Zone
Next in the series: Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might
IMDB page: Link opens in a new window

Description: The aging Dr. Kochin gathers the Dragon Balls and decides to wish for the resurrection of his mentor, the most brilliant and villainous mind the world has ever seen, Dr. Wheelo.

Hans' thoughts:

The second movie to be based on the Dragon Ball Z series, this movie once again doesn't seem to fit in anywhere particular in the overall timeline. However if it were to based completely on their looks and power levels I would wager somewhere during the attack of the Saiyans. The World's Strongest tells the story of the resurrection of a brilliant but slightly mad scientist called Dr. Wheelo. The man's body did not survive the restoration process however and he is nothing but a living brain able to communicate through machinery, he decides he wants to be the most powerful man in the world so he sends his people out to find the world's strongest man - whom he believes to Master Roshi, due to the many years that have passed since he was alive. While you can certainly question why Dr. Wheelo and his henchmen didn't just look up "The World's Strongest" in a modern day encyclopedia to find out that Master Roshi hasn't held the title for years, it makes for an interesting concept that someone would actually have a beef with Roshi. 

However good setup does not a good plotline make and Dr. Wheelo as a villain did not interest me in the slightest. His character design is never really shown due to the dark coloring of the movie and once he becomes the actual action villain of the piece he is taken out so quickly that it felt like a big load of nothing. This movie is a prime example of good concept but ridiculously poor execution. His underlings aren't especially interesting to look at either, some of them look like a barebones recolor of the saibamen from the Saiyan attack in the main series, while his elite squad of 3 fighters all look like they could have been interesting if they had actually been given anything to do in the movie besides make up for the action sequence quota. Dr. Koshin who kickstarts the problems just looks like a creepy old man but at least the reveal of how he was able to collect the Dragon Balls in his poor physical condition does make for a fun little twist. Unfortunately the five minute resolution of the movie just kills everything that was set up.

Not even our heroes get all that much to do this time around, aside from some barebones social interaction they pretty much just go from fight scene to fight scene. Had they actually done something with the fact that they having Roshi partake in the action perhaps the movie could have been salvage in the dramatic department but that part of the plot is brushed aside very early on in order to exploit the potential for rivalry between Son Goku and Piccolo. Dragon Ball has always had a very colorful character gallery and it's always sad when characters go barely used like in this case. I'm almost convinced that this movie could have taken a more interesting route had it either been put in another franchise altogether or at the very least at a more suitable point in the timeline. 

The World's Strongest is in my opinion one of the poorest Dragon Ball movies because of it's lazy design, poor writing  and just boring tone. This is a very boring Dragon Ball movie, the stakes are as low as ever and the fight scenes just kinda buzz by your eyes on the screen. Coloring wise the movie is also very poor, this might just be because of the age of the picture but in none of the versions I have seen of this are the dark coloring of the backgrounds not a problem, features will frequently blend in with the background and our main villain is barely visible once he joins in the fight. To top it all off, the movie also has some of the poorest sound design I have ever seen in a animated feature, the reused sound effects are a staple of the series, but why they decided to have such a barebones usage of the series soundtrack is anyone's guess. If you don't want to miss any of the Dragon Ball movies, you will find at the very least a light dosage of entertainment but everyone else I'll argue that your time is better spent elsewhere.

Dragon Ball Z: The Dead Zone (1989)

Film: Dragon Ball Z: The Dead Zone (Doragon bôru Z: Ora no Gohan wo kaese)
Release: 1989, theatrical
Starring: Sean Schemmel, Stephanie Nadolny, Christopher Sabat
Directed by: Daisuke Nishio
Previous in the series: Dragon Ball: Mystical Adventure
Next in the series: Dragon Ball Z: The World's Strongest
IMDB page: Link opens in a new window
Description: One day a mysterious group of fighters kidnap the son of Son Goku. It turns out to be the work of the powerful Garlic Jr., a villain with a connection to Kami's past.

Hans' thoughts:

The first of the Dragon Ball movies to be based on the adulthood era, the only one of the movies to directly affect events in TV-series and the first of the movies to not continue the storyline in the alternate movie universe. The Dead Zone takes place between the fight against Piccolo at the Martial Arts Tournament and the appearance of Raditz on Earth. Years after barely defeating Piccolo and saving the world, Goku has married his fiancé Chichi and had a child whom he named after his grandfather, Son Gohan. Most people who know of this era of the show know it as "Dragon Ball Z", it's a direct continuation of the original series and draws from the latter half of original manga but the "Z" was added to the title of the animated series as a reference to the distinct change in tone the story would have beyond this point, the humor would be greatly downplayed in favor of longer fight scenes and more drama-driven storytelling. The Dead Zone pretty much exemplifies this change, most of the characters that until now have been mainstays of the series have been put on the backburner. The character designs are also more humanoid - the details come more from their battle armors and hairstyles. 

Plotwise we have a pretty epic tale, it's not often we hear of events on Earth prior to Goku's landing as a small child so it's nice to get some insight, even if it is unofficial. Hundreds of years ago the unnamed Namekian that would later be known as Kami fought a man named Garlic over the succession of the former Kami (Kami being a word for "God" or "Spirit" in the Japanese Shinto mythology). Garlic's greed got the best of him and he was sealed away, in the present his son known as Garlic Jr. is gathering the Dragon Balls in order to wish for immortality and take revenge for his father. This of course causes the involvement of our hero, as one of the Dragon Balls is attached to the hat of his son and he gets kidnapped by Garlic Jr.s elite warriors in the process. The stakes feel pretty high and Goku's newly adopted serious demeanor does make for a very cool action hero. The humor of the previous movies is nearly completely gone, while there are some rather silly moments in the movie (such as a drugged hallucination sequence) the new focus is very visible. Where exactly this movie is supposed to take place in the plotline other than "before Raditz landed" is a bit of a mist however, as some of the vents directly contradict the way things go down in the main series.

Thankfully the villain of this movie is a lot better than the previous movie-original villains we have seen until now. Garlic Jr. being directly involved with characters of the main storyline makes us interested in him as a character and as opposed to original villains that would delve into fanfiction territory in later movies, he doesn't feel like a tacked on side-villain at all. As far as his minions go, while they're not particularly fleshed out they do manage to seem threatening enough for our heroes to take on.The action scenes also take up more of the movie, and thankfully they're a bit better handled than even some fights in the main series. I don't really have much to report on the side of the english voice cast, they're not doing bad jobs at all but they're not being fantastic either. The best performance in the movie is Christopher Sabat, he voices several of the characters but the one he did best with was Kami if only because of his monologue.

Animation-wise the movie is a bit of a step up from any of the former movies, the colors feel more streamlined and not nearly as blurred together with the lineart as in the others while a trippy drug sequence made for comical effect showcases some fun imagery if only briefly. Garlic Junior's "final form" is also a lot more threatening looking design-wise. While certainly not the best Dragon Ball movie, it manages to hold your attention for the duration and like the other movies the short running time of around 40 minutes makes it so it doesn't outstay it's welcome. While I'm personally more fond of the childhood tales of Goku and friends you also can't deny the utter star power of the Z series and it's version of the characters. 

Dragon Ball: Mystical Adventure (1988)

Film: Dragon Ball: Mystical Adventure (Doragon bôru: Makafushigi dai bôken)
Release: 1988, Theatrical
Starring: Ceyli Delgadillo, Meredith McCoy, Kent Williams
Directed by: Kazuhisa Takenouichi
Previous in the series: Dragon Ball: Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle
Next in the series: Dragon Ball Z: The Dead Zone
IMDB page: Link opens in a new window
Description: Taking place a year later, Goku and Krillin has finished their training with Master Roshi and is going to the big city to prove themselves in the international martial arts tournament. Meanwhile, a child emperor has lost his queen and is gathering the legendary dragon balls in order to find her, little aware that his advisor has sinister purposes of his own

Hans' thoughts:

Presumably this movie takes place in the same version of the Dragon Ball universe where the two previous films takes place, as once again we have a retelling of, this time not only one but two major story arcs from the main comics with a series of changes made to make it work as a film. The story lines combined are what is known among fans as "The 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai" and "The Red Ribbon Saga" but with major changes in what amount of involvement different characters have in the plot and what position they have. Most notable are the changes done to the characters of Tien and Chiaotzu. In the original comics, Tien and Chiaotzu made their first appearance as competitors in a martial arts tournament being misguided into cruelty by their ambitious master and rival of Master Roshi, Master Shen. In this version, Chiaotzu is the child emperor of the nation where the tournament is held, Shen is his deceiving advisor and Tien serves as his bodyguard, on top of that, what in the series and comics is known as the Red Ribbon army owned by the devilish Commander Red is in this version the royal army of Emperor Chiaotzu, with Mercenary Tao Bai Bai serving as it's general and Master Shen serving as it's behind-the-scenes commander. Blue does make an appearance as well, but in this case he serves as a lieutenant rather than a General.

However in spite of all these changes, the core feel of the story is actually kept very much intact. Characters still play the same role as they did before but in a vastly different setting and it makes for a interesting "what if..?" scenario. This story, while not entirely humorless, does have a more serious tone but it differentiates from Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle by actually giving a sense of high stakes. The martial arts tournament also gives the opportunity for more action scenes, but (perhaps thankfully) the focus is quickly shifted to giving us a main villain in the form of Mercenary Tao. Tao was the first character to actually start killing people in the series so having him here makes for a really badass bad guy. His motivations are purely based on bloodlust however, so perhaps for the sake of substance Master Shen is there as well as the one pulling the strings. 

Oddly enough this movie doesn't use any original characters at all to the point of keeping scenes from the original story arcs you wouldn't consider all that important. The most obvious one would be the inclusion of Goku's journey to Penguin City, for those not in the know, Penguin City was the setting for a comedic series called Dr. Slump that the author of the original comic book Akira Toriyama had done before he went on to create Dragon Ball. In the comic, Goku travels to Penguin City while fighting the villanous General Blue of the Red Ribbon army. There he meets some of the characters from Dr. Slump comic series and is even assisted by them in the fight. This is somewhat kept into the movie, as Arale, the superpowered main character of the series stays around to spectate a battle between Goku and Mercenary Tao throughout their second battle. It was meant as a easter egg for the fans of Dr. Slump in the original manga, so keeping it in a movie adaptation is one thing, but putting her on the poster is a really strange choice. Why they did this is anyone's guess but my bet is that it was done for marketing reasons.

Most of Goku's normal allies, while definitely present throughout, takes a major backseat in this movie. This is mainly Goku's adventure and it is mostly focused on having Goku overcome his struggles by himself. This makes the other characters mainly serve as expository characters and most of their scenes involve comic relief. Honestly though, if it wasn't for the cheerful music and bright colors some of the moments in this one actually becomes pretty serious so I'm glad they at the very least decided to leave the other characters in the movie. The Red Ribbon Army saga of the comics is one of my favorite comic book plotlines out there, so take it from me when I say that all the changes made to the story actually doesn't take you out of the experience. Instead it's a fun movie and perhaps one of the best Dragon Ball movies out there, Z or otherwise included.

Dragon Ball: Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle (1987)

Film: Dragon Ball: Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle (Doragon Bôru: Majinjô no nemuri hime)
Release: 1987, theatrical
Starring: Ceyli Delgadillo, Mike McFarland, Laurie Steele
Directed by: Daisuke Nishio
Previous in the series: Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubies
Next in the series: Dragon Ball: Mystical Adventure
IMDB page: Link opens in a new window
Description: The boy with the monkey tail, Son Goku, seeks out Master Roshi the turtle hermit in order to become his apprentice. However he gains a rival in the newcomer, a young but skilled martial artist named Krillin. Roshi decides he only wants one apprentice so he makes it into a contest: Whoever can save the legendary sleeping princess from the evil Count Lucifer's castle becomes his underling.

Hans' thoughts:

Continuing the trend set by Curse of the Blood Rubies, we're once again dealing with an alternate retelling of what is among fans known as "The Master Roshi saga". This is the story set immediately after the saga which Curse of the Blood Rubies was based on making this one of the few direct Dragon Ball movie sequels plus it's an indicator that at this point in the production of the tie-in movies they were trying to establish the movies as their own separate universe - but I'm getting ahead of myself. In this story, instead of telling how Krillin and Goku trained under Master Roshi the story turns into a fairy tale adventure with our heroes raiding a demon's castle. This is a step up from the former movie in quite a few ways, first off the setting is much more fantasy-like with the castle being larger than life and filled with statues of monsters - for a kids movie it actually manages to be very creepy even if most of it is just differently colored backgrounds. The setting of the movie being amongst demon's also allows for much more imaginative designs and while they didn't take the concept and run with it, it is a step-up from the very plain character designs of it's predecessor. 

A lot of modern fans tend to ignore this, but at this point in time Krillin was the closest Goku had to a rival, a spot that would later be taken by characters like Piccolo or Vegeta. While I love those two characters as much as any Dragon Ball fan, this movie reminded me of how closely Goku and Krillin used to resemble each other in strength. Other characters make an appearance as well, as an example Bulma does pay a small part in the story but for the most part it focuses on the adventure of Krillin and Goku. The villain this time is a Count Dracula type character named Count Lucifer, there's not really much to him - his motivations for doing what he does is barely explained and in a movie where most of the new designs are pretty interesting to look at he makes for the most boring design of all. I found myself being kind of taken aback by how boring he looks. At the very least the rest of the movie makes for much better entertainment so he amounts to a small failing at best.

The humor of the movie is pretty good as well, once again playing on how much more naive Goku is opposed to everyone else. The entire reason for Master Roshi to send them out for "The Sleeping Princess" in the first place pretty much amounts to him being a giant horndog so while the reasons behind the adventure on both sides are kind of dumbs, at least the actual action scenes, while not as good as in most other Dragon Ball stories, make for some pretty cool and funny moments. One of my main complaints for Curse of the Blood Rubies was the lack of the series sci-fi element and on that pedestal this movie is even lower, there is next to no indication whatsoever of the cool science fiction this series would later become in that most of it takes place in a medieval castle, however this time it didn't bother me as much because of the higher dedication to sticking to one setting in this film.

Artwise the movie is also a lot more vivid, the high amount of silly faces from the original series makes it mark in much higher amount here and it results in a bigger emphasis in carrying over the style - a lot of this actually looks like a Toriyama drawing instead of just an imitation by the animation studio in question. On the voice acting side I once again watched the dubbed version. While there is a pretty good performance from the regular cast I wasn't overly fond of the performance from most of the newcoming characters especially that of our main villain who, combined with a poor design, just came off as bland. This is really sad because the villain is voiced by Mike McFarland, the same person who voices Master Roshi with whom he actually did a pretty good job. Overall the film turned out to be a fun little fairy-tale adventure - however it fails to make the stakes feel all that high at all and that makes for a major problem in a show centered around a superpowered martial artist riding on a cloud.  I'd say watch it for a doze of that Dragon Ball humor but don't expect as good storytelling as in most other outings for the series. If not purely for curiosity's sake, there isn't much else to find here.

Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubies (1986)

Film: Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubies (Doragun bôru: Shenron no densetsu)
Release: 1986, theatrical
Starring: Colleen Clinkenbeard, Monica Rial, Jeremy Inman
Directed by: Daisuke Nishio
Next in the series: Dragon Ball: Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle
IMDB page: Link opens in a new window
Description: In the mountains, a boy named Son Goku lives in total seclusion until one day he meets a young treasure hunting girl named Bulma - meanwhile in a small kingdom, the king has grown cruel and greedy in the hunt for the highly valuable Blood Rubies.

Hans' thoughts:

For kids all over the world, Dragon Ball has played the role of their first introduction to the shounen manga genre. The tale of a young boy, his friends and their action filled hunt for the legendary seven dragon balls that can fulfill any wish has proven to be such a popular genre the the series has spun off several video games, four cartoon shows, a slew of merchandise and of course a long line of movies. This time we're looking at the very first Dragon Ball movie, Curse of the Blood Rubies. The movie is centered around a small kingdom ruled by a king that has recently grown malevolent and has a extreme hunger he believes can only be removed by the magic of the dragon balls, he sends out his two elite soldiers to find the remaining balls he needs, meanwhile the movie also retells the first four or five chapters of the original series as we get the origin of Goku and Bulma's meeting, as well as a re-introduction for Master Roshi the turtle hermit, Yamcha the bandit and Oolong & Pool the two shapeshifting animals. As far as the retelling goes, I have to admit that while I perfectly understand their reasons for doing so I had far preferred they'd kept the origins out of the movie. The original stories the introduced the characters were pretty heavily grounded in the raunchy comedic nature of the show and some of the best moments have been left out - most likely due to the perceived age-rating of the film. However to their credit the writers of the film has managed to keep the spirit of the series very much alive and all the characters have their personalities intact. It should also be mentioned that this film has a running time of a meager 47 minutes, so it doesn't outstay it's welcome at all.

If you're familiar at all with the show, you know pretty much the standard fare for what you're in for. Goku is our super strong but fairly naive and stupid hero that saves the day with the help of his more world-weary cynical allies that are pretty much only in it for themselves. As far as Dragon Ball movies go, the storyline for this one is pretty good - Dragon Ball is a very action heavy but also storyline oriented series so trying to make something that fits somewhere into the story can be pretty trying - most of the time, the movies will mix up who were alive and had what powers at a certain point of the series. That's probably why they initially decided to make the movie take place at the very beginning of the story, making this some sort of alternative plotline. The actual big bad of this plotline in the series was the vindictive Prince Pilaf, who is nowhere to be found in this movie.

The villains have very simple designs compared to almost all other instances this series has ever seen, a low amount of color and more focus on body type is also a witness of how early on in the run the movie was made. Our main villain is kept in shadow for most of it, and does look interesting one he's finally revealed but the villains we spend the most time with are just two people in uniform. It's simplistic, but in the context of the story it works very well. By this time in the series, we had yet to be introduced to the major science fiction aspects the show would later encompass, and as such the film as much more of a medieval fantasy feel to it with Bulma's Capsule Corp. technology being the only real reminder of the shows setting most of the time. The animation of the movie is also very simplistic, I imagine it was done on the same budget as the show as it makes high use of still-frames to tell it's story. While mostly good, there is the case of the character of a little girl made especially for the movie, she's the films main character outside of the series mainstays and while she has a simple and cute design very akin to the iconic Akira Toriyama art style, the animators decided to animate some of her hairs separately and that unfortunately gives off the effect of her looking like a glorified Raggedy Ann doll.

I watched the Funimation version of the film, so I was treated to the English voice cast. While it's certainly apparent that the cast has become much better since it actually turned out to be a decent enough dub. Of course at times the difference in sound level between the high quality microphones used for the dub and the background music did become fairly obvious but never to the point that it took me out of the experience. There exists some very horrible voice-overs of Japanese animation out there and you can do far worse than the Funimation dub of Dragon Ball that as to some people become neigh iconic and a preferred choice. That's the boat I'm in, as I have never been a big fan of especially Goku's original voice, while it's standard fare for women to voice main character in japanese animation, in the case of Son Goku I felt the actress let him be way too high pitched. As I said however, this version had the Funimation voice cast and they do a well enough job of conveying the characters and their emotions. 

Superior quality of the original series aside, this movie holds it's own among the dragon ball animated movies and is a fitting start for what would become one of the most popular animated series in the genre. A mix of a sweet and simple story, some nice comedic moments and a fair quality of the series staple of martial arts action scenes. Curse of the Blood Rubies may not be the greatest Dragon Ball story out there but it manages to be a fun animated kids movie and an entertaining nostalgia trip for long time fans.

Oz the Great and Powerful (2013)

Film: Oz the Great and Powerful
Release: 2013, theatrical
Starring: James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz, Michelle Williams
Directed by: Sam Raimi
IMDB page: Link opens in a new window
Description: A stage-magician and conman is transported to the magical kingdom of Oz, where he's believed to be the prophesied great wizard that will rescue the land from an evil wicked witch that murdered the king.

Hans' thoughts:

Functioning as a prequel to one of the greatest childrens stories of all time, Oz the Great and Powerful give us the backstory of the man known as Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkel Emmannuel Ambroise Diggs - Oz to friends and audiences. He's played in this film as a fast talking womanizing fortune-seeker by James Franco, whom audiences might recognize as Harry Osborn in the Spider-Man trilogy also directed by Raimi. I have to admit I was not a fan of his performance in the Spider-Man movies, but that is mostly because I felt they were "too mopey", focused too much on drama than on actual superhero stuff. Which is why Franco really surprised me by his performance in this film, although he carried over one or two elements he is generally a lot more energic and animated in this than he was in the Spider-Man films - then again, Oz and Harry Osborn are two radically different characters in many ways. The other main actors in the film are all female, each of them stunning in their own right I have to admit the one out the three I felt did the best job was Mila Kunis. While she is very reserved throughout most of the film, when she finally steps into character you can tell that she tries to give it her all in her performance. Mila Kunis plays the role of the withdrawn and naive Theodora, and her arc in the movie serves as the origin story for yet another of the big name Wizard of Oz characters. Her and Franco's character arcs almost mirrors one another in a way, and when you consider the big weight that's put on their shoulders they do a pretty good job with what they're handed. As good as any of the performances in the film may be though, Weisz is a good schemer, Williams makes for a good pureheart and Franco is a fun hero to follow, Kunis completely steals every scene. The film obviously has a lot of key moments it wants to present to the audience, and unfortunately that means it rushes from moment to moment in an attempt to get as much "stuff" in the film as possible. This means that aside from being archetypes, none of the characters are given the time they deserve to be fleshed out more. We certainly end up rooting for the good guys and wanting the bad guys to fail, but I feel that it really could have helped if the audience was given a breather to actually get to know the characters before moving on the the next big story-changing moment. 

Why they decided to do it like this is anyones guess, this film while a prequel to the Oz tales is not based on any of the original books, much in the same vein of the popular musical Wicked, which also gave it's own take on giving us an origin story for the state of affairs in Oz before Dorothy arrives. Reusing the method from the MGM picture, The Wizard of Oz, the film starts off as black and white and then turns vibrant and colorful when we get to the magical land. This is a very nice nod in the direction of the classic, but the large amount of "okay, we gotta get through all this stuff" made it so we don't spend so much time in Kansas meaning the method is kind of squandered on the piece. In the film which it mimics, Kansas is shown with a pretty somber tone and it becomes a huge contrast to all the lively stuff that happens in Oz. However in this, the mood change is practically non-existent, it seems like even in Kansas, Oscar Diggs was a energetic conman on the run from one situation to another and as such there is not much new under the sun when he comes to Oz and continues his behaviour. Visually, the film is absolutely beautiful. While I'll rally the call for more practical effects just as soon as the next guy, I simply cannot deny how much I loved the look of both the animated characters and environments. It is obvious however, when the audience was supposed to be wearing 3D glasses as there are several moments where the environment and characters "pops out" at the audience. I watched it in 2D, but the film still remains beautiful all the same. The color green (representing the Emerald City, no doubt) is a recurring factor in much of the films visuals and it works to great effect. The most beautiful part of the film however is the character known as The Little China Girl. A small living porcelain doll that makes for one of our main characters required sidekicks - this is an Oz tale after all. She is an incredibly sweet character and she is stunningly animated, perhaps even better than that of Gollum from Peter Jackson's Lord of The Rings films.

The film is much more of a classic fantasy tale - with Oz being the "chosen one" fighting against an evil army only armed with his ingenuity. It's been done to a children's tale before, many will probably remember the Tim Burton movie "Alice in Wonderland" where the titular Alice character would end up fighting The Jabberwocky. Thankfully however, this film doesn't try to make the story particularly dark or heavily stylised. Whereas the Burton picture almost revelled in the potential for using the directors knack for bizarre imagery, Instead it shows exactly why this film is an Oz tale and not an attempt to mimic the likes of The Lord of The Rings, much more like Raimi's other work it feels almost like a living comic book - the characters are all easily recognizable and the shots are akin to that of comic book panels. This feels like a live-action cartoon, and it very much makes a childrens story feel like it has very high stage without trying to cater to adults. This is childrens film in some regard, and one that follows the Don Bluth proverb "Children can be submitted to pretty much anything as long as there's a happy ending" and it really seems to that train of thought to heart. Our characters go through some very dark moments, without revelling in making the imagery dark as well. It is fully aware that it's possible to convey dark consequences and events without having to show horrifying imagery. When it needs to be sad, I genuinely felt it was up there with moments like the sinking of Artax in The Neverending Story, coincidentally also a childrens fantasy film with both dark and lighthearted moments. Honestly, being able to make things like the notion of a green-skinned witch and flying monkeys seem like a genuine threat again is a feat that I feel have scarcely been pulled off successfully since the original. Yes, as seen in the trailers The Wicked Witch of the West is indeed in this film and I was surprised by just how threatening Raimi was able to make her. Once she finally shows up on screen, you can feel a lot of atmosphere lifted fromhis love of horrors and from his Evil Dead roots.

A genuinely good fantasy film that both adults and children can enjoy and be thrilled by is becoming more and more of a rarity in a post-Harry Potter age and honestly I feel that this film manages to become one such movie. Sam Raimi's mix of serious moments, spectacle and genuine fun works so well for him in this particular case. Much like how he managed to update a 60's comic book character to the big screen without updating him to be far too dramatic in the original Spider-Man, here he manages to take a an early 20th century children's story and update it for modern audiences while keeping the spirit of the original intact. If you loved the original MGM picture I urge you to revisit the magical world with the yellow brick road once more as we're told the story of the greatest con in fantasy history. This is a fantasy adventure when told by a storyteller who doesn't deliberately attempt to recreate any of his former successes like it seemed was the case with Burton's "Alice in Wonderland". It's almost like Raimi sat down and saw Burtons picture, then went to work with the thought of "time to show them how it's done" - and man did he show.

Story-liners: Lego Marvel Super Heroes (2013)

Game: Lego Marvel Super Heroes
Release: 2013, Retail
System: Playstation 3, Playstation 4, Playstation Vita, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U, Nintendo 3DS, PC
Starring: Adrian Pasdar, John Eric Bentley, James Arnold Taylor
Directed by: Mark Hoffmeier
IMDB page: Link opens in a new window
Description: When The Silver Surfer is shot down on his trip to earth, his cosmic board scatters into powerful cosmic blocks. It becomes a race against time, when Earth's Mightiest Heroes are fighting the greatest villains in the Marvel universe, led by Doctor Doom, to stop them from using the new blocks for their nefarious purposes.

Hans' thoughts:

Lego Games. Starting with the Lego Star Wars games, the game company Travellers Tales has managed to turn simple retellings of movie storylines into both a major marketing success and a series of genuinely well-made childrens platformers. This game is the third of their licensed to be based on an original tale, following the two Lego Batman games. The game is pretty much the same formula from the previous Lego games overall, carrying over the open world hub and voiced cut-scenes from Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes. Thankfully, while the appearances of other superheroes in Lego Batman 2 amounted to not much more than cameos (save for the case of Superman) Lego Marvel Superheroes benefits from it's title not being bound to a single character. Besides the "must show" characters made popular by The Avengers movie, we have a surprising amount of lesser-known characters making an appearance in the game. I was actually baffled by how little the game banks on using characters and situations similar to the films. Of course you can't go completely without it and jokes like Nick Fury constantly eating Shawarma, or animations like Hulk throwing his enemies in a similar fashion to his most memorable moment in The Avengers can be found throughout the title, some of running gags are based on exaggerating the characters which means that they can become kind of grating on the nerves after a while. There are only so many times you want to hear Captain America make a pun based on his patriotism. Characters having a large part in the story is mainly that of Iron Man, Spider-Man, Captain America.. and then out of nowhere: Reed Richards aka. Mister Fantastic. While not too obscure, it has been quite a while since The Fantastic Four made a major appearance in contemporary media. It just goes to show that the writers has not allowed themselves to be held back by a memo from the marketing depart which, considering the state of the competition over at DC, is really refreshing. The game even has some boss fights featuring lesser known Marvel villains. 

The look of the game, as you may have guessed, is entirely based on Lego's. In the former titles it could look very much off a times but thankfully this time around the higher quality graphics has really helped in making the game actually look and feel like you're looking at the toys interacting with the environments. The voice work of the game is, while not quite up to snuff at times, never too bad. The best one is Clark Gregg, once again reprising his role as Agent Coulson. I have to admit that I have never been much of a fan of the character but it is nice to have him around none the less. There is the occasional line from the others, especially the female actor for Maria Hill, that is read rather mechanically, but it never to the point where you are pulled out of your engagement in just how fun the simplistic controls for the game is. This is a major strong point for the lego games, when you have completed the main story once you're able to unlock tons of well-known characters and collectibles. There are hours to be spent on the game if you're going after 100%. A new addition to the game is additional side-stages, all narrated in comic book fashion by the fan-favorite character Deadpool, who sadly doesn't make an appearance in the main story aside from a small cameo. In the side-stages, you're exposed to mini-stories like The Vulture & Howard The Duck attacking Marvel Studios. These small amounts of Deadpool are at the very least fun to listen to, and of course he's also available as a unlockable character once you've completed the storyline. 

This game, while not encompassing ALL of the Marvel universe (Let's face it, that would be a 50+ hour game) it does manage to make the characters very approachable to even the untrained fan. For the bigger true believers, there are fun meta-gags scattered throughout the game which I'm sure you'll pick up on right away. To me, this was the game at it's finest. Jokes about recurring character tropes, fun (if repetitive) banter from bystanders and a story which managed to only become better and better as the story went along. All the major Marvel villains make a noteworthy appearance, and while it's kinda obvious what the end-game of the villains is, it still makes for a great moment when the jig is up and our heroes have to fight the big bad that's been looming over the story ever since before the title screen. The twists and turns the story makes to include as many well-established Marvel locals as possible also makes for a welcome surprise. There are a few places I would've loved to have seen (such as the African nation Wakanda) but on the other hand, forcing such places into the story would probably have made it suffer from it. As it is, most of the story takes place in the hometown of most of the Marvel superheroes: New York city. While I very much doubt that the interpretation of the city is accurate at all (I've never been there), the map is big enough to make it feel like you're actually making your way through a big city. MArvel Superheroes manages to give a quick introduction to a beloved group of characters, while still telling a fun story. the question "I wonder who's gonna turn up next" is probably gonna be on your mind as you play through this simple, yet enjoyable experience.

The Adventures of Mark Twain (1985)

Film: The Adventures of Mark Twain
Release: 1985, Theatrical
Starring: James Whitmore, Michele Marianna, Gary Krug, Chris Ritchie
Directed by: Will Vinton
IMDB page: Link opens in a new window
Description: Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn and Becky Thatcher become stowaways on a magical airship piloted by the famous American author Mark Twain who attempts to catch up with Halley's Comet.

Hans' thoughts:

Famous for it's bizarre imagery and concept, The Adventures of Mark Twain is based entirely on a quote by one of the most talented authors of the latter half of the 19th century. In it, we follow his most famous creations of Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn and Becky Thatcher as we're taken on a journey through both his works and his influence on American culture. When trying to describe exactly what this movie is, I keep coming back to the word "bizarre". The film takes place on a magical airship, Tom Sawyer wanting to take over the place because of his sense of adventure, Huck Finn being simple as ever doesn't really know what he wants and Becky just wants to go home. The pilot, Mark Twain, is in the last year of his life. For whatever reason, the creators decided that almost every line he speaks in the movie be a quote of the original author the character is based on, whether it's to push authenticity of the portrayal I can't say for sure, but the voice actor who plays him (James Whitmore) does so with much authority in his voice and with everything being well thought-out. The movie even opens with a reference to the quote that inspired it: 

I came in with Halley's Comet in 1835. It is coming again next year (1910), and I expect to go out with it. It will be the greatest disappointment of my life if I don't go out with Halley's Comet. The Almighty has said, no doubt: 'Now here are these two unaccountable freaks; they came in together, they must go out together. - Mark Twain, (1835 - 1910) 

Perhaps the most famous segment of the film is the adaptation of
the unfinished book "The Mysterious Stranger".

Curiously enough, the man actually got his wish and passed away the day following the passing of Halley's Comet. The film also makes little effort to conceal the actual political views of the historical figure, most of the writings adapted for the movie showcased his great disregard for organized religion. A member of the presbyterian church, he wasn't an atheist but he had written some pretty controversial works about the subject, three of which are in the movie. The most famous segment of the movie is one of these, an adaptation of a part of The Chronicles of Young Satan, one of the only finished chapters in "The Mysterious Stranger". It's famous for just how outlandish the tone of the scene is compared to the rest of the film - While most of the film is a mostly child friendly tale, this particular scene triggers 3 or 4 other short, but oddly depressing moments in the film. While I can certainly see the merit of exploring one of America's most famous authors, I have to say I highly question the decision to do so in an animated movie so far removed from reality rather than make it an actual biographical picture. The film is structured much like a package movie (ala Fun & Fancy Free). A main story arc following the kids and Twain, interrupted at times by these weird segments, or as in the case with two of his stories (Letters from Earth & The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County) retold in their entirety and narrated by James Whitmore. 

"The Diary of Adam & Eve (Letters from Earth) is
one of two Twain stories that's been recreated
in it's entirety throughout the film.

While certainly a weird choice, Animation-wise is actually where the movie truly shines. There's not a lot of things that can beat well-done claymation and this film shows exactly why. The fluid nature of the material is used to very good effect throughout the film in several moments amd I actually question whether some of these shots would've packed quite the same punch had they been done with traditional animation or live-action actors. I'm also a big fan of the artstyle of the piece, something about the weird atmosphere it creates in the movie just kept my interest throughout. Strange looking locations, odd creatures and just plain imaginative imagery is probably the films defining points. However there is a problem when it comes to some of the human characters, while all the caricatures are fun and interesting to look at, I could not help not being simply creeped out by the, at times, soulless plain look of Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher in the film. They just look like living dolls at times and are so out of place compared to the rest of the characters and creatures in the film that they really become polarizing to everything else that's going on.

Voice acting in the film is average at best, while Whitmore does a well-enough job at making Twain seem like a larger than life figure most of the other voice actors are well, passable. I really liked the performance of Michele Marianna as Satan in the Mysterious Stranger segment, but we mostly hear her in the role of Becky Thatcher and there she's just unnoticeable. The voice actors of Tom Sawyer of Huck Finn both do a very stiff performance as their characters, as none of their lines feels natural or filled with any sort of emotion at all. They're just your average "kid voices" in the movie. This is a big problem, as Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn are actually the two characters besides Twain himself who has the most lines - meaning a good chunk of audiences will probably be bored by large parts of the movie. The soundtrack is, mostly talking and sound effects. There is almost no music in it and it kinda takes away from some of the more dramatic moments - on the other hand, they serve to make the bizarre moments really have a thick and intriguing atmosphere.

A weird look at an outspoken author, The Adventures of Mark Twain still serves to give a glimpse of insight into a very well-spoken man and his career. I probably could've picked several other historical figures more fit for an animated childrens movie but for what it's worth the amount of ambition behind the piece certainly served to shine through the faults and hold my interest as well as spark my interest in knowing more about the author. If this was the original intention of the film then I would say "Mission Accomplished!". 

Thor: The Dark World (2013)

Film: Thor: The Dark World
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Christopher Eccleston, Anthony Hopkins
Release: 2013, theatrical
Directed by: Alan Taylor
Previous in the series: Thor
IMDB page: Link opens in a new window
Description: Picking up 2 years after the events in New Mexico, Thor is busy keeping the peace in the nine realms. Meanwhile on Earth, a disillusioned Jane Foster stumbles upon a dormant power from the time when the universe began.

Hans' thoughts:

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the best way to make a good sequel is to take the established setting, expand upon it and amplify everything that's great about it without rehashing the plot-points of its predecessor. Thus we now have Thor: The Dark World. 

So our villain this time is the old race of dark elves, lead by the world-weary King Malakith played by Christopher Eccleston, he plays a very troubled character . As far as villains go, the dark elves are very cool. The Frost giants of the first movie were very much just big blue monsters but the dark elves actually seem like a genuine threat. No one is prepared for their actions and they are completely untraceable - able to strike whenever they would please. Overall, the movie is just much larger in scale. Instead of setting most of the movie in the New Mexican desert with just one big baddie, most of the action film consists of war-like battles, with footsoldiers on both sides. Something they have, perhaps thankfully, toned down is the humoristic aspect. A lot of Thor was him being a fish out of water in the human world and the comedy came from people reacting to him or him misunderstanding the nature of the world he was thrown into. Don't get me wrong, The Dark World certainly has some comedic moments but I felt they worked a lot better this time because they weren't so predictable or thrown in so abruptly. There's not much winking at the audience going "get it?" in this movie.

Most of the film doesn't take place on Earth this time around, instead we are given a much more insightful look in the land of Asgard. This is great because while Asgard certainly looked cool in first movie, most of what we got to see were throne rooms and chambers from Odin's palace. Here we are taken on a small tour around a bit more of the world. This movie also shows us some of the other realms besides the ones we've already seen. The scale feels much grander this time around and It's possible the movie has taken cues from the likeness of Peter Jackson's "Lord of The Rings" movies. Imaginative combinations of science fiction and fantasy as well as some pretty cool designs for the villains our hero encounter, even the minor ones look fairly interesting. In stark contrast is the scenes taking place on Earth. Jane Foster has moved from the desert to the city of London, meaning we also get something at least a little more interesting to look at than in the previous film. All the supporting characters return from the previous film, including the humans who actually gets something to do rather than commenting on the things that transpires around them.

This is one of the best changes from the former movie, while there certainly were a supporting cast in the film they didn't get all that much to do. Most of the original movie were about the characters of Thor and Loki and their sibling rivalry. In this movie the other characters become involved in the adventure, Jane Foster becomes one of the major driving forces for the plot and the relationships between the characters also feel more believable. Tom Hiddleston returns once again as the villain Loki and once again he steals even scenes where he isn't the main focus. We explore more of his relationship with the rest of the family and as with the other movie, this also factors into the events of the film. That isn't to say that he's the only great actor in this piece, Chris Hemsworth has really grown into the role of Thor and he really hits it out of the park in some of his scenes. This is probably due to a much more reserved performance, Thor is no longer the boastful prince of Asgard and for those of us that's followed him throughout all his appearances it is easily recognizable that he has gone through character development. Just like with the Iron Man films, the character development isn't over by the end of the film but you can easily see a change from the beginning of the characters first appearance and to his current adventures. This kind of slow but steady character development is what makes these characters interesting to follow even after several movies. 

Speaking of the other movies, it was a breath of fresh air after Iron Man 3 that the movie didn't rely on everyone having seen The Avengers. One of Iron Man 3's greatest weaknesses was it's constant references to "New York", referring to the climax of The Avengers. Here, the event is definitely mentioned but no more than one or two times. An unfortunate lowpoint however is the reliance on the audience believing the relationship between Thor and Jane Foster. The former movie took place over the span of three days and then they were suddenly in love, akin to what one could call the "Disney Princess romance". This is sort of repeated in this film, while I certainly like the pairing of Thor and Jane I would like their relationship to be expanded upon a little more than is the case in both of these movies. Compare it to the how well done the relationship between Tony Stark and Pepper Potts is done in the Iron Man movies, Tony repeatedly makes mistakes and has to make it up for Pepper in the Iron Man films, whereas in this case it seems the romance between Thor and Jane is way too perfect. Anyone who've been in a relationship with the same person more than once could tell you that the pieces aren't picked up quite as easily as this movie would have you believe. The film seems somewhat self-aware of this though, as a comedic jab at those kinds of love stories are made later in the film. 

If you were bored with the pacing of the original film, rest assured that Thor: The Dark World is a much bigger movie and better for it, albeit much information is thrown at you during the movie it manages to keep focus on the main plot, and keeping all the different strings together in one place. If you liked the former movie, I'm sure you'll enjoy this one as well: We get more facetime with each character and we learn much more of the nature of the setting of the story. With higher stakes, deeper characters and much more action, Thor: The Dark World may very well end up being one of the better movies in the shared universe franchise.

The Avengers (2012)

Film: The Avengers
Release: 2012, Theatrical
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johanson, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner
Directed by: Joss Whedon
Next in the series: The Avengers: Age of Ultron
IMDB page: Link opens in a new window
Description: At a secret underground facility, The international agency S.H.I.E.L.D. has hired the brilliant Dr. Erik Selvig to develop a sustainable energy source from the mystical tesseract, used by The Red Skull during the second world war, however things turn sour when the tesseract reacts to something not of this world.

Hans' thoughts:

Perhaps one of the greatest gambles in movie making history, The Avengers is the culmination of what is now known as the first "phase" in a large shared universe project for in-house adaptations of various Marvel comics superheroes. The "phase" in this case being the movies that tie in with this one, starting with Iron Man, followed by The Incredible Hulk, then Iron Man 2, Thor and finally Captain America: The First Avenger. All good movies in their own right, this film stands in front of the enormous task of making a satisfactory climax to all the little hints and after-credits scenes that the former movies has made - Iron Man 2 as an example suffered under almost completely being a trailer for this movie. The film is headed by one of the "Kings of the Nerds", Joss Whedon, creator, director and writer of several big name movies and tv-series that have frankly waved between being fantastic and being all style and no substance. 

One could argue in this particular case, the writers pretty much had their work cut out for them beforehand. Most of the characters (with only one notable exception) has not only been established in former films, but films that all sold exceptionally well in theatres meaning they can rely on everyone knowing exactly who the characters are coming into the movie. This makes the entire movie feel like a 2 and a half hour third act, giving us our very first action scene by the 3 minute point. Fans are of course quickly given exactly what they came for, not much time is wasted one explaining why all these characters would be in the place at the same time and our heroes are all pretty much introduced by what we best know them for. Bruce Banner is on the run from the government, Iron Man is out doing something scientific, Capt. America spends his time punching stuff and Thor is introduced with a thunder storm. When they're mentioned in passing, the audiences know exactly what kind of scene is coming up next: "Ladies and gentlemen, now Robert Downey Jr. will say something funny", "give a big hand to Chris Evans being stoic and old fashioned" is what they pretty much could've been said outright by Samuel L. Jackson whose appearance as Nick Fury pretty much works as the stage announcer. It's like a rock band playing their greatest hit as their opening act as the lights are turned on.

The movie doesn't leave you much time to actually think about several missing plot points between the former movies and this one you're quickly distracted by all the things that are constantly thrown at you, to it's credit, the film indulges the fans in both the "who would win in a fight between.." and "Wouldn't it be cool if.." department, the very recognizable nature of the different characters also make them visible even when the action sequences falls victim to modern technique of "shaky-cam". This kind of thing was a big problem in films like The Transformers movies where you literally couldn't tell which giant robot was fighting which but the looks and designs of the costumes of the characters are kept so true to form that it doesn't pose a problem in this instance. Not much time is spent on character development as the little downtime the movie actually has is spent on quarrels between the teammates or someone relaying exposition. The movie actually spends most of it's lines on short immediate exposition to make the audience ready for what is coming next. Introductions between the characters are pretty much reduced to "Hey, aren't you that guy in the metal armor?" "Yeah and I heard you turn big and green sometimes". It feels unnatural but it's pretty easy to understand why they did it this way: Audiences already know all the big name characters and the writers know that they have to give people what they came to see. While it certainly works for most of the established characters, the character of Clint Barton aka. Hawkeye poses a problem in that regard. Aside from a single scene in the Thor movie, audiences are never really introduced to who Hawkeye is. All we really know is that he's a guy who prefers using a bow to using a gun. This is not helped much in the movie, as he spends most of the film being mind controlled by the movie's villain. We know nothing about the character, so rooting for him when he joins the big climactic fight at the end is neigh impossible unless you know the character from other media.

On the other end of the spectrum we have The Incredible Hulk, Mark Ruffalo being the third person to play the character in the span of merely ten years and the second person to play him in the Marvel Shared Universe continuity. The last person before Ruffalo to play Bruce Banner was Edward Norton, an award winning and hugely popular actor, so Ruffalo stood before the task of being accepted by audiences in a role that has not seen much stability. This is very reminiscent of the comic book Bruce Banner as different writers also tended to treat the character very differently, some having the Hulk persona take over entirely for extended periods of time to simple not deal with having to write drama for the character. Thankfully, Ruffalo does a very good job of making a very withdrawn but hot-headed professor, nervously joking about his condition as a means to cope with the stressful situations he's put into. That combined with his version of the Hulk being the most entertaining thing in the movie, makes sure he more than lives up to taking up "the mantle", if you will. Though it does seem like The Incredible Hulk, incredibly shrunk sometime between it's appearances. The movie, as I said, doesn't go into much detail during it's explanations and one can't help but ask: Where was Col. Rhodes aka. Warmachine who had his origin story in Iron Man 2 during this entire debacle? The question is pretty much ignored in both this film and Iron Man 3. We're just asked to accept that a government agency would rather ask for the help of a loose cannon billionaire than an actual military officer who has a very similar suit of armor. 

On the villain side we have the least substance of all. As with the original first comic book appearance of The Avengers, our main villain is Loki the god of mischief. Tom Hiddleston reprises his role as the character from Thor and in this film he just seems a lot more threatening than his initial appearance. From his very first scene in the movie, he quickly shows off that he is clearly more than enough of a feat to have to be taken on by the entirety of Earth's Mightiest. However, It is never explained what happened between his final scene in the former film and how he ended up allying himself with such a powerful force - force of what exactly? This is the problem with having the film focusing mostly on spectacle, we know next to nothing about the alien race of "The Chitauri" (as race that was made up for the movie by the way) and why they have a reason for attacking the planet earth, instead we have an army of grey-ish monster beings that doesn't talk and pretty much works a living punching bags and cannon fodder for the writers to show off the heroes and their individual superpowers. Had it not been for the talent and charisma of Tom Hiddleston in the role of Loki, the villains of the movie had not been interesting at all. 

The Avengers, while perhaps one of the most accurate and entertaining comic book movies in recent years is a classic example of trading in substance for the sake of style and spectacle. What little drama there is in the movie is simply used as a catalyst for having the heroes go out and punch things and if you expected a film that would work well on it's own I'm sorry to disappoint. The Avengers is pretty much just one long third act of a much larger story, like the last episode of a season of a TV-show. Wrapping up the overarching immediate plot that's been developing little by little in the background throughout the last couple of episodes. Therefore it highly necessitates having watched one or more of the former films in order to be enjoyed properly. If you haven't, all you're left with is a series of spectacle scenes, really well shot and sometimes funny action scenes to be sure but you're not given much explanation for what is going on. For fans, the film is a dream come true: Actually seeing these characters fighting alongside each other in a movie that's not only accurate but actually entertaining and successful is something no one would've ever thought possible - be warned though, while fun and entertaining while you watch it it can pretty easily be picked apart in the plot department. I recommend this film by all means, but I also highly recommend watching the former films in the "Marvel Cinematic Universe" first to truly get the most of it.