Revamping classic fairy tales has quietly turned into Hollywood’s favourite safety net. We’ve seen it with Snow White and the Huntsman, Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, and Oz the Great and Powerful, all of which look expensive and feel hollow. The assumption seems to be that visual splendour will do the heavy lifting, and with…
Tag: Fantasy
Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief: Book vs Movie
It’s not easy adapting a novel to the screen; they are two very different mediums (yeah, news flash) and many elements of a book just can’t be translated well into movie form, but filmmakers will keep fighting to get it right, and we, the viewers, are often caught in the crossfire. In the case of…
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008) – Review
By the time The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor rolled around, the franchise was already wheezing, but few could have predicted a collapse this spectacular. What was once a lively blend of adventure, humour, and charm has been reduced to a loud, overstuffed spectacle that mistakes noise for excitement. This isn’t a grand finale,…
In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale (2007) – Review
There are bad ideas, and then there’s Uwe Boll staring into the cinematic void and declaring himself its king. With In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale, Boll, or as I like to imagine him introducing himself at parties, Uwe “I’m the only genius in the industry” Boll, makes another glorious attempt…