The days might be getting shorter, but the mercury is rising (and rising, and rising…). Sometimes it’s just too hot to handle anything serious-minded; all you want is a fun fantasy flick. We’ll, we’re here to oblige! We’ve rounded up ten cheesy old favorites that go perfectly with a few good friends and a few gallons of iced tea.
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Summit couldn’t wait even a year to bring you the next installment of their personal mint; Eclipse is already out, and before you decide to give in and buy a ticket because you could use two hours of air conditioning, there are some things you should know.
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Of all the fantasy-fight archetypes, this one is automatically the most rousing: one against many. Whether it’s the hero testing her mettle for the first time, or the sidekick showing his loyalty to the very last, there’s a well-earned mystique to the warrior willing to tackle all enemies at once. (Plus, it’s the best way to show off your stunt coordinator.)
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Lightspeed, the new online science fiction magazine published by the award-winning independent press Prime Books, launched earlier this week with the publication of “I’m Alive, I Love You, I’ll See You in Reno” by Vylar Kaftan.
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Times have changed. It used to be that people would recoil from someone claiming to be a fan of fantasy, as if at any moment they’d be swarmed by pixies and carried to a strange land, where they’d be forced to fight unicorns for money. Now, if you say you like fantasy films, people are more likely to lean in and whisper their favorite Hogwarts house affiliation. It’s a brave new age for the fantasy fan. However, not every fantasy movie has to be a 3D extravaganza. Sometimes you want your fantasy a little subtler, just enough to skew the standard. Below, in no particular order, our ten favorite flicks with a magical-realist bent.
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For the next few weeks, I’ll be running down top-ten lists of some of fantasy’s best fight scenes: the vast battles, one against impossible odds, the magnificently over-the-top. You know, sometimes a duel just isn’t enough to settle those really big differences. When there is no peaceable way out of an enormous conflict, it’s time to suit up, summon some armies, and have yourself a battle
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For the next few weeks, I’ll be running down top-ten lists of some of fantasy’s best fight scenes: the vast battles, one against impossible odds, the magnificently over-the-top. But we’ll begin with the essence of the fight scene: the duel. One on one, mano a mano, these characters settle their differences the old-fashioned way. Under the cut, we count down ten of the best duels in fantasy film.
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A few years ago, there was a cinema boom in children’s fantasy with an eye toward entertaining (or at least accommodating) adults. Harry Potter led the charge, with animation studio Pixar on his heels, and as Harry’s adventures got darker and Pixar’s movies went from Finding Nemo to Wall-E, the quality and profitability of YA fantasy films went up. Soon, hopeful franchises were blooming left and right, some successful (The Chronicles of Narnia), some not (The Golden Compass). Now the market for YA fantasy films is growing almost as fast as the stable of YA books from which they’re adapting. How did this happen, and where is it going?
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One of the best tropes in fantasy is the clash of characters under tough conditions. Sometimes, these characters are enemies. Sometimes they become fast friends. Sometimes things get romantic. And sometimes, things get a little weird.
Weird doesn’t always mean disaster, but in some cases it gives you pause (and if it doesn’t, it probably should). [...]
Tim Burton and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland sounds like a match made in heaven. Burton’s history of quirky fantasy seems particularly suited to the story of a contrary girl dropped into an even-more-contrary dreamland. Unfortunately, Burton was all out of dark whimsy years ago, and his Alice in Wonderland is little more than a reminder [...]
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