Movie Web says:

The script is being written by Mark Bomback (Live Free or Die Hard). It all starts when a princess is kidnapped, and this causes problems between the peaceful existence between men and giants. At this point, “a young farmer is given an opportunity to lead a dangerous expedition to the giants’ kingdom in hopes of rescuing her.”

It sounds like this adaptation is also based on the classic fairy tale and not a remake of the 1962 film of the same name.

Should be interesting to see a modern take on such a classic tale. I hope its fun.

Today’s review is First Knight

THE GENERAL IDEA
‏‎‭
At long last, the wars were over. Arthur, the great King of Camelot, had devoted his life to building a land of peace and justice. Now he wished to marry. But peace was not to last. The most powerful of Arthur’s knights, the self titled Prince Malagant, had long been jealous of the King’s glory. Now he found cause to quarrel with Arthur and left Camelot with hatred in his heart. And so the land was divided again, between those who rallied to Prince Malagant, seeking the spoils of war, and those who stayed loyal to the King.

And then there was Lancelot, a wanderer who had never dreamed of peace of Justice or Knighthood. Times were hard. A man made his living any way he could. And Lancelot had always been good with a sword. He was a fearless simple man who would compete for money and offer swordplay as entertainment.

Lancelot’s wandering path crosses with Guinevere who’s caravan is ambushed by Prince Malagant on her way to meet her fiance King Arthur.

THE GOOD

Lets just start with the cast. Was there ever a presence that deserved the title of King more than Sean Connery. His every word sounds like nobility and the strength of his voice deserves it. And this is no exception. Connery DEMANDS his presence and is every bit as fitting a King as the character deserves in this. When he speaks of bravery and brotherhood, you feel his sincerety, and when he speaks angry you shrink an inch.

And Richard Gere plays the carefree swordsman so charmingly that all women want him and every man wants to be him. It is no wonder that Guinevere is taken by him. He may come across as a brigand, but he has a code of honour that gives him the heart of a knight even if he doesn’t know it yet.

And Guinevere herself played by Julia Ormond is absolutely captivating. A beautiful woman who’s presence is approachable yet noble. When Lancelot denies his reward of a kiss from the Queen-to-be at the court festival he says it all when he announces, “I dare not kiss so lovely a lady. I have only one heart to lose” And this film made me crave to see Julia Ormond on screen again.

And lastly Prince Malagant. Pure tyrannical meglomaniac. Still ever jealous of Arthur, even with his own followers who fear him but do not respect him. He has an air of royalty but the castle ruins that make his headquarters represent the bleak comparisons of what he has and what he covets.

And then lets address the genre. This movie illustrates exactly how romance within an action adventure. Prince Malagant’s conflict is what draws all the players together but the romance is the subtle glue that binds it all into meaning. Don’t get me wrong, there is plenty of romance, but it all works.

The action is great and believable and there is a LOT of it. When there is no action, there is enough character interaction to make it worth while to wait. The drama is hearty despite the light adventure feel the movie has.

THE BAD

Malagant’s jealousy is obvious and plays perfectly to his character but they were never quite clear on what brought him “to quarrel” with Arthur. It seems he wanted more which Arthur wouldn’t give him. But its never quite clear HOW Malagant become unworthy of his seat at the Round Table. We just have to accept that he exiled himself.

OVERALL

A fantastic adventure of King Arthur and Guinevere, and the Love Triangle of Lancelot, with enough gushy lovey stuff to make the passion of the action truely majestic. Everything matters. There is no fluff in this film.

Typically this is where we would write a “Out of 10″ rating, but since all of these Forgotten Friday reviews are going to be what I would already give a high rating to, I have made my own rating system.

TV – Make a point of watching it if you see it listed on TV.
Rent – Good enough to go out of your way to see it, but not enough to buy it.
Buy – So good. You will watch it again and again. Buy it!

So on a scale of TV, Rent or Buy I suggest BUY!

Well as John has let me write on this site since it began, sometimes I get the privilege of showing off the efforts of one of my oldest friends. (Old as in longest running… he’s not that old!)

For those of you who don’t already know, John Campea, founder and editor of this very site has tried his hand at a documentary (Prince of Peace: God of War) and now he is taking a big step and directing his first Independent feature film.

The Anniversary has become a “real movie” and actually exists on the hallowed hall of records we call the Internet Movie Data Base.

John (and a lot of other familiar names) has been working hard on his film and that is why we haven’t seen a lot of him online here, but we know it will be worth the wait.

I imagine we will get the exclusive first look at the Trailer as well as the scoop on the release date or posters!

We are proud of you John! Can’t wait to see it!

For the first three centuries that the church existed, those belonging to the faith of Christianity understood the words and example of Jesus to be a clear directive to never be involved with violence. To be a Christian was to be a Pacifist, and during those formative years the church endured several persecutions at the hands of the Roman Empire itself without ever considering taking up the sword against their aggressors.

How did this faith, known and identified for its non-violent beliefs, go on to conduct the crusades, the inquisitions, witch hunts, and today have 87% of white evangelical Christians support President George W. Bush’s decision to go to war with Iraq? How did this religion, founded by a Pacifist and known (even criticized) for non-violence, become a religion known for its aggression, war, political power and embracing of violence?

So, in 2006 I decided to travel across North America and talk to scholars, historians, authors and religious leaders on both sides of the issue (not the cheap Bill Maher tactics of only talking to crazy people on whichever side he stands opposed to) to understand why some believe the Christian faith allows for killing and others in the exact same faith believe that to truly follow the faith, one must never take life. The result was this project “Prince of Peace – God of War”

The project took me just over a year to complete and was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life, but at the same time one of the most rewarding. As a documentary I am very proud of how the issues are addressed and explored… but at the same time I am very humbled by how much it lacks artistic quality. A gifted documentary filmmaker I am not. But audiences across North America at various film festivals seems to quickly look past my artistic shortcomings and submerged themselves in the issues and discussion in the film. Some agreeing, some disagreeing, but all apparently talking.

Some media folks commented at the time:

“Central to John Campea’s engaging documentary is the question of how it is that 87 percent of self-defined Christians are able to rally fists in support of war when one would assume that conflict is not what Jesus would do.”
The Orlando Weekly

“Loved It! An Extensive look at how Christians went from preaching about love and peace to fighting for war.”
Peter Sciretta – Slahfilm.Com

“I was gripped the entire run time”

Kurt Halfyard – Twitchfilm.Net

“People should definitely see this… they’re going to love it”
Andrew Olson – MoviePatron.Com

“I urge you to give it a look and in all honesty, if your Religious Philosophy professor puts Just War on the curriculum, you may want to suggest he add this film as an introduction.”
Marina Antunes – MadAboutMovies.Net

“the documenary does a great job at presenting the facts, with the leading experts on Theology and Christianity and making you stop and think long and hard on a tough topic. ”
MoviesOnline.Ca

This project was only made possible by those people who were willing to lend their thoughts, expertise and perspective to the conversation. Both those on the Just War and Pacifism sides of this discussion were beyond generous with their time and insights. To all of them, I am very grateful.

	Dr. Tony Campolo Best selling author, Former Spiritual Advisor to President Bill Clinton Professor at Eastern University – St. Davids PA
	Dr. Brian McLaren Listed on TIME Magazine’s 25 Most Influential Evangelicals In America
	Bruxy Cavey Author of “The End Of Religion” Minister of “The Meeting House” – Canada’s largest Church
	Dr. David Williams Academic Vice President Taylor University College Edmonton AB
	Dr. Victor Shepherd Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology Tyndale Seminary – Toronto ON
	Dr. Stanley Fowler Professor of Theological Studies Heritage Seminary – Cambridge ON
	Dr. Kent Clarke Director of the Professor Rueben J. Swanson Ancient Manuscript Collection Trinity University – Langley BC
	Jordon Cooper Founder of the Resonate Church Leaders Network
	Dr. Gordon Heath Assistant Professor of Church History McMaster University – Hamilton ON
	John Campea Former Evangelical Christian and Minister Senior Editor – The Movie Blog
	Dr. Gary Yamasaki Professor of New Testament Columbia Bible College – Abbotsford BC
	Dr. Michael Gilmour Associate Professor of New Testament Providence College – Otterburne MB
	Dr. Jan Van Vliet Professor of Theology Prairie Bible Insitute – Three Hills AB
	Dr. Douglas Jacobsen Distinguished Professor of Church History Messiah College – Grantham PA

With the festivals far behind me now, and all the DVDs that were printed sold out, I decided to release the movie online for free, just to get it out there and continue to spark discussion (that’s my hope at any rate). So download it, share it, copy it, BitTorrent it, love it, hate it, whatever. It’s amazing what you can do with one cheap little camera, one very cheap little microphone, no crew, no money and a bit of time on the road. I hope you enjoy it, or at least that it makes you think. Cheers!

You can watch Prince of Peace – God of War here:

You can download a higher quality copy here.
Or you can download an iPhone/iPod version here.

Just as the web democratized the sharing of thoughts, ideas and information, this new technology held the promise of democratizing the making of and sharing of film. Many people speculated at the time that a whole new generation of filmmakers will emerge because now just about anybody can grab a $3000 camera (instead of a $500,000 camera) and cut on a $2000 computer (instead of a $100,000 editing system).

Those predictions didn’t quite come to fruition as quickly as some prognostications guessed, but it is coming, and I’d go so far as to suggest that the tools are now here to do just that.

More and more films are being edited on the relatively inexpensive Final Cut Pro platform (goes for around $1000). It’s an elegant editing tool that I’ve used before that is extremely powerful and surprisingly easy to learn (it takes a while to MASTER, but you could pick up the basics and be editing in an hour).

As far as cameras go, we’ve come a long way from the vx1000. Directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor just finished shooting “Crank 2″ in May, shooting basically the entire movie with the simple Canon XH A1 High Def cameras. You can pick these things up in some lower end electronic stores for heavens sake. You can grab one brand spanking new for just over $3000. Is that something the average high school kid can run out and grab on his paper route money? No, but the point is that it’s now much more within the reach of average people without $100,000 in the bank account to pick up some gear and start shooting.

With the internet being what it is, a project doesn’t need a distribution deal to allow people from all over the world to see it. Just upload it and let people know it’s there. No, the old “if you build it they will come” fairy tale cliche won’t work, but at least now the obstacle for indie filmmakers of not having a VEHICLE to present their work is taken out of the equation.

The tools are available. The tools are affordable. The tools are easy enough to use.

The one giant obstacle still standing in the way of aspiring filmmakers (which is all of us really) is still the same one that it’s always been. Not tools, not money, but talent.

Sure, the internet has democratized information and ideas… but some people thoughts that just because a TOOL was now there to share their ideas with millions of people around the world, doesn’t mean a million people were going to bother spending time on their website. You still needed the talent. The talent to write. The talent to express. The talent to entertain or engage or to provoke. Tools without talent are nothing more than personal projects for your own personal enjoyment (and there’s nothing wrong with those either).

The same can be said for the filmmaking world. The tools are there. Yeah you still need to raise a little bit of money, but it’s just a fraction of what it used to be really and is something I think just about anyone can raise. Yes, the tools are there and they are now more affordable and higher quality than ever… but the issue is still talent.

Yes you can grab a $3000 camera. Sure you can install Final Cut on your computer. But do you have a story to tell? Do you have the talent to bring that story to life? DON’T ASSUME THE ANSER IS NO! Why not try? For that much money, why not do something instead of sitting around dreaming about it? What’s the worst that can happen? Your movie sucks and no one likes it… but who cares??? At least you’ll be doing something that everyone else talks about but never has the guts to try. At the very least it could be one of the most fun experiences of your life.

Come up with an idea. Write out a script. Once you’ve got the script to the point that you love it, show it to some people and start trying to get a little bit of money together. Beg family and friends to help you out by being actors or “crew”. Then just do it. Make your damn movie. It’s affordable, it’s easier than you think (by easier I mean really really really hard… but not impossible) and you’ll be doing something almost everyone else wishes they did but never had the nerve to attempt.

Could your movie be the next Clerks or Blair Witch? Sure, it’s highly unlikely, but why not? I did a documentary last year called “Prince of Peace – God of War” for just over $10,000. It was my first attempt at doing anything like that and I discovered I was a horrible documentary filmmaker! But guess what, I had an AMAZING time doing it, it played at a whole bunch of festivals, got some great reviews and I actually made profit off it, selling out all the DVDs and it’s still selling online downloads (shameless plug: You can get the movie here).

But even if your movie sucks… even if no one watches it besides you and your friends… even if you don’t play it at any festivals… even if you are someone with tools but no talent… WHO CARES?!?! Do it anyway! Have fun! Make something even if it’s just for you. It’s an experience no one will ever be able to take away from you and one you’ll cherish forever. YOU MADE A MOVIE. Do it with some friends and you’ll have a bonding experience like nothing else.

One of the perks of my job is that fans send me their home made videos all the time. Yeah most of them suck ass, but some of them are hilarious and completely make my day when I watch them… and no matter how bad your film is, it’ll probably still make someone’s day!

So instead of just talking about films all the time… why not make one. The tools are available and you may discover you have the talent. And even if you don’t it’ll be one of the richest experiences of your life, something you can look back on, something that’s yours.

And maybe I have something to announce in the next week or so. :P

Cinematical says:

Ratner might be working on a big-screen version of the best-selling video game, God of War.

For those of you who haven’t played it (and I really recommend you do), here is a quick primer: God of War centers on Kratos, a celebrated soldier who is haunted by his past transgressions and his debt to the Gods of Olympus. It could have just been your typical hack and slash game, but the cinematic approach and highly entertaining story line earned it a reputation as one of the best around.

This is not the first time we have been teased with the idea of this game being brought to film. Back a few years ago Paramount was named to produce it and more recently its been said Djimon Hounsou might embody Kratos.

So while the Ratner haters might not like this, they will cheer in the streets when you consider the original director for this was Uwe Boll.

Kabluey follows the story of a guy who is unemployed and pretty down on his luck who moves in with his sister-in-law to help her out with her two kids while her husband (his brother) is off fighting in the Iraq war. She’s having a hard time making ends meet and taking care of the kids on her own. He gets a job at her company putting on a giant blue suit and being the companies mascot named… you guessed it… Kabluey. Hilarity ensues.

Since that opening night screening that was received VERY well by the audience, I’ve heard nothing about the film. Sadly I thought it was going to disappear into indie film obscurity. But thankfully, according to our friends over at Cinematical, it looks like Kabluey may have some life left in it after all:

Scott Prendergast, who wrote, directed, and stars in the film, told us in Oxford that it had been acquired by some division of some studio and would be released in the summer. But as time passed, I noticed with some concern that no release date was being announced. Now, at last, we have confirmation: July 4 in New York, July 11 in L.A., and Aug. 1 in San Francisco. At the moment, that’s it before the film’s DVD release in the fall. So it’s not a huge theatrical release, but hey, it’s something.

Yes, it is indeed something! If you live in NY, LA or San Fran, I URGE you go get and and see this great little movie. If you don’t live around those parts, do yourself a favor and pick up the DVD in the fall. You won’t regret it!

There were a couple of reasons for the change. On the technical end of things, for some reason the layout and theme we were using was putting a HUGE strain on our servers. In other words, the CPU power being used by the site was FAR beyond what it should have been and we were never able to nail down the culprit or the root cause of that system resources hog. This new theme and layout has fixed that completely. Our servers are now MUCH happier and running very smoothly. As a result, you should notice the site is functioning and loading faster and more consistently.

From a practical point of view, with new information appearing on the site changes so rapidly, posts and articles disappear off the front page within a day or two. Our best navigation system for finding older and special content is the sidebar area. I wanted to implement a true “3 column” layout with more space for us to highlight certain content with. ALSO… if you go to an individual post’s page, you’ll notice the first thing in the side bar is now a “More Recent Posts” heading. This means if you read or comment on an individual story, you can click on the next recent story without having the head back to the front page first. We thing this will come in handy for our regular commentors and for first time visitors who land on one of the individual post’s pages.

I know not everyone will like the new layout… every time I’ve changed people talk about how much they hate the new design and loved the old one (which they all said they hated before). I know it will take a little getting used to, but I honestly think this layout and new back end with help make the Movie Blog experience a better one.

Also, a special shout out to Pia, our technical Guru who oversees all our coding and site maintenance, and Dan, who has become our defacto concept artist around here (he also designed the DVD cover for my Prince of Peace – God of War movie). They did a great job pulling this off for no other reason than they wanted to give back and contribute to the Movie Blog community. THANK YOU GUYS!

So there you have it. Feel free to comment or give any feedback you’d like on the design… or request new features… whatever. Thanks guys.

Paris Hilton’s new film, The Hottie and the Nottie, opened up this weekend in limited release on 111 screens. When you break it down (The number of screens it played on, how many shows each screen played over the weekend and how much money the film made over that period), if you bought a ticket to see the movie, in the theater would be you, and 3 other people.

Yes, on average just under 4 people were in the theater each time The Hottie and the Nottie played this weekend. FOUR people. That means one screening must have had 6 people in it, because at the screening I was at, in Hollywood, on a Saturday, there was me and ONE other person. Yikes!

Let’s put this into horrifying perspective. My little movie (Prince of Peace – God of War) played 5 screens and had on average 120 people per show (and one of those shows only had like 10 people at it). Statistically speaking, that means I’m 3000% more of a draw than Paris Hilton. THREE THOUSAND PERCENT. I’m sorry, but if I’m outdrawing your kid’s Lemonade stand there is something wrong.

Ok ok, clearly I’m being a bit facetious, but come on… 4 people per screening. Does this send the message? Will people now finally get it? WE DON’T WANT TO SEE PARIS HILTON IN MOVIES. No one does. Let it go. Walk away.

For those of you who may be new around here, here’s a little synopsis at what the movie is about:

WHAT THE CRITICS ARE SAYING ABOUT PRINCE OF PEACE – GOD OF WAR

“Central to John Campea’s engaging documentary is the question of how it is that 87 percent of self-defined Christians are able to rally fists in support of war when one would assume that conflict is not what Jesus would do.”
The Orlando Weekly

“Loved It! An Extensive look at how Christians went from preaching about love and peace to fighting for war.”
Peter Sciretta – Slahfilm.Com

“I was gripped the entire run time”
Kurt Halfyard – Twitchfilm.Net

“People should definitely see this… they’re going to love it”
Andrew James – MoviePatron.Com

“I urge you to give it a look and in all honesty, if your Religious Philosophy professor puts Just War on the curriculum, you may want to suggest he add this film as an introduction.”
Marina Antunes – MadAboutMovies.Net

“the documenary does a great job at presenting the facts, with the leading experts on Theology and Christianity and making you stop and think long and hard on a tough topic. ”
MoviesOnline.Ca

SYNOPSIS

“But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also.”

~Jesus Christ
LUKE 6:27-29

No narrator. No rock themes video montages. Just an honest conversation about the issue. For the first three centuries that the church existed, those belonging to the faith of Christianity understood the words and example of Jesus to be a clear directive to never be involved with violence. To be a Christian was to be a Pacifist, and during those formative years the church endured several persecutions at the hands of the Roman Empire itself without ever considering taking up the sword against their aggressors.

How did this faith, known and identified for its non-violent beliefs, go on to conduct the crusades, the inquisitions, witch hunts, and today have 87% of white evangelical Christians support President George W. Bush’s decision to go to war with Iraq? How did this religion, founded by a Pacifist and known (even criticized) for non-violence, become a religion known for its aggression, war, political power and embracing of violence?

Prince of Peace – God of War is a non-sensationalized visual record of Director John Campea’s (a former evangelical Christian and minister) journey across North America, speaking with historians, professors and religious leaders about these issues. The basic question is a simple one: “Should Christians kill people?”

FEATURING

Dr. Tony Campolo
Best selling author, Former Spiritual Advisor to President Bill Clinton
Professor at Eastern University – St. Davids PA

Dr. Brian McLaren
Listed on TIME Magazine’s 25 Most Influential Evangelicals In America

Bruxy Cavey
Author of “The End Of Religion”
Minister of “The Meeting House” – Canada’s largest Church

You can check out the first 5 minutes of the movie (low-res) here
You can download a copy of the movie here.

Thank you again to everyone who pre-ordered and ordered copies of the DVD. Your support has been amazing and greatly appreciated!