ABC Film Challenge
Adventure
Z
Zombieland
Zombieland is the zombie comedy that took the world by storm, it bought a fresh approach that includes one of the best casts in any zombie movie, along with one of the most memorable cameos of all time.
Month: November 2021
The Adventures of Snow White and Rose Red – One for the Youngest Members of the Family
Director: Andrew Balog, Victoria Batista, Nicole Coady
Writer: Olivia Anderson, Alexandra Marello (Screenplay) Nicole Coady (Story)
Starring: Demetra Zorbas, Callista Zorbas, Andrew Balog, Madeline Balta, Daniel Batista, Matt Beekman
Plot: Snow White, a kind girl with a passion for animals and books, is best friends with her sister, Rose Red, an outgoing girl with a curious spirit. They spend their days roaming the forest and playing pretend. But it’s not long before they learn that the woods they have lived in all their lives are nothing short of magical.
Runtime: 1 Hour 14 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: The Adventures of Snow White and Rose Red starts as two sisters Snow White (Demetra Zorbas) and Rose Red (Callista Zorbas) travel around their local forest meeting many different characters from fairy tales, including Rapunzel (Balta), Prince Charming (Batista and Alice, heading to Wonderland. Each encounter will see the pair looking for a different solution to help the people of the woods get through their troubles.
Thoughts on The Adventures of Snow White and Rose Red
Thoughts – The Adventures of Snow White and Rose Red is a nice little series of fairy tale adventures that follow the sisters meeting other figures from fairy tales as they help them with the problems the tales present, now they will look for non-conflicted solutions, while giving the message of inclusion for all. Everything we go through is simplified to make it easier to present to the youngest audiences out there, not offering enough for the mature audience, holding it back from being a complete family film. This is an interesting concept, but never manages to feel as convincing as it should be, trying to go in the opposite direction of the Brothers Grimm of fairy tales, trying to push heavily on the idea everyone in life can be good.
Final Thoughts – The Adventures of Snow White and Rose Red is one of the purest family films, targeting all the good in life.
This is under Y because of star Yancy Butler.
Director: Don Michael Paul
Writer: David Reed (Screenplay)
Starring: Elisabeth Rohm, Yancy Butler, Paul Nicholls, Poppy Lee Friar, Benedict Smith, Caroline Ford, Robert Englund
Plot: Black Lake is now a crocodile sanctuary, surrounded by an electric fence. When the fence is left open, a high-school bus unknowingly enters the park. It’s up to Reba and the Sheriff to save the kids from becoming crocodile food.
Tagline – It’s Anything But Tasteless
Runtime: 1 Hour 30 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Lake Placid: The Final Chapter starts when Sheriff Giove (Rohm), Reba (Butler) and Loflin (Nicholls) have created a crocodile sanctuary in the area to protect the local life, despite the bigger they get, the locals want them out.
When a group of poachers break into the area, the gate is left open, leading to the Sheriff’s daughter Chloe’s (Friar) high school camping trip going into the sanctuary, becoming the targets of the blood hunger crocodiles.
Thoughts on Lake Placid: The Final Chapter
Thoughts – Lake Placid: The Final Chapter is the latest movie in the already over done franchise that started as a horror comedy before turning into a CGI styled cheap cash in. we do get the normal idea of a group of people needing to fight to survive against a group of giant killer crocodiles in still water lake. The story does start with an early point that the crocodiles need to be protected, but quickly decides they are just in need of hunting, while they hunt the human victims. This is a fun type of monster movie, we know going in it isn’t going to be great, it is because of this, we can sit back and enjoy everything we see, from the Robert Englund creep like poacher, to the no-nonsense wildlife water protector Reba played by Yancy Butler. The tacked on love stories are used as filler, while most of what happens around it is just drunk kids being easy pickings. The special effects are not the strongest, with most just being awkward computer crocodiles that have never been near the scene they are meant to be part off.
Final Thoughts – Lake Placid: The Final Chapter is a great late night trashy horror film.
Christmas at the Ranch – Sweet Christmas Love Story
Director: Christin Baker
Writer: Julie Anton, Christin Baker (Screenplay)
Starring: Amanda Righetti, Lindsay Wagner, Laur Allen, Archie Kao, Dia Frampton, Aaron Branch
Plot: When Haley Hollis returns to her family ranch to try and save it from closure, she wasn’t banking on spending so much time with ranch hand Kate – or falling for her.
Runtime: 1 Hour 31 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Christmas at the Ranch starts when city career driven woman Haley (Allen) is facing her biggest career project, when her brother Charles (Kao) calls her home to help with the family ranch, which has been losing money against the competition.
Haley does come back with her business mind on, she is looking to quickly sell and move on, but when she meets the ranch hand Kate (Righetti), she starts to remember what the ranch meant to her and her family.
Thoughts on Christmas at the Ranch
Characters & Performances – Haley is a workaholic in the big city, she has been given her biggest project yet for her company, while trying to find love in the big city. Her work has come at a price though, as she has been stepping away from help her family ranch and now a trip back there will change how she wants to look at life and give her a chance at finding love, breaking her away from the business driven mind that she has been operating with. Laur Allen is great in this leading role, showing the ruthless side of her career, but the damaged side from her personal life. Kate is the ranch hand who finds herself isolated in her work, spending her time either talking to the animals or talking to herself, she has given plenty of her time to help the ranch remain successful, which will see her clash with Haley on why things aren’t going to plan, but after their awkward first encounter, they both sense a good in each other that will find a solution to the problems. Amanda Righetti does a great job at bringing to life someone who is different to Haley, someone who seems wiser to what is important in life. When it comes to the supporting cast, we have Charles the brother who needs support, as well as Meemaw who has always looked out for her grandchildren on the ranch, wanting to keep it for them.
Story – The story here follows a workaholic social media manager living in the big city who needs to travel back to her home ranch to help them decide what to do in the future after a bad year in business, leaving her in a position where she can do the quick solution, only to find herself remembering how special the place is to her, while falling in love once again. This is a story that will have the deeper meaning of needing to support your family and that money isn’t going to be the answer for everything in life. The story will take us down memory lane for Haley, proving that you will never forget where you came from. This will also play into the idea that Christmas will make people change for the better.
Themes – Christmas at the Ranch is a romance movie set at Christmas where the loneliness people search for love and will find it in the place, they are least likely to look for it. The film will use the two main settings to show the different lives Haley could have, with the big city overworked location against the more relax ranch life, where you can get a chance to breath.
Final Thoughts – Christmas at the Ranch is a Christmas film that is filled with the romance of the magical time of the year.
Once Upon a Lifetime – Magical Tale
Director: David Skato
Writer: David Skato (Screenplay)
Starring: Jensen Atwood, Melvin Ward, Melanie Thompson, Arie Thompson, Phoenix Nicholson, Krystian Alexander Lyttle
Plot: As a boy copes with his difficult home life and his parents’ failing marriage, a mysterious girl suddenly appears. Faith, family and a special kind of magic come together as his new friend teaches them all about love, forgiveness and healing.
Runtime: 1 Hour 25 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Once Upon a Lifetime starts when bullied school boy Thomas (Nicholson) meets a stranger of his own age Joy, she becomes attached to him, following him, being welcomed into his house by his mother Tatyana (Thompson).
Overnight Joy suddenly ages to teenager age, where the family can’t explain what happened, as each day goes past, Joy continues to age dramatically, while giving advice to the family, more than anyone her original age should know.
Thoughts on Once Upon a Lifetime
Characters & Performances – Thomas is the young boy that is getting bullied at school, while living in a not so comfortable home, where his parents fight. He meets and befriends a young Joy as he starts to learn from her over the next couple of days, despite the changes she goes through. Tatyana and Joseph are the parents that have been going through a bad time because of Joseph’s behaviour, Joy will help Tatyana see what would be best for her future, guiding her out of the trapped marriage she finds herself in. Joy starts as a young girl the same age as Thomas, as each day passes by, she starts to age, becoming a guardian like angel over the family, teaching them and showing them what they need most in life. The performances in this film are wonderful, bringing together the real moments each character is going through.
Story – The story here follows a family that get an unlikely visitor in a 9-year-old girl who unexplainably ages suddenly overnight, where the time the family spend with the now woman, will lead to advice to help them through the rest of their lives. This is a magical story that will leave you with mixed feelings of delight and sadness, with how Joy touches the lives of the family. It will highlight how small changes in life can make everything better, but you will need to make the change to escape the problems. This is easily one film that will leave an impact on you once you have finished.
Themes – Once Upon a Lifetime is a fantasy drama that will see how a woman will spend a lifetime with a family over only a short period of time, while aging quicker than anyone else. This fantasy elements will show how someone touching the life will keep the guidance simple in life.
Final Thoughts – Once Upon a Lifetime is a truly magical tale.
Director: Oliver Daly
Writer: Oliver Daly (Screenplay)
Starring: Alex Neusraedter, Becky G, Alex MacNicoll, Dominic Rains, Thomas Jane, Lou Taylor Pucci, Patricia De Leon
Plot: A.X.L. is a top-secret, robotic dog who develops a special friendship with Miles and will go to any length to protect his new companion.
Tagline – Man’s best friend has evolved
Runtime: 1 Hour 38 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: A-X-L starts when off road biker Miles (Neustaedter) gets to learn how the wealthy riders like Sam Fontaine (MacNicoll) treat a threat to their position in the sport. Miles gets left injured in the desert where he ends up meet a robotic prototype dog A-X-L that he helps fix.
As Miles gets closer with A-X-L the two become bonded, but he needs to learn how to control him before he hurts someone or falls into the wrong hands, as the contractor awaits to much needed improvements in their robot.
Thoughts on A-X-L
Characters & Performances – Miles is a off road biker from a poor family that has always worked to improve himself, knowing about the hard work it takes to reach this level he will show his commitment and be willing to take a chance on making connections. His kind nature helps the robotic dog, giving the pair a connection which will show the true abilities of the AI inside its head. Alex Neustaedter does well in this role with a lot of the work being the stunt-based work. Sara Reyes has seen her family working for the rich biker family for years and getting left on the outside, taking a shine to the work mentality of Miles. She joins Miles in finding the reality to finding a solution for the pair. Becky G is entertaining through the film. A-X-L is the robotic dog built for weapon that escapes and gets rescued by Miles, where it gets to learn more about the world. Great at fitting into the world and looking like a creature that could well be made sooner than we think. We get to see the different military creators, the family of Miles and the bully figures against Miles. This is all the basic roles that do what is needed for the film.
Story – The story here follows a down on his luck off road biker that meets a robotic dog that has been left abandoned from its creature, leading to everyone trying to hunt for the dog, while Miles must find his own place in the world. This is a good opening to a world with the basics being down well to prepare the world for the potential of us having something bigger in the future. It does end up feeling like every origin idea we have seen before, but it does work for what we need for everything. It would have been nice to see more time with Miles and A-X-L, but it could have been a start to something bigger in the future.
Themes – A-X-L is an action sci-fi adventure that gives us entertaining action, the sci-fi creations needed for the robotic dog looks brilliant in the film, potentially being something we might well see in the future too. It might only look like the opening to something bigger.
A-X-L is an easy to watch sci-fi adventure film showing the change the future could happen.
Alternate Ground – Mystery Everywhere
Director: Daniel Groom
Starring: Owen Myre, Ethan Boucher, Paul Noonan, Zachariah Supka, Devin Henry, Patience McStravick, Michael Anthony Coppola, Demitra Papadinis
Plot: When a teenage boy is found after disappearing overnight, his unexplained behavior causes concern within the family, and a lack of medical answers leads to a revelation of alien abduction.
Tagline – They need us…Anybody
Runtime: 1 Hour 32 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Alternate Ground starts when Riley McDowell (Myre) suddenly goes missing with his whole family searching for the young boy, his brother Bradley (Boucher) and parents Arthur (Coppola) and Joyce (Papadinis).
When Riley is found, he does seem to be different, with a darker side, losing spells of time, without any explanation. As everyone is searching for answers, Riley starts to show the effects what happened during his disappearance.
Thoughts on Alternate Ground
Characters & Performances – Riley McDowell is the boy that vanished suddenly overnight, only to be found on the edge of the road in a panicked state. His family are concerned about him, as he starts having spells of blacking out, events happening without anyone else knowing how to explain the events. The blackout will cause him great pain, as each visit will becoming more vivid and dangerous for Riley, as he tries to explain what he is going through. Owen Myre does give us a performance that is filled with the paranoia his character is going through during the events of the film. Arthur and Joyce are his parents that will do anything to help find answers, pushing past what they are willing to believe in search for the answers they need to save their son. Bradley is the older brother who is more reluctant to help as he doesn’t believe as easily to what is happening, before needing to step up and help. When we meet the rest of the characters, we have different people who will help in different ways along the way, some with real science, some with the truth, the mix involved will keep us guessing as to what is really happening.
Story – The story here follows a young boy that disappears overnight and is found without memories of how he ended up away from the home. The family will search for answers, but not everything is as simple as expected in this search. This is a story that will look to work on the ideas of abductions that can’t be explained, using the reports to create a story to show the troubles people would have been through when they reappear without answers, where most people can’t give them any answers, but something isn’t right with the person. This will give us plenty of mystery about the truth, where each interaction might offer something different.
Themes – Alternate Ground is a sci-fi mystery that will use the concepts of the stories of alien abductions, showing the side effects of what might have happened, leaning more towards the mystery, rather than using too much sci-fi side of things. The remote location will play into what is expected to be behind the alien abduction stories.
Final Thoughts – Alternate Ground is a mystery that will keep us guessing behind the abduction.
Head Over to Movie Rob’s site for more reviews here.
“So, what are elves good for?” – Weehawk
Number of Times Seen – 1 (22 Nov 2021)
Brief Synopsis – In a futuristic world millennia after a nuclear war, two brothers rule their kingdoms with two very different ideals; one championing technology while the other magic.
My Take on it – This is a film that I only heard of recently when my friend Jason of The Palmer Files mentioned a few times on his podcast how much he enjoys this film and his musings about it got me quite curious to check it out.
It was the perfect choice for me to watch for this month’s theme for Darren’s Film Challenge.
Going in, I knew absolutely nothing about this film save the fact that it was created by Ralph Bakshi, who truly was an innovative animation creator and has given us some great films to savor for all time.
The film’s animation style and music is quite unique and that adds so much to the experience of watching this modern day fable about the push and pull between technology and nature (represented by magic).
The film uses lots of imagery to show how propaganda and imagery can affect people in a way that scares them to want to fight back.
Most of the characters in the film aren’t developed very well and they are mostly viewed in a very simple good vs evil perspective.
Yes, there are a few exceptions to this and those characters stand out among the rest.
The plot moves along at a great pace and stays interesting throughout even if the colors and imagery look very psychedelic (I wonder how someone stoned out of their mind would view this.)
Love the mixture here of sci-fi and fantasy elements and how they are able to bring them together to populate the same world because it adds so many layers to the story.
This is a film that truly needs to be studied and looked at in a minute way in order to fully appreciate it and I expect to watch it again in the future to get a better understanding of it all.
Tnx again to Jason for recommending this movie to me!
Recommended!
MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Susan Tyrrell specifically requested to be uncredited for her role as the narrator, believing that performing in an animated film would be detrimental to her career. Ralph Bakshi claims that she approached him years later and revealed that the movie had actually been instrumental in securing her many subsequent roles and that she regretted her request. (From IMDB)
Rating – Globe Worthy (8/10)
This is just a recommendation for an adventure film that will be under W.
Director: Swait Bhise
Writer: Devika Bhise, Swait Bhise, Ilivia Emden (Screenplay)
Starring: Devika Bhise, Rupert Everett, Jodhi May, Derek Jacobi, Nathaniel Parker, Ben Lamb, Arif Zakaria
Plot: A tale of women’s empowerment, The Warrior Queen of Jhansi tells the true story of Lakshmibai, the historic Queen of Jhansi who fiercely led her army against the British East India Company in the infamous mutiny of 1857.
Runtime: 1 Hour 42 Minutes
