LightYears

I'll watch it eventually, although it doesn't seem like my type of show. Not a big fan of fantasy. Much prefer science fiction.

PhoenixRising

Me too, LightYears. Although I've come to prefer present day science fiction because futuristic sci-fi either doesn't turn out like we think, or it's something I wouldn't want us to turn into.

sum1

Fantasy is better than science fiction, but it's rarely done right on the screen. Most fantasy tv shows and films are crap. Game of Thrones is a big exception to the rule. It's the best show ever made. Brilliant characterization, sizzling character interaction, spectacular acting, fascinating storylines, incredible scope, great atmosphere, top grade cinematography, powerful drama, deep emotions, forceful storytelling, high grade action, sharp intelligence. It's got it all. Too good to miss. It's the greatest screen work of art of the era.

LightYears

^Maybe you should be the moderator for Game of Thrones.

sum1

canflam

Game of Thrones also has a much bigger budget than most that helps. The Lord of The Rings films are some of the best Fantasy movies I’ve seen.

sum1

The LOTR films were very well-made, but horribly miscast. Particularly Eowyn and Aragorn. They got the tone and atmosphere right, but not the characters. The Hobbit films were crap, but they were better cast.

canflam

I haven’t seen “The Hobbitt”. What didn’t you like about it? An older I like is “The Princess Bride”.

sum1

The Hobbit movie trilogy had no dignity, no intelligence, lots of stupid, overdone silly action, and a general crap level of storytelling. They made a mess out of Tolkien's classic and nobody needed to make three three hour long films out of one little book -that was Jackson's ego. And we didn't need Legolas shoved into the story acting like some sort of super-ninja. Orlando Bloom was crap as usual, of course.

PhoenixRising

I actually preferred 80's fantasy, like Dragonslayer and Conan The Barbarian. It seemed a lot more hardcore back then. I liked LOTR, but I do think it could've been done a bit better. I agree, Aragorn and Eowyn were miscast, but I did like Eowyn better than Arwen. I couldn't stand Liv Tyler in that role. You're right about The Hobbit. Jackson tried too hard to tie that into LOTR, and it was way too long. It only needed two parts, not three.

I haven't watched GoT so I can't really comment on Sophie in that one.

canflam

Oh. I didn’t know The Hobbit is a trilogy.

PhoenixRising

The Hobbit is just one book, Matt. Jackson made it a trilogy, but it really doesn't need more than two movies.

sum1

Dragonslayer was silly crap, but the original Conan movie is a classic. The character of Valeria was great in that, really convincng as a strong, capable female warrior and very relatable.

Liv Tyler was good as Arwen. Eowyn was the worst thing in the movie. They totally miscast her, as bad as Hayden as Anakin in the Star Wars Prequels.

The Hobbit didn't need two parts, just one.

PhoenixRising

You didn't like Dragonslayer? It scared the hell out of me when I first saw it. I really liked Peter MacNicol as Galen and Sir Ralph Richardson as Ulrich the Wizard. And the go-motion animation effects for Vermithrax the dragon were amazing. That was really good for pre-CGI. But I guess it's not for everyone. I agree with you about Conan The Barbarian. That movie was a masterpiece, and Sandahl Bergman was amazing as Valeria. James Earl Jones, Max Von Sydow, and Mako were also really great, and I thought Arnold gave a really good performance as well. Basil Poleduris' musical score was epic.

sum1

Yeah, Conan was very good. Dragonslayer was too silly.