Sharpe's Sword (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)One of my favorite Sharpe books and definitely one of the better adaptations, even though the action is transferred from Salamanca to the ficitious(?) Villafranca and the romantic subplot involving a novice nun is best forgotten. Sharpe is assigned the task of tracking down Colonel Leroux, who is after Wellington's chief spy, El Mirador - a task complicated by the fact that Sharpe isn't even told who El Mirador is. Sharpe must also contend with an old enemy returned and a traitor to be uncovered, even as he is gravely wounded during the assault on Villafranca, and hovers between life and death...
Sharpe's Sword is great from beginning to end - never skipping a beat, even if there is that annoying nun in the background. Sharpe, Harper and the rest of the supporting cast are in fine form, and a top-notch set of guest stars including Jack Spears, Father Curtis and Colonel Berkeley round it off. Leroux is suitably slimy and deadly, and the climatic sword fight one of the more brutal I've seen in the series. All this, and Sir Henry Simmerson (from Sharpe's Company) too. And of course, Harper dipping into grail lore by forging Sharpe a new sword out of loyalty and love. A must-watch.

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Item Name: Sharpe's Sword; Studio:Bfs Entertainment

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Knights of Bloodsteel (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)I thought this was a pretty good fantasy epic made on a minimal budget. You can not really compare this to LoTR because LoTR was made on a nine figure budget were KofB may have been made on a couple million, if that. I think it was nicely made on the budget it was given, and it is also nice to see a fantasy adventure in a television world ruled by reality television and CSI clones.

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In the faraway land of Mirabilis, the warlord Dragon-Eye has unleashed his terrifying forces to hunt down the source of all power, a legendary Crucible. With freedom hanging in the balance, a motley band of knights embarks on a dangerous mission to fight against the dreaded assassins, dragons and soldiers of Dragon-Eye and rescue their world from the clutches of evil once and for all.Stills from Knights of Bloodsteel (Click for larger image)

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Gormenghast (2000) Review

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(More customer reviews)I've seen this in England, and I can faithfully vouch for the fact that yes, the first two volumes of Mervyn Peake's masterpiece trilogy have finally been accorded their due on the screen. I should start by warning fans of the novels that the Gormenghast realized here is much prettier than you would expect; perhaps the film's producers were worried that a vision of the giant castle and its environs as decayed and yellowed as Peake imagined might be too offputting to anyone but fans of the novels? As a result, Gormenghast is slightly too pretty at times to convey the sense of Gothic dissolution Peake intended: even the campsite of the carvers seems gussied up in pretty green decor. And in the central role of Steerpike Jonathan Rhys-Meyers looks smashing and works hard, but fails to turn in the truly bravura performance the part requires (in part because he lacks tremendous physical presence, despite his sneering beauty).
On the other hand, so much is given to us in this version that it would be churlish to complain. Celia Imrie steals the show as the brutally abstract and terrifyingly towering Countess of Groan: she has both the presence and the ability to play the role. The great Fiona Shaw transforms herself exactly into Peake's sketches of Irma Prunesquallor, and Zoe Wanamaker and Lynsey Baxter do something very original and believable as Titus's half-witted and murderous aunts. The special effects are at times jawdropping, and at times the director allows for the off-kilter camera angles--and yes, even the Gothic atmnosphere otherwise missing--that brings you back to Peake's original vision (the library sequence is particularly smashing). This is the kind of adaptation that, even with its few flaws, one would never have dared hope to have seen.

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A charismatically evil kitchen boy threatens the power of a thousand-year-old dynasty in this fantastic presentation of the classic novels by Mervyn Peake.

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