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"If by my life or death I can protect you, I will. You have my sword."
Fans of high fantasy — fantasy that takes place on an epic scale in an imaginary world in which otherwise supernatural creatures and forces are simply a part of the natural environment — were all but left out in the cold in 2012, while superheroes, aliens and secret agents were free to run amok on the big screen. Where were all of the wizards, dragons and elves? Except for animated movies and the pair of Snow White adaptations, high fantasy movies have been noticeably absent from the Cineplex of late.
Thankfully, fans of the fantasy sub-genre will not have to wait much longer with The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey opening in only a matter of days and Russian director Sergei Bodrov's (Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Khan) new fantasy adventure, Seventh Son — that's a begrizzled Jeff Bridges in the hood and cloak above, playing an aging knight who must train a new apprentice (Ben Barnes) to help him battle a malevolent witch (Julianne Moore) that seeks to destroy him — debuting next year. In anticipation of the return of magic to movie theaters, help us rate the best high fantasy movies of all time (beyond time).
Rate the Top 10 Best High Fantasy Movies >>
Image courtesy Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures
Posted 12.05.12 by BrentJS -
Since The Lord of the Rings trilogy left theaters, fantasy fans have slowly gravitated to George R.R. Martin's Game of Thrones novels and subsequent HBO TV adaptation. But now that The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is on its way, the inevitable comparisons are starting to be raised. Which series has the toughest warrior? Which series has the fiercest creatures? Fantasy fans could no doubt debate the subject for hours, but MTV Geek took the topic straight to Martin during this interview.
watch the video >> Posted 11.15.12 by Ryan -
Are you a big fan of J.R.R. Tolkien and The Lord of the Rings trilogy? Are you excited for the upcoming The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the first installment of a three-part adaptation of Tolkien's novel? Are you willing to spend over 40 hours constructing Bilbo Baggins' home of Bag End in your living room using 2600 balloons?
If the answer is no to that last one, worry not: Jeremy Telford of Balloon Guy Entertainment did have the time (and the desire) to create Bag End in his living room, documenting the construction in time-lapse photography so that anyone could watch.
watch the transformation >> Posted 11.15.12 by Ryan -
The Los Angeles Film Critics Association cast its votes for the best movies of the "aughties," and in the end, it was David Lynch's Mulholland Dr. that came out on top, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The organization made the following statement in announcing its decision:
Lynch's film stands as both a cautionary tale and a mascot for the triumph ofart and personal vision in an industry that, from where we sit, often seems actively devoted to the suppression of both.
Mulholland Dr. stars Laura Elena Harring as an upscale LA woman who suffers from amnesia after a car accident. She meets Naomi Watts (in her breakout role), an ingenue trying to break into Hollywood, and the two set about trying to solve the mystery of the accident. The movie also features Justin Theroux as a director whose project is sabotaged by big-studio producers.
The movie both glamorizes and satirizes Hollywood, often in the same moment, and the tone runs the gamut from absurd hilarity to outright horror. It's a rhapsodic celebration of the history of movies on one hand, and yet at the same time a ruthlessly bitter denunciation of industry evils. Perfect territory for Lynch, whose very success depended partly on Hollywood capital and partly on his ability to keep his distance from it.
Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood was second on the critics' list, followed by Michel Gondry's Eternal Sunshine of theSpotless Mind and Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain. Other contenders included Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy, Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away, and Alfonso Cuarón's Y tu mamá también.
Posted 01.13.10 by reelz -
Sir Ian McKellen (Gandalf), Andy Serkis (Gollum), and Hugo Weaving (Elrond) are confirmed to reprise their LOTR roles in The Hobbit, the prequel to The Lord of the Rings (LOTR), but the lead role of Bilbo Baggins has yet to be cast. Based on a statement from producer Peter Jackson less than a month ago, the part would likely go to an unknown or lesser-known actor found in a "casting sweep," rather than to a "name" actor.
A recent open casting call list posted by SpoilerTV seemed to indicate that Jackson planned on making good on his comments about casting unknowns in major roles, as the list includes the title character, Bilbo Baggins, as well as a collection of humans, elves, dwarves, a wizard, and even the dragon Smaug, which is listed as a voiceover role.
However, shortly after the list was posted, our friends at TheOneRing did somefollow up on the news with their undisclosed sources and it appears that the list may be bogus or simply no longer pertinent to the production.
After touching base with more of our contacts, we’ve been notified that this is not a valid list of lead roles and, in fact, some of the roles listed in the links are not relevant.
While casting an unknown in such an expensive production may seem like a risky proposition — especially in light of how cash-strapped MGM is right now — Jackson pointed out that the LOTR trilogy was not "star-driven." He went on to say that the true "star" is the late J.R.R. Tolkien, the creator of the LOTR universe.
A recent Tweet from Production Weekly declared that The Hobbit would begin its14-month productionthis June in New Zealand. Like the LOTR movies, The Hobbit films — one film split into two parts, a la Kill Bill — are being filmed concurrently.
Posted 01.07.10 by BrentJS -
The ReelzChannel 100 began when we asked Leonard Maltin for his favorite Hidden Gems of the decade. His list led the web team into a general discussion about the best movies of the decade and — after no small amount of debate, arguing, and (we're not proud to say) some petty name-calling — we decided we'd better bring it to an end with a company-wide vote. Then it was just a matter of tallying up the votes and hoping for the best. Lucky for us, ReelzChannel is filled with a staff ranging from movie lovers to movie fanatics. What turned out isn't what you'll find on a critic's best of list — instead it's what movie fans really enjoyed.
In our final day of the ReelzChannel 100, we highlight 10 New Classics from the Decade.
Posted 01.01.10 by reelz -
The ReelzChannel 100 began when we asked Leonard Maltin for his favorite Hidden Gems of the decade. His list led the web team into a general discussion about the best movies of the decade and — after no small amount of debate, arguing, and (we're not proud to say) some petty name-calling — we decided we'd better bring it to an end with a company-wide vote. Then it was just a matter of tallying up the votes and hoping for the best. Lucky for us, ReelzChannel is filled with a staff ranging from movie lovers to movie fanatics. What turned out isn't what you'll find on a critic's best of list — instead it's what movie fans really enjoyed.
In day three of the ReelzChannel 100, we highlight the Top 10 Action/Adventure Movies of the Decade.
Posted 12.23.09 by reelz -
The ReelzChannel 100 began when we asked Leonard Maltin for his favorite Hidden Gems of the decade. His list led the web team into a general discussion about the best movies of the decade and — after no small amount of debate, arguing, and (we're not proud to say) some petty name-calling — we decided we'd better bring it to an end with a company-wide vote. Then it was just a matter of tallying up the votes and hoping for the best. Lucky for us, ReelzChannel is filled with a staff ranging from movie lovers to movie fanatics. What turned out isn't what you'll find on a critic's best of list — instead it's what movie fans really enjoyed.
In day two of the ReelzChannel 100, we highlight the 10 best DVDs and Blu-rays from the past decade.
Posted 12.22.09 by reelz -
Producer Peter Jackson recently stated that a "casting sweep" was underway for the lead part in his production of The Hobbit, the prequel to The Lord of the Rings (LOTR). However, despite Jackson's comment that the LOTR movies are not "star-driven," a new rumor has been making headlines by linking one of Hollywood's most-successful franchise actors to the role of the adventurous Hobbit Bilbo Baggins.
Popular film site Latino Review reported on Monday that Tobey Maguire's (Brothers) recent comments about wanting to work with director Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy) referred to his involvement with The Hobbit.
Could Peter Parker be playing Bilbo Baggins?
I checked with agency sources and yep, it's true!
Apparently, we're in the early stages of talks between CAA and the producers of the Hobbit film for Tobey to topline the film as Bilbo Baggins!
The news quickly became a topic of blog posts and forum threads and eventually made its way back to Maguire, who responded on Tuesday that the rumor is false.
I have not met with del Toro. We don't have any near future plans. I don't know if something got misconstrued or miscommunicated but the source was not accurate at all.
Maguire actually added a little fuel to the rumor fire himself by saying that he thought there was no part to be had because James McAvoy had already landed the role. However, Maguire did say that he would be interested in working on The Hobbit, if a part were offered to him.
I love Guillermo del Toro and Peter Jackson, and I certainly wouldn't take myself out of the conversation ... if I was part of it. But I haven't read a script or talked to anybody about it.
The Hobbit is currently slated to begin shooting in the spring.
Posted 12.16.09 by BrentJS -
With his Lovely Bones opening next month, writer-director Peter Jackson spent some time talking with the British press about a few of his upcoming producing projects. One of the most-anticipated is The Hobbit, the sequel to Jackson's Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Jackson told In The News that an initial script has been delivered to the studio.
The Hobbit will be two movies and we've written the first script anddelivered it to the studio who seem to be happy with it. We're now halfway through the second script and Philippa [Boyens],Fran [Walsh], Guillermo [Del Toro] and myself are doing the scripts and having great fun. It was an interesting experience because eight or nine years have passed since we wrote the Lord of the Ringsscreenplays and I was worried it'd be weird or hard or uncomfortable to go back there, but as soon as we started writing the scripts it wasfun, actually, and easy.
Del Toro will be directing The Hobbit, a situation he is "happy" about, stressing that "it's our job to support him and to help him tell the story." Jackson told BBC News that having Del Toro in on the writing process should make the transition easier.
We're writing the screenplays with him, so in terms of the script, there is continuity. We're writing Ian McKellen's dialogue just the same as we did in Lord Of The Rings. But Guillermo, being the director, will obviously take the script and interpret that and shoot his film. So that'll be interesting to see. That's actually the reason I wanted him to do it. I felt like I'd be trying to compete with myself and deliberately do things differently, which is not the way I want to work. I want it tobe natural.
Jackson stated that The Hobbit will be shot "in 35mm, old-fashioned film" because of Del Toro's desire to have the movie "in the same space as the original trilogy." Meanwhile, Jackson's other producing project, The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn, will be in 3-D. Jackson said that the movie is complete. Mostly.
Tintin is great. It's made. The movie is cut together and now [we] are turning it into a fully-rendered film. So the movie, to some degree, exists in a very rough state.
All that's left is to turn the movie from motion capture into 3-D animation, which will only take a mere two years to complete.
Posted 11.25.09 by Ryan