+- Forums (http://www.brotherhoodofdoom.com/doomForum)
+-- Forum: Doom Arts (http://www.brotherhoodofdoom.com/doomForum/forumdisplay.php?fid=6)
+--- Forum: Doom Streaming (http://www.brotherhoodofdoom.com/doomForum/forumdisplay.php?fid=21)
+---- Forum: Disney+ (http://www.brotherhoodofdoom.com/doomForum/forumdisplay.php?fid=24)
+---- Thread: Willow (2022) (/showthread.php?tid=7048)
Pages:
1
2
Willow (2022) - Greg - 05-26-2022
Milking our childhood for every cent.
Of course I will tune in.
RE: Willow (2022) - Greg - 09-12-2022
Time for the full trailer. Streaming Nov 30.
RE: Willow (2022) - Drunk Monk - 11-30-2022
Willow (1998)
I couldn't remember a thing about the original beyond Val Kilmer was in it and there were midgets. Turns out there were lots of little people. Too many for my comfort level.
It's dated now. The storyline is clunky and the effects are mediocre. The performances are underwhelming (what did Val ever do beyond his smarmy typecast?) Jean Marsh hams it up as the villainess, but it's lost on the rest of the cast.
Warwick is good, the only redeeming performance. Although his whole tribe are basically hobbits, his size doesn't hamper his leading role stature. From Wicket to Willow...
The Fight Choreographer was Bill Hobbs but it doesn't show. The fights are slow and telegraphed. It's as if Bill just didn't have talent that could move. Or he wasn't engaged enough and phoned it in. There is a lot of sword fights.
There is some fine panoramic shots in the beginning - accentuated by the fact that this predates CGI so you can tell some of the landscapes are genuine. And that's a lot of little people in the little people village. Too many. There are also some large armored army sequences that are impressive because they're fairly real (probably some overlapping).
But given that it was Lucas and Howard, I expected more. I know why I forgot this. There wasn't much to remember.
Now that I've reminded myself, I'll tune in tomorrow to this new installment.
RE: Willow (2022) - Greg - 11-30-2022
It had the two annoying sprites as well.
I'm just going to dive into the new show. What's behind me doesn't concern me.
RE: Willow (2022) - Drunk Monk - 11-30-2022
Not sprites. Brownies. And they appear in the new trailer...
That's a good strategy. Skip the original. Don't go back. After what Lucas and Howard (Hobbs too) acheived, it's a low point in both their filmographies. This new series looks much better (judging on the trolls alone, which were just dudes in bad monkey suits in the original).
The only plot point to remember is that the original was all about Willow saving a baby, Elora Danen, who was destined to overthrow the evil sorceress Bavmorda (Jean Marsh) because she had a birthmark on her arm near her armpit. That never quite comes to pass in the original. Bavmorda accidentally banishes herself, which I suppose this how the baby overthrew her?
RE: Willow (2022) - Greg - 11-30-2022
The big VFX reveal was the morph technology of the sorceress. I thought that was Elora Dannen, but I guess that was someone else.
RE: Willow (2022) - Drunk Monk - 11-30-2022
Jean Marsh is still alive...
RE: Willow (2022) - Drunk Monk - 11-30-2022
Why bother with a two ep premiere? Just do a double length premiere…
E1&2 were ok. E1 introduces the next gen and they’re a typical fantasy fellowship for these times - a chosen one, a princess, a soldier, a smart nerd, a seasoned mercenary. There’s romance (some lgbtq even), obligations, needs to be their true selves, typical tropes of the genre now. And it’s somewhat diverse although no non-Indian Asians (we have stuff like Ice Fantasy so who cares?)
Willow and Sorsha reprise their roles and we’re 200 moons (16+ years if this is earth years) from when the movie happened.
It opens with a swordfight on some cool rocks which reminded me of the great DM v Yeti duels in a public school parking lot as teens, although not nearly as scenic. Fight choreo is mediocre but with swords at least.
The barrier is so GoT. So far, almost everything feels derivative of something else.
What is it about Erin Kellyman? She’s like in every franchise already…
E2 starts dropping the Easter eggs with the nelwin - the high aldwin is now Willow and there’s reading the bones and the which finger test.
What is it with shows ending with some vintage pop song now? Didn’t 1899 & Wednesday do the same thing?
Production value is decent. The villains are kinda cool, poached from demonic horror flicks.
It reaffirms my sacrifice of watching the original last night. I’m glad to have done that for all of you so you don’t have to and will alert you of anything from the movie that’s relevant like the aforementioned Easter eggs.
It’s not great but I’ll watch some more.
RE: Willow (2022) - Greg - 12-01-2022
So, yeah. We only watched one episode last night. The Queen looked at me in total disbelief when I started the episode.
It was very derivative of the fantasy shows of our time. I wondered if they used the same banquet hall as GoT but brought in more lights. The show does have a Star Wars Alum and a Spiderman alum in its cast.
The thing that kept me watching and it made me like the show was the dialogue, especially from Boorman, the big Indian Guy. He's funny and has a great attitude. I also kind of like Graydon as the prince who really doesn't want to be there. (Although, I just looked at the cast list and there is a spoiler in there)
Truth be told, I've never liked Warwick Davis as an actor. I will continue to watch.
RE: Willow (2022) - Greg - 12-03-2022
Ep02 I'm trying to remember what happened in the 2nd episode. Elora Dannon tries to learn magic for an exceedingly long time. It was also annoying. I guess they were trying to be funny. The knights become evil and there's a bit of the fight. The moody princess was moody.
The show needs more Boorman.
RE: Willow (2022) - Greg - 12-08-2022
Ep03 tQ hates this show and I'm starting to come to her point of view. She doesn't hate it. She thinks it is stupid. it was nice to see Hannah Waddingham for a bit. Lots of things happen in the show for no reason. Willow is annoying. And then there are the sword fights. Nothing says bad choreography like darkness, rain and quick cuts. You could sense the fights were bad but you couldn't see enough for true confirmation. Boorman is a really funny character, I think, but he speaks so softly you can't quite get what he's saying. Much like the sword fights.
Will continue to punish tQ by watching.
RE: Willow (2022) - Drunk Monk - 12-09-2022
E3 is a smidgen better. It starts with a sword fight and kinda ends with a sword fight. The sword fights are mediocre but at least they arent bad.
What worked for me was there was more humor and now that the characters are established, their interaction is more playful. Their dialog is a tad snappier and there’s almost a tongue in cheek quality to their banter.
Two new characters are introduced and are they more lesbians? The double sided axe is a flag. I really like them. But then… well damn. Did not see that coming.
Then there’s a lot of death. Not Disney deaths either. Sad deaths. Things get dark, so dark.
The outro Metallica music worked for me. Outro classic rock is like a sucker punch now as seen in this, 1899 & Wednesday.
I suspect the season mcguffin will be the return of Val at the end. He reprised his role in Top Gun Maverick. He has also survived cancer.
This runs for 8 eps. If they can sustain the funny bits, I’ll see it through.
RE: Willow (2022) - Drunk Monk - 12-14-2022
E4 is the spend a rainy night in a haunted castle where one of the squad is fighting off demonic possession ep. It’s a decent throwback to the movie (the references only made sense because I rewatched it recently and remarkably recall it well enough). There’s a lot of banter that feels like what modern youngsters would say, a lot of saying shit and f-bombs. Is it working for me? I’m still watching so I guess so. The banter is a bit forced too, but at least it’s mildly funny and shows that they aren’t taking things too seriously.
The hallucinations could’ve been a lot better. They weren’t trippy, spooky, or revealing. Only the ones that spliced in scenes from the original film were good, and that just for nostalgia’s sake.
Erin has a signature sword fighting style now - it’s wild slashing until falling down and lying prone with her knees bent facing the opponent whilst the opponent takes a gargantuan death blow swing only to be thwarted by something - usually a comrade’s interception. If she does another, I’ll drink a shot. Heck I’ll drink a shot every time she does this from here on out. It’ll make it more amusing for me.
RE: Willow (2022) - Drunk Monk - 12-24-2022
E5: I’m starting to warm to this show now that my expectations have gone. It’s got a quirky sense of humor like today’s gen satirizing thr fantasy genre. And it’s very lgbtq, emphasis on the L which I support. There were several moments in this ep were I felt like I’d seen the same idea before in some other fantasy show but instead of seeing it as derivative, it was satirical, and that made it work. There’s also a smidge of a psychedelic nod, although here it’s wasn't hobbit shire leaf, it was truth plums.
Still not great but not objectionable anymore. Pleasant viewing whilst eating dinner.
RE: Willow (2022) - Drunk Monk - 01-05-2023
E6 was the funniest so far. They are in the troll mines, or the Dread Mines of Skellin. The trolls, which were just bad gorilla suits in the original film, level up. The leader troll is hilarious, akin to a John Malkovich impersonation. There’s lots of wise cracks and side comments playing up the parody angle, but then it delivers Christian Slater, which I at first assumed was throwback to the original, but it wasn’t. He wasn’t in the original. It ends in a big sword fight. Turns out trolls use wolf tooth clubs (but they call them laces). It was light spirited until it wasn’t due to a self sacrificing heroic act. Meanwhile, Arik is tripping off some oily orange fluid he drank in the abandoned city - he found a Princess, but I think she’s just the crone in disguise.
E7 is the long walk across the shattered sea, which is an endless ocean that’s only like a foot deep but sea creatures live in the sand, including a cute mudmander which draws their carriage ship. It makes for some good visuals. There’s a flirt fight, a swordfight seduction, and we love those. This one gets extra points because it’s a lesbian one. And there’s sorcerer training. There’s also a shuriken attack that precedes a carriage fight. That was okay. I totally lol-Ed at the shuriken removal scene - good comic timing there. But mostly it’s the long dreary walk where everyone starts losing their minds.
I think next ep is the finale.