Category Archives: Fantasy

The Adjustment Bureau (2011)

From Amazon Prime:

A prominent politician meets a beautiful ballerina and instantly falls in love. However, when mysterious men conspire to keep the pair apart, he is forced to make the wrenching choice between his predetermined path and the only woman he has ever loved.

From Amazon Prime you can stream this 1 hour 46 minute romantic fantasy film.

Matt Damon has managed to keep getting acting roles.  As a person he is very appealing while as an actor he is so-so.  Speaking of so-so, so is this foolish plot. Supposedly there is this supernatural bureaucracy that plots the life of each person and keeps that plot in some magical notebook.  Need I go on?

Pleasant enough to watch. Give it a B minus.

The Boys (2019)

From Amazon Prime:

THE BOYS is an irreverent take on what happens when superheroes, who are as popular as celebrities, as influential as politicians and as revered as Gods, abuse their superpowers rather than use them for good. It’s the powerless against the super powerful as The Boys embark on a heroic quest to expose the truth about “The Seven,” and their formidable Vought backing.

With the help of Amazon Prime you might be willing to waste your idle time streaming 3 seasons of this super romp.  Each season consists of 8 episodes. Each episode lasts about 1 hour.

Calling all “adolescents at heart.”  There is very little point in being serious about this endless 24-episode mindless fantasy,  although I am forced to admit that despite all the nonsense, the acting is at times (but only at times) in the ranges acceptable to good.  Moreover, if you are interested in pornographic nudity, you will not be disappointed in this often raunchy farce.

Sense8 (2018)

From IMDB:

A group of people around the world are suddenly linked mentally, and must find a way to survive being hunted by those who see them as a threat to the world’s order.

From Netflix you can stream 2 seasons of this fantasy soap opera. Each season has 12 episodes. Each episode lasts about an hour except for episode 1 of season 2 which runs 2 hours.

Members of a sensate group are mutually mentally and visibly present to one another.

Given all the sex scenes (sensate group sex anyone?) ,  romances, violence, evil villains, and impossible rescues,  a fitting category for this watch-a-thon might be “highly acceptable trash”.

Don’t be surprised if at times you are not quite sure what is happening in the plot. Just play along for the fun of it.

 

Outer Range (2022)

From Amazon Prime:

A rancher fighting for his land and family discovers an unfathomable mystery at the edge of Wyoming’s wilderness.

From Amazon Prime you can stream all 8 episodes of Season 1. Each episode lasts between 42 minutes and about 1 hour.

So far there is only one season. And that season is a real head-scratcher. Wonderful acting, beautiful scenery, interesting plot details. But what on earth is the story about?  Certainly this is a fantasy film (but not a horror film).   Episode 8 ends in a very uncertain manner with no hint of a conclusion.  Is there to be another season or have I really missed the point?

Josh Brolin, who plays Royal Abbott, is probably the best known actor.  He and all the other actors do a really fine job in keeping us confused.

Beats me?!

Glitch (2019)

From Netflix:

A police officer and a doctor face an emotionally charged
mystery when seven local residents inexplicably return
from the dead in peak physical form.

From IMDB:

Six people return from the dead with no memory and attempt to unveil what brought them to the grave in the first place.

From Netflix you can patiently (if that is possible in this sad case) stream 3 seasons of unreality. Each season contains 6 wonder-filled episodes of about 54 minutes length.

Succinctly put, these 18 episodes present almost acceptable nonsense for the truly bored.   Each of the “arisen” was murdered in his or her former life and have been given a chance to discover the murderer and to right past wrongs.  At least at first my attention was fixated on amending past injustice. In addition, there are actually some small patches of good acting and character interaction. Unfortunately there was an equal amount of really bad, maudlin (i.e. weeping) acting. As time wore on, good guys became bad guys and sometime became good guys again. Moreover when the plot devolved into the hero-villains trying to save the universe from ending,  I almost threw in the towel. For better or worse I persisted to the end. Now I have to find another trash series.

Waste no time on this clunker.

Wonderland (2020)

From MHz Choice:

In this romantic fantasy-thriller, a man from the present travels back to 1960s Biarritz and meets a mysterious woman whose destiny is inexplicably linked with his own.

From MHz Choice  you can stream the 6 episodes of this French romance. Each episode runs between 48 and 56 minutes. French with English subtitles.

Do not be dissuaded by the “fantasy-thriller” label in the summary above.  Most importantly this story is a wonderful romance story imaginatively  filled with atmosphere, music, mystery, intrigue, revenge, and love.

Jeremy, an unambitious medical student and jazz afficionado, working in the nightclub called “Wonderland”,  somehow transports back to 1960s Biarritz and lands in the original Wonderland club.  Tony is the owner of the 1960s club and the father of the owner of the future club. Both owners are played by the same actor.  Jeremy wanders aimlessly to the beach where he saves the life of Chris’ sister.  Jeremy is superb at instantly manufacturing lies. Indeed he needs to. After all, who would believe his story? Jeremy invents a back story as he is “adopted” by the very wealthy and young Chis.  Staying at Chris’ estate is Alice whom Chris hopes to marry. One of Chris’s motives for marrying a beautiful woman  is to spite his father André whom he despises.

Needless to say Jeremy falls in love with Alice who is, in fact, the woman in the photo that captured Jeremy’s attention in the future Wonderland.  But Alice is hiding as many secrets as is Jeremy.  As Jeremy “stalks” Alice the plot thickens.  At this point I provide no more details.

If there is any romantic in your soul then DO NOT MISS!

Ragnarok (2020)

From IMDB:

A small Norwegian town experiencing warm winters and violent downpours seems to be headed for another Ragnarok — unless someone intervenes in time.

From Netflix you can stream the 6 episodes of the only season available for this Norwegian fantasy story, namely season 1.  Each episode is about 45 minutes. Spoken in Norwegian with English subtitles.

June 8, 2021 – Update:

Now there are two seasons available. Season 2 also has 6 episodes. Unfortunately season 2 also ends with an implied “to be continued.”

According to Wikipedia, Ragnarok is

a series of events, including a great battle, foretold to lead to the death of a number of great figures (including the gods Odin, Thor, Týr, Freyr, Heimdallr, and Loki), natural disasters and the submersion of the world in water. After these events, the world will resurface anew and fertile, the surviving and returning gods will meet and the world will be repopulated by two human survivors. Ragnarök is an important event in Norse mythology and has been the subject of scholarly discourse and theory in the history of Germanic studies.

Call it kid stuff if you like, but enough was invested in the production values to make this story watchable. Warning: this season 1 is obviously an introduction to more seasons.

Consider the plot: High school student Magne arrives in a sleepy town together with his mother and brother.  Controlling the town is a giant factory run by a “perfect” family of four who seem to be human but in reality are immortal Norwegian gods. Upon arrival in the town, a mysterious elderly couple bestow powers on Magne without his knowing. Little by little Magne discovers his powers. Meanwhile the factory is knowingly polluting the environment, which to the 4 gods is unimportant and to be covered up. Gradually Magne realizes what is happening.  Let the truth come out.

Does it sound like something for the adolescents to watch?  In a completely unsubtle manner, the underlying theme is global warming and world pollution of the environment.  Conversational fragments refer to today’s environmental concerns. Perhaps someday the presentation will seem outdated. But for now (February 2020)  the topic is spot on (as the British would say).

Bear with Magne’s (lack of) acting.  He is basically a stone faced, stoic, initially bewildered, and dyslexic high school kid.

In summary:  Season 1 will have a “happy ending” if the truth comes out. But then we will need more seasons in which the battle of the gods takes place.  Stay tuned.

Glitch (2015)

From Netflix:

James and Elishia keep the Risen under wraps while they try to make sense of what’s happening, and James makes a second shocking discovery.

From Netflix you can stream the 6 episodes of season 1 of this Netflix original.

At least 6 people climb out of their graves and interact with the living for 6 episodes. Mostly this is a mystery story which tries to solve not only how this resurrection is possible but also how each person died. It takes a character as many as 6 episodes to make that self-discovery, often to their great unhappiness. Curiosity kept me watching this mediocre, maudlin, barely acceptable piece of trash.

Surprisingly, this new production offers the audio and subtitles in many languages. Because the dialog is simple and basic, this is a good opportunity to use languages other than English. HOWEVER, the written scripts do not match the spoken scripts, which has been a flaw prevalent in many films for many years.

WARNING: Episode 6 ends with a huge cliff hanger. Just when you think you will learn the answers, the season ends.  Wait, I suppose, for a second season.

Victor Frankenstein (2015)

From NetFlix:

Putting a new spin on the classic tale of the reanimated monster, this reimagined version unspools through the perspective of loyal lab assistant Igor and his friendship with erratic genius Dr. Frankenstein.

For a PG-13 rated film, this 1hour 50 minutes romp features quite a bit of violent mayhem. At least any sex is minimal to nonexistent. Each time Hollywood tells the Frankenstein story, the special effects are more exaggerated. Have we reached here a pinnacle in cadavers,  arcane iron equipment, lightning, Scottish castles, and a really angry, nasty, two-hearted big monster? Of course, part of the tradition is that the monster must have a flat head.

Daniel Radcliffe  (aka “Harry Potter”) as the loyal lab assistant Igor should feel really at home with all the hocus-pocus. Imagining that Dr. Frankenstein rescues the circus clown Igor and converts him from a hunchback into an attractive adult is a new gimmick in the story. Letting Igor fall in love with a beautiful woman is also a nice touch.

James McAvoy portrays Victor Frankenstein as an ambitious, driven egomaniac of a genius, who is quite possibly a madman.

Andrew Scott (Professor Moriarty of the TV series “Sherlock”) as Inspector Turpin has charge of the theology in the story.

In summary, it is a really good yarn with lots of special effects which you can enjoy as just a fun story as long as you are willing to suspend disbelief at every detail for the entire film.

Snowpiercer (2013)

From Netflix:

The Earth’s remaining inhabitants are confined to a single train circling the globe as revolution brews among the class-divided cars. Based on a French graphic novel and set in a new ice age, this futuristic thriller stars a top-notch ensemble cast.

Owing to a failed climate-change experiment that essentially froze the earth, when you look out of a window on this perpetual motion train, you see snow everywhere. Although the idea of a dystopia with a brutal separation of classes is nothing new, placing the only remaining inhabitants of the planet in a train is a novel approach. From a visual standpoint, “Snowpiercer” is one of the more original sci-fi films I have seen. Progress in the story is measured by the struggle of the underclass in the rear of the train to reach the front of the train. Moving through the train offers some wonderful eye-candy.

Chris Evans does a good job as the “hero” Curtis. Ed Harris as the god-like Willford is sufficiently amoral and heartless. But Tilda Swinton as the quirky class enforcer Mason steals the show.

Now for the WARNING: This film is incredibly violent. At certain points the punishments inflicted on anyone foolish enough to rebel are possibly hard to watch.

In all honesty I was mesmerized, but then good guys against bad guys always holds my attention.