TV Series Review: ***^Shadow and Bones (2021-2023)

 This is a Netflix series of two seasons with eight episodes in each season.  I found it entertaining in a week when I was home alone while Tony was at school.  

The story is that there are people with special powers, (make ice weapons, blow wind, manipulate fire, manipulate dark or light and others) and those without.  Those without are more numerous and begin to hunt those with power.  Those with poser have to touch hands and so you see handcuffs thaty keep peoples' hands apart.  General Aleksander Kirigan (Ben Barnes) is one of those hunted and to even the odds who uses a different type of magic, and creates a void, an dark empty space between dividing the country which is difficult to travel and has scary monsters in it.  

The show revolves around two orphans, Alina Starkov (Jessie Mei Li) and Malyen Oretsev (Archie Renaux) who found each other as children and have always been together.  It seems they are intended for each other.  However it is discovered that Alina is a creature of light.  It then becomes her job to destroy the void.  Kirigan first becomes aware of her power, and brings her to his palace to train her and use you powers to magnify his.  It is only after a few episodes that she becomes aware that Kirigan is trying to ue her power so he can extend the fold he created.  He does force her to combine with him and is able to manipulate the fold enough to destroy whole communities.  She is finally able to force her will and get away from him.  Season one ends with him being taken away by one of the fold creatures.

In season two he comes back and has creatures which cannot be killed attached to him.  He is even more powerful.  They meet the king's son, Nicolai Lantsov (Patrick Gibson).  There is also a group of thieves who themselves "crows" who help "Saint" Alina including: Faz Brekker (Freddy Carter), Inej Ghafa (Amita Suman), Jesper (Kit Young), 

They seek a sword that can cut shadow--and finally find the sword.  They also seek another animal that can enhance power.  The discover this in fact is not an animal; but is Malyen, the Saint of Light's childhood love.  For the enhanced effect, she must kill him.  

The show builds to a mighty conclusion, with people with special powers on both sides.  I have enjoyed binge watching this series.  It is rated TV-14.  They throw the LBGTQ stuff at you pretty hard with kissing and such.  It is funny how that studd doesn't show up until a few episodes down the line until after you are enjoying the series.  I guess they are trying to make a statement that they are "correct."

Movie Review: ***^Seventh Son

This movie is based on the characters of the book "The Spook's Apprentice" by Joseph Delaney.  This is the only book in the series I have read, although there are many more, and much of the movie must have been from the sequel books, as it wasn't in the book I read.  Jeff Bridges portrays the Spook, Gregory.  Julianne Moore portrays the wicked witch, who once loved the Spook.  The Apprentice, Tom Ward is portrayed be Ben Barnes.  The niece of the evil witch, Alice,  is portrayed by Alicia Vikander.  The jest of the movie is the witch escapes years of captivity by the Spook because of the blood moon which has arrived, restoring her powers.  She kills the first apprentice, and creates a need for a new apprentice.  However, they have to hurry as in a week the witch will regain all her powers and be unstoppable.  Alice is caught between, spying for the witch, but also loving Tom.  She betrays them both, stealing a witch's amulet from Tom, which was given to him by his mother, a good witch, but then in the end, stealing it back from the wicked witch.
This is a classic good vs. evil, with witches that change into dragons or other evil creatures thrown in.  It makes for some good fun.

Movie Review: *****The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

This movie introduces us to a cousin, who through the course of events changes from a twit to a hero during this voyage.  There is a great evil which has gotten loss on the land.  Everyone must face their own selves, and their worse fears become reality.  Peter and Susan are not part of the adventure, as they now live in the United States.  Lucy, would like to have the looks of Susan, and casts a spell, which basically changes herself to Susan, and Lucy disappears.  She quickly repents.  King Caspian, and Edmund bicker over power, and Edmund is still drawn by the Black Witch.  The cousin, Eustace Scrubb (Will Poulter), because of his greed, is turned into a dragon.  However the dragon also helps them with his strength and fire.  The cousin finds courage with the help of Reepicheep, a heroic rat.  They face their fears, and in the end fight a sea serpent.  It is the cousin, who meets Aslan and is healed.  Getting a new outlook for himself, he sets in motion the cure to the evil.  The rat, Reepicheep, who has befriended the Kings, and proven himself in battle, travels to Aslan's Kingdom.  King Caspian stays behind, to lead his people.  He learns to appreciate the things he has, rather than seeking those he has lost (his deceased father.)

Movie Reviews: *****The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

Prince Caspian was released in 2008.  A year later in the lives of the four king, but 1300 years later, in the world of Narnia, our heroes are called back.  In Narnia a group of humans has somehow gotten into the world, and taken over, and banned the Narnian's to the forests, who are then just a thing of legend and folklore.   Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes), is the son of the king who has been killed, and the kingdom taken over by Prince Caspian's uncle, who when he has a son, has no more need for Prince Caspian.  Prince Caspian makes an escape from the Uncle's guards, and makes his way to the forest where he meets the Narnians, but also calls back our four young kings with Susan's horn.  Then begins the conflict between the Narnians and the Telmarines.  The Telmarines have greater technology, catapults, as well as greater numbers.  Lucy sees Aslan, but cannot convince her siblings, and such, he does not come to help them until they are desperate, and Lucy has been sent on a mission to find him.  And so the gospel parallel, is that we only find Jesus when we truly seek Him. Some of the special effects were almost corny--particularly the water, and so this movie was not quite as good as the first.