Conan

Red Sonja (1985)

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Red Sonja (1985)
  • IMDb: link

Throwback Tuesday takes us back to the Hyborian Age and one of the worst sword and sorcery movies to come out of a pretty crappy genre. 1985’s Red Sonja stars model Brigitte Nielsen in her acting debut the sword-wielding She-Devil with a Sword who gained prominence in comics in the 1970s. Although Arnold Schwarzenegger gets top billing here, he’s a minor character who is obviously Conan but not Conan (as the film didn’t have the rights to use the character). Nielsen, with no real acting experience, is far from the worst thing about the film which is campy without being fun and ultimately a dreadful bore that makes Conan: The Destroyer look like Citizen Kane.

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Red Sonja (1985) Read More »

1982 – Conan the Barbarian

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  • Title: Conan the Barbarian
  • IMDb: link

Conan the Barbarian reviewToday’s Throwback Thursday takes us back to harsh lands of Cimmeria, the days of high adventure, and a barbarian known as Conan. On or around this date 37 years ago Arnold Schwarzenegger hit the big screen in the first of several iconic roles which would transform the former body builder into a movie star. Based on the character and stories created by Robert E. Howard, Conan the Barbarian offers an origin story for a barbarian thief raised in slavery and his quest to avenge the death of his parents by the wizard Thulsa Doom (James Earl Jones).

More one-dimensional than his comic counterpart, this Conan lacks the wit found on the printed page as he stumbles through the various obstacles put in front of him. From his journey of slave, to gladiator, to wandering barbarian, Conan picks up companions in the beautiful Valeria (Sandahl Bergman), the wizard Akiro (Mako), and the archer Subotai (Gerry Lopez). The film is hardly the stuff of great cinema, and some of its elements and effects have aged better than others, but more than three decades later it still retains its charm (including Jones’ reptilian villain turn, some enjoyable action sequences, and the memorable score by Basil Poledouris).

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1982 – Conan the Barbarian Read More »

Conan: The Complete Quest

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Conan the Barbarian / Conan the Destroyer
  • IMDb: link
  • IMDb: link

Conan: The Complete QuestThe new Blu-ray release collects both original Conan movies starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as the legendary Cimmerian thief and warrior. Focused on Conan’s origin story and his quest for revenge against the evil sorcerer (James Earl Jones) who slaughtered his village as a boy and threw him into slavery, Conan the Barbarian is the better of the two movies. It also gives us Mako (who would return in the sequel) as Conan’s ally.

Following two-years later, Conan the Destroyer feels every bit the half-baked sequel it is as Conan is hired to protect a princess (Olivia d’Abo) with a terrible destiny. While not as strong as the original, Destroyer does offer some memorable moments.

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Conan: The Complete Quest Read More »

News and Notes

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Brittany IshibashiDeadline is reporting that Brittany Ishibashi has been cast as Karai in the upcoming sequel to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Variety is reporting Tilda Swinton is in talks to join Marvel’s Doctor Strange

Den of Geek has a rundown of what we know so far about NBC’s upcoming Heroes Reborn

The Playlist is reporting Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s return to the Conan franchise will ignore all other Conan films and be a direct sequel to the events of Conan the Barbarian

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