Green Phoenix - The Silmarillion Review

The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

The literary legacy of J.R.R. Tolkien has become legendary and an inspiration for almost all modern fantasy. But before either of these stories, Tolkien had a dream.

A desire to craft a mythology for Great Britain which didn't rely upon French influence (like the Arthurian legends did). To that end, from 1917 until his death in 1973, Tolkien slowly crafted a series of mythological stories that would, in time, be combined with The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings to craft a single cohesive legendarium.

Though many of these stories would never be released into canon (eventually being compiled into the Unfinished Tales), Tolkien's son Christopher began the painstaking process of compiling and editing the largest and most cohesive stories into a single genesis story.

This would become The Silmarillion.

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Green Phoenix - Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back Review

Following the massive success that was the original Star Wars (later retitled as Episode 4: A New Hope), George Lucas found himself swamped in cash and ready to deliver a powerful new addition to his Star Wars mythology.

Teaming up with director Irvin Kerschner (who would later direct films like Never Say Never Again and RoboCop 2) to deliver a film was hopefully superior to the original film in every way.

Kershner had a tall order to fill in not only surpassing the original which was already being considered a classic and the start of the blockbuster era of American cinema, but also had to build up elements which would have to be paid off in the already planned third and "final" film in the Star Wars trilogy.

And Kershner succeeded in just about every way.

Up next in the examination of the Star Wars franchise by going in Machete Order, the film widely considered to be the greatest film in the Star Wars saga.

Episode 5: The Empire Strikes Back.

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Green Phoenix - Building Better Backstories I

Welcome to Building Better Backstories.

The premise behind this series of editorials will be amending or transforming the backstories behind famous fictional characters, events, or organizations to fix issues that I see with them. This could be something as complex as a complete rewrite of a backstory, to a simple retexturing of the overall lesson.

Today's Subject? Batman

My aim with this series is for you to join me in considering why fiction utilizes certain backstories and how those stories and the changes we make can have a fundamental impact on the overall "feel" of the character, event, or organization in question.

And for our first post in this series, let's take a look at one of the most famous superheroes, with one of the most well-known backstories of all time.

He is "The World's Greatest Detective (in the DC Universe)", He is Vengeance, He is the Night:

Bruce Wayne, otherwise known as Batman.

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Green Phoenix - Star Wars: A New Hope Review

It's Star Wars.

I don't think I need to go into too much detail as to the cultural and historical significance behind the first episode in this cinematic saga. It is the first true blockbuster and the film which, along with Jaws, helped to create the modern summer movie season.

After last week's editorial on the Machete Order, I thought it would be fun to examine all of the films in the Order from a critical standpoint. I will be skipping every other week (with the occasional literary suggestion or editorial) and will also have to give myself some time in October for the "Halloween" review season.

So let's start our Star Wars run with the first film in the Machete Order, Episode 4: A New Hope.

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Green Phoenix - The Machete Order

I am a huge fan of the Star Wars franchise. Despite the many issues in the prequel trilogy as a result of George Lucas in his later life and the strange decisions of the Disney trilogy (ahem...The Last Jedi...ahem), this series remains a quintessential part of my childhood and a tie between mine and my parents' as well.

But with that fascination, there comes a critical question which must be asked, especially if you decide to introduce someone to the new series.

What Order Do You Watch the Star Wars movies?

In today's editorial, I will explain my preferred watch order and what I like about it.

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Green Phoenix - Violet Evergarden Review

I tend to be something of a snob when it comes to the anime I watch. I enjoy watching them, but many animes require such a massive time commitment (see One Piece) that is often impossible to motivate myself to commit to it.

In order to get around this, I actually rely on the opinions and reviews of individuals like Glass Reflection, Mother's Basement, and Anime America to give me a jumping-off point. And it was from these two channels that I was introduced to what has easily become not only among my favorite anime of all time but among the most emotionally and technically complex anime, I have ever had the joy to experience.

Based on the light novel by Kana Akatsuki and developed by Kyoto Animation, Violet Evergarden is, without any doubt in my mind, a masterpiece of the highest order.

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Green Phoenix - The Car Review

On a Saturday a few years back, my family and I were watching MeTV, a Chicago-based television station specializing in classic television shows and movies. That night, I was introduced to a show which has quickly become a personal favorite.

Svengoolie is a hosted horror movie show, in the style of Elvira or Dr. Creep. The host, the titular Svengoolie, takes a comedic take on B-movie, classic horror, and science fiction movies. The show is an absolute blast and I highly recommend that you guys check out the show when you get the chance.

But the first time I ever came across Svengoolie, he was hosting a rather campy killer car movie from 1977.

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Green Phoenix - 1632 Review

In the year 2000, Grantville is just your run-of-the-mill West Virginian coal mining town. Filled with good-natured and hardworking Americans, but otherwise unextraordinary. But when a strange alien artifact sends the entire town 300 years into the past - into the heart of Germany in the middle of the Thirty Years' War - the Grantvillians will find themselves in a world that is both alien and all to familiar.

A world of hatred and romance. Where people are still burned at the stake and Galileo yet lives. Where murder and rape are the laws of the land and mercenaries roam the countryside with impunity.

In such a world, these ordinary Americans will have to keep their wits sharp, their guns drawn, and their values exceptionally American in order to survive.

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Green Phoenix - The Lion King (1994) Review

In 1988, during a promotional tour for Oliver and Company in Europe, a meeting was held between Jeffrey Katzenberg, Roy E. Disney, and Peter Schneider to discuss future projects for The Walt Disney Studios.

Among the projects discussed was a desire by the three to create an animated film set in Africa. The project was handed over to the vice-president of creative affiars, Charlie Fink, who developed the project further. Katzenberg would later add his elements, creating a coming of age story and some elements that he would later credit to his own life.

In 1991, the film, tentatively called King of the Jungle, was put into production, though many animators and directors wanted to work on Pocahontas (which was considered the more prestigious and likely to be successful of the two) instead, with The Lion King representing the lesser of the two projects.

In spite of that; by 1994, King of the Jungle, now renamed The Lion King was released to critical and financial acclaim and has since gone down in history as among Disney's greatest animated films. With a "live-action" adaptation of the film expected for later this year, I felt it only fair to take a look at this legendary picture to see if it still holds up.

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Green Phoenix - Disney's Dark Age

Imperial March playing in the background

Between their ownership of Pixar Animation, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the entirety of Star Wars, the Walt Disney Company has become a nigh unstoppable juggernaut of the entertainment industry. Disney has become successful off of decades of successful branding and marketing their most popular entertainment properties until they have become staples of our childhoods.

And when one takes a look at the greater portion of these properties, a pattern emerges. The majority of them belong to a specific period of incredibly high-performing and critically lauded animated films released between 1989 and 1999, more popularly known as in cinematic history circles as the "Disney Renaissance".

But what about the period before the Renaissance? What was the state of Disney animation in the decades following the death of their founder, when the Nine Old Men began to pass and new talents rose and fell to eventually define my generation's childhood?

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Green Phoenix - Dune (1984) Review

 

Based on the best-selling novel by Frank Herbert, Dune has been widely regarded by many as the one book that would be impossible to effectively adapt into film. Published in 1965, Dune became an instant best-seller and a staple of the science fiction genre; which meant that efforts to adapt it into cinema began almost instantly.

The first serious attempt to adapt Dune began in 1973, when a consortium of French filmmakers and producers hired on Alejandro Jodorowsky. Despite a great deal of enthusiasm and a star-studded cast, the story quickly ballooned into a 10-14 hour epic and the funding quickly dried up.

The next attempt occured in 1976, when Dino De Laurentiis bought the film rights from the consortium. He began looking for directors, with considerations given to Ridley Scott (who thought to hire on H.R. Giger and split the book into two films) before finally settling on David Lynch, whose vision was eventually manipulated to such a degree that he would later deny the film entirely.

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Green Phoenix: Gray Tide in the East - Book Review

August 1914: On the eve of the German invasion of Belgium, Kaiser Wilhelm II receives a telegram promising British neutrality in Germany’s war with France if Belgium is left be. Over the objections of German High Command, Wilhelm send the German armies preparing for a Belgian invasion east to deal with Russian forces.

With Germany focusing on the east and British forces never joining the war, how will the world in this alternate Great War fair when the Gray Tide finally settles?

Green Phoenix - Ore Monogatari!!

Originally running as a Madhouse production from April 8 to September 23, 2015, Ore Monogatari!! (Translated as My Love Story!!) is an adaptation of the shojo romantic comedy manga of the same name, written by Kazune Kawahara and illustrated by Aruko. 

The manga series ran for 13 volumes between October of 2011 and July of 2016, and was published by Shueisha. You can find the manga in most bookstores, and the English sub of the anime can be found on Crunchyroll.

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• Romantic Comedy
• Produced by Madhouse
• Written by Kazune Kawahara
• 24 Episodes Long
• (English Sub available on Crunchyroll)

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SUMMARY

Green Phoenix - Aladdin (1992) Review

• A Walt Disney Pictures Production
• Produced and Directed by Ron Clements & John Musker
• MPAA Rating: G
• Running Time: 90 Minutes

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BACKGROUND

In 1988, Disney lyricists Howard Ashman and Alan Menken proposed a musical adaptation of The Book of One-Thousand and One Nights. Though initially rejected in favor of an adaptation of a Hans Christian Andersen fable called The Little Mermaid, the two would continue to develop the idea through 1989 and 1990.

Following Ashman’s death in 1991, The Walt Disney Animation Studios found itself riding high off the recent financial and critical successes of The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast and ready to begin production on Ashman’s passion project.

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