Wizards of the Lost Kingdom

This is an Argentina/ US low budget 1985 fantasy film,by Trinity Productions. It was directed by Hector Olivera and Alan Holleb. It stars Bo Svenson, Vidal Peterson and Thom Christopher. Written by Ed Naha. 

Simon is a magicians son forced to leave the castle when it's overtaken by the evil wizard. He loses a very important ring and goes on a quest with his trusted Yeti monster friend Gulfax. The princess is kidnapped,  the king was brutally slain, and the world is about to enter chaos. There is little good left in the world, so it's a tense mission through strange landscapes. 

Even though this film is called a "family action fantasy" on IMDB, there's nudity so please be warned. Snippets from another Roger Corman film "Deathstalker" was used in this to make the prologue. Parts of the film if hilarious without even trying to be funny. I rate this amusing fun film a 5/10. 

My personal favourites is the battle between the winged manticore and the goddess! That was just epic and funny. I also liked the house of the hobgoblin, it looked out of place. I also found a lot of the creatures very interesting.

My personal dislikes was the fact I couldn't understand what Gulfax was saying.

Blood Strawberry

Goliath at the Conquest of Damascus

 This is an Italian 1965 colour film, directed and written by Domenico Paolella. Other writers include Luciano Martino and Ernesto Gastaldi. Production companies are Romana Film and Titanus. The stars of the film are Peter Lupus (of "Mission Impossible" and Hercules films), Mario Petri and Helga Line. 

In ancient Arabia, a powerful man named Goliath helps a king restore his throne and rescue his daughter from an evil band of mercenaries. To help fulfil these missions, he must become a member of this army of Damascus. It also means he has to be a spy as well as a wrestler who comes head to head with another equal strongman. Meanwhile the princess has little time left as she's imprisoned and her betrothed is also taken away.

A lot of action, fighting and sunshine. The costumes are beautiful. The sets are amazing. No CGI was ever used in this. A classic film set in ancient times where it even feels as if you're there. Old style films were ultra realistic and organic. Besides some quite long scenes of dialogue, this is a cracking good watch. I give this a delightful 7/10.  

My personal likes are sweet friendliness of the fighting male characters, from brutes to companions. There is a lot of warmth that should be included in films today!

My personal dislikes is the treachery and slimeball traits of the villains. 

Blood Strawberry 

Adventures of Aladdin

This is a 2019 fantasy drama made by both The Asylum and Two Guys and a Film companies. It was directed by Glen Campbell, who co-wrote it with Tammy Klein. It stars Adam Hollick (from NCIS) as Aladdin, Lord KraVen, Daniel O'Reilly and Lucia Dimitra Xypteras.

A street acrobat falls in love with a princess and she gives him a good luck token. Smitten, he feels bound to stay with her instead of leaving with his acrobatic group of friends. Because then he also stays to complete a dangerous mission of looking for a magic lamp hidden inside a volcano. This is the beginning of a quest with strange and also scary results. 

This is a nice tale of romance and deceit, with magical elements thrown in. The genie from the lamp is more funny than anything as the film has a comedic theme. The special effects are very basic. Also animal lovers should avoid watching this, even though no animals were harmed in the making of the film. I rate this entire film a 5/5 for dryness and plot holes even though it look quite beautiful. 

My personal likes about this are the inundated wishes the genie grants instead of the traditional three wishes.

My personal dislikes is the evil sorcerer Vizier Maghreb.

Blood Strawberry

The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe (1979)

 

This is a 1979 animated film based on the book by the same name by author C. S. Lewis. The film adaption was written by David D. Connell and Bill Melendez, who also directed. Voice actors are Rachel Warren, Reg Williams and Victor Spinetti. You can find the full cast on Internet Movie Database. 

Four children enter a wardrobe playing hide and seek, and then they find themselves in a strange world of Narnia full of snow and friendly magical beings. The world is sent into winter by an evil queen and only Aslan can save them. 

For those not familiar with the story, this tale is both amazing, adventurous and also scary in places. The story is much darker than this animated film. It's an old fashioned form of animation so modern younger audiences should expect that. It's on for 1 hour and 35 minutes. The animation is made by CTW (Children's Television Workshop), Bill Melendez Productions and TVC London. A British and Spanish animation. I rate this quick simplified kids version of the epic story a nice 8/10.

My personal likes about this is a place where talking animals and legendary creatures live happy together. Oh I even like Mr and Mrs Beaver.

My personal dislikes is the queen, also called White Witch and Jadis. 

Blood Strawberry