Movies
L.O.R.D: Legend of Ravaging Dynasties 2
I didn't watch the first film (which I regret now), then again I didn't expect a lot from Guo's animated epic. China doesn't do CG that well and making a bold fantasy epic in 3D CG animation requires some solid technical capabilities. But lo and behold, while not a film without faults, Legend of Ravaging Dynasties 2 delivers the goods. Guo is a young director, so it's no surprise that the film sometimes feels like an elongated cut scene from an unreleased Final Fantasy game. It's just not quite cinematic enough to be a real masterpiece, but the lore is compelling and intriguing, the action scenes are glorious and the film feels truly epic. The character models are a bit flimsy (faces can look very realistic, but the body language still feels off) and there are definitely some pacing issues, but the fantasy elements are more than sufficient to make me want to go back and watch the first film, while looking forward to the conclusion of this trilogy. Good stuff.Read all
The Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity
A big, hefty Chinese blockbuster fantasy film from Jinming Guo, one of the young talents. It's good to see they can deliver a film like this with proper CG, even though the quality isn't quite as consistent as you'd like. But if you want epic, Guo has you covered, as the film keeps piling up drama and fantasy. It's not quite up there with the best in the genre, the story is a bit convoluted and the drama gets a tad too heavy-handed (slowing the film down), but there's so much beauty to look at and there are so many big, epic battles that the good outweighed the bad by a big margin. I wonder where the sequels are though, I thought this was supposed to be the first in a series of films.Read all
L.O.R.D: Legend of Ravaging Dynasties
An extremely ambitious film. It's a shame it came a bit too early. In 2016 China was still struggling to do CG well, which is quite a struggle for a CG-animated film. Director Jingming Guo didn't let that hold him back and went gave it his best shot. The result is far from perfect, but fantasy fans are sure to find something to like here. Once you get used to the subpar animation, there's quite a bit to like. The lore is interesting, the fights are pretty over-the-top and the fantasy elements feel well-developed. I'm a bit bummed I saw the sequel first, that's obviously the better film, but I did have a pretty decent time, something I didn't really expect after the videogame-like opening.Read all
