A Ranger with his own skills, this brother of a fallen warrior has proven himself to be worthy of our Character of the Week title time and time again.
Faramir, from the books, is similar to the movies but at the same time is far different. He is harsh and stern, yes, but at the same time, he is noble and lives his life with clarity, he knows what the right thing to do is. Faramir has more kindness in his heart than most warriors, he acts with patience and justice. In his heart Faramir knows what is duty is to the people of Gondor, regardless of the odds against him, and much like Boromir, Faramir puts his life on the line for them. He is their defender, he is their Captain, he is a son of the City just like they are. In Faramir, we can truly see the strength and nobility of Men that had long since wavered under strong foes. When we first meet Faramir he captures Frodo and Sam and begins to interrogate Frodo to learn why they are traveling in Gondor. It is within this sequence that we learn more about this Captain. Here’s some of our favorite quotes.
“I would not snare even an orc with a falsehood,” said Faramir.
“Were I as hasty as you, I might have slain you long ago. For I am commanded to slay all whom I find in this land without the leave of the Lord of Gondor. But I do not slay man or beast needlessly, and not gladly even when it is needed…”
“But fear no more! I would not take this thing, if it lay by the highway. Not were Minas Tirith falling in ruin and I alone could save her, so, using the weapon of the Dark Lord for her good and my glory. No, I do not wish for such triumphs, Frodo son of Drogo.”
You see, it doesn’t take Faramir long to decide that the Ring is evil and Frodo is better left alone to complete his journey. In fact, that’s just the type of leader Fadamir is, he wants no association with evil ways regardless of who he meets. He’s such a pure character the movies wanted to create some conflict between Faramir and Frodo, but in the books you truly respect this leader of Men. Not because he changes his character but because his character is so strong to being with.
We hope you join us this week as we celebrate Faramir with the Character of the Week title. Thank you so much for your time, and, remember, renewed shall be blade that was broken.
“They” meaning the company who left Rohan to travel back to their homes, Aragorn, the Elves, the Hobbits, Legolas, Gimli, and Gandalf. Aragorn was joining this company to prolong his goodbyes and see the Fellowship off as far as he could.
The company will rest at Helm’s Deep for two days then their journey continues. During this time, Legolas and Gimli begin to end their debate as to which of their favorite regions is the most breathtaking. During The Two Towers Legolas wanted to explore the depths and beauty of Fangorn forest but couldn’t. In the books, Gandalf comes to the group as they camp out at the edge of the forest, so the trio never actually enters, much to Gimli’s delight. He, like most Dwarves, doesn’t have an inherent love for things that grow. Later on, during the Battle of Helm’s Deep, Gimli was locked in the Glittering Caves, and in his words, he’d never seen a more beautiful sight. After the battle Legolas and Gimli made a deal: at the end of everything, Gimli would take Legolas through the Glittering Caves and Legolas would take Gimli through Fangorn Forest.
It was here, during this rest, that Legolas walked through the beauty of the Glittering Caves. When they returned Legolas was speachless and went on to say that only Gimli could find words fit enough to describe the caves. Gimli responds with,
“And never before has a Dwarf claimed a victory over an Elf in a contest of words,” said he. “Now therefore let us go to Fangorn and set the score right!”
Thank you for your time and remember, the crownless again shall be king.
We’re always happy when video games get acknowledged by other forms of entertainment. Some video games have incredible stories, amazing action, lovable characters, or all of these things and deserve as much attention as blockbuster movies. Sadly, for a long time, video games and movies haven’t mixed well. It seems the more creative liberties story tellers make with video game franchises, the less happy fans are. It’s easy to fault the creatives behind these decisions, but, at the same time no one wants to be seen as lazy. Imagine if it was a one to one remake they would probably get flack for that too.
Regardless, video game movies have a hard time doing justice to the game. Unfortunately, one video game movie seems to be following this same trend, the upcoming Monster Hunter movie, which, instead of being set in a fantasy world is set in present day with an alternate dimension to the Monster Hunter world. In our opinion this is a huge mistake, they had the chance to portray a unique fantasy experience but they decided to try to bring this to our world. While there’s always going to be Monster Hunters and Assassin’s Creeds, the recent success of Detective Pickachu, Sonic the Hedgehog, and The Witcher Series show some hope for the future of video game movies. Now, if only Gears of War would hurry and cast Dave Bautista we’d be seeing major progress.
Following a growing trend we’ve set aside video game franchises that we feel deserve their own shot at a movie.
God of War 4
This one seems like the obvious choice for getting its own movie. We found ourselves tiring of the gameplay because we wanted to see what the next step in the story would be. The graphics, mechanics, new weapons, and character design were all amazing in this game but the story set it apart. It’s so good, we wouldn’t hate a one to one version of the game for movie goers. Yes we just mentioned one to one might not be the way to go but this story needs to be shown for the movie fans. Not every movie goer loves video games and not every gamer loves movies, but this is an opportunity to bring them together.
Halo: Combat Evolved
Halo is getting a TV Show, with Master Chief as the main character? Maybe, we know they’re working on it, but we’re not sure where they are at in terms of development. Either way, the Halo franchise skyrocketed Xbox’s success and we wouldn’t mind a one to one movie adaptation of the first Halo game, Halo: Combat Evolved. Again another one to one but we have a reason. It’s probably been a while since anyone has played that game and the story went along nicely, as we can remember. We think it’d be a great idea to bring an older story into the forefront, create some nostalgia, and bring some extra excitement to the Halo franchise. Win-win-win.
Also could you imagine the scene where the Hunters drop down for the first time? Absolute carnage.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
This might be our least popular video game to movie idea, but we want to see Starkiller brought into the Star Wars cannon. And why not? He’s a powerful force user, he’s someone that better fits in the middle range force user (not too light side, not too dark side) like Ahsoka, and his quest to find his true self is unfinished. It’d be great to see what Dave Filoni could do with this character, it’d be even more interesting to find out if he’d even want to do something with Starkiller. As fans of these video games it’d be great if we could get a conclusion in some format whether that’d be a book, movie, tv show, or video game
We thought it’d be a fun idea to have Starkiller be Obi-Wan’s main opponent in the upcoming movie/tv show. You can read our explanation HERE.
Jak & Daxter
Not a live action remake, something along the lines of what Rachet & Clank did, which despite the box office splat, we still enjoyed very much.
Jak & Daxter have a great/fun/comical dynamic that should do well with younger viewers. Sure, that was the plan with Rachet & Clank too, but with Jak & Daxter expectations might be at a more manageable level. Besides, it’s kind of your own fault if you go into an animated movie not expecting to see a kids movie. Are they all kids movies? No sure, but when it’s animated let’s keep our expectations lowered.
Kung Fu Chaos
This video game used to be paired with every Xbox console purchase, and my goodness, we played this way too much growing up. The premise involved a movie maker who wanted to create the best Kung Fu movie of all time. You chose a character to play as and the goal, to get through each level on top fighting other characters who wanted to be the next Kung Fu hero. How does this translate into a movie? Well, first off let’s manage expectations, Kung Fu movies are not the most popular franchises anymore, and this could shape up to be a really good bad one. Either way we’re committed to this. The movie could be a Civil War/Avengers mashup, where, in the beginning the characters are fighting against each other to be the best Kung Fu hero, but then a dark force threatens to overrun the world and they have to work together. A Deadpool style comedy would work here.
Elder Scrolls: Skyrim
Dragons appear again, kingdoms are on the brink of war, werewolves and vampires stalk the night, magic, warriors, assains, you name it. Skyrim has everything a fantasy epic could want, as do most Elder Scrolls stories, but Skyrim has stuck in our hearts as an amazing open world fantasy video game. The storylines are endless, you could tell the story of the Dragonborne or the Imperials versus Stormcloaks storyline. You could bring in the vampires and werewolves, or the mages from the North. Skyrim has become a long lasting RPG adventure that could do with it’s own fantastic blockbuster movie.
Honorable Mentions
Infamous
Superhero movies are incredibly popular, so why not jump into the Infamous universe. As viewers we could follow along Cole MacGrath, or our choice Delsin Rowe, as they struggle with learning what to do with/how to control their new powers.
Kingdom Hearts
Disney and Final Fantasy come together in a glorious unique story of how friendship and love overcome darkness.
Shadow of the Colossus
A lone warrior and his steed travel across the land fighting giant colossal beings to save his true love from dying.
The Legend of Zelda
Ocarina of Time, Majora’s Mask, Breath of the Wild, Link’s Awakening, Twilight Princess, and The Legend of Zelda all give you unique stories to expand on for the big screen.
There are many games out there that deserve their own movies, we’ve only just begun to scratch the surface. As more and more video game franchises make the jump to the big screen we’ll continue to call out some of the most deserving.
As always, thank you so much for your time, let us know what you think about our video game choices. What games do you think deserve their own movies?
Not knowing that Saruman still had plenty of power left in him Treebrard released him from Isengard with the intention that this fallen wizard would go into exile. Fans of the movies are unfamiliar with this storyline and at this point in the books the company leaving Rohan had no clue this happened either. Saruman was, of course, defeated but by no means was all his power gone. While the strength to flee was still in his veins he had a few more vicious strings to pull elsewhere.
Treebeard’s intentions were pure, but a little naive, we got that feeling from Ents when we first met them in The Two Towers. They aren’t fully aware of the dangers of the world around them, therefore they don’t have a full understanding of the effect their decisions have on other beings in the world. That’s just our rational for why Treebeard made this decision, beyond the obvious, Saruman looked defeated angle.
Thank you for your time and remember, from the ashes a fire shall be woken.
Aragorn, his knights, the Elves of Lórien and Rivendell, the Hobbits, Legolas and Gimli, and Gandalf all departed from Rohan today. Arwen, Faramir, and Imrahil remained behind in Edoras.
Today was also Arwen’s last meeting with her father. She was to depart to Gondor and live her life with Aragorn, Elrond, along with all the Elves would soon depart Middle-earth. They went into the hills for a bitter parting and a long conversation.
Éomer and Éowyn bade Merry a special parting for he was Théoden’s esquire. They gave him an ancient horn of the Mark, one that had been crafted by Dwarves long ago that Eorl the Young brought back himself from the dragon Scatha’s horde. This is a mighty gift for a Hobbit who performed great deeds of his own. We must not forget that Merry stabbed the Witch-King of Angmar, his attack allowed Éowyn to lay the final blow and defeat the Witch-King once and for all.
And so it was, today the company departed again, Frodo is another a step closer to home.
Thank you for your time and remember, the old that is strong does not wither.
The boy who lived, champion of Gryffindor, hero to the Wizarding World, and agnsty teen. Harry Potter burst into the fantasy genre in 1997 and has stayed in our hearts ever since.
It’s hard to be a hero, it’s even harder to be the hero everyone wanted you to be, but that’s what Harry Potter was. Everyone knew this young wizard’s story, everyone expected greatness from him. While for many that would be too much, Harry time and time again, would rise to the occasion. Growing up he faced an unusual amount of challenges for a boy his age. By the time he was 18 Harry had a godson, he defeated Voldemort 4 times (first as a baby, then in his first year, then Voldemort’s horcrux in his second year, and finally in the Deathly Hallows), he defeated a basilisk, produced a corporeal patronus, fought a dragon, won the Tri-Wizard Tournament, tracked down Voldemort’s horcruxes, and won Gryffindor the Quidditch Cup. Besides Albus Dumbledore and Voldemort, there hasn’t been a witch or wizard come out of Hogwarts with a comparable list of accomplishments. Harry was great, meaning he had moments of greatness, but he wasn’t perfect. He was still just a kid trying to live his life, and in the process he made many mistakes. However, like a true hero he grew from his mistakes, learned how to fix them, and rose to heights he never imagined.
Compare Harry at 11 to Harry at the end of books, if you do that you can really see his growth. At 11, Harry felt like he was nothing, at 12 he gained confidence, at 13 he pushed himself, at 14 he matured some, at 15 he took some steps back, at 16 he felt he was prepared for the world, and at 17 he was risking everything. At the end, Harry understood his purpose, he understood why everything was happening to him, and in the end he was humble about his accomplishments. He defeated the greatest dark wizard of all, and he just wanted to spend time with his friends.
We hope you join us as we celebrate Harry Potter this week with the Character of the Week title. We’re going to dust off the Sorcerer’s Stone “extended version” and sit back and enjoy.
Today is a day of grief and celebration. It’s normal to feel sorrow for the loss of life, especially a life that had affected so many. King Théoden’s death struck many of those who knew him with grief, he was a father-figure to Éomer and Éowyn, he was a leader to many, and he was a brother in arms to Aragorn. Many kings before him had done great things, many kings before him hadn’t, it is certain that Théoden will be remembered as one of the greatest kings that ruled in Middle-earth.
Songs were sung, tears were shed, kings were remembered, and Théoden’s life was celebrated. We want to share with you and excerpt after Théoden’s burial mound was laid.
“Then the Riders of the King’s House upon white horses rode round about the barrow and sang together a song of Théoden Thengel’s son that Gléowine his minstrel made, and he made no other song after. The slow voices of the Riders stirred the hearts even of those who did not know the speech of that people; but the words of the song brought a light to the eyes of the folk of the Mark as they heard again afar the thunder of the hooves of the North and the voice of Eorl crying above the battle upon the Field of Celebrant; and the tale of the kings rolled on, and the horn of Helm was loud in the mountains, until the Darkness came and King Théoden arose and rode through the Shadow to the fire, and died in splendour, even as the Sun, returning beyond hope, gleamed upon Mindolluin in the morning.
Out of doubt, out of dark, to the day’s rising he rode singing in the sun, sword unsheathing. Hope he rekindled, and in hope ended; over death, over dread, over doom lifted out of loss, out of life, unto long glory.”
This passage fills us with the emotions of this moment. Kings and trumpets and battle cries filled the hearts of the people of the Mark, together they all felt King Théoden rise in splendor and glory. It’s such a beautiful passage to remember a fallen king and celebrate his glory.
Finally after tears were shed, the feast began, Éomer was crowned King of the Mark, and Éowyn’s engagement to Faramir was announced to the crowd. The day truly ended in celebration, as we lose people in out lives we must do our best to celebrate the moments we had with them. Understand that not all tears are evil, but honor their memory, hold a feast in their honor, drink to their memory, and celebrate. Celebrate life, love, and what’s to come.
Thank you so much for your time and remember, out of doubt, out of dark, to the day’s rising he rode singing in the sun, sword unsheathing.
Too often book and movie franchises get caught in similar tropes. It happens all the time, and the most obvious can be boiled down to the simple good vs evil plot. Now, we’re not out here trying to disparage these storylines, mind you, but we do want to point them out.
One obvious trope that doesn’t get talked about much is that epic events only happen to characters within a family. If something epic happens to the parents, chances are, in the future, something epic will happen to their kids. You can see for yourself how often this takes place. There’s the Anakin – Luke – Ben Skywalker connection, the Han & Leia – Jaina, Jacen, and Anakin Solo connection, the James & Lily – Harry – Albus connection, the Naruto – Boruto connection, the Goku – Gohan & Goten connection, the Matthias – Mattimeo connection, these are just a few, the list can go on.
You might not think about it but this trope is out there floating around, but we’re still not disparaging it, we’re pointing it out. The trope works, people like know that the legacy continues on to their favorite characters’ children. It’s fun, it’s exciting, but for us at Of Blades and Kings, it’s a little dissatisfying. Some characters need that legacy, others, not so much. How often, in life, do children of extremely talented individuals (almost worldly or culturally talented like the characters mentioned above) perform the same tasks as good as, if not better, than their parents? It hardly ever happens, we won’t begin naming names, but think about the greatest world renown individuals, what’d their kids end up doing?
I don’t know, I couldn’t tell you, because that’s how life is, and it’s not the kid’s fault nor is it the parent’s. When an individual achieves that level of greatness, unfair expectations and unrealistic comparisons get placed on their children. No child will do or be anything exactly like their parents, and the kids who understand that will achieve greatness of their own. This is the reason why we don’t feel like the next generation of Harry Potter adventures should go to his kids. Harry’s kids wouldn’t be like him, they had a mom and dad who loved and cared from them dearly, they had an incredible support system of friends, and most importantly they never had to fight for anything. Harry had to fight his entire childhood, he fought for the chance to speak, for a moment alone, for friends, for the hope that things would get better, everything. Harry’s kids will never know that struggle and while they might have their own motivations and drive, Harry is a one of a kind individual. There’s no replicating him. A story about his kids just doesn’t make sense, not to us, not logically, not historically. We do have a good idea for who could usher in a new generation of Harry Potter stories. There’s one kid at the end of Deathly Hallows that’s primed for their own adventures and hardships to overcome.
Edward “Teddy” Lupin.
Yes, Harry is his godfather, but they’re not truly related. The greatness that Teddy acheives will not directly correlate to Harry Potter’s greatness, at least it wouldn’t be the same as living up to your own father’s expectations. His storyline would allow us to still remain in the Wizarding World, see familiar faces, and as an added bonus we’d explore a new organic adventure. Who’s to say that Lupin, through his travels as a werewolf, didn’t make enemies? What’s stopping these vicious creatures from hunting Lupin down to his son? There’s plenty of opportunity for Teddy to have his own adventures, while at the same time maintaining a connection with Harry Potter.
With Teddy there are similarities between him and his godfather: both of them would grow up with parents that had been killed because of Voldemort, both go on to live with relatives, and both would experience pain and suffering unlike regular children. We could get to see this young wizard grow through that pain, with Harry’s guidance. We could watch as Teddy learned from Harry just like Harry had learned from Lupin. We could see how Harry transitions from a 17 year old kid to a godfather. We could eventually see Teddy as his own person, rising above life’s challenges and becoming the wizard he was meant to be. Does Teddy need seven books year to year? No, probably not, but a trilogy would be neat to see. Hufflepuff would get a hero in the forefront and a new character would get the chance to make their own history.
Regardless of the future for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Teddy Lupin has incredible potential for an amazing storyline.
Let us know your thoughts, are you tired of the main characters always being in the same family? Do you think Teddy Lupin can lead a story on his own? Is there another future generation that could be brought in the spot light? We want to hear from you.
As always, thank you so much for your time and remember, all that is gold does not glitter.
The determined, talented, and complete boss treasure hunter or dare we say, tomb raider.
Unfortunately, for us, we never played a Tomb Raider game until the Tomb Raider game that came out in 2013. We were sorely missing out, thr action, the boss mode that is Lara Croft was truly a revelation for us. Up to that moment the only treasure hunter games we’ve played were the old Indiana Jones games for Xbox. Tomb Raider blew up our expectations, and controlling the strong and capable Lara was the best part. Of course, Lara has been around for a long time and she deserves way more recognition for her entire career, but the evolution of her character was very exciting to see. She went from an overly cartoonized character to a gritty down-to-earth survivor.
When we first played the game it was helpful that we didn’t have a frame of reference to what the previous Tomb Raider games were like, all the same, Lara Croft was a boss this game handling henchmen, jungle animals, and mystic beings that came her way. Also we have to give a shout out for thr inclusion of the bow and arrow. Anytime we get an archer play-style we have a good time.
Lara has had an incredibly long and successful career but the future of Tomb Raider looks like it’s in capable hands. Join us as we celebrate Lara Croft with the character of the week title.
Thank you for your time and remember, all that is gold does not glitter.
At last, after a 15 day journey, the host finally reached Edoras. There they rested, and the Golden Hall was adorned with lights and fair hangings for they would hold a feast to celebrate their King. That night they held the highest feast the Golden Hall had ever known since it was built. Such was the influence of King Théoden, he was a great King one worthy of admiration and respect from all the free peoples of Middle-earth.
In a few days, King Théoden’s funeral will be held, and all of Rohan will get to say farwell to their fallen King.
Thank you for your time, and remember, the old that is strong does not wither.
Of Blades and Kings 