Video review: "How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World"

Though I know it will inspire some pushback, I’m prepared to dub the “How to Train Your Dragon” movies the GOAT animated franchise. (That’s Greatest OF All Time, in case you didn’t know.) And yes, I’m including the “Toy Story” flicks.

Especially when considered in companionship with its short films and television/streaming show, “Dragon” has been a decade-long experience that’s both exhilarating and emotionally sustaining. It’s wrapped around the friendship between a Viking boy and a dragon, both of them striving despite physical (and to a lesser extent, psychological) disabilities.

In this definitively final go-round, scrawny nerd Hiccup (voice by Jay Baruchel) has become the unquestioned chief of his village, comprised of hardy folk who used to be enemies of the dragons but became their friends and allies. As time has gone on, their little island has become a crowded refuge for the reptilian creatures.

This draws the attention of dragon hunters, chiefly Grimmel the Grisly (F. Murray Abraham), a sly fellow who uses chemistry and trickery to control and, eventually, exterminate the dragons. Hiccup and his people stumble across a plan to protect them -- but it involves permanently saying goodbye to them.

Familiar faces return, including Hiccup’s wingwoman/reluctant romantic interest, Astrid (America Ferrera); his mother, Valka (Cate Blanchett), herself a dragon master; Gobber (Craig Ferguson), the village blacksmith and wisest person; and Hiccup’s various sidekicks, ranging from obnoxious to nerdy.

In the most notable development, ebony night fury Toothless, though to be the last dragon of his kind, encounters a white female, setting up obvious parallels with his human counterpart.

Writer/director Dean Deblois, who’s helmed all three feature films, brings a comfortable mix of action and awe, building characters without sacrificing entertainment value. What a great ride it’s been.

Bonus features are excellent. They include a feature-length commentary track, an alternate opening, deleted scenes and a couple of animated shorts. There is also a full dozen documentary shorts, ranging on the animation process to looks at the mythology behind dragons.

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Review: "How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World"

One of the hardest lessons in life to absorb is that everything has a beginning, a middle and an end -- especially the last part.

Knowing when to close the door on a thing is a test many of us fail, especially when it has been something that has brought joy and meaning to our life. A relationship, a job, a creative partnership -- often we hold on longer than we should, and thereby taint the last chapter of the journey.

The “How to Train Your Dragon” series has quietly been one of -- if not the -- finest animated franchises in cinematic history. It caps that stature by definitively wrapping things up with a satisfying finale that draws a closed circle on a saga about striving beyond our limitations.

Starting with the smart and sensitive 2010 movie based on the books by Cressida Cowell about a teen Viking who befriends the dragons that have been plaguing his village for generations, the “Dragon” tale has sprawled across three feature films, four short films and eight seasons of a TV series, first on Cartoon Network and then moving to Netflix.

All this, in less than a decade.

Film-to-television crossovers are often notoriously bad, but “Dragons: Race to the Edge” and its earlier incarnation was notable for actually expanding its world without diminishing it -- not to mention retaining almost the entire original voice cast, something virtually unprecedented.

My two sons literally grew up on “Dragon” stories. At first, young Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) was a scrawny, ostracized teen seen by most as a pale copy of his father, the mighty chieftain Stoick (Gerard Butler). In “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World,” he’s a wiser, cagier -- though only slightly less scrawny -- leader who others look to for confidence.

He still often lacks it in himself. Fortunately, Astrid (America Ferrera), the fiercest warrior in the island village of Berk, is there to buck him and back him. She’s not ready to commit to marriage, though, despite the urging of the townsfolk. These include blacksmith/sage Gobber (Craig Ferguson) and Hiccup’s mother, Valka (Cate Blanchett).

If you watched the TV show, you know that Hiccup and his crew have been waging a running war with trappers looking to force the dragons into slavery. Their success, though, has left Berk literally teeming with reptilian fire-breathers from nook to cranny. Something’s got to give.

The villain this time around is Grimmel the Grisly (delightfully voiced by F. Murray Abraham), a cagey old dragon hunter who uses poison to snare and control dragons. He’s got a foursome of nasty acid-spewing deathgrippers at his beck and call.

Grimmel has his sights set on Toothless, the lone remaining night fury dragon who allied himself with Hiccup even though the boy crippled him with one of his many contraptions. Hiccup lost a leg in the first movie, so both use prosthetic devices and are codependent on each other in order to fly.

When a female white night fury is revealed -- quickly dubbed a “light fury” -- it offers the potential for some dragon romance, but also a threat to the status quo. To escape Grimmel and his ilk once and for all, Hiccup revolves to find the mythical waterfall at the end of the world his father talked about, a portal to the world where  all dragons supposedly come from.

“Hidden World” is a bit more action-centric than its two movie predecessors, with plenty of exciting mid-air battles, non-bloody melee and pyrotechnic conflagrations. But writer/director Dean DeBlois, who’s helmed all three films, makes plenty of time for contemplation and character-building.

I’m sorry to see the “How to Train Your Dragon” series go. What a ride it’s been. But I’m delighted the creators knew that it’s better to leave too early than too late.

Review: "Testament of Youth"

"Testament of Youth" is a memoir of the dead; like the ghosts it chases the film is haunting,  beautiful, and transparent.

At the time of its publication nearly a century ago, the book by Vera Brittain was a very big deal, launching her writing career and status as a leading 20th century pacifist. She followed it up with other "Testament" memoirs, but the first one covering her young life and the horrors of World War I was the most indelible.

It's a well-crafted film -- director James Kent has a painterly eye for landscapes, and knows how to juxtapose backgrounds with inner turmoil of the characters. His career has been spent entirely in British television, but he seems to appreciate the scale of the big screen and uses it to strong effect.

The screenplay by Juliette Towhidi attempts to pack years of Vera's life into two hours, including a young proto-feminist convincing the world she deserves to study at Oxford, the strains of romantic and familial love, and the sweeping terror of the war ripping through it all.

The result is a film that feels both hurried and languorous.

The best thing about it is Alicia Vikander as Vera. You may remember her playing a self-aware robot in "Ex Machina," and she shows a similar mix of vulnerability and sturdy determination in this role. Her Vera is fully-formed, with shadings and subtleties.

The rest of the roster doesn't fare so well. Other figures slide in and out of Vera's picture frame, catching our attention for a while but moving on without much visceral impact.

I admired the romantic imagery and themes of the early going. In an early pivotal scene, Vera walks down a country road with three beautiful boys to keep her company. They are young, vibrant, full of life and the cockiness of English upper-class privilege. We know instantly that their flesh will become gruel for the machinery of war.

The primary relationship is with Roland Leighton (Kit Harington from "Game of Thrones"), a budding writer like Vera. He takes an instant shine to her fiery sense of independence and prodigious talents, though she has to be convinced he's not a commonplace cad.

Her brother Edward (Taron Egerton) is a scamp with a noble streak, arguing to their parents (Dominic West and Emily Watson) that Vera deserves a chance to study at Oxford, too. Victor Richardson (Colin Morgan) is the quiet, well-meaning friend Edward would like to set her up with.

The story follows Vera's journey to college -- Miranda Richardson turns up as a demanding headmistress. But the grim tide of warfare rolls in, and everything becomes predictably tragic.

I appreciated what this film was trying to do more than how it went about doing it. The story held few surprises for me; it always seemed like the next steps of Vera's dark journey are telegraphed, so we know which way she will turn even before she realizes it herself.

Alicia Vikander is young actress to watch, a fierce emotional and intellectual presence onscreen. Her lush portrayal, though, does not negate the fact that this paean to the dead is too often lifeless and insensible.

Review: "How to Train Your Dragon 2"

A top-drawer piece of animated filmmaking, 2010’s “How to Train Your Dragon” was supremely entertaining for kids while also gently imparting life lessons about finding your identity and overcoming handicaps, both physical and spiritual. The sequel is essentially more of the same, not breaking a lot of new ground story-wise but satisfactorily bringing back the old gang for another whiz-bang go-round.

If it feels thematically lighter, that’s because it is. If it also seems zippier and more pure fun, that’s because it is.

Five years have passed on the Viking island of Berk since the chief’s awkward son, Hiccup (voice of Jay Baruchel), flipped the script and convinced the former dragon-fighters that the mighty reptiles were meant to be their companions and mounts, not their enemies. There’s peace and prosperity, virtually everyone has their own pet dragon, and Hiccup no longer feels like the outcast offspring of his mighty father, Stoick (Gerard Butler), who is determinedly duty- and muscle-bound.

No longer a gangly teen, Hiccup is more self-assured and settled. He’s even filled out a bit, though in Hiccup’s case that means progressing from painfully thin to merely scrawny.

His best buddy, Toothless, is a rare (so far unique) Night Fury dragon, sleek black death on the wing. Toothless lost part of his tail due to Hiccup’s experimental tinkering, which also fixed him up with a prosthetic replacement. Hiccup has applied those same skills to his own missing leg, injured during a battle against the huge dragon that was compelling its smaller ilk to constantly raid Berk.

Former competitor-turned-girlfriend Astrid is back, a warrior born. She’s sprightly voiced by America Ferrera, who also supplies a wickedly funny impression of Baruchel’s distinctive speech and mannerisms. Also returning is Gobber (Craig Ferguson), Stoick’s reliable right-hand man and best friend, and the crew of young cutup dragon riders, Jonah Hill and Christopher Mintz-Plasse among them.

Hiccup has been spending his time exploring the surrounding isles, and makes a few disturbing discoveries. Some dragon trappers (Kit Harington plays their leader) have been enslaving the winged creatures for a shadowy general named Drago Bloodfist (Djimon Hounsou), who is said to be building a dragon army and have his sights set on Berk.

Hiccup also encounters a mysterious dragon rider whose affinity with the beasts rivals his own; she (Cate Blanchett) turns out to have a painful past with a personal connection.

Dean DeBlois, who co-wrote and co-directed the first film with Chris Sanders (who departed to work on “The Croods”), takes over solo screenwriting and directing duties. The visuals really pop in this movie, from the slightly reflective nature of Toothless’ ebony scales to the nifty fiery sword gadget Hiccup created for his personal weapon. The flying scenes, in many ways the heart of the original film, are somehow even more exhilarating.

The culminating battle has a bit of a familiar ring, and I wish DeBlois & Co. could have come up with an existential threat that doesn’t feel so much like a retread. To some extent he’s trapped by the series of children’s books upon which these movies are based, though from what I understand it’s a fairly loose adaptation of Cressida Cowell’s novels.

Still, “How to Train Your Dragon 2” is first-rate moviemaking, a superior piece of entertainment sure to please parents just as much as their young’uns. A third film has been announced for 2016, and I for one am already counting the days.

Video review: "Game of Thrones: The Complete Third Season"

The Red Wedding will crush you – if it hasn’t already.

Say what you will about author George R.R. Martin and the HBO adaptation of his epic fantasy series, "Game of thrones," but they’re willing to take big storytelling chances. This may not come as a surprise to viewers who watched the show build up northern lord Eddard Stark into the main protagonist of the first season, only to see him bowed before an executioner’s ax.

That narrative brashness continues in season three, which sees the entire continent of Westeros split into various warring factions. It’s full of surprises and unexpected character development, with fan favorites brought low and the hiss-able Lannister clan seemingly triumphant.

The 10-episode season is actually only the first half of the third book of Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” series. Like many other fantasy franchises, from Harry Potter to “The Lord of the Rings,” their cinematic counterparts have seen fit to divide the novels up.

While often an act seemingly based on monetary rather than artistic impulses -- *cough* “The Hobbit,” “Twilight” *cough* – here the splitting feels appropriate, given the sheer volume of characters and plot in “A Storm of Swords,” which clocks in at a thousand pages.

Among the primary figures are the dwarf Tyrion (Peter Dinklage), the lone Lannister with any semblance of virtue; Robb Stark (Richard Madden), son of Eddard and now leader of the northern rebellion; Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey), the scheming queen mother; her brother and lover, Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), a knight captured by the Starks; Joffrey (Jack Gleeson), the poisonous boy-king; Jon Snow (Kit Harington), Eddard’s bastard son and member of the Night’s Watch; and Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke), scion of a deposed royal family who is raising an army across the sea, plus three young dragons.

The denseness of Martin’s storytelling comes through clearly in the HBO series, which captures both the grandness and venality of this rich world. Kingdoms rise and fall, armies are raised and dashed, yet all rides on the intimate dealings of the various noble families and their hangers-on.

This “Game” is for keeps.

As with previous video releases of the series, it is accompanied with a lavish set of goodies, including no less than 12 audio commentary tracks by cast and crew, deleted/extended scenes and more. The DVD also comes with profiles of all the important new characters for season three, featurettes on political marriage in Westeros and the northern wildlings, and a recap of season two.

Upgrade to the Blu-ray edition and you add several neat interactive features, including an in-episode guide, history and lore of Westeros, the rivalries and loyalties between the various families, and an in-depth look at the filming of the episode that includes the Red Wedding.

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Video review: "Game of Thrones: Season 2"

When it comes to cinematic adaptations of monstrously huge fantasy literary franchises like “Harry Potter” and “The Lord of the Rings,” there are two schools of thought. On the one hand are people who think they run too long and are self-indulgent -- the sort of folks who joke about “LOTR” having five endings.

Then there are those like myself who love to see every subplot and nuance of our beloved books captured onscreen with a slavish devotion to detail. For those, HBO’s “Game of Thrones” is the nirvana of sword & sorcery fealty.

HBO is taking each book of George R.R. Martin’s series, “A Song of Fire and Ice,” and turning it into an entire season of shows. Ten hours may seem like a lot of screen time, but brevity is not in Martin’s wheelhouse -- the books average around 1,000 pages apiece.

(In fact, the especially plot-heavy third book is going to be split up into two seasons, starting with Season 3 debuting in March.)

Season 2 saw a considerable ramping up in the world war overtaking the land of Westeros, as the death of King Robert Baratheon left the succession to the throne in dispute. Space and the enormity of the narrative prohibits describing it in its entirety. Suffice to say it comes down to the competing claims of three clans: the rich and power-hungry Lannisters, the gruff but noble Stark northmen and the Baratheon brothers.

Characters slide into the foreground and then recede with the ebb and flow of the plot. The key figures in season 2 are Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage), the brilliantly devious dwarf whose loyalty to his clan goes unappreciated; Catelyn Stark (Michelle Fairley), widow of murdered Ned and mother of rebel leader Robb; Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke), scion of a deposed monarchy who bides her time across the sea gathering power, including three dragon hatchlings; and Jon Snow (Kit Harington), a young Stark bastard who finds purpose battling an ancient evil in the northern hinterlands as part of the Night’s Watch.

The show does deviate from the book in ways both big and small, such as Robb Stark’s speedy romance and marriage. But the story takes on a grandiose, epic feel as it builds toward the huge battle of Blackwater.

For true fantasy fans, “Game of Thrones” is a must-see.

It is being released with a host of video extras, including 12 commentary tracks, character profiles, interviews with cast and crew, making-of featurettes and more on the DVD. The Blu-ray edition adds animated histories of Martin’s world, an in-episode guide, hidden “dragon eggs” and more.

Movie: 3.5 stars out of four
Extras: 4 stars