Just one. I'm a few. No family, too. Who am I?

[rogueslayer452]

From the movie meme here.

Day 1: A movie that reminds you of your childhood

The Land Before Time.

This is difficult since I pretty much lump all of the movies I watched ad nauseum as a kid into this category, but if I were to choose one specific movie that reminds me of my childhood it would be this one. Like all Don Bluth movies, it's a good combination of being dark and devastating yet beautiful and hopeful and meaningful at the same time, and, of course, dinosaurs. Yes, I watched the direct-to-video sequels (to a point) growing up, but the first one remains close to my heart.

--

++ It seems that MGM lost rights to Tomb Raider, meaning that the planned sequel to the 2018 film is no longer happening. I suspected this might be the case, there hadn't really been much news on the possible development since the announced that it had been greenlit for a sequel, and the pandemic most likely didn't help matters either with any kind of potential developments being delayed, but it's still disappointing nonetheless. I adored the 2018 movie, it being a loose adaptation of the video game reboot, and Alicia was fantastic as Lara Croft and I was really looking forward to seeing more of her in the role and how they would develop the story. Unfortunately, these things happen within the industry. :/

++ Krysten Ritter has been cast in a brand new Orphan Black sequel series, Orphan Black: Echoes. This was unexpected, and I'm pleasantly surprised by the news. The original series was absolutely phenomenal, brilliant writing and casting and it brought something special with how the story was told, let alone the technical elements to how they filmed, and while nothing will ever top what they did with that I can only hope this also delivers similarly. The series had a lot to say in regards to the moral and ethical questions surrounding not just with human cloning but also scientific experimentation on human beings and bodily autonomy, something that I think is very much needed nowadays, so it makes me intrigued to see more of that. Also, this is something quite meaty for an actor, knowing how demanding it was for Tatiana Maslany to portray all those characters, so it makes me excited to see how Krysten does.

Comments

[sixphanel]

The Tomb Raider news hit me hard :( I knew it was in danger, but I hoped, I hoped... and this time it was going to be written and directed by a woman and Alicia is just so damn good :( I'm devastated it won't happen.

Also, The land before time movie was probably the most important movie of my childhood too! *-*

[rogueslayer452]

Same here. :( I kept on holding out some hope that somehow it was still happening, even though I knew in the back of my mind that the longer time went on without any information about it would be inevitably be unlikely, and sadly, the recent news confirms that lingering suspicion. It's still heartbreaking all the same, because I wanted more, I wanted more of Alicia as Lara and I wanted this to become a trilogy, to become a good popcorn blockbuster that it was meant to be. So yeah, I'm sad and a little bitter that it won't happen. :(

[author_by_night]

Yeah, the movie industry is fickle...

[rogueslayer452]

I hate that a lot of it is fighting over IPs. Like, I get it from a business standpoint to an extent, but this is what kind of kills any kind of creativity of just wanting to tell a story. :/

[author_by_night]

IPs? Sorry, not an entertainment person...

ETA: Oh! Do you mean independent projects? Like indie films?

[rogueslayer452]

IP = Intellectual property.

In this case, Tomb Raider is a very notable franchise, not just with video games but all different kinds of mediums in regards to the character of Lara Croft, so when it comes to making a new kind of adaptation of a known IP there will be some negotiating and fighting for the rights to that particular property.

[profiterole_reads]

I loved The Land Before Time. <3

[autumndaze]

Oh I was interested in the sequel for the Tomb Raider film. I grew up on Tomb Raider and have enjoyed a lot of the adaptations. The animated series was a lot of fun. I wasn't as into the 2018 film but it's a shame we won't at least get another shot at more Tomb Raider adaptations for a bit. I'm hoping the next game comes out sometime soon (and not the stupid cheap app one that's still limited release as far as I'm aware, and possibly dead in the water after Square Enix sold the IP). Supposedly it's still in development and they're not just starting over like I was worried. I really need to catch up on the comics too. I tried back when they started releasing the ones based off the 2013 trilogy, since I grew up on the original comics, but lost track.

[rogueslayer452]

I haven't consumed all of the other adaptations and mediums Lara has been featured in, but I've seen enough to know that regardless I'll love Lara Croft in just about anything, and I was absolutely excited for the newer movies with Alicia Vikander, so this particular news was rather disappointing to hear. The 2018 movie was so good, it left the door open to further expand the story based around the reboot games, and now it's not going to happen. :/

[pianogurl330]

I used to watch Land Before Time all the time with my brother as kids. I remember renting the ones that came later too!

That's unfortunate about Tomb Raider.

I loved the original Orphan Black series and was blown away how Tatiana Maslany played all the characters! It always felt like different people playing them! She is very talented. I'm excited and curious how Krysten will do. I've loved her in other roles.

[rogueslayer452]

I still have the VHS for not just the first one, but for some of the sequels too, and I rewatched them over and over and over again.

Something that I love is looking at all the behind-the-scenes with Orphan Black and how much technical work went into things, planning and blocking scenes and switching back and forth, you tend to really forget that Tatiana was just one person playing all these characters. There are a lot of talented actors out there that are good at what they do, and then there's actors like Tatiana who are just chameleons, able to disappear into the roles they play almost rather effortlessly. Like, she didn't even need an elaborate costume change every single time, it's the physicality, the mannerisms, the way she spoke and held herself when portraying a character that you knew who it was, especially for moments where she was playing a character pretending to be another character. I've gone back and rewatched the show numerous times and it still blows me away every single time.

I'm curious about what Orphan Black: Echoes is going to bring to the table, and I'm definitely curious to see what Krysten Ritter is going to do. I haven't seen much of her work aside from Jessica Jones (my beloved) and some of her guest appearances on other shows, but I liked what I saw so I'm intrigued to see what she does with this.

[night_owl_9]

I love The Land Before Time ♥ And yeah, I watched the sequels as well - I can probably recite the intro to the 9th movie word for word, lol - but the first one is truly special.

[verdande_mi]

Orphan Black was something else. So well done from start to finnish. Interesting to hear about a prequel, I will probably check it out if I can.

[rogueslayer452]

It really was, there was just something so special about that show that is just unmatched by anything else. So I'm definitely curious about this spin-off and what it'll do.

[elizalavelle]

Land Before Time is one of those childhood great movies that still holds up. Great choice.

I'm excited about that Orphan Black news... that's completely out of the blue but love the series and love Krysten Ritter so I'm here for it.

[rogueslayer452]

Yeah, I really wasn't expecting any kind of Orphan Black news, let alone a brand new spin-off series, but it makes me all the more intrigued with what they have planned. (It's also interesting how Krysten Ritter and Tatiana Maslany have kind of switched places, Tatiana is with Marvel and Krysten with OB.)

[elizalavelle]

Interesting with Krysten and Tatiana flipping roles a bit. I really like both of their acting work so I'm here for both of them having great jobs!

[brightly_lit]

I did an interest search to try to find some more connections here on dw. I searched for Orphan Black, and found this news that there's going to be a new Orphan Black series?? Awesome! (And I'm loving seeing Tatiana Maslany on She-Hulk.)

Anyway, hope you don't mind a random person commenting, but I'm glad I found your blog.

[rogueslayer452]

I don't mind at all! :D

And yeah, I was absolutely taken aback by the announcement, since I didn't really expect or anticipate there being any kind of development of a spin-off. I mean, I know that there's been a slight continuation of the universe in other mediums, but this came out of left field for me. But I'm intrigued. Also, I've been kind of revisiting Orphan Black and I'm still very amazed at how good it is, not just with Tatiana but the entire production aspect of the show itself is so top-notch.

[brightly_lit]

Yeah, what an incredible show. All the actors were amazing (and as a side note, I was so pleased they seemed to realize this and kept most of them around for a good long time, as opposed to another show I was watching at the same time, which would kill off great characters as soon as they appeared). I delayed watching the final few episodes because I couldn't bear to see it come to an end ... and now come to find out it continues??

I am very eager to hear about the other mediums where they've continued it ...? I adored the show, but I was under the impression it wasn't popular enough to ever get continued in any medium, so this is great news. I'd love to hear anything more you feel like telling me about it.

[rogueslayer452]

I remember being pleasantly surprised by how the show ended, which exceeded my expectations. Not many shows get to have such good bookends to their series and it made me appreciate the show so much more than I already did.

As for the additional material for the show, there were the series of comics that were released when it had been airing, which gave little tie-ins and hints about what was happening. Then there was the audiobook podcast Orphan Black: The Next Chapter, which had Tatiana returning to narrate and voice characters, and apparently the story takes place eight years after the events of the main series. And then there was the Japanese remake of the show, Orphan Black: 7 Genes.

While Orphan Black might not have had the popularity level of, say, Game of Thrones, it still gained quite a large following by dedicated and loyal fans and received a lot of praise from critics and audiences alike. So there being more material outside of the main series isn't so surprising.

[brightly_lit]

Thank you for the info about the podcast and the Japanese remake--I'll have to check those out.