Your Highness (Extended Edition) [DVD]
M**Y
Tad crude for my taste but the best silly movie since Robin Hood Men in Tights
The movie has been written for the 12 year old boy market with the constant needlessly crude humour. But looking past that it is a remarkably well made movie that is fun to watch with others, particularly those who have not seen it before. The acting is well above average and I loved the use of synthesisers in the musical score. If you what a silly movie and can look past the crude bits then this is a fun way to spend some time.
A**E
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D**K
An A list actress + B movie + F bombs = a very guilty very dirty pleasure, with some really gross moments
Even if I hated some parts of this fantasy comedy, I still liked most of it enough to not regret that I bought this DVD. Below, more of my impressions, with some SPOILERS.Thadeous (Danny McBride, a.k.a. King of Stoner Comedy) and Fabious (James Franco, a.k.a. Oz the Great and Powerful) are sons of King Tallious (Charles Dance, a.k.a. Tywin Lannister). Fabious is the wonder boy - Thadeous on another hand is a disgrace to the human race... Still, even if they are very different, brothers love one another dearly.Then one day the evil sorcerer Leezar (Justin Theroux, a.k.a. American Psycho), the old nemesis of the kingdom, kidnaps the fair maiden Belladonna (Zooey Deschanel, a.k.a. New Girl) who was just recently betrothed to Fabious. The latter, enraged and outraged at being so suddenly dis-engaged, gives immediately the chase. In this quest he will be helped by noble knight Boremont (Damian Lewis, a.k.a. the red haired guy from "Band of Brothers", "Life" and "Homeland"), a mysterious shield-maiden Isabel (Natalie Portman, who really doesn't need an a.k.a. anymore) as well as the very reluctant Thadeous and his even more reluctant servant Courtney (Rasmus Hardiker, who didn't play in enough stuff to earn an a.k.a. yet). Those last two go initially under duress and are very unhappy about it ("This quest sucks! I shouldn't even be there! I will probably die on this quest - Courtney certainly will!").I will not say much about the rest of the story, except that it contains a mixture of both good comedy and extremely gross and vulgar moments, many of the latter I didn't enjoy AT ALL. In fact, I would advise to skip completely the scene when the brothers go to search the guidance of Great Wize Wizard (a CGI creature, a.k.a Stoned Child Abuser...)Now, personally, I am really not into the kind of humour offered by stoner comedies, "Tropical Thunder"-like films, "Scary Movie" franchise and especially NOT into the "Danny McBride, James Franco & Co" productions - I totally, absolutely hated "Pineapple Express" (I will not even dignify it with a review) and I carefully avoided "This is the end". This film however I found watchable but mostly because of Natalie Portman's presence and yes, full disclosure here, partially because of her famous "bathing wearing only thongs" scene. Guilty as charged. It certainly says a lot about a film (and even more about its reviewer) when its appeal basically relies on one actress posterior - and it is not even her own (yes, I am aware that in THE scene, it is not really Natalie Portman's "booté"...).The reasons for Natalie Portman presence in this kind of film remain as mysterious today as they were in 2011. Maybe it was a phase in her life, as she already considerably let her hair down in her previous film, the infamous "No strings attached" (possibly the worst romantic comedy I ever saw), but whatever the reason, she certainly gave a holy lot to this movie, including some dialog lines I would simply not believe if I didn't hear them myself - and praised she be for that.Now, as far as I am concerned, the main appeal of this film (other than the obvious SCENE) is the idea that even the worse kind of loser like Thadeous can have a shot at a girl like Natalie Portman, if he finds the right way to her.., ahem..., heart. Yes, heart, of course - what else? Thadeous actually himself poses the question in the film in his quite unique way of speaking, appropriate to his quite unique way of thinking: "What exactly would it take for one to tame such an adventurous slut?"...)))Of course in real world, the odds that an out of shape, butt-ugly, slovenly dressed, foul mouthed, frequently stoned, cowardly lazy slacker gets a girl like Natalie Portman are very low indeed. However few things, no matter how improbable, are completely impossible and in "Your Highness" there are some hints at how one can increase his chances in such a contest:1. Being born in royalty helps.2. Being financially comfortable and therefore having a man-servant doesn't hurt either.3. Displaying a VERY large penis is an asset, even if the aforementioned thing is kind of borrowed and hangs in the wrong place...)))4. Gaining a magic sword and slaying a minotaur usually impresses most females (except minotaur ones...)5. Showing genuine concern and love to your much more attractive but already DEFINITELY unavailable brother cannot hurt either6. Generosity shown to others (not necessarily the girl one is wooing or her family) is usually appreciated.7. Kinky games with a sharp blade pressed against the girl skin are not always a good tactic - but to a warlike woman who lives by sword they can be surprisingly appealing...8. Outfoxing a woman who takes great pride in her own sneakiness can cause her to enrage in the immediate - but earns one also some respect, for later use...9. Running around screaming with a big sword in hand and actually managing to hit somebody with it earns some points too...10. Last but not least, it is useful to remember than no woman (and no man either by the way) is ever as formidable as she looks. All people have weaker spots, vulnerabilities and embarrassing secrets - and they can come in handy (pun very much intentional) at the least expected moment just before final credits...)))Bottom line, even if I don't usually care much for this kind of humor and even if I found some scenes gross and disgusting (once again, avoid the Great Wize Wizard scene!), I finally rather enjoyed most of this film and I am going to keep the DVD. Get a lot of beer, some nachos, cheese salsa and give it a try!
P**R
Foul mouthed fantasy
Hawk the Slayer. Krull. Dragonslayer. The Beastmaster. To name but a few. Fantasy films from a few decades back. All are not the greatest or the most expensive movies ever made. And none are anywhere close to being classics of their genre.But some people have a lot of affection for them anyhow.What the makers of your Highness tried to do was to produce a fantasy film in the same style. One that would be both a homage and a pastiche, and also a comedy. The latter arising from character interaction over the course of it.A slightly irreverent opening narration sets the tone. Introducing us to Prince Thadeous. A foul mouthed lady loving weed smoking man, he is a long way from being a noble prince and a great warrior.Unlike his brother Fabious. Who has just returned from his latest successful quest with the woman of his dreams. Whom he has rescued from an evil sorcerer.But when the sorcerer turns out not to have been defeated, Fabious must embark on a new quest. To save his love. And the world.And he must take his brother along.Treachery and danger await. With only the aid of a mysterious lady warrior, can the brothers save the day?This dvd is the EXTENDED edition. The LONGER, HARDER version.How did you react to that fact?Let's try the:YOUR HIGHNESS HUMOUR TEST:1; Bwah hah hah hah haha hah haha hah! [etc]2; Ho ho.3: groan.4: [sound of tumbleweed blowing across prairie][The differences between this and the cinema version are minimal changes to various scenes that make no great difference. There's an article about it on IMDB. Should you care].If you answered 1, then you will love this film.If you answered 2, then you may enjoy it.3 or 4? Steer clear.Because this movie has two approaches to comedy. The first, which works fine, is that whilst all the characters are noble and speak and act as if they are very much in the style of characters in this kind of film, Thadeous isn't. And spends a lot of time commenting on the absurdity of situations. Usually with foul language. This works very well in the opening few minutes [and the superb title sequence] but it's not going to guarantee laughs a second.The other approach is to throw in all the usual kind of humour you might expect in a gross out comedy. References to all sorts of bodily functions and things you would do with bodies. And a lot of foul language.Natalie Portman is very good at being a tough lady warrior. But she doesn't quite get a grip on the comedy.You will also find two scenes of attempted rape being played for comedy. Which is not an approach that may go down well with some.The only cast member who really gets the tone right is Eramus Hardiker as put upon manservant Courtney, who can be both funny and serve the needs of the plot.And yet:As a fantasy movie, this isn't bad.Not fantasy in the Lord of the Rings class. More those movies mentioned in the opening paragraph of this review. It has a fairly solid story and some very good production values.So for fantasy fans who aren't too demanding, it's worth a look.For those who want to see a brief scene of Natalie Portman in skimpy underwear, you will find what you want here.For those undemanding fans of gross comedies, it may be worth a look.But for everyone else....maybe not.Should you wish to know more about the dvd then:The languages and subtitles are as follows:Languages: English.Subtitles: English.The disc begins with a couple of trailers but you can skip past them by pressing the next button on the dvd remote.There's a commentary from two of the cast and two of the crew. Which you can listen to with or without a short visual introduction from them.A twenty eight minute long making of documentary. Which is quite good.A four minute long reel of outtakes. Some of which actually are genuinely funny.Line-O-rama. A five minute long feature with cast members improvising various alternate bits of dialogue. Usually involving foul language.Perverted visions. Four minutes of two cast members doing improvised dialogue for a scene involving a puppet.A vision of Leezar: Two minutes of the actor who plays the villain laughing manically and then making other noises.[These three extras only worth watching if you answered 1 to the humour test.]
K**S
Not Bad
Thank you for the delivery Amazon !Not a bad comedy .. surely not the best comedy of the year as the cover of the movie says :)The movie have it's momentsNatalie Portman is AMAZING even in a movie like this one.The BD contains 2 versions of the movie.
R**J
Hilarious
Ended up rewatching this with my bro days later as it was too funny not to. A Micky take of the fantasy genre which isn’t subtle but has some funny moments.
D**E
Crude & Lewd but rather funny.
Your Highness is a tale of knights & a fair maiden.The King has two sons, one a hero & one a waster.After the hero princes bride to be is kidnapped by an evil magician mthe two brothers head off on a quest to find the Unicorn sword that is the only thing that will kill him.Very funny but if you do not like bad language then avoid this.
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