The Red Dragon was born in hellfire countless millennia ago. Spewing forth molten magma, the Great Wyrm that had wrought him from the aether asked what he foresaw as his destiny. Briefly distracted from chasing his own tail, and after a moment’s thought, he looked at his progenitor and answered ‘I shall wait, in secret fissures and dark valleys, for the time when mortals will discover the medium of film, and then I shall rise from the shadows and watch their pitiful efforts at entertainment, seek out the worst examples of their craft, and then BURN THEM TO HELL ahahahaha!
Not exactly the fearsome and destructive response that was expected, The Red Dragon was nevertheless reared in the ancient and beautiful kingdom of Scotland where many rustic villagers still offer up their first born virginal daughters as sacrifice each blue moon harvest. Needless to say they are not wasted, but rather put to good use, changing DVDs, brewing the tea and so forth …
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Welcome reader. The website you are viewing is primarily for fun. The Red Dragon is more of a character than just a pseudonym, which the writing tries to reflect, and he came into being at the bequest of a good friend. It is first and foremost a site about movies, and movie reviews, each of which should be judged by not just the rating, but also the text that follows – if I were to rate ‘The Help’ and ‘Predator’ I would likely give them both something in the eighties, but they are hardly comparable to one another, though combining them would make for an interesting parody.
There are other sections not related to movies, which will be expanded over time, hoping to give a sort of online coffee shop feel to the place with books to read and films to watch, and rather than just point out which films to avoid, which in itself is problematic as no matter which one you choose you will find someone who loves it – and someone else who loathes it with equal passion, I prefer to think of The Red Dragon’s primary use to be bringing to people’s attention some worthy films that may otherwise have gone unnoticed, many of which you can find in the ‘Treasure Hoard’ section.
The reviews must of course be tempered by a certain natural variance – what someone makes of any given movie can be hugely influenced by what mood they’re in at the time, who they’re watching it with, where they’re watching it, what the people around them are doing (especially if they are throttling down an everlasting bag of popcorn and no one else is making a sound), how attracted you are to the principle cast, etc. etc. And one can find an otherwise dire film, that has one moment of resonance in it, whether it be a situation or a character that strikes a chord, and suddenly it can be transformed into something meaningful and personal to you. Robert Louis Stevenson once said “When I suffer in mind, stories are my refuge; I take them like opium; and consider one who writes them as a sort of doctor of the mind”, and in many ways a truly good film can offer the same remedy for the soul. Sometimes though, one is simply in the mood to watch a film, and it doesn’t necessarily matter how terribly good or bad it really is.
That being said, The Red Dragon still hopes to offer a rough guide through cinema and film generally, and the various pitfalls along the way. The very keen-eyed amongst you will have noticed several pictures of a certain well known star of the big-screen throughout this site, or realm if you will. This is because The Red Dragon believes Keira Knightley to be the most beautiful human being ever created. Moreover, she has endured what can only be described as brutal treatment by the press, purely for being successful. In an interview with Jonathan Ross, she once stated that she had never received a positive review. This is surely no longer the case, but it does give me a certain vengeful pleasure to declare this site as dedicated to her (in a slightly tongue-in-cheek kind of way of course), and in due time all of her films will be reviewed in a special section all of their own.
The Red Dragon hopes you enjoy your time here, and that he helps you discover a few hidden gems otherwise concealed by the ever-expanding kaleidoscopic landscape of cinema.
The Red Dragon