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Check out these Updates from Armchair Commentary for July 22, 2010.

"Clash of the Titans" and other fantasy films I missed July 22, 2010 Confession time: When I watched Clash of the Titans on Blu-ray, that was the first time I'd seen the movie all the way through. I've seen the Medusa scene umpteen times, but for whatever strange reason I'd never sat down and watched the whole thing. It's even weirder since I'm a big mythology fan, and I consider Jason and Argonauts (also with effects by the esteemed Ray Harryhausen) a classic. I think it's because my parents weren't big action-fantasy fans (they haven't seen Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings, and have only seen the first Star Wars film), so though our family saw a lot of movies, it was more likely to be Gorky Park or Ran. As a result, I've been trying to fill a pretty major void in the '70s and '80s fantasy genre. I've seen Ralph Bakshi's Lord of the Rings (I did watch the Rankin-Bass versions of The Hobbit and The Return of the King when they were on TV), The Princess Bride, Willow, Time Bandits, Excalibur, The Dark Crystal, Krull, and some others. But I still haven't seen Legend, Ladyhawke, Labyrinth, The NeverEnding Story, Dragonslayer, Conan the Barbarian, Red Sonja, and many others I'm forgetting (you could toss in stuff like The Goonies and Gremlins too).  Which of these films would it be worth catching up with, keeping in mind that I won't have the benefit of nostalgia to help me overlook any inevitable datedness? Post your opinion, and if there's a consensus I'll watch that film and report back here. --David

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