“Dragon Age: Tevinter Nights”

I wouldn’t call myself a hardcore Dragon Age fan, but I enjoyed the first game – later renamed “Origins” – and was sufficiently intrigued by the ending of Dragon Age: Inquisition. The world of Dragon Age is a darker take on Tolkienian epic fantasy. Despite the obvious similarities with The Lord of the Rings – complete with an alliance between men, dwarves, and elves against an army of orcs (called “Darkspawn” in Dragon Age lore) – Dragon Age manages to evoke an illusion of depth. There are realms as interesting as Ferelden just offscreen.

“The Last Starfighter”

I’d heard about The Last Starfighter for years, but always from people who claimed it merely copied Star Wars. During the 1980s, many studios tried to imitate the Star Wars phenomenon. Paramount pulled Star Trek out of mothballs so it could have its own sci-fi franchise. Universal’s Battlestar Galactica was embroiled in lawsuits with 20th Century Fox over copyright infringement (not surprising given that Universal hired key members of the Star Wars production team). Dozens of other copycat space adventure films from that era have faded into obscurity.