Monthly Archives: March 2023

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

A quest! To throw as many fantastic, magical happenings as can be crammed into just over two hours at a movie audience!

And to follow four likable questers as they try to avoid dungeons and dragons and evil wizards and other forms of peril. Throw in a few chuckles along the way. Result: success!

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves works on many levels, among them—with one notable exception—its casting. Chris Pine is Edgin who is seeking a magical tablet to bring his dead wife back to life. Pine is handsome but he can do the action stuff. Michelle Rodriguez is Holga, a fierce female who helps Edgin recruit two younger team members: aspiring sorcerer Simon (Justice Smith) and Doric (Sophia Lillis) who is an elf and a shape shifter.

The quartet faces challenge after challenge and has outrageous experiences and surprises, some of which may remind you of magical things you’ve seen in the Lord Of The Rings movies, the Harry Potter movies and even Game Of Thrones. Teleportation, reviving dead people, fending off monsters, etc. 

The exception to the film’s clever casting is Hugh Grant as Forge who starts the story as a rogue but becomes a lord. Grant is an excellent actor. Charming. Funny. But he’s badly miscast here. Did the producers feel they needed another big name? Is he supposed to be eye candy for moms and grandmas who bring their kids to the movie? Hard to justify.

Speaking of kids… D & D: H A T is rated PG-13. Little ones may be spooked by some of the scary bits. But I know that preteens today have seen more wild and weird stuff than I had seen when I and even my own kids were in that age range. So parental guidance is in order here.

Full disclosure: I have never played D & D but I have several family members who have told me in great detail about campaigns that they have been part of. Remember this is a movie, not a board game. It works as a movie.

The budget was $151 million and it shows. Almost all of the effects look great. Co-directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein have to be anxious to see how audiences respond to this movie that has been sitting on the shelf for nearly two years. My guess is they will be happy. Not just that the film is now finally released but also that box office and buzz will be good. 

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John Wick Chapter 4

Is it an orgy of violence? Yes, but it’s not JUST an orgy of violence. It is ballet.

John Wick Chapter 4 has battle scenes you will remember forever. The grace and skill of the actors. The choreography of the stunt teams. The filmmaking techniques and skills that make you wonder what is real and what is the work of special effects crews. 

The result of these talents is one of the greatest action movies ever made. Best not to wonder “how did they do that” but instead just let the tale unfold and enjoy the ride.

Keanu Reeves as the taciturn Wick leads a gallery of memorable characters. Caine (Donnie Yen) is a blind man who leans on his other senses to employ formidable killing skills. An enormous man with gold teeth called Killa (Scott Adkins in a fat suit) deals a fateful poker hand before engaging Wick in a chase through a crowded Paris dance club. Sadistic bad guy the Marquis (Bill Skarsgård) dresses nice but with a wicked smirk sets into motion the mission to eliminate Wick. 

Back from previous Wick films are Winston “the manager” (Ian McShane), Charon (Lance Reddick who, sadly, just died at age 60 on March 17) and the Bowery King (Lawrence Fishburne). 

John Wick Chapter 4 has a story, centered around scads of people looking to kill John Wick. But the real hooks of this film are the one-on-one and one-vs-many battle scenes with combatants using guns, knives, axes, swords, nunchucks, fists, cars and other means of offing opponents. 

Director Chad Stahelski who also helmed the first three Wick flicks is back in the driver’s seat, this time bringing a bigger Wick. Nearly three hours long! (2:49 officially.) But you will not be checking the time once the show kicks off. It opens with a Western flavor as John Wick mounts a sturdy steed and pursues three horsemen across a sandy desert before confronting the Elder (George Georgiou).

The John Wick universe with the High Table and its rules and protocols is an interesting setup. Yes, they try to terminate with extreme prejudice but they have a modicum of respect for one another.

Among the more memorable sequences in this new film is the overhead shot via drone of a battle inside a residence with activity moving from room to room. A chase that runs through traffic on the Arch de Triumph roundabout in Paris is mind-blowing. A battle in the Continental Hotel in Osaka gets Caine into the film’s early action.

Could the action sequences help lead to an Oscar category for the stunt performers? Director Stahleski (who has a stunt background) said in a recent interview: “We (the stunt community) want to be recognized because we’re one of the 11 main departments. We’re in every fucking trailer. Most movies are sold on what we do.”

Is this the final John Wick story? Keanu is only 58 and is in excellent physical shape. To close the door on this iconic character now would be folly. In a year or so, after Chapter 4 has played out its run, keep your ears open for news about more John Wick.

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Champions

Champions is a Woody Harrelson movie. But the more important characters in this film are the folks with “intellectual disabilities” on his basketball team.

Marcus (Harrelson) gets bounced from his gig as an assistant coach on a minor league hoops squad for insubordination. He drives drunk… right into a police car. He is given community service: coach this untalented team of apparent misfits.

If you’ve seen one sports redemption movie, you’ve seen ‘em all. You can guess what’s going to happen here. But… the journey to the unsurprising outcome has its fun moments.

Quick warning: Champions is not a movie for little kids. It’s PG-13 with sexual references and language but no nudity. Champions is directed by Bobby Farrelly who, with his brother, directed Woody in the funny and downright weird 1996 bowling movie Kingpin (which also had some crude humor).

As Champions begins Marcus is sending off his one-night stand Alex (Kaitlin Olson) only to have her reappear as the sister of one of the intellectually challenged players. She and Marcus ramp up their relationship. (Olson is best-known for her work on It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia.)

Alex is a Shakespearian actress who plies her trade for school groups. Her van that takes her act on the road also serves as a transport for her brother and his teammates.

Marcus has one truly talented player. But Darius (Joshua Felder), a brain damaged young man, refuses to play for him until Marcus learns why.

In these ultra sensitive times, it may be borderline courageous to focus on young adults with learning disabilities. Ben Stiller was recently roasted again for his film Tropic Thunder and that film’s ridiculous suggestion that an actor portraying a person with learning disabilities never go “full (R-word)” if he wants to win an Oscar. 

There could be criticism for the portrayals of these individuals in the movie from friends and family of persons existing in similar circumstances. But thumbs up to Farrelly and Woody for presenting this crew with good humor and appropriate respect.

Also in the cast are Ernie “Ghostbusters” Hudson as the coach who fires Marcus but later befriends him. And Cheech Marin as the director of the team’s community center.

Champions clocks in at just over two hours. Which seems about 15 minutes too long. But the soundtrack is fun. Tubthumping by Chumbawamba! Among other cool tunes.

Not a “must see.” But an upbeat underdog movie can bring a bit of joy and who doesn’t need some of that these days?

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