[schema type=”movie” url=”http://www.thehobbit.com” name=”The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” description=”Bilbo and Company are forced to engage in a war against an array of combatants and keep the Lonely Mountain from falling into the hands of a rising darkness.” director=”Peter Jackson” ]
Bilbo and Company are forced to engage in a war against an array of combatants and keep the Lonely Mountain from falling into the hands of a rising darkness.
[schema type=”movie” url=”http://movies.disney.com/into-the-woods/” name=”Into the Woods” description=”Into the Woods is a modern twist on the beloved Brothers Grimm fairy tales in a musical format that follows the classic tales of Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Rapunzel-all tied together by an original story involving a baker and his wife, their wish to begin a family and their interaction with the witch who has put a curse on them.” director=”Rob Marshall” ]
Batman turned 75 years old earlier this year (2014). In recognition, we are rebranding our site for one week to Now Very Bat… and focusing on the blockbusters, the smaller films, the comics and the video games that feature the Dark Knight.
140 Character Movie Review – #140RVW
Even if you love the 60’s tv Batman star (and I do), you may have a hard time staying engaged for 98 minute paint-by-numbers documentary…
Spoiler-free Movie Review of Starring Adam West:
This documentary chronicles the (according to the filmmakers) underappreciated career of Adam West. The framework for the doc is their attempt to get West a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. As documentaries go, it’s textbook. It has the exact same trajectory as virtually every documentary you’ll ever see. Really – the thing plays like it was a class assignment. It sets out its premise (or topic sentence to over-follow the academic metaphor), features tons of talking heads (but none so much as the star) and follows the highs and lows of the protagonists career before inevitably concluding with the objective being reached and our hero reflecting on their life.
When I say that the picture is formulaic, I really don’t mean that as a knock. This is pretty much exactly what you are supposed to do with these pieces. But it does mean that a vanity project like Starring Adam West is just as humorless and tedious as you might expect. I think Shatner learned how to take himself too seriously (while maintaining that he has a sense of humor about himself) from West. He sincerely asks of himself in this doc, “Can I be brilliant in what I do?”
It’s got lots of great footage of the young actor and you certainly learn more about his life. Whether this is a gap in your knowledge you needed filled is possibly up to you. The interviews are well done and the filmmakers certainly make a compelling case for West to get his star. After all, we’re not talking about a Nobel Prize, here. Adam West is a pop icon and completely deserving of the honor. But the thing that is really disturbing about the doc is the myriad clips of people at conventions saying things like “you’re my idol”. Really? In what way?
Look, I love the old tv show – everyone does. It’s perfectly ridiculous and amusing. I also understand that kids who grew up with it didn’t realize or care that it was campy. I know I sure didn’t – I thought it was a completely straightforward superhero show. I consumed it exactly the way I watched Super Friends or the Spider-Man cartoons. The not-so-subtleties were completely lost on me as a little kid – Batman and Robin were on tv and I loved seeing them. It was a great success for that reason – families could watch it together with everyone taking something different away. It was the spiritual predecessor to The Simpsons. (In more ways than one – like The Simpsons, stars clamored to provide cameos for Batman.) The show was a huge hit and a lot of fun.
And West is certainly a talent. He was a great looking young actor who probably could have become a big star had the dice rolled a different way. Who knows why certain people become superstars while others just as capable don’t?
But following the lead around like he’s Steve McQueen when he’s more akin to Eddie Munster is just plain weird. West has had a fairly successful if unremarkable career. He caught a wave and got carried along with a smash hit that swept him into pop culture history. He seems to be a good man and is incredibly gracious to all his fans. I’m just a little surprised how passionate they all are…
Poster:
Trailer:
Bechdel Test & The Representation Test Score: n/a
[schema type=”movie” url=”http://starringadamwest.com/” name=”Starring Adam West” description=”In 1966 Adam West was on top of the world. The farm boy from Walla Walla was on a meteoric rise to fame as the star of the ABC series Batman. But after three seasons, the series was cancelled, leaving West typecast as the caped crusader. But Adam West never gave up. Through good years and bad he continued to follow his passion, pursue his craft, and fight his way back. “Starring Adam West” is the story of a Hollywood survivor, a family man, and the loyal fans who will stop at nothing to see their super hero justly rewarded with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.” director=”James Tooley” actor_1=”Adam West” ]
Dungeons & Dragons turned 40 years old in January of this year (2014). In recognition, we are rebranding our site for one week to Now Very Beholder… and focusing just on the films that star or in some way revolve around D&D.
140 Character Movie Review – #140RVW
Very few redeeming features to this absolutely awful picture that looks like a (bad) tv show, which it almost certainly should have been…
Spoiler-free Movie Review of Dungeons & Dragons:
Look, let’s start from the premise that this is a bad movie, but not as bad as you’ve been told. Because it isn’t. Oh, it certainly isn’t good; it’s not even ok. But it isn’t the worst movie you’ve ever seen or even close. Damning with faint praise, I know…
But I’m going out on a limb saying even that much. This movie is reviled and the reasons are all too obvious. Even if it didn’t have to overcome fanboy expectation and criticism it is by several yards quite awful. But upon my second viewing I did catch glimpses of things that, watered properly and with the guidance of a professional, could have borne fruit. Unfortunately, due at least partially to the meddling of TSR (former owners of the brand), the film was shepherded by a completely inexperienced team who are simply in over their heads.
Rather than hashing out the plot and picking apart every boneheaded decision, I’m just going to include my notes, typed out while watching for the second time (the first time, years ago, I had my eyes closed for most of the time):
You know, if this was a made for tv project, no one would really complain.
It’s fine until people show up on screen and start talking.
Ridley & Snails – do we really have to follow these idiots through the whole movie?
Damodar – blue lips. Then later he gets bright red ears – how could any producer worth their salt allow this? I note with interest if not surprise that once they bring him back for the sequel the blue lips mysteriously disappear.
This worm thing in Damodar’s head is a deal-breaker. It’s gross and off-putting.
Profion – for every time you wonder why people use awful wigs in fantasy films, Jeremy Irons is here to provide the answer – normal haircuts just look weird in these movies.
The effects aren’t good but not awful either – for the time.
I’d like to say the acting is terrible, but really I’m not sure that’s fair. The actors are just doing what they’re being told. If they are given a dreadful script and bad production and poor direction, I don’t know how this could go any other way.
While this is mostly crap that looks like the producers have never played the game, just had it explained to them, there are elements that betray an actual involvement by the game creators. The maze sequence is actually quite excellent and very much in the spirit of D&D.
Some of the sets are pretty good, if filmed in a better light.
I admit that the appearance of the Eye of the Beholder about halfway through the movie is a welcome sight (heh, heh) for an old D&D fan. Ditto the quicksand rug.
As terrible as this movie is, with not a lot of work it could have actually been very good. They did a lot of the heavy lifting, but it’s deeply flawed. Just shooting the thing properly would have upgraded it to merely “not very good”. Losing a couple of the humor-first characters like Snails and the dwarf and would have at least have made it something fanboys could argue about.
Amazingly, it’s about an hour into the movie before the first real swordwork. And it’s brief at that – more fist fighting than anything else. Guess they didn’t want to spend the budget on sword training.
It is actually fun to watch Marlon Wayans get beaten to a pulp.
The mage has completely lost her ability to do any magic once there are boys around
Elf land is cool looking and best depiction until LOTR showed up a year later.
The elf’s breastplate is literally that. It even has nipples. Really?
75 minutes in our hero enters a dungeon – this is the scene we’ve been waiting for. This hints at what a good D&D movie could be like.
Dragon on dragon fighting is why we are here.
I’m not going to try to convince you not to hate Dungeons & Dragons. It’s cheesy, poorly filmed and directed and stuffed with poor attempts at humor. But if you squint you can find moments that confirm your belief that a good Dungeons & Dragons movie could be made one day. The made for tv sequels were worlds better, possibly because they punched their weight. Or in this case, fought beasts of their own level…
[schema type=”movie” url=”http://dnd.wizards.com/” name=”Dungeons & Dragons” description=”The Empire of Izmer has long been a divided land. The Mages – an elite group of magic-users – rule whilst the lowly commoners are powerless. Izmer’s young Empress, Savina, wants equality and prosperity for all, but the evil Mage Profion is plotting to depose her and establish his own rule. The Empress possesses a scepter which controls Izmer’s Golden Dragons. To challenge her rule, Profion must have the scepter, and tricks the Council of Mages into believing Savina is unfit to hold it. Knowing that Profion will bring death and destruction to Izmer, Savina must find the legendary Rod of Savrille, a mythical rod that has the power to control Red Dragons, a species even mightier than the Gold. Enter two thieves, Ridley and Snails, who unwittingly become instrumental in Savina’s search for the Rod. Joined by a feisty Dwarf named Elwood, and helped by the Empress’s expert tracker, the Elf Norda, the young heroes go in search of the Rod of Savrille. From the deadly maze of the Thieves Guild…” director=”Courtney Solomon” actor_1=”Jeremy Irons” ]
Dungeons & Dragons turned 40 years old in January of this year (2014). In recognition, we are rebranding our site for one week to Now Very Beholder… and focusing just on the films that star or in some way revolve around D&D.
140 Character Movie Review – #140RVW
Everyone involved in this predictable & possibly insulting documentary need to make a saving throw. Filmmakers message is really unclear…
Spoiler-free Movie Review of The Dungeon Masters:
Our last Now Very Beholder review (for Zero Charisma) discussed the potential dangers of making a film about a particular group or interest – it’s very easy to get caught up in the effort to be funny and go for the cheap burns. There’s a fine line between portraying a group a little irreverently and making fun of them. In the case of The Dungeon Masters that line is behind them.
The Dungeon Masters follows three hardcore gamers in what seems to be an effort to point out how sad and pathetic their lives are. I’m hoping that wasn’t the goal, that they were really trying to illustrate how struggles in gaming do not necessarily correlate to troubles in life, but it really does seem to be just embarrassing unsuspecting people.
Well, here’s the synopsis from Antidote Films, one of the production companies: “An evil drow-elf is displaced by Hurricane Katrina. A sanitation worker lures friends into a Sphere of Annihilation. A failed supervillain starts a cable access show involving ninjas, puppets, and a cooking segment. These are the characters, real and imagined, of The Dungeon Masters: Against the backdrop of crumbling middle-class America, two men and one woman devote their lives to Dungeons and Dragons, the storied role-playing game, and its various descendants. As their baroque fantasies clash with mundane real lives, the characters find it increasingly difficult to allay their fear, loneliness, and disappointment with the game’s imaginary triumphs. Soon the true heroic act of each character’s real life emerges, and the film follows each as he or she summons the courage to face it. Along the way, The Dungeon Masters reimagines the tropes of classic heroic cinema, creating an intimate portrait of minor struggles and triumphs writ large.” I must tell you that the film only barely resembles that bit of marketing.
The tone of the doc wavers, from the beginning soundbites and snippets about the popularity of the game through to the chronicling of one of the subjects ninja cable access show. It’s really unclear if the picture is meant to be celebratory or sympathetic or played for the “stop and point at the weirdos” angle. Indeed, the mission of the film is completely lost on me. Eighty-seven minutes isn’t really a long time for a documentary, but it is if you don’t know what they’re going for.
Regardless, the inclusion of only three individuals necessarily means that a lot of pressure is put on them to represent all gamers and that’s hard to do. It’s certainly no slander to suggest that these gamers are on the extreme end of things, and relying solely on those stories paints a very incomplete picture.
Part of the problem surely lies in the production. The documentary was initially envisioned as a history of the game, but when the director met the three individuals who make up the majority of the film it seems to have developed a bad case of mission creep. All of a sudden it had turned into a character study of 3 people, where the game is only part of the story, and it goes out of focus with no real linear theme.
I don’t want to be too hard on the filmmakers, because I may be misreading their intent. I really don’t think this is supposed to be a hatchet job, but I do think that it comes off as an insulting picture more akin to reality television than documentary. If you think I’m being unfair, ask yourself this: do you imagine that the three people featured in this film were pleased at how they came off and proud to show the final product to friends and family? Me neither…
Poster:
Trailer:
Bechdel Test & The Representation Test Score: n/a
[schema type=”movie” name=”The Dungeon Masters” description=”Against the backdrop of crumbling middle-class America, two men and one woman devote their lives to Dungeons and Dragons, the storied role-playing game, re-imagining the tropes of classic heroic cinema, creating an intimate portrait of minor struggles and triumphs writ large.” director=”Keven McAlester” ]
