Film Review: “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” (2023)

FAQS about Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

Do Chris Pine’s eyes do that thing they do?
You bet they do.

Is it a delightful romp through the legendary tabletop world of D&D that captures the chemistry and chaotic energy of a group of almost -friends completing a campaign?
Yeah.

Are there spooky skeletons?
Oh yeah. Hundreds of inanimate ones, and some resurrected almost-skeletal dead folks. It will be hard to top in terms of sheer skeletal numbers this year.

Is there an uncanny library?
Not really, but there is one library.

Where is Detective Pikachu 2?
Thank you for your questions.

Film Review: “Avatar: The Way of Water” (2022)

Hamlet (1599)

James Cameron pulls Moby Dick, Free Willy, and Chrono Cross philosophy into his sci-fantasy Fern Gully sandbox spectacle, descending back into the depths of the ocean where he belongs to tell an effective, safe story about family that looks fantastic.

Avatar: The Way of Water has only ONE skeleton, but it’s the best looking computer generated, high frame rate skeleton you’ll ever see.

My VHS cover pull-quote: “The indelible cultural footprint left by the first Avatar is people saying the first Avatar hasn’t left any indelible cultural footprint.”

Film Review: “Petite Maman” (2022)

“You always ask questions at bedtime.”

Coraline (2009)

A grounded, gorgeous contemporary fantasy about the connections between parent and child, of inner child and outer adult, of mother and daughter. I won’t pretend to be the best person to speak with any authority on the themes of motherhood at play here, but what I will say is that Céline Sciamma once again elevates a simple premise with substantial emotion and tight storytelling.

My VHS cover pull-quote: “If I met my mother’s younger self, I would probably have just talked to her about my Pokemon cards.”

Film Review: “The Green Knight” (2021)

“And the world is fit for all manner of mysteries.”

A fittingly strange and epic adaptation of the Arthurian tale, with lush cinematography and effects (practical skeletons galore) that capture just how bizarre these tales of yore could get. It’s sometimes easy to forget that storytelling has always been wild as fuck. Also a perfect Christmas/New Year’s movie that grasps the spookiness and soul weight of those introspective yule times.

The springish themes of renewal, birth, and connecting to nature are critical here too, though, with the radical botanics of the Green Knight at odds with the grim structures and interests of man. Alright, it’s a movie for all seasons. Except those weird couple weeks in February when it just sucks all the time. Don’t you dare watch this around then.

My VHS cover pull-quote: “At least as good as this weird version I watched in highschool English class that had Sean Connery as the Green Knight. I was convinced that I fever dreamt that version of the story until recently, but I guess not.”