Donjons & Dragons : L'Honneur des voleurs

D+D is what the adventure-comedy/fantasy genre needs to take notes from. In a world saturated by superhero films and remakes/retreads of old favorites, this was a breath of fresh air. It was fun, funny, and generally entertaining. The characters made sense, and the funny parts weren't focused on awkward or cringe situations that are totally unnatural, unlike most modern films.

The casting of Hugh Grant here is inspired. He's been doing some tremendous work in all of the films he's been in lately, and it is awesome to see him taken seriously as an actor beyond just his old rom/com days. He's good as a villain, and the rest of the story plays off of him very well here. Likewise, the main cast all does a great job playing both for and against type.

Admittedly, I don't know D+D lore, so I don't know how well this satisfies true fans, but I think it works well as a basic story/film. It reminds me a bit of Firefly/Serenity- a not too serious take on a well-worn genre that manages to do a lot more right than it does wrong.

Saw the sneak preview today with my wife. I'm a 43-year veteran player and DM, and she's never played. She laughed through the whole thing and was riveted by the action sequences, indicating that this is an excellent intro to the world of D&D for the inexperienced. I was enchanted by what they got right: the iconic monsters, the banter, the feeling of an organic adventuring party coming together combining their strengths.

Best of all, having lived in Neverwinter since 6/7/13 and the MMO's open beta, I got to see the Jewel of the Sword Coast North in all its glory.

I'll be bringing my 4H D&D club to see it as soon as possible, and we'll definitely be seeing it again on our own.

A reboot of the board game property (after the disastrous 2000 release) currently in theaters. Chris Pine, a thief, & Michele Rodriguez, a warrior, are on a quest to retrieve a magical doodad which will resurrect his wife who passed years before which put the caring of his daughter, Chloe Coleman, in the care of his once partner, Hugh Grant, now a de-facto leader of a village. Grant has a red witch, Daisy Head, at his beck & call but what he doesn't realize Head & her ilk are using his largesse to inflict a red mist which will put the populace in thrall (living zombies) to their cause. Pine soon recruits a problematic mage, Justice Smith & a shape shifting Owlbear, Sophia Lillis, to his scheme (w/added panache from Rege-Jean Page) to right his past wrongs before Head gets her way. Not taking the material seriously is a huge boon to this film's success & a lot of the acclaim should go to John Francis Daley & Jonathan Goldstein (they made the Vacation sequel w/Ed Helms, co-wrote Spider-man: Homecoming & Game Night) who could in lesser hands make this a turgid bore but by instilling a healthy dollop of humor make this fantasy for the uninitiated a lot of fun.

I went to watch this a few days ago with no prior knowledge of anything about D&D. I didn't even watch the trailer. It was extremely funny, I was laughing all through it. It was very silly, but it held itself together very well, similar to Thor Ragnarok. I can imagine that serious D&D players might not enjoy that aspect, though I'm not sure how serious the game gets, all I know is that it is meant to last ages. Cris Pine was great, Hugh Grant was fantastic, and everyone else was also super funny. The plot wasn't super original or anything, but I would recommend this to anyone, and I already have to about twenty people. It is well worth the money as it is a great action/adventure/fantasy/comedy. A bit of a cross between Indiana Jones, Lord of the rings and The Princess Bride. I was laughing out load for at least twenty minutes throughout. So go watch it. Definitely.

Dungeons and Dragons: Honour Among Thieves: Great fun! I'm not familiar with the game but you get great dragons both fierce human (and otherkin) eaters and down at heel alms seekers. Chris Pine is OK as an ex-Harper and present thieve, but a good hearted one. Michelle Rodriguez is much more convincing as Holga Kilgore, a barbarian warrior who would put Xena in a lesser league. My favourite member of Pine's posse is Sophia Lillis as Doric, a tiefling druid and shape-shifter who can turn into an owlbear as well as other critters. A richly imagined fantasy world with quests, battles and magic replacing science. Hugh Grant has a supporting role as a conman who always has a plan to make his schemes even more devious, ,he is hilarious; Daisy Head is Sofina, a sorceress who enables his schemes..Armies of the undead and talking corpses are actually amusing. Don't know what true blue fans will make of it but I loved this heist/quest adventure which has great effects. Directed by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, who co-wrote the screenplay with Michael Gilio. 8/10.

There Are No Spoilers in this review.