I think this might be a word of mouth film. So, I’m here to tell you that Disney and Pixar are gonna “burn” up the box office with Elemental over the summer.
The written review is below (originally posted on Medium). However, if you’d like to watch the review, here’s my YouTube review of Elemental:
Elemental is a romantic action adventure that features some truly wonderful animation that brings the story and the characters to life.
Elemental is the star-crossed lovers story set in Element City where people made of Fire, Water, Earth, and Air live. It’s not quite Romeo & Juliet set on fire, but you get the picture. The story delves into family and societal issues about people from other cultures who are really different, like fundamentally different, and who are thought to not be able to mix safely.
But there are other storylines, too. We meet Ember of the fire people, who feels obligated to take over her father’s store, and Wade of the water people, who is just kind of drifting through life after his father’s death. They meet in a comical and spectacular way that sets off a chain of events that keeps bringing them together as they learn that they aren’t as different as they thought. (A nice lesson for us all.)
It’s a charming and sweet movie that is also exciting and beautiful to watch. It’s a movie that will cheer you up and remind you that the world is a big and complicated place, filled with lots of wonderful people who are different from you, but who are also basically good and want the same kinds of things in life as you.
I cannot tell you have beautiful the film is to watch. If you have ever watched a glass maker spin glass, pulling color and light out of red-hot fiery glass, you will have a sense of what it’s like to watch this film. It’s lovely and dazzling.
Props to the director Peter Sohn for pulling together such a great story and figuring out how to put it on the big screen in a way that it deserves. Also, kudos to Leah Lewis and Mamoudou Athie for breathing such brightness into the personalities of Ember and Wade. They did a fantastic job.
I think the one problem with Elemental is that it really isn’t clear if it’s a kids film or an adults film … and the truth is that it’s both. It’s a film for everyone. If you are looking for a movie for the kids and the family, this is it. If you’re looking for a film to see with friends, Elemental has got you covered. If you’re like me, and you go to films alone, this one works for that, too! It’s a good time.
Hypnotic, directed by Robert Rodriguez and starring Ben Affleck, is a film made for science fiction fans. I’ve got some things to say about this film, and I want you to stick around to the end because that is where I am going to put a piece of information that you need to know…but could be considered a spoiler. However, I’ll try to be as spoiler free as possible, until the end.
Written below is the full review (originally posted on Medium), but if you’d rather watch it, here is the link to my YouTube review:
When I review, I can forgive a lot of rough edges in the science fiction and fantasy genre because much of it just isn’t real and isn’t possible. You need to, in the words of William Wordsworth, suspend your disbelief. So, I do as long as what’s presented in the film fits into the story world presented.
However, when you bring me a classic science fiction film that is hard core on the “what if” principle that inspired storytellers like Isaac Asimov, Mary Shelly, Ray Bradbury, Octavia Butler, William Gibson, and others, you better have your ducks in a row or fandom will eat you alive at the box office.
So, this perspective is where I am coming from with this review. There were some real marketing problems with this film. I didn’t even know it existed until a couple days ago. I didn’t really understand what it was about until I saw it. And the layered complexity of the film that I saw wasn’t really present in the promotional description available. Frankly, an audience that is not expecting this film is not going to get this film, and they are not going to like it. However, I loved it.
If you enjoy savvy, thought provoking science fiction that really makes you think, that has levels of meaning and layers of easter eggs and clues to uncover, and always seems to have a surprise up its sleeve, I think you are going to love it, too. I actually think it’s one of the best classic science fiction films I’ve seen in a really, really long time.
It’s not for the faint of heart. It won’t make sense to you if you aren’t actively watching it and thinking about what you are seeing because it is a puzzle within a puzzle within a puzzle. In short, it’s a mind-bending psychological thriller that is exactly the kind of film that hard core science fiction fan loves and rarely gets…and right now, most of them don’t even know it exists.
The film focuses on Ben Affleck’s character Danny Rourke, a police officer who is reeling from the abduction of his daughter and as more clues to her abduction surface, he realizes that the world is a whole lot bigger and a whole lot more complex than he ever imagined … and that reality and perception can be changed with a word. From there, the chase is on to find his daughter and to survive against a foe who seems to outsmart him at every turn simply by changing the rules of the game. And that foe is played by William Fichtner who is spot on perfect for this role. He really leveled up the creepy psychological feel of the film.
Early in the film we get some exposition about Hypnotics, what they are, and how they work. These short little data dumps give viewers useful information for context. Not every audience member needs the information, but it’s there to set the story rules of the world. It’s honestly not a big deal and it frees up your mind to really focus on the story and the Easter eggs without having to try to puzzle out the rules of how a hypnotic operates. But these “telling” moments are far outnumbered by “showing” moments throughout the film that reference back to these little info dumps to help the audience make faster connections to what’s happening on screen so that they can keep up with the speed of the story.
There are some things about the film that might be a bit too clever, and I think this might be Hypnotic’s greatest failure. However, I would much rather have a clever film where you are forced to puzzle out the meaning of things or really think about the logic of how a thing is possible rather than having it all explained to you in info dumps…or not explained at all. If they would have added any more info dumps, the film would have felt really dumbed down. Instead, the way the film is constructed tests everything you think you know about the film and then changes it.
There are so many easter eggs that even if you think you caught them all, you didn’t. Even after you leave the theater, your mind will be crunching the clues and piecing together new layers of the story. You’ll have these little “ah hah!” moments as you put together some of those mind-bending scenes. Even better, the more you think about the film, the more you understand some of the filming choices that were chosen such the jump cuts in which things happened that just didn’t make sense in the moment…but if you think about it after the film ends, they make perfect sense. As it all sets into your mind hours later, the layers of the puzzles start clicking into place in such fun ways.
This is one of those films that you should see with friends because you will want to talk about it afterwards. I want to talk about it, but literally nobody I know has seen the film … and I know TONS of science fiction fans.
I cannot understand why film companies pour all this money into a film, dump it into the market, and then do almost no promotion for it. Anyway….
This is classic science fiction storytelling, and Robert Rodriguez gets it right. From top to tail, he nails it. There are definite nods to films like Inception with some of the visual world bending, but I’d also nod to other films like Dark City, Edge of Tomorrow, Starship Troopers in its ability to bend your brain and make you question everything you think you know about what you are seeing. There is a part of me that thinks Rodriguez and his cowriter Max Borenstein might have taken a page out of the Memento book by writing this script backwards and then forwards to make sure the puzzle works. And it works.
Now for the bit I told you to stick around for… The film was good right up to the credits, I thought it was solid speculative story. I really enjoyed it, but it didn’t really jump to that next level for me… until the theater emptied out (except for me and a couple stragglers). I was literally at the theater door when the credits and stopped showed a short scene, then the credits started again, and then stopped to finish the scene before starting again. It was so clever, maybe too clever since everyone else left, but that end credits scene nailed this movie for me. The fact that I couldn’t trust the ending to be the end was just another layer I the puzzle. Shear brilliance! And it kept me thinking about the film long after I left the theater.
Thanks everyone, go see this film. Then come back and let me know what you thought. See you soon.
Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken is a new coming of age film from DreamWorks that features a shy teen who is just trying to fit in at high school. However, things go sideways and her plans for prom don’t quite pan out when she learns that she’s a giant kraken. Worse, it turns out that the cool new girl is a mermaid, who everyone loves. Fabled royal giant kraken princess or not, nobody needs to learn that they are a kraken when they’re just trying to get through math class.
The written review for Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken is below (originally posted on Medium). If you’d like to watch the review on YouTube, here’s the link:
The story makes good sense on paper, and the script is solid, doing all the things that a well-made movie should do. It is DreamWorks, and they know how to tell a good story. However, Ruby Gillman was just a little too predictable for me, but I think that young kids will enjoy it. What I did like is that it gives an interesting take on the lost magical princess and the terrible sea kraken tropes.
The film also hits all the right points: teen girl finds out she’s a secret princess; evil mermaids come to destroy the krakens; teen kraken princess has to learn how to use her powers to confront the evil mermaid; and battle ensues in which she, her mother, and her grandmother band together to save the day. That is a little too simplistic of a summary, but it’s fairly on point and it’s nothing that you can find or infer from the various movie trailers.
Despite the predictable script, the characters are all well developed and likable. You really get the sense of these kids being high school kids and having to deal with all of the high school drama that comes up at that age. Ruby’s family dynamic is also well developed, giving her mother and grandmother some nice depth.
One of the most interesting things about the film is the animation. The background and scenery are a kaleidoscope of mesmerizing colors. It’s really the most fascinating part of the film, and they do a good job of highlighting the sea elements that glow underwater. It’s really very cool.
The artistic construction of the characters, however, annoyed me a bit. They seemed to be a combination of animatronic gummy-like beings and animation. The one exception is the Evil Mermaid, who is fascinating to look at on screen. They did a great job of designing in the evil fiery glow beneath her skin and her white frothy mane of hair. From an artistic perspective, the humans are also really well done. It was just Ruby and some of the other under water creatures who were a bit strange looking.
There were so many points when Ruby was out of the water that her hair looked like purple/blue gummy worms stuck on her head. It was just so odd that I kept thinking about gummy worms the whole time, and that really took me out of the film.
I usually don’t mind CGI and animation that isn’t totally perfect. I’m fairly easy to please in that department, but the weird gummy texture of the sea creatures just kept making me want to eat gummy worms.
I came away thinking that DreamWorks should partner with Trolli Neon Gummy Worms to make a Ruby Gillman gummy to go with the movie. I think kids would love it, but maybe that would be weird. Would kids really want to eat teenage gummy krakens? I’m not sure! I mean, I would, but I’m a little weird anyway.
Overall, Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken is a decent film. It’s not for everyone, but it’s a solid summertime family film that will get you out of the heat and into a nice cool theater with popcorn and gummy worms. Hah!
Mpower is a 4-part documentary series about the women within Marvel Universe, who are both in front of and behind the camera, and the impact that working on these female centric characters had on them personally as well as the wider importance that their work has had on the world around them.
The written below is below (originally published on Medium). If you would like to watch my video review of Mpower, you can watch it here on YouTube:
For the first time in history, women are telling our own superhero stories and defining what being a female superhero means, and that’s the power of Marvel’s Mpower series.
What the Mpower series does really well is to capture the first-person accounts of the Marvel women involved with bringing these powerful female superheroes to the screen, and that will be important to future historians. The series comprises 4 episodes that dive into the stories within the comics, the female characters within the stories, and how the Marvel team itself translated those stories from page to film.
The first episode focusses on the women of Wakanda, exploring their impact and their roles within the social structure of a nation. The second is about Captain Marvel and Ms Marvel and how their identity changes as they grow into their powers. The third features the Scarlet Witch and the importance of family, motherhood, and children…and the impact of their loss. The fourth episode explores the deep sibling connection between sisters, featuring the relationship between Gamora and Nebula. Each episode looks at examples of how these characters have fought their own demons and accessed their internal strengths in meaningful and powerful ways both onscreen and off.
Some people may look at this series and think it’s a bit self-serving since there are currently so many more women and female people of color in film and television today. But that wasn’t always the case, and that’s why Mpower is such an important documentary. This series captures the feelings, experiences, and relationships that the actresses and the female creatives behind the scenes have regarding their work in the Marvel Universe, in the film industry, and in society at large.
They are the first generation of women to bring leading roles for female superheroes to the screen and from this day forward, little girls won’t know a world in which women superheroes do not exist because we are in the process of normalizing a new status quo.
Sure, there were a few superhero-ish women in past films and TV shows. But, with the exception of Linda Carter’s Wonder Woman, Lucy Lawless’s Xena Warrior Princess, and Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the only ones who easily come to mind are secondary or tertiary characters supporting their male counterparts. You really have to think about it to come up with additional leading role female superheroes before the year 2000. And, off the top of my head I can’t think of any who weren’t white.
So, I am thrilled when I look at a series like Mpower, in which Marvel clearly invested time and money into interviewing and documenting the rise of female technicians, screenwriters, directors, producers, and actresses to bring the stories of so many female superheroes of different races and ethnicities to the screen.
These women are the first generation of their kind. They grew up not seeing people like them as heroes, protectors, and role models…whose roles weren’t in the “homemaker” category. As a result of their stepping onto the stage and into roles behind the scenes, little girls today can easily think of dozens of female characters in film and television who are equal to and just as visible as their male counterparts. And that’s what this documentary series captures: this moment of change within the film industry and Marvel’s place in that moment.
It captures the female perspective of this unique generation of Marvel women who trail-blazed their way into the superhero genre to redefine the stories that we tell about ourselves as women and how we tell them.
So, yes, perhaps Mpower is a little bit self-serving as a Marvel documentary about Marvel women, but this series is so important, and these interviews will be used by scholars in the future. This is the nascent stage of capturing the first-person accounts of the women who are a part of that wider media change to be more inclusive because representation does matter. And, frankly, it means we get better films and stories for everyone, even the boys. Next, we need to address the lack of representation for people whose gender roles don’t align with traditional male and female roles.
There is so much more than I can say about the Mpower documentary series and these characters, but instead of listening to me, I recommend that you watch the series and do it with your children and talk with them about the things you see and hear there. It is important.
So, I finally got around to watching Avatar: The Way of Water. As expected, the film was visually stunning, but it did have a few issues.
The written review is below (originally posted on Medium), but if you prefer to watch, here’s my video review of Avatar: The Way of Water:
This movie is absolutely worth the price of admission and should be seen in a theater, but if you’re like me and waited too long to see it on the big screen, it also looks great on your smaller screens. I just think it likely loses some of the dazzle and pizazz that is clearly built into the imagery for theater projection.
The technology behind Avatar: The Way of Water is next level stuff. I can imagine that it could be fed into a system that does generative video AI and we will be able to put on a headset, allowing us to step into the film and look around us to see everything that is happening around us from the front, the back, to the sides, above… and even below. This film feels like one of the first steps down that future pathway.
There is something magical about the setting and the scenery. It is simply astonishing to look at from the lush vegetation to the creatures of the forest, the air, and the sea. It is breathtaking.
The characters are very well designed, but it’s their eyes that seal the deal. The eyes of the Na’vi and the creatures of Pandora are so lifelike and expressive. The tech that makes this work is a showstopper.
So, the CGI, the setting, the creatures, and the sound are all spectacular. That leaves us with the story, which is also pretty solid. The gist of it is that many years have passed, and Jake Sully and Neytiri now have a family. The Sky People (aka humans) have returned, and they have brought some Avatars with them. One is Sully’s old commander, whose consciousness was digitally captured and stored before his death and has been implanted into one of the new Avatar bodies. This sets up the “payback” conflict that drives a lot of the action as well as the Sky People’s need to clear the land of Na’vi so that they can begin building their new home there and … to do whatever needs doing for human survival.
Cue the fantastic battle scenes, the flight of the Sully family, and the new water Na’vi allies that they find.
There are some logic gaps here that if you look too hard, you can’t help but to think that wherever Sully goes, the Avatars are going to find him … and they’ll destroy everyone and everything in their wake. So, whether it’s the Forest People or the Water People, he’s pretty much putting everyone he knows and encounters at risk … even those he’s never met.
This leaves you thinking that he should have just gone to an abandoned place somewhere, but even that would leave angry Avatars burning and killing everything anyway.
And, even if they get Sully and killed him, the Sky People aren’t going anywhere. They’re making Pandora their new home. So, really, taking the battle to the humans at scale with all the people of Pandora is the only real option, and it’s the one that isn’t really explored in The Way of Water. I guess that’ll be in the next film.
So, onto the one thing that really bugged me about the film. Sully’s children picked up a lot of “bro” talk and soldier speak. About 15 years have passed between the two films. That’s a long time. The script has the boys talking to each other and other males as “bro.” That is definitely not a Na’vi term nor is it a term that a father or older adult humans (because some stayed behind) would use in a normal discussion with young children.
Plus, the Sully children spend most of their time with the Na’vi kids. So, the use of terms like bro just feels so jarring every time I heard it. It feels like a term they put into the script to give it a modern military feel for today’s audience. In other words, it doesn’t fit into the story world that James Cameron created for this film. They should have found a similar Na’vi term and normalized it’s use… even if we are hearing the “English” translation if the Na’vi language. The use of that term would have given the same effect without being so jarring.
So, that’s my big nitpick of the film, which is actually quite small in comparison to everything else. Even the length of the film, and it was too long, can be overlooked because it was so shiny and pretty to look at from top to tail. Still, you do get the impression that James Cameron was quite pleased with himself and was having fun making this film, and so his enjoyment lifts the film so that it doesn’t feel so long.
Overall, I think Avatar, The Way of Water is a great film. I wish I had seen it in the theater, but still, it was a good time, and I recommend it.
No Hard Feelings is a fun and seemingly lighthearted coming of age story for a young man during the summer before he goes away to college. It’s charming, it’s funny, and there are some things in it that are weirdly uncomfortable.
No Hard Feelings has a lot going for it, but there are some odd issues. You can read the review below, or watch the video review here:
The premise of the film is that Maddie (a young-looking 32-year-old woman played by Jennifer Lawrence lives in Montauk, NY – a summer hot spot for the rich) loses her car, which is her only means of making enough money to pay off her skyrocketing property tax so that she doesn’t lose her family home. In desperation, she takes a job posted by a pair of helicopter parents who want her to break their son Percy out of his shell and have sex with him in return for their old car. … and that’s kind of weird right there, but they are both technically adults so……. Anyway…
We get these surprising and delightful moments between Maddie and Percy as they share personal and important things about themselves. As they get to know each other, you can’t help but to see how they develop a real affection for each other and a meaningful friendship that ultimately benefits them both. It really is a coming of a story for both Percy and Maddie, despite her being so much older than him.
The older woman fantasy trope for high school boys is a longtime Hollywood favorite in the teen film genre. However, if we were to gender swap the Maddie and Percy so that the shy teen was an 18-year-old girl whose parents were paying a 32 year old man to break her out of her shell and have sex before going off to college, you’d have a really different and really awkward feeling film that wouldn’t be socially light hearted, charming, and romantic. … and that’s another weird thing right there….
This brings me to thinking about how we treat young men, the expectations that we place on them, and the things we think are okay or even cool for a boy to do, but not for a girl. And that just doesn’t seem fair to young men who are expected to grow up and be kind, loving, and socially “normal” – whatever that means. Looking at the story and plot of No Hard Feelings through this lens is a lot more uncomfortable.
So, we have Maddie, a beautiful, working class, 32-year-old woman who never had a successful relationship, and who has no family she can turn to for help, no education or career path ahead of her, and no financial safety net for her future. She is literally alone in the world, and Percy helps her to break through the fear that has kept her from taking a chance and striking out on her own. Knowing him, gives her the courage to open herself to new possibilities.
Without giving any real spoilers, one of the things about Maddie’s story that bothers me is that her growth basically has her opening up and taking a chance on herself, but the film doesn’t put time into developing this part of her character. So, while we see Percy’s successful future ahead of him, we don’t really know what chance she’s taking, what future she’s heading toward, or what “success” would be for her character.
I left the theater feeling good and enjoying the film, but as I drove home thinking about how it ended, I was haunted by the idea that this was Percy’s summer of upward transformation, but we don’t know where Maddie is going? If we consider their futures 20 years from now, we can imagine Percy being a rich thirty-something, Princeton grad while Maddie is basically the same person, just older because the screenwriters didn’t leave us with an equal sense of her future or her potential. It’s just sad because this was as much her coming of age story as it was his.
The last thing I want to mention is the helicopter parents. You know, those parents who do everything for their kids. No Hard Feelings does a good job of showing us what these parents are like and the impact they have on their children’s development. I loved how the film shifts the responsibility to Percy to help his parents have their own “coming of age” moment, which forces them to take a step back so that he can figure things out for himself. I don’t think parenting is easy and this film highlights how easy it is to fall into the trap of over-parenting out of love.
And a special shout out to Matthew Broderick, the teen icon from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. I feel like he brings the film full circle because he was once the young teen actor in these coming-of-age movies, and he does a fantastic job at playing a modern-day helicopter dad. The irony here is fantastic. Kudos to whoever made that fantabulous casting decision.
Overall, I think most people will enjoy No Hard Feelings, and I hope that you’ll think about the ending. I think that’s actually where the richness of the film lives as it makes us think about these two characters, their ages, and the different roads ahead for them both … as well as how they may or may not fit into each other’s lives in the future.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is out, and while it has some significant structural problems it is still entertaining. However, if you go into the film with lower expectations, I think you will be happier in the end.
This review will cover the good, the bad, and the great while remaining spoiler free. If you’d rather listen or watch, here’s my video review of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny:
So, the great! Harrison Ford is amazing. I’m sure that’s no surprise to anyone. He is so talented and accomplished. He is an actor’s actor, and he makes the film.
The premise is that Indy is all alone and at the point of retirement with no family, no nearby friends, and no colleagues who really care about him. Then suddenly his long-lost god daughter (who he doesn’t recognize) appears, and incidents occur that set them chasing after the Dial of Destiny — whether he wants to go or not. It’s a good premise, and overall, the film was entertaining, but after I left the theater, it just didn’t sit right with me. There were really four big issues with the film as well as some things that worked really well.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, 2023
First problem with the film is that it felt a bit “textbook” to me as if someone with a clipboard went through the script ticking off check boxes. Fan service is a tricky thing since it taps that desire for the familiar, but it can feel so easily feel forced and inauthentic. This led to an ending that was too nostalgic and sweet without enough story connections to support it.
Second, the ending didn’t fit the rest of the film. Granted, the end was pretty much in line with the kind of ending that I expected before I saw the movie, but the storyline didn’t support the ending delivered. That doesn’t make it a terrible film; it just makes the ending unsatisfying even if it meets expectations, which is why I think so many early reviewers have been upset. A good ending completes the trajectory of the story to its natural and inevitable end.
Third, there was a lot of CGI and de-aging. Some people are sensitive to the amount of tech in a film and how realistic it looks. I didn’t think it was that bad, but is that the standard that an iconic franchise should aim for? I don’t know. I’ll leave that to you to answer. For me, it worked well enough that it didn’t impact my enjoyment of the film despite a few squishy moments when Young Indy’s face was a little too smooth or when the backdrop looked too much like a green screen wall.
Fourth, and most importantly, the film robs Indiana Jones of his agency. They set him up as an old cranky man (in a lovely realistic way) who feels absolutely disconnected from the world around him, and then they rob him of his agency by making a life altering choice for him. This is the biggest reason why the ending of the film feels so unnatural and unearned. This could have also been solved in a single line of text to Helena, “Let’s go home.” The meaning behind these words would have connected so many storylines and emotions. And the other stuff would have slotted into place.
Here’s the thing. You can sell an audience on pretty much anything, if you earn it in the storytelling, which is basically connecting a character’s experiences and needs to the conflict and choices that they make. When a storyline is built incrementally, which Dial of Destiny does well throughout most of the film, there is an intrinsic promise made to the viewer about what kind of ending is possible on the story spectrum. The closer you get to the end, the narrower those possibilities become. The result is that even if that audience will hate the ending, they can’t imagine any other ending because “this” one felt right and inevitable because of how the story was told. That didn’t happen in Dial of Destiny.
There are some things that Dial of Destiny does well. For one, it does a really good job of building Old Indy’s story arc. It opens with a strong setup of a young vibrant Indiana Jones saving friends, preserving history, and taking out Nazis. We then leap forward in time to current Indy who is old, lonely, and sad. It’s a stark contrast to our expectations, which makes us want to know how Indy got here.
There were some honest and endearing moments that nail the character of Old Indiana Jones, showing how time and life have worn away his youthful edges, leaving him feeling like one of his out-of-date historical relics. His time has passed. It really resonates because this is something that a lot of retirees feel as they try to figure out their own relevance as time seems to pass them by, leaving them to feel like they no longer fit into the world around them. That younger vibrant “self” isn’t gone. It’s just buried beneath layers of dust, memories, and time.
Indy has suffered some significant losses that are shared in occasional one-liners that deserved a more screentime because they are the building blocks that created this bitter and lonely man. He is not our Indiana Jones — he knows it, and we know it. The story of The Dial of Destiny is really the story of how he regains that part of himself that has been lost to time.
His god daughter Helena is the catalyst that starts the process of waking him up. However, the film buries important details about their relationship in the action scenes, and I can’t say more without spoilers. But the gist is that he’s embarrassed and regretful of his actions, and she is angry at him for his choices. The film never really confronts why Indy essentially abandoned her, but we can assume that it was because his own life was spinning out of control. This isn’t the kind of thing an audience should be left to work out on their own. We needed to see them talk it out beyond the stray one-liners that are shouted out during fight and chase scenes.
These two characters are so much alike that it feels like the film was trying to portray Helena as a younger, female version of Indiana Jones (cue the studio’s desire to find a fresh face for the future of the franchise), but it doesn’t work so well because the film doesn’t really give them time to bond and connect. It also feels obvious that the role of Helena was originally written as Indy’s son, which then got scrapped since Shia LeBouef’s made himself a persona non grata within the franchise.
So, we get his young goddaughter swooping into his life, stirring up emotions and trouble. As the action increases, Old Indy starts to wake up. We see the fire return to his eyes as he gets closer and closer to being a vibrant older version of the man we saw in the opening scenes. Instead of saving history, he’s saving Helena and himself along the way. That does work, but I would have loved a little more of a personal connection between them.
All of this built toward the ending that Indy wanted, the ending in which he basically said, “This is what I want to do.” While watching the film, I felt equal parts sad and happy at that moment because if felt right for him given the trajectory of his life, circumstances, and the story. Then, we get a left hook that sends the ending into a completely different direction that doesn’t feel natural or organic to everything we’ve seen so far.
The thing is, if this was any other film and any other actor, I think it would have fared better in the reviews because the movie isn’t bad. It’s just that the bar is especially high, and you can’t pull cheap tricks with a fanbase that knows a character this well. Most of us have “known” Indiana Jones for our entire lives. Taking short cuts and left turns with the story just won’t work.
So, yeah, I am disappointed. I can see where these negative reviews came from. However, I think the movie is still worth watching and I enjoyed most of it. However, it’s not the kind of a sendoff that I wanted for Harrison Ford, and it’s not what he or the audience deserved. If they come out with a new film in the future, they are going to have to do a lot of work to re-establish the credibility of the franchise because they made a few story choices that pretty much killed all future possibilities for the Indiana Jones franchise. But that’s a problem for the future.
Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023) is a fresh feeling fantasy that nails the spirit of fandom’s favorite role playing game, and they do it with wit, style, and clever plot twists that will keep you on the edge of your seat for this action-packed adventure.
For those of you who prefer to read a review, here’s a written version of my review:
Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves might be my favorite film of the year so far. As a dyed in the wool geek, I’ll admit that I am a little biased here, but WOW! What a great film!
So, here are the three things that you need to know about this film:
1. It is going to defy your expectations.
2. They nail the fantasy elements without falling into trite, overused tropes, and stale plot lines.
3. The cast … including Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriquez, Rege-Jean Page, and Hugh Grant … is spot on.
Over the years, we’ve seen so many badly portrayed D&D scenes in movies and films that this could have just been a corny mashup of wizards, soldiers, and damsels in distress. Let me assure you that it’s not the same ‘ol fantasy fare that has been served up time and again.
What we get here is a savvy script from Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley, and Michael Gilio with the core story written by Chris McKay and Michael Gilio. These guys pulled together a fantasy epic that checks every box and feels like the stories we would expect from a well-run D&D campaign. Anyone who has spent time sitting around a table rolling multi-sided dice while putting together campaigns, characters, and battle plans, knows that this could have easily gone the way of Willow or any of the countless low-budget fantasy films that have turned out cringe-worthy at best.
Dungeons and Dragons takes the fantasy film genre a step forward by blending in contemporary social themes with the fantastic humor that you could expect from something like a Terry Pratchett novel set inside of a GOT season that has escaped to Middle Earth. There is so much to recommend in this film from the great set design to the informed directing, clever Easter eggs, and spot-on acting that pays off with perfectly timed punchlines.
I love that Dungeons & Dragons delivers what the audience wants along with some surprises that they didn’t know they needed. I highly recommend the film for a wide audience. It’s great for a family and friends outing or even a date night. Young children might get a little scared by some of the scenes.
In this time of streaming, Dungeons & Dragons is absolutely theater worthy. Go see this film on the big screen (it was designed for the silver screen), and while you are there don’t forget the popcorn and drinks to support your local theater. And, on a more serious note, I can almost guarantee you that it’ll be on the 2024 Hugo Award ballot for Best Dramatic Presentation (Long Form).
I really enjoyed Dungeons and Dragons. It’s a terrific film packed with fun, adventure, and laughs. I think you’ll love it too. Oh, and be sure to stay for the mid-credits’ scene. You’ll be glad you did.
I am excited and honored to hear that my short screenplay THE FUNERAL has won 1st place in the annual screenplay competition hosted by Women in Film and Video New England.
I always get a bit shy sharing my little victories. They are so hard to come by and when they happen, I tend to hold onto them in quiet happiness just in case they somehow get ripped away. However, I think it’s safe to share this little victory since they made an official announcement and everything!
The other winners are both amazing women, and I feel grateful and honored to be in this group. We’re doing a table reading for the winners next week so that we can hear how actors interpret our stories. We’ll also have a director there to answer questions and to help us each take our scripts to the next level.
I really love my short script since it has subtle connections to my own losses and the feelings that come with losing my mother. My secret passion is to get this short script made into a short film. So, I am going to see what it weill take to crowdfund the project, get the people I need, and see this story brought to life.
When the Irish music album Tears of Stone came out, I used to listen to it over and over again. I loved it. There was this one song called “The Fiddling Ladies” that is about 10 minutes long, and I enjoyed listening to it while I drove home from work. My mind would clear, replaced by images and emotions that filtered to the top of my thoughts in stark relief – mom, Ireland, death, anger, sadness, joy, dancing, family, music. All of these images fed into the story that turned into my 10 minute short screenplay “The Funeral.”
I held onto the script for a few years. I didn’t know what to do with it, but I knew I had to write it. When my friend JoAnn (which is also my mother’s name) suggested that I enter something into the WIFVNE short screenplay contest, I decided to take a chance. It was my first short screenplay, this was my first screenplay contest, and I never imagined that I would win. I am still smiling happily, not so much for my little victory but for the thought that this would have made my mother so happy. She had so little in life, but the one thing she had in spades was love. I feel like this script and this win is my way of honoring her and my memory of her.
Here’s the song “The Fiddling Ladies,” if you’d like to listen to it:
In 2010, I started attending science fiction conventions regularly. I’d attended a few conventions here and there before then, but never with any regularity. This was when I really began embracing fandom. I was still a little shy and I was new. I didn’t really understand the fan culture yet regarding how women were often viewed in fandom by other fans.
I really adore Jack McDevitt and his Alex Benedict series. So, when I saw that he was visiting Readercon in 2010, I decided that was going to go because I had a first edition of The Devil’s Eye and wanted to get it signed. I had waited in line to chat with Jack and to get his signature. I was excited since his signature was one of the first signatures that I had ever collected. I got to the front of the line and Jack greeted me warmly. I told him how much I enjoyed the novel and his series, and he smiled happily and asked if I would like him to sign my book. Of course, I gave him an enthusiastic “Yes!”
While I was pulling out my book and flipping to the title page, the man standing behind me (his name was Sean) stepped forward and began chatting with Jack. I opened my book and smiled politely at Sean wondering why he was cutting in on my moment, and I handed my book to Jack. Sean kept talking and it took a moment for me to cut into the conversation to thank Jack for signing my book. I thought this was a subtle but polite cue for Sean to back off.
Jack responded again that he was happy to sign. Sean began talking again about how much he enjoyed Jack’s work and how he’d been looking forward to meeting Jack. When Jack finished with the signature, he handed me the book. I don’t think it’s polite to read signatures in the moment, especially when there is an inscription. Plus, there was a line and clearly Sean wanted his time (as well as mine!) so I closed my book, thanked Jack for his time, and I left so that others could have their turn.
When I turned away, leaving Sean there with Jack, I remember seeing an odd look cross Jack’s face…maybe surprise?…but then Sean grabbed his attention and I was off to the hallway to read my inscription. Once I was outside of the doors in the madness of people milling around between events, I opened my book and read Jack’s inscription:
Hi Erin, It’s a pleasure to meet you + Sean. Best always, Jack McDevitt 7/9/10 Boston
Sean? I read it again. I realized that because Sean pushed forward into my space while I was with Jack McDevitt and because I was new and too polite to ask him to wait his turn, it gave Jack the impression that we were together. I had been waiting to talk with Jack, and I had come to the event to primarily to see him. In that moment, I was equal parts angry and embarrassed and deeply frustrated that this man Sean! had forced his way into an inscription on a first edition book that I had been saving to get signed.
It’s now 10+ years later. I have since gotten to know Jack as a person and have reviewed several of his books. I never told him about this moment because I didn’t want to upset or embarrass him for not realizing that Sean wasn’t with me. Nowadays, I’d easily be able to tell Sean to step back, but I can’t help being sad about the fact that a man, a fellow fan, thought so little of me that he didn’t respect the precious 2 minutes that it took for Jack to sign my book.
I was invisible. I was an obstacle that he pushed aside in order to have his more important conversation with Jack. I think about this now and I know that I am not the only person who has had something like this happen at a convention. Yes, it’s a small thing, but it is an example of how women have been treated in society for far too long, including convention society. The fact that it has taken me 10 years to publicly post about this also speaks to social issues of embarrassment and fear of condemnation by some members of our society.
I know that men are much more aware of women in science fiction now and that there is much more respect paid to women at conventions. These are good things, but we’re still working on making things better for marginalized people in our community and at our events. I hope that Sean, wherever he may be, has found some respect for other fans in science fiction over the last 10+ years. I hope that other people will read this post and think about that fact that when they are excited about something it is really, really easy to disrespect another person, pushing them aside without even a thought, especially if the person they pushed aside is polite and kind about it. In such situations, please remember that marginalized people include women as well as people of color, people with access issues, shy people, children, etc.
As we return to in person events, I encourage event organizers, event speakers, and event attendees to pay a little extra attention to how people are interacting with one another to ensure that those of us who are marginalized in a moment like this don’t get pushed aside by others who are much bolder, who have bigger egos, and who have forgotten how to take turns during the isolation that the pandemic caused.
Every year, when I clean out old books in order to make room for new books, I come across The Devil’s Eye by Jack McDevitt and I think of Sean and all of the other women and marginalized people who might have been pushed aside by him or people like him. I don’t think I will ever get rid of this book because it is a reminder to me of what it is like to be new to fandom and how easy it is to ruin convention experiences for others. This book, Jack McDevitt, Sean, and my response to the situation are why I now work so hard to make sure that people have good experiences at conventions, especially the new people, the shy people, the people with access needs, the people of color, and the women. We are one community and we all deserve respect.
~
P.S. The Devil’s Eye is a great book, and I highly recommend it. Who doesn’t love a good ol’ antiquarian slueth set in the far-far future?
Erin Underwood Presents 