Episode 29: Dungeons and Dragons

Once again, bold travelers, you join us on our quest “In Search of Dungeons and Dragons.”  This week, it should be pretty easy.  I mean, we’re talking about the 2000 film NAMED AFTER THE GAME! It’s got elves! Wizards! Beholders! Some guys who are probably supposed to be Orcs! And it’s got Jeremy Irons, so you know it’s going to be good; just look at his work in . . . Eragon.  Oh dear.  Oh, this is going to hurt, isn’t it? Give a listen and find out.  I mean, this should be a sure thing, right? It’s a movie that claims to be based on the game! It’s got to work.  Right? . . . . . right?

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Episode 28: Wizards

Journey with us once more, brave adventurers, as we continue “In Search of Dungeons and Dragons.” This week, we travel back to 1977 to discuss a classic fantasy/science fiction movie about an intrepid group who try to stop a terrible dark lord from destroying a world with his new ultimate weapon.  You remember that 1977 classic, with Mark Hamill, right? That’s right, Ralph Bakshi’s animated film “Wizards”! What, was Mark Hamill in some other movie in 1977? Huh.  Can’t have been that successful . . . Ok, Mark Hamill is only in one scene and it’s just his voice, but still!
Come with us, and avenge the death of Fritz!

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Episode 27: Willow

Welcome back, noble heroes! Time for another edition in our series “In Search of Dungeons and Dragons”! Herein, forthwith (fifthwith even!) we shall chat up an epic saga about the 1988 fantasy film “Willow,” directed by Ron Howard, written by George Lucas, and starring Warwick Davis, the only person to play two separate characters in the “Harry Potter” movies.  Oh, and Val Kilmer’s in it too.  Join us as we ask the question: does the quest of the Nelwyn fledgling sorcerer capture the flavor of a D&D campaign? Follow the bird and find out!

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Episode 26: Conan the Barbarian (1982)

Know, o princes and princesses, that in the time before Atlantis knew extreme humidity, two men strode the internet in search of movies that represented the spirit of the game Dungeons and Dragons.  Know too that in their quest, they encountered a mighty warrior whose accent was thicker than his muscles and who would one day wear the crown of California on a troubled brow.
Yes, this week we’re talking about the breakout film of the Governator, “Conan the Barbarian.” Give a listen and see if we consider Conan a true murder hobo.

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Episode 25: Eragon

Hail and well met, noble listeners whose deeds are glorious and whose thews are mighty.  Man, check out the thews on you guys.  Wow.  Welcome to our new series “In Search of Dungeons and Dragons”; Mike and I are life-long role-playing gamers and we got to thinking about which, if any, movies really capture the spirit of what it is to be an Adventurer, like the ones in the games.  A doer of daring deeds!  A buckler of swashes! In short: a murder hobo.  This week we’re facing the manksome foe “Eragon,” the 2006 fantasy movie adapted from the book of the same name.  There’s definitely a dragon in it, and one character gets locked in a dungeon so maybe . . . . Enjoy!

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Episode 24: Mary Poppins Returns

‘allo me old beauties, and a cheerful tinkery-tonk to one and all! We’ve got ourselves one last entry in our “In Theaters Now” series, and it’s “Mary Poppins Returns,” a sequel to the Disney classic based on the P.L. Travers book “Mary Poppins.”  Yes, we all asked for it and here it is, a mere 54 years after the original.  Hold off on flying that kite or investing that tuppence until after you’ve listed to our take on this bit of cinema.  Is it a spoonful of sugar or nothing but medicine? Listen and find out. For Queen and Country! Pip pip! Cheerio! Apples and pears! Bob’s your uncle!

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Episode 23: Aquaman

Once again we find our intrepid heroes grappling with another superhero movie in their series “In Theaters Now.” This week, can the dyspeptic duo marshal all their periodontic powers and converse about a possible cacaphonic celluloid calamity? Will they have to call their fishy friends? Will concentric circles expand out of their heads as they discuss “Aquaman,” the latest addition to the DC Cinematic Universe? Tune in to find out! Same fish time, same fish channel!

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Episode 22: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse

Hey there, true believers! This week’s “In Theaters Now” involves the animated film “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse,” the most recent attempt to translate Spider-man to the big screen.  Does it work? Does it fail? More importantly, if he’s got the powers of spider, why do his webs come out of his wrists? Shouldn’t they come out of a more . . . abdominal region? And if he “does whatever a spider can”, doesn’t that mean he should catch thieves, cocoon them in his web for a while, and then eat them? Wow, that would be a REALLY different movie . . . [Spoilers: at no time does Spider-man eat any of his criminal foes.  At least . . . not on screen . . . ].

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Episode 21: Robin Hood (2018)

Robin Hood, Robin Hood/Riding through the glen
Robin Hood, Robin Hood/With his band of men

Ah, the glorious story of Robin Hood, told so many times in literature, song, and film.  And here’s yet another interpretation, another in our series of “In Theaters Now” discussions.  Starring Taron Egerton, Jamie Foxx and a bunch of other unfortunates, I mean actors.  So does this one earn a place in the canon? Will it make us forget such classics portrayals as those of Errol Flynn, Patrick Bergen, Bugs Bunny, and Daffy Duck? Give a listen and find out!

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Brief Respite

Hallo there, my little droogies! While we didn’t take a break for Thanksgiving, we are taking one this week.  Just for this episode, promise! We’ll be back next week with meanderings, musings, and . . . um, marmosets.  Yes, in our next series we’ll be focusing exclusively on the sprawling sub-genre of films that prominently feature marmosets.  That’s what we’ll be doing.  I’m totally not completely lying about this and I’m certainly not going to pretend next week that I never said this.  Cough.
Please do join us next week!