Courtney Solomon
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Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Directed by Steven Spielberg
influenced Dungeons & Dragons (2000)
Plot
And the scenes in which Ridley must solve the riddles of a labyrinth are more than a little reminiscent of Raiders of the Lost Ark.
In the early 1980's, after the popularity of Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark , dozens of cheap imitators sprung up like Jake Speed (1986) and Space Raiders (1983) to cash in on their success.
The balance it is drunkenly striving for can be achieved; An American Werewolf In London, Raiders Of The Lost Ark, and its dumb younger brother The Mummy all prove that.
Maybe because it seems to be more inspired by the likes of Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark than any fantasy-based game.
However much of the movie feels like an episode of TV's "Xena: Warrior Princess," however much its script is pilfered from a wide array of other big-screen fantasy adventures, from "The Wizard of Oz" to "Raiders of the Lost Ark," I didn't feel cheated by "D&D."
As the dust settles from the critic's screening of the 90-minute chase scene that is " Getaway ," I still can't decide whether the featured Shelby Mustang is supposed to be an homage to McQueen's chase in "Bullitt" or a subtle hint that the device is about to be ruined forever.
His new follow-up Mandy, which Cosmatos describes as a “companion piece” to Black Rainbow, feels like a pulpier and more self-aware exploration of the same premise — with a strong helping of Dungeons & Dragons and heavy metal.
What goes on in between involves TV-trained performers yelling at each other, second-rate computer-generated graphics failing to conjure up an enchanted world and Marlon Wayans doing what can only be called a heartfelt tribute to Butterfly McQueen, the screechy-voiced actress best known for her role as Prissy in "Gone With the Wind" ("I don't know nothin' 'bout birthin' no babies, Miss Scarlett!").
With any other filmmaker at the helm, this might have been as uninteresting and flat as another Dungeons & Dragons movie.
(In a nutshell, it’s Dungeons & Dragons gone global.)
Ron Howard's "Willow" is likely the best to date due to a lack of competition.
Rounding out the main three players is Zoe McLellan (1997's "Inventing the Abbotts"), who may or may not be a good actress; from the evidence presented here, I would guess the latter.
An American Werewolf in London (1981)
Directed by John Landis
influenced Dungeons & Dragons (2000)
Themes
The balance it is drunkenly striving for can be achieved; An American Werewolf In London, Raiders Of The Lost Ark, and its dumb younger brother The Mummy all prove that.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
Directed by Robert Zemeckis
influenced Dungeons & Dragons (2000)
Characters
Jeremy Irons, usually a good villain, chews the scenery every chance he gets, which is practically every moment he's on screen; he sounds and acts like Christopher Lloyd from "Who Framed Roger Rabbit," but this isn't a comedy.
For one brief and geektastic moment, Ragnarok morphs into the love child of a classic Dungeons & Dragons game and a sick blacklight poster.
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017)
Directed by Guy Ritchie
influenced by Dungeons & Dragons (2000)
It melds classic Arthurian legend with some Robin Hood, some Moses, a bunch of Ritchie’s earlier works and even some old Dungeons & Dragons.
Glaring and gnashing teeth, Irons blusters and growls like Kenneth Mars' incoherent inspector in "Young Frankenstein" -- just more loudly.
There's an inclination to call "Need for Speed" a poor man's "Fast and Furious," or even compare it to last year's "Getaway," but at least "Need for Speed" has a couple of advantages on Ethan Hawke's disaster.
However much of the movie feels like an episode of TV's "Xena: Warrior Princess," however much its script is pilfered from a wide array of other big-screen fantasy adventures, from "The Wizard of Oz" to "Raiders of the Lost Ark," I didn't feel cheated by "D&D."
Deliver Us from Evil (2014)
Directed by Scott Derrickson
influenced by An American Haunting (2005)
Plot
Its police procedural twist aside, “Deliver Us From Evil” is basically the garden-variety possession/exorcism flick — not unlike other alleged true stories such as “The Exorcist,” “The Amityville Horror,” “An American Haunting,” “The Exorcism of Emily Rose,” “The Haunting in Connecticut,” “The Possession,” “The Conjuring” et al.
The set design, while not approaching that of Conan the Barbarian, is also a plus.
Irons chews his way to a career low point, while Birch -- so terrific in American Beauty -- is forced into the role of dinner theater Princess Leia.
Poor Thora Birch (from American Beauty ) plays Natalie Portman's princess part from The Phantom Menace and can barely register any emotions at all.
Thora Birch, so good in "American Beauty" a year earlier and "Ghost World" a year later, here seems like an eighth grader in a school play.
Finally, Thora Birch (1999's "American Beauty") is severely wasted as Empress Savina.
After all, Jeremy Irons did too, as did another exceedingly wonderful Hot New Talent, Thora Birch (American Beauty).
The beautiful empress is Savina (played by Thora Birch of "American Beauty").
It may be nearly impossible to do fantasy nowadays without cribbing from "Star Wars" and the Tolkien oeuvre, but "D&D" doesn't even put its own spin on its stock situations the way, say, "The Princess Bride" did with its wry, subversive wit.