The Dungeon Masters: What's Underneath the Costume

The Dungeon Masters (HD) from Dungeon Masters Movie on Vimeo.

I was lucky enough to catch a random afternoon screening of Keven McAlester's "The Dungeon Masters," a documentary that follows the story of three adult LARPers (Live Action Role Playing)aka Dungeons and Dragons. I read the synopsis and thought this would be a film that would be similar to "Hands On a Hard Body," which is awesome, so I gave it a shot.

The story starts out with the introduction of the three main players--Scott Corum, whose creativity has yet to be discovered, which he hopes to change with the creation of his first fantasy novel.--Richard Meeks, a sanitation worker and Air Force Reservist, is a self-described "devious" game master who aims to take out his players with unsolvable storylines.- Elizabeth Reesman, an unemployed web designer from the Katrina-ravaged gulf coast of Mississippi, who meets the world dressed in the full body black makeup of the powerful "Drow Elf."

When the movie starts we enter into the world of D&D as a convention hall is packed with thousands of these players who the majority of whom have been exiled from normal society, but find relationship and solace with in the gaming underworld. I was interested from the onset of the film, looking into this lifestyle that I have no idea about. When you see the dedication and passion these players have for the game, you think... well it takes all kinds, and even though this isn't what is considered "normal" by society, they are happy doing it. So kudos to them.

Then the story digs deeper. We look into the lives of the players. Scott is a part-time apartment manager who is working on his first fantasy-novel. When the camera turns to his wife, you realize there is animosity and a lack of support in the marriage. Richard is pulling away from the D&D scene, once a very active game master for many years. He lost the friendship of his gaming group when he decided to kill-off the characters his friends have spent endless hours creating. We also discover Richard previously abandoned a marriage and his family in hopes of finding himself. Watch Meeks, you wonder if he will ever acknowledge why he has been running. Elizabeth takes advantage of being a woman in a world dominated by male players, and uses the pedistool they put her on, to control the games and make up elaborate stories. She appears to be strong, but then when she tells her own tale, you realize the black head-to-toe makeup is covering up a past of abuse and unhappiness.

I believe this movie is going to screen every now and then throughout the nation, but be sure to catch this one. Regardless if you wear a suit or a cape to work, we are all just humans trying to get by.

4 stars for the humanistic insight of the film.

I love this classic clip of LARPing in action

Law Abiding Citizen: You Can't Stop It

I'm back from the dead. I have been busy with life, but after seeing this movie, I wanted to give back to the community... and warn all so they know what they are getting into.

Here's the summary:

Two crazies break into a home and one of the subsequently murders Clyde Shelton's (Gerald Butler) family. When the case gets to Assistant DA Nick Rice (Jamie Foxx), the attorney makes a deal with one of the criminals to keep his conviction record pristine. Big mistake--Shelton is a former CIA "low-kinetic operations"(?) spy.

Shelton feels like justice was never served, so he takes matters into his own hands, plotting revenge for 10 years. Little did everyone involved know.. Shelton can take them out with venom from a New Zealand something-something jelly fish-and a cell phone that will blow brains out when answered.

So. I am not sure where to sit with this one. IF this movie was made with the intent on entertaining because it was so far-fetched and cheesy that it was meant to be campy, then it was awesome. All 13 of us in the theater were laughing. BUT, if Butler and Foxx did this movie to help show their serious acting skills, well it was career suicide. I would love to sit down with the writer, director and the actors and get the scoop.

If you have nothing better to do, and want a good laugh, then check it out. If you have to wash your hair or organize your sock drawer, well I recommend knocking those things out of the way first. If you have to check out Butler's abs, then I would wait for the DVD.

1 star for a good laugh.

District 9: I Will Never Eat Shrimp Again

Maybe I am not the person to follow when it comes to opinions on movies. Sure I've watched enough films to last a lifetime, but obviously I'm missing something. As of today, the rating for District 9 is 8.9 out of 10 on IMDB and 88% on Rotten Tomatoes. I saw this flick this weekend, and I gotta say, I wasn't feeling it. I knew the plot was related to discrimination of aliens by humans, but not much more than that going in, so I tried to keep an open mind.

Here's the scoop:
The film is shot sort of like a documentary, with interviews introducing the story. Twenty years before, a ship of aliens who are malnourished and sick arrives over the city of Johannesburg,South Africa. The aliens soon become the caste of society and are put into a fenced in area that turns into an alien slum. It's like Slum Dog Millionaire for disgustingly large alien shrimp (aka "prawns").

A private contractor/weapons company, MNU, is hired to reallocate the aliens to a camp 200km away from the city. The man in charge of the mission, Wikus van der Merwe (Sharlto Copley), is excited to go into the ghetto and take on the low-life prawns.

Here's the thing... prawns need love too. Van der Merwe is quickly put into a situation where he realizes that the species aren't so different and he must fight to save the alien race.

So I get it. Racism/Specie-ism has and is still happening in modern day society. Good point I guess, but this movie wasn't really my thing. It was sort of campy, then tried to be serious and had snippets of silly violence.

2 stars. It was watchable, but I would have rather have had my shrimp served on ice with a cold beer vs. life-size on the big screen.

Dear Fans... I Suck

Thanks for still sticking with me everyone. I've been tied up the last month or so with personal stuff, but I'm back in action. I will try to post at least once a week, maybe more. So stay tuned...

Public Enemies: "We're Having Too Much Fun Today to Think About Tomorrow"

I've been highly anticipating this movie since I saw the previews a few months ago. The combination of the hotness of Johnny Depp and Christian Bale, plus the bad-ass gangster shoot outs was a win-win for Universal Studios.

Based on a true story, "Public Enemies" is a an action-packed thriller based on the Gangster-era of bank robberies during the Great Depression. At the time, J. Edgar Hoover was director of the FBI and trying desperately not to loose his political footing by the means of criminals like John Dillinger (Depp), Baby Face Nelson and other tommy-gun carrying criminals. Hoover appoints Melvin Purvis (Bale) to head up the Chicago office to capture the infamous bank robbers.

Dillinger is on top of the world when he meets the love of his life, Billie Frechette (Marion Cotillard). Dillinger sweeps Billie off her feet and brings her into his life of money and crime. It's not long before Purvis turns up the heat on Dillinger, and all of his associates are falling off the charts one by one. Dillinger must avoid prison and death by the relentless FBI agent, keep his promise to take care of Billie and keep up the lifestyle that he knows. "Public Enemies" tells this real-life tale of cat and mouse that keeps the audience on the edge of their seats.

This movie came out of the gate with action-packedold school gun fights which grabs you from the beginning. Depp, Bale and Cotillard deliver awesome performances that should give them all nominations come oscar time. The only thing negative I could say is the film ran a little long, but that seems to be the trend these days.

4 Stars.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (Asleep)

Once again, it was me and a theater full of boys and a few good girlfriends watching another Transformers movie. I do have a confession though--I did watch the cartoons as a kid, so it's not too tough getting into the story. I really enjoyed the first Transformers, but there seemed to be a void in the latest sequel... "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen." That void turned out to be a plot and good acting. Megan Fox tried to make up for the missing elements with T&A and a bunch of lip gloss, but that still couldn't save the movie.

Here's a quick summary:
The story picks up from the fist Transforms with Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) getting ready to go off to college. He decides to leave his car/alien Bubblebee at home with his parents. He is also leaving his girlfriend, Mikaela, behind (Megan Fox), promising to keep the relationship going long-distance. Sam's new, somewhat normal life in college doesn't last long when Decepticons return to Earth to destroy the Autobots and the planet.

Soon the Autobots and the military are taking on the powerful forces of the Decepticons, and the fate of the world, and Optimus Prime, rests in Sam and Mikaela's hands.

I saw this film in the regular theater, so maybe if you are into special effects, then the IMAX might make this a little more watchable. And if you are a dude into Megan Fox's T&A, you might be able to push through. However, I'm going to give this 1 star for okay special effects.

New In Theaters Week of 7/3/09!!!

Public Enemies--Read the Review
In the action-thriller Public Enemies, acclaimed filmmaker Michael Mann directs Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, and Academy Award® winner Marion Cotillard in the incredible and true story of legendary Depression-era bank robber John Dillinger (Depp), the charismatic bank robber whose lightning raids made him the number one target of J. Edgar Hoover's fledgling FBI and its top agent, Melvin Purvis (Bale), and a folk hero to much of the downtrodden public. --Universal Pictures.

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Manny, Sid, Diego, and Ellie are back in this third film in the computer-animated Ice Age series. With those creatures in starring roles, fans also get another dose of the vocal talents of Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, and Queen Latifah, who are joined by SHAUN OF THE DEAD’s Simon Pegg. In ICE AGE: DAWN OF THE DINOSAUR, Manny and Ellie are expecting their first baby, while Sid the sloth tries an unconventional way of starting a family that gets him into trouble. With all this talk of babies, Diego might be losing his saber-toothed edge, but a journey to save Sid may just turn the whole group into heroes. In addition to all that adventure, it wouldn’t be an Ice Age film if Scrat weren’t on a desperate hunt for an acorn, but he might get distracted by a shapely female squirrel.

Tony Manero
Chilean director Pablo Lorrain's TONY MANERO is a film that has very few cinematic precedents, if any. Establishing a tone of its daringly original own, it somehow manages to be three things at once: a powerful portrait of life lived under a dictatorship, a bitter critique of an individual who will do anything to reach his goal, and a blackly comic satire of celebrity obsession. Raul Peralta (Alfredo Castro) is a 50-something man who lives in Santiago during the fearful, suffocating days of Augusto Pinochet's rule. Raul is obsessed with John Travolta's character from SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER--hence, the film's title--to the point where he's even bought a white suit similar to Manero's. Each weekend, he performs with a small group of dancers at a small bar, recreating the moves from his favorite movie. But when the stage's wood begins to weaken, Raul is determined to rebuild it with glass blocks that light up. He finds an even more important purpose when a television station announces that they're holding a Tony Manero dance-and-look-a-like contest. In such a stifling social climate, Raul takes matters into his own hands, doing whatever it takes to make his dream come true. --Rotten Tomatoes

The Girl From Monaco (Limited)
A brilliant and neurotic attorney (Fabrice Luchini) goes to Monaco to defend a famous criminal. But, instead of focusing on the case, he falls for a beautiful she-devil (Louise Bourgoin), who turns him into a complete wreck. Hopefully, his zealous bodyguard (Roschdy Zem) will step in and put everything back in order... Or will he? --© Magnolia Pictures