The Big Picture · Review · Discussion · Interview
March 31, 2023/ 85 min/ Sean Fennessey · Amanda Dobbins
Sean and Amanda on whether a genuinely fun 'Dungeons & Dragons' movie is also one more sign that every film is now a brand, then Sean's interview with 'A Thousand and One' director A.V. Rockwell.
43 films across 4 segments.
AI-generated This episode was transcribed and analyzed with AI models. The matches aren't perfect — expect the occasional misheard title or a link to the wrong film.
‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’
A heist comedy in fantasy clothes: Chris Pine as the con-artist lead, Michelle Rodriguez as the muscle and emotional center, Hugh Grant playing one goofy, evil note. Sean liked it; Amanda checked out (and left for the bathroom) during the Underdark sequence. Both flag the Hugh-Grant-on-a-pedestal finale as MS Paint-grade CGI.
Directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein's cult comedy; the reason Sean had hope for D&D. 'Run out if you love Game Night,' not Lord of the Rings.
Daley and Goldstein's earlier legacy-sequel reboot, which soured people on Game Night at the time.
Daley and Goldstein wrote the script, proof they know franchise machinery.
The pair did a writing pass; they were up for directing both this and Homecoming and got neither.
Amanda's CGI benchmark; Sean says D&D's location shooting beats its all-glop look, faint praise as that is.
The Chris Pine career check-in
Maybe the best franchise revival there is; his James T. Kirk is the anchor.
Sean was mixed, though Trekkies call it the closest to a true episode of the show.
His daffy supporting turn opposite Gal Gadot, the new Harrison Ford move.
One of the last Tony Scott films; a Sean favorite.
Sean's pick for the best pure movie Pine has led.
Doesn't work, but sits in the hired-ex-army-guy subgenre Sean and Chris Ryan like.
A stupid movie whose off-screen drama now feels five years old.
A spy thriller that made no sense; Sean was disappointed.
The Reese Witherspoon/Tom Hardy rom-com Amanda calls possibly one of the worst ever.
An interesting side project to the franchise work.
Pine as the romantic interest.
Romantic lead opposite Lindsay Lohan.
Pine's writing-directing debut: essentially Chinatown rewritten for a pool man, with himself in the lead. No distribution at the time of recording.
Are movies just brands now?
The looming brand movie both hosts liked: Sean's coming 'movie therapy' about liking a film built around an Air Jordan.
Greta Gerwig's doll movie; the 'you made Little Women, you should know better' test case.
Taron Egerton, opening on Apple TV+.
The only brand movie Sean felt had a strong point of view from conception to execution.
The Flamin' Hot Cheeto origin movie, shorthand for the whole brand era.
The exception: a product story with an actual point of view and allegory.
The board-game movie Amanda loves, proof the brand movie isn't new.
Peter Berg's board-game blockbuster; everyone was doing a bit.
The 'Ouija 2' Sean rates above the first.
The 'is there a there there' debate; the problem was they didn't enjoy it.
The Jeremy Irons / Thora Birch original, quite, quite bad.
Gerwig's earlier film that raises the bar on Barbie.
Ridley Scott's epic, joked to be 'Napoleon: Risk the game.'
A.V. Rockwell on ‘A Thousand and One’
Rockwell's feature debut and farewell to her New York coming-of-age era, spanning Giuliani's terms (1994-2001). Teyana Taylor as Inez, cast from several hundred tapes; a story of gentrification erasing Black Harlem.
A 90s New York / Harlem reference point Rockwell studied for how the city was shot.
Its opening dance on rubble was a Black and Brown community that had been displaced, part of the history Rockwell researched.
Also mentioned raised along the way
Fantasy comps The Princess BrideMonty Python and the Holy GrailExcaliburDragonslayerThe Lord of the Rings
Heist & epic comps Ocean's ElevenLawrence of ArabiaChinatown
In passing The Gray ManPokémon Detective PikachuItCape FearGoodfellasTransformersThe Super Mario Bros. MoviePride & Prejudice
Not films filtered out: TV, games, ads
TV BridgertonThe MandalorianFreaks and GeeksSwarmThe Mists of Avalon
Books The Wheel of TimeTrains GoBoats Go
Games Dungeons & Dragons (tabletop)MonopolyRiskCandylandMousetrapJengaTrivial PursuitScrabbleTicket to RideApples to ApplesScattergoriesPictionaryHeads UpSuper Mario Bros.
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