Initially when it was announced that there would be a Dungeons & Dragons movie, fans including myself were skeptical. Movies based on board games or video games aren’t well received or don’t seem to do the source material justice. As trailers and clips were released, I felt much more at ease toward Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. There’s a clip of the group trying to cast “Speak With Dead” and it’s hilarious. I watched the clip on repeat leading to the movie’s release. One of my coworkers bought matinee tickets to see this film as we talk about DnD a lot at work. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves was so funny, and captured the joy and chaos of a DnD campaign.

Edgin Darvis (played by Chris Pine) is a bard who tragically loses his wife when she’s murdered by the disciples of a Red Wizard. Edgin wants to bring his wife back and begin a new life with his daughter, Kira. Edgin teams up with a Barbarian named Holga (played by Michelle Rodriguez), Sorcerer Simon Aumar (played by Justice Smith), and Rogue Forge Fitzwilliam (played by Hugh Grant) to steal the “Tablet of Reawakening” a magical item that can bring someone back to life. Unfortunately, Edgin and Holga are captured while the rest of their group escapes. Once Edgin and Holga escape prison, they return to find Kira being manipulated by Forge who has betrayed them. Edgin and Holga recruit an army to go after Forge and convince Kira that Edgin had good intentions all along.

The cast of this film was an A+ for sure. They all seemed to have great chemistry together, especially Edgin and Holga. They were lifelong friends as Holga helped raise Kira when her mom was killed. Edgin and Holga are such a good pair as they both have their expertise in different things which is very fitting to DnD characters. Simon’s backstory reminds me of Vex’halia from Critical Role as they both have difficulties with their families. Doric (played by Sophia Lillis) has elements that remind me of Keyleth from Critical Role as Doric’s goal is to prevent Forge from destroying the forest. Each character has their own fleshed-out back story which is so important in character creation in Dungeons & Dragons.

This movie is so chaotic which makes it even funnier. I mentioned the “Speak With Dead” clip, but there are so many other moments that are hilarious. One other scene that pops into my head is when Xenk Yendar (played by Regé-Jean Page) is explaining a complex puzzle and Simon steps on the bridge before Xenk explains how to cross the bridge and the bridge collapses. The whole group is looking at him and Simon is at a loss for words. There have been times when in my campaign, we don’t listen to what the NPC (non-playable character) is telling us and completely mess up a puzzle and cause a trap to go off. Oops. I’m not sure who the writers were on this film, but they must have some roleplaying experience because this film truly feels like a DnD campaign brought to life.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves was such a great film. I found myself laughing along the way and becoming attached to the characters. I’d love to see a sequel featuring the cast in another mystical adventure.

I was so excited to watch Andor. Rogue One is one of the best Star Wars movies and I liked how the characters have their moments to shine. When Cassian was first introduced, he seems broken by the Rebellion. He’s been forced to do things for the greater good which had a personal cost for him. His character stood out to me. I was elated to hear he would star in his own show. After finishing Andor, this feels less like a Star Wars series and more of a heist/espionage slow-building show that just happens to exist in the Star Wars universe.

Five years before the Battle of Yavin, Cassian Andor (played by Diego Luna) is looking for his missing sister. He is gathering evidence of her whereabouts when he’s interrupted. He kills two officers in self-defense before fleeing the scene. The Empire starts to get involved thanks to Syril Karn (played by Kyle Soller) who wants to solve the murders and tracks Cassian. Cassian, in the meantime, is trying to sell Imperial Navigation technology for credits. Cassian’s ally, Bix (played by Adria Arjona) sets him up with Luthen Rael (played by Stellan Skarsgård) to make the deal. Luthen convinces Cassian to help his team with a heist which will help to devastate the Empire. Cassian throughout the show gets involved in various schemes which will help deal blows to the Empire from behind the scenes.

The cast for Andor is so good! It feels like no time has passed since Diego Luna played Cassian in Rogue One. Sometimes when there is a lot of time that passes between these releases, it can feel a little jarring. However, Diego clearly steps back in as Cassian. Andy Serkis has a small presence in the show which I don’t want to go into any more detail about because of spoilers. Stellan Skarsgård acts as a mentor of sorts to Cassian along with all the secrecy in planning all of his movements. He’s willing to make those hard choices which I can see is where Cassian learned this from. The cast is impeccable which makes the show that much better.

The episodes have a nice mix between the lore and the action. There is a lot of story-building in Andor which I personally enjoy because I think it establishes Andor’s place in the franchise. The heist episodes are a blast to watch because the plan that’s been built over time starts to come together. I think the prison break episode was a highlight of the series because of how Cassian always seems to be at the center of the spark that leads to a battle.

I was reading a critique online and someone had classified Andor as boring. I can kind of understand where this person is coming from. Star Wars is infamous for the light saber duels and intergalactic space battles. However, there’s so much more that happens in the shadows for those instances to occur. Andor is telling that story. For the rebellion to thrive, they need to bankrupt the Empire and steal their technology to even have a chance at taking The Empire head-on. The sacrifices that Cassian will eventually make set up the original trilogy. Andor might not be your cup of tea, but I think we can agree on the importance of telling that story.

Andor was well worth the wait, I can’t wait for season #2 which will link Cassian’s back story to the events leading into Rogue One.

My mom kept telling me about this new show that she started watching. She mentioned she was a few episodes into The Night Agent and how she thought that I would like it. I grew up watching 24, so any show that features politics, action, and some conspiracy being highlighted will probably be a show that I will like. After starting The Night Watch, I finished all ten episodes in less than two days and it was well worth the time spent. The Night Watch was action-packed, entertaining, and full of surprises.

Peter Sutherland (played by Gabriel Basso) is an FBI agent who’s in the shadow of his father. Peter’s father was accused of selling US secrets to foreign agents and once discovered, was killed in a car accident. Peter is constantly trying to fight off the stigma that he’s like his father. Peter takes a job as a man who answers the “Night Call” phone in which agents can call in if they are in danger. Peter receives a call from Rose Larkin (played by Luciane Buchanan) who’s trying to escape an assassin that killed her aunt and uncle. Peter helps save Rose and reunites with her a few hours later. They’re forced to go on the run when they figure out that Rose’s aunt and uncle were secret agents who discovered a mole within The White House who is planning an assassination attempt on a foreign leader. Without knowing who to trust, Peter and Rose can only rely on each other to stop this attack.

The cast of The Night Watch is stellar. It’s easy to focus on both Peter and Rose. Their chemistry together was believable and they had a good partnership together. Besides Peter and Rose, there’s Chelsea Arrington (played by Fola Evans-Akingbola) who is a Secret Service Agent guarding the Vice President’s Daughter, Maddie Redfield (played by Sarah Desjardins). Chelsea develops a personal bond with Maddie and when Maddie is kidnapped, Chelsea ends up bumping into Peter and Rose. They figure out their missions are aligned and they team up together. Chelsea plays a big role in stopping the attack in the last episode. Another standout is Chief of Staff Diane Farr (played by Hong Chau) who is Peter’s ally and who originally recruited him. Diane is navigating all the political turmoil with several key players in the President’s cabinet. The Night Watch has so many different side stories and plots that all end up coming together in the end. It’s so satisfying to watch.

I think what makes The Night Watch a standout is the reveals throughout the show as to who is responsible. Without including spoilers, there’s one episode in particular that had me in awe at who was revealed to be involved. When Peter realizes this, you can see in his facial features how shocked he is. In any show with this type of concept, if the show doesn’t have twists, it can be underwhelming, to say the least.

The last episode of The Night Watch was jam-packed. All the characters who have different motives are at Camp David when this attack is supposed to occur. The episode is incredibly fast-paced as these characters know different pieces of information about the attack, but aren’t able to coordinate with each other. It was so satisfying to see the conclusion of how everything plays out.

The Night Watch was so good! I almost want to start the season over and rewatch it. I’m curious to see if The Night Watch will get a second season. I would hope that if the show did get a second season, I hope it’s as good as season #1.

Christopher Nolan is one of my favorite directors. His films are interesting to watch and often so complex that they require multiple rewatches. If I had to pick, I think Memento would be my top choice. I loved the concept of how the events of the film unfolded. I heard about Tenet, but Tenet was released before people felt comfortable going back to a theater in person. With Tenet being available to watch on HBO Max, I figured it was time to sit down and finally watch it. I thought Tenet overall was an interesting film, but I don’t think I fully followed everything that happened.

Tenet opens with a siege on an Opera House. The “Protagonist” (played by John David Washington) leads this mission and while the mission is a success, he’s captured and tortured. The Protagonist takes a suicide pill which ended up being faked. The Protagonist is recruited by an organization called “Tenet”. Part of his training is to learn about introverted bullets or bullets moving backward in time. The fear is if this is something that can be done with bullets, can other more dangerous weapons be manipulated in this way. The Protagonist starts to investigate where these bullets came from and learns about arms dealer Andrei Sator (played by Kenneth Branagh) who is linked to creating these bullets. To help get closer to him, The Protagonist meets his estranged wife, Kat Barton (played by Elizabeth Debicki). The Protagonist, Kat, and Neil (played by Robert Pattinson) team up to take down Andrei and ensure he isn’t able to keep up with this level of technology.

Christopher Nolan’s films have this ensemble cast that helps bring the story to life. John David Washington should be cast in all things. I think he truly leads this film and it’s clearly his story. The action scenes that he films are realistic and extremely detailed especially because there are moments where he’s inverted and fighting himself. Robert Pattinson has gotten a lot of criticism for his actions since he was in Twilight. It’s odd because if you watch him in any other film, you can clearly see that he’s a talented actor. It’s nice to see him getting more recognition. I don’t think I have seen Robert Pattinson in an action film, so I think this shows his range in what types of movies he’s cast in. Kenneth Branagh always plays a good villain. The cast is certainly a highlight of the film.

I think the thing that I struggled with the most with Tenet is keeping up with the story. There are certain moments where both The Protagonist and Neil are inverted in time. I don’t think I can explain how The Protagonist and Neil saved the day because I still didn’t quite follow who was at what time. There was a lot that was happening and I found it difficult to follow. While most of Christopher Nolan’s films have that quality, I found it tougher in Tenet to understand than his other films.

I liked Tenet and I’m glad I watched it. I don’t know if I would watch Tenet again. With that being said, I’m looking forward to Christopher Nolan’s next film, Oppenheimer, which is a biopic of J. Robert Oppenheimer, one of the physicists on the Manhattan Project. Oppenheimer is scheduled to be released on July 21st, 2023.