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rigdoctorbri
Reviews
Hot Line: The Brunch Club (1996)
Catherine Bell is Hot!!!
This is a short film for those guys who have wondered what Catherine Bell looks like...ahem...you get the idea...
It is very easy to see why Catherine Bell has been so successful as an actress. Most of the time, when these sort of "after dark" shorts are shown on pay movie channels, the acting is horrid, and of course, this one is no exception. That is where Catherine almost sticks out like a sore thumb. She is far too talented to have been cast in such low budget video.
This came out before her jump to JAG made her a star. Some may say that it will turn out to be the bane of her acting career, but I say this show is what sealed her ability to transition.
Dungeons & Dragons (2000)
To all but the D & D Gamer it was lame.
For one to truly enjoy this film, you must be an avid player of the D & D role playing games.
As a long time gamer and friend to Gary Gygax, creator of Dungeons & Dragons RPG, I feel I have a pretty good beat on the comparison of the movie vs. the game. Gary has a creative genius unceasing, and between him and all of the people who have ever written material for the games, there was enough to put together a hundred films with separate plots and character types. The problem the general public may have is that they don't understand the rules, or character types, and thus did not relate to the story.
I appreciate the producer's and director's attempt to incorporate D & D material and rules into the movie, but in doing so they have made the film unwatchable by all but fans of the game. For example, the scene with the Lich, Savril (The skeleton on the rack that gave Ripley the Rod of Savril). Who but players of the game would know what he was? Thus, who but players of the game could appreciate his inclusion? Or, as another example, the Beholders (those floating balls with one big eye in the middle and tentacles with eyes at the ends). Who but a player of D&D could have known what they were, and of what they were capable? A little demonstration of their powers (each eyestalk has a different magic ability, and the center eye reflects magic aimed upon it) would have been entertaining. Alas, we only see them float through a hallway.
On the other hand, I must give credit to certain portrayals. The Dwarf is exactly how I picture a dwarf to be; battlehearty, loyal, vulgar, abrupt, fearless but with weaknesses (hates horses), and avaricious. Bravo! I also applaud the portrayal of Norda, the Elf Ranger. She is as stuck up as most elves are made out to be in the games.
All in all, I enjoyed the film, but they could have done better with the CGI,the acting, and the storyline. They had the material to make an epic to give Lord Of The Rings a run for it's money, but instead chose the Almost-Straight-To-Video path.