The Dungeons & Dragons movie isn’t a great movie, but despite the complaints you’ll hear about it, it’s certainly not the worst of a lackluster genre.
OK, the sound man should be flogged — I couldn’t understand a word in either the beginning or ending segments with the dragons — and the script needed to be something beyond a first draft, with recognizable motivations, less exposition and decent dialogue added. And someone wake Thora Birch up: She seems to have slipped into some sort of sleepwalking coma.
Having said that, the Dungeons & Dragons movie wasn’t as horrible as I’d heard it made out to be. It was surely better than Krull or The Sword and the Sorcerer. I’d rank it right below Willow and around the level of Dragonheart: amateurish, kind of cheesy, but not offensively so.
There was some neat stuff in the movie. Well, neatish. Many of the characters, most notably Ridley certainly looked the part, and the computer-generated capital city was pretty excellent in all the pointlessly fast flyby shots. And I thought the dungeon sequences were handled reasonably well.
Courtney Solomon put Dungeons & Dragons together without the benefit of a real grounding in film, other than “parents in the film industry,” which qualifies him to work at Starbucks, honestly. And it shows. But the film, if clumsy, also shows a real love of the source material that redeems most of its flaws.
You want to see a really bad fantasy movie? Check out First Knight. Compared to that, this is Shakespeare.
Worth renting for families looking for light entertainment, and maybe owning for someone REALLY passionate about the Dungeons & Dragons game.
After getting slapped around all last season in the Survivor Fantasy League, I’m in the lead, for now, with my tribe (Ellis Truss) with 349 points.
It’s all about loading up on the people guaranteed of lots of airtime and betting that one of them will speak first at tribal council. Stephenie rarely disappoints in that regard.
My team is Gary, Margaret, Bobby Jon and Stephenie.
Frankly, this part of the season is my least favorite. It’s hard to get to know who’s who and the team competitions are either interchangeable (if the teams are roughly equal) or feel like bullying (because once one team starts to win, they typically tend to keep on winning).
Somebody’s Miracle The new Liz Phair album, “Somebody’s Miracle,” is pretty interesting.
It splits the difference between her older stuff and her self-titled CD a few years ago. It’s polished, but at the level of her previous albums “Whip-Smart” and “whitechocolatespaceegg,” not to the gleaming level of “Liz Phair.”
It’s very personal and honest, with some very frank discussions about her divorce, the substance abuse of people she knows (and possibly herself) and coming out the other side.
From “Leap of Innocence,” the album’s lead-off track:
And my mistake was being already married.
I wanna make a leap of innocence to you.
I guess when you were living the high life,
It’s one of those things that just can’t last,
Kind of like love in California.
But I never had such a blast.
Her lyrics aren’t at the wacky level they once were, but they still are quite fun and interesting. She remains one of the best lyricists of her generation.
From “Got My Own Thing”:
Ooh boy, I’d love to help give enough rope to hang yourself,
And watch the silly things you do.
Ooh boy, I’d love to help give enough rope to hang yourself,
And I hope you swing it this way too.
Boy, I do.
From “Table for One”:
It’s morning and I pour myself coffee.
I drink it til the kitchen stops shaking.
I’m backing out of the driveway,
And into creation.
And the loving spirit that follows me,
Watching helplessly, will always forgive me.
Oh, I want to die alone,
With my sympathy beside me.
I want to bring down all those demons who drank with me,
Feasting bleed through me,
On my desperation.
For those who want it to be “Exile in Guyville, Part V,” it’ll likely be a disappointment, but it’s a great portrait of where she is now, at 38, a divorced (and possibly re-married) mother who once was a college drop-out with a four-track recorder and a guitar.
Recommended for all fans of her previous work, save those who just want repeats of EIG (you know who you are). And an FYI for the women who are threatened by her sexual frankness (and you know who you are, too), there’s little of it this time around — the song “Can’t Get Out of What I’m Into” was banished to import versions and an iTunes “exclusive.”
A press release from the City of Hesperia:
City Announces Major new Retail development
Hesperia, California – Hesperia residents will soon have a variety of new shopping options with the City Council’s October 6, 2005 announcement that a new Target is coming to Hesperia and will anchor the new High Desert Gateway regional shopping center being developed by Lewis Retail Centers at the intersection of Interstate 15 & Main Street in Hesperia.
Target will construct their new 124,000 square foot, state-of-the-art general merchandise store, and accompanying site improvements, on approximately 10 acres of the new 42-acre center.
“We are very excited that Target and Lewis Retail Centers has chosen Hesperia for their newest location,â€? said Mayor Jim Lindley. “A typical Target store employs 150-250 full and part-time employees and has a projected first year payroll of $3.2 million.â€?   According to Target Corporation, annual sales volumes vary by location but generally exceed $30 million.Â
With an anticipated March 2007 opening, the new store will represent an investment in land, building and equipment of approximately $16 million.
“Facilitating the development of retail and shopping opportunities for Hesperia residents represent a key goal of the City Council and staff,â€? said Lindley. “I believe the new Hesperia Target store will do exceptionally well because of its strategic location and ability to serve Hesperia, Oak Hills, Wrightwood, Phelan and the unincorporated county area surrounding our city.â€?
The City is working with Lewis and Target to expedite the entitlement process which represents a significant amount of the time that it takes to open a new store. Lewis anticipates simultaneous construction for other co-tenants in the Gateway Center which will encompass some 400,000 square feet of retail space.
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“The Economic Development staff has been aggressively seeking retail and restaurant opportunities and devoting significant human and capital resources to this effort,â€? said City Manager Mike Podegracz. “Retailers require favorable demographics with household income and population as key drivers in their location decisions. For the past several years we have heard the common refrain of ‘rooftops equal retail’ and with our phenomenal housing development retailers can no longer ignore the tremendous potential opportunities that exist in Hesperia.”
Target represents one of the twenty retail matches identified in the Buxton Company’s Community ID prepared for the Hesperia Community Redevelopment Agency (Agency) and City. “We believe that our success in attracting Target validates the results of the Community ID effort said Steven Lantsberger, Hesperia’s Deputy Economic Development Director. City staff just returned from the International Council of Shopping Center’s Western Division Deal Making Conference in Palm Springs where they met with scores of retailers and restaurants interested in the Gateway Center and other Hesperia locations.Â
“The City Council and I believe that Target’s confidence in the retail potential of Hesperia will induce retail synergy and lead to more exciting announcements in the near future,â€? said Lindley. “The City will realize significant sales tax revenue from the new Target; funds we can invest in important community-based iniatives, including roads.”
Target Corporation, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota operates 1,351 Target Stores and Superstores, encompassing approximately 171 million square feet of retail space. Total sales for Target eclipsed $45.6 billion for their fiscal year 2004.
Lewis Retail Centers is one of the largest shopping center developers in California and Nevada. It is also a member of the Lewis Group of Companies with a portfolio represented by dynamic neighborhood, community and power centers totaling over 4 million square feet. Many of their prime locations are home to some of the nation’s most prestigious retailers such as Barnes and Noble, Best Buy, Home Depot, JC Penney, Kohl’s, Lowes, Macy’s, Marshalls, Mervyn’s, RC Willey, Robinsons-May, Ross, Sam’s Club, Target, Wal-Mart, Albertsons, Ralphs, Safeway and Vons. One of Lewis’ most recent projects is Victoria Gardens in Rancho Cucamonga, CA.
See also the story in today’s Daily Press. Look for more information in the October 11 edition of the Hesperia Star.
Victory at last! Jonah figured out what was interfering with comments. Comment away, my people.
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