Dudes & Dragons (2015)

*VERY MINOR SPOILERS*I went into this with zero expectations. I came out needing to own my own copy, and wear it out. The writing is witty, without being crude, the actors are having a blast, and don't care who knows it. The female roles could have been a bit bigger, but I suppose as a spoof, it follows along from the movies it is poking lighthearted fun at. Others have mentioned the CGI, greenscreens and all that jazz, and while I had no problems with it, some did. I actually didn't realise the whole thing was greenscreen until I read the other reviews :)Subtle fun was had at the expense of a lot of different sword and sandal movies. I 'got' more each time I've watched it. My special favourite is the bathing scene :) That and Rammicus's battle wagon :) The bloopers were hysterical, the costumes and makeup were amazing, and whoever did the casting was spot on, especially the Orc,After seeing this the first time I IMDb'd every other movie these guys have been involved in, and got them all.

I saw this at Dragon Con, and have been looking forward to watching it again ever since. This isn't a movie to watch all alone on your computer. It's a movie to invite a bunch of like-minded fantasy film fans over to watch while playing drinking games. Fantasy tropes abound, as well as out-and-out spoofs of films you should know - and probably do. It's an indie film, not a big budget affair, but if you are a fan of indies, this one is worth your while. Name that original... and have a great time.

An evil wizard, Lord Tensley (James Marsters), seeks the hand and heart of the beautiful princess, Lady Ennogard. When she refuses, he locks her away and releases a deadly dragon, which he controls, to terrorize the land. He vows that, until she accepts his love, his dragon will destroy all who dare display any sign of love throughout the kingdom.As I understand it, this movie began with crowd funding, which was successful, and under the name "Dragon Warriors" went around to various festivals and received generally positive feedback. When picked up by Momentum, it received a name change. Exactly why is unclear, but maybe it was a legal thing because of the RPG of the same name. I am not a fan of the new name, because it makes the movie sound of lower quality than it actually is. But maybe others disagree.There are some cheesy special effects, but this actually may be appropriate for how silly the movie is. While at first I was doubtful, it surprised me with its charm and clever writing. In contrast to the effects, the costumes and makeup are really good. One of the main characters is an orc, and his makeup (or mask) is as good as any Hollywood film.What the film amounts to is a very strange parody. Someone else compared it to a mix between "Lord of the Rings" and "Princess Bride". I disagree, but they may not be far off. The nods to "Rings" are clear, and there are more than a few "Star Wars" jokes. But they are actually clever, rather than hackneyed like on "Big Bang Theory". You can tell the writer really gets it. When the damsel in distress says, "Help me if you want to hold me, you're my only hope," I was in love with the movie. It was at that point I knew they were really having fun and even ready to poke fun at themselves for having that fun.Interestingly, while everyone else is tongue-in-cheek, Marsters plays it straight in most scenes. This provides an excellent balance, and actually makes him an even more important character than just being "the bad guy". He is also the one who ends up grounding the humor. Compare him to Adam Johnson as Ramicus, who steals the show in every scene. I have not seen much of Johnson's work, but he has excellent deadpan comic timing and delivery.Whether or not this movie will appeal to everyone, I do not know. But I feel the nerds of the world will get a chuckle. Again, when compared to "Big Bang Theory", you can tell the people involved in this movie really get the culture and are not trying to make fun of the fans or reduce it to stereotypes. There is a true intelligence at work here that has to be admired.

Awesome in the way that sometimes when you go to the toilet for a number 2 you come away feeling as though all your senses have been reinvigorated: The nostril crushing stench, the Dolby surround bombardment of splashes and farts, the 3D Imax onslaught of brown streaks on tissue paper.The difference between a good poo and this movie is that a good poo will stimulate your vagus gland whereas this movie will make it shrivel up and die.Were I challenged to sit through this movie again or go for a giant sweaty dump I would choose the dump without a doubt.