One thousand and One; Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.
Photo illustration: Vulture. Photos: Focus Features; Paramount Pictures
Some of this weekend’s biggest new movies are based on games, a growing trend of late (see The last of usthe upcoming Super Mario Bros. Movieetc.). However, it’s not just video games that are getting the hit treatment. Good old fashioned board games can be movies as well Dungeons and Dragons: Honor among thieves demonstrated. We have a movie about tetrisas well as some movies and shows that they are not based on games. There’s a drama that turns “girl power” literal, a rom-com, and a Grand Jury Prize winner at Sundance. And for even more recommendations (plus some fun stuff we found around the web), subscribe to Rationalizer newsletter to receive a subscriber-exclusive special extended edition of this post on Friday afternoon. Let’s take the initiative. — James Greby
The Chris Pine-led adaptation of the iconic fantasy RPG occupies a rare sweet spot in the hilarious and self-deprecating MCU-influenced cinematic landscape. The movie is silly and it knows it, but it still takes itself seriously without undermining its own stakes. It’s not quite nat 20 (for you non-nerds, that’s a good thing in D&D), but it’s delightfully crazy. A serious blockbuster — we love watching it! — JG
➽ The first two seasons of The Legend of Vox Machinaanimated series based on a popular D&D campaign are available for streaming on Prime Video if you feel inspired. (“Inspiration” is a game mechanic in D&D that the bard character class can – Oh, you know what? Forget it.)
In this adaptation of Naomi Alderman’s novel by an all-female writing and directing team, girls around the world suddenly develop supernatural powers that allow them to electrocute people at will. Take that, bullies, parents, and other morons! — Roxanne Hadaddy
➽ A cool way to make friends is to be like me and keep correcting everyone when they say they were current, because ~technically~ electrocution is always fatal. What they meant was shocked. (I’m so lonely.)
A tense, violent dramatization of the game series that tells the story of the rise and fall of T-Block after Z-Block kills L-Block in a drug deal gone wrong. No, just kidding – this movie is about the real-life story of the man who secured the intellectual property rights to the Soviet video game. — JG
It feels like we’ve been heralding the death and subsequent return of the romantic comedy forever, but Raine Allen-Miller’s directorial debut makes the genre feel so light and casual that you wonder why we ever bothered. Vivian Opara and David Jonsson play a couple in their 20s who have just gone through a breakup and spend the day wandering around South London after a chance meeting – talking, falling in love and being generally adorable. — Alison Wilmore
Distributed by Focus Features, One thousand and One is AV Rockwell’s feature directorial debut about a mother (Teyana Taylor) who returns her young child from the foster care system. From there, the couple continued to try to build a life for themselves in New York. Tearful, of course. — Savannah Salazar
Is your “home theater” setup as good as a 16-foot screen and an Imax with laser 3-D projection? Find out the answer now Avatar: The Way of Water is available on VOD. (Or you can wait for it to eventually show up on Disney+. What’s a few more weeks or months compared to a 13-year wait for the sequel?) — JG
I want more? Read our recommendations from weekend of March 24 or sign up for our Friday newsletter Rationalizer for even more to watch.