Couch Theater – August 24, 2023

#MiddleburyCT #Movies

“Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” (PG-13) – Chris Pine leads this fantasy-action film based on the role-playing board game Dungeons & Dragons. Pine plays a widower named Edgin, who’s also the leader of a band of thieves, including a barbarian (Michelle Rodriguez), a sorcerer (Justice Smith) and a con artist (Hugh Grant). Edgin is so desperate to bring his wife back from the dead by stealing a “Tablet of Reawakening” that he’s ultimately imprisoned and loses his daughter. After he escapes prison with the help of his barbarian bestie, the pair stop at nothing until they can find the tablet and get Edgin’s daughter back. The film hits streaming on Aug. 25, after a slight underperformance at the box office. (Amazon Prime Video)

Zaara Kuttemperoor, left, and Sadie Sandler star in “You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah.” (Netflix photo)

“You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah” (PG-13) – It’s a Sandler family affair for this new comedy film premiering Aug. 25! While Adam Sandler’s daughters, Sadie and Sunny, have made appearances throughout his many movies, Sunny takes center stage here in the lead role of Stacy Friedman. Stacy is a preteen girl who does everything with her best friend, Lydia, and they’re obsessed with planning their upcoming bat mitzvahs. However, when Lydia accidentally steals the boy Stacy’s been crushing on, Stacy reaches her first true test before her rite of passage, as her world feels like it’s come crashing down on her. Adam, Jackie and Sadie Sandler also star in this wholesome coming-of-age film, along with Idina Menzel and “Saturday Night Live’s” Sarah Sherman. (Netflix)

“BS High” (NR) – On Aug. 29, 2021, a high school football game between Bishop Sycamore High School and IMG Academy was televised on ESPN that ended with a final score of 58-0. After such a blowout occurred and certain conditions of the game were called into question, an investigation was launched into Bishop Sycamore, where the Ohio Department of Education ruled that the school actually didn’t exist! The team operated under the guise of representing a “school” without a real campus, teachers or trainers, incurring thousands of dollars in debt from housing the players in hotels. How Bishop Sycamore had even begun to pull this stunt off gets explored in this documentary film premiering Aug. 23. (Max)

“Transfusion” (R) – In this Australian crime film premiering Aug. 24, Sam Worthington – from the “Avatar” films – lays down all his token grittiness for the role of ex-special forces operative Ryan Logan. After losing his wife in a car accident, Ryan was left to raise his son, Billy, by himself, but Billy increasingly gets into trouble with the law. When the question of Billy remaining in his custody is brought up, Ryan takes rash action to join his former superior officer, now turned criminal, for a quick cash grab that spins out of control. While “Transfusion” is promoted as a thriller, the title of “crime drama” would be better suited, as the characters’ narratives remain the true focal point of the film. (Hulu)

© 2023 King Features Synd., Inc.