What have you missed? Dungeons and Dragons and other not-so-new things you should be watching on streaming

I don’t know about you but it’s been a busy spring. I’ve missed most theatrical releases and I make it my business to go to the movies. Luckily all the good stuff is coming back around to streaming. 

If you feel like you’ve missed a bunch of releases, here are three things you may have missed that you should check out now that they’re streaming: 

1. Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (Dungeons) received excellent reviews and was a major blockbuster hit of the spring. It’s now on Peacock streaming for free for subscribers and available to rent/buy on other streaming platforms. 

Dungeons hit exactly the right note balancing between geeky and self-aware. The film paid deep respect to the traditions of the decades old role playing game on which it was based but also managed to give a cheeky respect to the beloved ‘nerd’ culture which surrounds that game. You don’t have to have played the game or know anything about it to enjoy the plot, but if you have (or played any of the myriad of video games who have extremely similar archetypes), the movie does it a lot of justice. 

Overall Rating: Really well done

Is it liberal propaganda? 

Rating: Neutral 

2. Jesus Revolution 

Jesus Revolution was a pretty big hit for it’s category and is now available to rent on various streaming platforms. Produced by and starring Kelsey Grammer, the film made $53 million and is the highest grossing faith-based film of all time. Critics gave it a 58% (still not bad for the genre – they cited “historical accuracy” as their beef but we all know they just hate Christians) but audiences gave it a 99%. I side more with audiences this time. 

Jesus Revolution is a surprisingly graceful film about the late 1960s/early 1970s “Jesus Freak” Christian revival movement which led to historic Christian conversion in America as well as some controversial church and preaching methodologies. Anyone watching the current revival of faith in America and the cultural similarities between now and the late 1960s/early 1970s will find the story profound. Everytime I thought the film was taking a cheesy turn it managed to right itself. It is one of the most artistically and intellectually credible Christian films made in the last 10 years. It is a movie about spirituality, but it is also a work of historical fiction about a movement which redefined how we do church in America. It’s definitely worth a watch. 

Overall Rating: Best Christian movie in a really time (maybe ever) 

Is it liberal propaganda? 

Rating: Hard right lean 

3. A Man Called Otto 

A Man Called Otto released in 2022 but recently came to streaming on Netflix. 

The story is derived from a novel of a similar title (A Man Called Ove) set in Sweden. The film is set in America instead which does change some of the political themes. Overall, it’s a bitter-sweet story about a man who has suffered a great loss and who finds the will to live through is zany and kind neighbors. 

The book is far better than the film in terms of it’s nuanced approach to the emotional arcs. The film comes off a bit insipid if not slightly maudlin but is not a total catastrophe. The book is set in Sweden so the central villain is actually the socialist government. In the American setting, the central villain becomes an “evil real estate corporation” making the whole thing pretty liberal in its lens.  But if you don’t mind some liberal themes, like cats and are in the mood for a cry – A Man Called Otto is not bad. 

Overall Rating: Okay 

Is it liberal propaganda? 

Rating: Very much. But the underlying novel is the opposite