You’ve probably read this blog for long enough that you know well my distaste for prequels that senselessly construct backstory for elements of narrative that don’t actually demand a fucking backstory. So if you’ve seen Solo: A Star Wars Story, you can probably guess that I hated, hated, hated the script’s decision to tell us how, exactly, … Continue reading
“‘Old, not obsolete.’ These three words are repeated often throughout Terminator Genisys, Alan Taylor’s contribution to the iconic ’80s/’90s action series, and they apply perfectly to the film’s biggest name: Arnold Schwarzenegger himself, reprising his role as an unstoppable cyborg for the umpteenth time in the Terminator saga’s lifespan. If any production in the latter … Continue reading
Game of Thrones’ second season came to a close last week. This week, I finally get around to talking about it. How did season two measure up to one? Where is it taking us? What did it do well, and what could have been done better? Also: the folly of kings. Continue reading
In this week’s recap of Game of Thrones: matters of honor, respectability, personal identity, and forward plot progression. Also, good, clean, healthy, romantic love. For once. Continue reading
Doubling up again on the show’s second season installments, this week I ponder and analyze the events of the fifth and sixth episodes of S2– including the shocking reduction in overall nakedness, the repercussions of poorly-employed authority, and the inexperience of youth. Continue reading
How about that time when I wrote about how sex in Game of Thrones has consequences? If I didn’t convince you with my argument the first time around, no doubt the final scene in Garden of Bones did, though both the fourth and third episodes of the season both do nothing to undermine that running theme. Is that slowly … Continue reading
Remember last week when I theorized that each episode of Game of Thrones‘ second season, following the pilot, would probably place more focus on a smaller number of characters? Seems like time’s proving me right. Maybe that’s not a boast exactly, since it’s just plain old logical, but expect this to be the routine with each … Continue reading
(Note: I feel like tagging this with spoiler warnings is unnecessary, but just in case, this is going to be very spoiler heavy. If you haven’t finished S1, stay away.) Ready for more political maneuvering, martial strategy, medieval barbarism, societal division, and steadily burgeoning elements of high fantasy? What may be somewhat startling about the … Continue reading
Well, I’ll say this for the marketing team behind Game of Thrones— they can’t be accused of false advertising. Baelor and Fire and Blood wrap up the first season of the series, and what a pair of episodes they are. I don’t think I need to warn anyone reading this of imminent spoilers, so with … Continue reading
In this exciting installment, we discuss A Golden Crown, You Win or You Die, and The Pointy End. With episodes six, seven, and eight of Game of Thrones, Benioff and Weiss have brought out the proverbial fan, ostensibly so that the shit introduced in the above trifecta of episodes has something to hit. And hit … Continue reading
(In which I talk of Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things and The Wolf and the Lion.) Well, things are picking up quite nicely in the enthralling political and social dramas unfolding in Westeros and the lands across the Narrow Sea, aren’t they? As I said in the last installment, Game of Thrones‘ first few episodes … Continue reading
“Quality” and “HBO original series” tend to go hand in hand, and for good reason. The Home Box Office has a well-established track record of excellence in its programming, from the iconic and hugely successful Sopranoes, to more short-lived but no less excellent shows such as Deadwood and Carnivale. So the idea of HBO offering … Continue reading
A Constant Visual Feast 