“This close. You were this close, Sergei Bodrov, this close to finding the right ratio of badness to goodness—this close to churning out a ham and cheese sandwich to rival the likes of Beastmaster, Willow and Hawk the Slayer. Bodrov’s Seventh Son is cut from the same cloth, an ’80s schlockfest made in the wrong … 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
(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
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 