The season becomes about claiming one’s identity. Both Ramsey and Ayra strike out on their own so to speak. Ayra’s journey is probably the most expansive for quite a few seasons. She finally returns home to Westros. Lots of revenge happens in the show in general. Dany’s revenge on the khals is kind of awesome.
Additional Comments:
– Interesting relationships continue. Theon and Sansa.
– finally, Sansa is getting interesting.
– coups left and right
– Dany starts out as a prisoner. But it doesn’t seem to suit her well. She’s definitely better off in the queen role.
– Even at Arya’s training… there are always bullies.
– Red woman in ep 1… yikes.
– you get a little background on Hodor.
– Fav line “don’t eat the help.”
– there are still sweet moments. I suppose it can’t all be kill this, kill that.
– Dany’s revenge against the Khals is pretty epic. Does nobody pay attention to the “unburnt” part of those long titles she wears.
– You finally get to meet Sam’s family.
– Brienne and Jaime’s relationship is interesting and complicated.
– Cersi’s Last kid is an idiot and a tool for the Faith Militants
– battle of the bastards… pretty drawn out battle
– Sansa’s Revenge nice.
– Arya’s revenge also nice.
Conclusion:
Nice end… positive note but hints of discord.
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Don’t own the pic. It’s a bit dreary, but fits the show well enough.
Definite spoilers ahead
Summary:
This season might feature Cersi’s stupider moments. But she comes to regret it. Dany’s in the midst of a revolution/rebellion. Gaining a throne is so much easier than maintaining it. Jaime’s on a rescue mission.
Additional Comments:
– Dany has a disagreement with her dragons. Balancing power and people and ideals is harder than it looks.
– Burning people is a thing. Sad. The move becomes key for Stannis’s downfall.
– The characters are nicely complex… there are moments of grandeur and horror.
– Arya’s part is mysterious and creepy.
– They sure burn a heck of a lot of candles
– I like Sam Tarly. He’s not a swashbuckling hero but he’s a good, decent man
– I like that we get to see the mother in Cersi.
– Cersi vs Marjorie is coming to a head
– Arya’s training is pretty awesome
– Right kind of terrible… nice
– Tyrion and Dany … interesting relationship
– And here I thought they forgot a disgusting thing… nope, child abuse and child sacrifice both present. Gladiator combat too.
Conclusion:
Poor Princess Mycella; poor Jon; poor Dany. Season had rather grim endings.
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Definite spoilers ahead! Since I’m probably the last person on Earth who hasn’t seen the show …. probably not a problem.
Summary:
The saga continues. The Lannisters stand mostly in control of Westros. Theon’s a hostage and plaything for Ramsey Bolton. Stannis is still listening to whispers from Melisandre. Cersi’s becoming more suspicious…if that’s possible. The Tyrells and Lannisters are playing nice with each other, sort of, well, at least on the surface.
Additional Comments:
– We’ve added cannabalism to the list of distasteful things that happen here.
– You finally get to see what happens to all those poor baby boys Crasta has been leaving in the woods.
– Flaying becomes a thing. That’s just nasty.
– Dany’s still liberating slaves in the East, but every time she leaves a city, something bad happens. She’s faced with a tough choice.
– The story has become predictable yet still nicely complicated. For example Liza’s fate. And Tyrion’s champion and subsequent fate.
– The night’s watch portion was a tad boring. They dragged on the “hey, danger is coming” thing the entire season. Episode 9 all that waiting finally pays off. It’s a great fight, a tad predictable though.
– Episode 10: I like the game of thrones take on dragons. They are still wild beasts, dangerous. Dany’s conflict is simple yet powerful.
– As usual, the show isn’t afraid to bump off characters.
– I like how complicated the characters can be. Arya and the Hound.
– I totally missed Elia being Oberyn’s sister. Heck, I barely knew her name. Too many people.
This season too ends on violence and a bit of a high note. A lot of the story is just the viewer waiting for the next nasty person to get what’s coming to them.
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Don’t own the pic, but I’m assuming it’s meant for public consumption b/c I think it’s the movie poster.
Summary: (will try to keep spoiler free)
A rescue diver, Jonas Taylor (Jason Stratham), comes out of semi-retirement to save his ex-wife, Lori, and some of her colleagues. The research into the ocean depths unleashes a mighty beast.
Additional Comments:
Characters 3/5: largely forgettable. They’re cool people, but you really only learn them by their jobs, pilot, engineer, doctor, etc. You didn’t even feel bad when not everybody made it.
Action 5/5: When there’s action, there’s definitely stuff going down. Not sure how many boats got destroyed in the making of this movie, but it got intense. Different kind of action movie for Stratham, but he pulled it off well.
Music 5/5: Very appropriate themes. The beginning music reminded me of a video game.
Sets 4/5: Beautiful on location shoots. The Mana One station was probably some prefab walls but they managed to make them look spiffy.
Pacing 3.5/5: Parts of the movie could have been sped up a bit, but it kept me entertained.
Humor 4/5: The kid was good for some humorous moments. As was the dog, Pippin. I think one of my favorite movie moments was even in the trailer. That moment when Pippin, the waterlogged dog turned around and was like “aw, heck no, I’m outta here” and started back toward the boat.
Plot 4/5: Not exactly a deep thinker here. They had two jobs: survive and keep the megalodon from killing tons of people.
Note about the Trailers: Seriously, the most sane trailer in front of this movie was Godzilla: King of Monsters. I can’t remember each of the other titles, but they were heavily skewed to horror: Hell Fest, the Nun, Overlord, Venom (new trailer).
Conclusion:
Good for renting or watching on a big screen. I enjoyed it. I’ve actually never seen Jaws so I don’t know if it compares. Parts reminded me of the original Jurassic Park.
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The Light: Tales from a Revolution New Jersey by Lars D. H. Hedbor
Summary:
Robert, a Quaker and a blacksmith, tries to balance his beliefs and the uncertainties of the budding war.
Additional Comments:
Characters 4.5/5 – The good guys are good, the bad guys are bad. It’s clear cut, but it works.
Pacing 4/5 – The beginning’s a bit slow, but the middle and the end flow pretty nicely.
Language/dialect 3/5 – The author uses a lot of “thee” and “thou” to be authentic, but that makes it a lot harder to listen to. You do gain an ear for it, but that takes some time.
Audio performance 4/5 – The narrator has a nice, deep voice. One can imagine it fitting a guy like Robert very well.
Although it’s part of a series, I imagine each book stands alone rather well.
Conclusion:
Nice glimpse into struggles of the common folk during the revolutionary war.
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This book:
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Christopher Robin (Ewan McGregor) has grown up and become a responsible adult, but he’s not entirely happy with his life.
Additional Comments:
– The target audience is really anybody who great up loving Winnie the Pooh, not really their kids. Family friendly, though not really aimed at children.
– Pooh goes to London to visit with Christopher Robin and helps him find joy again.
– Cast 5/5: All parts are well-played. I always love McGregor, though to be fair he has picked up some weird roles over the years. Haley Atwell is amazing too. Even the kid who plays “The Madeline” is great in the role.
– Pacing 4/5: Not perfect. Not terrible. It’s a tad on the long side, but you need a fair amount of setup.
– I loved the illustrated book to moving picture bits. It can be overused, but here, I think they found a nice balance.
– Pooh’s all about that red balloon. You actually don’t get to see too much of the other friends. They have small parts, but as per the title, this movie is really all about Christopher Robin.
Conclusion:
Not really something that you must see in theaters, but a fun movie worth seeing.
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You guessed it. I don’t own the pic. It’s a suitably creepy one for the season though.
Summary:
Alliances are shifting. Joffrey’s fresh off a victory he largely didn’t win himself. He’s still a sadistic fool everybody loves to hate, except Cersi, she genuinely loves the twit. Robb Stark’s still fighting but Ironborn (Theon Greyjoy’s people) control much of the North.
Additional Comments:
– I have a new favorite character: Margaery’s grandmother, Olenna Tyrell. She calls her son Lord Oaf of High Garden in her first, very frank conversation with Sansa. The lady’s downright hilarious and I think she was on screen for like 2 minutes tops.
– episode 4 might be my favorite so far. Most was boring, but the few minutes of Dany gaining her Unsullied army were epic.
– This season adds in more torture than I remember.
– The show’s certainly not afraid to bump off main characters, though we knew that from Season 1.
– One thing I’ve started to appreciate more these days is the end credits music choices. For example, episode 9 doesn’t have music at the end, but that fits the mood perfectly. It’s a stunning silence.
– the end of the season is actually a high and beautiful note. Mhysa is both a lovely song and a sweet moment.
Conclusion:
A well-rounded season with highs and lows and understandable struggles across Westros.
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Yet another look at the ugly chair everybody in Westros is scheming to warm with their behind. I do not own the rights to the pic.
*Contains spoilers*
Summary:
The story continues with Dany growing up and forging her way through dangers and deserts. North of the Wall, Jon Show has doubts about his vows but continues to do his duty, seeing a whole new, harsher side of life. In the seven kingdoms of Westros, there’s a heated war on for the throne. Renly Baratheon (sorry about spelling, never did read those character profiles on the bluray extras) squares off with his older brother. Catelyn Stark tries to get them to see reason. When that fails, she returns to her son’s camp and makes a tough decision. Stannus Baratheon deals with his brother, steals his army, and sails for King’s Landing.
Additional Comments:
– I enjoyed the fact that one episode featured the Battle for Blackwater Bay (or something like that) … Stannus’s attempt to deal with Joffrey.
– I shocked myself by actually hoping Cersi would survive. Lady’s a serious conniver. She had some nice speeches for young Sansa Stark.
– The ends a little anticlimatic, just a promise that the White Walkers are on the move and coming to take over the world. It’s anticlimatic because that same threat’s been floated all season long.
– I’m glad I saw it, but I don’t think it’ll go down as my favorite season of all time.
– Content Warnings: They don’t slap that TV-MA up for no good reason. Same shenanigans as before with seeing way more of the characters than we probably ought to. Strong language. HBO-esque stuff.
Conclusion:
With Game of Thrones, never get too attached to any of the characters.
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I don’t own the rights to the pic. I’m assuming it was a general promo pic created to generate buzz when this came out ages ago.
Spoilers Definitely Included:
Let’s face it, people, if you are seeing it this late like I am, you either know the whole story, don’t mind spoilers, or shouldn’t be reading this.
Summary:
As the last stages of summer, troubles brewing everywhere. King Robert Baratheon (sorry about spelling, never read the book) just lost his Hand (kind of like a viceroy) and wants his old friend Ned (Lord Eddard Stark of Winterfell) to take on the role. Elsewhere, the last vestiges of the noble house Targaryen live in exile and plot for a way to retake the seven kingdoms of Westros.
Additional Comments:
– It’s a heck of a lot more complicated than that.
– People have told me for years that I’d like the show and the books that formed the basis of the show. I finally had the time to sit down and catch up.
– Story 5/5: Who doesn’t love a story rife with backstabbing (literally and figuratively)? The characters excel at conniving. Some of the best conversations are the ones where they’re threatening each other through compliments. The dangers aren’t solely from within. Winter is coming. And along with winter there’s the threat of White Walkers and Wildlings from beyond the Wall, literally a giant wall meant to keep out dangerous things.
– Characters 4/5: There are redeemable things about most of the characters, except Joffrey, pretty sure you’re just supposed to hate his whiny little guts. Sansa’s pretty annoying too. Perhaps in future seasons she’ll be more useful. I love Arya. She’s adorable and spunky and she makes friends with many people. They don’t stretch her character quite yet, but there’s definitely potential to expand her role in the future. Ned’s too honorable for his own good. Cersi’s a right creeper. So is her brother, Jaime. I kind of like Tyrion. He’s definitely got redeeming qualities even while being a typical scheming Lannister. Dany’s journey is sad.
– Worldbuilding 5/5: It’s a very large world. It’s really hard to keep all the people and places straight sometimes. Magic and such is actually kept to a bare minimum in this season. There are hints of things to come though. It’s a little hard to track the passage of time. Sometimes the world gets too big because they’re juggling like 4 story lines at once. When they return to one you’re like who the heck are you?
– Content Warnings: Excessive sex, gore, language, and violence. Typical HBO. You see way more of the characters than you want to. Innards come out, blood gushes, heads roll… in short, people die in pretty much every conceivable way here. Nearly every episode features a sex scene of some sort. It’s actually just tiresome.
Conclusion:
If you can get past the HBO nonsense, there’s a worthwhile story with very interesting characters in Game of Thrones.
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