The Movie Journal

Game of Thrones: Season 1, Episode 4 "Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things" May 08, 2011 “Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things” is another worthy episode in the early goings of Game of Thrones. It is an episode mainly filled with exposition and stories, and that is what intrigued me. Many episodes that has nothing but stories tend to get crushed under such weight, but not here. Each actor is capable of telling these history-based stories in their own way. The history is fiction of course, but I couldn’t have been more enthralled listening about how past events shaped the current world of Westeros. I am sure some people may be bored, but I can promise that learning about dragons or hearing stories about cannibalism is far from boring. Such stories have a poetic feel to them. For example, let’s talk about Visery’s dialogue. He was telling his whore, Doreah about how his father made him memorize the names of the old dragons and would give him sweets if he memorized the...

Game of Thrones: Season 1, Episode 3 "Lord Snow" May 01, 2011 “Lord Snow” is the Game of Thrones episode where most people agree that it finally came into its own. The characters we met in the first two episodes are further fleshed out and we meet some new characters who will play major roles throughout the series. We also visit King’s Landing for the first time as we take our first look at the sunny capital of Westeros. What interests me, from the first three episodes, is how character-driven these episodes are. One would expect lots of action or sword-fighting from such a grand fantasy epic, but there has been limited action so far. The characters drive the plot and that is a relief because now we get to know who these characters are. The main theme here is political intrigue and I really like how the politics shape the events of Westeros and what is to come. Jon Snow takes the honor of the titular character. As we know from the first few episodes, he will be ...

Chariots of Fire (1981) When the opening notes of Vangelis’s iconic theme appeared in the very first scene of 1981’s Chariots of Fire, I knew we were in for something special when I felt chills going down my spine. I put this movie in the echelon of great films because this movie meant so much and by the end, I had tears rolling down my cheek as I sat in stunned silence mesmerized by what I saw. People view the movie as a sports film, but it is way more than that. The movie is set with running in the 1924 Olympics, but it takes it on in a more spiritual, inspirational way. It is about the drive and determination of what it takes to be the very best. The two main runners portrayed-Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams want to win for different, inspirational reasons and not because they want to be the best runners in the world (although they were). Director Hugh Hudson and producer David Puttnam when through painstaking research and casting to make this movie the way it is. Pu...

Arthur (1981) I may be in the minority, but I did not think too highly of the 1981 comedy Arthur . Those who know me well knows that I had mixed feelings on screwball comedies. Some are great, but the majority don’t do it for me. This movie plays out as a 1930’s screwball comedy but set in the 1980’s. The movie is energetic and has a fast pace to it, but it did not work well for me. To me, a good movie is all about have likeable characters that you can relate to. The main character in Arthur is not who I aspire to be and it was not fun watching his drunken personality travel all over New York City trying to be the rich womanizer that he is. Arthur (Dudley Moore) is a permanently-drunk bachelor worth over $750 million dollars. He is always drunk, has no ambition, and is always on an endless quest for love. His daily routine has him waking up every morning, his butler Hobson (John Gielgud) drawing him a bath, drinking a martini, and then travelling around Manhattan in his lim...

Game of Thrones: Season 1, Episode 2 "The Kingsroad" April 24, 2011 After the rather tragic ending of Game of Thrones series premiere, we are right back at it with “The Kingsroad.” In terms of character development, this episode does a better job showing us the dimensions of these characters and getting us to care about them. We learn more about the relationship between Ned Stark and his wife, Cat and their history together. We learn just how manipulative and evil the Lannisters can be. The back half of this episode will drive that point home. One of my chief complaints about the first episode was that Daenarys Targaryen was not developed enough. The show does start to develop her character here and her dragon eggs that were given to her as a wedding gift is going to be of some significance. The atmosphere of this episode is tense, and that might be too kind of a word. The characters are brooding and in general, a sad bunch. Considering the events of the first episode, ...

Game of Thrones: Season 1, Episode 1 "Winter Is Coming" April 17, 2011 Oh my! What an incredible beginning to what will become my favorite television series to date. Based on the insanely popular Song of Ice and Fire fantasy series by George Martin, David Benioff and D.B Weiss undertook a massive mission to bring this series to the small screen. It could have been an epic failure, but instead this was a big win for HBO and all the audiences worldwide. This series has so much to dissect, so much meaning it brings to the screen. Every episode in this series tells an individual story while focusing on a main arc and that is ripe for quality characterization. One thing I noticed right away is the look of the series. I never watched the series in HD, but I can still see how immense the production value is. The producers really care for their new baby and that includes giving the series the best look possible. I loved the cinematic presentation with the lavish product...