The Movie Journal

Blade Runner (1982) I remember my first viewing of 1982’s Blade Runner . From the director of Alien , the guy who starred in Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark , and a science fiction setting that was marketed as some sort of sci-fi adventure in the vein of Star Wars , this couldn’t go wrong, right? My young teenage self was in for utter disappointment. I did not expect a deep, thoughtful movie that explores what it means to be human. With hardly any action scenes, I was pretty disappointed. More than ten years later, I gave the film a chance with a more mature pair of eyes. I certainly was able to appreciate the wonders of the movie a lot more. This is one of those films that is always misunderstood at first, but people come back to appreciate it later on. Like this one particular viewer! Ridley Scott, coming off his highly successful horror sci-fi Alien wanted to direct something with more meaning and lyrical, so he was given Hampton Fancher’s script to read. Based on ...

Game of Thrones: Season 1, Episode 6 "A Golden Crown" May 22, 2011 “A Golden Crown” is another great hour of television and it features Game of Thrones at it best. There is plenty of dialogue to digest, but there are some cool action scenes and some rather squeamish imagery, in part, due to the customs of the Dothraki. If I were you, I would advise against eating anything before watching this episode, especially if you cannot stand the sight of blood. This episode is also quite humorous thanks to the lovely quips from Tyrion. The main focus here is across the Narrow Sea with Khal Drogo and Daenerys. It is amazing to see how quickly Daenerys goes from sobbing little girl to steely queen. I guess that little girl wouldn’t have the heart to eat a horse’s heart, a delightfully gross sequence. Of course, Viserys is the snobbish kingly wannabe and in his next confrontation with his sister, it proves to be his last as Viserys meets his doom by molten gold being poured ...

Game of Thrones: Season 1, Episode 5 "The Wolf and the Lion" May 15, 2011 The fifth episode of Game of Throne’s first season may be my favorite one yet! The tension is mounting thanks to the sharp script, exhilarating action sequences, great direction from Brian Kirk, and fantastic acting all-around (with Sean Bean and Mark Addy sharing the MVP award for the episode). The episode really kicks it into high-gear and there were some choices that surprised me considering this is only the fifth episode. For example, I did not expect Ned Stark to step down from his Hand of the King role so soon. I was expecting some kind of action in this regard later in the season, but not too soon. Mark Addy has some fantastic monologues, one with Ned and one with his wife, Cersei. Both monologues show just how vulnerable the king’s character is. I was most interested in his conversation with Cersei. They admitted their hate….and their love to each other that lasted for seventeen years. I...