Game of Thrones – “Kissed By Fire”

Season Three, Episode Five

Grade: A

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Was this the most emotionally charged episode from Game of Thrones yet? I think so. It’s not too often we got to really feel for many of these characters who are off either fighting wars, training dragons, or manipulating kings and lords. But in “Kissed By Fire” there is a lot to sympathize for that will warm your heart with something other than Hot Pie giving Arya a bread wolf.

First and foremost, the action-packed opening scene between Beric and the Hound during their trial by combat to see if the Hound is guilty of murder through the Lord of Light. You know, because it’s always way cooler to have a fight to the death than a trial with a judge and a jury… duh! The Hound wins the battle by almost slicing Beric’s body in two, but Thoros and the Lord of Light somehow brings Beric back to life. My jaw dropped as low as the Hound’s and Arya’s, but apparently this was the sixth time Beric has been brought back to life.

This brought us to our first sentimental encounter. Arya converses with Thoros and Beric about the death of her father for the first time that we’ve seen and it’s exactly what we could expect from a young girl. She would do anything for her father to come back and ever since the event she’s been on the run, which is why she’s heart-broken when Gendry tells her he’s going to stay with the Brotherhood Without Banners. He relays to her that he’s never had family and the Brotherhood could be like family to him. When Arya cries that she could be his family, a piece of my heart was ripped from my chest. Poor girl, searching for her purpose in a world ruled by greedy men as she clings to anyone who’s nice to her because she’s been away from her family for so long. It’s impossible not to root for Arya.

Meanwhile at Dragonstone, we meet Stannis’ wife and daughter. Yes, he has a daughter and she’s quite adorable, but has been caged up like Rapunzel because of some facial scarring. Stannis seems to care for her as much as he’s able to show, but when she asks about her friend Davos, Stannis reveals that he’s a traitor and is locked up in the dungeon. But when his daughter visits Davos in his cell, there’s a real connection between the two. Davos is gentle and kind towards the girl and she repays his generosity by teaching him to read so he has something to fill the time. It’s a great “aww” moment in a show that seriously lacks any.

Then there was a hot tub scene between Jon Snow and Ygritte, like we didn’t know they were going to hook up eventually. Snow proves that he’s really not a part of the Wall anymore by breaking his oath, but this wasn’t all that interesting. Believe it or not, there was an even more compelling hot tub scene between Jaime and Brienne. Jaime reveals his side of the story for becoming the “kingslayer” and it’s a doozy. The Mad King planned to set a town on fire with his obsession with wild fire, but Jaime got in his way because he couldn’t see the merit to killing innocent men, women and children. So he killed the Mad King when Ned Stark appeared. Boy, GoT sure knows how to turn our opinion around at the flick of a light switch, don’t they?

Meanwhile, Lord Karstark loses his head at the hands of Robb because he slayed the two Lannister boys out of mad vengeance. But in doing so, Robb has lost a portion of his army who backed Karstark, but has a new plan to meet with Walder Frey for assistance. Yes, this is the Walder Frey that Robb was supposed to marry his daughter. Slowly, Robb is losing his grip on the throne because of his decaying army.

As one army is getting weaker, one is getting stronger. Daenerys meets the appointed leader of the Unsullied named “Grey Worm” and advises that everyone pick their own name that they can be proud of. She seems to be doing everything right so far, first freeing the Unsullied and now respecting them. They’ll surely fight for their new leader stronger than ever, but will it be enough to take King’s Landing?

Speaking of, the episode ends with Tywin giving orders to his children. First, Tyrion is to marry Sansa so the key to the North stays within the Lannisters. As we know, the Tyrells were planning to set up Sansa with Loras to give the key to the North to the Tyrells. At the same time, Tywin orders Cersei to marry Loras, which she deeply speaks out against, but as we know, Tywin will get his way out of his children. It was quite a twist at the end of the episode, but one done with words rather than a sword. Oh what a complex world Game of Thrones is!

Overall, this was a fantastic episode and I know I said this already, but I was surprised at how sentimental it got. From Arya, to Jaime, to Stannis’ daughter, there was plenty of moments where we actually felt for the characters. There are always greater parts of telling this gigantic story that sometimes the human element can be lost, but it’s good to see that GoT can even do sappy on a high level. Is there anything this show can’t do?

Game of Thrones – “And Now His Watch Has Ended”

Season Three, Episode Four

Grade: A-

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The episode begins with Varys who speaks with Tyrion while slowly opening up a crate. We learn of his castration and there is a sense of anger that Varys hides very well. When he finally opens up to the contents of the crate, we see the sorcerer who tortured him in the past, in very bad shape. This is a great beginning to an episode that focuses on revenge.

Tyrion wants proof that he was ordered to be killed during the Blackwater battle. As Varys gives him the backstory, I wonder if these two are still allies or if Varys is somehow threatening Tyrion. Whatever the case, we learn later on that Varys is undermining Littlefinger and his eye to possibly marry Sansa. After his talk with Olenna, Margaery offers her brother’s hand and safety in Highgarden. Protecting Sansa from Littlefinger makes sense for the Tyrells and all they’re looking for is ultimate power. So Varys gets his way again. Varys is just like Tyrion and Littlefinger in the way that they use information for power. But the tricky part as a viewer is determining whether or not to trust them.

But to more exciting events during the episode, Daenerys actually speaks the slaver’s language, which surprises everyone. You knew exactly what would happen after. The slave army is hers and her dragon torched the slave master. She now has her impressive 8,000 army along with her dragons and two bodyguards. I would not want to mess around with her, but everything just seems to be happening too easily for Daenerys. Maybe it’s just a stroke of luck after all the unfortunate events she’s been through. But now it looks as though she finally has a very strong grip to fight for the Iron Throne.

While this wasn’t entirely surprising, what really shocked me was the uprising that led to the death of Craster and Lord Cammander Jeor Mormont. You could sense how the Night’s Watch despised Craster and his daughter-wives, so it was just in time that he’d bite the dust. But I’m legitimately baffled by Jeor’s death. The Night’s Watch was unraveling, but I thought their oath would hold strong through the toughest of times. Now Sam is on the run with Gilly and her baby. I’m not sure how long they can last since Sam has been a big ol’ coward for the whole series, but I’m sure there are plenty who are rooting for them.

Then there are the two characters who we’ve hated for the past dozen episodes, but have been sympathizing with their situation recently. Theon was rescued and set free last episode, and when they caught up with him, his savior shot them down with arrows. Here, Theon confesses how big of a mistake he’s made when he betrayed Robb and took Winterfell. It was heart-felt, but he’s beyond forgiveness at this point, which is why I laughed out loud when his savior returned him right where he was being tortured. Theon seems to be damned for good now.

As for Jaime, I couldn’t help but feel bad for him and the way he was being treated this episode, after losing his right hand. It also helps that Brienne has simultaneously found respect for the Kingslayer. During their doomed attempt to fight off all the men, it shows they have strong hearts and will, but they’re going to need some outside help to get out of this jam. The best was when Brienne confronts Jaime for helping her, informing the viewers that there aren’t any sapphires on Sapphire Island. Jaime is losing hope but Brienne is determined to grind it out with him until the end. These two make quite the great odd couple on screen.

What else did I leave out? Brann has a dream where he’s climbing a tree to capture that three-eyed crow, but his mom screams at him. Then there’s Arya who’s traveling with the Brotherhood Without Banners. We see their leader and it’s Beric Dondarrion (not quite sure who he is). The Hound is accused of murder and even Arya steps in and chimes in, but eventually Beric states the Hound will have a trial by combat with him. Beric vs. the Hound… not sure if that’s too wise for Beric but I’m hoping we see the dual soon.

What a fantastic episode it was. When you live in the world of Game of Thrones, you must expect revenge plays a huge part. Daenerys knows what it’s like to be sold and be a slave. She’s had the greatest change from season one until now and her progress is impressive. Tyrion seeks revenge at whoever wanted him dead as Varys displays to him that being patient is revenge’s greatest asset. And Theon and Jaime are finally getting what they deserve. But will the battle be brought back to King’s Landing? I’m not exactly sure where everyone is headed, but I can’t wait to find out.

Game of Thrones – “Walk of Punishment”

Season Three, Episode Three

Grade: B+

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It’s strange how an episode or two can really change your feelings about a character in Game of Thrones. Not that I really expect to ever like or side with Joffrey, but Jaime is one of those characters who seemed like a complete villain, and he still is on almost every account other than what happened this episode between him and Brienne. Oddly, the two have created some kind of loose bond with each other from all the time spent traveling. They might not like each other specifically, but there is some kind of comradery between Jamie and Brienne. Respect? Possibly. Just two bad-ass fighters who have no problem killing anyone in their way? I’d stick around with that.

As both of them are captured by Locke’s men, Jaime warns Brienne of her fate, suggesting if he were a lady he’d rather make them kill him instead of going through what was coming. But before anything could happen Jaime persuaded Locke out of mistreating her, reminding him that she’s from the wealthy Lord Tarth and he would pay him handsomely for her return. Locke spares Brienne, but Jaime doesn’t get away unscathed. Locked mutters, “You’re nothing without your daddy, and your daddy ain’t here” and chops off Jaime’s right hand.

Whoa! Just when Jaime does the first good deed in possibly his entire life, he loses his hand! That was quite a shocker and yes, it was brutal to see his cut off hand lying on the stump as he screams, both in pain and anguish. But it was just shocking too, mainly because nothing really surprising has happened in quite some time. Now I have to go through the other story-lines of the episode.

We return to Daenerys and while she is being advised by Jorah and now Barristan, she’s still as hasty as ever. As a payment to purchase the whole Unsullied army of 8,000 soldiers, she will give them one of her dragons. Obviously Jorah and Barristan advise her this is a terrible idea, but Daenerys is impatient. The good news is that she also takes Missandei, the translator, and there is hope that she will learn from Missandei and unleash her dragons to kill everyone and steal the army! Mwahaha… dragons are awesome.

Meanwhile there is a sweet departure scene between Arya, Gendry and Hot Pie as Hot Pie decides to stay as a baker’s apprentice while the rest leaves. He bakes Arya a bread wolf. Isn’t that just the biggest “Aww” moment in Game of Thrones history! Also, Tywin is still at the head and appointed Tyrion as the master of coin, Littlefinger’s old position. Not sure what Tyrion will be able to find out with this responsibility, but as Littlefinger put it, with the access of money comes a lot more money. Expect Tyrion to invest in some very interesting deals in the near future.

There’s also the scene when Theon is released, but then tracked down by the men who had him captured. When all seemed doomed for Theon, the men are shot down and rescued by the experienced archer who untied him in the first place. Will Theon be accepted once he returns back home? I can’t imagine he would be, but then again I don’t really care whatever happens to Theon at this point.

While a lot of characters had their directions and paths altered during the last episode, this one displayed a new path for plenty. Arya and Gendry, along with the Hound, leave the inn of the Brotherhood Without Banners; Tyrion received a new position; Jon Snow is headed towards the Wall; Daenerys is prepping for war with the purchase of the slave army; and Jaime is now without his strong hand. That’s what I love about this show, because as it slowly moves from episode to episode, it’s always in motion. The chess pieces are strategically tip-toeing around the board until someone strikes. But who will be the next to strike?

Game of Thrones – “Dark Wings, Dark Words”

Season Three, Episode Two

Grade: B+

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We keep on moving forward in Game of Thrones, though little has happened action-wise. But everything is changing and the real question that surrounds every scene has been, Who can you trust? Beginning with Bran, who is still on the run with Osha, Hodor and Rickon, we meet two new characters in Jojen and Meera. They’ve been searching for Bran for quite some time now, but they don’t seem to be very threatening. Apparently Jojen and Meera’s father was an old friend of Ned’s, but how much can you really trust them? The good thing is that we get more insight about Bran’s dreams. Jojen has similar powers as well, and we understand these are the ways of “wargs,” people who can see through the eyes of animals. Pretty cool, huh?

We don’t get to see much of Jon Snow, but his brief scene is the reason we know what wargs are. One of my favorite moments of the episode was when Lady Stark tells Talisa about her inability to love Jon Snow. It’s a touching moment and displays Lady Stark’s torment for everything that has happened to her family. She feels she’s being cursed for her wronged feelings. She’s a distraught mother desperately trying to reunite her family together. Whether that includes Jon Snow or not, it’ll be a while for that moment to occur again.

Another group who are on the run include Arya with Gendry and Hot Pie. They run into Thoros who leads the Brotherhood without Banners. They’re a tough and edgy group, but don’t seem like they’re going to harm Arya (even when she challenges Thoros to a duel). All was going well until the Brotherhood brings in the captive Hound, who immediately recognizes Arya and rats her out. What are they going to do with a Stark girl?

I enjoyed how prior to meeting Thoros, Gendry and Hot Pie were questioning Arya to why she didn’t use her three names on more important people like Joffrey or Tywin. This question certainly surrounded everyone’s minds last season, but Arya doesn’t give a response. To her credit, she used her smarts to free them, but like her traveling companions stated, she could’ve possibly ended the war. Silly Arya.

Meanwhile, Jaime and Brienne are still on their road trip where they tangle up in some entertaining conversation. Brienne is a beast, no doubt, but she is one heck of a loyal knight. And Jaime is a scoundrel who has no loyalty to anyone that isn’t himself. These opposites make for some classic “odd couple” scenes, that is until Jaime cuts himself free and they engage in a duel where Brienne dominates. To be fair, Jaime’s living conditions haven’t been the greatest so let’s give him the benefit of the doubt. But their duel gets cut short when Noah Taylor and his men confront them on the bridge. It doesn’t look like Jaime and Brienne are making it to King’s Landing after all (should’ve swam through the river!).

Finally, Sansa is in a predicament. She no longer has to directly deal with the madness of Joffrey, but she still stays. She believes Littlefinger when he told her he’ll get her out of there, but Shae admits she doesn’t trust him. What is poor Sansa to do? She has a meeting with Margaery and her grandmother Olenna, who asks her about Joffrey. It takes a lot of arm-twisting until Sansa admits that Joffrey is a monster, and I’m still terrified that she’s going to regret her words. Margaery isn’t to be trusted because it’s clear she’ll do anything just to become the Queen. And wasn’t Olenna’s reaction to Joffrey being a monster a bit odd? “Oh, that’s a pity.” What are these Tyrell women up to?

We also see a small bit of Theon being tortured by… who the hell knows. They question why he invaded Winterfell and aren’t satisfied by his response. But it looks like Theon’s going to survive after all. I can’t wait to see how his father reacts to his actions once he returns.

While it’s a bit overwhelming to deal with even more characters that we haven’t seen before, the story of Game of Thrones is still as engaging as ever. Three groups of major characters have all had their traveling halted. It’ll be interesting to see where they end up. Also, there was no Daenerys this episode. I wonder if she has her army and dragons ready for battle yet.

Game of Thrones – “Valar Dohaeris”

Season Three, Episode One

Grade: B+

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I’m happy Sam didn’t get diced and chewed up by the walkers, though he still annoys me much. A lot happened during the season premiere of the third season, but there wasn’t a lot of action. Starting with Jon Snow, he’s able to prove his allegiance to the camp of Mance Rayder and for now, seem to be right where he wants to be. I suspect grand things in the near future for everyone’s favorite bastard. Oh, and did you feel that heat between Snow and Ygritte?

In King’s Landing, everyone is still trying to find their place with Tywin sort of running the show. This means that our favorite half-man, Tyrion, is practically out of any power he used to have. There’s a very revealing conversation between Tywin and Tyrion that displays the father’s lack of affection towards his son, who he blames for killing his wife. There seems like there’s nothing for Tyrion in King’s Landing anymore, but he still feels like he belongs there, and therefore he’s staying put.

Also, we see a side to Margery that we’re not used to seeing around in King’s Landing. A woman who goes out of her way to help a local orphanage and makes promises that things will be better for them. While Joffrey looked on with confusion, Margery makes the attempt to win the public over. Even though Cersei warns her about her safety (which she’s right), Margery has a different approach to being Queen other than taking orders from Cersei. And that brings us to a blazing question with the Lannisters: Where does Cersei fit into all of this? She can’t control Joffrey, Jamie is captured and likely will never come home, and Tywin has taken control with an iron fist. Looks like all she has left is to continue threatening Tyrion. Not to forget about Sansa, she has a talk with Littlefinger who says he might be able to get her out of King’s Landing and back to her family. Do I believe him? No, I don’t.

Meanwhile, we find out that Davos is alive from the battle of Blackwater. He begs his pirate buddy to bring him back to Dragonstone to try and talk some sense into Stannis, who has been under the influence of Melisandre. When he does return, he’s not greeted with much kindness from Stannis. Davos attempts to attack Melisandre and is thrown into a cell for his treason. I like Stannis, but he’s drinking the Melinsandre Kool-Aid and it seems like his chance to take the throne is all but a memory now, unless he can conjure up an army of shadow demons. Hmm…

Finally, Daenerys is hungry to become Queen of the Seven Kingdoms but she’s impatient. She doesn’t want to wait for her dragons to fully grow. She wants an army NOW. I could almost see her face turning into a blueberry. I loathe Daenerys when she’s whiny, but then I just remember she’s the mother of dragons and dragons are freaking awesome! She visits an army she’s interested in purchasing and they’re an impressive group. The slave army of 8,000 is offered and they will no doubt be a threatening force, along with her dragons. What shall the khaleesi do? Oh, at at the end we see Barristan Selmy again, joining Daenerys. I think I’m putting my money on the dragons to rule quite soon.

Revolution – Pilot (S01E01)

It’s impossible not to take notice when JJ Abrams puts his stamp as executive producer on an upcoming movie or television series. Him and fellow Bad Robot Productions founder, Bryan Burk, are producing a new high-concept series for NBC, Revolution, which debuts on Monday, September 17 at 10 p.m. Eric Kripke (Supernatural) is the creator of the series and Jon Favreau (Iron Man) directed the pilot.

Revolution takes little time to dive into its premise: what would happen if the world lost all of its power? There is no explanation of this, but they hint that certain characters hold the secret to this catastrophe. But the show doesn’t continue right when the world goes dark, instead the show picks up fifteen years later when there are already established means of militia ruling and people are used to their way of living.

This is an interesting choice, since we’re used to seeing the characters deal with the immediate change in their lives and how they struggle with the fact that their former way of living is gone. There is more time for character development in shows like Falling Skies and The Walking Dead, but Revolution seems to be concentrating more on action and story. Aside from personal preference, one isn’t better than the other.

So fifteen years later, we see the family that we were introduced with before the blackout. Charlie (Spiridakos) and Danny (Rogers) are siblings living with their father Ben (Guinee) and his new interest Maggie (Phillips). We find out that Ben’s wife passed away, but the details aren’t revealed in the pilot. This family lives in a village with crops for food and rule peacefully until Captain Neville (Esposito) and his militia arrives.

Chaos breaks loose, Ben is shot and Neville takes Danny as prisoner. Ben’s passing words lead Charlie, Maggie, and friend Aaron to Chicago in search for Ben’s brother, Miles (Burke). The trio doesn’t know why or what’s going to happen next, but under Ben’s direction they travel to Chicago and find Miles, who is less than enthusiastic during the family reunion.

Revolution isn’t a show that many people will immediately become engrossed in. The pilot episode sets up its world, characters and conflicts, but answers few-to-none of the questions it presents. Every network is looking for the next Lost, but time and time again those shows fail. Revolution isn’t the next Lost and if people continually compare the two, then Revolution will be cancelled like the rest of the other ambitious shows. Revolution is an action-adventure series with an upside to inject a level of intelligence because of its premise. But I’m afraid it’s becoming too confusing, too quickly, which will not fair well with the general public.

Performance-wise, it’s nice to see Billy Burke step away from his vampire daughter to become a killing-machine. Giancarlo Esposito does a good job acting the villain as Captain Neville, but the strongest of these unknown actors is Tracy Spiridakos as Charlie. She embodies the strength of a Katniss with the unique situation of growing up in these ruins and not knowing a time of technology. It should be interesting to see how she reacts if she has to work a cell phone in a future episode.

Overall, Revolution’s pilot episode isn’t anything special, but nonetheless has enough qualities to keep the viewer interested throughout. I’m looking forward to see what direction Revolution takes and if it could last longer than the first season. I’m not getting my hopes up because there are many ways Revolution can fail, but I am rooting for it.

Movie Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 (2011)
130 minutes
Rated PG-13
Directed by David Yates
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint

Grade:  A-

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There’s always something about reaching the end of a story that heightens your expectations. At the same time, if the conclusion is worthy, the result will forever be embedded in your memory. This is how I walked into the eighth and last Harry Potter film. No, I have not read the books, but I am an avid fan of the film series and walking into a packed theater for the final film, I was nervous. Will it meet my expectations? Will they answer my lingering questions? Will good triumph over evil, restoring my faith in the world?

For those who want to experience the final, and best, film of the series, you must watch the previous seven movies, especially Deathly Hallows Part 1. I’m sure there will be plenty who have skipped a movie here or there, or even some who don’t know who the Half-Blood Prince is. That is because Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 is the film event of 2011. There is no escaping it. For the die hard fans who have been there from the start, this is the second coming of the end. For those, like myself, who have only watched the films, this is an end of a decade-long film series. And for the others, it’s a really cool movie about wizards and magic.

Part 2 picks up right where the first part concludes and takes off with Harry, Hermione, and Ron continuing to search for the Horcruxes to destroy Voldemort. Meanwhile, the evil Voldemort along with the Death Eaters and Dementors are targeting Harry and his allegiance for one epic showdown of thrashing wands, giants and statues, and quite a few casualties.

I couldn’t help but to feel a bit of nostalgia while watching the film. Everyone who stuck around through the series has watched all of the actors grow and mature, and in turn we have matured with them. Especially during the game-changing sequence of events involving Snape’s memory that he captured for Harry to finally see, we see flashbacks of the past films and ultimately witness the past decade in a blink of an eye. What an outstanding scene that was.

While there was a good amount of action during the film, it wasn’t entirely action-packed like some people were hyping it up to be. And after having a talk with one of my Pot-head friends, she explained to me a few moments of the film I was confused. So I guess there really was an advantage to reading the books ahead of time. But for the most part, I thoroughly enjoyed the film.

Overall, the best was saved for last. It’s always tough to say goodbye to something you’ve spent a large part of your life devoted to. But like what one of my favorite bands said during their farewell tour, “This isn’t a funeral. This is a graduation.” For the actors involved in the films, it’s time for them to move onto different and more challenging roles. But the memory of this boy-wizard’s epic journey of family, friendships, and the fight against evil will never be forgotten.

Twilight News: Weitz to direct ‘New Moon’

According to Entertainment Weekly’s Hollywood Insider, Summit Entertainment is about to hire Chris Weitz (The Golden Compass) to direct the Twilight sequel, New Moon.  It was known that the studio was in hurry-up mode to get the director in Vancouver by December 15 if they wanted to keep to their schedule to start shooting in mid-March.  Well, looks like they’re on their way to start pre-production with this announcement.

For those who aren’t familiar with Chris Weitz, he’s best known for the raunchy teen-comedy American Pie and the acclaimed Hugh Grant film About a Boy.  He also tackled adapting Philip Pullman’s The Golden Compass, though while American Pie made the big bucks and About a Boy gave him an Oscar nomination, The Golden Compass didn’t go very well.  One way to look at Weitz’ accomplishment is that he’s very diverse and therefore experienced in almost any genre.  Unfortunately, The Golden Compass was his major dud and it was a big budget, fantasy film based on a best selling book series, His Dark Materials.

Can he bounce back and direct New Moon to glory?  Or is he just swimming in familiar water that’ll result in failure?  Only time will tell.  One thing’s for sure, he’ll be scrutinized by the Twilight faithful every step of the way.

Twilight News: Hardwicke Out, Weitz In?

So the news came in last weekend that Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke will NOT be directing the next two movies of the franchise, New Moon and Eclipse.  I wasn’t entirely surprised by this move, though I am shocked by what insiders of Summit said of Hardwicke.  According to Deadline Hollywood Daily, Hardwicke “was difficult and irrational during the making of Twilight.”  It goes on saying how Summit plain out didn’t like her.

I guess I’ll never really know if these accusations are true or not, but I find it hard to believe.  The Summit Entertainment press release said how Hardwicke won’t be directing the sequels because of how Summit wants to speed the process up to film the next two sequels back-to-back, starting in about 3 or 4 months.  That doesn’t give Hardwicke enough “prep time to bring her vision of the film to the big screen.”

Okay.  I’m fine with that.  I’m also okay with how she probably wanted more money, and now with the blown-out success of Twilight there should be a huge increase in budget for the sequels… and Hardwicke is more the indie-filmmaker, who knows what she’ll do with $100 million.  But you can’t take away what she did for Twilight.  She took a huge movie with high expectations and made it a legitimate teen, sci-fi film for only $37 million.  It has grossed over $138 million in three weeks, and though it probably would’ve made that much if a monkey directed it, Hardwicke actually made the movie pretty good.

So what’s next for the Twilight Saga?  There have been reports that The Golden Compass director/writer Chris Weitz has been offered to direct New Moon.  Well, all the power to female directors has just gone out the window.  Weitz would be a solid choice, although The Golden Compass was a flop.  It’s assured that New Moon won’t be a dud, unless there is some serious backlash for axing Hardwicke… but that’ll probably disappear in a few weeks.

But really?  Chris Weitz?  His adaptation of The Golden Compass didn’t do the Philip Pullman classics justice.  The Catholics of the world were heavily against the release of the movie.  Weitz certainly was feeling a lot of heat from them, and while writing and shooting the film made some very controversial adjustments to the story.  I read the book, and let’s just say what he did is comparable to if Twilight had ended right when it was known that James was tracking Bella.  Weitz left out the final few chapters of the novel and therefore ended the film before the most significant sequence took place.  I don’t know what he was thinking.

I’m sure he’s learned his lesson… right?  So now we just have to wait to see if he accepts Summit’s offer or not.  My opinion… he’s already crumbled under pressure once with a big-time fantasy film.  He should stick with small comedies that get critical acclaim, like About a Boy.  He’s not the director the Twilight Saga needs.

Movie Review: The Fall (2006)

The Fall (2006)
117 minutes
Rated – R
Directed by Tarsem Singh
Starring:  Lee Pace, Justine Waddell, Daniel Caltagirone, Leo Bill

Grade:   B

The Fall is a beautiful looking film, with so much eye candy to make your head spin silly.  The use of color, the landscapes, costumes, and special effects really separates this film from other fantasies.  It’s similar to The Princess Bride in its storytelling and fairy tale style, though The Fall is meant for mature audiences.  My one friend compared it to Pan’s Labyrinth because of its adult fantasy aspect, though it’s not as dark as Guillermo del Toro’s chilling story.  But like both fantasy films, The Fall is an adventure of great imagination, fun, and still keeps its serious tone intact.

The story is based on the 1981 Bulgarian film, Yo Ho Ho, where an actor, Roy, is in the hospital with a broken leg and befriends a little girl, Alexandria, who is also staying at the hospital.  He begins to tell her a story that instantly intrigues her, but his intentions lie deeper than to just to entertain.  He wants the girl to steal medication for his suicide, but as his friendship with her strengthens, the story he’s telling changes to express his thoughts.

That’s the reality part of the story, which is very dramatic in its 1915 Los Angeles setting.  But the fantasy part, which is the story that Roy’s telling, is a luscious journey of revenge from five characters who all have the same agenda to kill the evil Govenor Odious.  The characters in the story are portrayed by people who Alexandria knows in real like, like the way Dorothy transferred the image of her family to the Tin Man, Lion, and Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz.

Some parts are silly, both in the reality and fantasy portions, but they all seem to blend into one whole story arc of importance.  Lee Pace (Pushing Daisies) does a decent job at narrating and being the movie’s lead.  The rest of the actors are shown as a collective group of one, traveling together and fighting until the very end.

The Fall seems like a tribute to actors at the beginning of filmmaking who risk their lives to get an action sequence right.  The black and white montage at the conclusion of the movie is cut together quite effectively, shocking the audience as much as some of the stunning special effects used throughout the film.  Overall, this is a fun movie that I think almost everyone will enjoy.