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Spoilers ahead.  I liked it.  It was a fitting end to a pretty remarkable show - up there with the endings to Breaking Bad and The Sopranos.  I've not been as much of a Daenerys fan since that whole "must bend the knee" business last season.  Commitment to monarchy is the thing I liked least about Game of Thrones.  It's essentially a show about the consequences of bad government.  I do generally agree with the fan backlash that greeted "The Bells."  Daenerys was not properly motivated to torch King's Landing.  That was, unfortunately, convenient writing to achieve a desired end.  But, having said that, it's not like we haven't seen her cruel side in the past: the Astapor slavers, Mereeneese nobles, Dothraki khals.  They all deserved it.  Right?  But why did Varys deserve roasting?  For having a conversation with Jon about who would be a better ruler?  For such a major character as Daenerys to take a turn to burning innocent men, women and children needed better motivation.  Seems like a misstep for a series that had done so much else so remarkably well.  But you just kinda knew when they pictured her with her troops, echoing the image that Leni Riefenstahl captured in Triumph of the Will, (as well as a similar echo for Commodus in Gladiator) that there wasn't going to be a happy ending for her character.  Still, I liked where most of the other characters ended up.  And for all the good that came before, I can only thank George R.R. Martin, David Benioff, & D.B. Weiss.  05.19.19

While I generally liked “The Last Starks” episode, particularly the funeral scene (nice way to say goodbye to friends) and character moments during the after party, the battle with Euron Greyjoy’s Iron Fleet was just ridiculous.  I’m always willing to give shows that I like a bit of slack, but pul--eeeze-- another “sneak attack” by the Iron Fleet – this one occurring in daylight!  When I moved to the West Coast, I took lessons in sailing and spent a lot of time on the waters of Santa Monica Bay.  I’m hardly an old sea captain, but let me tell you, there is no way that another boat under sail can sneak up on you.  You’d spot it – especially a fleet -- miles away.  It was bad enough last season when Euron’s fleet suddenly attacked Yara’s, but at least that was at night.  Why in the world would Dany fly her dragons anywhere near Euron’s fleet during daylight?  And why was Dany’s fleet in irons with sails barely luffing, while Euron’s fleet was running under full sail?  Did they have different wind?  Maybe Euron brought his own wind.  That would be like him.  I’m willing to accept dragons, giants and the walking dead. But full sail in no wind? Come on, man!  05.11.19

Normally I have a prohibition on any film or TV show named "The Last" because they're usually mediocre.  But this one, streaming on Netflix is a rare exception.  The Last Kingdom is about England in the late 800s and the struggles of the Saxons against the invading Danes.  It's basically the other side of the story told on Vikings (another historical fiction show I like a lot), only this is told from the Saxon point of view.  There's lots of swordplay and bloodletting that you would get on Game of Thrones or Vikings, but there's also some rich character development, especially in the relationship between the two guys on the left, King Alfred of Wessex and Uhtred of Bebbanburg, a Saxon who was orphaned and raised by the Danes.  Uhtred is an especially interesting character with roots and loyalties to both sides in the conflict.  Three seasons are available on Netflix and another one is in production.  Definitely worth viewing.  03.01.19

Found another binge viewer on Netflix. Peaky Blinders is a British production about a mob family in Birmingham post World War I. It's a mix of The Godfather, Boardwalk Empire and The Sopranos. It's not always perfect, but it's pretty darned good. Four seasons worth are available on Netflix now and a fifth season is apparently in production. I've liked Cillian Murphy since 28 Days Later, and he was a terrific bad guy in Red Eye. But he's really found his perfect role here as Tommy Shelby, the head of the family. Also, there's a great recurring guest role for Tom Hardy starts in season two.  01.14.19

Whoops I did it again!  Look at that guy on the left -- so smug and self-righteous. Now look at him on the right, humbled by a broken collarbone and four broken ribs. Yeah, on Tuesday, September 25th I crashed my bike trying to get through a gate to the LA River Bike Path. It was totally the gate's fault.  Yes, it's painful as hell, and yes, it serves me right. But there is an upside -- I took your mind off politics for a few brief seconds.  But, I promise,"bikie" will be back!  10.06.18

Watched On The Waterfront last night on TCM.  If you've never seen this film, put it on your list.  It plays periodically on TCM. In my view, it's really an essential film.  I wrote a story about it (something of a review, but more of an appreciation) in the Reviews Section. It's loaded with back-story about the Hollywood blacklist that I uncovered in my research for Dreamland.  Click HERE to read.   07.21.18

I've liked what I've seen from this show -- so far.  But I can't understand how they jumped from Forbidden Planet to Star Trek without even mentioning The Twilight Zone.  Rod Serling was one of the literary giants of the genre in that he used sci-fi to tell philosophical and morality-based stores that the networks wouldn't allow him to do in a real world setting.  Clearly, Rod Serling paved the way for Gene Roddenberry to do the same kind of challenging stories on network TV in Star Trek.  Gene's mantra that every Star Trek episode had to be "about something" (exploring moral and ethical dilemmas) clearly owed a debt to Rod Serling.  05.07.18  Update: Again, I liked the show this week on Sci-Fi Monsters.  But to discuss monsters in sci-fi without at least a nod to H.P. Lovecraft was unfortunate. 05.14.18

I don't know what film will win the Best Picture Academy Award, but I know that the best picture I've seen this year (by far) was Darkest Hour. It was, of course, amazingly acted by Gary Oldman (with heavy makeup that, thankfully, didn't look like it was makeup), but it was also a really well-developed script, and brilliantly directed. The photography was superb and it was edited with really clever use of titles, and CGI that enhanced the storytelling. The moment when an overhead tour of a battleground morphs into a dead soldier's face is only one example.  

See it.    03.04.18 

It's that most wonderful time of the year -- when studios send out screeners to try to get my vote for WGA Awards.  I've got a bunch that I need to view, but one that I liked so far was Wonder Woman.  I loved the period setting and generally enjoyed the story more than I do the usual origin stories.  I especially thought that Gal Gadot was perfectly cast as Diana.  It kinda lost me in Act III, but I want to take a  second look before I criticize.  12.02.17

Didn't love it.  Didn't hate it.   It wasn't as good as Galaxy Quest (unfortunately) but it did have some of the irreverence I liked in that film.  Not sure how a show that's not really dramatic enough to be a drama or funny enough to be a comedy is going to play long term. But I probably liked it better than I will the new Star Trek Discovery (STD, seriously?) 

09.11.17  Update: After watching a few episodes, I have to admit that this show has grown on me.  It has a kind of goofy irreverence for Star Trek: The Next Generation that I find amusing.  But I sure wish they didn't rely so much on the "idiot plot" to drive stories.  The idiot plot is where -- if one of the characters didn't do something idiotic, there would be no plot.  In particular, the episode where the populace wore badges with up/down votes was a clever idea, but in order to draw our crew into the story, LaMarr had to do something completely idiotic.  In this case, humping a statue of a character sacred to that society. They can do better.  12.02.17   

Didn't love it.  Didn't hate it.   It wasn't as good as Galaxy Quest (unfortunately) but it did have some of the irreverence I liked in that film.  Not sure how a show that's not really dramatic enough to be a drama or funny enough to be a comedy is going to play long term. But I probably liked it better than I will the new Star Trek Discovery (STD, seriously?) 

09.11.17  Update: After watching a few episodes, I have to admit that this show has grown on me.  It has a kind of goofy irreverence for Star Trek: The Next Generation that I find amusing.  But I sure wish they didn't rely so much on the "idiot plot" to drive stories.  The idiot plot is where -- if one of the characters didn't do something idiotic, there would be no plot.  In particular, the episode where the populace wore badges with up/down votes was a clever idea, but in order to draw our crew into the story, LaMarr had to do something completely idiotic.  In this case, humping a statue of a character sacred to that society. They can do better.  12.02.17 Happy 50th Birthday to Sgt. Pepper!  I can still remember exactly where I was the first time I heard it -- such an event that WKBW played it all the way through without commercials.  I was blown away then, and remain so now.  I've listened to Sgt. Pepper so many times that it is one of the few albums that I can play from beginning to end in my head -- which I have done on long drives when there was nothing good on the radio -- every song, verse and solo in exact order (and yes, that includes Within You Without You).  Many thanks to the Beatles (and George Martin) who gave Sgt. Pepper to the world.  Hope to be listening in another 50.  06.06.17

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