"Game Of Thrones" Recap: "Baelor" And All Before It

So, "Game of Thrones" has reached its peak, with the death of a beloved character. I've been watching it on blu-ray, and it has been quite enjoyable. Knowing the story, it's always a bit uncertain how a book will translate to film. Some both hit and miss, as in the "Harry Potter" films. When they miss ("Order of the Phoenix," most of "Half-Blood Prince," and arguably "Prisoner of Azkaban") they really miss; when they succeed, they hit the tone and overall presence of the book so well, like the last two. Some serve as very good supplements to the book, but not fantastic films in their own right, like "The Hunger Games."

So where does GOT fit? I think it's a very well-done adaptation of the film thus far, with one episode to go, which captures the pacing, and complex weavings between characters very well. The book was quite detailed, so I don't recall if much was really missed, but I feel like they really took the essential parts of the novel and put it to film. But it doesn't feel rushed, and it doesn't feel like a cliff notes version of the film; it feels right.

This episode, "Baelor," was a particularly important one. Someone loses a head, some crazy stuff happens in a tent, labor pains, an the onset of war. The end was particularly well done; we didn't see the aforementioned head depart its body. We instead hear the noise, and see the reaction of his daughter, Arya, one of my favorite characters.

The parts with Dany felt a bit quick, but it needed to be done. I felt like Khal Drogo was sicker for longer in the book, but they showed it well enough here. And the wall scenes are done well, although as in the book, I find them boring. Just like Klingon stories in "Star Trek: The Next Generation." I totally forgot Aemon was actually a Targaryen; and I don't think I ever realized that Mormont who's with Dany was Mormont of the night's watch's son.

This is what the show does right. It boils down those things that can get lost in the grand scope of the book, and makes it much more evident, but not by throwing random stuff in your face. Something "Prisoner of Azkaban" could've taken a page from; still sucks that they never mentioned who created that marauder's map!

I can't wait for the next and last episode! Then I have to finish "Catching Fire," and maybe "Mockingjay," and then speed through "A Clash of Kings" so I can watch GOT season 2 before any spoilers! Because last time, I totally knew about the dragons and about the death.

Movie Review: "The Hunger Games"

"The Hunger Games" was overall as close a faithful adaptation to the book as I could have hoped, but it had it's limitations. The novel itself was short, but depicted a very dark society, with the guise of peace. The capital always in charge of keeping the peace through fear, which they did with the annual hunger games, in which a boy and a girl from each district (1 to 12, as 13 was destroyed) fight to the death. The victor gets a nice house, and basically seems set for life. The novel follows Katniss Everdeen, the tribute from district 12, and she tries to win her first hunger games.

 

Overall, the movie was a success. The book is written in first-person, which makes it way to really feel what's going on inside Katniss's head. However, it also is what led us to not see any events she didn't witness. This is where the movie served as a fantastic supplement to the book. We were able to see Haymitch's flowering up the sponsors to get Katniss her parachute gifts; we saw the actual center where the games are conducted; and we saw conversations with the president. I also think we were introduced to a new character, the game maker, who at the end seems to have committed suicide over the events that concluded the games.

 

The problem with the film is that we can't get inside Katniss's mind. That was the best part of the novel, really feeling and experiencing her thoughts. Jennifer Lawrence actually does a very good job, especiallyw when Rue dies. However, you don't really feel the emotions she has for Peeta, and also when she's kissing him just to get more gifts. We didn't see the night vision goggles, the gift bread from district 11, the gift pot of chicken stew, etc. And, we didn't get to fully experience her relationship with Rue; it felt rather rushed to me.

 

That being said, then film nailed certain crucial aspects. The tension before Katniss goes to the arena was palpable, and the beginning of the games was so chaotic, I felt like I was there. The cinematography was rather shaky, and my best friend who saw it with me said it made him motion sick. But the moments that were done well were done very well. And Stanley Tucci was fantastic as Cesar. And while the initial fire dress was simply decent, the second dress she wore, while she was spinning, was stellar. But I didn't like how, at the end, they'd didn't emphasize how dire her situation truly was. In the books, you really feel scared for her, and can feel her tension and unease. Here, things just went so fast at that point, and they didn't even address whether she had feelings for Peeta or not.

 

If I were to make the film, I would've started with scenes from a prior hunger games, with a young kid outsmarting his opponents in ingenious ways and winning. Later, we'd find out that that kid was Haymitch. Instead, they started with words on the screen and an interview with the game maker; not the most exciting, but the again, the book started with Katniss going to hunt,

 

Overall, a very good adaptation of the book, and it was limited by the fact that we couldn't read Katniss's mind, a flaw that I don't think any movie could have overcome. As a supplement to the book, I seriouslyw enjoyed it, and look forward to watching it again. I loved the visualization of the capital, and the Ganges themselves, and I think it'll be a treat to see in high def!

 

Darth Plagueis

For years, since the release of "Revenge of the Sith," I've been waiting to hear more about the tale of Darth Plagueis. Palpatine hinted that Plagueis created Anakin. A chance to find out more about that, and more about the being who trained Darth Sidious, would've been a real treat. And a treat it was, having completed the novel by James Luceno.

The book is equal parts Plagueis and Sidious, likely because their two stories and lives are so intertwined. The novel starts as Plagueis kills his master, a bith named Darth Tenebrous, who masquerades as the architect Rugess Nome. Plagueis continues his double life as the wealthy Hego Damask, with plans to enact the grand plan of the sith, defeating the jedi and restoring stablity to the galaxy. A plan in words for centuries.

Plagueis encounters a young man simply named Palpatine on Naboo, and realizes he could be his apprentice. After Palpatine murders his family, he takes the name Darth Sidious, and together they work on enacting the grand plan. Plagueis realizes that Palpatine could be the political figure to take control of the Republic, and appoint Damask as co-chancellor. As Palpatine is groomed in politics, Plagueis focuses on multiple scientific experiments on his home of Sojourn, attempting to control midi-chlorians.

A large number is important faces make their way here. We see Sifo-Dyas, who actually is a jedi who orders the clone army, albeit under the suggestion of Damask. We see Dooku, as a jedi slightly embittered with the Republic, and later as one willing to delve into learning about the dark side. Qui-Gon makes an appearance as Dooku's apprentice. We see Obi-Wan and Anakin, although they're really seen in scenes from TPM. And a nice touch was seeing Jorus C'boath.

Overall, the book was very good. I thought before reading this, that Palpatine was a genius. Then, I felt that Plagueis was really behind it all: the clone army, the seperatist war, the blockade of Naboo, etc. Until, at the end, Sidious says he suggested those to Plagueis, and was playing him the entire time. I also thought Plagueis died sometime before TPM, but he was around, playing his diminishing part in galactic events up until Palpatine's election. Plagueis was monumental in getting Palpatine elected.

The book delves into a lot of political stuff, and sometimes it gets confusing as to what the sith's plans exactly are with these various trade guilds and trade routes and mercenaries (like the black sun). Overall, it confirms the genius of Palpatine, although he was heavily influenced by the teachings of Plagueis. And it answers an important question: Anakin was not directly created by Plagueis, but likely in respose to Plagueis's tampering with midi-chlorians. A fantastic book, one I hope to read again and glean more information from.

Look Who's Coming To The TARDIS

With the news of the Pond's imminent departure, it was only a matter of time before a new companion was chosen. While recent rumors indicated that the actress from Moffat's series two adventure, "The Girl In The Fireplace," was to be the companion, those remained just rumors. Jenna-Louise Coleman, pictured above, is the new companion. Which in and of itself is sad, because it means Amy and Rory are leaving. But Moffat gave us a bit of a tease.... we will be seeing more of the pesky weeping angel aliens, which is where the Ponds will meet their questionable end. Moffat hints that people may die. And Moffat hints that else mystery is how and where the doctor meets his new companion. Can it have something to do with the fall of the eleventh? Despite Moffat saying this will largely be a standalone series, I suspect there will be some long-lasting, emotional threads that will tie this entire series together in time for the 50th anniversary!

Westeros, HBO-style

So, I finally started watching "Game of Thrones," which actually came out last year on HBO. I wanted to read the novel first, which is actually part one of a larger series called "A Song of Fire and Ice." There were so many rave reviews of the HBO series, which led me to read the book.

I'm now five episodes into the series, and overall, they've done a good job condensing the dense, complex nature of the novel into film. The relationships between the different characters, and between the families as a whole, is made somewhat understandable. I rewatched the first episode with my friend, and he was able to follow the plot. I feel like, if I didn't read the book, I'd not find the show as interesting.

Tyrion is likely the most likeable character in the book, and Peter Dinklage carries that through to the show. Westeros overall doesn't seem as breathtaking with soaring landscapes as "The Lord of the Rings," which is likely due to the lower budget. However, the opening credits are stellar. The opening theme, by the composer from the first "Iron Man," has a subtle, epic feel to it. And the interactive map is so innovative, and done so that it looks like the map has a little factory underneath churning these buildings. I also like how the credits change as the story progresses; when Catelyn bring Tyrion to the Eerie, the opening credits show the Eeyrie on Westeros.

My main criticism thus far is the amount of nudity shown. Especially in the first episode, such as the scenes with Tyrion in the brothel, and Viserys's first scene with Daenerys. It was wholly unnecessary in my opinion, and detracted from the show's quality. That being said, it's still a fun show to watch, well done, and I look forward to seeing how they conclude this season, especially with those dragons.

Blogsy

So, with the new iPad, not only is it much nicer to type than on the iPhone, which will make blogging much easier, but there's also this cool app called blogsy. It connects with blogger, and can post pics, videos, and other stuff. So hopefully I'll be blogging a lot more!

The New iPad: The Unboxing

Movie Retrospective Review: "Hugo"

When I first saw "Hugo" last year, I saw it out of interest, and possible because of its oscar potential. I was quite tired, as it was a late showing, and despite the 3D, I wasn't wowed. Part of this is, because of the advertising, I expected a fantasy film. Which, when seeing robots, and a robot as a boy, was expected. So I was disappointed with the end result, but I needed to re-evaluate it, both from a less sleep-deprived state, and knowing what the film actually was.

And doing that, I realized that "Hugo" was actually a beautiful film. The cinematography is beautiful; I especially like the first shot of Paris superimposed with a clock. The scenes of Hugo climbing up the clock tower, and the way they're shot, was really nice. I still don't quite feel for Hugo's character per se, but I do feel more of a relation with Melies. Looking up some stuff about him afterwards, I was impressed with how much the movie stayed true to the real person. From being a magician, to building his own camera and film studio, to burning his works, the movie covered a lot of his life. And, I didn't realize how pivotal to film some of the things Melies did was, such as the stop trick, dissolve, and other film techniques.

I can see why people, including the AMPAS, loved this film. It's beautifully shot, well-acted, and highlights one of the pioneers of early cinema. This is a love letter to cinema, along with "The Artist," albeit expressed in a different way. I think that, while not as special to me as "The Artist," it's still a stellar, well-acted, well-crafted film that will hopefully have a lasting presence in film history.

The New iPad

On March 7th, Apple introduced the newest iteration of the iPad, not the iPad 3, nor the iPad HD. There's been debate online over the nomenclature of the iPad series now. Some feel that this is a return to simplicity, the type Steve Jobs started since his return to the company in the late 1990s. As detailed here, before Jobs came on, the mac line included such colorful names as "PowerBook 2400c," "Power Macintosh 5500," and "Power Macintosh 8600/9600," among others. After he came on, this simplified to "PowerMac G3" and "PowerBook G3." This has continued with the mac line to this day, with only the "MacBook Air" and "MacBook Pro" among notebooks, and "Mac mini," "iMac," and "Mac Pro" among desktops. Even my computer, the unibody aluminium "MacBook" from late 2008, no longer exists.

Since the iPod, iPhone, and iPad, various "i" devices have had differing names. The iPod has taken significantly different forms, and thus has the most variety of names, including the shuffle, classic, touch, and nano. The iPhone has been oddly named as well, going from the iPhone, to the iPhone 3G (the 2nd generation model), then the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and iPhone 4S. It's gotten to where people were let down that the 2011 model was not the "iPhone 5." The iPad, newest to the game, had the original iPad, and the iPad 2. Apple surprised people last week, when the 2012, 3rd generation model was simply called "the new iPad." Some, as over here, feel that iPad should've gotten a brand new name, to help differentiate it from it's predecessors, and make accessory buying easier. Others, such as here, feel that it's a return to Jobs's style, with each product just called iPad, much as the iPod touch does. I'm somewhat in-between. I do like that we don't need names for each model; it makes everything seem more streamlined, and less show-off ("You only have the iPad 3? I got the iPad 3S+"). The only problem I really see is if Apple eventually decides to release multiple iPad models in a year. Now, it's easy, we just know it by the year it came out, or which generation it is. But once things get confusing, like with the mac lines, it will become more tedious to find the right accessories.

I was looking forward to buying the iPad for a long time, since last year. But I had a feeling that this year would bring us the retina display, and I held out. I wasn't disappointed; we got a retina display this year, and as a bonus, we even got 4G LTE! This wouldn't have mattered to me as much before, but since we don't have wifi in our apartment currently, having LTE will be a big advantage. And I won't have to use all my iPhone's data plan and then some.

I was at work when the iPad was announced (NSUH floors), and after noon conference, I kept refreshing the "Apple Insider" page on my iPhone for news. Finally, around 1:40pm, after presenting a patient on 8 Monti, I saw the headline, about the iPad with 4G, retina display, and voice dictation. Much of the next few hours was spent reading about it, and refreshing the apple store online page, both on my phone and online. After multiple attempts, the store finally came online, and I tried to place my iPad order. I saved up some money in paypal for the iPad, but it was going to cost more than expected, as I decided to go with the 4G LTE, and given how I'm not so spacey with space on the iPhone, up the capacity to 32GB. I ordered it multiple times, including engraving my phone and email on the back, but around the checkout phase, it wouldn't go through. When it finally did, on my phone, I had numerous iPad, smart cover, and apple care orders there, for a total of like 3 grand. And each deletion from the cart either slowed the process down, or shut down the app. So I finally went on a work desktop, and ordered it.

Can't wait for it to come in. I'm especially looking forward to getting into comics now, especially since marvel put a lot of older ones on. First up, I plan to read "Civil War," and then some of the other cross-overs. I also have a bunch of "New 52" DC comics to read. And, watching stuff will be much nicer at the apartment, instead of watching it on my phone. Still, the fact that I use the iPhone largely as a desktop replacement speaks to how varied its uses are, and how Apple may very well be right, in that we are entering the post-PC era.

Movie Review: "50/50"

"50/50"
Directed by: Jonathan Levine
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick, Bryce Dallas Howard, Anjelica Huston

"50/50" was a fantastic film. It's a tough line to walk, making a movie truly funny while dealing with the serious and far-reaching consequences of cancer. Inspired by one of Seth Rogen's friends and their experience, this is the story of a man, Adam, diagnosed with spinal cancer at age 27, and how his family, friends, and girlfriend deal with it.

There are many strengths in this film. As a new physician, two key things resonated with me. The first was when he found out his diagnosis. After the doctor mentioned cancer, we see everything else get phased out, all the fancy jargon becoming nothing in the face of this life-altering diagnosis. I had to tell a patient in our clinic once that he had cancer, and I don't think I handled it well. I wasn't quite prepared for it, and I said it quite bluntly, as opposed to easing in the diagnosis. Even today, I'm covering a patient with fibrosarcoma, the type of cancer Adam had in this film; unfortunately, this patient's cancer was metastatic, with a poor prognosis.

The doctor here was admittedly almost a caricature of the cold, uncaring, matter-of-fact doctor. But I am guilty to doing this of some degree. You get a certain disconnect working in this profession, and empathy is hard to truly have, at least for me. Sympathy, which comes from experience, is heartfelt. Empathy, to me, is faking your best at sympathy.

Which leads to my next most relatable part. When the therapist meets him for the first time, he is both surprised and hesitant at how young she is. She tries these maneuvers we learn, like the "sea otter" slap, being by-the-books with her diagnosis, signs of a budding professional. As opposed to a seasoned veteran, who incorporates all their knowledge into an art. She was developing her art, and as someone in training now, it was well done.

You also feel badly for the character himself. The struggle, and that especially well done scene of frustration in the car before his surgery. Rogen was hilarious, and I feel they had just the right amount of him in the film, although he felt more weighted towards the middle and end. I also felt the romance was done well, and somewhat subtly.

Showing the death of one of the chemo patients was also very heartfelt and helped make the film grounded. You grow to like that character in only a few scenes, and his loss makes our character's struggle that much more realistic. And the issue with his parents, it's something I feel too when my mom worries too much, and perhaps we all do. But when his mom said she smothers him because she loves him, and he realizes that on his own, it was very nice.

Overall, a wonderful film, with a good balance of seriousness and humor. I wish a film like this would get nominated by AMPAS.

Short Film Review: "Archetype"

"Archetype"
Directed by: Aaron Sims
Starring: Robert Joy, David Anders, and Elle Newlands

"Archetype" is a short film that was just picked up for a full-length feature a la "District 9." I wonder if that was the intention of the director and team, because as is, it's a tease for a larger story, which is more evident from the artwork shown during the end credits.

Basically, there's some guy trying to discover what's going on with RL7, a robot seemingly imbued with the memories of a certain Dr. Stevens. Just as they seem to discover this, RL7 breaks free, and the artwork shows him wrecking havoc in a city.

I'm interested to see what story this becomes as a feature film. The world crafted thus far is interesting. We see a desolate planet, very reminiscent to me of Geonosis from "Star Wars," including the walking four-legged droid machine. I hope that an expanded story will offer more detail on what the battle is, and detail more on why a droid has human memories. I don't want to see a simple action film that takes place after this short ends, but I have a feeling it'll be a story with some depth. It's a dream of mine to do something like this; make a short film that leads to a full feature. Let's hope this one works out well.