Tag Archives: Gwendoline Christie

Wednesday: Season 1 – TV Review

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TL;DR – Wonderful characters crammed into a generic “insert narrative here.”

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix service that viewed this series.

Nevermore Academy sign

Wednesday Review –

When you take a beloved property from the past and create a modern adaptation, you need to translate a text into a future it was not ready for. This transition can help you find a new voice for an old work or what can drown an old work as you lose what made it work in the first place. Today we look at a show that hits both of these extremes in its wild ride to make it to our screen.

So to set the scene, Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega) is an odd duck in the straight-laced Nancy Reagan High School. However, she is and always will be intensely protective of her family, and no one gets to torture her brother Pugsley (Isaac Ordonez) but her. Well, one application of piranhas during water polo practice later, and she is expelled from another school. Wondering what to do, her parents, Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and Gomez (Luis Guzmán), decide to enrol her in their old school Nevermore Academy. Aghast at being forced to live in her parent’s shadow and her roommate Enid’s (Emma Myers) colourful room, Wednesday decides to run away. But that is when one of the students tries to murder her, and she is saved by a creature that might be disembowelling local hikers, and maybe there is a place for her here after all. Now from here, we will be looking at the season as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.    

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The Sandman: Season 1 – TV Review

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TL;DR – This is a genuinely odd series bouncing from one story to the next with the power of a tsunami, yet somehow it all flows together into a grand gothic fairy-tale.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix service that viewed this series.

Warning – Contains scenes of abuse and scenes that may cause distress.

The Sandman looks into a sunrise.

The Sandman Review –

In 2019, I wrote an article on how we entered a New Golden Age of Science Fiction on Television. However, in the last twelve months, we have gotten, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, House of the Dragon, Shadow and Bone, The Wheel of Time, The Witcher, and more. It is such an incredible rise that I think I need to update my article and explore the new Golden Age of Fantasy on TV, and the next entry into this world is the dark gothic fairy-tale set in the modern world.

So to set the scene, humans go about their day in the real world, but every night they dream, but for some reason, they feel that The Dreaming realm is somehow less natural just because it is filled with dreams and nightmares, and they wake up in the ‘real’ world every morning, well most of the time. The Lord of this Realm is Morpheus (Tom Sturridge), one of the seven Endless, powerful beings that shape all forms of reality. In 1916, when one of his nightmares, the Corinthian (Boyd Holbrook), goes rogue, Morpheus takes a rare trip to the ‘real’ world to take care of the matter personally. However, at that moment, an incompetent aristocratic occultist called Roderick Burgess (Charles Dance) delves into spells he does not understand because he wants to capture Death (Kirby Howell-Baptiste) to bring back his beloved son, who was killed in Gallipoli. Still, he gets Morpheus and binds him under his mansion for 106 years. Now from here, we will be looking at the season as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.   

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TV Review – Game of Thrones: A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

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TL;DR – A moment to catch our breath before the onslaught is unleashed.

Score – 4.5 out of 5 stars

Game of Thrones: A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Image Credit: HBO.

Review –

You know, Game of Thrones is known for its sweeping storylines that explore events happening across continents. However, there are times in the show’s history where a bunch of main and supporting cast find themselves in the one location, and if you know anything about the history of the show, that is never a good thing. Well today, we look at an episode that is the calm before the coming storm, when everything is still but you can see the dark clouds and cracking lighting on the horizon.  

So to set the scene, at the end of last week’s Winterfell a number of big plot bombs got dropped on us. There was the big news of John (Kit Harington) finally finding out who his real mother and father from Samwell (John Bradley). There was the growing sense that The North is not fond of being under anyone’s rule again. After fleeing from the destruction of The Wall in The Dragon and the Wolf Tormund (Kristofer Hivju) comes across the dead ruins of the Last Hearth and also finds the survivors of The Night’s Watch where they discover that the dead are on the move and heading straight for the Capital of the North. In the final shot, Jamie (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) arrives in Winterfell only to find Bran (Isaac Hempstead-Wright) waiting for him, and this is where today’s episode starts off. Jamie is fighting for his life after pretty much betraying, or being at war at some point with everyone in the room. With only Tyrion (Peter Dinklage), who no one cares about in this case, and Brienne (Gwendoline Christie) who people do care about, standing for him. However, while revenge would be nice, the dead are coming and they need every sword. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.  

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Movie Review – Star Wars: The Last Jedi

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TL;DR – The Last Jedi is charting its own story and this is where its strengths and faults lie.

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Star Wars The Last Jedi. Image Credit: Disney/Lucasarts.

Review –

Ok here we go, I didn’t think The Last Jedi was a fantastic film, nor did I think it was a really bad film. It was a film which had some aspects that really worked and some things that just didn’t, which made it a fascinating film to watch. However, this was also a problem for me because I wasn’t sure just how I felt about this film, and indeed for the first time this year, I actually went and saw the film twice before writing my review because I wanted to be sure about my feelings. Now in today’s review, I am going to set the scene and then give a general overview, and then we are going to go full spoiler with my analysis.

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TV Review – Game of Thrones: The Dragon and the Wolf

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TL;DR – Tonight is the beginning of the end, as people come together and others get wrenched apart

Score –  4.5 out of 5 stars

Stormborn

Review –

So today we have reached the end of Game of Thrones’ penultimate season, and more than probably any than have gone before the game has changed completely again, though the more things change the most they stay the same. Now, this is the final episode of the season, so now more than ever There Will Be [SPOILERS] Ahead, if you have not seen the final episode then I would recommend not reading any further.
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TV Review – Game of Thrones: Beyond the Wall

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TL;DR – The Magnificent Seven venture beyond the wall to seek fame and fortune and a whole lot of dead people

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Beyond the Wall

Review –

Ok so today’s episode Beyond the Wall is the penultimate episode of the season, and if you know anything about Game of Thrones, you know that this is the episode where usually we get those spectacular moments that people talk about for weeks on end. See, for example, Battle of the Bastards, The Watchers on the Wall, The Rains of Castamere, Blackwater, and indeed the moment that started for everyone in Baelor, where Ned lost his head. Well, tonight’s episode has a lot to live up too, and while it might not quite get there, it has moments that will leave you speechless.
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TV Review – Game of Thrones: Eastwatch

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TL;DR – This week everyone is moved into position, across all of Westeros, for the dead are on the march

Score –  4 out of 5 stars
Stormborn

Review –

So to set the scene of where we start today, at the end of last week’s The Spoils of War (review) the dragons came to Westeros and they were everything we have waited seven seasons for. After losing allies left, right, and centre Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) was left with one issue, she had to act, or she will have lost before she started, but what should she do. So she targeted the Lannister food convey taking the plunder of Highgarden to King’s Landing. This created the first moment since maybe Season Two where we had a battle with multiple people on both sides that we didn’t want to see die. The battle was vicious, devastating, and a reminder that war has forever changed in Game of Thrones. This week we find out how Cerise (Lena Headey) responds, but also we are reminded that while people faff around in the South, in the North a greater enemy is coming, and it is not going to wait to find out who wins the game of thrones. As always, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] incoming.
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TV Review – Game of Thrones: The Spoils of War

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TL;DR – Beware the cornered queen, and Starks reunite

Score – 5 out of 5 stars

Stormborn

Review –

So today we have reached the half way point in Season Seven of Game of Thrones, and if you thought they were going to let up after last week’s slaughter you will be sadly mistaken. So at the end of last week’s The Queen’s Justice (review) Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) had lost pretty much all the allies she came to Westeros with. Yara (Gemma Whelan) is a prisoner of Euron (Pilou Asbæk) her weird uncle who is making a point to woo Cersei (Lena Headey) like right in front of Jamie (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), like dude, that’s a party foul. So the Greyjoys are done, Dorne has been lost as Ellaria (Indira Varma) is chained in the dungeons of King’s Landing watching her daughter die, oh and with Highgarden falling and the apparent death of the Lady Olenna (Diana Rigg) #QueenOfThornesUntilTheVeryEnd she has lost the Reach as well. All of this is topped off with Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) being outmanoeuvred by his brother leaving Grey Worm (Jacob Anderson) and the rest of the unsullied trapped in Casterly Rock. Everything, all her carefully laid plans have failed, but when you back Daenerys into a corner, history has shown that this is when she is the most dangerous. Now, of course, there will be [SPOILERS] incoming.
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TV Review – Game of Thrones: The Queen’s Justice

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TL;DR – In the Battle of Queens you win or you die

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Stormborn

Review –

So at the end of last week’s Stormborn (review) a lot went down, Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) lost a big chunk of her forces when they were attacked on the way to Sunspear, we lost some Sand Snakes, Ellaria Sand (Indira Varma) was captured and Theon (Alfie Allen) said to Yara (Gemma Whelan) “Euron your own”. In the North Jon (Kit Harington) left Sansa (Sophie Turner) in charge to go treat with the Dragon Queen, but also didn’t kill Littlefinger (Aidan Gillen) which is a mistake at least half of the characters in the show has made so far. So what will tonight’s episode hold for use, will people’s mistakes come home to roost, will someone kill Littlefinger, how will Sam (John Bradley) gross us out, let’s find out. As always there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.
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TV Review – Game of Thrones: Stormborn

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TL;DR – We have reunions and goodbyes, a whole ton of mistakes. and wonder is Samwell’s only job this season is to make us gag

Score – 4.5 out of 5 stars

Stormborn

Review –

So Season Seven powers on and tonight is no exception, so who is the Stormborn and what will that mean for Westeros? Let’s find out. Now to catch us up to where we were at the end of last week’s Dragonstone (Review), The Hound (Rory McCann) is making his way through the Riverlands being reminded by his past, while Arya (Maisie Williams) is making her way to Kings Landing after de-Freying The Twins to … wait was that Ed Sheeran? In Kings Landing Cersei (Lena Headey) is posturing, though Jamie (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) puts her in her place only to be then out-flirted by Euron (Pilou Asbæk) who has reached peak-leather. Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) after six seasons of gallivanting around Essos has finally landed in Westeros, taking over her old home Dragonstone and getting rid of the Stannis smell that was still there. In the North, Sansa (Sophie Turner) showed we learned all the wrong lessons from Cersei, and could someone just kill Littlefinger (Aidan Gillen) and get it over and done with.  Finally, we were told several times, don’t worry about the White Walkers, they can’t get past The Wall, you know that wall that has always been there, and has never fallen … gee I wonder, oh and Samwell (John Bradley) grossed himself and everyone else out at Oldtown. So that is where we have come from, now let’s jump into Stormborn, and a warning there will be [SPOILERS] present.
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