Spot on.Quoting number8 (view post)
Spot on.Quoting number8 (view post)
I thought it was hilarious how every other shot led us to believe that the expedition was just made of these seven heroes but as soon as the attacks began we saw no less than four or five random extras die. It's like they popped up just to be killed and create those spit takes where you thought some character just bought it. I swear at times it seemed like it was even the same extra dying again and again.
The whole wight hunt was probably the most glaring example of a problem the writers have been having ever since they started to go off-book: they seem to start out by envisioning big watercooler moments and then work backwards to get to them, even if it means throwing logic and sometimes characterization out the window. In this case the whole storyline clearly existed for the purpose of killing a dragon and having the Night King bring it back*, to hell with the contrivances it took to get there. Same thing with the Arya/Sansa story: I'm fairly convinced it's going to end with Sansa (possibly Sansa and Arya together) turning the tables on Littlefinger, but in order to make it more "dramatic" they're having both of them act like dummies first (honestly, has Sansa forgotten what happened the last time she put her trust in Littlefinger instead of Brienne?)
*And that part of it really was well done, especially that beautifully sad shot of Viserion's corpse sliding into the water. But then, this show is really at it's most reliable when it comes to delivering spectacle. And the whole thing looked absolutely gorgeous -- that scenery was to die for. Did they film this episode in Iceland?
I actually think my favourite parts of the episode were the various conversations between the crew at the beginning. The way this season has been zooming from plot point to plot point, taking a few minutes to relax and let a few characters just talk and act like actual people rather than pieces on a chess board felt really refreshing.
Last edited by Ashley; 08-21-2017 at 10:25 PM.
Same. The Hound and Tormund talking about Brienne was the episode highlight for me.
Movie Theater DiaryQuoting Donald Glover
My why...
Why would Arya just keep all those masks under her bed? Shouldn't a well-trained spy be a little more secretive?
For a moment, I was sure it was Arya as Littlefinger talking to Sansa.
Ya know, aside from Lady Tyrell, there haven't been any major deaths this season. For me, it's kinda destroying the tension, like for example when Jaime went deep sea diving, was there anyone here who doubted for a second he would survive? How about Jon falling into the ice last ep? For me, it's been "eh, let's see how he pulls himself outa this one."
My guess is they're saving the meat and potatoes for next season, but I would expect something pretty shocking to happen next episode.
Losing is like fertilizer: it stinks for a while, then you get used to it. (Tony, Hibbing)
I mean, I was pretty surprised by Viserion's death. You're right about Jon, but I totally believed that Tormund was gonna bite it, since they had that "Someday I'm gonna have kids with Brienne" talk earlier in the ep, which is TV code for "One order of tragedy, please."
Movie Theater DiaryQuoting Donald Glover
Yeah, I don't have much to add. This was a pretty silly episode. But at least we answered the question of why it would be necessary for Bran to warg into a dragon. That army of the dead is heading for Winterfell.
Coming to America (Landis, 1988) **
The Beach Bum (Korine, 2019) *1/2
Us (Peele, 2019) ***1/2
Fugue (Smoczynska, 2018) ***1/2
Prisoners (Villeneuve, 2013) ***1/2
Shadow (Zhang, 2018) ***
Oslo, August 31st (J. Trier, 2011) ****
Climax (Noé, 2018) **1/2
Fighting With My Family (Merchant, 2019) **
Upstream Color (Carruth, 2013) ***
This actually doesn't bother me, because Arya left her training early and was always a stubborn pupil. It makes sense to me that she would be sloppy in some areas. I mean, she's already let herself be spotted and outmaneuvered by Littlefinger. Her tragic flaw is overconfidence.Quoting Ezee E (view post)
Coming to America (Landis, 1988) **
The Beach Bum (Korine, 2019) *1/2
Us (Peele, 2019) ***1/2
Fugue (Smoczynska, 2018) ***1/2
Prisoners (Villeneuve, 2013) ***1/2
Shadow (Zhang, 2018) ***
Oslo, August 31st (J. Trier, 2011) ****
Climax (Noé, 2018) **1/2
Fighting With My Family (Merchant, 2019) **
Upstream Color (Carruth, 2013) ***
It appears we are getting an 80 minute season finale next week.
Click below if you want to know the episode title.
[]
Probably no reason to beat this dead horse anymore, but here's Alan Taylor's, er, explanation on the timeline.
AKA "It's just cooler this way, guys."
Movie Theater DiaryQuoting Donald Glover
They can't put the blame back on the audience for this one. They are the ones who trained us over the course of multiple seasons how time works in this world. That's the whole reason that there are miscommunications and people acting on bad info. Because news is slow to travel.
The more I think about it, I think this might be my least favorite episode of the series. The alarming part is that the writing is bad at the level of scenario. They've had episodes of with flat dialogue and silly detours (Pod in the brothel, for example), but this is something else. The whole mission was a stupid idea from the beginning. Why, at this point, are they trying to appeal to Cersei Lannister's sense of reason? I'm hoping next week is a return to form, because that one shook my confidence.
Coming to America (Landis, 1988) **
The Beach Bum (Korine, 2019) *1/2
Us (Peele, 2019) ***1/2
Fugue (Smoczynska, 2018) ***1/2
Prisoners (Villeneuve, 2013) ***1/2
Shadow (Zhang, 2018) ***
Oslo, August 31st (J. Trier, 2011) ****
Climax (Noé, 2018) **1/2
Fighting With My Family (Merchant, 2019) **
Upstream Color (Carruth, 2013) ***
Much of Season 5 was the confidence shaker for me. Seasons 6 and 7 have essentially become the less nuanced (in its tact of specific storytelling mechanics and character details) but more enthralling version of the show in just about every other way.Quoting Spinal (view post)
It's spectacle over sophistication at this point, which I'm totally okay with since it seemed to lose the latter somewhere during S5 ("Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken" is the easy go-to) and only got stronger with the former ("Hardhome" especially) over time, and I will continue to enjoy it immensely in that more disappointingly shallower but more sumptuously visual and emotionally visceral way, just as I did with Season 6.
Plus, the earliest seasons when they couldn't do massive stuff like this did a hell of a lot of groundwork for character-building and world-building to let those elements easily coast (some would say "skimp") now.
Last edited by Henry Gale; 08-22-2017 at 08:25 PM.
Last 11 things I really enjoyed:
Speed Racer (Wachowski/Wachowski, 2008)
Safe (Haynes, 1995)
South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (Parker, 1999)
Beastie Boys Story (Jonze, 2020)
Bad Trip (Sakurai, 2020)
What's Up Doc? (Bogdanovich, 1972)
Diva (Beineix, 1981)
Delicatessen (Caro/Jeunet, 1991)
The Hunger (Scott, 1983)
Pineapple Express (Green, 2008)
Chungking Express (Wong, 1994)
His next quote in that article is a doozy:
I mean, there's nitpicking -- like that whole shallow lake business in "Spoils of War" -- and then there's being bothered by a complete hubris-born disregard for your show's logic. The thing didn't make sense while watching and holds up even less upon retroactive scrutiny. The show's historic success should not excuse lazy writing.
Unlike others, I actually think the show has benefited more so than not from not being tethered so closely to an authoritative narrative, but this episode certainly highlights the difference between novel-writing and episodic television. You don't get the benefit of a seven-day cliffhanger in a book. There's no way the set-up itself would survive a re-write, not to mention all the details that don't hold up to any type of scrutiny.
letterboxd.
A Star is Born (2018) **1/2
Unforgiven (1992) ***1/2
The Sisters Brothers (2018) **
Crazy Rich Asians (2018) ***
The Informant! (2009) ***1/2
BlacKkKlansman (2018) ***1/2
Sorry to Bother You (2018) **1/2
Eighth Grade (2018) ***
Mission Impossible: Fallout (2018) ***
Ant-Man and The Wasp (2018) **1/2
[]Quoting Dukefrukem (view post)
As much as I dislike Arya/Sana's storyline, I love that someone captioned this part of last episode as "Arya: But her emails..."
And season 5 is rather weak because of the source material more than the showrunners, in my opinion.
Midnight Run (1988) - 9
The Smiling Lieutenant (1931) - 8.5
The Adventures of Robinhood (1938) - 8
Sisters (1973) - 6.5
Shin Godzilla (2016) - 7.5
Cool finale title.
Last year's finale, I can't see the show spending twenty-plus minutes on a single sequence like that ever again. The Battle of the Bastards may be more showy, but Cersei's bombing of the Sept is just beautiful filmmaking on every level.
Heh
I think I read somehwhere that's from one of the behind-the-scene videos.
Midnight Run (1988) - 9
The Smiling Lieutenant (1931) - 8.5
The Adventures of Robinhood (1938) - 8
Sisters (1973) - 6.5
Shin Godzilla (2016) - 7.5
Ha. you're right! 9:26Quoting Peng (view post)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yx9dRL1BCCQ
Knee Jerk reactions
1. Didn't see the Littlefinger scene coming- I admit I thought he had the sisters fooled. Good for Sansa.
2. I was surprised (initially) at how quickly Cersei had agreed with Tyeron
3. Dinklage continues to display whey he gets top billing-
4. Jaime allying with Jon? It was only a matter of time before he left- and I don't think he believes she's pregnant anymore.
5. 30 seconds to bring down the wall.
6. So many reunions!
7. See you guys in 2019
After a disappointing penultimate episode, this one really wraps it up well.Quoting Dukefrukem (view post)
-Seasons in, and the White Walkers / Wights still remain as scary as anything you see in the movies.
-I take it Tormund and Beric were fine. Does the remaining Wall soldiers even try and fight them at this point?
-Cleganebowl will be a disappointment to the internet, but everything the show is doing with The Hound is A+ in my book.
-Littlefinger's demise was as appealing as anything else in the show. Cheers to Sophie Turner and Aidan Gillen's performance there.
-Pregnant or not?
-Was picturing an Ace Ventura "Kissing Einhorn" reaction with Dany and Jon making love.
-Anytime The Mountain is in the scene and there's conflict, it's nerve-racking. I thought Jaime was a serious goner.
More thoughts. Good damn episode. Really, Spring 2019??? Eek.
For all the great scenes in tonight's episode (and there were plenty), my favorite was the one with Theon and Jon.
"We eventually managed to find them near Biskupin, where demonstrations of prehistoric farming are organized. These oxen couldn't be transported to anywhere else, so we had to built the entire studio around them. A scene that lasted twenty-something seconds took us a year and a half to prepare."
Good finale. But still some seriously bad plotting going on with this show.
The way the wall came down? The dragon was a last minute addition to the Night King's armamentarium. Exactly how was he planning to get past the wall before the dragon came along? Were they just marching and going to hope for the best?
And while the conversation was very satisfying, why exactly did Bran reveal Jon's big secret not to his sisters but instead to a guy he literally met a mere minutes earlier? I'm sure you could chalk it up to his psychic whatever, but that's not how the scene read to me.
Still, improvements. Cersei's second half game plan makes a lot more sense than her first half. Frankly, I think she has a good point...
edit: oh, Jon and Dany? familial relationship ickiness aside, that was pretty damn sexy.