6 Thoughts on Game of Thrones Season 4
Wow, what a finale! I had certain fears and expectations for the Season 4 finale of Game of Thrones, but the actual episode blew all of them away! Every storyline seemed to get a really big bump in excitement, and I think it might have been the best finale in the show so far! So it’s a shame that I actually started writing this list before seeing the finale, heh, because that final episode kind of turned my feelings on the season around, at least little bit. Still, let’s not let that deter us, and let’s celebrate Season 4 of Game of Thrones!
I read a pretty good description of Game of Thrones online the other day. It basically pointed out that we missed the big, heroic, happily ever after story decades ago, when the heroic Robert Baratheon and his best friend Ned Stark battled the evil Targaryen family to save the kingdom from madness. That story had everything: handsome heroes, beautiful princesses, epic battles, glorious victories and good triumphing over evil. It also had happy endings. Robert got to marry the beautiful Cersei, and promised to be a just and fair king. Ned got to retire from war to go home and raise his family.
The lesson that follows, of course, is that life doesn’t have happy endings. Life doesn’t just end when the story is over. Life goes on, and it’s never as good as your glory days, and that’s Game of Thrones. It’s the bitter, petty, regretful life that inevitably comes after the Happily Ever After.
Join me after the jump for my thoughts on Season 4! And please note that there will be MAJOR SPOILERS for the entire season!
New Guardians of the Galaxy Trailer Pleases and Sparkles
A new international trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy has been released, and it takes a somewhat more serious tone than the previous, music-heavy trailers. I like it!
Obviously the big addition is more Rocket Raccoon, and he is hilarious! The banter in this trailer is top notch. The rest of the movies this summer will probably be good, but Guardians of the Galaxy looks like it’s going to be the jewel of the Summer!
Review: The Weirding Willows
Did you know that Alice from Wonderland was the daughter of Dr. Moreau? Or how about a team up between the Wicked Witch of the West and Dr. Jekyll? And did you ever wonder how Mowgli could speak to the jungle animals? Maybe he was part Doolittle? These are only some of the wickedly inventive crossover tales found in The Weirding Willows, a new graphic novel being released by Titan Comics by writer Dave Elliott. Like The Avengers movie, Alien vs. Predator or even Once Upon a Time, Elliott has written the king of all crossovers starring a wealth of characters from classical 19th century fiction. Alice in Wonderland, The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Wizard of Oz, The Wind in the Willows; even Peter Rabbit makes a guest appearance in this clever comic, the hardcover collection of which is due out July 1.
The first volume of The Weirding Willows seems to be just the tip of the iceberg of this hugely imaginative story. Elliot fills each chapter with cameo after cameo, presenting an intricately woven tapestry of adventure starring some of literature’s most favorite characters.
Comic Rating: 7/10 – Good.
Alice is the star of this series, presented as a no-nonsense teenage girl who has discovered more than just a portal to Wonderland out in the woods surrounding her house. The titular Weirding Willow actually contains portals to all manner of fictional lands, including Oz, Pellucidar (Journey to the Center of the Earth) and NeverNeverLand. But Elliott’s story is not just about doorways to all of these worlds. The characters and creatures of fiction already seem to live in and around the Willows, and many already have a long history of working together. Alice is the daughter of Dr. Philippe Moreau, because why not? It’s not like we ever knew Alice’s last name in the original Wonderland stories (did we?). And Moreau is an old friend of Morty Doolittle, son of the famous doctor (not the Eddie Murphy version). And the Wicked Witch of the West wants both of them to help her build an army of flying monkeys. Moreau’s scientific specialty is making freaky hybrid animal monsters, is it not?
But while that evil is afoot, Alice is tasked with helping the White Rabbit and his bunny friends defeat a monster who has invaded their little bunny homes – Frankenstein’s Monster! Also there’s at least one T-Rex.
Join me after the jump for the full review! And the hardcover is available for pre-order on Amazon.
Khal Drogo as Aquaman is Probably the Best Choice Imaginable
The rumor mill is swirling again around casting in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, this time claiming actor Jason Momoa will make a brief cameo as Aquaman. This particular rumor has been around for awhile, abut now it’s apparently been confirmed by HitFix. Momoa, of course, is most famous for playing Khal Drogo on Game of Thrones and the titular barbarian in the recent Conan the Barbarian movie.
Roles which clearly make him the perfect choice to play the big screen Aquaman, and I mean that with complete sincerity!
Those idiots better not dye his hair blonde…
Hear me out: Aquaman has an image problem, everybody knows this. Everyone the world over views him as a joke. Noted Batmanologist explained why once upon a time: Aquaman’s only real introduction to mainstream audiences was Super Friends, which was a pretty crummy presentation all around. Guys like Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman eventually had their own movies and TV shows to wipe away the memories of Super Friends, but not Aquaman. So people are going to think of him as a joke above all else, and that is clearly something the people behind Batman v. Superman need to address.
And I think casting Jason Momoa is the perfect idea!
How do you make Aquaman cool? Transform him from a skinny white guy in an orange shirt into a massive, badass barbarian!
I don’t usually comment on casting rumors like this, at least not until they’re made official. But I wanted to say something this time because I think Momoa would be a perfect reboot of Aquaman! Nothing says the movie Aquaman has to be comic book accurate. Movie Atlantis can be anything the producers want. So why not make it more of a barbarian culture? Not saying Momoa can only play barbarians, obviously, but he doesn’t look anything like comic book Aquaman. I think that clearly means director Zack Snyder is going for a different version of Aquaman for his films, a more badass version, and I think that would be great.
I also stick by my suggestion that Aquaman be the post-credits teaser.
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 6/14/14
Have you ever walked out of a movie? I haven’t, but I’ve stopped watching films if I’m at home and don’t like them. And now I can say I’ve walked out of a comic book. I want to like DC Comics, they have some great characters, but their current output is just…so, so bad.
The comic in question is Justice League United #2, smack dab in the middle of its Justice League Canada storyline, and the New 52 introduction of Adam Strange. I haven’t particularly enjoyed the series so far, but it was still on my review docket…then I had to stop reading halfway through because it was just so bad. I just couldn’t take it anymore. The dull, endless exposition. The weak, context-less banter between the characters. The generally crummy plot. The awkwardly cut and pasted panels.
Look at this!
How does that pass any sort of muster at DC Comics?! The banter between Green Arrow and Animal man is pretty lively, with the two characters nearly at each other’s throats, but NOBODY MOVES AN INCH FOR THREE WHOLE PANELS! They have the same smiles and faces, every single one of them, despite some pretty harsh dialogue. It’s insane!
There’s also a random Supergirl cameo that completely ignores the fact that she’s a Red Lantern these days.
Fortunately, we’ve still got comics like Lumberjanes, which easily won Comic Book of the Week for the best issue yet of this fledgling series.
So don’t expect a full review of Justice League United #2. My review stack is actually pretty light this week due to just crappy comics and a pretty busy week for me personally. I had this infectious Malware problem Wednesday night that just wouldn’t go away. I had to stay up all night cleansing my computer. It was madness, and left me a very tired Sean.
And for those interested, you can check out my reviews for Captain Marvel #4 and New Avengers #19 at Word of the Nerd. Both of those were pretty solid comics.
Comic Reviews: All-New X-Men #28, Astro City #13, Batman Eternal #10 and Lumberjanes #3.
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