Game of Thrones draws to a conclusion on a fantastic opening season and alot has happened in that time: Review of Game of Thrones Season 1 (SPOILERS!)

"When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground" explains Lena Headey's Queen Cersei Lannister to Sean Bean's Ned Stark in the 7th episode of the HBO series. The catchphrase sums up perfectly the plot of A Song of Ice and Fire series and this television adaptation.

Based on author George A. Martin's best-selling medieval fantasty series, Games of Thrones takes place in the fictional location of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros and chronicles the violent struggle between the Kingdom's noble families as they fight for control of the Iron Throne.The opening episode closely follows Lord Eddard 'Ned' Stark, played by Sean Bean, of Winterfell and his family are drawn into the court politics of King Robert, who wishes for Ned to replace his recently deceased Hand (right-hand man). With him, King Robert brings his family which includes his wife Queen Cersei Lannister and their son, Prince Joffrey; next in line to the throne. Also in tow is Cersei's brothers Jaime, twin of Cersei with whom he pursues a incestual relationship seceretly fathering her children and nicknamed "Kingslayer" for his murder of the previous King and Tyrion, a womanising, highly intelligent dwarf mockingly named "Imp" or "Halfman" for his deformity. From the first interaction between these characters, there is instant tension; a tension that is matched by the other Kingdoms as the series progresses. The rivalry between Houses Stark and Lannister proves to be the main plotline of Season 1 and as the series draws to its conclusion, horrific events take place (but more on that later!)

The second storyline is set in the Northern border of Westeros, where the winter is constant and harsh. A huge wall of ice and gravel stands tall, created by both magic and labour thousands of years prior to the start of the series, to defend Westeros from the White Walkers; a now-mythical tribe of creatures living further north. The Wall is defended by the Sworn Brotherhood of the Night's Watch, which includes Ned Stark's bastard son Jon Snow, whose duty is to guard the Kingdom from the White Walkers. The White Walkers are present at the very start of Episode 1, where they are discovered by three travellers subsequently murdering two of them and letting the other one go. The lone wanderer comes across Winterfell and this is how the series introduces Ned Stark, who swiftly beheads him; believing his story to be lies and deceit since the Walkers have not been seen for thousands of years. Told through Snow's POV, the Brotherhood that maintain the Wall are primarily made up of criminals and refugees with very few honourable knights in its ranks, since the Night's Watch disolved slowly over a number of years. Therefore, it is under-strengthed and vulnerable against attack, creating much of the conflict that appears in this storyline of Season 1.


The third storyline is set in the Eastern continent of Essos, across the Narrow Sea, and follows Daenerys Targaryen, an exile of House Targaryen and one of the claimants to the Iron Throne. The storyline showcases her evolution from a scared, vulnerable young girl into a confident, powerful ruler in her own right once she enters into a dynastic marraige to the Barbarian warlord, Khal Drago. Season 1 presents her rise to power slowly, as she overcomes the brutality of her older brother Viserys, who had hoped to command Drago's armies against the other Kingdoms after marrying his sister away to him. Viserys plan's backfire, resulting a very very painful death at the hands of Drago and Daenerys leaves his control, establishing herself as a rightful and powerful ruler who vows to take back the Iron Throne.


Now that is indeed alot of story detail to compress into such short paragraphs. It took me a while but I think I managed it (just about!). If I missed anything out, its through no fault of my own. Its as best as I could do. But it proves to you that Game of Thrones is no show lacking in story. If anything, it has too much. However, in the hands of HBO, this show was always going to succeed on a story-telling level. Described as 'The Sopranos in Middle-Earth', what the writers have been able to do is create a significant balance between action and story whilst allowing for major screentime for ALL of the cast. As a non-reader of the series before I watched the TV show, I was amazed by the amount of characters introduced in the opening episode and struggled to remember much of their backstory and how they were to alter the plot further down the line. I soon realised that each character has a significant effect on the plot and that no-one is seemingly the protagonist of the story. Everyone has equal screentime. Everyone affects the story in different ways. And that's what makes Game of Thrones so damn delicious! The conflicting storylines of these incredible characters just make for some damn good TV and I can see where the comparisons with The Sopranos came from. They are very much justified.

HBO have not shyed away from the source material either. They are not afraid to include major plot events early on in the season (this is a spoiler people so look away now if you haven't read/watched the series), for example; there has been much controversy surrounding the death of Sean Bean's character, Ned. Many believed he was the protagonist of the series since he was in all the promotional ads and so on. Frankly, his death scene was the most beautiful, heart-wrenching, unnerving and emotional death I've ever had the pleasure of seeing on-screen. The geography of the scene, Ned noticing his younger daughter watching whilst his elder daughter is screaming for Joffrey to take back his command to execute Ned. There was so much to that scene that I've never been more shocked by a TV show in my life. But come on guys! Can't you see the bigger picture here?! How can this NOT make for more juicy TV? Ned's death (which occured very early in the book series! I'm reading them now) only serves to prove the point that no-one is safe. By pulling a 'Psycho' on the audience (watch it to get what I mean), your alliance to the character is shattered and you have to see who you truly align with. Its brilliant storytelling and honestly, I like that HBO take risks. Nay. I absolutely love it. Killing Ned was the best thing to do, especially in the first season because the plot possibilities for Season 2 are vast. It can go, quite literally, anywhere.


You may be wondering what about all the other characters and plot details. Well, I have left them out simply because there is alot of them and you should discover the wonder of them yourselves. Without divulging to deep into the mythology of the show, I'm hoping people will raise their heads and give Game of Thrones a chance if they already haven't. HBO have commissioned a second sesason based on the first two episodes ratings so give it a shot. There's lots more story to be told and once you start, believe me, you will not turn back. Its immersive, deep and fundamentally its fun to watch. HBO have added yet another gem to their already sterling line-up of past anbd present shows and their reputation will continue to reach new heights if they produce TV as good as Game of Thrones.

X-Men goes old school: My review of First Class

In the current climate of movie franchises, the reboot is becoming ever more popular. Chris Nolan proved Batman was not a dormant character, Marc Webb looks set to prove Spider-Man still has the chops to be a worthy hero after a dismal third outing and now Matthew Vaughn, originally slated for X3, is showing (and proving) to us that Kick-Ass was not a one-time deal. No, not at all. X-Men: First Class, despite its origins as a prequel and reboot, proves to be one of the better installments in the franchise, if not the top dog.

So to begin: we are thrown into the action almost immediately. Like the original X-Men, we start at a Nazi concentration camp where young Erik Lensherr (the soon-to-be Magneto) showcases his ability to bend metal with his mind. Through his anger, he is able to manifest an unstoppable force that catches the eye of Sebastian Shaw, head of the Hellfire Club (under the guise of Dr. Schmidt). Schmidt, in order to allow these powers to manifest, murders Lensherr's mother in front of him creating great anger within the young Magneto. This sets up one strand of the storyline where an adult Erik, played fantastically by Michael Fassbender, searches out the Nazis responsible in the hope he finds Shaw and exacts revenge.


Cut to the next storyline: we are introduced to a young Charles Xavier who stumbles upon a young shapeshifter Raven (soon-to-be Mystique) stealing from his kitchen. They form a friendship that lasts into their adult lives where Xavier, played by James McAvoy with a full head of hair and no wheelchair, has been made a Professor and has the ability to read the minds of others. But we know all this already. So what's different?! Well, straight away the context is shifted to the 1960s; a distinctly and vastly different setting to that of the original trilogy. These characters are emerging amidst political turmoil, like the Civil Rights Movement, The Cold War and the Bay of Pigs. These specific moments in history are worked into the film's story and are used as a motive for Shaw's evil plan to take over the world. He plans to use the Cuban Missle Crisis as a means to dominate the world of mutants, riding the world of humans and replacing them as the dominant species. 


With such a serious undertone to the story, much of the action is put on the backseat until the finale so there is a lot of dialogue to listen to. Its not a typical X-Men movie. It could easily be another story in its place; it just so happens the mutants are used as metaphors for outcasts and danger. There is a fantastic scene between Fassbender and McAvoy which questions Erik's anger and how to confront that successfully without giving into the temptation of revenge. Xavier tries throughout the movie to get Lensherr to confront his demons without killing. As we already know, they are destined to be arch-enemies and with this knowledge, the tension is unbearable. Lensherr is such a confused, distraught and angry individual. He is tortured by the memory of his mother but also his powers, which he eventually learns to embrace. Its great storytelling and Vaughn makes sure that these lengthy dialogue scenes never at all seem dull.


But its not all about Xavier and Lensherr. We are treated to the likes of Hank McCoy, who will eventually become the big blue furball Beast and is played surprisingly well by Nicholas Hoult of Skins fame. There is also an introduction for Havoc, the younger brother of X-Men regular Cyclops and Banshee, another X-Men original. There all given decent screentime as well which made me happy since the original trilogy often brushed aside these characters in favour of the Wolverine plotline. Not that wasn't amazing, it just focused on his character rather the X-Men as a whole unit whereas First Class does this and succeeds in giving the audience an introduction for what is sure to be an definate suquel.


The likes of telepath Emma Frost, played by January Jones and Azazel, future father of Nightcrawler, both make an appearance siding with Sebastian Shaw's Hellfire Club. These will all be future players in the next installment and I look forward to seeing how their characters advance. They all have a big role to play in the big world of X-Men.


To conclude, there is lots of fun to be had with this latest installment in the X-Men franchise. It is a necessary move to make because we shed some light on the origins of the team and who they were before Xavier and Lensherr went their seperate ways. The dialogue scenes offer references for the fanboys but enough to satisfy the average cinema-goer and once the action begins, the set pieces showcase what can be done with a relatively low budget. And watch out for a sneaky cameo from a series regular.......it's a good 'un! 


4/5 stars

In brightest day, In blackest night.....Sadly, the light doesn't shine bright. My review of Green Lantern.

What do you get when you put a B-list superhero in his own $200million movie? Forgive me for the lame joke, but that's all I could come up with. With the exception of Iron Man, B-list superheroes have rarely worked effectively on the big screen and Green Lantern is no exception. One of DC's prized assets (their words!), the thought of bringing him to the big screen seemed intriguing and the production, after many stops and starts, was given a huge budget that rivals many of the current blockbusters such as the Pirates franchise. What you see, however, is really not what you'd want to get.

Ryan Reynolds stars as the titular hero in question, Green Lantern or better know as Hal Jordan, a test pilot who has a cocky side to his personality that causes great friction in his work and personal life. He witnessed his pilot father blow up mid-flight and this has left deep emotional scars in Hal, who wishes to follow in his father's footsteps. Then we have the love interest, Carol Ferris played (if you want to call it that) by Blake Lively of Gossip Girl fame, who is also a test pilot and the daughter of the company they both work for. This is about as much as I could fathom from the plot. Its very thinly written so its hard to keep track the majority of the time. Whenever Hal and Carol's relationship is on-screen, its tedious and never furthers the plot. Then again, come to think about it, their relationship WAS the plot. But more on that later!

In deep space, the Green Lantern Corp is under attack from a sinister force that is known as Parallax (the stupidest name for a villain and who resembles an Octupus in space) who wishes to destroy them once and for all. Sinestro, played by Mark Strong, plots to destroy Parallax as well. So you have your standard superhero storyline at play here, it never deviates much from this. A purple alien by the name of Abin Sur comes under attack from Parallax, landing on the nearest sector which happens to be Earth, in order to find a successor for his ring in his dying hours. Of course, the ring chooses Hal and he becomes the new Green Lantern, sworn to protect 'in brightest day, in blackest night' and so on. Now so far, you may notice this review is very circumstantial and I'm just writing things down. If I had had a decent plot to follow, I would have made a more structured response. The biggest trouble with Green Lantern is that things JUST HAPPEN. There is no explanation or any cause-and-effect to the narrative. I mean this is Film School 101. Scenes and sequences have to effect each other logically and carry the plot through to its conclusion. Sadly, this never ever happens. An example of this is a scene where Sinestro is talking to a Citadel of aliens concering Parallax and all of a sudden, Hal appears. Now this may sound fine to you, but in the previous scene, he was having trouble (on Earth) accepting his new responsibility and could barely use his abilities. In one cut to a different sequence, he's learned to FLY and not only that but through SPACE and find the ALIEN PLANET in ALL of the UNIVERSE where the Green Lanterns are. I know the story is that if the Corp is in trouble, the rings of the Lanterns glow. This was never shown to happen and the scene JUST HAPPENED. Imagine a good 2/3rds of the film doing that. There's no structure, no coherence. Its so frustrating!

 This trend seems to continue with the pointless inclusion of Hector Hammond, played by Peter Sarsgard (the film's other villain) who is a brilliant scientist and becomes infected with another alien lifeform whilst examining the dead body of Abin Sur. He subsequently grows a giant head (no reason! It just happens), plots against the Green Lantern (for some reason thats never really explained) and laughs manically. A lot. He's too eccentric for my liking. The one redeeming feature is the powers he inherits which are pretty cool; the usual telepathic powers you normally see. But for me, this is all just lazy filmmaking. In simple terms, the film is all over the place.

Onto some technical points. The film's budget, as said earlier, was $200million. Firstly, whatever that got spent on does not show at all. This is the cheapest looking $200mil movie you will ever see in your life. It really is shocking how bad some of the CGI is. It looks grainy and just totally unreal, even for a superhero movie. This was never helped by the $100million marketing campaign that was (never) set up to promote the film. Its only been the last 2/3 months where we've ever seen any real promotion for the film and because of Green Lantern's stature as a B-list hero, thats way too late. No one knew who he was and I'm sure they still don't. Iron Man was Marvel's B-list hero and the success that film achieved is something that Warners Bros. was clearly trying to emulate. But the bigger problem was that the trailer never really explained the issues going on in the movie. There may as well not have been a marketing campaign. This resulted in about 3 different trailers being shown to try and force the issue to the audience about the film's plot. You can tell they were running scared. A $300million investment into a film that is doomed to fail. Iron Man was made for $140mil, looks superior in effects and set design, has a story, a great lead actor etc. There is no doubt in my mind that Green Lantern was made as a way for DC to work their way towards the Justice League movie, the equal of Marvel's Avengers. This is all well and good but I think looking the bad publicity surrounding Green Lantern as well as the loss they are guaranteed to make will make them rethink. 


Whilst a sequel is supposedly being written, I don't think an investment for that second installment will ever see the light of day. Expect a reboot in a few years time. Until then, we can only hope the Superman reboot is far superior to Green Lantern.


Overall, the film fails to tie together a plotline already written thin, a set of characters that you fail to relate from the get-go and CGI that looks like it was produced for a Doctor Who movie. I was expecting to have fun in the sense the film would have been so bad it was good. There's lots of stuff like that. Sadly, the film is just bad. Please don't waste your time with this. Stick with the far superior Marvel, whose recent films Thor and X-Men: First Class are more worthy of your precious time.


1/5 stars