It’s less than two weeks before we get to the premiere of HBO’s third season of Game of Thrones.
This latest trailer marketing the premium cable channel’s latest epic hit series brings everyone back who survived Season 2 and introduces a couple more people (Mance Rayder being one of them). We also get to see just how much the baby dragons of Daenerys Stormborn’s have gotten not to mention the army she has acquired since the end of Season 2 (I’m guessing these are the Unsullied).
This third season looks to lean heavily on the third novel in the series, A Storm of Swords, and for those who have read that massive tome will await this third season with both anticipation and trepidation. One thing the show has taught viewers has been to not get so fixated on characters. George R.R. Martin is more than willing to kill off beloved character and it looks like showrunners of the show have learned to do the same.
Game of Thrones Season 3 is set to premiere on March 31, 2013.
Summer is still months away. Hell, Spring still won’t arrive for another five or so days, but I’m on a Frank Sinatra kick tonight and what better choice for the latest “Song of the Day” than one of Ol’ Blue Eyes’ seasonal songs.
“Summer Wind” remains one of the classic Sinatra tunes and also one of my favorite songs of his. I think most of his songs are favorites of mine which just goes to show just how much of an icon he has become. Growing up with a father who was a Sinatra fan through and through it didn’t surprise many that I would also end up becoming a fan of the Chairman of the Board.
This particular song wasn’t even originally sung by Sinatra. Wayne Newton had made the song a No. 1 hit single a full year before Sinatra, but it’s once Sinatra had gotten a hold of the song and made it his own that people will forever remember “Summer Wind” as Sinatra and Sinatra-only. The Newton version is not bad and very good as well.
Now, time to pour me a glass of absinthe and mellow out to the coming of the summer wind even if it’s still three months away…
Summer Wind
The summer wind came blowin’ in From across the sea It lingered there to touch your hair And walk with me
All summer long we sang a song And then we strolled that golden sand Two sweethearts and the summer wind
Like painted kites, those days and nights They went flying by The world was new beneath the blue Umbrella sky
Then softer than a piper man One day, it called to you I lost you I lost you to The summer wind
The autumn wind And the winter winds They have come and gone And still those days Those lonely days They go on and on And guess who’s sighs His lullabies through nights that never end My fickled friend, The summer wind The summer wind warm summer wind Mmm the summer wind
2010’s Kick-Ass was one of those films that you either loved or hated. It was a film adapted from the Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr. comic book of the same name that also had a similar reputation of having extreme opposites in regards to how people perceived it.
I, for one, loved the film despite just being “meh” when it came to the comic. Where the film by Matthew Vaughn was a darkly comic deconstruction of the superhero story the comic book that gave birth to it was just an exercise in shocking the readers without working for it. Yet, despite that the film was a hit with both the fans of the comic book and those who didn’t even know it was a comic book. That popularity allowed the film to make enough profit that a sequel was greenlit even before a second volume of the comic book was even started by Millar and Romita, Jr.
Kick-Ass 2 sees the return of both Hit-Girl and Kick-Ass with Red Mist now calling himself The Motherfucker and the film’s main antagonist. The sequel sees Matthew Vaughn return as producer with Jeff Wadlow stepping in as director.
Kick-Ass 2 is set for an August 16, 2013 North American release date with the film premiering earlier on July 19, 2013 in the UK.
I know this latest “Scenes I Love” is quite an extended one. It’s pretty much the entire opening to the original George A. Romero classic where we see the four main leads of the story introduced dealing with the crisis that’s been on-going around them for what could be weeks.
I could have easily taken so many smaller scenes from this extended sequence and used them as favorites since they’re all that and more. This sequence was Romero at his best as a screenwriter. While some of the heavy handedness would later plague his writing in his later zombie films in this one they take on the right balance. He’s telling the audience through the screaming outbursts, arguments and general chaos of every scene that we as a society were fucked the moment the zombie apocalypse began. It doesn’t matter whether it’s the civilian expert trying to explain how to deal with the crisis in such logical terms while everyone around him reacts with irrational outbursts of disagreements. Or it could be how the police and the civilians they’re sworn to protect and serve become warring tribes on opposite sides when the true enemy is shambling all around them.
This makes the crippled priest’s words in the end of the scene even more telling.
“If we choose to destroy everything we fought for over the past year.” — Philip “The Governor” Blake
Tonight’s episode, simply titled “Arrow on the Doorpost”, looks to be the final calm before the storm that’s been brewing since the start of this third season for AMC’s The Walking Dead. It’s not a very action-oriented entry in what has been a season full of action, but it really looks to set the tone for what should be an explosive final stretch run that should see the two armed camps in the Prison and Woodbury fighting a war that everyone knows no one really comes out a winner.
We begin the episode with Rick, Daryl and Hershel (one leg and all) arriving at a secluded spot in what turns out to be a sort of zombie apocalypse UN Summit where Rick and the Governor can sit down and talk about things which looks to be leading them both into a violent confrontation. It’s interesting to note how the very person who planned and organized this summit would be none other than Andrea who has become Lori’s replacement as “most hated” character on the show. Even when she’s trying to be a productive character on the show the way she has been written and protrayed just ends up making her seem naive and overly cocksure of her situation when in reality she’s clueless.
It showed during the early parts of this episode when Andrea tries to mediate between the smug Governor and the barely constrained Rick and both men dismiss and ask her to leave the meeting. It’s almost darkly comical how two men who have a vested interest in killing the other would find such common ground and it’s the one character who continues to elude the show’s writers.
As for the meeting itself, for a set-up episode it’s certainly one that I’d consider one of the better ones. What the episode lacked in action (though it did have it’s small share involving a male-bonding sequence between Daryl and the Governor’s henchman Martinez) it made up for in some very tense back and forth between Rick and the Governor. This was the moment that could easily break the season if the meeting between these two alpha males didn’t come off well. The writing was quite good as we see the two men quietly manuever the meeting to their advantage. The Governor poking at Rick with secrets learned from Andrea about his relationship with Shane to Rick sitting there taking it all in and knowing that the Governor was trying his utmost to snow him and failing.
Daryl and Martinez got it right during their bonding session outside that the meeting was pointless. The two leaders would talk and make propositions and counters, but in the end both sides will send out word to their respective people that war was the only thing to do. It’s not idle speculation on Daryl’s and Martinez’s part either. Once the two sides part ways to make their decisions it’s not a huge surprise that the Governor would plan to ambush Rick and his people for a future meet he thinks Rick has agreed to while Rick has plainly lied to his people that the Governor just wants to take what they have and kill everyone. The offer to leave the group alone as long as Rick gives up Michonne doesn’t even get mentioned which just goes to show how much the katana-wielding lonewolf has suddenly become a part of the Rick Grimes Clan.
Some would consider “Arrow on the Doorpost” as one of the weakest episode of the season because it was too talky and lacked the action that the season has been known for, but it did serve a purpose. It finally introduced the two men whose decisions will put the two groups at war with each other. It showed the differences between the two leaders and the similarities between the people who followed them. In fact, the show did more than subtly hint that if the Governor wasn’t such a sociopath and Rick wasn’t such an emotional and psychological mess the Prison group and the people of Woodbury could easily pool resources and skills together to make a better life for everyone. But that’s not the case in this zombie apocalypse world where suspicion, megalomania and broken psyches rule the land.
There’s just three ore episodes left in season 3 and it looks like it’s nothing but action, blood, brains and sorrow left for the survivors of The Walking Dead.
Notes
Tonight’s episode, “Arrow on the Doorstop”, was written and directed by two newcomers to the series, Ryan C. Coleman and David Boyd respectively.
I think I might not have been the only one who thought that Rick should’ve just shot the Governor the moment he appeared for the meeting and end the problem between the two groups right then and there.
Andrea was much better as a character in this episode, but only just (I do believe that if the current producers of the show had to recast the show again I think Laurie Holden would be replaced by someone else).
Glenn back in prison is channeling his inner Ricktator and it’s not coming off well. he sounds more like a scared kid playing at being leader especially when it came to dealing with the rabble-rousing Merle Dixon. It’s a relief that Glenn later pulls his head out of his ass by apologizing to Maggie for how he’s been acting.
Which led to a surprisingly steamy sex scene between the two love birds that one would see as common on HBO but not on basic cable. The Walking Dead has definitely pushed the boundaries of whats to be expected and accepted when it came to violence and, now, sex on basic cable.
I did think that something bad was going to happen during or after that sex scene, but the writers seem to genuinely want to give these two lovebirds a chance at some normalcy and not fuck it up by having a zombie interrupt them.
Merle Dixon may not be an ideal member of the Rick Grimes group, but he does seem like he’s picked the role of redneck Devil’s advocate whose more than willing to air out the bad news and possibilities to the group clinging to a semblance of hope that they have a chance of winning the coming war.
Hershel looks to have found a kindred spirit in Milton (who looks like he’s realizing that he may be backing the wrong horse in the Governor).
I think everyone would agree that a spin-off show starring Daryl Dixon and Martinez as the Odd Couple of the zombie apocalypse would be an instant hit.
So, another day of resting up after a wickedly long weekend of doing nothing but working I came across this little video that brought back memories of not just my youth during the 80’s but also fond ones of discovering one of my favorite anime of all-time.
The latest “AMV of the Day” comes courtesy of TrepidationsFall and it’s combines that 80’s blockbuster of blockbusters in Top Gun and one of the best anime of all-time in Macross Plus. The video is simply called “Danger Zone” and the use of the iconic Kenny Loggins track for the Bruckheimer fighter-jock extravaganza fits the mecha anime to a “T”.
Whoever has been in charge of choosing the songs that make up the soundtrack for AMC’s The Walking Dead I must salute you. With Bear McCreary’s Southern gothic-influenced score this show has been flush with some excellent songs to end particularly strong episodes. Last week’s strong episode of The Walking Dead saw a favorite character from season 1 make an emotional and heartbreaking return. It also helped refocus the show’s main lead to forging past his own psychological and emotional problems to take on the looming war about to begin.
The song which ended this episode is my choice for “Song of the Day” and it’s from British songwriter-musician Jamie N. Commons.
“Lead Me Home” doesn’t just end the episode but also helps put a spotlight on this show’s third season and it’s many themes concerning not just the zombie apocalypse the survivors must exist and survive in, but how they go about this task. The song’s lyrics takes on the show’s very Southern gothic roots as Rick, Michonne and Carl drive away from Rick’s hometown passing by wrecked vehicles, bodies both freshly killed and decaying.
The song really hit home when they pass by the mauled remains of the backpacker they ignored and passed by earlier in the episode whow as begging to be picked up and saved. It’s this scene which brings to light how much cynicism and distrust as entered these survivors. Faith in the goodness of people has been abandoned for the sake of survival and the roadside remains of their inaction to save this backpacker when he most needed it was shown in gory detail. It’s not the Lord that’s inside them now, but darkness and it will be a long way back before Rick and his people can lead themselves back “home”.
Lead Me Home
Oh lord live inside me, lead me on my way Oh lord live inside me, lead me on my way Lead me home Lead me home
Oh lord in the darkness, lead me on my way Oh lord in the darkness, lead me on my way Lead me home Lead me home
Hmmmmm Hmmmmm
Oh lord heaven’s waiting, open up your door Oh lord heaven’s waiting, open up your door Lead me home Lead me home
There’s finally a trailer out about the little film that Joss Whedon made while doing post on his previous little film called The Avengers.
Much Ado About Nothingis a modern and Whedon’s own interpretation of the classic William Shakespeare comedic play. Filmed over the span of 12 days in Whedon’s own Santa Monica home, the film has a cast of Whedom alumni who either has worked with the writer-director on one of his tv series or in his films. The trailer itself has a coolness factor that has to be part jazz used in the trailer and half seeing all the familiar faces Whedon fans have come to know and love through the years like Amy Acker, Alex Denisof, Nathan Fillion and, more recently, Clark Gregg.
Much Ado About Nothing premiered at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival and will make it’s North American wide release on the date of June 7, 2013.
I’m less than 2 days away from freeing my purchase of a Kimber Raptor II .45 ACP from my local gun store. I think the fact that I’m very into firearms is another reason why I have come to see Rei Horie’s Black Lagoon manga and anime very much. Sure the anime and manga have great and well-written characters. It also has some of the craziest action sequences that doesn’t involve giant robot mechas, supernatual monsters and/or magical girls. It also shows’ Horie’s appreciation of the many different firearms available.
The last “AMV of the Day” detailed the origin of the super-assassin Roberta. This latest AMV now shows just how insane she’s become the more and more she appeared in Black Lagoon. The use of Infected Mushroom’s song “Becoming Insane” was such an appropriate choice for this video.
This video also ends in a hilarious note as the series’ two psycho ladies in Roberta and Revy end up fighting each other to the point that they end up doing a Rocky moment with simultaneous knockouts.
“The good people, like you, die. The bad people too. But weak people, like me, we have inherited the Earth.” — Morgan Jones
Tonight’s episode marks the halfway point of this second half of this third season. This second half has been all about setting up the war that’s brewing between the Woodbury and Prison camps. We’ve seen some unsuccessful attempts to defuse the explosive situation between the two groups (mostly Andrea being her usual clueless self) and some interesting group additions on both sides. Last week’s episode saw Merle trying to build bridges and make nice with the people in Rick’s group he had a part in torturing and trying to kill. The surprising part of the episode was seeing a huge departure from the comic book narrative: Tyrese and his small group making it into Woodbury and seeming to side with the Governor (well, at least Allen and his son Ben) in his war against Rick and his people. This change looks to be one of the this season’s gamechangers. With Tyrese in the Governor’s camp the chance of him and Rick ever finding a common bond looks to have been made quite difficult.
“Clear” looks to be one of this season’s somewhat standalone episodes. The interesting thing about tonight’s episode is that it brings Rick right back to where he started when the series first began. His town looks to have seen better times as it looks like someone has turned Main Street into some sort of zombie trap with sharpened stakes, triplines and cages with live birds as bait. The scene looks like a set-up for what Max brooks has termed the LaMOE scenario.
What is LaMOE you ask?
It means Last Man On Earth and that Main Street and then the sinper on the roof of the building that starts shooting at Rick, Michonne and Carl look like a prime example of one. Yes, the unknown gunman was a LaMOE but as soon as they incapacitate him Rick finds to his surprise that this crazed gunman was someone he knows well from a year ago when he first came out of his pre-zombie apocalypse coma.
One of the characters from season 1 which many have been wanting to make a return was the first person Rick meets for the first time: Morgan Jones. It was this man who gave Rick the lay of this new zombie land and gave him the rules on how to survive. It was Morgan Jones and his young son Duane who was this show’s last symbol of normalcy before everything turned into a living hell for Rick even after he found his family. It’s now been a year since Rick last spoke with Morgan and the time since hasn’t been good for the latter.
The sequence where he finally recognizes Rick as someone he knows who is still alive was one of this show’s more emotional scenes. Then an even stronger scene follows it as we find out from Morgan’s emotional monologue of what happened since Rick left. His retelling of Duane’s fate was an emotional rollercoaster not just for Morgan who had to relive the awful memory but also for Rick who sees in Morgan someone he’s on the path to becoming since he lost Lori earlier this season. This made Rick’s attempt to bring Morgan back from the brink and join them at the prison even more telling. The fact that Morgan refuses almost destroys the last hope Rick has in seeing himself redeemed. This realization was then tempered by a revelation from Michonne that she understand what Rick is going through emotionally and mentally and that it was ok.
“Clear” shows Rick seeing a mirror-image of himself in Morgan and despite the latter’s fatalistic look on what life he has left it leaves Rick with both a sense of melancholy that the future will not be as bright as he hopes it will be, but also some hope that he’s seen what could happen to him if he gives up all hope. It helped that Lennie James returning as Morgan Jones was such a standout in not just tonight’s episode but also the whole series as a whole. James’ heartbreaking performance as Morgan truly made tonight’s episode one of the strongest this season, if not, one of the best in this show’s three year span, so far. It definitely brought out a great performance from Andrew Lincoln who reacted to Morgan’s circumstance with equal parts horror, pity and compassion. The fact that Rick doesn’t get to redeem (hopefully a temporary thing) Morgan (and in some small part his own self) only adds to the notion that Rick can’t save them all and that when he can’t that he needs to move on instead of internalizing the hurt of failure.
The other subplot in tonight’s episode saw Carl look both a badass and a young, reckless kid. On the one hand, Carl looks to be more stable than his father Rick, but his mission to retrieve a personal item from one of the cafe’s in town shows just how much a child Carl still is. It was during this part of tonight’s episode that we finally get to see Michonne become a much more fully-realized character instead of just glowering in the background.
Michonne’s character looked like she was going to be similar to Morgan’s character in tonight’s episode in that she worked best as a lone wolf. While it looked like she never reached LaMOE status as Morgan, there was a sense that she felt more at ease when just worrying about herself. She’s seen what happens when she finally cares for someone and it bites her in the ass (Andrea), but tonight we also saw how Rick’s group is actually one that she could truly belong even if it means opening herself up more to them and risking being hurt again.
“Clear” was clearly one of this show’s strongest episodes and the fact that it had Lennie James in the cast list was no accident. His only other appearance on The Walking Dead all the way back in the extended pilot is also considred one of this show’s best. While it looks like tonight might’ve been a one-off Morgan appearance there’s always hope that Rick and his people will run into this LaMOE when things become desperate for them. I sure hope that tonight’s episode was not the last time we see Morgan Jones as played by the great Lennie James.
Notes
Tonight’s episode, “Clear”, was written by next season’s new showrunner in Scott M. Gimple w/ series newcomer Tricia Brock in the director’s chair.
That was some coldhearted shit that Rick w/ Michonne and Carl pulled on that lone hiker on the road. Considering all the issues these people have had with strangers I think most people would agree with just driving past the guy.
Looked like the makeshift sign telling one Erin that her people were going to Stone Mountain didn’t end up going well for this Erin as the zombie with Erin wristband showed in the cold opening.
Oh shit on a cracker! news that Lennie James would return as Morgan Jones was received well by fans of the show, but the fact that he shows up in tonight’s episode should be a delight to fans all-around.
Love the different looks given by Rick and Michonne after seeing Carl gun down Morgan. From Rick it was that look that he can’t believe his son just did what he did. Michonne’s expression was more of respect like seeing Carl was truly turning into a true badass.
That is some very inventive booby traps laid out by Morgan.
That is also a lot of guns. I am envious.
Makes one wonder how Morgan got a hold of all those guns.
Rick and Morgan seem to have more in common. They’ve both lost people they love but where Morgan’s son Duane was unable to defend himself the same turned out differently for Carl who seems to be turning out a better survivor in this new world that his father.
Stupid actions by Carl to retrieve something for Judith, but it was a nice moment which helps both Carl and Michonne bond together. Plus, it was a nice, compassionate gesture Carl wanted to give his baby sister.
Chandler Riggs’ performance during his scenes with Michonne was up and down, but it was mostly up and it was nice to see that realization on Rigg’s performance that Michonne was someone he could trust.
Michonne actually smiled in tonight’s episode which helped opened up the character to something other than a glowering badass.
Will this be the last we see of Lennie James as Morgan on this show? After tonight’s episode I’m hoping the answer is no.
Hitchhiker looks like he should’ve been more quiet after trying to catch up to Rick and his group.
Zombie Kill Count of tonight’s episode: 9 (6-8 more off-screen)
Through the Shattered Lens 