HBO Game of Thrones Recap: A Man Without Honor

What is honor? How is it defined? For Ned Stark it meant doing the right thing even if if hurt or no one else was around. It meant not taking unfair advantage. It meant not harming women or children. It meant not asking your followers to do anything you weren't prepared to do. But Ned's gone and his teachings may or may not apply to the choices his children and wife must face. In this episode we see Theon Greyjoy and Jaime Lannister, two men who knew Ned Stark, make choices that reject Ned's idea of honor and even the entire concept of honor. A lot happened in this episode-maybe too much. I really didn't like this episode's pacing. Some very important events got short shrift because the location changed every two minutes. The pacing hurt the storyline. Each season really needs an extra two episodes. It would help tremendously. This episode felt rushed.


Anyway this episode started with Theon waking up to discover the Stark children are gone, along with Osha and Hodor. Theon beats a man who points out that Theon slept with Osha. Theon leads a search party and takes Maester Luwin with him. Luwin begs for the boys' lives. Theon seems to really enjoy his turn to the Dark Side. Bran and Rickon see a farm where some orphan boys lived and debate as to whether to go there. Bran thinks they shouldn't because they'll bring trouble to the settlement. Osha points out they need to be moving as they are losing their head start.

North of the wall, Jon Snow wakes up in the normal state for a healthy young man who just had a good night's sleep. Tied next to him as she is Ygritte can't help but notice this and teases him. Upon realizing that Jon Snow is a virgin she teases him even more and wonders aloud if he spends all of his time with the company of other men, sheep or in self-abuse. She's a raunchy little lady. They start to argue about the disputes between the Free Folk and the Northerners. Jon Snow points out that they share many of the same ancestors and Ygritte wants to know then why are they fighting. I really like her accent. Snow doesn't have a good answer to her questions. All he knows is that she's his prisoner and that is that.
In Harrenhal we get to see the duality that is Tywin Lannister. He calmly oversees the hangings of some of his men who presumably failed at security and casually orders The Mountain to go forth and commit some atrocities upon peasants who may be giving support to the Brotherhood Without Banners.*  Evidently he is blaming the Brotherhood for the murder of Ser Amory Lorch. There's no mention of the missing letter which Arya took.

In the very next breath Tywin gives his meal to Arya. While Arya eats and thinks of killing Tywin, Tywin gives a monologue about the history of Harrenhal and how there are different ways to win wars. Tywin intends to leave a legacy for his family and will stop at nothing to do so. When Arya unwisely reveals a rather profound knowledge of Targaryen dynasties and military history, Tywin asks where she learned all of this. She gives some sass and Tywin firmly warns her that he likes having her around but that could quickly and easily change. He also reveals that he's long since seen through her ruse as a lowborn girl and that she needs to do a better acting job. I was happy about this because once again it shows that Tywin is no dummy. 

In King's Landing Sansa encounters The Hound and attempts to thank him but The Hound angrily responds that he just likes killing people and that Sansa may need his hate some day. He also speaks dismissively of Ned Stark and his honor. There is a rather strong "Beauty and The Beast" vibe here.  North of the Wall, Ygritte continues to point out what she sees as the benefits of wilding culture and lifestyle (mainly obligations that are freely entered into-NOT obligations externally imposed by kings or "honor") She offers to remedy Jon's virginal condition and when he declines, scornfully tells him "You know nothing, Jon Snow". (This is an important phrase which is from the book and will be repeated). It should be pointed out that the Night Watch is sworn to father no children and to take no wives. As his father's son, Jon Snow takes oaths and honor very seriously indeed.
At Robb Stark's camp the influx of enemy prisoners and wounded is causing a logistical problem. Roose Bolton says there are too many prisoners and looks meaningfully at Robb. Talisa wants more medical supplies and flirts with Robb in order to get him to take her with him to accept an enemy surrender so that she can get more supplies. 
Near the settlement where the Stark boys passed by the dogs have lost the scent. But some of Theon's men find some walnut shells (evidently Rickon's habit of eating walnuts is known to pirates across Westeros????) and Theon sends Luwin back to Winterfell.


In Qarth Xaro claims to want to help Danerys but she is distrustful. Jorah returns and offers to help. After a great deal of whining and venting Danerys says she doesn't trust Jorah either and also doesn't like that he's trying to get close but tells him to find those dragons.  Poor Jorah. He's stuck in the friend zone and he knows it. It won't be long before Danerys is telling Jorah about all the wild monkey sex she's having with some other man. She'll be complaining to Jorah how this other man won't commit and does Jorah have any ideas about how to help. Sad, just sad.
Ygritte won't stop teasing Jon Snow and wonders if he even knows where he's going. She tells him yet again how good her sugar bowl is but he (reluctantly?) refuses the offer. Ygritte escapes. Jon goes to capture her but realizes that he's the one who's captured as he is now surrounded by wildlings. Evidently Ygritte knew where she was going.

Sansa has a nightmare of rape and wakes up to discover she's had her first cycle. This is considered as proof of being old enough to legally wed so she, with Shae's help, frantically tries to hide the evidence. Shae even threatens another handmaiden who intends to squeal but it's all for nought as The Hound has evidently wandered by and seen the bloody sheets. The Hound is evidently on the track. If you remember the book Carrie, the title character's religiously insane mother warned her daughter that once she started to bleed the boys would smell it and come sniffing after it just like hounds. Coincidence? Cersei has a surprisingly gentle woman to woman talk with Sansa and advises Sansa to only love whatever children she may have with Joffrey. In Cersei's view excess affection is a weakness.
At Robb Starks's camp Alton Lannister is imprisoned with his cousin Jaime. Alton worships his cousin and they swap stories of former tournaments until Jaime beats his cousin to death to attempt an escape by killing the guard who came to investigate. So much for family ties.

There is a meeting of The Thirteen in Qarth.  Pyat Pree and Xaro reveal they stole the dragons. They also murder the other leaders. Pree tells Danerys that her dragons are at the House of The Undying. Jaime Lannister is re-captured. Lord Karstark, (who is a distant relative of the Starks) wants to kill Jaime because Jaime killed his son (the guard). With great difficulty, Catelyn gets the Karstark to back down, temporarily. He promises (really more threatens) to demand an accounting from Robb Stark upon his return. Again, I have to give special mention to Michelle Fairley as Catelyn Stark here. She is just consistently bringing it in her role.
In King's Landing Cersei and Tyrion discuss the coming of Stannis. The siblings share stories about what a horrible king Joffrey is. Even Cersei admits this. She also effectively admits the incest to Tyrion, who does not , atypically, stick the knife in. Both seem to be rather pensive, somewhat regretful and share a, if not quite friendly, at least sympathetic moment together.
At the Stark camp, Brienne and Catelyn notice the drunk violent nature of the Stark soldiers and the increasing talk of killing Jaime. They wonder if Jaime will last until Robb's return. Catelyn goes to see Jaime and accuses him of having no honor. Jaime points out that there are many conflicting requirements of honor and who can say what is right. He remains in full deadpan snarker mode, insults Brienne and says that whatever else he was he was faithful to his woman, something that wasn't true for Ned Stark. Catelyn asks for Brienne's sword.

At Winterfell, Theon gleefully reveals the hanged burned bodies of Rickon and Bran.
There may not be the honor in war that we think there is. Robb Stark started to fight for honor and freedom. He has ended up betrayed by a man he considered a brother and is relying on another man who urges torture and prisoner execution. We attacked Afghanistan in a righteous fury over 9-11. We were the good guys. We ended up posing with corpses and urinating on them. This show is going to go to some very dark places. Don't say you weren't warned.
*If you recall, back in season one Ned Stark sent the better part of his force, under Beric Dondarrion, to defend his wife's lands from the marauding of The Mountain. The remnants of this military group have combined with other soldiers, refugees and a few peasants to become an irregular force that harasses the Lannisters and fights for justice. This is the Brotherhood Without Banners-a sort of Robin Hood analogue.
*This post is written for discussion of this episode and previous episodes. If you have book based knowledge of future events please be kind enough not to discuss that here. Most of my blog partners have not read the books and would take spoilers most unkindly. Heads, spikes, well you get the idea..

Movie Reviews-The Avengers, Bunraku, Black Sunday, Don't Be Afraid of The Dark

The Avengers
directed by Joss Whedon

I best know Whedon as director/creator of Serenity/Firefly. He brings some of that trademark humor to The Avengers. Look, this is an enjoyable film but it's not by any means one that is plot driven. It's a summer extravaganza flick and must be understood and enjoyed on that level. It is also as good an example as any just why American made films dominate the domestic and international marketplace. They're entertaining. It really is that simple. If you make quality movies and have good people marketing them you can do well. That said, as Disney's failed turkey John Carter shows, no one knows ahead of time just what any one particular film will do. But The Avengers is breaking box office records and will likely continue to do so.


So, what kind of movie is it? Comic book movies do tend to skew male and young just as comic book readers do. The Avengers is not that different in that regard. However there are "realistic" (to the extent that you can talk about realistic anything in a comic book film) female characters who are not sexpots nor are they just there to be rescued by male characters. You simply don't do the kind of business this movie has done just by appealing to boys. The movie runs a tad long at roughly 2 hours and 22 minutes but I don't think it's all that noticeable. 

What's it about? Good old Loki (Tom Hiddleston) (last seen "dying" in Thor) has reappeared and boy is he upset. Wanting to get back at his brother Thor and really everybody in the Universe he has shown up to steal the Tesseract (multidimensional power source last seen in Captain America) and make a deal with the other dimensional Chitauri (reptilian looking aliens) to serve as Loki's army to invade earth, and presumably Asgard and other places too. As S.H.I.E.L.D Agents are working with the Tesseract , it activates and Loki enters, enslaving S.H.I.E.L.D agent Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and scientist Selvig (Stellan Skarsgaard), taking the Tesseract and killing more than a few agents on his way out, but not S.H.I.E.L.D leader Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson).

In order to (ahem) save the world Fury puts together a team of extraterrestrials , superheroes and extremely highly skilled agents. This team will be called The Avengers and will include Captain America (Chris Evans), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Thor(Chris Hemsworth), Iron Man/Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), The Hulk/Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) and hopefully Hawkeye, if the team can manage to remove him from Loki's control. Under Loki's control Hawkeye is causing quite a bit of trouble for S.H.I.E.L.D. It must stop. Loki's storyline is simple I guess but that's what makes it work. He feels overlooked and intends to do whatever it takes to get the respect he feels he's due. Basically he's the Theon Greyjoy of Asgard.

Of course Nick Fury wouldn't be a spy if he didn't have a few hidden tricks up his sleeve that he's not telling this team. And just like any traditional sports movie/hero story/war movie the team has to put aside individual egos, distrust, pride and other motivations in order to succeed. This is fun to watch as the heroes show that superpowers or Asgardian heritage aside, they are just as human as anyone else on the planet.
Iron Man is convinced he's smarter than everyone else except maybe Banner and even if he weren't he really doesn't like taking orders. He also has some issues about working with the military-industrial complex. Thor doesn't believe anyone besides another god has jurisdiction to arrest, judge or kill Loki. And how do you argue with someone who throws lightning bolts when he gets annoyed? Bruce Banner is tired of everyone trying to bait him into turning into The Hulk. He wants to be left alone. Captain America literally embodies the military-industrial complex and has little patience for or understanding of sarcasm or cynicism. He thinks the answer to everything is to stop whining and follow orders-especially the ones he gives. Black Widow and Hawkeye have some unresolved personal issues with each other. Fury's supervisors are skeptical that this unconnected group of prima donnas can stop Loki and save the world. Gee do you think that they can really do it? Hmm. I wonder.

It's no spoiler to reveal that the Avengers do indeed save the world. The reason you see films like this is to enjoy the ride while getting there. And what a ride it is. From battle royales among the team (-i.e who would win between The Hulk and Thor) to amazing SFX like flying aircraft carriers, holographic computers, black holes, impossible archery shots, desperate last stands, heroes falling out of the sky and more, this film definitely appeals to your inner 12 year old boy. And even if you are not or have never been a 12 year old boy, check it out anyway. It's fun!!! And sometimes fun is really all a movie needs. As mentioned, despite the almost inherent sexiness of Scarlett Johansson, this film is very light on any sort of deliberate sex appeal. Black Widow is a member of the team. It's not her fault that people get distracted by her appearance and tell her things they shouldn't. I wonder if that happens to Johansson in real life. It seems like not getting flustered by a pretty face and inadvertently sharing your plans for world domination would be something that was taught in Evil Overlord 101. Some people in this film obviously weren't paying attention at Evil Academy the day that class was taught and it shows.

The Avengers also has some Whedon trademarked snappy dialogue and inside jokes. When Thor is ranting that Loki is his brother and thus can't possibly be judged by mere humans, he is told that Loki killed over 80 people. Without missing a beat Thor says Loki is adopted. Tony Stark wears a Black Sabbath t-shirt. The Hulk shows another member of the team that he bears grudges. There is no Ant-Man or Wasp so comic book purists be warned. The Pentagon did not assist with this film. 
“We couldn’t reconcile the unreality of this international organization and our place in it,” Phil Strub, the Defense Department’s Hollywood liaison, tells Danger Room. “To whom did S.H.I.E.L.D. answer? Did we work for S.H.I.E.L.D.? We hit that roadblock and decided we couldn’t do anything” with the film. Truth really is stranger than fiction because in some respects this film is an advertisement for many of the really cool military gadgets that we know about and probably more than a few that we don't. But so it goes I guess. Gwyneth Paltrow, Cobie Smulders, and Harry Dean Stanton have small roles. And as usual Marvel creator Stan Lee has a blink and you'll miss it cameo.
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Bunraku
directed by Guy Moshe

This is perhaps the movie that The Warrior's Way could have been-stylistically that is. Much like The Warrior's Way the storyline isn't quite strong enough or vibrant enough to hold interest for the whole movie. And unlike The Warrior's Way there isn't really a strong female character. Since so much of what men do is for women, without some sort of feminine motivation for at least one of the heroes (although you could argue a secondary character may have had that) the film sort of flounders a bit. This is despite the fact that Bunraku probably had a better known cast than The Warrior's Way.


I really liked the style and sense of unreality that permeated this film. Bunraku is a form of stylized Japanese puppetry. Between the Technicolors, fades, narration and reveals, the theater like staging of many key fights, the lush sets and camera tricks, you certainly did get the feel that this could have been puppets on a string. This is one of the better looking movies I've seen in a while. In some spots it reminded me of Sin City. There has been a catastrophic global war that has left humanity divided into small groups. Guns have been outlawed and evidently aren't available any more but knives, fists and especially swords are still in usage.

In a small town only described as "east of the Atlantic" a group of elite killers hold sway. They of course have a much larger group of thugs and flunkies to do their bidding and extort payments from everyone in town. But the core of the group are ten killers of ever more deadly skill. Killer #2 (Kevin McKidd) is a well dressed almost dainty man whose talent with the sword is better than anyone else's while his speed is quite inhuman. But he's not the boss. Even #2 treads lightly around Killer #1, aka Nicola The Woodcutter (Ron Pearlman), the brutally fair and fairly brutal boss of the entire operation. Nicola doesn't allow people to see his face but does regularly test himself against people who seek his throne. To an extent Nicola is bored. He is starting to believe that he really is the best warrior to ever live and despairs of ever finding someone who can prove otherwise. At this point in his life Nicola wants to have a baby with his feisty, desperate and imprisoned lover Alexandra. (Demi Moore) Moore doesn't really have a whole lot to do here but she does manage to get on Killer #2's nerves as much as she can.

Two strangers enter town, both looking for a showdown with Nicola and his group. One is The Drifter (Josh Harnett), a cowboy with a quick temper, quicker fists and a taste for poker. The other is Yoshi (Gackt) a samurai swordsman of supreme skill who wants something back that Nicola stole. Both men are noticed by The Bartender (Woody Harrelson), something of a Retired Bada$$,  who uses their violent natures and single mindedness to help create an opportunity to take Nicola and his thugs down for good. He wants them to join forces.The Bartender may also have a hidden agenda in this as well. But he's not telling Yoshi or The Drifter his personal business. The Drifter and Yoshi don't necessarily like each other at first as each is concerned the other will complicate his ability to get what he wants from Nicola.


The men are of course noticed by Nicola's thugs and eventually by the ten killers themselves. Mayhem ensues. Ultimately this film is somewhat disappointing but boy did it look good. McKidd pretty much steals the show in all of his fight scenes.
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Black Sunday
directed by Mario Bava

Many modern horror films rely too much on (female) nudity, extreme hyperviolence, taboo subjects (how many more incest loving cannibalistic rural families are out there?) and lurid special effects. Sometimes it's almost like horror films are akin to a heroin junkie who has discovered they just don't get the same rush any more and must inject stronger and stronger doses.
So from time to time it's interesting to go back to the movies of yesteryear that had to bring across fear or weirdness without being able to rely on any of the above tactics. Sure some of these films are obviously limited by this but others seem to have been better movies for the relative lack of explicitness. 


The Italian made Black Sunday is one such film. It shows that if you know what you're doing you can make a creepy disturbing erotic film that by modern standards doesn't really have excessive violence or nudity. Ironically, of course, by the standards of the day, Black Sunday was considered over the top and graphic. Go figure. It is amazing how much more artistic freedom/license we have today. That could be a good or bad thing as discussed.


Black Sunday was shot in black and white and dubbed into English. This is rather weird because some of the actors were obviously speaking English while others weren't.  It has a very sensuous gothic feel to it. The sets are sumptuous. The director, Mario Bava managed to simultaneously look forward with his gore and sexual inferences while also making a movie that dovetailed nicely with the classic Universal films, particularly 1931's Dracula.

Black Sunday is the film that made the English actress Barbara Steele a horror icon. With her almost freakishly large eyes, large forehead and full lips, she was a little different than what was usually considered to be attractive. She had a rather unsettling look that made her perfect for this film. Sometimes she could appear to be very beautiful other times she , well just watch.


The film opens up in Moldavia in the seventeenth century. The evil Princess Asa Vajda (Barbara Steele) and her lover/brother(?) Prince Igor Javuto (Artuto Dominici) have been condemned to die by her other brother, head of the Vajda clan, for the crimes of black magic, devil worship, vampirism and incest(?). Asa laughs at all this and curses her brother. She says she'll return in time to wreak vengeance upon her brother's descendants. She is branded and executed by having a devil's mask nailed to her face. Her body is placed in a crypt with charms and holy relics guarding it. Javuto is also executed and his body buried in a separate location. 200 years afterwards, two doctors are traveling in the Vajda lands. Through a combination of bad luck and total stupidity they manage to break the holy bonds keeping Asa in the grave and partially resurrect her spirit. 


Asa almost immediately in turn resurrects Javuto and sends him on a mission to kill the current Family Lord, Constantine Vajda (Enrico Olivieri). In the meantime, though the younger doctor, Andre Gorobec (John Richardson), has met Constantine's innocent young daughter Katia (Steele again) and has fallen head over heels in love. Neither doctor believes in the supernatural but as strange events start to pile up it becomes apparent that Asa means to completely possess Katia and live again in this world. And Asa needs blood.

This movie is ALL about mood, atmosphere and sets. Well maybe also it's a tiny bit about Steele's heaving bosom but that aside the sex is very muted, which is to say there isn't any.  It's the implications about sex and death than make this movie work. This is an excellent Saturday afternoon movie to watch. Some of the special effects were quite ingenious for their time. I thought the soundtrack was very impressive. Shooting in black and white gives this film a certain gravitas, or starkness that really makes things work. When a corpse pushes its way out of the grave or an eyeball is impaled you believe it really happened. 
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Don't Be Afraid of The Dark
directed by Troy Nixey

I picked this film up to watch because Guillermo Del Toro was a producer. That was a mistake on my part. Sure the movie hit all of the usual shock moments and it has a few good scenes which mostly seem to owe something to Kubrick's The Shining (aren't big empty homes inherently creepy?) but for the most part this film didn't really go anywhere.


The story is that Alex (Guy Pearce) and his girlfriend Kim (Katie Holmes) are architects/home restorers who either restore homes to bygone splendor for clients or flip them. I'm not sure and frankly I didn't care enough to rewind and find out. Bottom line is that they are fixing up a beautiful and very old home. Alex seems to be the brains of the operation. Kim just tags along and looks worried or supportive as required.


Alex's daughter Sally (Bailee Madison) is a depressed little girl who's sent by Alex's ex-wife to live with Alex. It's only supposed to be for a short period of time but it seems like the mother has taken the opportunity to dump Sally on Alex and run for the hills. Honestly in her position I'm not sure I wouldn't have done the same. Sally is an intensely morose disrespectful little girl. She makes it very clear she doesn't want to be there, talks smack to her dad and goes out of her way to show spite to Kim.


Anyway, while outside in the backyard, Sally discovers a hidden basement. The groundskeeper tries to pretend she's mistaken but Alex is thrilled to find the basement. It may add value and charm to the home. One of the grates is locked with a heavy chain. Near the grate Sally thinks she hears things. She starts spending more time in the basement. Of course the voices ask her to remove the locks from the grate.


Alex is under tremendous financial pressure to get the home finished so he has less and less patience for fairy stories his daughter is trying to tell him. But Kim, although rudely rebuffed at her initial attempt at maternal comfort, starts to listen to Sally, especially when there is a bloody incident in the basement. Sally becomes a bit more sympathetic as she tries to get proof that her new "friends" exist and mean to do her harm. Kim does some research on her own and is shocked by what she finds.


Again, this wasn't anything special and isn't worth running to rent/download. But if it's on and you have nothing better to do, why not watch it.
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HBO Game of Thrones Recap: The Old Gods and the New

Ok. At the close of last week's episode we saw (but I did not explicitly point out) the germination of a nasty little idea in Theon Greyjoy's head. Upset by the disdain of his men and his relatives, Theon decided to grab the gold ring. The Greyjoys do a feint attack at Torrhen's Square, then while the minimal Stark forces ride off to assist, Theon takes Winterfell, which by this point is virtually undefended. Bran does not wish to yield but Theon helpfully points out that if Bran wants to see his people unharmed, he'll do the right thing. Osha asks to serve Theon as a fighter but he declines. And my goodness but Osha (Natalia Tena) has some large expressive eyes.  Rodrik Cassel has figured out the diversion and fought his way back to protect his liege lords but he is captured. Cassel spits in Theon's face. Theon is urged by his men to kill the unbowed and unbroken Rodrik, which he does in front of the castle populace. Bran's dreams of the sea coming to Winterfell have come true. Remember that there were almost no fighting men in Winterfell. Theon's betrayal is both tragic and cowardly. Theon is obsessed with what he sees as the trappings of honor. He wants everyone to call him Lord or Prince. He swaggers around as if he's won a great battle. As Cassel and Bran ask Theon, did he really hate the Starks that much? Theon is like-"Forget you , I was a hostage".* We get the feeling in the aftershock of Cassel's murder that Theon has crossed over some critical moral lines.


We go to the North where Qhorin Halfhand tells Jon Snow that although Jon may die, his real job is to stay alive to protect those south of the Wall. This location (Iceland) is just so beautiful. We also see Ghost, Jon's direwolf, who is much larger than season 1.  
The Night Watch detachment sneaks up on the wildling scouts (apparently this is testament to Halfhand's skills, since he spends a lot of time talking about how much the wildlings know about the wilderness) and kill them all. All except one that is. It's a redheaded young girl named Ygritte and Jon Snow can not harm a female. Qhorin has no such scruples, especially after Ygritte admits that were the situation reversed Qhorin would likely be tortured AND killed. But Jon says he will kill Ygritte. Qhorin and the other rangers tell Jon to catch up later. Ygritte tries to escape but Jon captures her. He can't kill her.

In King's Landing the royal party has come to see Princess Myrcella off to Dorne as part of Tyrion's plan for her safety and betrothal. Cersei is not at all happy about this and ominously and quietly tells Tyrion that she really hopes he finds love one day so that she can take it from him. For once Tyrion decides to keep his mouth shut. It's a wise decision. Don't laugh at live lionesses, I always say. Joffrey makes fun of his brother for crying and is challenged on this by Sansa. He is about to have her beaten I suppose-out of Cersei's sight perhaps? As the party is walking back through the city jeers and catcalls and insults about the incest rain down on Joffrey. Finally someone throws some dung which hits the king in the face. He orders an attack but simultaneously a riot breaks out. Lords and ladies are attacked, murdered and raped. The kingsguard and Lannister troops make double time to the safety of the keep but no one thinks to worry about Sansa. Tyrion is REALLY upset about this and verbally rips Joffrey a new one. He belts him one too. Whatever else he is, Tyrion loves his brother Jaime and knows that if Sansa is harmed then Jaime will be as well. Joffrey refuses to order any sortie to save Sansa. Sansa is about to be brutally gang-raped (this is uncomfortably realistic folks) but at that point The Hound appears and does what he does best. He returns the un-raped Sansa to safety. Tyrion thanks him but The Hound scoffs. Shae cleans up Sansa , who is starting to get an understanding of class dynamics. But if we're keeping score Tyrion has made bitter enemies of his sister and his nephew.

In Harrenhal Tywin Lannister is upset because Ser Amory Lorch sent (or almost sent?) sensitive military information to the wrong House-one which is sworn to the Starks. Twyin has a way of asking questions which are designed to show you JUST how dumb you are for wasting his time. I had a boss like that once; it's not a pleasant experience. Littlefinger visits Tywin and urges an alliance with the Tyrells. Arya tries not to be noticed. Littlefinger seems to find something familiar about her.

Tywin reveals a somewhat softer side to Arya in sharing the story of how he taught his son Jaime (who was evidently dyslexic) to read. They also share talk of their fathers. In a really sad scene Arya says loyalty killed her father. Tywin says his father was weak. Aside-there is a very long back story to this which I won't go into here but suffice it to say that Tywin sees weakness as an unforgivable sin and once he took over House Lannister (per Joe Sarno) gave his enemies a day of reckoning that they did not live long enough to never forget.
I say this again, just because Tywin is reasonable and intelligent doesn't mean he's nice. He's not nice. Arya swipes a letter containing military information but is intercepted by Lorch, who senses she's hiding something. Arya gets Jaqen H'ghar to kill Lorch before he can speak to Tywin. She has one death remaining. The issue though that Lorch's death is obviously no accident. And Tywin Lannister is no dummy...

At Robb Stark's camp, The Young Wolf is meeting and greeting his men, lords and commoners alike. It's the common touch which his father had and what keeps the Starks loved and respected. He runs across Talisa again (what is she writing?) and correctly deduces that she's of noble birth. He starts to try to run the equivalent of Westeros style game on Talisa, who doesn't look like she minds all that much. This is interrupted by the return of Lady Catelyn Stark, who is happy to see her firstborn again and is evidently amused by his lame attempts at romance. Isn't that always the way with parents? But she firmly reminds Robb that he is betrothed to another. This betrothal can't be broken. This mother-son tender moment doesn't last as Roose Bolton brings news of the attack on Winterfell.

Jon Snow can't find his ranger party. They're not where they're supposed to be. Jon has taken Ygritte prisoner. He has her tied up with ropes over her entire body. Perhaps he has a not so hidden fetish? Hmm. Anyway as he insists on no fire Ygritte suggests they snuggle to keep warm. He warily agrees. Ygritte smiles and puts a little motion in her backfield. He tells her to stop and she's like stop what? Hmm. They come a running just as fast as they can cause every girl's crazy about a House Stark man...
At the Stark camp, Catelyn angrily tells Robb that she told him not to trust Theon. Although it's probably not what he needed to hear at this time, it's a fair point. Your mother has known your father longer than you have and in a different way than you ever could. If she tells you that your father had a good reason for doing something, perhaps next time you ought to listen? Well that's water under the bridge. Robb wants to return North and handle Theon personally but Roose Bolton suggests they outsource that task to Bolton's illegitimate son at the Dreadfort. (The Bolton ancestral home). Robb wants Theon alive. 

Back North Osha offers herself to Theon in exchange for her "freedom". Being the lusty little pig that he is he takes her and promptly falls asleep. Osha leaves, kills a guard and hits the road with Bran and Rickon Stark, their direwolves Summer and Shaggydog, and of course Hodor. 
Here at least the kindness of the Starks in not killing Osha seems to pay off. The Stark children are fortunate she's on their side. She told Theon when she first met him that she wasn't all that impressed by him and apparently she still isn't. Theon's weakness, besides doing much of his thinking with little Theon and having a crapsack family, is that he's unable or unwilling to consider things strategically. He thinks he can force respect instead of earning it.

Danerys and Xaro wait to see the Spice King. Xaro is still making a subtle pitch for marriage and boasting of his wealth. Danerys wants ships from the Spice King. Much like Tywin Lannister, the Spice King has a way of asking questions in which you yourself reveal your stupidity. I HATE having that done to me but I LOVE doing that to other people. The Spice King forces Danerys to admit that she has no army, no allies in Westeros, no money to pay him, and no idea of the current political nature in her homeland which she has not seen since she was a young child. In short, the Spice King is not going to GIVE away ships now for possible FUTURE payment. Other powerbrokers in Quarth feel the same way. Some have business relations they don't want harmed. Her not so hidden threats come across as the desperate boastings of a teen girl, which they are. For the first time she comes across a bit like her late and decidedly unlamented brother. Upon return to her compound, Danerys finds her people have been killed and her dragons stolen. I like how the title refers back to Brienne's oath to serve Lady Stark and implicitly contrasts that to Theon's betrayal of his oath to Robb Stark. Neither the old gods or the new look kindly on oath breaking.
*It is important to remember here that Theon Greyjoy's father, Balon, led a failed rebellion against Robert Barratheon. He was primarily defeated by Ned Stark and Stannis Barratheon. The elder Greyjoy sons were killed in battle. Theon Greyjoy was taken as a boy of 9 to be ward of the Starks. As Ned refused to sign off on the assassination attempt on Danerys and attempted to protect Cersei and her children, it is rather unlikely that Ned Stark ever would have killed Theon Greyjoy if Balon had rebelled again. On the other hand, it would have been useful if Balon BELIEVED he would have, otherwise Theon was no good as a hostage ward. Mercy can come back to hurt you and it looks like Ned's mercy and Robb's naivete have done just that.

*This post is written for discussion of this episode and previous episodes. If you have book based knowledge of future events please be kind enough not to discuss that here. Most of my blog partners have not read the books and would take spoilers most unkindly. Heads, spikes, well you get the idea..

Movie Reviews-Safe, Contraband, Brighton Rock, Meeting Evil

Safe

If you have seen any recent Jason Statham movie you pretty much know what you're gonna get. A bald bada$$ British bruiser who is both a dangerous man and a fashion plate kicks a$$ in all sorts of interesting ways while finding time to drop a few cool one liners in a gruff tone. It's what he does and he does it well. But either his brand is starting to wear thin or he's just not choosing the best scripts. Safe was entertaining enough once the butt-kicking commenced but it was, even for an action film, rather empty. Looking back I think this was because Statham didn't have a love interest or more importantly for this genre, any really interesting rival/opposite to play off against. So as a result there just wasn't enough there. I would say in hindsight that this was probably a wait for DVD/Netflix film. And I like Statham. But it is what it is. The ending both deconstructs action film showdowns and sends a tip of the hat to Statham's ensemble film Snatch.

Safe is suitably frantic and violent but verges on ridiculousness at times. It's hard to believe, especially in a city as densely populated as New York, that the characters could engage in the sort of violence that they repeatedly do and manage to largely avoid police interference.

Luke Wright (Jason Statham), a sanitation worker, is a fighter in unsanctioned NY cage fights. He is a somewhat passive fighter and lets another fighter hit him more than he should. Offering only the most cursory of resistance he still wins the fight. We then see him in a tense standoff with a mid level organized crime yokel who reminds him that he was supposed to take a dive. Both the yokel and his backer, a Russian-American crime boss not known for mercy, lost money on the fight. Wright heads home to try to get his wife out of town but it's too late. The Russians, led by the boss' depraved son, (who really lays on the accent thick and chews up the scenery) have already tortured and murdered his wife. Mercifully and effectively this is shown offscreen. The Russians consider killing Wright but he offers them no resistance. Disappointed that they can't hurt him anymore, the Russians tell Wright that they may kill him in the future or may not but they will definitely kill any friends he makes or any relatives they can dig up. Evidently like any evil overlord worth the name, the Russians want to make Wright suffer. And like most evil overlords they commit the cardinal sin of leaving an enemy alive. A tear rolls down Wright's cheek.

Meanwhile in China a young girl Mei (Catherine Chan) is revealed to be a genius with numbers, mathematics and probability, with a photographic memory for even the longest sequences. She is kidnapped from her family by organized crime boss Uncle Han (James Hong from Big Trouble in Little China) and put to work under his subordinates' direction to maximize profits from his gambling interests. Skimming drops dramatically and profits rise as Mei's preternatural skills with numbers are employed. 

Uncle Han decides to send Mei to NYC where men loyal to him are in a battle with the same Russian Mafia who destroyed Wright's life. She has a long number to memorize. Should she fail him he will murder her mother. But the Russians already know of this wunderkind and have their own plans for her. And through a series of unlikely events Mei winds up on the radar of a suicidal Wright. Deciding not to kill himself Wright dedicates himself to Mei's protection. And of course we learn that Wright was never a garbage man or (just) a cage fighter but something much more deadly. And now he's got a purpose. This didn't quite have the righteous anger or star power of the similar Man on Fire with Denzel Washington but it wasn't the worst way to waste time. It has lots of violence and moves quickly but ultimately is a forgettable if occasionally enjoyable flick. Chris Sarandon has a part.
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Contraband

Much like Statham, you know that Mark Wahlberg is going to bring a certain consistency to his action films. I don't know that Wahlberg is a better actor but he does have more range in my opinion.
Unlike Safe, Contraband is as much of a drama film as an action film. Wahlberg has a love interest and the film does ask you to use your brain a little bit more, even as it employs a great many common tropes such as One Last Job, You Were Like a Brother to Me, Putting the Band Back Together and so on. But even as the film does ask you to engage a bit more, it still is rather predictable. How you might feel about this will determine if this is a film you care about watching. It was set and shot in New Orleans but the film's lead actors generally do not attempt a Louisiana accent. 

Chris Farraday (Mark Wahlberg) is a hard working New Orleans home alarm installer who gives people good service and doesn't try to rip them off. He's married to Kate (Kate Beckinsale) and has two boys with her. His best friend Sebastian (Ben Foster) runs a local construction company.
But Kate has a younger brother Andy (Caleb Landry Jones) who likes to live on the wild side. Coming back into the US on a drug smuggling trip, to avoid detection by the Coast Guard, Andy dumps the cocaine in the ocean. He thinks that's the smart move. However his boss, the nervously malevolent Briggs (Giovanni Ribisi) doesn't see it that way. He wants his money.
Chris is a former (almost legendarily devious) smuggler who went straight. He stops by to see Briggs to see if Briggs will be reasonable about the loss and take less than full value. Loss is part of the business risk after all. But Briggs is profanely disrespectful and does not budge from his original position. Andy has two weeks to come up with the full value of the lost package or Briggs will kill him. And then in Briggs' mind the debt will pass to Chris and Kate. And if they can't pay Briggs will kill them but not before taking out some payment in trade from the delectable Kate.

The way Chris sees it he has no choice but to put his old smuggling crew back together, hop on a cargo ship under the control of a captain who doesn't like him, Captain Camp (the amazingly profane and aggressive J.K. Simmons), head over to Panama to get some counterfeit dollar bills, smuggle them back into the US, pay Briggs and be done with it all. Kate doesn't like this plan, not wanting Chris to end up in prison like his father(William Lucking), but she likes the idea of her brother dead in a levee even less. Sebastian thinks Chris ought to bring some drugs back so that there is more opportunity for profit but Chris is adamantly anti-drug. In order to protect his family against Briggs and his goons while he's gone, Chris tasks Sebastian with watching Kate and the boys. What could go wrong with this plan? 
There's a Bob Seger song that I like titled "Still the Same". One lyric stanza reads
You always won every time you placed a bet/ 
You're still damn good/No one's gotten to you yet/  
Every time they were sure they had you caught/ 
You were quicker than they thought/ 
You'd just turn your back and walk
The enjoyment in Contraband comes from watching Wahlberg attempt to make these lyrics come true. John Singleton once said Wahlberg reminded him of James Cagney and you can definitely see that here. If you like heist films check this out.
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Brighton Rock

This noir movie is based on a Graham Greene novel which I have not read. I was actually happy about this as I had no preconceptions about the movie. This adaptation takes place in 1960's Great Britain near and around as you might guess, Brighton. A small time group of hoodlums want to take revenge for the murder of their boss. A naive, lonely and virginal waitress named Rose (Andrea Riseborough) accidentally gets photographic evidence that could implicate a gang member in a revenge murder. Pinkie (Sam Riley) gets the assignment to obtain and destroy the picture, find out what if anything Rose knows and if necessary, send her to the afterlife. Pinkie is just the person for the job as his vileness and coldness and willingness to kill have already made the other gang members nervous to be around him. Pinkie's boldness and hatred only increase throughout the film as he kills his way to become boss of his gang.

This film is not an action film; it's a drama. And the drama is primarily about the relationship between good and evil or more precisely between Rose and Pinkie. 
Rose is quite obviously desperate for someone, anyone to pay attention to her. In a sad, very depressing scene she has to listen as her obviously uncaring (and abusive?) father bargains a fair brideprice for her with the maleficent Pinkie, who intends to marry the underage Rose to forestall any chance of testimony against him. Actually whenever I see Rose, I expect that Eleanor Rigby should be playing. It's a very religious film , not so much in the imagery though there is that but in the conversations between Pinkie and Rose about heaven and hell. Pinkie and Rose are both Catholics. 

Pinkie is quite adamant that there is hell but couldn't care less about heaven. He has a way of speaking that constantly belittles Rose and a few times it looks as if he's not above hitting her. At the same time while Rose is enthralled by and deeply in love with Pinkie, Pinkie is fascinated by her, even if that fascination is almost wholly based in contempt.

On the side of the angels is Rose's employer Ida (Helen Mirren-who is still going to be vamping men when she's 70), who as a former "party girl" herself, can recognize the pure evil radiating from Pinkie. One of the men Pinkie killed was an associate of Ida's. Ida basically engages in a struggle to save Rose's life and soul. In this she's advised by her friend Phil (John Hurt) who has never gotten to know Ida in a biblical way and appears to deeply resent it.
Look for current Game of Thrones actor Nonso Anozie as Dallow, a member of Pinkie's gang who starts to realize that Pinkie is not all there. Andy Serkis has a small but important role as Mr. Colleoni, the most powerful gangster in Brighton and a man who intends to keep that distinction. This is a VERY dark noir indeed but it's not very violent. I liked the acting here. I liked this film and thought it was very worthwhile. It throws a few curveballs at the viewer's head and like all good curveballs they don't necessarily break when or where you think they should. This looks, feels and sounds like a fifties or sixties movie. It doesn't have hyperactive camera work or crushing sound. It assumes that a scene can last for a while and not lose the viewer's interest. The ending will stay with you.
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Meeting Evil

Samuel L. Jackson can play a Scary Black Man better than anyone else I know. He's probably going to be doing it well into his eighties. He is a good actor. However this film just rubbed me the wrong way. Jackson's character didn't really work. In my opinion, the motivations stunk. In the same way that some movies have Black Spiritual Guides who evidently have no hopes, dreams, lusts or purposes of their own and just want to ensure that their white charges live a blessed life, other movies have Scary Black Men who seemingly live to just mess with white people for no better reason than because they can. If anything Meeting Evil rather implausibly combines these two tropes.

John (Luke Wilson) is a visibly depressed real estate professional  (realtor?) who was unlucky enough to have all of his chips on the table when the bubble popped. He also just got fired. Bills have been piling up and he is about to lose the family home. He has been trying to hide this from his leggy wife Joanie (Leslie Bibb) and their son and daughter. John loses it when his family tries to cheer him up and snaps at them. Angered, his wife takes the kids to a previously planned outing: without John.

Shortly afterwards there's a knock on the door and there is a man dressed in a funereal manner. It's Richie (Samuel L. Jackson) a verbally aggressive individual who browbeats John into helping him get his sports car restarted. After a seeming accident wounds John, Richie insists upon driving John to the hospital. On the way though a few rude or inconsiderate people get on Richie's nerves and he "corrects" them. His idea of correction usually involves removing the person from the planet. As you might expect it is very easy to get on Richie's nerves. At first this is done without John's knowledge but quite soon John becomes aware that he's riding around with a full blown Type 4 Chaotic Evil killer. Strangely enough, Richie seems to take a personal interest in John. He knows things he shouldn't know about John's private life. 

For a while the film flirts with the idea that Richie is either John's alter ego or indeed something supernatural. As the bodies start to pile up more secrets are revealed and a few twists that aren't really twists come to light. What could have been a subversion of the two tropes mentioned above falls into slavish worship of them to the point where they're extremely unrealistic-even for tropes. When John is arrested by the cops and desperately babbles about the scary black man who really committed all the mayhem  we're supposed to feel for him because in this instance the stereotype really is true. Ho-hum. 

So if you find the idea of a milquetoast white man finding his inner Alpha Male through the act of murder as shown by Jackson, to be an interesting story this could be the movie for you. Or if you just like watching Jackson do his trademark righteous bad$$$ indignation you may enjoy this film. Me? Ehhh. Definitely not his worst film but far from his best.
Tracie Thorns and Muse Watson are mostly wasted as a pair of police officers tasked to investigate all the killings. Thorns and Bibb have a scene together that is virtually senseless.
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Limits to Religious Freedom: Circumcision and Herpes

I'm not religious although I don't think I'm necessarily anti-religious. People can believe what they like and within certain constraints act as they like based on their religious beliefs. If you want to believe that there's someone in the sky watching you or some Force in the universe that is interested in the doings of human beings, it doesn't really impact me. Go for it.  I came down on the side of the Catholic Church over the contraception provision controversy. Basically I think that as long as you aren't hurting anyone else the state should pretty much stay out of your affairs. I think that's a general good rule for most citizens and it's a constitutionally protected right for religious institutions. You mind your business and I will mind mine. Good fences make good neighbors. Each captain runs his own crew. We all have to tend our own gardens. Live and let live. And so on.
But.............
There are limits. You don't get to sacrifice babies to Baal. You don't get to force your children to become temple prostitutes for Ishtar. The Catholic Church has no constitutional right to priest-boy sex. Although your religion might find dogs unclean you can't go around banning or killing other people's dogs. And it's iffy because parents do have the right to oversee and direct medical care for their minor children but if a parent wanted to use prayer instead of medicine to treat a gunshot wound to a child I would not lose sleep if the state intervened, treated the child and arrested the parent. Those sorts of actions would make me hostile to religion, not just because the religious person is accepting myths that to me make no sense, but because they are harming other people. That's the red line I think.


So if you tell me that your religion requires that a grown man undertake bloody oral genital contact with a baby so that said baby becomes an acceptable member of your religious society , then I'm gonna reach for my baseball bat and keep a close eye on you while I call the cops. Because that is FAR across any sort of red line.

A baby died at a New York hospital in September after contracting herpes from a controversial circumcision ritual.The infant died at Maimonides Hospital in Brooklyn, where the cause of death was listed as "disseminated herpes simplex virus Type 1, complicating ritual circumcision with oral suction," according to the New York Daily News.

Now, the Brooklyn District Attorney's office is looking further into the case, the Jewish Week reports. The boy is the second New York area infant in recent years to die from complications related to the Orthodox Jewish ritual of metzitzah b'peh, during which "the mohel places his mouth on the freshly circumcised penis to draw blood away from the cut,"according to the New York City Department of Heath.For its part, the state health department — then headed by Antonina Novello, appointed by Republican Gov. Pataki, who himself had strong ties to the Orthodox community — reached its own agreement with chasidic leaders in June of 2006, hailed by Rabbi Niederman in a press release as a “historic protocol” and the one to which Zwiebel referred to above.

The 2010 letter to rabbis from the commissioner of the state health department, referenced above, noted that “over the past five years” there have been “several documented cases” of herpes simplex Type 1 viruses in newborns who underwent metzitzah b’peh in New York City. 

When it came to light that two more babies had been infected (apparently not by Fischer), Frieden issued an “Open Letter to the Jewish Community,” which recommended — but stopped short of requiring — a cessation of the practice altogether, instead endorsing alternatives to the practice, like using a sterile glass tube (which is done in modern Orthodox circles). 

Now putting aside the generally accepted hypocrisy that male circumcision is just fine while female circumcision is a Stone Age evil that must be stamped out, it seems to me that whatever your feelings might be about the propriety of chopping away genital tissue from newborns, at the very least you would have to admit that a man having oral contact with a boy's bleeding penis as part of a religious ritual is not safe and shouldn't be legal. 

Unfortunately because of political considerations in New York this has not attracted a huge amount of media attention. Finally law enforcement is looking into it because of the death of the babies, but honestly it never should have come to that. This is something where religion and state must clash and the state MUST win. The men who performed this deed should be identified, arrested and prosecuted with the full vigor of the law. The city and state of New York need to give out information about the health dangers of this practice and convince parents not to allow it. And finally if the parents refuse to change their behavior they ought to be arrested and charged the same way we would charge any other parent who harms a child. I don't see a lot of grey here. It's black and white for me. Man putting his mouth on boy's privates= man going to jail.

But what do you think?

1) Should this practice be outlawed? Do you see religious freedom problems?

2) Should the parents and/or rabbi go to jail?

3) Is focus on this practice anti-religious?

4) If outlawed would this interfere with parental prerogatives?