Released: December 2016

Director: Gareth Edwards

Rated PG-13

Run Time: 134 Minutes

Distributor: Disney/Lucasfilm

Genre: Action/Science Fiction

Cast:
Felicity Jones: Jyn Erso
Diego Luna: Cassian Andor
Alan Tudyk: K-2SO
Donnie Yen: Chirrut Imwe
Wen Jiang: Baze Malbus
Ben Mendelsohn: Orson Krennic
Forrest Whitaker: Saw Gerrera
Mads Mikkelson: Galen Erso

When Episode III: Revenge of the Sith was released, George Lucas said he would not do any more Star Wars movies.  While a great many people were relieved, because he botched the first two Prequel movie, others were concerned because Star Wars is an event that has to be seen on the big screen.  In 2012, Lucas sold his company and Star Wars to Disney for about 4 billion bucks.  Immediately after, Disney announced that they were going ahead with a new Star Wars trilogy, the first of which was released last year: The Force Awakens.  But, in addition to a new trilogy, Disney also announced a multitude of spin-off movies.  We are going to see a new Han Solo movie in the next two years, followed possibly by Boba Fett and Yoda.  But the first true non-episodical film is Rogue One.  So…how does Rogue One stack up against the other films in the franchise?  Let’s took a look, shall we?

The film opens as an Imperial scientist, Galen Erso tells his wife and daughter, Jyn to run, because the Galactic Empire is coming for him.  The Empire seeks his help in creating the ultimate weapon that will solidify the Empire’s control of the galaxy.  13 years later, we find Jyn arrested by the Empire, only to be rescued by the Rebel Alliance.  They were looking for her, because of her father’s work.  They want her to help them find Galen so they can stop this weapon from being used.  Reluctantly accepting the mission, Jyn sets out to find her father.  The story is not overly complex because it ties in directly with the original 1977 film.  That doesn’t make the story bad, though.  Far from it.  It’s a very compelling story that spans the entire galaxy.  While Rogue One IS a spin-off, it is a direct prequel to the original Star Wars.  As such, certain events in the film are predictable.  Again, that’s not a bad thing, as long as the rest of the film is up to the task of telling this particular story.  I can tell you now, Rogue One is quite possibly the best Star Wars movie since The Empire Strikes Back.  I don’t say that lightly, because Episodes VI and VII are really good movies, but Rogue One truly feels like a Star Wars film, in tone and look.

What makes Star Wars so special, is not just the story and the way it is told, but also the characters that drive it, and Rogue One is no exception.  We’ve got some really amazing characters here.  Jyn, the daughter of an Imperial scientist, has more reason to hate the Empire than anyone, but she has to put that aside for the greater good.  Captain Cassian Andor is the head of the Rebel intelligence division and is willing to do whatever it takes to fight the Empire.  On the way, we meet an eclectic cast of characters, including Chirrut Imwe, a blind warrior who has adopted the teachings of the Jedi, even though he isn’t one himself.  His best friend, Baze, is a bruiser of a warrior with a massive gun.  They are joined by K-2SO, an Imperial droid that’s been reprogrammed to fight for the Rebels.  On the Imperial side, we have Director Orson Krennic, who leads the Empire’s secret project.  We also have Moff Tarkin, who is Darth Vader’s second-in-command who oversees Krennic’s projects.  All these characters are mostly well-written.  K-2SO is definitely a high-light because he’s sarcastic and funny.  That brings me to the acting.  It’s phenomenal.  Everybody here is on top of their game, because they want to make the best movie possible.  Felicity Jones is adequately feisty and determined as Jyn Erso.  Mads Mikkelson is sympathetic and noble, despite some of the choices the character is forced to make.  Donnie Yen shines as Chirrut Imwe, a blind warrior that manages to be funny and bad-ass at the same time.  He gets a good deal of screen-time.  I’ve always wanted to see Donnie Yen as a Jedi at some point, but this is close enough.  Ben Mendelsohn plays the film’s main villain of Orson Krennic.  He’s suitably scummy and not particularly likable.

From a visual standpoint, Rogue One excels.  I’ll tell you why.  The look and design of the film was based on both Episode IV and V.  The star destroyers actually look like models, even though they aren’t.  I’ll be honest with you, I’ve never seen the Death Star on the big-screen before.  The scale of the space station is extraordinary.  The design of the weapon and the way it fires is straight out of the Original Trilogy.  Like The Force Awakens, the film makers opted to use practical effects and puppets for certain scenarios, and it works wonderfully.  The set designs are incredible.  They have a size and scope that hasn’t been seen in years.  The costume designs are pulled directly from Episode IV.  The Imperial officers and stormtroopers are like something out of a time machine.  They use actual costumes.  The X-Wings and the Rebel Fleet are sublimely designed.  It’s visually astonishing.

What would a Star Wars movie be without action?  Rogue One puts the emphasis on Wars in Star Wars.  The perspective of this film is from the ground.  It’s gritty, brutal and intense.  The gun fights are exceptionally exciting, and some of the hand-to-hand scenes are unlike anything that I’ve seen in the entire series.  Donnie Yen’s character is a phenomenal fighter, despite the fact that he is blind.  He has a huge stick that he uses to take out stormtroopers in a fairly spectacular fashion.  He stick is also a giant crossbow that he can use to shoot things.  The scale of the battles is unbelievable.  When the Rebels take on the Empire towards the end of the film, they go up against a variant of the AT-AT walkers that you seen in Empire Strikes Back.  If there’s one thing that Gareth Edwards does well, is give a film a sense of size and scale.  The space battle is equally amazing with the Rebel Fleet taking on several star destroyers.  It has to be seen to be believed.  I went in to Rogue One expecting a decent film, but I was not expecting a great Star Wars movie, and that’s what it is.  It’s a great film.  It’s still not perfect, though.  Forrest Whitaker’s character has a really strange voice and doesn’t really do a whole lot.  Darth Vader is another issue.  Don’t get me wrong, when he’s on screen, he’s a major presence.  But that’s the also the problem, he’s not in the film a whole lot.  That being said, his presence is still felt.  You know he has to show up at some point, and his final scene in the film is nothing short of crazy.

Despite a few nitpicks here and there, Rogue One fires on all cylinders and doesn’t let up at all.  The story and the characters actually manage to give the original 1977 film more weight, because of what happens.  I didn’t think that was possible.  While the film isn’t particularly necessary, it does fill in a lot of gaps and addresses certain issues from A New Hope.  I’m just going to say it, Rogue One is easily the best Star Wars movie since The Empire Strikes Back.  It’s emotionally engaging and visually exciting.  If you’re a Star Wars fan, this is a must-see.  If this film is any indication, I’m not particularly worried about the future of Star Wars.  At all.  This must be seen on the big screen.

My final score for Rogue One: 9.5/10.  HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

OBVIOUS WARNING IS OBVIOUS:  SPOILER ALERT!!

Released: 2015

Distributor: HBO

Cast:
Peter Dinklage: Tyrian Lannister
Lena Headey: Cercei Lannister
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau: Jamie Lannister
Kit Harington: Jon Snow
Stephan Dillane: Stannis Boratheon
Gwendoline Christine: Brienne of Tarth
Aiden Gillan: Petyr Baelish
Maisie Williams: Arya Stark
Sophie Turner: Sansa Stark
Emilia Clarke: Daenerys Targaryen
Iain Glen: Jorah Mormont
Liam Cunningham: Davos Seaworth

I’ll be honest with you.  When I started doing this marathon, I wasn’t entirely certain that I was going to complete it.  But here are: 5 seasons down, 1 to go.  It’s been quite an interesting experience.  It’s been an epic journey.  50 1-hour long episodes in 5 days?  I’m immensely thankful for the opportunity to be able to do this.  It’s certainly been challenging, especially season 1, the more I watched the show, the more I wanted to continue.  It’s just too bad that there are only so many hours in a day to really immerse myself in the world of Westeros.  Yeah, some episodes were worse than others, but for the most part, everything has been almost consistently fantastic.  The show goes to some really dark places, but always offers a glimpse of hope for what’s to come.  With Season 5, things are darker than ever.

By the end of Season 4, we have witnessed the assassination of Joffrey Boratheon with Tyrion being accused of the crime.  We have also seen Daenerys Targaryen take control of another city and free more slaves.  With all the political intrigue in King’s Landing, the focus turned to the north with the wildlings with their “king” Mance Rayder finally taking the Wall head on and the Night’s Watch holding them back.  The late Catelyn Stark’s sister was pushed through the moon door by Petyr Baelish, who takes control of the Veil.  During Tyrion’s trial, we witness Tyrion unleashing his venom on everybody in the room and finally demanding trial by combat.  Tyrion’s champion, Prince Oberyn Martell challenges The Mountain, Gregor Clegan and ends up getting his head crushed in, sealing Tyrion’s fate.  Meanwhile, the young Tommen Boratheon becomes the king and takes Margaery Tyrell as his wife.  After spending time in the dungeons, Tyrion escapes with the help of his brother, Jamie.  Before leaving King’s Landing, Tyrion kills his father, Tywin Lannister.

Season 5 begins as Tyrion, shoved into a box, arrives in the land of Essos across the Narrow Sea.  He encounters Jorah Mormont, who was exiled by Daenerys Targaryen in the previous season.  During this time, the Boltons have taken control of Winterfell, with Roose Bolton being named the Warden of the North and Ramsay Snow finally being officially acknowledged as a Bolton.  While all of this is going on, King’s Landing is being beset by a new faction called The Faith Militant, lead by the mysterious High Sparrow.  Brutally murdering and accosting people who take part in certain….vices, The Faith Militant are a ruthless band of religious fanatics.  During the chaos in King’s Landing, the Night’s Watch has elected Jon Snow as the new Lord Commander, even though certain elements hate him.  Snow takes a group of Watchmen and takes them and one of the wildling prisoners north to save as many people as they can before the White Walkers show up.  Boy, if you thought that Season 3 had some “oh, shit” moments, you haven’t seen anything yet.  The story is phenomenal as always, but it really takes no prisoners here.  Nobody is safe, not even children.  Does that make the show mean-spirited?  Not necessarily, especially when you consider the crap that’s happened in OUR history.  Except, I’m pretty sure that nobody during Dark Ages faced an ancient army of the dead coming down from the north.

I have to admit, this is constantly keeping me on the edge of my seat, wanting to see what happens next.  That’s the mark of a great show.  It’s all handled as realistically as possible with characters that you love and hate, especially the ones that you LOVE to hate.  They are all very well written and extremely compelling.  The people that you thought would be villains don’t end up so black-and-white, so to speak.  Everyone here has their own motivations and reasons for what they are doing, even scumbags like Ser Allister Thorn of the Night’s Watch has legitimate reasons for doing what he does.  Yeah, the good guys definitely lose at times, but they also bounce back.  The acting, as usual, is extremely top-notch.

The visual effects are astounding.  The dragons are spectacular.  When they enter the picture, the pace just quickens and is absolutely astonishing.  The fight sequences are simply marvelous to behold, especially in the Arena towards the end of the season.  I have to admit, I really appreciate the fact that they employ practical effects when it comes to the blood and gore…mostly.  There are certain moments that require CGI, but it’s all done very well.  The music by Ramin Djawadi is epic and haunting.

There are a couple of major set-pieces during the season.  The first is the invasion of the White Walkers in the north, and this is not only epic, but it’s terrifying the way these suckers move.  Then you get your first glimpse of the Night King, the leader of the Walkers.  It’s brutal.  The second is when a group of assassins known as the Sons of the Harpy.  These were former slavers fighting against Daenerys’ rule.  It’s an epic battle, especially when the largest dragon enters the picture.  The battles in this show rival almost anything that’s come before in movies.  I’m not kidding.

Overall, it’s definitely an amazing and thrilling season that changes things going forward.  I have to admit, I was skeptical when I first heard about Game of Thrones.  I really was, but here I am, 5 seasons in and I’m captivated.  It’s that good.  Tomorrow marks the end of my current journey through Westeros until season 7 airs next year.  This has been one of the most awesome experiences that I’ve had on this website.  It’s been truly gratifying.  Now, when I finish Season 6, I will do an overall review of the show in general and give my final thoughts of Game of Thrones.

Score for the season: 9/10

AS ALWAYS: SPOILER WARNING!

Released: 2014

Distributor: HBO

Cast:
Peter Dinklage: Tyrion Lannister
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau: Jammie Lannister
Lena Headey: Cercei Lannister
Kit Harington: Jon Snow
Masie Williams: Arya Stark
Sophie Turner: Sansa Stark
Aiden Gillan: Petyr Baelish
Charles Dance: Tywin Lanister

It is rare to see a TV show get better as time goes on.  More often than not, newer seasons of a show end up getting worse.  Not so with Game of Thrones.  It started off pretty rough, but it really found its footing towards the end of Season 2 and now we are just barreling along.  Some people think I’m nuts for doing a marathon of the show in the span of a week.  They maybe correct, but honestly, it’s not as daunting a task as some people would believe.  It’s only ten episodes a season, while many shows are between 20-35 episodes a season.  Now, you tell me which one’s crazier.  Game of Thrones is perhaps one of the best things to come out of the fantasy genre in decades.  It’s engaging, exciting, funny, disturbing and devastating all at the same time.  I didn’t get into the show when it first started because I didn’t have HBO at the time, but now I understand why people really love this show.  Because I love it, too.

Thoughout Season 3, we saw Tywin Lannister become Hand of the King to Joffrey, while Tyrion became Master of the Coin.  Robb Stark is still waging war on the Lannisters while Stannis Boratheon is licking his wounds at Dragonstone.  Arya Stark is currently on the run with The Hound, Sandor Clegane with everybody looking for them.  During his march on the south, one of Robb’s banner-men commits an atrocity, and is promptly executed.  As a result, Robb loses about half of his forces, forcing him to reforge an alliance with the fickle Walder Frey.  After apologizing to Frey, Robb Stark and his army are massacred by Roose Bolton’s men masquerading as Frey’s, in one of the most shocking and controversial scenes in TV history.  The Red Wedding, as it is called, is one of the biggest turning points in the show.  It certainly pissed a lot of people off, even though I hear the book’s version is much worse.  But we also got to see Daenerys Targeryan take control of her dragons and rain destruction down on slave cities.  Meanwhile, Bran Stark and company are headed north beyond The Wall in search of the mysterious Three-Eyed Raven, that Bran keeps seeing in his dreams.  Jamie Lannister reveals to Brienne of Tarth why he assassinated the Mad King, who ruled until Robert Boratheon showed up.

Season 4 opens as Jon Snow is recovering from being shot at by the wildlings who took him in, revealing that his allegiance was always to the Night’s Watch.  After realizing that number of Watchmen have deserted and made camp beyond the wall, Snow, along with a handful of volunteers decide to go and end them, so that Mance Rayder can’t get information from them.  Meanwhile, Joffrey is getting married to Margaery Tyrell to secure an alliance between the Lannisters and Tyrells.  Jamie Lannister is having to retrain in order to fight with his left hand, since his right hand was severed in the previous season.  While the war appears to be over for the moment, there are many elements that are forming against the Lannisters, including the Martells, who have a fierce hatred of the Lannisters.  After getting married and celebrating his wedding, Joffrey is poisoned and dies painfully in his mother’s arms, ending his reign of terror.  To the north, it is revealed to the Night’s Watch that Mance Rayder is marching on the wall with 100,000 men and giants at his disposal.  Daenarys takes another city and frees thousands more from slavery, but her dragons are becoming uncontrollable, so she has to deal with that as well.  The story is obviously continuing to pick up steam here.  There’s a lot of twists and turns, some are predictable, but some are not.  If people were pissed off at the Red Wedding, then Joffrey’s death should be pretty satisfying, albeit horrific.

A lot of characters have really evolved over the course of the show thus far, my particular favorite right now is Jaime Lannister.  When he revealed his motives for killing the Mad King, it becomes very clear that this guy is not the evil scumbag that he appeared to be during the first season.  This is a guy who cares about his family, and trying to do things for what he feels are the right reasons.  While it may seem that he is on a path to redemption, it’s entirely unclear whether or not he continues down that path, but since he lost his hand, he has changed quite a bit.  Petyr Baelish is still a mystery.  After 4 seasons, we still don’t know what this guy is about.  We don’t know what his ambitions are or why he does the things he does.  The characters are just extremely well-written and the performances are stellar, again.

Each season has had a defining moment in which things take a major turn.  The first season saw the beheading of Ned Stark and the subsequent murder of his entourage.  Season 2 gave us the Battle of Blackwater Bay in one of the most spectacular episodes in the entire show.  Season 3 gave us the Red Wedding with the murder of Robb Stark and his army.  Season 4 has two particularly spectacular battles.  One is the one-on-one fight between Prince Oberyn Martell and Ser Gregor Clegane.  It’s a surprisingly even-matched fight.  It surprised the hell out of me.  The second is the Battle for The Wall, which involved thousands of people as well as giants and mammoths.  It’s quite possibly the most ambitious battle sequence up this point.  The fight choreography is second-to-none.  It’s brutal, spectacular and amazingly fun to watch at times.

So far, the show is something truly spectacular.  I’ve never seen anything quite like it.  With the all the events going on in the series, it’s really difficult to gauge where things are going to go next.  With two season left to go, I’m really excited to see what happens.

The Score for the Season: 9/10

WARNING: THERE WILL BE SOME MAJOR SPOILERS HERE!

Released: 2013

Distributor: HBO

Cast:
Peter Dinklage: Tyrion Lannister
Lena Heady: Cersei Lannister
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau
Charles Dance: Tywin Lannister
Jack Gleeson: Joffrey Boratheon
Liam Cunningham: Ser Davos Seaworth
Emilia Clarke: Daenerys Targeryan
Kit Harington: Jon Snow
Richard Madden: Robb Stark
Iain Glen: Ser Jorah Mormont

Wild card: A determining or important person or thing whose qualities are unknown, indeterminate, or unpredictable.  A wild card is brought into a story to shake things up, and make them more interesting.  Usually, a wild card is generally a person.  It’s someone that you might think to be a good guy but ends up being a villain and vice versa.  When it’s done well, a wild card will throw the audience for a fucking loop.  That is the intention of a wild card.  Game of Thrones is littered with such people.

By the end of Season 2, we witnessed the full brunt of Joffrey’s cruelty.  We’ve also seen Robb Stark take the Lannisters head on and win multiple battles.  Stannis Boratheon has gathered a fleet and attacked King’s Landing with only Tyrion Lannister and his men to stand between Stannis and the fall of the kingdom.  Jamie Lannister has been taken prisoner by Robb Stark, while The Night’s Watch finally encounter the darkness beyond the wall:  White Walkers.  Season 3 picks up the pieces from Season 2 with Tyrion Lannister, scarred in battle, no longer the Hand of the King.  His father, Tywin, has taken that position and continues to consolidate the Lannisters’ power in King’s Landing.  At this point, it is NOT Joffrey who is in power.  He may wear the crown, but it is Tywin Lannister that orchestrates everything.  Disobeying Robb Stark’s order to keep Jamie prisoner, Catelyn Stark attempts to have him exchanged for her daughters by sending him back to King’s Landing with Brienne of Tarth.  North of The Wall, Jon Snow has fallen in with Mance Rayder and his army of wildlings.  Daenarys has begun building an army by recruiting a large number of slaves.  While there is definitely large amounts of treachery in Season 3, the story definitely picks up the pace and doesn’t hold back.

As is custom in a new season, new characters are introduced while some older characters are RE-introduced.  If you guys thought that Joffrey was a sadistic twerp, wait until you meet Ramsay Snow, Roose Bolton’s bastard.  This guy is absolutely MEAN, considering the amount of torture that he inflicts on Theon Greyjoy.  We also get to meet Mance Rayder for the first time.  As always, the acting is superb.  Peter Dinklage simply owns his character of Tyrion Lannister, as does Charles Dance with Tywin.  Emilia Clarke is just fantastic as Daenerys.  She’s come from being a meek, scared little girl, to the city-conquering mother of dragons.  The dragons themselves are extraordinary.  They’re growing fast, and they burn shit up really quickly.  This season is definitely action-packed.  There’s plenty of sword-play to go around, and magic is definitely having an impact here.  Bran Stark, who was pushed out of a window in the first season, has discovered that he has the power to enter the minds of animals and people and control them.  That is what I call a wild card moment.  That’s going to play an important role in the seasons to come.

This being Game of Thrones, you would expect there to some pretty shocking moments, right?  Oh, boy, do we have something in store for you:  Episode 9: “The Rains Of Castamere.”  This has to be one of the most shocking and brutal episodes in the entire show.  It’s an episode that will linger on for quite some time, and changes everything for the entire show.  There’s a reason this show is not for children, and Episode 9 is a perfect example.  It’s brutally depressing while being utterly spectacular at the same time.  I’m not going to spoil this one for you, because it has to be seen to be believed.

As with everything Game of Thrones-related, the shots in the show are absolutely breathtaking, even in the scenes that take place beyond The Wall.  There’s a scene in which Jon Snow and a group of wildlings climb up the wall and we see what its like looking to the south and it’s gorgeous.  CGI for sure, but it’s definitely spectacular.  Overall, Season 3 of Game of Thrones is an even bigger success than Season 2.  Taking some well-established characters and throwing a curve-ball to the audience at various points in the story, help keep things interesting and the audience at the edge of their seats.  This is about a perfect season as you can get.

Score for Season 3: 10/10