Bilbo

Well that would be a first for his dialogue. 

House of the Dragon 3x03 Rhaenyra Triumphant
 
This was a pretty cool episode!  I really liked that after the cold opening (a rare feature for both GOT and HOTD), the entire episode focused on Rhaenyra, I believe never once showing other viewpoints unless I'm forgetting something.  But that was really cool and effective, and in less than an hour told us all we know we need to know about how difficult it would be to be in charge of all of Westeros in the best of conditions, let alone the myriad of additional problems specific to her being in charge.  The way things kept piling up it reminded of the current final season of The Bear where things start with the odds stacked against you, and then more and more things keep piling on!  The way even getting a period was added in was effectively done I thought.
 
The most intriguing issue to me was that they have no money because Tyland fooking LANNISTER stole it all!?  Was this brand new information that we couldn't have known before this episode, or did I miss some foreshadowing or hints at this in a previous episode?  It was funny too that the one guy who might have known would Jaspar, who they had to behead.  D'oh!  I am now curious if Tyland will actually turn up alive later in the season or not since someone here pointed out we didn't actually see a body... we'll see!
 
The most frustrating decision Rhaenyra made for me was by far the denial of Alan and Addam's legitimacy.  For one, I didn't even know/remember that it wasn't enough for high Lord like Corlys to just declare it himself, but that the current King/Queen has to approve it?  Seems weird.  I can understand the reasoning Rhaenyra uses to not want to do it, since she's trying to prove her rightful claim and her current air of Joffrey is a bastard just like them.  But I don't agree that that means she shouldn't approve the naming anyway.  SO MUCH time should theoretically pass between her allowing them to be Velaryons now and Joffrey eventually becoming King that there probably won't be many still alive that would care about such things... and if she died or is overthrown in the relative future, Joffrey ain't becoming kind anyway!
 
The knighting of Ulf, Hugh, and Addam was a funny scene, since Daemon had a kind of goofiness about him the whole time.  He doesn't seem to respect them at all which is a bit short-sighted considering how CRUCIAL they are to holding power.   The red keep being overun with rats was strange to me;  Yes, I know Aegon killed all of the rat-catchers, but hasn't Westeros ever heard of CATS!?  The rats did lead to my favorite Rhaenyra moment this episode, the banquet where she has the lords and ladies who hoarded money's home's robbed of the gold while they were at her banquet.  That was a cool move.  Of course, it will only lead to delaying the major money shortage problems for a short while, but it's something, and sends a wider message.  The guy from house Manderlay that she speaks to at the end - I think I didn't get something out of this that book readers or people who follow the show more closely might have gotten.  Any ideas?
 
Rhaenyra's small council is a mess and I can't imagine why it isn't a higher priority to get more people in there.  NOBODY from Dragonstone is worthy, ALL of them are all basically off the show now?  I kinda that kind of tracks.  But she needs more allies, and FAST!  Wasn't she forging all the right bonds her entire life as she waited for Viserys to pass?  It's only been a few months since Aegon took over instead of it shouldn't be THAT hard to get those old bonds going again.  They make it seem like she has no friends at all, which I guess makes Mysaria more of an important character.  
 
The coolest plot turn was definitely the Ormund Hightower stuff!  I really liked the cold opening, the scale of the Hightower army with the small dragon on one side and the just Daemon, Hugh, and Ulf with their dragons on the other was cool looking, and I never doubted for a second that if Ormund had some trick up his sleeve there to attempt an attack, the Daemon side would win easily and quickly.  In retrospect knowing the end of the episode, Ormund plays this out beautifully, pretending to bend the knee reluctantly, and lying directly to Daemon basically the entire time.  It makes sense that the blacks would want Daeron as a hostage, and it's a brilliant trick to give them an imposter!
 
I really liked all the Allicent scenes this episode, and that Rhaenyra gets to control what information she knows and does not.  I like that Rhaenyra showed Mercy and let Old Town have Otto's body, and genuinely asked her old friend for advice on ruling.  But then at the same time, she didn't tell Allicent she had Daeron until it was beneficial for her to do so.  The slow reveal that the imposter wasn't Daeron primarily through closeups of Allicent and Rhaenyra was really well done!  When it all clicked into place what was happening, it was just a cool twist that instantly made me think that Ormund is going to be a much cooler villain that I had realized.  It makes total sense, with Aegon on the run, Aemond almost dead, no dragons to worry about and no known entities with any power left to oppose them, we need a villain somewhere... and of course its a Hightower!  The episode ending with all the Hightower banners burning as Rhaenyra stares into the flames was pretty great.

The show is firing on all cylinders here!

House of the Dragon 3x02 Queen's Landing
 
This is just a great episode that advances everything along and establishes new stakes so wonderfully!
 
The quiet opening from under the POV of the water showing that Hugh, Ullf, and Addam have gone to the battleground and decimated any remaining Triarchy ships was pretty cool!  I was kind of amazed they were able to actually find Jace's body considering he was not near any land when he was shot; I thought he was going to suffer the same fate as Luke of there being no body due to the circumstances of their death... but it worked out better the way it did because with Luke's death we got that amazing glare from Rhaenyra to end a season, and now with Jace's we get the pent up frustration of losing both sons, this time because one of them locked you in your room and took your place in battle, and Emma D'arcy crushed it!  I liked that she didn't even demand Ser Laurent's head at this point because what good would it do... but then later in the episode make sure to make it clear that he was going to die after all.  I love it!
 
D'arcy's portrayal of grief was fantastic throughout the whole episode, not only was its shadow all over the ending scenes in the red keep, but also the scene where her in bed when Daemon arrives.  But before he arrives it was super fun seeing everyone in his armies celebrating with song.  Such a shame its cut so short when the news of Jace's death arrives, and I loved the way Daemon immediately told the men to march to King's Landing to take the throne!  From that moment on it was clear we were due for the next major story advancement and that this wasn't going to be an all denouement episode.  The scene that Daemon has with Alys Rivers before he leaves was fascinating.  First, I LOVED that it started with a closeup of Cyrax drinking from a lake; it gave me confidence that they still had the budget for little moments like that and they don't have to save all their money for battles and such.  But when Alys asks for Harrenhal and he somewhat rudely denies her, this seems like a MAJOR turning point that he doesn't even realize he's made.  Of course, he's focused on the prophecy and getting Rhaenyra on the throne now and not much else, but it seems clear that at some point he'll return to this area to die and maybe that could have been preventing if he handled this conversation differently.  I loved everything that happened when he got to Dragonstone!  First we get him meeting up with Ulf and Hugh, and chastising them for not following orders (only waiting 2 days), and slapping Ulf, which was hilarious.  Then he talks with Mysaria which was super interesting because of her past with Daemon, and now her new potential affair (?) with Rhaenyra that he doesn't know about.  Then him joining Rhaenyra in bed and telling her about the vision and his new devotion was another great scene.  He was probably the only person that could have gotten her out of bed for quite some time.
 
I really wasn't sure if the dragonriders were going to be able to find Corlys or not, but it was nice that he was and that it was Addam that found him.  The family reunion of Corlys, Addam, Alan, and Baela was really nice (as was the conversation with Baela and Addam where they talk about their shared lineage), but what really struck me was the smoking shell of Driftmark in the distance.  In all the hubbub of what happened in the previous episode, I don't even think I fully took in that his home and all his riches and mementos from decades of seafaring adventures is gone.  It was a super touching moment when he said he had nothign left to give to Alan except his nanme and Alan said that was all he ever wanted.  These episodes are wrapping up so many things that were left dangling at the end of 2022's 8 episode run!
 
Aemond keeps to his word and flies to Harrenhal.  I loved the shot of Vhagar flying overhead that Criston Cole sees and comments the troops to march towards Harrenhal.  Very convenient that they won't be near King's Landing!  When Aemond gets there, everythign that happened was so bloody awesome!  Vhagar just torching people and crumbling columsn and walls, Aemond displaying master swordfighting skills and just getting into the the room where Simon Strong is with ease.  When he kills Simon Strong I was super bummed because I loved that character and Russell Beale was great in the roll.  However more shocking was that one of his sons was able to stab him in the back before he killed them both as well, and that it seemed like it was a genuinely fatal wound as the scene went on.  The fast that Aly Rivers shows up clicked so much together.  In Daemon's big vision last season where he saw himself die, that sort of morphed into something where Haelena was sort of in the same vision as well, and when we left hte vision Haelana told Aemond that he would die at Harrenhal..... well, here we are.  I don't think he's dead, I think Alys will heal him up - and maybe would not have done so if Daemon hadn't spurned her earlier in the episode!  Can't wait to see where all this goes!
 
Aegon and Larys's journey continues to be interesting as well.  I never thought Aegon was really good at much of anything, but the way he was able to get that arrow, hide it, then kill a guy brutally with it was quite impressive.  And he says he wants to go to Rook's Rest?  To look for Sunfyre?  I thought Sunfyre was dead but I guess not!  Speaking of dragon's, the scene where Rhaena talks to Lady Jane about what happened was very interesting; I guess I hadn't realized that neither Baela nor Jace were able to identify Rhaena is being the rider of the third dragon that showed up at the battle (though at one point in the episode they seemed to know that that dragon's name was Sheep Stealer, so how does that work?).  I can kind of see Jane's viewpoint that she can't give Rhaena a home because of her being being Jace's death... but let's be honest, she wasn't directly responsible for it, and the fact that the blacks would have one more dragon on their side would probably outweigh the death?  But with Lady Jane letting her go live in the wilderness in the area, I have a feeling we might not see Rhaena again until the end of the season or maybe the next.
 
The whole ending of the episode with the titular event was just great, really.  I loved Daemon talking to Ulf and Addam and instilling in them the importance of not fucking up again - though I did wonder why Addam and Baela didn't go as well?  I loved watching Alicent and Haelena do what had to be done on their side, though thought it was a little too easy for the master of the guards to agree to stand down.  Lord Jaspar trying to rape Allicent was pretty cringey though and I'm not really sure we needed a scene like this.  The dragons arriving at King's Landing and not breathing fire or destroying things was a nice contrast to Aemond's arrival at Harrenhal in the same episode, and Daemon winning a 6v1 battle against some guards was awesome.  I kept wanting Rhaenyra to join in the fighting but I guess it makes the final moments of the episode more powerful that she didn't.  When it seemed like the tables turned in the throne room, I knew they were going to survive this so didn't really feel any tension there, and I guess it's plausible enough that the Gold Cloaks would be on Daemon's side.  Maybe there are more people in King's Landing that would have preferred Rhaenyra ruling over Aegon than we were lead to believe?
 
I really liked that Rhaenyra didn't want to sit on the throne until they beheaded Aegon first.  When they learn he is gone and really only Jaspar and Orwyle from the whole of the small council can be found, it was great when that one prison guard guys tells Daemon that Larys him a gift were they to win.  I was pleased with myself that I realized what it had to be before it was revealed - it perfectly fit the quick shot we saw at the end of episode 8 of Otton in a cell.  Daemon's laughter upon seeing him was SO GREAT!  I think that being able to behead Otto Hightower is definitely the second-best to being able to behead Aegon himself.  I loved that Otto got to learn that the greens lost and that Aegon scurried away before the end of things, and that he knew Rhaenyra wouldn't behead him in one stroke.  I was glad it only took her two, though, and then Deemon quickly beheading Jaspar with ease was another cool moment. 
 
It was great watching Rhaenyra ascending the throne next, starting with the shot of her and the throne reflected in a pool of Otto's blood, almost making it like she was DESCENDING into the thronehood instead.... and then her bloody footprints making her own red carpet.  I had managed to forget all about Allicent and Haelena at this point, so when they were brought in just in time to see Otto beheaded and her on the throne was a great final moment, especially with her looking at Allicent as a perfect mirror to the way season 1 ended.
 
Incredible stuff.  Less than 4 hours to go until season 3 properly starts!

It was good. But if you're going to make a movie about the first atom bomb then show the bomb. "Practical effects are always better" is apparently not true. Or they just really screwed up the practical effects. Either one. 
 
The performances were outstanding.

I have issues with the casting but it’s not limited to POCs. I don’t think Private Ryan or Spider-man are right for their roles just as I don’t think Maz should be Hellen. And warrior Elliot Page is laughable. 
 
 Odyssey is probably the more readable of the two but I just prefer the scale and struggle of the Iliad. I haven’t read either since my undergrad though and I did Latin stuff for my MA.

Hmmmmm. Isn’t a digital “signal” a digital signal? It either plays, or it doesn’t. It’s all just 100100 right?
 
Granted, other things downstream can certainly impact the sound. But for simply reading the disc? I don’t see how there can be a difference. 🤷

Nice @Chen G., but... the Woltz scene is needed to illustrate the sort of callous lengths that Vito would go to, to get his own way.
There could have been a montage showing exactly how Michael turned, but I think it was best to let the audience figure it out.
If all that stuff had happened to me, I probably would have turned.

Michael saw his brother, and his father, die, his sister marry a nasty, betraying see you next Tuesday, and his other brother take sides against him.  No wonder he turned.
Michael's story is of a good man who tries to do the right thing, gone bad, and the circumstances that made him that forced him into it.

What Bilbo will answer: the 1932 Scarface, directed by Howard Hawks.
 
The correct answer: Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.
 

 

Your Highness 
Saw it in the cinema back in the day. Purely for Natalie Portman. It’s one of those films you have to be 17 to watch but 14 to enjoy. I rewatched it because it was filmed in Belfast in 2009 and a certain other production moved in after. They were a bit skint and decided to repurpose the throne room for themselves. A few locations are shared too. The bridge in Tollymore Forest Park where they find the Direwolves shows up. Also Charles Dance. 
It’s kind of crasser version of the recentish Dungeons & Dragons movie. Which ironically moved into the Paint Hall after GoT finished and repurposed some of the sets… 
 
Chinatown. 
What a film! Aside from its slim association with The Godfather I knew nothing about this but wow. It was so good I almost wanted to rewatch it again straight away. 

Yeah, that’s the biggest issue. It’s just not funny enough and the molestation bit (which was improvised apparently) is just… ick. 
 
There’s definitely a decent idea there it just falls flat. It also looks really good for what it is. The costumes don’t look Rings of Power levels of cheap for example. 

He should try to shake the "one-trick pony" accusation by doing a comedy starring Jack Black.

You will own nothing and you will be happy. 

LP's do not skip if you take care of them. Same as CD, which do skip if they're scratched.

You will own nothing and you will be happy. 

You will own nothing and you will be happy. 

"Replacing physical discs with even more data centers that need water cooling is our way to save the planet"

I want Goldenthal’s Michael Collins as it’s the 30th anniversary but I suppose a WB title rules that out. 

I want Goldenthal’s Michael Collins as it’s the 30th anniversary but I suppose a WB title rules that out. 

I’ve always wanted to try Cersei’s Swan like in ACOK

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, half of those in attendance were slaughtered at the end of the night. Do you know how difficult it is to get human blood out of trainers? 
I’ve always wanted to try capon. 
I’ve done the Harry Potter studio tour a few times (once in robes) and it is brilliant. I found it a bit crowded but the actual sets and costumes are great! 

HotD is filmed in Leavesden where they made the Harry Potter films. 
 
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is back in Belfast. I think Brexit uncertainty might have had something to do with the move. Although HotD uses a massive backlot which Northern Ireland night not have been able to provide as easily. 
 
That Winterfell set was built for season 2 and was used right up to season 8. Sadly they burned it down around 2023/24. 
 
Castle Black was a composite set built in a quarry just outside Belfast. It stood from season 1-8. Sadly also no longer standing.
 
But the studio tour has many of the props, costumes, and sets. And it’s also very easy travel to the locations around Northern Ireland. There’s loads in close proximity to Belfast and the company that runs the Game of Thrones Tours (not related to the studio tour) are excellent and largely made up of extras from the show. I did a tour bus for the Iron Islands sites (there’s a bit more in it than just that) and a private car tour for the Winterfell ones. Great experiences. 

There’s two potential meta references in this episode 
 
Helaena mentions how “it isn’t the season” which could be a reference to the fact that these should have been season 2 episodes. 
 
and
 
There’s a page in a book shown about dangerous butterflies which could be a reference to GRRM’s throwing the toys out of the pram and his “beware the butterflies” blog post. 

This is not a controversial take. 
 
Hamnet has a stunning lead performance going for it but that’s about it. 

Damn, he's even in Dr. Zhivago. I don't remember that at all. Here he is!
 

 
"Evacuate? In our moment of Triumph?!"
 

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, half of those in attendance were slaughtered at the end of the night. Do you know how difficult it is to get human blood out of trainers? 
I’ve always wanted to try capon. 
I’ve done the Harry Potter studio tour a few times (once in robes) and it is brilliant. I found it a bit crowded but the actual sets and costumes are great! 

HotD is filmed in Leavesden where they made the Harry Potter films. 
 
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is back in Belfast. I think Brexit uncertainty might have had something to do with the move. Although HotD uses a massive backlot which Northern Ireland night not have been able to provide as easily. 
 
That Winterfell set was built for season 2 and was used right up to season 8. Sadly they burned it down around 2023/24. 
 
Castle Black was a composite set built in a quarry just outside Belfast. It stood from season 1-8. Sadly also no longer standing.
 
But the studio tour has many of the props, costumes, and sets. And it’s also very easy travel to the locations around Northern Ireland. There’s loads in close proximity to Belfast and the company that runs the Game of Thrones Tours (not related to the studio tour) are excellent and largely made up of extras from the show. I did a tour bus for the Iron Islands sites (there’s a bit more in it than just that) and a private car tour for the Winterfell ones. Great experiences.