Truth be told, last night’s episode, The Bear and the Maiden Fair paled in comparison with the rest of the season. Now, of course, the standards were set high after the last couple of episodes, so it was still good television. But I just could not help but feel bored throughout the episode, which did not have a clear focus and was even more fragmented than usual.

SPOILER ALERT: This article will assume you have watched/read Game of Thrones up to the last aired episode.

The episode opened with Jon and Ygritte, who were left standing on top of the wall at the end of last week’s episode The Climb.  They climbed it down since and are now walking in the grasslands and forests of the North, headed toward Castle Black. Snow confronts Orell, the wildling who cut him and Ygritte loose on the wall but nothing really comes out of it. Ygritte pokes fun at the way the men south of the wall fight, with drums and banners. Later in another scene, she sees a windmill and thinks it is a palace. “Who built it, a king?” she asks. This shows just how little the wildlings know about the world beyond the wall. More seriously, Snow tells her that they will lose if they attack Castle Black. Their relationship is further addressed as he receives gross sex advice from one of the wildlings and as Orell asks Ygritte to be hers. As is now customary in every episode, Jon Snow’s involvement with the wildling was questioned and Ygritte reminded him that “You know nothing, Jon Snow.” Nothing new, move along.

In the Riverlands, Robb’s people are planning for the upcoming wedding between Edmure Tully and one of the Frey daughters. His council (including his now-free mother Catelyn?) leaves his tent, leaving Robb and Talisa to have another sex-by-the-fire scene (it seems this is the only they ever do it). Again, like most of Robb’s scenes, I thought this was rather dull and unnecessary, though I’m sure many people will enjoy the generous amount of nudity on both parts. I never could care about the romance between those two and clearly I am not the only since the writers felt the need to include this scene in a desperate attempt to make us care. By doing so, however, they are also contributing to this season’s complete lack of war scenes on Westeros. One would almost forget the war is happening at all.

Robb Stark and Talisa- Who Cares?

Back in King’s Landing. Sansa is still weeping after finding out she was to marry Tyrion Lannister. “I’m a stupid little girl, with stupid little dreams, who never learns,” she says. Margaery tries to console her and tells her to “make the best of the circumstances” aka have sex with Tyrion, so she can be a mother. Understandably, she is not very fond of the idea but, Margaery assures her, every woman likes a different kind of man, some even like dwarves.

Basically the same talk is happening in Tyrion’s chambers where he and Bron discuss his future marriage with Sansa. Tyrion thinks she is too young but Bron reminds him that this has never stopped him before. It does not go as well with Shae, however, who is not taking the news well at all, accusing Tyrion of letting her down, afraid she’ll go back to being just his whore.

Still in King’s Landing, Tywinn Lannister is ‘summoned’ by his grandson and king Joffrey Baratheon, who requests to be more involved in the small council meetings. I have loved every single Tywinn scene so far, with his children and with Olenna Tyrell, and this one did not disappoint. Even though Joffrey is the one sitting on the throne, Tywinn is the one ruling.

Joffrey and Tywinn – Who is the real ruler?

Perhaps the best scene was Daenerys’. Her army has now reached the city of Yunkai. She meets with one of its leaders, in the presence of her terrifying dragons. He offers her gold and ships (a reasonable offer, one might say) but she refuses, demanding that all the city’s slaves be freed and given their fair share. She seems to have the upper hand in this confrontation, except for a mention of the leader’s “powerful friends.” The leader leaves and she keeps the gold. I thought this scene was remarkably tense. I especially like how Daenerys put her dragons to good use to turn the negotiations in her favor, even feeding them raw meat to impress the leader. I keep hoping she is going to return to Westeros soon and finally interfere with all its storylines, but her new life goal seems to be freeing all the slaves in Essos. That’s cool too, I guess.

In other news:

- Arya VERY EASILY escapes the Brotherhood Without Banners and VERY EASILY gets caught by Sandor Clegane, who was trailing the group and conveniently happened to be at the perfect spot to silently catch her.

- Already back in King’s Landing (how?), Melisandre tells Gendry he is King Baratheon’s bastard son. That is literally all this scene has in it.

- Yet another weekly Ramsay-Bolton-torturing-Theon-Greyjoy scene. This time, more cruel than ever, he sends two lady friends to seduce Theon before threatening to cut his “famous cock.” I don’t know. This gets old.

- Osha, full of sense, refuses to go back beyond the wall based on Jojen’s vision. She tells the story of how her boyfriend had turned into a wight, forcing her to burn him. Bran seems determined, though.

Lady Brienne ‘entertains’ the men in Harrenhal

Finally, Jaime and Brienne were once again here to brighten the episode. Taken back to King’s Landing, Jaime convinces the Bolton men to return to Harrenhal where Lady Brienne has been kept captive to “entertain the men.” Jaime’s fears prove true as he finds the Lady thrown in a pit, fighting a bear with a wooden sword as her only weapon. All chevaleresque, Jaime-one-hand jumps in the pit and help her out. This was another great scene, as well done as the one with Daenerys’ dragons. The tension was high and the resolution fulfilling.

However, this was not enough to redeem the episode’s countless short and useless scenes. The Bear and the Maiden Fair was overall slow, and apart from Daenerys’ scene, nothing new really happened. This is when you start to feel the effects of having one book split into two seasons: the writers have to stretch things out. But everyone knows the real deal will be the two weddings: Edmure Tully’s with the Frey daughter and Jeoffrey’s with Margaery. They should happen, respectively, in two and three episodes.

What Are You Looking For The Most In The Next Episodes?

It’s official — Star Wars Episode VII will be filmed in Britain. This shouldn’t be a surprise seeing that all six previous Star Wars films have been partially filmed there, either in studios like Elstree Studios or in the many public parks. Check out the official announcement after the jump.

The news was oddly announced by the British Chancellor George Osborne when he posted the news on his twitter page.

Osborne later added in a official statement…

Today’s announcement that the next Star Wars film will be shot and produced in the UK is great news for fans and our creative industries, and it is clear evidence that our incentives are attracting the largest studios back to the UK. I am personally committed to seeing more great films and television made in Britain.

President of Lucasfilm Kathleen Kennedy voiced her excitement for the announcement as well…

We’ve devoted serious time and attention to revisiting the origins of Star Wars as inspiration for our process on the new movie, and I’m thrilled that returning to the UK for production and utilising the incredible talent there can be a part of that.

So is this a good move? Yes, it’s a great move. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to see Episode VII produced on American soil, but for the sake of the media spoiling everything, I want this film as far away as possible. But when will J.J. Abrams begin filming the sci-fi epic? Producer and Bad Robot co-founder Bryan Burk was kind enough to give us some of that information in a recent interview with Collider.

We’re progressing on a schedule to hopefully begin next year, or the beginning of next year, and the location is still kind of floating around in the air all depending on script and a whole bunch of other issues. When we feel like the story level on this script and everything is really coming together and schedules are all working and pieces line up, we prowl ahead, and Star Wars will be no different.

While I’m disappointed that Episode VII won’t begin filming until next year, I can understand why that’s happening. First of all, the script isn’t finished yet. Trust me, we would know if it was. There are still a lot of things that need to happen before this film goes into production like casting, location scouting, costume design, etc., etc. What I don’t understand is how in the hell are they going to produce, edit and finish a film this large in a year and a half. That is, if they release the film for the summer season. Keep in mind that we do not have a official release date yet. I wouldn’t put money on this, but I think Episode VII will be released after the rest of heavy hitters come out from 2015 like The Avengers 2  and Avatar 2. So a late summer, early fall release is my best guess.

What Do You Think Of Star Wars Being Filmed In The UK?

Follow Josh on Twitter: @jwingface

During the season finale of Once Upon a Time, ABC released the first promotional trailer for the upcoming fall series, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. The series was officially picked up by ABC on May 10th and the show runner will be none other than The Avengers director, Joss Whedon. As expected, the show looks absolutely awesome.

Check out the trailer:

Joss Whedon is no amateur at producing fantastic television. Buffy The Vampire Slayer was incredibly successful and continued for seven quality seasons. Firefly, although cancelled after one season, has been named one of the best cult television shows of all-time. Because of the increasing popularity of the Marvel cinematic universe, especially after The Avengers and more recently Iron Man 3, I imagine Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will enjoy success similar to Buffy.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will star Clark Gregg as Agent Phil Coulson, who you’ll recognize from every movie leading up to and including The Avengers. According to the description of the show, it will center around him and a team he assembles of highly trained S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Together they’ll investigate strange and extraordinary cases and save humanity on a regular basis. Continuity wise, it will take place after The Avengers. Obviously, this means Coulson somehow survived being stabbed in the heart by Loki. How did he do that? I’m not really sure, and I’m too busy being excited to care.

What I’m most excited about, since we don’t know much about the plot yet, is the opportunities the show will provide for cameos. I don’t want to jump the gun by assuming Samuel L. Jackson will make an appearance, but it was no secret that he enjoyed working with both Gregg and Whedon while filming The Avengers. As director of S.H.I.E.L.D., it would be very fitting for Nick Fury to make his presence known.

On Tuesday, May 14th, ABC will release its fall schedule with clips of all 12 of their new shows. Be on the lookout for more clips and information about the new Marvel series, and get pumped for fall!

Are you excited for Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.?

Follow Brooke on Twitter: @Brookeizzle

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve wanted to go into space. To not feel gravity and to be free to float without weight or resistance, that is what we could call an out of this world experience. Literally. But after seeing the first trailer for Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity, I’ve began to give my dream of going into space a second thought. Check out this beautiful and terrifying trailer for Gravity.

Watch if you dare, the trailer for Gravity.

Gravity is directed by Children Of Men‘s Alfonso Cuarón, who wrote the screenplay with his son. Gravity is about Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock), who is a medical engineer on her first space mission. She is accompanied by veteran astronaut Matt Kowalsky (George Clooney) who is on his last mission. During a spacewalk, the shuttle is destroyed and Stone and Kowalsky are stranded in space with no communications.

This film has been in the works for a long time. Before Bullock got the lead role, other female talents like Natalie Portman, Blake Lively, Scarlett Johansson and even Angelina Jolie were reading for the part. Robert Downey Jr. was also in talks to take the male lead role, but left the project to film How To Talk To Girls, A move he might regret when looking at this first Gravity trailer.

Gravity is currently scheduled for a October 4th, 2013 launch.

Will You Be Seeing Gravity When It Comes Out?

Follow Josh on Twitter: @jwingface

GRADE: C+

Back when I first read The Great Gatsby in my 12th grade English class, I never thought, “Wow, this would look awesome in 3D!” or “You know what would make this story even better? Music by Jay-Z and Beyonce.” For those worried that Baz Luhrmann’s colorful interpretation of this classic novel looks too flashy or too modern, don’t worry. For the elaborate party scenes that make up a good portion of the plot, this flashiness works in its favor constructing a visually stunning piece summer moviegoers are sure to enjoy. Fans of the novel, however, may have some gripes with the soul of the story being overshadowed by the special effects.

This story is centered around narrator Nick Carraway’s (Tobey Maguire) memories of his time spent living in West Egg, a stomping ground for the young and rich outside of New York City, in the early 1920′s. Across the bay lives Nick’s debutante cousin, Daisy Buchanan (Carey Mulligan), and her brash, pompous husband Tom (Joel Edgerton). As a newcomer to the area, Nick quickly finds himself immersed in two very secretive worlds; Tom’s secret affair with Myrtle (Isla Fisher), the wife of a local gas station owner, and those secrets harbored by Nick’s mysterious neighbor, the elusive and infamous Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio). These two worlds collide when Gatsby reveals to Nick that he has been in love with Daisy for years, and has been throwing his trademark elaborate parties in hopes that she may one day return to him.

Since Gatsby takes place among the splendor of the Jazz Age, flashiness is expected. And since this adaptation comes from Director Baz Luhrmann, the driving force behind the extremely glitzy Moulin Rouge, a film that toes the line between flashy and downright visually overwhelming, this presentation is practically guaranteed. Add on top of that the 3D effects that sparked some criticism from the literary community and you could easily have a film that’s a migraine headache waiting to happen. For the most part, the visual spectacle of The Great Gatsby is appropriate for the “anything goes”, lavish party attitude of the era it takes place in. The visual effects work best in the party scenes, when chaos and razzle dazzle is expected. But in some instances the effects feel like overkill, and make otherwise serious moments feel tacky.

The Great Gatsby sometimes opts to whip through some more intimate scenes in favor of the flashy visual effects. This means the heart of the story readers have fallen in love with for generations at times gets overshadowed. At some parts it feels as if Luhrmann was simply too focused on making the special effects, sets, and costumes so lavish that the story itself became an afterthought. The main narration is delivered by Nick in a series of flashbacks as he writes his memoirs in a sanitarium (a new addition which may ruffle some die-hard Gatsby fans’ feathers), and feels too much like a higher schooler (Maguire’s eternal youth doesn’t help here) reading the book aloud. That being said, some scenes, like Gatsby and Daisy’s first reunion, do succeed. But these moments of emotion and loyalty to the book are too few and far between for me.

DiCaprio’s Gatsby is as mysterious as he is charming, but is often weighed down by clumsy dialogue (I’m not saying he says “Old Sport” too much, but if you were to make a drinking game where you took a shot every time he says “Old Sport” you would be dead by the end of the film). Mulligan nails Daisy’s flighty, lovesick nature, and Edgerton is excellent as the compulsive, womanizing Tom. Maguire’s Nick was just so-so, but the real standout of the film is newcomer Elizabeth Debicki as Daisy’s friend Jordan Baker. Her coy performance as the pro-golfer/socialite is impressive, even among a cast of Hollywood favorites like Mulligan and DiCaprio.

And, of course, what would a movie about the Jazz Age be without music? The Jay-Z produced soundtrack is, once again, reminiscent of Moulin Rouge with modern songs popping up throughout. While the music on its own is interesting to listen to, covers of Beyonce’s “Crazy in Love” and Amy Winehouse’s “Back to Black” can get distracting when we’re supposed to be immersed in the 1920′s. Granted, these are jazzed-up versions that are slightly more appropriate for the era, but it’s still a bit jarring to watch bootleggers joyride across the Brooklyn Bridge to a Jay-Z song.

Overall, as a casual fan of the book, this flashy update The Great Gatsby is a fun viewing experience. While the special effects sometimes border on tacky, they’re spectacular to look at. The lavish party scenes are exciting to see brought to life and the modern soundtrack makes for an interesting addition. But too often the heart of the story is overlooked and the performances of the main actors seem muted in comparison to the flashy visual effects. Hardcore literature lovers may not be wooed by this adaptation, but it fits nicely into the category of a summer popcorn movie; fun to look at, but without much heart.

What Should You Do? If you’re a fan of the book, it’s worth checking out. If you aren’t, I would pass on it.

Follow Emily on Twitter: @Emmongan

Well ladies and gentlemen, we have come to the end of the Tarantino Blu-ray and have thus completed the retrospective. I’m going to write a short final analysis for you as well as what I thought about some of the special features offered on the Blu-ray set, a favorites tier, and briefly what I thought about Django Unchained.

I consider QT to be my favorite director of all time, but that wasn’t instantaneous thing. It has taken years for me to arrive at this decision by gradually viewing his films over the last few years.

Why Tarantino is My Favorite Director

1. Cinephilia – Tarantino makes movies because he loves making movies. Simple as that. He isn’t in the business to solely make gratuitous amounts of money or to send some sort of political message or propaganda, he does it because he wants to showcase his love of cinema to the world through his films.

2. Writing Style – I hope one day that I can write as good as QT. His witty and natural dialogue and the balancing of humor and violence are near perfection (in my opinion). He also has the ability to take classic genre elements and give them his own unique twist that defy expectations. A true genre artist.

3. Doesn’t Take Shit From Anyone – He has the boldness to do whatever he wants without concerning himself with what the studio or the audience wants. He does what Quentin wants and it works. For twenty years the guy has been accused of too much violence in his films and to this day he hasn’t changed his ways. To put it in his words he, “shuts their butts down”.

I had decided initially that I wasn’t going to talk about Django Unchained since it wasn’t included in the Blu-ray set, but I feel I should say a few sentences in regards to what I thought of the film.

I was very pleased to have seen Tarantino finally do an actual spaghetti western after having incorporated elements of that genre in his past works like Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill, and Inglourious Basterds. I also thought that DiCaprio, Waltz, and Jackson were phenomenal in their roles and wish that all three had gotten an Oscar nod. And while we are on the topic of performances, I also thought Jamie Foxx had a standout performance as well, but was overlooked due to the magnitude of the other three powerhouse performances (much the same way Aaron Eckhart’s performance in The Dark Knight was overlooked due to Heath Ledger being a major standout in that film).

I also loved all the homages to Blaxploitation films of the 1970’s. The hip-hop music, the slow motion fighting, the super bloody violence, and the fact that Django’s last name is Von Shaft (QT has gone on record stating that he and Broomhilda are the ancestors to black action hero John Shaft). Lastly, I greatly missed the nonlinear/chapter format that is present in most of Tarantino’s films. But to be honest, I also feel as though linearity worked better for this particular film, due to Django Unchained playing out like the epic of a hero.

I highly recommend checking out the special features on the Blu-ray as well. There aren’t as many as I would have hoped with a major movie set like this one, but there are still tons of quality pieces to check out to help soak in QT’s process of filmmaking. The big ones I recommend are the critics’ roundtable discussions on all the films included on the Blu-ray as well as the documentary that chronicles the career of Tarantino.

At last, we arrive at my favorites tier. Below is the order of the films best to worst BEFORE I watched the Blu-ray set.

1. Inglourious Basterds

2. Django Unchained

3. Reservoir Dogs

4. Kill Bill

5. Pulp Fiction

6. Death Proof

*I had not seen Jackie Brown or True Romance prior to watching the Blu-ray set.

AFTER watching the Blu-ray set, this is my OFFICIAL favorites tier:

1. Inglourious Basterds

2. Django Unchained

3. Pulp Fiction

4. Reservoir Dogs

5. Kill Bill

6. Death Proof

7. True Romance

8. Jackie Brown

As you can see, not much changed except for Pulp Fiction moving up a few spaces.

Anyways, thank you all for following me on this retrospective through the works of Quentin Tarantino. I want to do another article series like this down the road, but for now I’m going to take a break a do some stand alone articles. This has truly been a lot of fun breaking down each film. I hope that you long time fans of QT enjoyed the retrospective and I hope I inspired some readers with this eight part series to check out QT’s unique films.

 What Is Your Favorite Tarantino Flick?

Follow John on Twitter: @JohnKerberToGo

Marvel’s President Of Production, Kevin Feige, has been a very busy man over the last few years. This is mostly due to the very high level of success brought from Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, and The Avengers. And if there’s one thing Kevin knows all too well, it’s to strike while the iron is hot. During a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, he talked about the possibility of more Iron Man films to come. Check out the rest of the article to see what Kevin had to say.

Here is what Kevin Feige said about the possibility of more Iron Man films:

I believe there will be a fourth ‘Iron Man’ film and a fifth and a sixth and a 10th and a 20th. I see no reason why Tony Stark can’t be as evergreen as James Bond. Or Batman, for that matter. Or Spider-man.

Couple things: First, the fact that Marvel wants to expand outside of the recent finished Iron Man trilogy shouldn’t surprise anyone. Iron Man 3 (or Iron Man Three as it is onscreen) had the second largest domestic opening ever, and will easily make $700 million worldwide within the next couple days. No duh they’re going to make more Iron Man movies. Wouldn’t you? Kevin Feige knows a good thing when he sees it. He sees all the kids with Iron Man backpacks, Halloween masks, and toys. He sees all the people in the theater seats and thinks, “Why stop now?”

The other thing that struck me when he said that there will be more Iron Man movies is that he wants Stark to be the next Bond. In saying that, Kevin must already be open to the possibility of recasting the main character in this beloved series. My only issue with that is that no-one will be able to play Tony Stark like Robert Downey Jr. Iron Man is mostly CGI anyways, but Stark requires so much natural charisma, that any other actor would come off as being fake. But not Downey, he is perfect as Stark.

When asked by Jon Stewart on The Daily Show if he would return as Iron Man, Downey simply said with a wink:

I don’t know.

He added:

I had a long contract with them and now we’re gonna renegotiate.

Which they should be on top of getting RDJ back if they want him to remain the focal point of their highly successful series. Some might argue he’ll have to drop his price from the $50 million he made from The Avengers. He probably made something similar on Iron Man 3. Some would argue he could make more considering just how much money is is making for Disney/Marvel. No matter what happends, Marvel is in kind of a pinch. Either pay Downey what he wants, or recast him. Recasting Iron Man is one thing, finding another Tony Stark… good luck.

Do You Want To See Robert Downy Jr. Return For More Iron Man Films?

Follow Josh on Twitter: @jwingface

SPOILER ALERT: This post will assume you have read/watched Game of Thrones up to the latest episode.

As expected, “The Climb” showed us more of the North, but not that much more. The episode opened with Sam who fails to light a fire to keep the Craster daughter and her baby warm as they stop for the night on their way to the wall. Except for Sam singing and being told that he’s got too much wood (…), this scene served little purpose. On the “good” side of the wall, another purposeless fire-in-the-woods scene showed Bran settling a childish quarrel between Osha and sister-of-vision-kid. Vision-kid had a vision of Jon Snow on the “wrong” side of the wall, surrounded by the “wrong” people. This made Hodor wake up and say “Hodor.”

Despite apparently dealing with all sorts of “wrong” Jon Snow doesn’t seem to be doing too badly. Having very much become a man in last week’s episode, “Kissed by Fire,” Jon Snow officially gets an A from Ygritte, who tells him he has become a “proper lover,” “loyal and brave.” This turns into a threat-ish as she warns him never to betray her.  From now on, she says, the two of them only have each other and nobody else. This literally proves to be true when, later on as they climb the wall, one of the wildings has to cut them loose after an accident. The wall climbing scenes were extremely well done and every time someone slipped or a crack was heard, I found myself sweating a little.

Disappointingly, this is all we get of the North. The next part of the episode gave us some updates on what is happening in the Riverlands. Much like she had practiced the sword in King’s Landing, Arya is practicing archery and finds motivation in picturing Joffrey’s face, Cersei’s breasts and Ilyn Payne’s (the one who executed her father) crotch as she shoots a straw man under the supervision of the brotherhood (who still holds her captive). This little practice session is interrupted by Melisandre who had been out of the picture for a while. She comes to pay visit to fellow worshippers of the “One True God,” Thoros of Myr and Berric Dondarrion. A nice but lengthy dialogue between Melisandre and Thoros tells us a bit more about the latter’s past. Back to business, Melisandre tells the two men that the Lord of Light needs Gendry and, in exchange for monetary compensation, they happily oblige. This comes as a shock to Gendry who had just decided to join the brotherhood.

Not to worry, Melisandre tells Gendry, because “You are more than they (the brotherhood) can ever be. You will make kings rise and fall.” I’m not sure how reassuring this is, especially coming from a woman who, must I remind you, occasionally gives birth to shadow assassins. Angry, Arya confronts Melisandre, who takes a good look at her and tells her that she sees “Brown eyes, blue eyes, green eyes. Eyes you’ll shut forever.” This particular moment was a really nice way to remind us just how bitter and vengeful Arya is and how her storyline might not end up in the happy place that we would like. Could the brown, blue and green eyes be those of Joffrey, Cersei and Ilyn?

Meanwhile, Theon Greyjoy is still nailed to a wooden cross, somewhere. His mysterious jailer has brought a whole new level of cruel to this show. In a very graphic scene, he plays sick games with the Greyjoy son, letting him think he’ll be free, only to slowly destroy his little finger. Even though Theon has been a pathetic and despicable character, one cannot help but feel sorry for him. An evening with Joffrey sounds more enjoyable than two minutes with this sick, sick man. (although the episode’s ending will make you rethink that statement)

A quick scene also shows Lady Brienne (wearing a pink dress…) and Jaime Lannister hostages of Lord Bolton. He agrees to let the Kingslayer go back to King’s Landing but announces that Lady Brienne will be judged for treason. Clearly, this one’s loyalty to the King of the North is more than shaky.

Robb Stark, who still thinks he has some sort of chance in this war, is unsurprisingly struggling to forge an alliance with the Freys. It’s finally done as Edmure Tully agrees to marry one of the Frey daughters. Again, THIS IS A TERRIBLE IDEA. I know it, the internet knows it, the whole world knows it. The Freys can obviously not be trusted yet Robb somehow thinks he can get out of this with the winning hand. It’s excruciating to see him and Catelyn so slowly sink to their demise. Though I have not read the third book, I do know of their ultimate fate. I would not be surprised if the writers waited until the season finale for this to fully unravel.

The rest of the episode takes place in King’s Landing where more marriages are being bargained. In an amazing and much awaited showdown between the Queen of Thorns and Tywinn Lannister, the two most powerful people in Westeros are laying their cards down. The Tyrell matriarch wants Loras to marry Sansa while the Lannister patriarch wants him to marry Cersei. Loras’ “nocturnal” habits are brought up (as she puts it, he’s quite the “sword swallower”), as well as Cersei’s incestual past, but ultimately, Tywinn ends the game when he threatens to make Loras part of the Kingsguard, meaning he will never marry, meaning the Tyrell’s will never have a proper heir. The Queen of Thorns admits her defeat: “It’s a rare enough thing, a man who lives up to his reputation.” I LOVED this scene for so many reasons. Mostly, it made it clear just how uncontested Tywinn Lannister’s rule is.

Little does Sansa know about this new arrangement. She still believes she is going to marry Loras. Though he would be a terrible husband, the two could easily be BFFs, given their love for dresses and weddings and all sorts of pretty, glittery things. Watching from afar, Tyrion and Cersei are wondering which of the four is getting the worst out of this new arrangement. Soon after, Tyrion visits Lady Sansa to tell her the news, under Shae’s eyes. Tyrion sums it up perfectly: “It’s awkward.”

Finally, tying all this together, was an AWESOME, TERRIFYING, HEARTBREAKING yet HOPEFUL scene in which Littlefinger, casually sitting on the Hand’s chair, confronts Varys, whose fears are more than confirmed. In a previous episode, we saw one of Littlefinger’s girls betray him and talk to Varys. Well, what do you do when someone proves to be a “bad investment”? Surely, being Littlefinger and all, you don’t simply kill her. You give her to Joffrey who will be more than happy to make her his own archery practice straw man. Littlefinger’s speech, superimposed with images of a chained-to-bed, pierced-by-multiple-Joffrey-arrows prostitute and of Lady Sansa weeping as she sees Loras’ ship sail away, is truly chilling. Here it is:

Chaos isn’t a pit. Chaos is a ladder. Many who try to climb it fail, never get to try again. The fall breaks them. And some are given a chance to climb, but they refuse. They cling to the realm (Varys), or the Gods (Melisandre, Berric), or Love (Sansa). Illusions. Only the ladder is real. The climb is all there is.

Fortunately, Jon and Ygritte do make it to the top of the wall where they see the sun piercing through the clouds and lighting the green expanses South of the Wall.

“The climb” is one of those episodes whose weaker scenes we forgive thanks to such strong ones as Littlefinger’s. The scenes with Bran, Sam, Robb and Jamie felt frankly like fillers which delivered little information. But as always, the scenes in King’s Landing make it all worth it. We also got to see a lot more of Jon Snow, a welcome change as his storyline has tended to be divided into insignificant bits. Also, no Daenerys this week, which is probably a good thing. Had the writers tried to incorporate her storyline in the episode, it would have been squeezed and not worth it. It seems like next week’s episode, “The Bear and the Maiden Fair,” will be focusing on Arya, Brienne (who is now separated from Jamie), and return to Daenerys as she bumps into yet another city. There was no mention of Robb in the preview, which makes me think they’ll save his tragic fate for the end of the season, which, as crazy as it sounds, is not that far ahead.

What Do You Think? Discuss.

Literally and unquestionably the best possible casting addition Christopher Nolan has made to his upcoming sci-fi epic about time travel and wormholes, Interstellar, has happened (well, mostly). Recent A-lister and Oscar nominee Jessica Chastain is “in talks”  to join Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway as the “third lead,” according to Deadline. And if that wasn’t enough Interstellar action to wet your appetite this week, literally hours later Deadline broke the scoop that five-time Nolan collaborator and “lucky charm” Michael Caine is confirmed to join the cast as well. More after the break.

Not really much more info. to speculate on, but this casting news is exciting for two reasons  1) With Chastain, Nolan has added fresh blood to the cast (see Caine/Hathaway) and 2) It continually demonstrates his commitment to recruiting the best acting talent Hollywood has to offer to structure a unique ensemble of actors, all of which could be the lead in any other movie.

Could not be more excited. That is, until I hear the next casting update!

Interstellar hits theaters November 2014

What Do You Think? Discuss.

GRADE: C

For those scoffing right now, keep in mind that I disliked Iron Man 3 a lot more than most people. Trust me, the latest installment featuring “billionaire-philanthropist-playboy” Tony Stark was high on my anticipation list. After thinking about this film for a couple of days, it surfaced in my mind as the worst film out of the four Stark pictures (including The Avengers).

This chapter picks up with Stark after his heroics to save New York from the Loki induced alien invasion. Stark struggles to keep it all together — he can’t sleep and immerses himself in his work, coming up with new innovations to his armory of suits. Things get dicey when The Mandarin starts a terrorist campaign that would make Osama Bin Laden jealous — Tony stands up to the imposing figure, calling him out publicly and suffers for it, his house being completely destroyed by a Mandarin attack. Stark then works under the radar to reinvent himself and try to figure out The Mandarin’s scheme.

Now, when I say this is the worst Tony Stark film to date, keep in mind that I enjoyed Iron Man 2. Many hated it, decrying it as a smear to the greatness of the first film. I loved Iron Man, loved it — I consider it one of Marvel’s best efforts. Iron Man 2 was a lot more showy and grandiose, being much more of a spectacle than a character driven origins story. It was at least enjoyable most of its duration (a little too long however). But despite its reliance on action set pieces and silliness, it worked because the film didn’t take itself too seriously. I mean, look at Sam Rockwell’s character Justin Hammer — a complete joy to see onscreen and watch dance onstage (despite his weaponry sucking), and he was one of the bad guys.

Iron Man 3 starts serious and attempts to stay that way for the duration. Gone is lively banter of Tony Stark, his charisma, the events of New York have completely changed him. Stark suffers from PTSD, a really serious storyline, and an interesting avenue for this character at that — but it’s never fully fleshed out or wrapped up in the end. With all that is going on, this subplot never gets its due course. While the more serious tone doesn’t count as a demerit, gone is the enjoyment from watching Tony Stark be Tony Stark. The character written in this story doesn’t even seem to be the same guy, which is sad considering I loved that man.

Speaking on this serious note, Iron Man 3 wavers from this ideal by injecting some little kid into the mix that “helps” Stark on his journey. Not only did this annoying little twerp help ruin the entire middle portion of the film, but he is one of the many less serious elements incorporated into the tale completely mixing up the “more serious” third chapter vibe.

Despite Stark turning into a buzzkill, Iron Man is still awesome — unfortunately, Iron Man 3 strips Stark of his armor for the majority of the film. It’s deflating. And it really gets too overzealous when Stark enters a fortified complex as his amour-less self with just a bunch of makeshift gadgets. In this moment, this version of the character resembles more of Robert Downey Jr.’s work as Sherlock Holmes than Tony Stark, a secret agent/detective type. This digression in the plot, and the reveal in said fortified complex, send Iron Man 3 on a path it never recovers from.

The soundtrack borders on awful — not much to be said there. The music seems too much like a score for an epic, not a superhero movie.

The adversaries and their ingested powers are poorly defined. There is a legion of terrorists who harness a drug that gives them the ability to regenerate their damaged bodies, and fling, lava or something. The only thing that’s clear about them is their powers are unstable. It’s so hard to get a grasp on what their limitations are and when they will actually die.

I really cannot speak much more on my dislikes without revealing too much, so I’ll save that for the spoilers section below. If you’ve seen Iron Man 3, check out my long-winded rant below on why I couldn’t call this chapter a success.

In terms of the action that we all come to expect from this franchise, Iron Man 3 delivers, sometimes. There are some gripping action sequences in this film. If you watched the trailer and saw the President’s cabinet flying out the broken door of Air Force One and thought, “That looks like an awesome scene,” then you will be happily rewarded with one of the best sequences of 2013 as Stark races to save 10+ people falling from the sky. Really though, this was the only truly captivating sequence in the film.

Overall, Iron Man 3 works in pieces and features some great moments in the life of Tony Stark — but as a whole, it doesn’t fit together very well, even at times feeling like separate films or ideas all shoved into one final product. It’s filled with major plot holes that destroy any semblance of cohesion in the story. Even Robert Downey Jr. seems tired of the character — while Stark was written in a different light, Downey Jr. has none of the charm that made us fall in love with Iron Man. It never seems like Director/Writer Shane Black quite got his finger on the pulse of this franchise.

What Should You Do? I’m sure you’ll see it anyway. You might enjoy it more than me. Make sure to shoot me your thoughts on the matter. I love discussing polarizing films like this one.

.: SPOILERS :.

In order to help those who’ve seen Iron Man 3 really understand why I disliked it, I thought I’d jump into spoilers and rip on it a bit. I always have to talk spoilers regarding a film like this, otherwise people just think I’m hating to hate.

First off, absolute worst post-credits tease in the Marvel franchise. It wasn’t funny (though attempting to be) and teases absolutely nothing. I was hoping we would see some tease of Stark putting the suit back on. What a waste to sit through all those credits for a dry conversation between Banner and Stark.

Let’s move on to none of The Avengers playing any role in this film. While New York, aliens, and Thor were all referenced directly on various occasions, none of these elements play a real factor in the film itself. I do understand some characters like Thor not showing up because he’s busy with problems on his own planet. But residents of Earth like, Black Widow, The Hulk, Hawkeye, Captain America, all call the United States home. Their nation is being threatened by The Mandarin, their own President even, yet none of them come into the folds of this story. Even a throw away line like, “Fury and the rest of The Avengers are busy cleaning up the alien mess,” would do at least some sort of candy-ass justice. You could argue this threat is “below” The Avengers. But come one, the President is threatened — Stark is under attack, one of the world’s greatest heroes, the planet is indebted to this man for his heroics, yet none of his allies come to his side to fight with him? He’s on his own with this major, major threat? Come on.

While I found the action scene where Tony’s house was destroyed another great set piece (destroying the helicopters was particularly memorable), this is another gigantic plot hole in the film. Let’s recount events: First, Tony talks about and acts on protecting Pepper because he cannot live without her — then he goes and threatens the world’s biggest terrorist. So from point A to point B, the brilliant Stark puts no defense in play to protect his most valuable asset? You could argue, “Well that’s just Stark’s arrogance at play.” But really, he can’t possibly believe he can always be there to protect Pepper, hence inventing his new suit.

And it’s no secret that he and Pepper are an item, so clearly Stark must know the “hero complex” where your enemies attempt to hurt those closest to him. And despite threatening a man who clearly is the “cream of the crop” of terrorists with the ability to hack the entire broadcast signal for all televisions in America, despite giving this man his address, Stark puts no defense in play to protect himself. He has a legion of armor in his gigantic workshop, clearly fully automated suits, yet he doesn’t set any of them to guard his place? To guard Pepper? Why doesn’t he send the legion out after the attack starts? How can the man who fulfilled numerous government weapon contracts not have his own missile defense or radar system? I mean, their attack wasn’t anything spectacular or elaborate, flying in slow helicopters in daylight launching missiles into his house. Great planning there Tony.

When Stark took down that entire Mandarin complex with his shitty gadgets, I really started to check out. It’s such a stretch from the normal Stark we know, and not in a good or believable way like Stark becoming moodier after New York. The whole sequence feels Bond-like, or like I said, Sherlock Holmes-like. The Mandarin being a doofy actor was also a horribly stupid twist. While I do understand the reasoning for it, Pearce’s character remaining an anonymous villain, it was a gigantic hiccup in the story to see this menacing adversary turning out to be a beer drinking idiot. What this twist says thematically, the idea of the public buying into anything, an actor and a fabricated message falsely leading the media and public, is much stronger than the execution.

The kid. That effin’ kid. Bad child actors can ruin a film for me faster than a Pauly Shore appearance. Some people didn’t despise him as much as me, but I loathed every moment he was onscreen. Hell, I loathed every moment Stark was in Tennessee. First off, that kid is an awful actor. It starts with him bombarding Stark with questions about New York forcing him to have an erratic episode. He’s either cruel to force someone to have a panic attack, or just an idiot who can’t see the hero in front of him clearly freaking out. But we wouldn’t know because the kid delivers nothing in this role except for his poorly-written lines.

And when the kid starts to help Stark over the comm-link, a prepubescent Jarvis if you will, navigating the computer and acting like a pro, I rolled my eyes deep into the back of my skull. And the kid/hero relationship is just thrown down into the middle of the film, never really finding its footing, or in the end, paying off into something worthwhile. This unlikely buddy relationship has no texture to it — Stark oftentimes is a complete jerk to the kid (and the kid isn’t that nice either at times), i.e. leaving him by the side of the road instead of offering a ride. Why am I supposed to buy into this relationship you are forcing down my throat? These are the moments when I felt like Robert Downey Jr. hated Iron Man 3 — almost like he hated the kid and all these scenes, but his contract made him finish up. All the sequences with the kid felt so forced, or like a Spy Kids movie, making me hate this little punk even more. He’s like a real life Jar Jar Binks.

Why did Tony’s suit need to charge? Doesn’t he have the power to run the suit with his own arc reactor? Isn’t that the whole point? The other films talk about his power coming from his chest piece. Did I miss why this suit had to charge on its own?

On the note of Tennessee, how did Stark happen to buy this brand new Audi he is rolling around in? He’s supposed to be dead. {EDITOR’S NOTE: I’m told Stark stole the keys from one of Pearce’s henchmen. Still, stealing the keys of a brand new car that can be reported stolen or possibly found via GPS doesn’t seem like a very smart idea either.} And even more so, he runs around town with a ball cap on to conceal his true identity. Really? Tony Stark. Iron Man. One of the world’s saviors. An actual superhero. Easily one of the most recognizable faces on the planet, no one notices him? Well, actually, he’s recognized by one guy in the town. The ball-cap-concealer-of-identity is such a stupid notion, especially considering who Tony Stark is to the planet.

Pepper Potts. While easily one of the most grounded characters in the series, she takes a turn for the worse in Iron Man 3‘s final act. Initially when Tony saves her with his new suit, she struggles to operate it and stumbles around. But late in the film, after “she dies,” she turns into the superhero. While I get she was changed by the injection of fire crap, that shouldn’t make her a savvy hero who strikes a death blow on the film’s villain. I was really disappointed by that final battle in general, Stark and Rhodes just running around as themselves, but Potts being the hero was the icing on the cake.

And when “she dies,” it happens instantaneously. No sense of reflection, no slow motion shot, just boom, she’s “dead.” At that moment Shane Black reveals his hand — or shows he’s an inadequate filmmaker if Pepper really indeed was dead — but this rushed death pretty much gives away that she cannot possibly be gone.

And what’s up with the cavalry of suits being so damn fragile, getting cut through like butter? We’ve never seen such cheap products from Stark in the past, thankfully there were 40 of them there. You could argue, “Well that’s just how powerful the opponents are.” Could be, but like I said, their powers are not defined. And the suits dropping like flies steals from them having any actual significance, they’re just pawns. Welp, another one bites the dust.

Rebecca Hall coming to warn Pepper, then double crossing her. *gasp* She’s really a, a, bad guy! Oh, wait, now she has a change of heart as her morality kicks in — such a tired and predictable storyline, especially when executed this poorly.

How under utilized is Cheadle and Iron Patriot? Such a let down. And why would Iron Patriot just be allowed on Air Force One without anyone checking to make sure Rhodes is actually in the suit? Great job Secret Service. Let’s learn nothing from when War Machine was hijacked in Iron Man 2. All you need is a good hacker. Not like The Mandarin is a good hacker. Oh wait, he took over the whole broadcast system of the United States. Not like The Mandarin threatened the President. Oh wait.

Happy (Jon Favreau) in a coma in the hospital was an overly-sappy storyline that was so contrived I was again, scoffing at the laziness of screenwriters Shane Black and Drew Pearce. And didn’t they already try a similar angle with Coulson in The Avengers? At least it worked there.

Lastly, I have to bitch about Stark shutting Iron Man down. What a deflating finale for the film. And can you say, “Ripping off The Dark Knight Rises the best we can?” Just goes to show you how horrible the end result can be if you don’t execute the idea right. Iron Man 3 didn’t feel like a triumphant send off to a hero like The Dark Knight Rises, it felt like someone let the air out of the room. What?! He’s giving up? Turning in his chest piece? What about his role in The Avengers 2 (yes, I saw the tag line at the end of the film, Tony Stark will return)? But how? Why will he return after retiring?

I could continue ripping, but over 2500 words is more than enough.

Follow Matthew on Twitter: @matthewdeery