The Great Gatsby

A mixed bag.  First, the good.  This is probably the best looking movie I've seen in a while.  If you've seen any of Baz Luhrman's other movies (Romeo + Juliet, Moulin Rouge), you'll have an idea of what to expect.  Everything looks good, amazingly good.  The party scenes are overloaded with glitz and glamour, the outdoor scenes resemble something from a fairy tale.  Lurhman also knows how to make his actors look good.  Its no surprise that the last time Leonardo DiCaprio and Baz Luhrman together (Romeo + Juliet in 1996), it launched DiCaprio's career and made him an international heart throb.  The music accompanies the hyper stylized direction of the film with lush scores and energetic samples of its diverse soundtrack throughout the whole movie.  If I could only rate this movie on how it looks and how it sounds, I'd probably give it a 10/10.

But then there's the plot and the character relationships.  I'm not going to criticize F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, because that novel is a masterpiece.  Unfortunately, the plot doesn't translate as well on screen.  The first half was okay, the second half seemed to drag for me.  The movie's resolution isn't as good as it's setup.  The motivations of the characters seem hinted at but not thoroughly explored.

Overall, probably worth seeing just for the visuals and the music.

7.5/10

Game of Thrones Season 3 Episode 8: "Second Sons"

A good episode, which seemed light on drama but heavy on entertainment.  I'm a little worried because there's only two episodes left this season and things dont seem to be moving fast enough for anything substantial to happen the remainder of Season 3, but I'm probably wrong.  With that said, I enjoyed this episode because the main focus was on three main characters that I like spending time with: Tyrion, Stannis and Daenerys.

At King's Landing, we get out first wedding of many planned weddings with Tyrion and Sansa. Everyone involved in the affair seemed miserable and looked like they were contemplating their doomed arrangements.  The only one seeming to have a good time is Joffrey, until Tyrion awesomely tells him off and blames it on the alcohol.  In the end, Tyrion demonstrates he's a decent husband to Sansa by telling her she never has to "consume their marriage" unless she wants to.

Meanwhile, we get some nice scenes of Stannis and Davos having a heart to heart about Melisandre.  Stannis explains to him that he's seen things Melisandre has done that he can not deny, of which Davos has no answer for.  Gendry gets brought into the mix and Melisandre cruelly tricks him into thinking that he's going to have sex with her, only to have him take off his clothes so she could unleash some leeches on him. Daenerys meets with the "Second Sons" and things go very well for her, she somehow gets one of their leaders to turn on the others and pledge his allegiance to her.

Overall, the episode went by super quick and left me wanting more, which is usually a good sign.  Bad news is that there won't be a new episode next week and we're gonna have to wait two weeks until Episode 9.  Good news is that Episode 9's of Season 1 and 2 were the best episodes of their seasons.  Season 1 Episode 9 was Baelor (aka Ned Stark dies), Season 2 Episode 9 was Blackwater, which I consider to be the best GoT episode so far.  See you guys in two weeks!

Observations:

-Arya and the Hound are the new odd couple.  I look forward to her reunion with Catelyn and Robb if that's going to happen.
-The first "Second Son" guy who talks to Daenerys had the demeanor of a douchebag meathead.
-Davos teaching himself to read was somewhat adorable.
-"If you ever call me sister again I"ll have you strangled in your sleep".  Cersei don't play.
-Does Joffrey suddenly have a thing for Sansa again or what?
-Why didn't Sansa bend down for Tyrion to cloak her instead of waiting until he asked her, seemed like an obvious thing to do after Joffrey took away his chair.
-You would think everyone in the Knight's Watch would know how to start a fire.
-Did Sam leave that dagger behind? It seemed so cool and useful.

Game of Thrones Season 3 Episode 7: "The Bear and the Maiden Fair"

A talky midseason episode that has its ups and downs.  It felt busy, with some character's arcs' more interesting than others.  The best was definitely saved for last.

New relationships seemed to be the focus of this episode.  We start off with Robb Stark and his newlywed bride Talisa in a session lovemaking/war planning.  It's been a while since we've seen an intimate scene with these two characters, and we're reminded of why Robb ultimately chose marrying Talisa over doing what's best for the war.  He seems ecstatic when Talisa tells him that she is preggers, which is not surprising if all she does is lay around naked and distract him.  The ultimate metaphor for their marriage and the war.  Meanwhile, Tyrion and Sansa separately discuss their anxieties about getting married, and Joffrey summons Tywin in frustration of not being involved in his plans.

All the way in the North, Jon Snow and Ygritte ponder their relationship and what they're currently doing.  Jon gives Ygritte a history lesson, in which he tries to convince her that they will ultimately fail in their planned attack.  She responds by reiterating her love to him and then they proceed to kiss.  Ahh young love.

And finally, Jaime and Brienne.  In one of the most rousing and exciting sequences of the season, Jaime realizes Brienne is in trouble and rushes back to save her. From a bear pit!  He even jumps into the pit, unarmed, and wedges himself in front of her.  Their odd relationship is finally proven to each other like it was the end of some buddy comedy.  His character's finest moment so far in the series, and biggest indication that his journey with Brienne has changed him.

Overall, an uneven but forward moving episode with an exciting ending.

Observations:

-Weird to see the Wildlings not surrounded by snow.
-Ygritte points out that Jon Snow is a prettyboy.
-Even Margaery knows Tyrion is the best Lannister.
-Joffrey complains about climbing stairs to Tywin.
-Daenerys, "Breaker of Chains and Mother of Dragons"
-Shae is kinda annoying.
-Gendry learns he's Robert Baratheon's son, epic music plays.
-Arya is a badass, the only true god she believes in is "Death".
-The Theon torture show continues, disturbingly.
-Ygritte needs a dictionary to learn new words.
-"All girls see more blood than boys."
-Jon Snow and Ygritte basically said "Yolo!" and did it on that hill.

Mad Men Season 6 Episode 6: "For Immediate Release"

My favorite episodes of Mad Men involve Don Draper and the firm being in crisis.  The show is at its finest when all the chips are down and then suddenly, Don gets a quick and sudden stroke of genius that changes everything in its path.   This is an episode that starts off seemingly like any other episode, and then during a pivotal scene, Ted sits down for a drink with Don.  By the end of their conversation, we know that everything at SCDP has changed.

The episode starts off with Bert and Pete discussing their stock value if they go public.  Unfortunately Don is not aware of Bert’s motivations and gets pulled into a dinner with Herb, the representative at Jaguar. Don tells Herb off, something that’s been boiling in Don and with us ever since Herb got his way with Joan last season.  Meanwhile, Pete runs into his father in law at a whorehouse and assumes everything is okay because Ken explains to him that they’ll both be harmed if the truth is revealed.  Everything isn’t ok, Trudy’s father care more about his daughter than harming his own self image.  SCDP ends up losing Vicks and Jaguar when they need them the most.  That’s when Roger and Don basically come in and save the day.

The last time business at SCDP was this exciting was in the Season Three finale “Shut the Door, Have a Seat”, which is universally regarded as one of the show’s best episodes.  If you don’t remember, this was the episode where Sterling Cooper was on the verge of being sold to the English, so Don convinced Lane to fire him and all the important members of the firm and thus, Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce was born.   Now the firm is changing again, but this time merging with Ted and Peggy’s ad firm.  There are changes in store for almost all of the characters from this.  Much like its main character, Mad Men is a show that takes risks and just like with Don, those risks usually pay off.  

Observations:
-Was Pete hitting on Joan and trying to get her drunk?  Pete couldn’t handle that.
-Roger shows us why he’s a good businessman; it’s good to see him successful again.
-Megan got kinky this episode, at the suggestion of her mother.
-“I love puppies.”- Don
-“If I could deal with him, you could deal with him. And what now? I went through all of that for nothing.”  I liked Joan telling Don off.  Its pretty much true, Don does whatever he wants without thinking about the firm.
-I knew it, Peggy and Ted have a thing for each other.
-How weird must have it been to be Peggy, getting called into her boss’s office and seeing Don there.
-Bonus:  Here’s a gif of Pete stumbling on the stairs.  http://oyster.ignimgs.com/wordpress/stg.ign.com/2013/05/oQnzqR3.gif

Game of Thrones Season 3 Episode 6: "The Climb"

Contrary to what the title of the episode may have you believe, this isn't the Game of Thrones episode where Miley Cyrus guest stars and sings an awe inspiring ballad about womanhood (thank goodness, although Sam gets a song).  Instead, "The Climb" refers to Jon Snow and Ygritte's trek to get to the top of the wall, which is easily the best and most exciting part of this episode.  What else happens in "The Climb"?  Not much, I'm afraid.

The episode starts with a scene of Sam and his "new family" enjoying a cozy fire and talking about their plans.  There will be a lot of scenes like this in the next hour, with characters conversing to each other about what they're about to do.  In between them, we get some exciting scenes of Jon Snow and Ygritte climbing the wall that almost feel like a Discovery Channel survival special.  Meanwhile, Robb convinces his cousin to blindly marry a Frey daughter to make amends for his wrongdoing.  Gendry sadly gets taken away by Melisandre.  Tyrion and Cersei discuss the ramifications of Tywin's plans for their new marriages.  Theon gets mercilessly tortured, again.  

Overall, the episode was somewhat of a disappointment in that it felt like there were no substantial developments, although there were some.  The last shot is beautiful and epic, with Ygritte finally seeing whats on the other side of the wall and sharing a lengthy kiss with Jon.  It comes off as an award for viewers who ultimately had to sit through a slow moving episode.  

- The scene where they skinned the rabbit was pretty disturbing to me, and I don't usually get bothered by any of the violence that happens on the show.

- "He wasn't good to me the way you're good to me.  He didnt do that thing you did with your tongue".  Oh Ygritte...

- "Face. Tits. Balls. I hit them right where I wanted to." A lot of good lines this episode.

- Random thought: Arya and Katniss would be good friends, I think.  

- How ugly are these Frey daughters?

- Poor Jaime, can't even eat a steak properly.

- Loras is the most desirable bachelor in all 7 kingdoms? Muhaha.

- Apparently "The Climb" also refers to Littlefinger's theory on chaos.

- So Joffrey hasn't done anything evil or disturbing lately.  Oh wait...