Mixed Bag

Winter is Coming

Holy crap, I haven't blogged for like four days, and there's so much to talk about!!  First, Game of Thrones premiered on Sunday night on HBO.  Can I just say OMG that was AWESOME!  I thought for sure with all the hype there was no way the show was going to live up to my expectations, but it did!  The episode follows three different sets of characters that are all seemingly after the same thing - The Iron Throne.

I was worried that the series would be...well hokey.  I've watched a few episodes of Camelot (Starz) and True Blood (HBO) and was slightly disappointed with the shallow storyline (Camelot) and just plain bad acting (True Blood), but Game of Thrones has a solid and compelling story as well as excellent actors.  I was totally absorbed in the show and disappointed when it was over so soon!  I can't wait for Sunday!

Source Code

I finally saw Source Code this week.  Thank's to Flagship Cinema's rewards program, we got to see it for $6.50 total for both of us!  Score!  And, it was worth every penny.  The story follows a military Captain (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) who is charged with going back in time to the last eight minutes of a person's life in order to discover the identity of a bomber who poses a deadly threat to the city of Chicago.  It has a very Quantum Leap feel to it, which I loved.

There was also a very nice twist towards the middle of the film about the condition of Gyllenhaal's character.  For those of you who haven't seen it yet, I'll let you figure it out, but it gave the film a little more depth.

The end of the film was debatable (spoiler alert).  Dan thought Gyllenhaal's character was just living in his own reality, but I thought he'd changed reality all together, which posed the problem of what happened to the man that he was posing as?  And what happens when they need Gyllenhaal's character to do another Source Code mission?  Does he Quantum Leap away from this new rosy reality?  Anyway, it kept me thinking about it, which is always a bonus.  I'd recommend spending the $9 to see this one in the theater.  It was a great film with a little bit of everything - action, stress, romance, explosions, death, ethical issues, etc.

New on DVD

Really, the only thing worth mentioning this week that's new on DVD is The King's Speech.  It follows the inspirational true story of King George VI, who had a stuttering problem and was thrust into the lime light when his brother abdicated the throne.  He takes the position during Britain's darkest hour, at the beginning of the Second World War, when a strong show of leadership is vital to the country's survival.  How can a stutterer overcome such daunting circumstances?  With the help of a quirky speech therapist that's how!  The film is excellent and should be seen by everyone!

The only other thing of note on DVD is Rabbit Hole, starring Nicole Kidman and Aaron Ekhart.  The film follows a happily married couple struck by a terrible tragedy.  It mirrors the tone of Revolutionary Road apparently (according to Amazon), and based on that information I'm not sure I need to see it.  I was so depressed after that one I needed to watch something like The Little Mermaid to get over it.  So, I'll probably skip that little journey down the Rabbit Hole.

Whew!  I think I'm all caught up now.  Sorry about that!