Game of Thrones (Season 6)

Television shows are hard to write about without revealing tons of spoilers.  Let’s just state right now, if you haven’t watched or read any of this fantasy saga, don’t read anything below.  Just watch it already.   Okay, first off, this is one of the most satisfying seasons of this HBO series.  This is comforting considering this is the first time David Benioff & D. B. Weiss have gone off script or off book that is.  All of George R.R. Martin’s books have been adapted.  From here on (with George’s input I’m sure) they’re going to give us an end that’s not been written yet, so drawing a line in the sand for devoted fans—which end of this story will be better, the show’s or the as-yet-written (if ever completed) novels.   After six seasons, it’s clear the players are making their way back.  Jon Snow has returned to Winterfell (no one really believed he’d be dead for long) and reunited with a more mature Sansa.  Ayra has completed her training with the Faceless.  Cersei has found her revenge while at the same time losing the last of her children.  And Daenery’s on a ship for home to final take the Iron Throne.  I’m so excited I can’t really contain myself.  This is one of those shows that I’ve always loved but I’ve been nervous to get too attached to because of all the bad that has happened in the past.   A lot of bad can still happen but I have hope after this season that we’ll see more victories than defeats.   The two best episodes this season were “The Door” and “Battle of the Bastards”.   Hopefully the producers bring back the directors of these two fantastic episodes, Jack Bender and Miguel Sapochnik.   Really there was no bad episode, every episode seemed perfectly executed.   If they can continue to stay this consistent this series will go down in history as one of the great television shows of all-time.  Grade: A

Penny Dreadful (Season 2)

This sophomore edition to Showtime’s Victorian Horror series is even better than the first season.  Eva Green anchors this show with her talent and charisma and this time around they have a real villain in Helen McCrory, a witch set to seduce and destroy Sir Malcolm Murray.   There are many great episodes but my favorite is Vanessa Ives back story.  My only complaint is with the development of Lily played by Billie Piper, I just am not sure what they’re doing with her and it makes me nervous for season 3.   Grade: A-

X:Men Apocalypse (2016)

Superhero redundancy continues with the third addition to the latest X-Men incarnation.  While not as thrilling or as skillfully crafted as Days of Future Past, I was entertained seeing Professor Xavier, Magneto and Mystique join forces with the younger versions of Cyclops and Jane Grey to battle the most powerful mutant they have ever faced.  Sophie Turner is a wonderful choice for Jane and I’m hoping we get to see more of her and her younger counterparts later on.  (Maybe they’ll give us a proper Dark Phoenix film, here’s hoping.)  The entire film is just fun and I have to say it’s the most satisfying superhero entry this year (sorry Marvel, but it is.)   That’s not to say it doesn’t have its bad moments but it’s a solid summer blockbuster.   Grade: A-

Spoiler:

I don’t know if this is a spoiler but I decided I’d devote a bit of my rage on the costume designer (monster suit creator) for this film.  Apocalypse might be one of the dumbest looking villains I’ve seen in a big A-quality film.   There’s even a meme out there comparing him to Ivan Ooze from the Mutant Morphing Power Rangers film.  That’s bad.  What’s worse is Oscar Isaac is awesome as Apocalypse.  His voice and his eyes are so intense and foreboding it’s no wonder they cast him.  But the best they could do was to paint him purple and put him in a big suit.  I get it, he’s not a big actor, but there’s no reason Apocalypse had to be big.  It doesn’t ruin the movie but it is hard to take seriously sometimes. 

The Americans (Season 3)

I love this show.  Russian spies, Philip and Elizabeth Jennings continue to go deeper into the abyss of moral dissolution as they not just endanger themselves but also the ones they love.  It’s all a recipe for suspense that makes for great binge watching.  The writing is so good and this season has a lot of great surprises.   This is one of the top shows to watch without a doubt.  Grade: A

Big Driver by Stephen King

One of the novellas from Full Dark, No Stars, it tells the story of a mystery novelist named Tess who gets attacked and left for dead on her way home from a book reading.  Tess decides to take matters in her own hands to avoid the attention such media coverage would put on her life.  It’s a fun revenge story and King proves again that even with a simple and tired plot he can engage his readers.  He’s just so good at spinning a yarn, even one like this that’s pretty routine.  Grade: B+