Saturday, 28 June 2014

The Book of Knowledge: Game of Thrones Edition

I was flicking between Wikipedia & IMDB tonight, looking up Game Of Thrones actors, trying to find other interesting looking things they'd been in. Here's what I ended up finding:

Ser Sandor "The Hound" Clegane (Rory McCann)

Is a forty-five-year-old Scotsman who used to work in a forestry and is a member of the Greens Party. Sometimes he looks like this:


He was in "Hot Fuzz", but not too much else that really caught my attention.

... except for this porridge commercial:


*tee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee*......I wonder if Squib's met him yet.

Ser Brienne Of Tarth (Gwen Christie)

Has been in a few things I've seen. A couple of Terry Gilliam flicks and the kids' show "Wizards v Aliens", although I didn't recognise her from any of them. Probably because she sometimes looks like this:


According to Wikipedia, she gained six and a half kilos of muscle just to audition for Game of Thrones.

I think about having her size and reach, and how useful it could be, and some of the bad situations it maybe could've helped me get out of when I was younger, and it seems like a total asset. And then I read the bit about how her height gave her body image issues when she was younger, which led to her doing nude modelling to try to "come to terms" ... ?

Y'know, she's only 6'3; which is tall, granted, but, y'know, it's not like freakish tall. Even in Australia, virtually every women's basketball team has at least one player taller than that. So, either this is just a case of the grass being greener on the other side, or it just goes to show that practically every woman who's ever lived has had body image problems at some point in their life.

She's going to be in the upcoming "Hunger Games" films, which I'm actually looking forward to; as well as the upcoming "Star Wars" films, which I couldn't give a shit about.

Ygritte the Wildling of, um ... up North (Rose Leslie)

Another Jock (Geez, Squib most nearly be tripping over these characters). Rose is apparently quite an acclaimed actor in Scotland; though, apart from a role in "Downton Abbey" (which I haven't seen, and don't really intend to), I don't know what for.

She also has a magnificent jaw line.

  
Tyrian "The Halfman" Lannister (Peter Dinklage)

Pete was in "The Station Agent (2003)" and "Death At A Funeral (2007 - British version)", and if you haven't seen them, you probably should. Station Agent is a quiet, slow film about loneliness and friendship; and Death at a Funeral is a farcical black comedy, as only the poms seem able to pull off. A point made clear by the piss-weak American remake (which Dinklage was also in).

Apart from that, it looks like he's done some shitty bit-parts where his stature could be leveraged for comedic effect and some dodgy fantasy stuff with, like, elves and dwarfs. When you're an actor, I guess work is work, but as a movie watcher, doesn't it just feel like a fuckin' tragic waste of talent?

Maybe I'm being too harsh. I probably shouldn't judge any of those flicks until I've actually sat down and watched them. Even shitty American rom-coms deserve a chance. I guess.

Miscellaneous

  • The woman who plays Yara Greyjoy (Theon's sister) is a stand-up comedian.
  • The bloke who played Prince Oberyn is a Chilean actor who has an extensive TV history, but little in the way of movies.
  • Did you know the actresses who play the Stark sisters are only a year apart in age? Or that neither of them have a done anything that looks that interesting yet?
  • The wildling woman "Osha", who helps Bran & Rickon escape Winterfell, sings and plays accordian in a pop/jazz/Spanish/something band called Molotov Jukebox. It looks and sounds like this:


Conclusion

Even though I didn't find anything that really piqued my interest, thank god for Wikipedia, eh? It's a good thing we're all throwing in a couple of bucks a year to keep it running, right?

Monday, 16 June 2014

Monday, 9 June 2014

Orange Is The New Black (Season 2) Discussion Thread

I haven't watched it yet, so either the post will get fleshed out as I go, or the bulk of this will be in the comments.

I'll put up a Game Of Thrones (Season 4) discussion thread once the season finishes, next week.

Hopefully you can wait.

Sunday, 8 June 2014

Video Pics: Once Were Warriors

I reckon this poster probably does more justice to the picture than any of the dozens that feature Jake surrounded by a bunch of blokes with face tattoos.

I'll be busy watching the new season of Orange Is The New Black for the next few days; but I thought I'd mention that I watched this on the weekend with my cousin.  Li'l' Cuz had missed it on SBS -- she was probably only two or something silly when it came out -- and despite owning it, I can't remember if I've seen it since it was first released on (VHS) video. To be honest, I'd largely forgotten just how good it is.

Bullet Point Review:
  • It's good. 
  • There aren't really any bad bits. It flows well, hits all the right emotional points, and then ends when it should.
  • I got goose bumps during the scene where Beth stands up to Jake, as he holds her against the wall, threatening to smash a beer bottle into her face.
  • I got goose bumps during the scene where Beth's best friend tries to cheer her up after Jake has given her a savage hiding.
  • I got goose bumps during the scene where Beth tells Grace that "this is a woman's lot", echoing what Nig had said to her when she was cleaning up the bloodied living room.
  • There's some subtle stuff going on with the camera work that I was quite impressed with. The actor playing Jake does not appear to be an overly massive man, but he seems to grow and shrink depending on context. In the last scene he has with Grace, he fills the screen up like a giant. In the last scene of the film, he is noticeably diminished compared to Nig and Beth.
  • The opening shot is probably one of the best I've ever seen.
  • Even after ~20 odd years, I still remember the line "Too much weights, not enough speed training, useless prick." I suppose, at the time, it struck a very relevant and personal chord with me.
  • There's a scene in which Jake says "If I wanted to drink with women, I'd drink in the ladies lounge." It seems this is completely lost on the younger crowd. 
  • I still can't work out what's going on in the picnic scene, where it looks like they're watching a sunset in the middle of the day. Has this got to do with being so far South?

SBS has it up for the next 5 or so days. Check it out if you haven't seen it. Check it out again if you have.