Game of Thoughts: The Iron Throne (S8.E6)

The concept of ‘villain’ puts a little box around a character and keeps you at an emotional remove from them.

And so we come to the end… my sweetest friend…

I haven’t done a Game of Thrones write-up for a few weeks for lots of reasons; mostly  personal (work has been incredibly stressful and the last thing I wanted to do was put myself out there for people to immediately leap on with OPINIONS), but the big reason is that I just wanted to wait for the end to see how it all shook out.

Well, I have.

Anyone who has drank from the internet recently knows that the series finale, and indeed most of the last season, have disappointed many, many people. There are infinite Hot Takes, raging debates, scads of memes delightful and otherwise, and even a petition to ‘fix’ the show.

I am not one of those people. I was satisfied. 

In an alternate universe Westeros…

For my thoughts, Read More.

There will definitely be spoilers so if you care, avoid! 

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Making Sense of the Senseless Entry: Footloose (1984)

Author’s Note: Yes, there is a remake; no, I never saw it. 

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Recently I visited my Mom’s hometown in South Georgia to see a sick relative. Although the relative in question is home from hospice (not in a ‘You don’t need hospice!’ kind of way, more a ‘There’s nothing to do but wait for the inevitable’ kind of way)  it was overall a stressful and trying trip, especially this close to the holidays.

While driving down the little dirt roads and looking out over gray fields full of rusting farm equipment, dilapidated trailers covered with weeds, and yards full of chickens and goats, I recognized that I had always associated the area with the rust belt, even though it’s quite a ways south of that region. Any ’80s movie depicting economic decay, agricultural stagnation, and declining small-town industry always made me think of that area, and I’m sure residents would agree that the imagery is accurate, if not agree with the sentiment. In fact, part of the reason I never saw Footloose is because I already knew the story; hell, being a city kid who’d go to the country to visit a couple times a year, I lived it. I also picked it up from pop culture references and a joke in the Elvira movie, and there’s really only so many times the ‘big city vs small town’ pastiche can be explored. But I knew it to be a much-loved classic, and when I got home from a depressing visit with relatives, I thought I’d watch something kind of fun and upbeat.

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Noooot quite on the beat… But still having a great time! 

I have to say, I was very impressed! The story and characters had surprising depth, and I really appreciated the complexity of the conflict.

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Werebeasts Week: Cat People (1942)

It turns out Irina has a secret… If the movie title hasn’t already tipped you, she’s a cat person!

October is Horror Movie month, where we let down our hair and celebrate all things macabre and scary! Not that we don’t during the rest of the year, but still… HORROR MOVIES! People who don’t like horror are encouraged to check back November 1st for less bloody and/or disturbing films. For everyone else, let’s put on our galoshes and WADE INTO THE MIRE!

Hello and welcome to Werebeasts Week here at Late to the Theater! This week’s selections are hairy, scary, and usually unfairly judged – They just want to be understood! Or fed! Either way, we’re looking at people who sprout fur, fangs, and bad attitudes this week, so make sure your shots are up to date and you’ve packed a doggie bag. Let’s get going!

Today I’ve got a real treat for y’all: 1942’s inspired and yet totally banana-balls Cat People. It’s a delightfully weird little film that bears only a passing resemblance to the 1982 remake that starred Natassja Kinski and Malcolm McDowell and is totally ripe for the MST3K treatment, if it hasn’t already happened. Because it’s just so gosh darn fun and I need to discuss it, there will be spoilers. 

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Let’s jump in, shall we?

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Werebeasts Week: Dog Soldiers (2002)

The SAS squad send up a distress flare. Investigation reveals an absolute mess at the SAS campsite: blood everywhere, but no bodies, trank darts, some heavy duty hunting equipment. … And one survivor

October is Horror Movie month, where we let down our hair and celebrate all things macabre and scary! Not that we don’t during the rest of the year, but still… HORROR MOVIES! People who don’t like horror are encouraged to check back November 1st for less bloody and/or disturbing films. For everyone else, let’s put on our galoshes and WADE INTO THE MIRE!

Hello and welcome to Werebeasts Week here at Late to the Theater! This week’s selections are hairy, scary, and usually unfairly judged – They just want to be understood! Or fed! Either way, we’re looking at people who sprout fur, fangs, and bad attitudes this week, so make sure your shots are up to date and you’ve packed a doggie bag*. Let’s get going!

Today’s entry is Dog Soldiers, in which a group of British Army soldiers/football hooligans encounter werewolves while on an exercise in a remote part of Scotland. It will contain spoilers! 

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AKA: The Shittiest Dog Park Visit, Ever

So let’s get going!

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In a Nutshell: Ferdinand Lyle of ‘Penny Dreadful’

Sometimes in media, one part stands out from the whole and is deserving of its own examination. It might act as a microcosm for what the whole is about, or it might stand in stark contrast to the rest of the whole–‘In a Nutshell’ entries focus on those single parts and hopefully serve as an introduction or ‘way in’ for audiences unfamiliar with the subject matter. 

Today’s entry examines Ferdinand Lyle of Showtime’s Victorian Horror masterpiece, Penny Dreadful. We’ll discuss his role among the world of PD, Simon Russell Beale’s magnificent performance, and parallels between Lyle’s character and the works of Victorian Literature icon, Oscar Wilde.

Shall we?

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