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Film Review : Prometheus

31 May

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He refused to show us an Alien in the sensational trailers (‘Aaaaah! Aaaaah!’), he wouldn’t even use the word ‘Alien’ in the title, but Ridley Scott gives us one almost immediately in Prometheus’ opening scene. Not the kind you’re expecting, mind. 


Breathtaking stereoscopic shots swoop across a gorgeous landscape. Black mountains wreathed in volcanic steam, glassy lakes and, at the top of a crashing waterfall, a tiny man. Only he’s not tiny. He’s not a man. Like an extra-terrestrial Greek titan, this tower of muscle flexes inside smooth pale skin. And then dies.


Creation and destruction are the twin-burners of Jon Spaihts and Damon Lindelof’s ambitious screenplay, which bricks up an epic new mythology around the tantalisingly unexplained image of the space jockey in Scott’s original 1979 space-horror. 



It’s 2093, three decades before Ellen Ripley’s first bug-hunt, and we’re aboard another starship funded by sinister mega-corporation Weyland Industries. Joining the 17-man crew are scientist couple Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and Charlie (Logan Marshall-Green), who’ve discovered that etchings from every ancient civilisation on Earth have all left clues to the same faraway planet.

Their mission: to discover where we come from – and why.

Once they touch down, we’re on familiar ground: the crew begin exploring a giant hollow labyrinthine of tunnels and, uh-oh, something sticky leaking from countless cylinders stored deep within one of the chambers…

Game over, man, game over. But if we’re been here before, Prometheus inhabits the host mythology without becoming suffocated by it. Pulling its own twists on many of the queasier elements of the quadrilogy, it tightens its grip slowly, making us wait until what’s out there gets in here. 


Proving how wasted she was in Sherlock Holmes: Game Of Shadows, Rapace is a gentle, driven proto-Ripley who mirrors nicely with Charlize Theron’s glacial mission leader Meredith Vickers, strutting tightly in a witty silver-grey suit.

But it’s the brilliantly constructed character of Prometheus’ android – sorry, synthetic person – David (Michael Fassbender) that provides much of the movie’s dramatic frisson. We first discover him alone on the ship, spinning a basketball on his fingertip, bleaching his hair and – in the movie’s loveliest invention – studying Peter O’Toole’s performance in Lawrence Of Arabia. 


Owning every scene he steps into, Fassbender once again proves a truly magnetic screen presence, balancing Bishop’s even-mannered likeability with Ash’s unsettling lack of empathy.

Now if only they’d cast O’Toole himself as Peter Weyland instead of Guy Pearce, unrecognisable behind melty-faced prosthetics.

“I didn’t think you had it in you,” quips David, in a wry moment that Prometheus could have used more of.

Truth be told, the rest of the cast – Idris Elba’s effortlessly sardonic captain aside – are bug food for the film’s skin-crawlingly effective antagonists. Ooze trickles, tentacles coil and gore splatters, not least in the movie’s standout scene, involving Noomi Rapace and some desperate surgery.


Back in the sci-fi genre for the first time since 1982’s Blade Runner, director Ridley Scott has always been more at home with Big Spectacle than Big Ideas. And sure enough, once people start dying, Prometheus’ ambitious thematic payload goes straight out of the airlock.

But Scott’s movie is flawlessly designed, with the beautiful 3D cinematography contrasting the clean white futurism of Prometheus’ interiors with the black corporeal surfaces of the alien catacombs.



It might not pack the unbearable menace or blazing horror of the saga’s first two movies, but it utterly eclipses the last two. It’s exciting, tense and fully impregnated for sequels…

Rating : 8/10

Source:Totalfilm
By: johnathoncrockers

Tv Review : Game of Thrones -season 2 episode 9 ‘Blackwater’

28 May

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This review contains spoilers.

2.9 Blackwater

Now THAT was an episode! All season, HBO and Game of Thrones has been building up to the first of two big battle blow-offs. The one most promising, the raid on King’s Landing by pretender to the throne Stannis Baratheon, was the subject of this week’s episode, and I have to confess that it lived up to all the budget-straining promises we’ve been getting all along.

HBO has a history of, in other programmes, promising big battles but delivering sub-par results. For example, Rome’s big battle set piece was a bit too CGI to look good, though it was attempted on a grander scale than this. Neil Marshall, who directs this episode from a great George R.R. Martin script, keeps things tight and intense. There are wider shots of what have to be CGI ships in a CGI harbour, but when it comes to showing combat scenes, they’re shot almost claustrophobically. There are bodies and hacking axes and slashing swords and I can’t tell who is who outside of Tyrion, Bronn, Stannis, and a few other recognizable faces. Still, it doesn’t really matter from a viewer standpoint; we’re getting carnage and blood and people being cleaved in twain, and that’s exactly what you’d expect from a war in the Seven Kingdoms.

On a show that likes its violence over-the-top (yet also strangely realistic), Blackwater brings the sort of violence that the show has been building up to all season. As the series has gone on, they’ve ramped up the gore and increased the satisfying sickness of the killing. As the battle of Blackwater progresses, the kills themselves get crazier and crazier, and it seems as though everyone gets involved, from Tyrion and his squire to Lancel Lannister.

The amazing thing about this episode is that, for the first 20-30 minutes, there is no battle. There’s just tension, and that makes the battle even more effective. You know what’s coming, they know what’s coming, and it’s just stomach-churning to watch these characters we’ve grown closer to all season prepare themselves for potential death. There is a very high body count, which is befitting a legitimate war.

Tyrion’s goodbye to Shae is good, but Cersei Lannister’s hen house chat with Sansa Stark is actually some of the best stuff in the episode. Lena Headey has been brilliant in small doses most of this season, but this week she gets a big chunk of the B-story, and she really nails it as the amusingly-drunk queen. She’s like the best worst big sister in the world this week, and if Sansa had any remaining innocence about her role as a noble woman in Westeros, Queen Cersei takes that from her in grand fashion. This is Lena Headey’s episode to hold court, and she kills it in every scene. The plight of the women (and Ser Ilyn Payne), puts a whole new spin on war in the world of George R.R. Martin.

That’s the most fascinating turn the show has taken; every character has their reasons for the viewers to empathize with them, but Game of Thrones goes out of its way to focus on each one and give us a specific reason to feel bad for them. In this case, it’s obvious a lot of folks are in over their heads in their current situations, not least of whom is The Hound. He’s big and mean and he’s Joffrey’s dog, but he’s also got that softer side. Cersei is a victim of her circumstances, but she’s also kind of a tragic figure as well. Tyrion, Robert Baratheon, and even Stannis all have their flaws and their grievances.

All that action, and there’s still more fighting to do next week. After all, this week was ONLY Stannis versus Tyrion for King’s Landing. There’s still the thorny issue of Theon Greyjoy in Winterfell, Robb Stark and the Northmen’s rebellion, and there’s always Danerys Targaryen, the mother of dragons, to contend with. The break from them to focus on battle was welcome (and a wise choice), but there’s a lot of ground to cover between now and next season.

I just hope one more episode is enough to wrap it all up. The more I think about it, the more I believe that Game of Thrones could use a 12, rather than a 10-episode season. If the budget can support it without harming the quality of the episodes, that is. I want more.

Rating : 10/10

Source:denofgeek.com
By:ronjones

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Four New banners for The Dark Knight Rises

25 May

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Tv Review : Game of Thrones – season 2 episode 8 ‘The Prince of Winterfell’

21 May

This review contains spoilers.

2.8 The Prince of Winterfell

When dealing with the Game of Thrones, not every week can feature dramatic turns of events. Sometimes, to properly build up to the end of a season, you have to spend an hour getting all the pieces into position. This week’s episode was a set-up to a bigger blow-up down the road (specifically, the upcoming battle scene they’ve been hinting at all season as Stannis’ troops head towards King’s Landing, the Lannisters head towards a clash with Robb Stark, some other Northerners head into a clash with the Iron Islanders at Winterfell, and the wildlings perhaps head for a clash with the Night’s Watch?). In order to have a feast, you must first set the table.

Just ask Arya, she knows all about setting tables now, having been Tywin Lannister’s serving girl for quite some time. Now, she’s been handed over to the Mountain while Tywin and his army moves off to engage Robb Stark. However, the girl’s clever—too clever for her own good and more clever by half than any of her brothers—and she devises a brilliant way to get Jaquen to risk his neck by busting her, Gendry, and Hot Pie out of Harrenhal. With no Tywin around, Arya should take off anyway; she’s too good of a character to have rusting away in a burnt-out relic of a castle.

That’s why getting Tyrion to King’s Landing and making him the Hand of the King has been the move that will vault Peter Dinklage from Best Supporting Actor to Best Actor at this year’s Emmys. The scene with Shae (Sibel Kekilli) was wonderfully heartbreaking, and Dinklage’s expression throughout his face-off with Cersei about his secret whore (the very unfortunate Ros) was a brilliant mask. Playing concealed emotions has to be difficult, considering how much of acting is about expressing. Their reunion was touching, albeit unsurprising; Tyrion, as a character, makes sparks with whomever is crossed with him, from Cersei and Joffrey to Bronn and (perhaps most fun of all) Varys. I’d love to see Tyrion, Bronn, and Varys just get one whole episode amongst themselves to dish on the plots and intrigues of the city and the relative merits of testicles versus height.

There was another touching moment this week, this time from an unexpected source. Yara and Theon Greyjoy’s reunion scene at the opening of the episode was fascinating. Theon is so far in over his head that even an Iron Islander would drown, and it’s clear that Theon has managed to end up as a prince without a kingdom. Nobody in Winterfell wants him around anymore after he “killed the Starks” and the Iron Islanders think he’s a fool for “killing the Starks” and thinking like a landlubber. Granted, Theon’s first mate Dagmer Cleftjaw (Ralph Ineson) knows what happened to the missing little lords, but he’s not talking because, it seems, he’s enjoying watching Theon screw everything up royally. He’s not as stupid as his lord, but I can’t see why he’d give Theon this advice if he wasn’t there simply to see Theon fail and die so Yara could become Queen of the Iron Islands. It’s nice to see that she doesn’t hate her brother; she seems to pity him and knows that he’s a fool destined to suffer as a result of his many misfortunes, and urges him to have an Islander’s death near the sea since there’s no way he’ll be able to hold Winterfell with a boatload of pirates.

If Theon is the king of mistakes, Cate Stark must be his queen. She takes Robb’s biggest bargaining chip and, unless we are being misled, simply gives it away for the hope of getting back her daughters. Robb, wisely, puts her under guard, but the damage has been done. The Kingslayer is gone to recreate Huckleberry Finn with Brienne of Tarth (to a similar extent, Stannis and Davos Seaworth are doing a similar song and dance, but only if Huck Finn could turn Jim into a powerful lord). Of course, maybe Cate isn’t going to give Jaime away and that’s why she kept yelling at him as he stormed off to hook up with a strange Volanti nurse.

This is going to be an interesting final two episodes. Yes, season two is almost over, and it seems like only yesterday it started off. George R.R. Martin himself is going to be penning next week’s episode, with direction from Neil Marshall. Talk about your special events! As good as Alan Taylor has been throughout the run of the series (ditto writers Benioff and Weiss), I’m looking forward to seeing what a director as good as Marshall can do with a script from the creator of the Game of Thrones universe.

Rating : 8/10

source:denofgeek.com
by:ronjones

New Prometheus Poster

20 May

DVD Review : True Blood – Season Four

20 May

Release Date: 21 May 2012
2011 | 18 | £28.99 (DVD)/£34.99 (Blu-ray)
Distributor: HBO Home Entertainment
Creator: Alan Ball
Cast: Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Alexander Skarsgård, Rutina Wesley

Fatigue seemed sure to set in after three intense years of True Blood weirding us out, but a whole host of unexpected events make this fourth season better than it has any right to be.

The action opens with a twist: Sookie, last seen buggering off with her faery kin, returns to Bon Temps to discover that more than a year has passed. This means all the characters have had a chance to move on in her absence, shaking the plotlines up just enough to freshen them. The biggest change is in Bill, usually the show’s dullest character, who gains a new lease of life… er, death… as the new Vampire King. No brooding or whining after Sookie while doing sod-all else this year, oh no! Now he’s a powerful lawmaker who gets to order everybody else around, and it’s great to see him enjoying himself for once.

We also have a fabulous guest turn from British thesp Fiona Shaw as a local Wiccan who revives the spirit of a long-dead fellow witch, a lady who hates vampires with such a passion that the entire state of Louisiana ends up on lockdown. Shaw is brilliant as the twitchy, scatter-brained Marnie and her actions, while nowhere near as demented as those of bad guy Russell Edgington last season, have just enough pizazz to be gripping, especially once she truly loses her way.

This year also sees Sookie well and truly over Bill (or as much as she ever can be) and having to look after an unfortunately amnesiac Eric, with whom she promptly falls in love. It’s the romance the fans of the books have been waiting for and neither actor lets us down, particularly Alexander Skarsgård, who brings out his very best puppy eyes and wields them like a weapon of mass distraction. With this delicious tryst at the heart of a season filled with all the usual sex, blood and gore, True Blood is still as good as it ever was. Phew.

Extras:

Commentaries across six of season four’s 12 episodes, flimsy four-minute “Inside The Episode” featurettes on every episode and “True Blood: The Final Touches”, a superior 27-minute roundtable conversation between the show’s key creatives. Well worth a watch.

Rating : 8/10
extras : 7/10

Film Review : Iron Sky

14 May

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For the last few years there’s been something of a buzz building around the Finnish/German/Australian co-production, Iron Sky. Famously pitched to investors at Cannes in 2008 off the back of an impressive VFX demo reel, director Timo Vuorensola’s sci-fi comedy about Nazis on the Moon finally went into production in late 2010.

With the addition of cult movie icon Udo Kier to the cast and several strong early trailers, anticipation was high that the finished film just might deliver on its gloriously bonkers premise. Unfortunately, that doesn’t really happen and – despite its strong high concept – Iron Sky never seems entirely sure of what type of film it’s trying to be.

The plot (what there is of it) pivots around a manned US Moon landing in 2018 which is undertaken as an election stunt by the incumbent, ultra right-wing US President (Stephanie Paul). But when the two-man mission unwittingly disturbs the Nazis on the Moon, one of them is killed and the other taken hostage. This man is black male model, James Washington (Christopher Kirby), a token symbol of the President’s ‘racial enlightenment’ (yes, really).

Questioned and tortured by the ambitious Nazi Klaus Adler (Gotz Otto), Washington is turned over to the suitably mad scientist, Doktor Richter (Tilo Pruckner) where he is ‘aryanized’ in a bizarre albino-style experiment and his cell-phone confiscated for use in the Nazi’s re-invasion project.

However, help is soon at hand for Washington in the form of Adler’s soon-to-be mate, Renate (Julia Dietze). Renate is an ‘expert’ on Earth culture and along with Washington and Adler is soon returned to our planet as part of the Fuhrer’s (Udo Kier) advance invasion party.

But life on Earth doesn’t go as expected, with both Renate and Adler becoming embroiled in the machinations of ruthless Presidential-aide, Vivian Wagner (Peta Sergeant). It’s Wagner’s plan to use the Nazis to reinvigorate the President’s stumbling reelection campaign, leaving poor Washington stumbling around New York as a bleached out hobo. Meanwhile, with Adler and Renate being lauded on Earth, back on the Moon the Fuhrer is preparing his invasion plans…

Not unsurprisingly, Iron Sky is at its strongest, funniest and most affecting when dealing with the moon-based Nazis and their ossified, out of touch culture. Impressively designed, handsomely costumed and incredibly well realised, the world of the Reich has an integrity, believability and – dare I say it – charm that you immediately buy into.

The German cast also provides uniformly the best performance in the film, with Dietze, Kier and Pruckner in particular pitching their performances just on the right side of camp. Sadly, the same cannot be said for the portion of the story set on Earth.

Unimaginatively shot, flatly designed and uninspiringly played, the film’s version of ‘America’, where the Sarah Palin-esque President is – you guessed it – a bigger Nazi than the Nazis, manages to be shrill, anachronistic and far less funny than it thinks.

Not helping matters on this score are the performances of Stephanie Paul and Peta Sergeant, which manage to suck any real comic potential out of their roles. By far the best and funniest of the English speaking cast is Christopher Kirby as the befuddled Washington, but his role loses direction once the film returns to Earth.

However, it’s in the final stretch that Iron Sky really stumbles, as it decides to drop the attempts at satire and instead tries to clonk us over the head with its ‘message’. Here’s a hint to the filmmakers: no one goes to see a film about Nazis from space looking for insight into the human condition. It’s such a spectacularly ham-fisted and on-the-nose move that it simply rams home just how far the film has drifted from the initial high-concept idea that so enthused everyone in the first place.

All that said, despite its missteps and tonal uncertainties, Iron Sky isn’t totally without merit. Despite its largely unsuccessful gag rate, one or two moments of the more gonzo/scatological comedy really do hit the mark, while the digital FX work throughout is of a very high standard.

But perhaps that shouldn’t be a surprise. After all, Iron Sky began life as an FX demo reel that piqued investors’ interest, secured funding and – miracle of miracles – ended up going into production.

For all its attempts at being something more, that’s probably how Iron Sky will end up being remembered.

Rating : 5/10

Source:denofgeek.com

Concept Art : Game of Thrones – Holiday Destination Posters

8 May

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Tv Review : Game of Thrones – season 2 episode 6 ‘The Old Gods and the New’

7 May

This review contains spoilers.

2.6 The Old Gods and the New

This season, Game of Thrones has been slowly upping the ante. The stakes get higher every week. The number of claimants to various thrones increases as various underlings get their leathers in a twist and start declaring independence. More tellingly, the violence gets more extreme every week. Game of Thrones, even in the quietest episode, is still full of killing, but this week’s episode featured more killing, and more graphic killing, than any episode of the entire series thus far.

The violence in this show is sudden and shocking, but when you add significant gore, what was once a grimace becomes very uncomfortable and stomach-turning. This episode had several uncomfortable moments, from the rioting crowds in King’s Landing apparently dismembering someone bare-handed to Sansa’s narrow escape from a band of rapey peasants (via the Hound, who brought the ultra-violence in defense of the auburn-haired Stark in a spectacularly-directed scene by director David Nutter), and Jon Snow’s adventures beyond the wall with the prettiest wildling possible (Ygritte as played by the gorgeous Rose Leslie, late of Downton Abbey)—which was uncomfortable in a completely different way from the other two, and also very amusing.

This week’s episode was rich with the usual suspects excelling, but there was a stand-out scene featuring two of the show’s MVPs and one of the important characters from the first season. The triumvirate of Arya, Littlefinger, and Tywin Lannister was impressive this week, and the scene that the three shared was awesome. Arya’s careful dancing around Littlefinger somehow both amusing and tense at the same time, as was the way Arya called in her second death card from Jaqen. I laughed a great deal at the way that particular death was executed, and it was a polar opposite from all the other deaths this week. Much like the Jon Snow story this week, it went from tense to lighthearted, and was the polar opposite of Theon Greyjoy.

The unexpected character growth for the little-used Theon Greyjoy has been greatly appreciated and oddly satisfying (much like every time Joffrey gets slapped around or otherwise insulted; I swear, that kid is as obnoxious as Draco Malfoy). While he was popular enough at Winterfell when he was a ward of the Starks, his return this week was, ahem… far from successful. He’s a joke on the Iron Islands, and he’s hopelessly ineffectual as a conqueror with his boat full of scummy pirates. Granted, he took an undefended Winterfell, but it’s pretty clear that no one respects him in the North, either. Not Bran, who sleepily dismisses his attempts at conquest, and certainly not Ser Rodrik Cassel. It seems like the guy can’t win for losing; the way this character is going seems right in Alfie Allen’s wheelhouse as an actor. His expressions this week were very impressive, and I’ve considered him one of the weaker points of the show. He has a great “Oh yeah, I’ll show you I’m a man!” face, and it doesn’t matter if he’s bedding an odd-looking captain’s daughter or failing at being a prince.

I like what Greyjoy is trying to do, which is to impress his dad, and I like that no matter what he’s doing, he seems like he’s going to fail because he’s Theon Greyjoy and he kind of sucks at everything. He can’t intimidate a crippled boy until he goes way over the top, he gets outsmarted by a kitchen slut when his success goes to his head, and his smartest tactical decision was handed to him by his first mate and promptly bungled.

The plot in Westeros is definitely getting thicker, and it’s overshadowing Dany and her adventures across the Narrow Sea. Even with the events that transpired this week, I’m growing a little bored with Dany. Now that she lacks her horde of Dothraki, her Khal, and Viserys, she’s kind of boring. Even with her weird new friend Xaro Xhoan Daxos, there’s not a lot going on with Dany yet aside from the show showing off its set designers and weird-looking character actors.

Granted, Dany is the mother of dragons, but fire-breathing leather kittens aren’t enough to keep my attention when there are much more interesting games afoot in Westeros.

Rating : 8/10

source:denofgeek.com
by:ronjones

Tv Review : Game of Thrones – season 2 episode 5 ‘The Ghost of Harrenhal’

7 May

This review contains spoilers.

2.5 The Ghost of Harrenhal

Just when you think the first clash of kings promised in the book of the same name is coming, something just has to get in the way. While the Starks and Lannisters war for the North and Greyjoy of the Iron Islands prepares his assault on Winterfell, Baratheon and Baratheon ends up being something of a dud. It’s hard for brother to fight brother when one brother ends up dead, a giant Tilda Swinton-alike bodyguard ends up on the run, and the Baratheon bannermen switching teams. Might the balance of power have shifted in Westeros, or does Littlefinger have his little fingers on a new pawn in the Game of Thrones?

I love the way Game of Thrones is handling its large cast. They can’t get everyone in every episode, but what they have been doing is finding a way to pair off characters who seem to complement one another. For example, the new pairing of Brienne and Catelyn Stark. Brienne is the brawn, Catelyn is the brains; like Tyrion and Bronn, they work well together. Another pairing that works well is Arya and Tywin. (Or Arya or anyone, really; Maisie Williams is great, and her character plays nicely with Gendry, Tywin, Jaquen, Syrio, or her late father Ned.) This allows characters to flesh out and establish relationships with one another and move the plot along briskly.

It’s also a showcase for the dialogue. Tyrion and Bronn’s walk through the city alone was brilliant, and while Arya’s reaction shots to Tywin’s discussion of the war for the north were great moments, the real showcase was her brief exchange with the deliciously weird and murderously skillful Jaquen (Tom Wlaschiha). We found out more about the mysterious killer this week in one scene with Arya than we had in weeks of the walk to the Wall.

Since it seems like the show has introduced all its locations for this season, it must be said that the shooting locations were incredible this week. From the looks of the North beyond the wall, Game of Thrones must be shooting in Iceland, because it just looks cold and foreboding and terrifying where the Night’s Watch are marching in their war on Mance Rayder and his wild savages. Ditto Qarth, which was one of the most impressive stages the show has had. It’s so vibrant and full of life, and it only needs a few interior shots to live up to the promise it revealed when Xaro Xhoan Daxos (Nonso Anozie) cuts his hand to give her entrance. Dany is a queen in need of a king, and Xaro Xhoan Daxos is a savage from the Iron Islands in need of pedigree.

As the show has established, everyone wants something from someone else. Dany needs troops and ships to recapture the Iron Throne, Xaro wants political power to go with his wealth, Robb wants freedom for the Northmen, Greyjoy wants his position back, the Lannisters want to hold onto the Seven Kingdoms, and Stannis wants his brother’s old seat on the Iron Throne. Will the participants, like Stannis, make compromises to get what they want and betray their principles, or will they, like Brienne, try to do things honorably while still getting their desires met?

Speaking of Stannis and his flexible morals, Game of Thrones is handling the supernatural in some interesting ways. There’s power in the magic of Melisandre and her shadowy vaginal assassin, but there’s more power in steel and good men at your side and in the wildfire of the Targaryens. Even Dany’s dragons, small and mostly helpless now, are nothing without handlers and riders and a team to control them. Magic is fun—as we saw with Dany meeting the warlocks of Qarth—but it is of limited use in this universe. At least, so far. Power takes many forms in Westeros and, for the moment, it seems to be the least powerful form of power behind arms and knowledge. Then again, the dragons were dead for hundreds of years before making a comeback; maybe by the time the show is into season four, magicians will be fighting warlocks and magic knights will be riding dragons into battle.

Will dragons and their magic fire be able to ward off the cold of the north? After all, winter is coming.

Rating : 8/10

source:denofgeek.com
by:ronjones

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