"House of the Dragon"

"Absolute power corrupts absolutely".  Or there is a danger in interbreeding and an "unbridled lust for power".  SPOILERS AHEAD.  Much like GOT you have an entitled, privileged royal class who wage war for power with the common people taking the biggest hits.  It's engaging like GOT (have to rush to the next episode) but there is an ick factor when it comes to who is married to whom.  It was hard for me to get over.  It's also difficult to figure out who is who as they not only have similar-sounding names, two characters actually have the same name (which comes out in the line of succession ... which is very ... murky).  And they are almost all blondes and the time jumps mean constant recasting, so it gets fairly tiring asking yourself, "now who is this?"  I didn't love it, because of the aforementioned "ick" and for the basic reason that nothing goes particularly well for our so-called heroes.  For all the committed GOT fans, I have to say ... these are not good people.  I mean, some try to be good.  And some are good at certain things (Rhaenyra is a fairly good mum) but overall ... yeah, not so much.  They crave the throne, they get on the throne, and it all falls apart.  One former king, in a vision, makes a rather prophetic statement ... about how the crown corrupts, crushes and destroys all who wear it.  He's not wrong.  Watching this became an exercise in wishing that someone, anyone, could just truly be honorable.  It was not to be.  Ended up feeling like "White Lotus" meets "Medieval Times".  Just ugly acts dressed up for Middle Ages consumption. Season three felt like a chore to watch.  At least I finally got my dragons.  And season four is two years off.  So maybe I'll get over it.  Maybe I won't.

"Victoria" (2016-2019)

Binged this aborted series in a week.  Ends, abruptly, after three seasons and on a cliff-hanger.  It wasn't the best-of-the-best, but it wasn't bad.  Has all those nice historical moments woven into the tale of a young Queen and the struggles inside the royal household.  It was watchable.

The challenge I had with it was that it was trying to do too much.  With limited episodes (8 in the first and third seasons, 9 nine in the second season) it tried to be both "The Crown" and "Upstairs, Downstairs".  By cramming all the storylines in, "the" critical element, that of Victoria becoming that Queen we all know, was weakened.

She was an extremely complicated woman.  Movies and books have tried to capture her over and over, usually focusing on a singular point in time.  Her relationships after Albert's death are one, somewhat purient, interest.  But otherwise, we just see her as a monarch with a ~lot~ of children.

Starting at the beginning, when she becomes Queen, we see what she went through as a monarch in a male dominated nation, as a wife and mother.  But these scenes are snapshots.  Here she is childlike, then willful, a moment of anger, etc.  We don't really see *her* as much as we see the actor playing her (Jenna Coleman) swing from one wild caricature to another.  In other words, we are seeing her through the descriptions of others rather than seeing her internal development and growth.  It might have been the fault of writing, direction or acting, but I can't help but feel that Ms. Coleman looks weak in constrast to great actors she shares scenes with like Diana Rigg and Rufus Sewell.  Those two actors can communicate a half-dozen feelings in a look.  Coleman "flitters" about.

I get that the 18 year-old girl was not the epic matriarch who made history, but I was very curious as to how she became who she became.  I didn't get that.  Yes, the character matured throughout and I appreciated her more in the later episodes than the early ones, but there was little which pointed to the why.  Which made the show good, but not overly interesting.  Worth a summer binge but I spent a good amount of time Googling, "did that really happen?" (Hint, when it comes to the downstairs staff, the answer is "no").

"Game of Thrones"

An injury allowed me to catch up on a lot of shows I had been setting aside to stream.  Okay, this one for six years.

"Game of Thrones" surprised me in many ways.  I had heard it was exceedingly violent, expected dragons and thought it was set in some mythical never-never time.  It is actually set heavily into a medieval period, although with mythical elements here and there.  The dragons don't show up in an impactful way until nearly the end of the series and the violence is ... somewhat silly.  More like what you see on "Xena" rather than anything realistic.  

What it is really about is politics, male vs female power and who has control in a society filled with nobles of interrelated bloodlines.  As one friend mentioned, it is a bunch of British people talking in back rooms who have very similar names.  You mostly tell them apart by hair color and tattoos (inside joke).  

A complex tale, there are so many characters and threads I had to download and repeatedly refer to a chart of the family relations (accidently finding out about one character whose parenthood hadn't been revealed early on).  All of which is to say, I had to really watch it, not check my email while it was on in the background.  It was built for streaming and I pushed into the next episode (and the next, and the next) to see the wrap-up of a storyline -- sometimes staying up later at night to do so.  

No, I did not find Jon Snow all that hot, but I did appreciate how he grew up over the seasons, and the real benefit of watching it all in a matter of weeks (and, sadly, not reading the books) is that I was in no way disappointed or shocked about the ending, which many (many many) fans were upset about.  Viewing it all at once gave me a through-line I don't think the original viewers had.  One where I totally could see all the seeds being dropped and where they led to.  In many ways, I felt the ending was one I saw coming and the only ending which it could've been.  Something which many may disagree with.  My biggest negative concern was the degree to which the women were sexualized -- and very rarely for the purpose of the story.  It was just purient window-dressing.

In any case.  Peter Dinklage's character was my favorite -- he gave an arch overview of the whole grand tale with a good dose of morose humor.  The series was enjoyable.  Dense.  Engaging.  Worth it.  But I do wish there were more dragons.  On to "House of the Dragon" (have already watched season one of "Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" -- also drew me in -- but also without dragons ...)

"And the Award Goes to ..." 2026 version

Once again, I have the honor of viewing most of the Oscar/Emmy picks. 

The output this year was ... well.  A commentary, below, then the actors I voted for.

Yes, I vote for the SAG Awards, which are “similar” to Oscars and Emmys, although not quite the same.  I get free screenings for all nominated films and TV/Streaming shows.  As with previous years, I am wondering, more and more, what is wrong with Hollywood.

Trends:

• Long, long, long.  Films under two hours are getting rare.  Films approaching three hours are becoming common.  Few are worth the extra time.  Edit, for crying out loud!
• Horror is a thing.  Not my thing.  I may hate Westerns more, but not much more.  I don’t mind psychological darkness, but I really don’t need to see bodies being ripped apart (except for in “Deadpool” films, where it is so over-the-top, it doesn’t actually mean anything).  Life is scary enough.  You can keep your horror.
• “Cringe” is another thing.  Maybe because of “White Lotus”.  You watch and … just feel icky. 
• #MeToo is dead.  Women, in film after film after film, are doormats.  Ignored, underestimated or only in the project to be sexualized (I’m looking at you, “Marty Supreme” … that being said, how did Gwyneth Paltrow get a nomination and Odessa A’zion not???)  The streaming series do better at giving women their due than the films.
• The anti-hero (started by “Dexter” or “Breaking Bad”???) continues to grow in terms of lead characters.  Which concerns me.  A lot.  Is society just so broken that we can’t have heroes anymore?  And no, I’m not talking superheroes.  I’m talking films where there are people who are trying – trying to be good, trying to succeed, trying to grow, trying to love, trying to improve, you name it.  “Forrest Gump”, “Schindler’s List” – two films where you could hope along with the characters.  Where you gave a d*** about where their path took them.  Where you dreamed of a better outcome for characters.  In movie after movie after movie these days there are just bad people who start bad, act bad, end bad.  Nothing changes.  Watching a steady stream of this makes you feel like humanity is so not worth it.  Neither is spending the hours I spent watching these films.

Films I totally loathed:  “One Battle After Another”, “Marty Supreme”, “Bugonia”, “Weapons” and “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You.”  Also not a fan of:  “The Beast in Me”, “Black Rabbit”, “Dying for Sex”, “Monster:  The Ed Gein Story” and “Slow Horses.” 

Cringey:  “The Studio” and “Palm Royale.”

The good stuff?  “Sinners”.  Yes, horror.  But beautifully filmed, stunningly told.  A+ production all around.  “Frankenstein”.  Another gorgeously filmed tale, with a heart.  “Blue Moon”.  Maybe niche, but an actor’s dream production.  “Hamnet”.  A gentle, beautiful look at loss and how everyone handles it differently.  “Adolescence”.  Absolutely f****** BRILLIANT.  “All Her Fault”.  One of the few shows where the women rise up.  “The Pitt”.  Needless to say, just really really really good.

Also worth the time:  “The Diplomat”, “Nobody Wants This”, “A Man on the Inside”, “Pluribus”, and “Paradise.”

My votes, below.

Film:

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Rol

·       ETHAN HAWKE / Lorenz Hart - "BLUE MOON"

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role

·       JESSIE BUCKLEY / Agnes - "HAMNET"

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role

·       JACOB ELORDI / The Creature - "FRANKENSTEIN"

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role

·       ODESSA A’ZION / Rachel Mizler - "MARTY SUPREME"

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

·       SINNERS

Television:

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series

·       STEPHEN GRAHAM / Eddie Miller - "ADOLESCENCE"

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series

·       SARAH SNOOK / Marissa Irvine - "ALL HER FAULT"

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series

·       NOAH WYLE / Dr. Michael "Robby" Rabinovitch - "THE PITT"

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series

·       KERI RUSSELL / Kate Wyler - "THE DIPLOMAT"

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series

·       SETH ROGEN / Matt Remick - "THE STUDIO"

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series

·       CATHERINE O'HARA / Patty Leigh - "THE STUDIO"  (Note:  Literally the day I am posting this, Catherine O'Hara died.  Devasted.  She was literally the anchor of "The Studio"  RIP, my lady)

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series

·       THE PITT

      Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series

·       ABBOTT ELEMENTARY