GOT, The Raven, 50 Shades, and Avengers

Hey Theon. You look like an opossum.

This doesn't happen to me very often, but I've been rendered both speechless and utterly useless by someone else's media: George R. R. Martin's book series, A Song of Ice and Fire, and show, Game of Thrones. I don't want to watch or read anything else, and I barely can manage the time to write anything, either, as I just want to hide and obsess (which is something I do often, actually). Although this DOLT over here (left) really needs to be eliminated. Soon.



In the meantime, I saw Cusack in The Raven and thought it was really excellent. The big critics panned it, which doesn't surprise me, because I suppose in a way, it was a loud and cheesy homage to EA Poe (and big critics don't like loud and cheesy). I do, of course, and I was all over this shit. Lots of flapping black capes, horses, and snarling wit, not to mention the clear lip service it paid all genius writers whose editors dog them for the sake of sales ("DON'T YOU CHANGE ONE WORD!"). It was like a mix of Se7en and Shakespeare in Love; I had a great time. If you like Poe's short stories (The Pit and Pendulum, The Tell-Tale Heart, The Masque of The Red Death, The Cask of Amontillado, and a few others) you probably will, too.

I got these, instead.

So while I was checking out the GOT selection at Barnes and Noble tonight I ran into a promo table of about sixteen hundred 50 Shades of Gray novels . . . I am really not keen on this but I suppose I'll end up reading it, if for no other reason to find out what the hell the fuss is all about. Unlike Rhianna, I don't enjoy S&M, like, at all, so I don't imagine reading about it will be my cup of tea, plus the idea of some timid virgin slinking around a delusional millionaire does not impress me at all. It seems tired and a waste. On second thought, fuck it all, I'm not reading it. There's only so much room in my head.





The Avengers.

Yeah, minus Gwenyth, who I wanted to punch in the face for every moment she was onscreen, it's pretty much the coolest thing I've ever seen. I went, I saw, I enjoyed, and I fully expected to. I suppose I should give Whedon credit for the massive effects and witty banter the principals all had with each other (since these items were pretty damned major) but I keep going back to something again and again:

There is a scene after Loki is captured and brought on board the aircraft where he is being escorted by a group of about six or eight armed guards, flanking him in equal numbers. There isn't any audio and it may have even been slow motion, I can't remember every detail, but it's jarring in its silence and seriousness. As they lead him just past Banner's makeshift laboratory, Loki looks in at Banner and gives him a huge, knowing smile. If you end up seeing the film, you get what that smile would eventually mean, but damn. Now, the entire last hour or so of the film had me pretty much bawling in awe, but that whole scene (above) gave me chills and I wish like hell I could see it again. Moments of subtlety among complete spectacle. Nice. See this one in the theater if you can.