Medium Mashup

Blog

  • Game of Thrones and the Nature of Adaptation

    game-of-thrones_aofEQt(This article will contain spoilers for both the Game of Thrones series and the A Song of Ice and Fire series of books)

    When the Game of Thrones series began on HBO, it was one of the most faithful book-to-TV adaptations in recent history. Nearly every chapter of the book was present and intact, and the few segments left out (aside from a potentially game-changing dream sequence in one of Ned’s chapters) were not significant. If anything, season 1 was notable for adding scenes to the story. Since the “A Song of Ice and Fire” book chapters are all written from the perspective of specific characters, any moments not involving those characters could not be included in the books. This wasn’t a problem in the TV show, where we could get scenes between Cersei and Joffrey, or Varys and Littlefinger, without breaking up a pre-determined narrative structure.

    (more…)

  • Dragon Age Inquisition Review

    dragon age inquisitionIf there’s one thing that Dragon Age Inquisition does especially well, it’s world building. While the first game in the series, Dragon Age Origin, felt like “Tolkien for Adults,” Inquisition seems to model its world and lore a bit more after George RR Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” series. Different races and factions have deep, complex histories, with their own myths and legends, and very different accounts of how certain events occurred. When it comes to the various religions and supernatural forces that make up the Dragon Age world of Thedas, all of it is presented with uncertainty. Like the giants and children of the forest in Game of Thrones, it is unclear to the majority whether or not these things actually existed or are simply stories.

    (more…)

  • Gone Girl Review – Playing with Genre

    gone-girl_c99723(Because Gone Girl has been out and available for some time now, I will be talking spoilers in this review. Also, because this review skews toward a broader discussion of genre, I am including it as a “review” and a “deep end” piece)

    Six months after its release, I have finally gotten around to watching David Fincher’s Gone Girl. During that time, it had been nigh-impossible to avoid spoilers altogether (Neil Patrick Harris even spoiled his own death during the Oscars), but I did my best, and it ultimately paid off. Much of Gone Girl’s success comes not only from its twists and turns, but from how surprisingly early they come. Each major twist reshapes the narrative, as well as the genre.

    (more…)

  • Avengers: Age of Ultron Review

    the-avengers-age-of-ultron_zGf6N1(The top portion of this review will not contain spoilers. However, if you have seen the movie or would like to hear a few more specifics, I will go into details below. That section will contain significant spoilers)

    In a way, Avengers: Age of Ultron is the Iron Man 2 of the Avengers series. It makes a lot of the same mistakes as IM2 did, primarily by trying to stuff in too many plot elements and sequel set-ups for the movie to come together as a cohesive whole. You can feel Joss Whedon stressing out over the movie, as more and more things get piled on while he tries to wrangle a decent Ultron film out of it. I counted at least ten different stories and new character/place introductions in the first half hour alone.

    (more…)

  • Justified Series Review

    justified_7adf73

    (This review contains spoilers)

    FX’s Justfified came to a close on Tuesday with a widely-acclaimed finale that defied expectations. Now that we have a complete work to draw from, it is time to look back on a show that was at times great, at times underwhelming, but almost always entertaining.

    (more…)