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All is Bright (2013)

Paul Rudd and Paul Giamatti star in “All is Bright”, a very good Christmas film about ex-cons trying to go legit by hauling Christmas trees from Canada and selling them to the fine folks of New York City. It’s funny, but way darker than you’re probably expecting, and threads a bitter sweet needle of poignancy that really nails the feeling of those Christmas seasons where things might not be as merry and bright as you might wish. All the more reason to hang our lights up high.

HOTD: A House of the Dragon Podcast - “Gods of Thrones” – “Fire and Blood” – Part 1

My Gods of Thrones co-author Anthony is back once again as we do a deep dive on GRRM’s latest work, Fire & Blood! We talk about events up to but not including “Jaehaerys and Alysanne, Their Triumphs and Tragedies”. Next week we’ll be reading up to “The Dying of the Dragons, Rhaenyra Triumphant”, before finishing the book the week after. This week’s all about Aegon, Maegor, and the third generation Targaryen that really steals the show, Jaehaerys! We talk about the gossipy tone the Maester sometimes takes, the doctrinal concept of “Targaryen Exceptionalism”, missing dragon eggs, maester conspiracy theories, and that most well worn Thrones hobbyhorse, incest.

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Super Serious Film Fest - Season of the Cage Retrospective

In the past 6 weeks, we’ve learned more about Nicolas Cage than we ever thought we would, or ever really cared to. So for the final week of season 1 of Super Serious Film Fest we’ve decided to do a retrospective on the whole process. We talk about our favorite moments from Season of the Cage as well as the most interesting things we learned about the man himself, Nicolas Cage.

Bald Move Pulp - The Romanoffs – 108 – The One That Holds Everything

Amazon Prime’s The Romanoffs arrives at the finish line in “The One That Holds Everything”. If you were hoping that this would be the one that really brings into focus Weiner’s thesis for The Romanoffs, you’re probably walking away disappointed. An ambitious story framing device that doesn’t quite work leads to a surprise ending that doesn’t feel earned, and we’re still left at the end of it all confused and asking “why?” What is so fascinating about the Romanovs and their lives of various levels of privledge and quiet desperation that justifies the time and expense that went into making this, or watching it? We don’t have great answers, but we’re relieved to see this particular line of Romanoffs brought to an end.

HOTD: A House of the Dragon Podcast - “Gods of Thrones” – “Fire and Blood” Initial Thoughts

Anthony and I talk about GRRM’s latest book, Fire and Blood, which is a complete and in-depth historical account of the 300 year old Targaryen dynasty in Westeros. We discuss our initial thoughts, anything that might have changed some of our thoughts in Gods of Thrones, any intriguing jumping off points for theory-crafting, and consider fan feedback. Also, Anthony has some stunning revelations about the possible origins of the rib-bone that God took from Adam to make the first woman in the Genesis creation story. You don’t want to miss this!