The Game Of Games

So I spent my Monday evening enjoying the two of bloodiest competitive events that that exist, and no one of them wasn't Wrestlemania... I haven't watched that yet, but I've heard that Triple H vs. The Undertaker is fuckin' awesome. No I watched The Hunger Games and The Game Of Thrones. Now I don't know about you guys but I regularly play games and in the process I rarely, if ever, die a needlessly horrifying death. However the odds of surviving either of these competitions is so startlingly low that you'd be better off just staying indoors. That put to one side I would like to offer a brief review of both of these things. THEY ARE AWESOME! Sorry was that to brief. OK I'll expand a little, although this review might wander off base a bit because I'm writing it whilst watching the super-hero classic The Shadow.

One of the best terrible films ever.

Right first things first I've read The Song of Ice and Fire series, well I'm half way through A Dance Of Dragons but that's the last one so it's hardly relevant to my overall understanding of the Series based on A Clash of Kings, I have not however read The Hunger Games, so who knows what darkness lurks in the heart of that book? The Shadow knows! Sorry I did say. Right The Hunger Games has obvious parallels to Battle Royale. If you haven't seen Battle Royale, stop download it and watch it right now. I'm serious. The rest of us will wait for you... You done? Good. I'll be honest it's not that relevant to the rest of this review but you really needed to watch it. What makes the Hunger Games substantially... Hold on. Is that Sir Ian McKellen? I'd forgotten he was in this... different from Battle Royale is what it's seeking to say as a film. Where Battle Royale was very much a reflection of the social issues affecting Japan at the time, The Hunger Games is entirely a product of current western culture. A slamming indictment of our modern celebrity obsessed culture with a healthy dash of the Occupy mentality. Unlike a lot of hyped up blockbusters The Hunger Games not only delivers on the hype but also gives you something to think about... What you really want to know is how good is it on a scale of one to awesome? Well I think it's this generations Matrix... and I don't say that lightly.

Just like the Matrix... except with less computers and more dead kids.

Meanwhile in the kingdom of Westeros, the should've been aborted Joffrey Baratheon/Lannister is swanning about the place like an unbearable prick and just asking more or less every more popular character to cut his smug entitled face of off his twatty murderous body. Now I'd like to do that thing that reviewers do where they try and pretend that each character is equally interesting but fuck that. Tyrion Lannister is back at his diminutive best. Swanning about very much like he owns the place with nothing but charm, cunning and a frankly staggering intellect to his name. He isn't just the best character in Game Of Thrones he's in the top twenty of all time. I'll be honest with you there is an awful lot of set-up in this episode because there is an awful lot of loose threads flapping from the first series. That said I know where this is going and its steaming straight towards Epic Street Station. The series also has a wonderful habit of only substantially varying from George RR Martins masterpiece to fulfil the 'what-if' fantasies of the readers. Oh and the dragons and the dire-wolves are shaping up to look pretty freakin' sweet. Also the opening of this... wait a minute Alec Baldwin has just found the secret building... Oh Tim Curry you are gonna get it now... series has some of the most brutal scenes I've seen on a TV show.

... and none of them involve Tyrion related dwarf-sex.

In fact Game of Thrones is significantly bloodier than the 'aimed at young-adults' Hunger Games. That said Hunger Games isn't exactly sparing with the brutality and it doesn't require a huge amount of imagination and it is, after all, a film about children fighting to the death. However I would give a toe to see an uncut version of this film. I bet the Shadow could get a copy... you know except that he lives in the twenties or some shit... I dunno the cars have running boards and Tim Curry was just firing a tommy-gun when was that? I'm going to apologise for what I'd hoped would've been a reasonable attempt to review two awesome things that I would very much like to encourage you to watch and enjoy has instead degenerated into stream of consciousness bibble due to my inability to stay focussed.

... uh? What was I saying?

So in conclusion I'd like to urge you to watch the Hunger Games, watch all of Game of Thrones and read both of them. I'd also highly recommend watching the Shadow... he knows what darkness lurks in the hearts of men... also it's fuckin' stupidly brilliant or brilliantly stupid.

eddie <got game>