House of the Dragon: S1

HOD takes the moral ambiguity of GOT to another level. Rhaenyra is as straightforward a hero as anyone in GOT, until she canoodles with her despicable uncle and lies at length about it. These escapades continue through the years. Her despicable uncle is as straightforward a scoundrel as anyone in GOT, until he becomes her champion. Viserys pivots from gross patriarchy to a sympathetic ending, aided by some astonishing acting.

The comparative ambiguity doesn't end with character ethics. HOD feels ambiguous all around. Which plots deserve my focus? Who is whose child? Why did Martin pause A Song of Ice and Fire for this? Even GOT sported much aimlessness, but the deplored final seasons revealed each trend line. HOD is more aimless, capitalizing on viewers who no longer need coherent stories to escape into, as long as they can escape. Alas, I continue to watch, though I have no love for it.

I do like Rhaenyra, though she perches on a precipice. Daemon needs to prove himself. Viserys has been sympathetic for many episodes but one doesn't forget the first. Criston is very ambiguous. Most characters are ambiguous. Rhaenyra is the flawed hero.

Things certainly got more interesting in this last episode. The map of Westeros sprawls as armies and dragons muster.

The aging is distracting, like in The Irishman. Viserys ages an eternity while Hightower and Rhaenys, both seemingly older than him, stale, hale.

2/4

Saltburn

Big Dickie Greenleaf energy: envy outwitting privilege, homoerotic simmering, skeptical associate who needs to get gone-d, envy becoming privilege, victorious villain. The biggest difference, when the dust settles, is the mood of the triumph: Ripley splinters while Oliver dances. Saltburn is also a movie, substituting Highsmith's literary measure with millennial hedonism. This amounts to a sloppier plot with heightened sensuality. It's a Ripley for the dense soaks of 2024. (Probably worth mentioning I haven't seen 2024's Ripley, which might be the Ripley for the dense soaks of 2024)

I enjoyed Saltburn's sensory and psychic language. It wasn't quite as innovative as I'd hoped, nor honestly quite as shocking, but it engrossed and impressed me enough for a respectable 2.75/4. It's hard for such a sensual movie to hit 3/4.

House of the Dragon: Pilot

Not bad. Prequels are double-edged: fascinating to see the threads converge, and lame to already know the final piece. But ultimately they thrive on nostalgia. This pilot pulls viewers back to Westeros, with enough foreshadowing to feel like a prolonging of Game of Thrones for those who never wanted to leave. I wouldn't mind continuing, but I'm sure I won't. I'd keep subconsciously hoping it'd morph into Game of Thrones, but it never would. It's literally wrong that nothing lasts forever.

The King

The title could suggest the ultimate king story, or the most basic template of one. In this case it's the latter, an uncolored coloring book. Nothing is original, save the experience of watching Robert Pattinson feign a French accent. Thus the title is irritating, though not surprising. That's the trend; see my post on Napoleon. It helped lure me in. The King by no means earns its superlative. If this was a virgin genre, things would be different, but it's trodden enough to lose its lust in unimaginative intercourse. The King thrusts no originality into it. Fortunately for The King, this is still an engaging genre for me, and the movie sustains at least a 6/10 on all fronts. Only maybe two moments were laughable. Chalamet does his job. The warfare stands out. I didn't mind the dumb movie.

Recent music

So far I'm going:

1. Hit me hard and soft
2. Tortured poets department
3. Cowboy carter

All feature good production, good singing, and bad writing. At least Billie is a little more subdued, if immature. She's much younger. The other two are overtly immature at an advanced age.

And I'm going:

1. Kendrick
2. Nobody
3. Some other people
4. Drake

Update: as I finished Hit Me Hard and Soft more of that immaturity came out. I always thought she needed more help with lyrics and melody. The vocals, production, and mood are strong, it's just missing good old-fashioned tune writing. Still, it's Billie or Taylor; Beyonce's album brings up the rear.