Entertaining intrigue!

I’m baaaaaack!

Sorry for the lack of blog postings the past few months but….sometimes other work just has to take priority! Also, like many of you, I have become addicted to HBO’s Game of Thrones. So much so, that I have also spent the past few months reading the books. When, oh when, will George R.R. Martin give us book six?? For those who don’t have HBO, season one of Game of Thrones is available from our Media Department. And for those that just love 800+ paged books……I couldn’t put them down! But what’s that I hear?? After you have seen all the episodes and read all the books, what then??? Maybe one of these will help you get over running out of Westeros sword play and intrigue:

Willow: It is great to see the talented Peter Dinklage get his due as Tyrion (the Imp) Lannister in Game of Thrones. (Think he is good as The Imp, you should see him in The Station Agent…brilliant!!). But if you want to see another short actor in action, try Warwick Davis as Willow (he is also known as Professor Flitwick in the Harry Potter films). Written by George Lucas and directed by Ron Howard, Willow follows his adventures as he tries to return a baby to its own people. Along the way he meets up with the warrior Madmartigan (Val Kilmer), discovers the baby is really a princess that was sent away to save her from an evil queen and that even small people can accomplish big things. Although Willow didn’t get great reviews when it came out, I love it none the less.

Ladyhawke: You think Jaime and Cersei Lannister’s love affair has its problems, consider the issues that the stars of Ladyhawke have to deal with! Captain Navarre absolutely loves and adores Isabeau; but unfortunately so does and evil Bishop (who is also a sorcerer). When Navarre runs off with Isabeau, the Bishop places a curse on them that causes Navarre to be a wolf during the night and Isabeau to be a hawk during the day. Hence they can never really be together. With the help of a talented young thief (Matthew Broderick), Navarre attempts to break the curse to be with the love of his life (a Navarre always pays his debts!)

Excalibur: Okay, so what you really love about Game of Thrones is all that medieval intrigue and swordplay. If so, than this film will continue the thrill. Often touted as the best of the Arthurian legend films, Excalibur follows Arthur from his pulling the sword from the stone to become King to the unraveling of Camelot. In between there are love affairs, betrayal of friends and family, and battles (don’t forget to stick ‘em with the pointy end!). John Boorman directed this visually stunning epic which is never less than compelling.

The Mission: Talk about commitment to duty and missions that seem doomed from the start! We could be talking about Brienne of Tarth or the missionaries in this tale of swashbuckling Spanish Jesuits who try to protect a remote South American Indian tribe. Father Gabriel (Jeremy Iron) takes over a mission that is a place of sanctuary and learning for the Guarani tribe. However, due to a change of political views, the church wants him to abandon his mission and leave the Indians to the slavers. He and a recent convert priest (Robert DeNiro – need we say more about the swashbuckling…) decide to stay with the tribe and try and protect them from the coming assault. As the Maid of Tarth finds out, things don’t always go as planned…

Game of Thrones, season two is drawing to a close, only two more episodes left (ending June 3rd with episode 20- "Valar Morghulis”)! Season three is rumored to be coming the end of this year (just like winter, yes “Winter is Coming” – oh I do miss you Eddard Stark!). Until then here are even more films you may want to consider to get you through: Knight’s Tale, Gladiator, Rob Roy, Lion in Winter, Kingdom of Heaven, 13th Warrior and King Arthur (the Clive Owen version that also has our own Stannis Lannister (Stephen Dillane) as Merlin!).