Movie Fail

We have opinions.

  • Reviews
  • Op-Eds
  • Interviews
  • Academic
  • Television
  • Podcasts
    • Ghostwood Radio (Twin Peaks)
    • Hoopleheads (Deadwood)
    • Stark Contrast (Game of Thrones)
    • Ember Island Airwaves (Avatar/Korra)
    • Dueling Reviews
    • Søren and Esther’s Oscarcast
  • All
  • Meet Our Staff
  • FAQs
Television

Stark Contrast: Episode 33 “The Iron Throne”

May 22, 2019 By Søren Hough and Esther Rosenfield Leave a Comment

https://culturess.com/files/2019/05/qgkj_gNm.jpg

However (un)satisfactorily “The Iron Throne” concludes Game of Thrones, it also brings our podcast series, “Stark Contrast,” to a bittersweet end. This week, Esther and Søren close out Stark Contrast.

Television

Stark Contrast: Episode 31 “The Last of the Starks” with AJ Ajetunmobi

May 9, 2019 By Søren Hough, Esther Rosenfield and Ayokunmi "AJ" Ajetunmobi 1 Comment

“The Last of the Starks” struggles to justify its own existence as Game of Thrones meanders in the wake of its climactic battle with Death itself.

Television

Stark Contrast: Episode 30 “The Long Night” with Diego Crespo

May 2, 2019 By Søren Hough and Diego Crespo 4 Comments

https://www.hbo.com/game-of-thrones/season-8/3-the-long-night

Release the confetti, folks: Miguel Sapochnik is back for “The Long Night.” This week we’re treated to 80-ish minutes of Game of Thrones‘ best remaining director choreographing the largest and most complex battle sequence in the show’s history. The results are immediately evident as a striking opening shot of Sam Tarly’s (John Bradley) shaking hands […]

Television

Stark Contrast: Episode 29 “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms”

April 25, 2019 By Søren Hough 4 Comments

https://www.hbo.com/game-of-thrones/season-8/2-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms

After a rough season premiere, Game of Thrones veteran Bryan Cogman turns the show in a positive direction with “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.” Cogman is responsible for writing some of the show’s best episodes (including Season 1’s “Cripples, Bastards and Broken Things” and Season 4’s “Oathkeeper”). His dialogue and character work shows a […]

Television

Stark Contrast: Episode 28 “Winterfell”

April 18, 2019 By Søren Hough 2 Comments

https://www.hbo.com/game-of-thrones/season-8/1-winterfell

Welcome back to Stark Contrast! We’re happy to return to our perennial podcast show where we discuss Game of Thrones. This week, we’re kicking off with the Season 8 premiere, “Winterfell.” It’s a slow burn re-introduction to the denizens of Westeros and Essos that never managed to get J and me excited about the series […]

Television

Stark Contrast: Episode 26 “Beyond the Wall”

August 24, 2017 By Søren Hough 15 Comments

Game of Thrones finally lives up to its namesake novels with “Beyond the Wall” as the forces of ice and fire clash. Josh and I waste no time diving into the episode’s particulars. We generally skate past the timeline issues (1, 2, 3) discussed and debated elsewhere, instead focusing on inconsistencies with characters and narrative. I continue […]

Television

Stark Contrast: Episode 24 “The Spoils of War”

August 12, 2017 By Søren Hough 10 Comments

Game of Thrones throws some kindling on the fire this week with “The Spoils of War.” Unlike “The Queen’s Justice,” Josh and I found myriad plots and emotional arcs to interrogate this time around. We pay particular attention to family reunions and how context and time have shaped characters we’ve known since Season 1. We […]

Television

Stark Contrast: Episode 22 “Stormborn”

July 29, 2017 By Søren Hough 17 Comments

Game of Thrones hits hard this week in “Stormborn” as major houses begin to band together and devious enemies already begin making their moves. Before we get into the episode itself, J and I open this week’s podcast discussing the controversy around Confederate, a new show recently announced by HBO from the creators of Game of Thrones. […]

Television

Stark Contrast: Episode 21 “Dragonstone”

July 22, 2017 By Søren Hough 6 Comments

“Stark Contrast” is back! Following an unusually long delay, J and I are once again discussing Game of Thrones. The Season 7 premiere immediately strikes a positive note as Arya (Maisie Williams) executes the family that killed her own. We discuss the bizarre magic of the Faceless Men and how the show missed a chance […]

Television

Stark Contrast: Episode 18 “No One”

June 18, 2016 By Søren Hough Leave a Comment

https://cdn3.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ufbODdktRDD0fKbKiFFJAU35U3k=/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/6637723/ep58-ss07-1280.0.jpg

“No One” continues an unfortunate lull in Game of Thrones, a character episode that has as many brilliant moments as it does head-scratching. The plot inches forward for characters like The Hound (Rory McCann) while going almost nowhere for the likes of Brienne (Gwendoline Christie), Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and the Blackfish (Clive Russell). Despite this, we […]

Television

Stark Contrast: Episode 15 “The Door”

May 27, 2016 By Søren Hough 1 Comment

http://www.newyorker.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Larson-GameofThronesThedoor-1200.jpg

“The Door” gets Game of Thrones back on track after last week’s slower, odder diversion. This week we saw stronger editing on action scenes and compelling reveals about the world of the show. But perhaps most importantly, “The Door” affirmed important character development that J and I have worried about for two or three seasons. This comes […]

Television

Stark Contrast: Episode 11 “The Red Woman”

April 30, 2016 By Søren Hough 1 Comment

http://digitalspyuk.cdnds.net/16/14/1280x851/gallery-1459842586-maisie-williams-arya-stark.jpg

Game of Thrones is back, which means so is our annual podcast, “Stark Contrast.” Remember the gimmick here: J has read the books, and I haven’t. This usually translates into him mocking me for not anticipating major deaths and events, but I savor the victories when the show goes in a wildly different direction that […]

Movie Review

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

December 21, 2015 By Søren Hough 4 Comments

http://www.adweek.com/prnewser/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2015/10/SW-THE-FORCE-AWAKENS.jpg

I paid attention to the little things in The Force Awakens. Some of these were visual — the small creature with eyes set apart like a hammerhead shark poking its head out of the sand, the vulturous creature picking at the remains of a ship as if it were a carcass. Others were musical, like […]

Television

Stark Contrast: Episode 5 “Kill the Boy”

May 17, 2015 By Søren Hough 1 Comment

https://thefilmchronicles.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/screen-shot-2015-05-10-at-7-43-15-pm1.png?w=1100

After last week’s more transitional episode, “Kill The Boy” lives up to Game of Thrones‘ midseason tradition of breathtaking cliffhangers. In Meereen, Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) finally puts her foot down on the actions of the Sons of the Harpy and the old families. At The Wall, Jon (Kit Harington) tells the Night’s Watch that allying […]

Television

Stark Contrast: Episode 3 “High Sparrow”

May 3, 2015 By Søren Hough 3 Comments

http://www.trbimg.com/img-553e2b51/turbine/bal-game-of-thrones-recap-the-high-sparrow-20150426

“High Sparrow” picks up where “The House of Black and White” left off, giving us a much better look at The Faceless Men. This episode indicates we’re nearing the second-half spike that we usually see in Game of Thrones as Jon, Tyrion and Sansa’s storylines all leap forward at a healthy pace. J and I comment on the irony […]

Television

Stark Contrast: Episode 2 “The House of Black and White”

April 25, 2015 By Søren Hough 1 Comment

http://www.farfarawaysite.com/section/got/gallery5/gallery2/hires/85.jpg

Game of Thrones follows up its promising Season 5 debut with the faster-paced “The House of Black and White.” The episode finally picks up with Arya (Maisie Williams) following her voyage to Essos last season as she seeks out The Faceless Men. At The Wall, Jon Snow (Kit Harington) finds success for the first time in life. Meanwhile, […]

Television

Game of Thrones Season 4: “The Lion and the Rose”

April 19, 2014 By Søren Hough Leave a Comment

http://guyism.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/759998_GOT_MP_091113_EP402-30451.jpg

Please note that you can find all episodes of “Stark Contrast,” our Game of Thrones podcast, both at Movie Fail and on iTunes, Google Play and Spotify. Game of Thrones Season 4 picks up steam with its second episode, “The Lion and the Rose.” As Joffrey Baratheon and Margery Tyrell prepare to marry and unite two incredibly powerful houses, […]

Television

Game of Thrones Season 4: “Two Swords”

April 12, 2014 By Søren Hough Leave a Comment

http://img-w.zeebox.com/images/proxy/f4a724f344443036468028487768042843cd90f1:preview?src=http%3A%2F%2Fmetrouk2.files.wordpress.com%2F2014%2F04%2F759997_got401_071513_hs_dsc6527.jpg

Please note that you can find all episodes of “Stark Contrast,” our Game of Thrones podcast, both at Movie Fail and on iTunes, Google Play and Spotify. In our previous podcast, J and I discussed the first three seasons of the massively popular HBO series Game of Thrones. This week, we dive into “Two Swords,” the […]

Television

Game of Thrones Seasons 1-3 Recap

April 4, 2014 By Søren Hough 2 Comments

http://img.wallpaperstock.net:81/tyrion-%E2%80%93-game-of-thrones-wallpapers_33143_1920x1080.jpg

Please note that you can find all episodes of “Stark Contrast,” our Game of Thrones podcast, both at Movie Fail and on iTunes, Google Play and Spotify. In adapting George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series to television, HBO created a cultural phenomenon. Game of Thrones has become a franchise spanning books, video games, […]

London Film Festival 2024 Highlights

November 1, 2024 By Søren Hough

London Film Festival 2024 Preview

October 20, 2024 By Søren Hough

https://www.fungifilmfest.com/2023

Mushrooms Galore at Fungi Film Festival 2023

December 26, 2023 By Corrado Nai

Listen on Spotify

About Us            Meet Our Staff             FAQs             Privacy

Creative Commons License
Movie Fail is licensed under Creative Commons.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license are available at http://moviefail.com/faqs/.

Copyright © 2012–2025 Movie Fail · Magazine Pro Theme · WordPress

 

Loading Comments...