CliqueClack

A closer look at Game of Thrones’ Daario Naharis

The third season of HBO’s epic fantasy series Game of Thrones has done a wonderful job of slowly raising the stakes over the second half of the season. While these last few episodes have been criticized by some as being a little slow, the ratings over this time period have been some of the best that series has ever seen. While in a lot of ways this season has been building up to the ninth episode and beyond, there still has been a great deal of plot movement in the meantime.

Admittedly, one of the storylines that has been guilty — at least in the last several episodes — of moving slowly is Dany’s in Essos. A marked improvement over last season’s pace, the story this year has two big moments: the victory in Astapor and the coming fight in Yunkai. As we move closer to the latter, a polarizing character in the ASOIAF fandom has finally been introduced: Daario Naharis. This week, Bob and Ivey will take a deeper look at the sell-sword who has crossed Daenerys Targaryen path.

As usual, a quick reminder about the spoiler scope of Beyond the Wall. This column is written from the perspective of folks who have read all of the novels by George R. R. Martin in the A Song of Ice and Fire series. So if you weren’t left wondering why Daario Naharis’ hair wasn’t blue, then you should probably not keep reading this column.

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True Blood and Teen Wolf go from TV to DVD

Vampires, werewolves, more werewolves and … Mel Brooks hit home video this week at the last seasons of True Blood and Teen Wolf arrive just in time for their new season premieres. A look at the life and career of Mel Brooks which was recently broadcast on PBS also arrives on DVD for your viewing pleasure. More complete sets of the past season’s TV series are also available, and some old favorites also get the DVD treatment. Have a look at our shopper’s guide to see what else is released on May 21, and click on a link to get more information or to make a purchase.

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Big stars and Beautiful Creatures come to home video

May 21 has some big home video releases including the return of Arnold Schwarzenegger to the big screen in a lead role, The Last Stand, more of what Jason Statham does best in Parker, Steven Soderbergh’s possible theatrical swan song, Side Effects, and the highly anticipated big screen adaptation of the YA novel Beautiful Creatures … which landed with a thud at the box office. Having never read the book, I thought the film was quite good, but the fans were dismayed by the major changes made to plot and characters which may have doomed future films in the series. If you skipped it, now is your chance to see it on video, and if you’re a fan of the books, watch it with an open mind. The leads have some great chemistry and it would be interesting to see where the series could go. There are a lot more releases from classic gangster films to classic horror films, so have a look at our shopper’s guide to see all of this week’s new home video releases. Just click on a link to get more information or to make a purchase!

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Win free passes to the Baltimore screening of Now You See Me

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CliqueClack has partnered with Sony Pictures and Allied Integrated Marketing to offer our readers in the Baltimore area free passes to the advance screening of Now You See Me, starring Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, Dave Franco and Morgan Freeman.

The screenings will take on Wednesday, May 29, 7:30 PM at Cinemark Egyptian, Arundel Mills Mall, Hanover, MD.

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Win free passes to After Earth in Baltimore or D.C.

The commenting period for this contest is now closed.

CliqueClack has partnered with Sony Pictures and Allied Integrated Marketing to offer our readers in the D.C. and Baltimore areas free passes to the advance screening of After Earth, starring Will and Jaden Smith.

Screenings will take place as follows:

• Wednesday, May 29, 7:00 pm, Regal Gallery Place, Washington D.C.
• Wednesday, May 29, 6:30 pm, AMC White Marsh, Baltimore, MD

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American Idol and its huge finale flub

As was typical for a season finale, American Idol padded the two hour’s worth of show in an attempt to close it out in grand fashion. In the process, they stumbled and fell spectacularly with one particular faux pas.

And that faux pas wasn’t the awful jacket Randy Jackson wore. (He had to have picked that up at “The Eyesore Store” …)

And it wasn’t the gratuitous flailings of the return of Jennifer Lopez to the Idol stage.

And it wasn’t the final song Candice Glover and Kree Harrison sang together to end the night, proving The Powers That Be continue to call on oldies which are unconnectable with the viewing audience. (One Less Bell To Answer and A House Is Not A Home … ??? Deciding to showcase those songs was one prime example why Idol has lost viewership. They bordered on cheestastic. Leading directly into the winner’s announcement, the final tunes should have been upbeat and should have left the audience on its feet cheering. Being somber was not the order of the evening.) Continue reading 'American Idol and its huge finale flub' »

Set your phasers to “dumb” in Star Trek The Video Game

As a loyal and faithful fan of Star Trek — the original series especially — I was overjoyed when J.J. Abrams infused his visionary magic with the Trek lore and breathed new life into the fading franchise. With all the new excitement and energy surrounding the hip and updated Star Trek, it was only a matter of time before another attempt at making a Star Trek game hit the store shelves. Star Trek: The Video Game was that game.

Star Trek: The Video Game takes place between the 2009 film Star Trek and this year’s release of Star Trek Into Darkness. Captain Kirk, Commander Spock and the rest of the famed crew of the USS Enterprise are challenged with making first contact with the Gorn, an aggressive race of lizard men hell-bent on conquering worlds and civilizations that don’t belong to them. To make a long story short, it’s up to Kirk and his crew to put the kibosh on this scaly invasion. Players take control of Kirk and Spock and battle their way through this game in a fast-paced third-person action adventure.

The premise sounds awesome doesn’t it? Too bad the game wasn’t!

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Be the first to see The Hangover Part III in DC, MD and VA

All passes for these advance screenings have been claimed. Comments are closed.

CliqueClack has partnered with Warner Brothers and Allied Integrated Marketing to offer our readers in the D.C. , Baltimore and Norfolk areas free passes to the advance screening of The Hangover Part III, starring Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis , Justin Bartha, Ken Jeong and John Goodman.

Screenings will take place as follows:

• All passes for the D.C. screening have been claimed.
• All passes for the Baltimore screening have been claimed.
• All passes for the Norfolk screening have been claimed.

All you need to do to claim your passes is leave us a comment telling us why you want to see the movie. Please take note:

• CliqueClack will email you a unique GoFoBo code to print out a maximum of two Admit One passes. These codes will not be valid for more than one registered GoFoBo account.
• You MUST state which city you want passes for. We will not reply to comments that do not contain this information.
• Please make sure your email address is correct when leaving a comment. Do not post your address in the comment section as this is a public forum.
• GoFoBo codes are limited and the offer will expire when all codes have been claimed or on the day of the screening.
• ONE comment per person, per email address, per IP address. We want all of our readers to have an opportunity and we do check for duplicate comments. Please note: if several people from a business location leave comments, the same IP address will be registered and duplicate requests will be held in reserve.
• If there are passes remaining on the day of screening, those will be distributed to any duplicate comments held in reserve.
• Passes are distributed on a first come, first served basis and do not guarantee you a seat at the screening. Advance screenings are overbooked to ensure a full house, so plan to arrive early.
• CliqueClack has no control over the number of passes available or the seating at the theater.

Again, passes are very limited so leave your comments now!

Downstairs: There’s nothing chaste in this kick of a Hollywood oldie

Let’s talk Hollywood before the rules kicked in before we get to some of the down and dirty about John Gilbert’s Downstairs … shall we? Trust me — it’s going to help make things a bit understandable.

Per Wikipedia’s Pre-Code Hollywood: “… films in the late 1920s and early 1930s included sexual innuendo, miscegenation, profanity, illegal drug use, promiscuity, prostitution, infidelity, abortion, intense violence and homosexuality … Nefarious characters were seen to profit from their deeds, in some cases without significant repercussions …” (There’s quite the lengthy read at that link. Take a visit — it’s really quite interesting.)

Of the 10 mentions in the above quotation, we get a healthy dose of sexual innuendo, promiscuity, infidelity and intense violence feeding Downstairs, much of it rather shocking if you don’t know what’s coming. And, honestly, I didn’t know what was coming as the film unfolded.

Starring a debonair John Gilbert (who also wrote and hocked the film) as a newly hired chauffeur, the film begins with Gilbert traipsing into his new digs at the vast, bustling estate of the Baron Von Burgen (Reginald Owen, Ebenezer Scrooge in 1938’s A Christmas Carol). There’s a wedding going on, the nuptials of The Baron’s head butler Albert (Paul Lukas) and one of the young maids of the estate, Anna (Virginia Bruce). And right away, after a traditional stomping of grapes to bring good luck to the newly wedded couple, the lascivious Karl greets the bride with a big wet one right smack dab on the kisser. (Video below.) With that big wet one, we’re off to the races and hungry for what other sorts of mischief Karl gets involved with. Continue reading 'Downstairs: There’s nothing chaste in this kick of a Hollywood oldie' »