Series: Spartacus

Spartacus

The TV series Spartacus is set in ancient Rome. We  follow a Thracian (whose real name remains unknown), that has been taken away from his homeland and brought to Rome to be executed in the arena as a gladiator by Glaber, a Roman Praetor. Spartacus survives the execution and kills his executers. The Romans soon recognise his potential and decide that Spartacus will make a good addition to the Gladiators. Explicit sex and graphic violence is found in this series, I recommend those of a more mature audience to watch this.  

Religion and race also have a part to play in this series. Many of the slaves that have been captured from the Romans come from all parts of the world, from Syrians, Egyptians and Thracians. There is a theme of religion throughout, and many characters make reference to whether or not the gods are "in their favour", they also mention the afterlife a lot, and how they shall meet if they die.

 I personally enjoy the explicit sex and the graphic violence, I feel that it adds to how the Romans lived as a lot of what they did revolved around these two points. The fact that the crowd  cheer for death while people fight in the arena for their pleasure adds to the sense that the Romans have a sick sense of morality. The fighting scenes are brutal and exciting to watch, the decapitations seem to never get old and the fights finish with a satisfying end. There is random meaningless sex in Spartacus, however love also plays a big part. Spartacus' wife which has been serparated from him feuls his hate for the Romans, (SLIGHT SPOILER HERE) for example Animais  and Gannicus, both close friends, separated for the love of of Animais's dead wife. (SPOILER END)

However, due to the frequent deaths in Spartacus, there isn't much character development. It seems like a lot of the time you meet a new character and within two episodes he no longer has a head, they do manage to keep the main characters alive long enough for you to establish a connection though. Characters and also seem a bit shallow with their personality, but yet again, the main characters have great personalities, such as Ashur the Syrian Serpant and Ilithyia, the wife of the Praetor Glaber. 

All in all I will say Spartacus is a great watch, each season is very different to the other, making sure you don't get bored. The first season, Spartacus: Blood and Sand can be compared to the move Gladiator, while the second (Spartacus: Vengeance) and the third (Spartacus: War of the Damned) can be compared to 300. Note that the actor for Blood and Sand, Andy Whitfield is replaced by Liam McIntyre as Andy sadly passed away from cancer. It took some time for me to get used to the new actor but I think he plays the part well, but I still think that Andy was a better Spartacus. I give Spartacus an 8.5/10, a must watch in my opinion.

RATING: 8.5/10

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Series: Breaking Bad

Breaking Bad

Breaking Bad first aired in 2008 and ever since has been a huge hit in America and many other countries. Throughout each season of Breaking Bad I was hooked and was left wanting even more.

Plot Summary/Storyline

The series of Breaking Bad has you follow Walter White, a 50 year old genius chemist cheated by his friend, now left a chemist teacher at a high school, where he is not appreciated at all. Walter White is informed that he now has lung cancer, all seems lost for Walter, he feels as though he is a failure to him and his family, until finally he decides to break bad. Walter decides to provide for his family as best as he can before lung cancer takes him by becoming a producer of America's highest quality crystal meth, with his former student Jessie at his side, helping him along the way with his street knowledge. As we follow his story there are many ups and downs that keep on making you want to watch the next episode.

My Personal Opinion

I personally love Breaking Bad, I must admit the first episode or so was kind of slow (as with many things good things come in time), but if you stick with it, you will learn to love Breaking Bad. As I followed Walters story I've grown attached to the characters and the hardships they face actually matter to me. Also watching Breaking Bad makes me (and a lot of other people I talk to that watch Breaking Bad) feel as though they want to become a drug dealer, Walter makes the life seem so exhilarating, fast and very well paid off, but alas I do not have neither the street knowledge, chemical knowledge or the courage to jump into the meth-amphetamine drug game. I would perhaps to go as far as to say Breaking Bad is perhaps up there with one of the best series this decade, or maybe even the next! Personally, I would say Breaking Bad is a MUST watch goes in my personal hall of fame.

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Anime: Sword Art Online

Sword Art Online follows Kirito a typical anime teenager. In Sword Art Online, the netgear helmet puts players into a virtual world where everything can be Touched, Smelled, Heard, Seen and Tasted. All seems well until suddenly all players can not log off any more. They soon find out that if they die in the game they die in real life, also all characters now look like how they look in real life. I personally find sword art to be a great anime with quite an interesting storyline, as you follow Kirito and the world of Sword Art Online you feel as though you are in the game too. SPOILER ALERT, (there are 4 games in Sword Art Online which are, Sword Art Online, Alfheim Online, Gun Gale Online and Underworld Online) SPOLER END. Sword Art Online is a popular anime and is still running, however I think that it could be a short anime, but we wont find out how it ends for a while now. If you want to see more of the story you can read the Manga (which has stopped publishing I don't know if its finished as I haven't read it, however the latest manga was released around May 2012). If you love online games and anime, Sword Art Online is a great Anime to follow!

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Movie: Fight Club

Fight Club came out in 1999 and ever since then has been one of my favourite films, and its many other peoples favourite films.

Plot Summary/Storyline:
In Fight Club we generally follow an Unnamed Protagonist and Narrator, who is acted out by Edward Norton. The protagonist has insomnia and leads a very dreary and uneventful life a. He joins certain meetup groups just so he can cry with them, even though he has none of their problems. Eventually he meets Tyler Durden, acted out by Brad Pitt. Tyler Durden is an out going, crazy yet motivational kind of man. Together, the Unnamed Protagonist and Tyler Durden start Fight Club, an illegal club where people come together to fight, the plot takes some time to unfold, but when it does it's becomes crazy. This film also has a great ending to it.

My Personal Opinion:
I personally loved Fight Club. However the first time I watched Fight Club, I found the first 30 minutes or so completely boring and I was about to stop watching it, however it picked up after a while and became truly interesting. After the beginning I kept on wanting to watch and see what was going next, it had me hooked, and the ending was totally unseen (for me) even though I should have expected it. If you haven't watched Fight Club I advise you to do so as its one of my favourite movies and a must watch in my opinion! Fight club gets my Epic Movie Award.

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Movie: The Hobbit An Unexpected Journey

The Hobbit was release on the 13th of December for the UK and the 14th of December for the US. The release dates for each country varies but the latest date for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is 26th December, countries such as Australia and Poland have such a late release date. 

Plot Summary/Story Line:
Bilbo Baggins, the protagonist of this story and uncle of Frodo Baggins (From Lord of The Rings) is visited by our long lost friend Gandalf and Dwarves without notice, to join them in a quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor which was taken from them by the evil dragon Smaug. Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakenshield. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Giant Spiders, Shapeshifters and Sorcerers, these are some of the mythical creatures that can be found in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain first they must escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets Gollum the vial and disgusting creature we've already know from the Lord of The Rings. Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake,  Bilbo Baggins finds what he calls his "Tookish" side (a part of his bloodline) and finds an undiscovered sense of confidence, he also gains possession of Gollum's "precious" ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities ... A simple, gold ring that is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth in ways Bilbo cannot begin to know.


My Personal Opinion:
I personally believe that The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey does live up to my expectations and does well for J.R Tolkiens name. Having read the book, I was surprised when they said that they was going to make The Hobbit a trilogy, as the book was only about 300 to 400 pages long, while the Lord of The Rings book were way greater in numbers. However, I believe they have managed to pull it off and made a good film out of it. Don't expect the same amount of epic action that Lord of the Rings had, only until (I guess) the last movie, I know there will be an epic battle as I've read the book, I wont say anything else about this battle as I don't want to spoil the story for people only wanting to watch the movies. So overall I will say the The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is a film you should watch and it deserves my Epic Movie Award of!

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