That explains that bit of dialogue in Dante's Inferno:

No, that's right, I think. Tolkien believed that England/the English language lacked its own mythology (as compared to the Germans and Norse) and wanted to create one for it. Middle-earth was originally an explicit rejection of Arthurian mythology, which makes sense for a linguist like Tolkien who loved the English…

Yeah, you figure when a great author explicitly asks that an unfinished work never see the light of day, you should probably realize the dude knows what he's talking about and follow orders.

True, but there's also a difference between publishing something academically and putting it out in hardcover with JRR TOLKIEN slapped on the cover to sell to the masses. I mean, I think it should be easily available to everyone, and Chris Tolkien should get sweet cash for his efforts, but it's hard not to see this as…

Agreed. I also think there's a big difference between a work like The Pale King, that the author died in the middle of writing, and something like this poem that was abandoned long before the author's death.

I guess Planes doesn't technically count since it's technically Disney and not Pixar, but seriously, for fuck's sake, they're making a movie called Planes as a spin-off to Cars and Dane Cook voices the lead character. I guess the key to a successful animated franchise is: Talking vehicles + World's Most Hated…

I agree with a lot of this, and I think I'd have liked the movie if not for Spacey's ultra-campy, Cruella DeVille-esque Lex Luthor. It's not really Spacey's fault, his performance isn't that bad, it's that he's hampered with a ridiculous plot and bumbling minions that seem to have walked out of a little loved…

I agree that the film is waaaaay too reliant on tired college movie tropes and didn't do nearly enough to expand on the world established in Monsters Inc. But I loved the way it grappled with ideas like "you can follow your dreams and work harder than anyone, but… that may not be good enough" and the balance of talent…

Reply to DrAwesome below: Yeah, that's true. I guess it's not so much the character story (which is better in the books) than the portrayal. I don't find anything interesting in Book Ramsay, he's purely one-note, but I think the actor makes Show Ramsay a really interesting character (which I think is especially saying…

Yeah, I much prefer Show Ramsay to Book Ramsay. Book Ramsay is a disgusting, sadistic thug, like a serial killer-of-the-week on some CBS procedural, whereas Show Ramsay has a sort of Joker-ish sadistic glee about him that makes him much more interesting, and much more of a loose cannon. I look forward to his scenes…

It is truly weird that we all still end up pulling for Stannis, even though he explicitly wants to burn babies alive.

True, true. I do like the way Martin tries to have Dany and Jon learn valuable leadership lessons during book 5 (and in contrast to Cersei's total, psychotic failure at the same time in book 4), I just think it got a bit tedious and took the easy way out at the end (Jon succumbs to his Stark genes and gets betrayed…

Yeah, the Lannisters winning the war is a pretty brilliant stroke on Martin's part, but even more so since, by this time, we're on board with a few Lannisters (Tyrion, Jaime, and later Kevan, Myrcella, and Tommen) and despise the rest (Cersei, Joffrey, Tywin) with a fiery passion.

If it makes you feel better, eventually there will be pie.

Damn that hurt. Even knowing what was coming, it was a total gut punch. Talisa as a character paid off in her death being a surprise for book readers.

On one hand, I will be super pissed if the Red Viper doesn't appear in all his faux-Iberian smarmy glory. On the other hand, I will be happy as Bronn in a bordello if they cut all the Dorne shit and we never have to spend time with poor, crispy Quentyn.

It would be shitty to realize that Joffrey is your half-brother by another mother… and er, father.

I think "wench" doesn't work well when coming from a headlining actor's mouth. The word's taken on such a dorky LARPing/Medieval Times cachet, that I think people would laugh if it was spoken with any seriousness. Especially since the dialogue is otherwise fairly modern (at least compared to, say, LOTR), it would be…

Yep. Stannis considers himself lawful ruler of the entire Seven Kingdoms and so sees Robb "King in the North" Stark as a traitor and a rebel.

Over at the newbie review: