Posts by Simon Howell
Game of Thrones, Ep. 2.02: “The Night Lands” boasts lots of sex, but not much intrigue
Game of Thrones, Season 2, Episode 2: “The Night Lands” Written by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss Directed by Alan Taylor Airs Sundays at 9pm on HBO Please do not include future spoilers from the book series in the comments. … [Read the Rest]
Justified, Ep. 3.12: “Coalition” harnesses the storytelling power of chaos
Justified, Season 2, Episode 12: “Coalition” Written by Taylor Elmore Directed by Benjamin Cavell Airs Tuesdays at 10pm ET on FX So long, Dickie Bennett. No, “Coalition” doesn’t kill him off, exactly – the shot that he takes from Raylan … [Read the Rest]
Game of Thrones Podcast #1: “The North Remembers”
The game begins anew! Kate Kulzick, Michael Waldman, and Simon Howell are onboard to parse the Season 2 opener, “The North Remembers,” while considering the adaptation process, the innate smackability of Joffrey, and occasionally drop (completely fake) spoilers from the … [Read the Rest]
Game of Thrones, Ep. 2.01: “The North Remembers” brings new characters and a new world order
Game of Thrones, Season 2, Episode 1: “The North Remembers” Written by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss Directed by Alan Taylor Airs Sundays at 9pm ET on HBO Same deal as last season: I’ve not read George R. R. Martin’s … [Read the Rest]
Trailer: ‘House at the End of the Street’ brings us Jennifer Lawrence, scream queen
Seems like 2012 is the year critically beloved starlets get to take a left turn into straight-up genre fare for kicks. As with the Elizabeth Olsen vehicle Silent House, the generically-titled House at the End of the Street was shot … [Read the Rest]
Justified, Ep. 3.11: “Measures” readies us for war in Noble’s Holler
Justified, Season 3, Episode 11: “Measures” Written by Benjamin Cavell Directed by John Dahl Airs Tuesdays at 10pm ET on FX “Measures” is far from the greatest hour of Justified‘s so-far stellar third season, but it’s a crucial one. After … [Read the Rest]
Luck, Ep. 1.09: “Episode Nine” sums up the show’s themes, flaws, and virtues
Luck, Season 1 , Episode 9 Written by Eric Roth Directed by Mimi Leder Airs Sundays at 10pm ET on HBO “Today’s the day they take it all away from us.” If you were looking for doomy portent to tie … [Read the Rest]
Justified, Ep. 3.10: “Guy Walks Into a Bar” shows off Neal McDonough at his most gloriously unhinged
Justified, Season 3, Episode 10: “Guy Walks Into a Bar” Written by VJ Boyd Directed by Tony Goldwyn Airs Tuesdays at 10pm ET on FX In what was easily the best episode of the totally serialized portion of Justified‘s third … [Read the Rest]
‘The Hunger Games’ surprises with its slyness and brutality
The Hunger Games Written by Suzanne Collins, Billy Ray, and Gary Ross Directed by Gary Ross USA, 2012 The opening minutes of Gary Ross’s adaptation of the teen-lit phenom The Hunger Games make it clear that Ross has brought serious … [Read the Rest]
Luck, Ep. 1.08: “Episode Eight” brings cinematic flair to the show’s penultimate hour
Luck, Season 1, Episode 8 Written by John R. Perrotta and Jay Hovdey Directed by Allen Coulter Airs Sundays at 10pm ET on HBO This week, Mike had Nathan Israel cut up into little pieces, wrapped in plastic, and thrown … [Read the Rest]
Justified, Ep. 3.09: “Loose Ends” does some last-minute character work before the home stretch
Justified, Season 3, Episode 9: “Loose Ends” Written by Ingrid Escajeda Directed by Gwyneth Horder-Payton Airs Tuesdays at 10pm ET on FX We’re getting to the home stretch of Justified‘s third season. The ninth episode of last season was “Brother’s … [Read the Rest]
Sound on Sight Radio #311: Get your ass to Mars! (‘John Carter’ / ‘Total Recall’)
Mars. The Red Planet. It hasn’t inspired as many memorable movies as you might assume, but it is the indirect inspiration for Wall-E director Andrew Stanton’s first live-action feature John Carter, which sort of tanked at the box office this … [Read the Rest]
Luck, Ep. 1.07: “Episode Seven” equal parts brutal, sweet, and quotable
Luck, Season 1, Episode 7 Written by Amanda Ferguson Directed by Brian Kirk Airs Sundays at 10pm ET on HBO “Syntax!” In David Milch-land, words and language are king. They have power, but that power can be tragically misapplied. That’s … [Read the Rest]
The Walking Dead, Ep. 2.12: “Better Angels” rise to the occasion
The Walking Dead, Season 2, Episode 12: “Better Angels” Written by Glen Mazzara and Evan T. Reilly Directed by Guy Ferland Airs Sundays at 10pm ET on AMC That’s more like it. “Better Angels” is not only the best episode … [Read the Rest]
‘Friends With Kids’ flips the rom-com script, except for when it doesn’t
Friends with Kids Written by Jennifer Westfeldt Directed by Jennifer Westfeldt USA, 2011 There’s nothing more irritating than a pretender. Jennifer Westfeldt’s second feature as writer-director, over a decade after Kissing Jessica Stein, wants so badly to be construed as … [Read the Rest]
Simon Howell is a native Haligonian (look it up), and has lived in Montreal roughly half his life. He joined Sound On Sight in 2008 and has since become a member of the OFCS (Online Film Critics Society). Currently he co-hosts and co-produces 'Sound On Sight Radio' as well as the 'Front Row Center' videocast, and attends Film Studies at Concordia University. His favorite films include F for Fake, Brazil, Stroszek, The Fog of War, Grave of the Fireflies and In a Lonely Place.
Simon's Twitter handle is @suckerhowell. 
