Vick's Picks movie reviews for September 2026
- by Vick Silkenpen
Movie Critic
House of the Dragon: Admittedly, I was not in a big hurry to see this newer prequel series since I had such mixed feelings about the conclusion period of Game of Thrones. The constant climb and intrigues for succession to the throne began to seem somewhat rote to me.
As I watched the first episode of this prequel, my Aussie dog (Beau) got so absorbed that he fetched his orange winged dragon from his toy box of stuffed animals to join me. He did this every time I viewed each episode from then on, so it is obviously his favorite show now.
However, I, too, have been conquered once again by this franchise. The Targaryen family struggles to hold and solidify their strategic royal positioning all the while weaving in all the incest and brutality one has come to expect in these fantasy times. Loyalty is fluid. White hair is flowing aplenty from riders on their various dragons in the sky down to the dingy dungeon cells of dark and drafty castles. The massive battle scenes are still amazing in their scope, and many a dragon seems to take even more lumbering steps toward individuality and personality.
What is so admirable is George R.R. Martin’s ability to keep constructing this incredible fantasy world. At the same time, we watch a study in minute, wondrous detail of what the genre can do. It is what a prequel should accomplish, enriching every aspect of what we experienced in all the previous seasons, not only the settings but also the characters and their offspring. Martin has breathed magical fire into Westeros.
Sure, all the cunning intrigues are present in such a tense civil war, and there seem to be huge questions about gender, might, and ability when an apparent vacuum of male heirs persists.
Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) becomes a monumental tragic figure as she sits on the Iron Throne, rubbing against fate, the High Tower, her own family, her greedy council, and the destiny her father foisted on her. Indeed, the dragons are dancing as it all unfolds, and it is every bit as entertaining as when the first season enthralled us.
Remarkably Bright Creatures: Once, during a visit to New York while I was on a Broadway show crawl, I had the privilege of seeing Sally Field on stage in The Glass Menagerie. I had been a longtime fan since her days playing Gidget (before The Flying Nun time).
So, I joined the crowd outside the theater as she donned a raincoat, a scarf and heavy sunglasses but paused to sign autographs for others. While she scribbled, I said to her enthusiastically, “I liked you; right now I really liked you!” She glanced up with a twinkle, only slightly and a faint smile to reply in a monotone, “I’ve never heard that before,” and just kept signing.
Since winning Oscars for Norma Rae and Places In The Heart, Sally has amassed a huge catalog of roles, and with this recent one on Netflix, she tackles a mature role she has the chops to handle.
The book was already wildly popular, so the movie was anticipated. Sally plays Tova Sullivan, a withdrawn and grieving widow working at an aquarium in a small coastal town. At the same time, Alfred Molina provides the narrative voice of an inquisitive giant Pacific octopus, Marcellus, in residence at the same aquarium. Marcellus has a window into human interactions he ponders, but he is agile and smart enough to move around the place.
A young drifter (Lewis Pullman) enters the story and the town as he searches for his family connections, which leads him to his job subbing for Tova at the aquarium. The connections and mysteries grow as Marcellus watches it all unfold.
Sure, it is a blatantly feel-good melodrama, but Sally keeps it grounded to the point that you may be surprised by its lasting impact once you view the whole thing. It may seem a bit pat in the plotting at times, but it nonetheless succeeds in getting a few tears from your waterworks. The uplifting effect is real enough, with a sense of spirit about the wonders of life and death.
The Gayly online. 9/27/26 @ 6:59 p.m. CST.