Yes, and here's a fun fact that I don't think they ever mentioned in the show. The ruler of that castle was an ironman, from the same culture as Theon Greyjoy.
The early Targaryen kings definitely changed the rules. They wouldn't have been able to unify Westeros without dragons, and once they lost them, they had a harder time of it.
Yes. It actually works very well if you view it as a comedy. The director was an Italian gentleman who barely spoke English, filming in the middle of Mormon country. In a way, it's a miracle that the movie even ended up being finished.