The Walking Dead Season 7 Premier

by admin | Oct 24, 2016 | Media Rants, Reviews | 0 comments

The Walking Dead Season 7 Premier

The Walking Dead Season 7 premier starts off where season 6 ended. Negan has captured Rick and several others. Negan has promised to kill on of Rick’s group in the season 7 premier we sadly discover who was chosen.

Director: Greg Nicotero

Writers: Greg Nicotero, Tony Moore, Charlie Adlard

Cast: Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Steven Yeun, Lauren Cohan, Chandler Riggs, Dana Gurira, Michael Cuditz, Sonequa Martin-Green, Josh McDermitt, Christian Serratos, Ross Marquand, Jeffrey Dean Morgan

Last night AMC aired The Walking Dead season 7 premier and this review/opinion is going to have some spoilers so if you continue reading, it’s on you. I also want to say that my review of this episode starts off expressing my disappointment in last season’s finale. Then I dive into my mixed emotions on this episode of The Walking Dead. One hand, I am truly disappointed in it for cheating me out of the emotional punch it could have had. On the other hand, there were so many things I truly enjoyed about the episode. I start with the bad things before I get to the good, is what I am saying.

I wrote another review/opinion on the season 6 finale way back when it aired and it wasn’t very positive. I am still fucking pissed off at the way they handled the cliffhanger. I hate cliffhangers, they are designed for stupid people. Cliffhangers are a shows way of saying, “We don’t trust and respect you enough to come back and watch next season so we’re going to leave you hanging until then.” It’s this kind of bullshittery that usually keeps me from watching any TV live. Normally, I wait until the season is over and the next season has begun. This way I avoid cliffhangers altogether.

Unfortunately, I work online. Social media is a big part of my work. The Walking Dead is too big a show. Each week the shows title is trending and it’s guaranteed that some asshole will tweet a spoiler. Beth’s death for example, AMC tweeted that shit out before the fucking show even aired in my goddam time zone. I learned then, I have to watch this show week to week like everyone else.

Anyways, to get back on topic here. I was fucking furious at the way they handled the season 6 finale and their ridiculous excuses for why they did it. Their excuses made no sense at all. Part of me lost interest in the show. I was almost okay with never watching the show again. If I never watched the show again, all the characters I love would never die. Everyone would be safe. I seriously considered that. However, social media would fuck that up. Someone would spill the beans and ruin the happy little bubble I would have created. Knowing this, I decided to watch season 7 of The Walking Dead last night.

It was odd watching it because I had a detached myself from the show. It had been several months without the gang in my life. I wasn’t as emotionally distraught over the tragic deaths of two beloved characters. Had those deaths occurred in the finale last season, as promised, I would have been devastated. All season leading up to a powerful finale with the death of Abraham and Glenn. I would have been in tears. Watching last night, it just didn’t have the emotional impact for me.

I think maybe it’s because I had done my morning all summer long. I’ve had months and months to come to terms with the fact that someone is going to die. I even sort of expected more than one person would die in the episode because there was no way everyone in Rick’s group would sit still and let a friend die. As I reflect on it, I don’t know if the writers did me a favor or not. In some ways I am thankful. In others, I am still very angry about it and maybe even a little more so now. I feel as though I was cheated yet again. I missed out on that epic emotional outcome because of that detachment.

Don’t get me wrong, it was still devastating and heartbreaking but it could have been more powerful. In stead, what last night’s episode did for me was drag on. It spent half the episode still teasing us with who may have died. It took me out of the moment because I felt I was being manipulated again. I understand that’s the point of every show, I really do. It’s just that the best shows manipulate you in ways that flow. The Walking Dead just seems to have given up on that. Instead if letting the stories flow, they are resorting to cheap manipulations.

Getting all of the above out of the way, I have to say that it was a strong episode. The acting was perfection. Greg Nicotero’s direction was impeccable and his special makeup effects were incredible. Glenn’s death makeup was so haunting and disturbing, it will stick with me forever. Not only was it so incredibly real looking, having dabbled in effects makeup in my youth, it was an inspired and brilliant piece of work. If that doesn’t win Greg Nicotero an Emmy, then I will lose all respect for them.

Maggie (Lauren Cohen) The Walking Dead Season 7 Premier

I chose not to show the makeup for Glenn. I don’t want to ruin it on the rare chance anyone hasn’t seen it yet. So, Maggie’s reaction will have to suffice.

Though it is regrettable that the deaths last night didn’t have the full emotional impact on me that they should have, maybe that’s a good thing? I’d probably be walking around today completely depressed over the loss of Glenn and Abraham. Having no life, I take my movies and TV very seriously.

In conclusion, I am still pissed off at the way the producers and writers chose to handle the finale last season. Though I wasn’t thrilled with the way they continued on with obvious manipulation in the season 7 premier of The Walking Dead. It was, otherwise a well made and well thought out episode. I got where there were going with it. I understand why they did what they did in this episode.

Though I have mixed emotions about this episode. I am trying to separate what I wanted to see with what I did see. What I wanted to see I believe would have made for a better and more emotional episode. What I did see was still a strong show with plenty of emotion and gore on a level that was simply heartbreaking and tragically gruesome.

I highly recommend watching it to anyone that has night seen it.

Special Note, you can watch the full episode on AMC’s site right now. No need to login or sign up for anything. Watch the Season 7 Premier of The Walking Dead here.

One last thing. I’d like to make note of Talking Dead hosted by Chris Hardwick. I truly believe the man is my spirit animal. I always watch Talking Dead. It’s like a much needed therapy session after the sometimes emotionally difficult episodes. It sounds silly but it’s so true. It’s obvious he is a true fan of the show and cares about the characters as much as we do. It helps knowing that no matter what transpires on The Walking Dead we will all be able to get through it together during Talking Dead. He hosts the show with compassion while still managing to make us smile and even laugh. It’s like a pallet cleansing we need so desperately.

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The Boy 2016 Quick Review

by admin | Jul 10, 2016 | Good Horror Movies, Movies, Reviews | 0 comments

The Boy 2016 Quick Review

The Boy is about a young American woman whose taken a job in the UK as a nanny while the parents go on holiday for the season. All she has to do is follow the rules to keep him happy but this is no ordinary boy. Brahms is a porcelain doll and his parents treat him as if her were alive. Greta Evans the nanny, played by Lauren Cohan soon realizes that maybe that maybe the Brahms’ parents aren’t so crazy and that the truth behind the boy is more terrifying than she could have ever imagined.

Director:
William Brent Bell

Cast:
Lauren Cohan, Rupert Evans, James Russell, Jim Norton, Diana Hardcastle, Ben Robson

I first watched The Boy several months ago but was too busy to write a review at the time. I watched it again the other night as part of mini horror movie marathon. I enjoyed it even more the second time around. Though, I must admit I am a little biased as it stars the marvelously talented and beautiful Lauren Cohan from The Walking Dead. I love her to, probably unhealthy levels. But, I don’t think my admitted bias for her effects my review of the film aside from all the faltering comments of her I am sure to make.

What’s great about this movie? The acting is superb of course. Lauren Cohan as Greta Evans the nanny is played with an honestness and believability that really makes you care for her. You see, I was concerned upon first seeing the trailer for The Boy that I might not like it because it appeared it does one of the things I hate in movies. That is when a character is given a set of rules to follow and then the first thing they do is break them. I mentioned this in an early review the other day. Once this happens I start rooting for the bad guy. If a character is going to break those rules then we have to got understand why. if we don’t, it just pisses off the viewer and we lose interest.

Thankfully, The Boy doesn’t do that. Yes, Greta does break the rules but to be honest, who wouldn’t. It’s a doll she’s supposed to be taking care of, not a real boy. So, I accept that she breaks the rules at first. What the film does nicely is still allows us to care for Greta’s character given she so quickly broke the rules. They do this by making her character 3 dimensional. She’s a got back story that we begin to understand. There’s a logic to the things she does and thinks. She doesn’t do anything really stupid or rash. We feel safe in judgment and that’s so important in a film like this.

Brahms in bed | The Boy 2016

Then there’s Ruport Evans as Malcom. He plays the “grocery delivery boy, man” and he is terrific in the role. He’s got that everyman quality but better. His character adds some needed laughs to the The Boy. He’s charming and funny without going over the top. Then there’s Brahms (the boy’s) parents Mr. & Mrs. Heelshire played with just the right amount amount of creepiness and despair by Jim Norton and Diana Hardcastle. The best way I can describe how good their performances are is to have you look at it this way. Consider that their time on screen is short. Their performance has to be so good that as the story of their porcelain doll Brahms evolves you begin to see them in a different light. Had they been less actors we would never go from thinking their crazy and creepy to a couple that is worthy of our understanding and compassion. Excellent job.

The Boy offers more than just goosebumps and jump scares. It’s got a solid story. It’s not Gone with the Wind or anything but for a movie about a possibly possessed doll, it’s pretty damn good. It’s got some action and suspense as well as the story begins to unfold. It’s wonderfully atmospheric.

The direction was also notable. William Brent Bell’s direction is every bit a character in this movie as the cast. There’s a quiet beauty to the film. Even the action is shot with care. His shots bring you into the scene as the camera makes its slow, methodical moves around. The house is also a character. It’s brilliantly set up. It’s everything you’d expect in a very old British haunted house and yet it doesn’t come off as stereo-typical. It’s a beautiful house, the wood work is amazing and it manages to be mildly creepy and comforting at the same time.

So who’s going to like The Boy? Well, this is a grown ups movie. And, by that I mean it’s not a teen horror movie with hot young people getting naked and showing at the most inappropriate times and then dying a painful and gruesome death. Don’t get me wrong, the only thing I like better than boobs and gore is bacon. I just feel that this movie caters to a more mature audience. I certainly believe that people of all ages can enjoy The Boy. I think if I was 10 or 11 I would have loved this movie even more than I do now. If you’re looking for sex and gore, you won’t find it here. But, if you’re looking for a solid atmospheric story with a twist then The Boy is a must see.

The Walking Dead Season 7 Premier

The Walking Dead Season 7 Premier