C.J. Foxx's Blog, page 2
May 16, 2015
C.J. Foxx Movie House Reviews #9: Mad Max: Fury Road
“What a lovely day!”
The Road Warrior is one of my favorite films. That movie is the origin of the post apocalyptic world that has been copied repeatedly. One of my favorite anime series, Fist of the North Star, uses this exact style environment and the lead character Kenshiro is basically dressed as Max Rockatansky.
Fury Roadis chock full of strange imagery and a story told at 120 mph. The movie kicksoff with Max in his legendary V8 Interceptor being chased down and eventually taken down by the War Boys. After being dragged to their home and a failed escape attempt, he is locked up and chained to serve as a blood bag for a war boy named Nux who you may recognize as Nicholas Hoult, Beast from the X-men or Jennifer Lawrence’s two-time ex-boyfriend.
The leader of the War Boys, Immortan Joe does his best Dr. Proto impersonation as the sermon on the mount. He is the overlord of the Citadel a safe-haven where the Immortan Joe and his bizarre family rule with an iron fist. They have control over a seemingly endless supply of water, which he warns the citizens below not to become addicted to. One thing they don’t have is fuel which they get on supply runs from a neighboring faction. The leader of the supply crew is Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) She and her group of War Boys leave the city towards Gas Town.
About halfway there she take a turn into the desert, which is spotted by Immortan Joe’s lookout. Immortan goes to his coven which is locked by a bank safe and realizes his brides are gone and he sends all of his War Boys after her. Nux joins the chase strapping Max to the front of his vehicle ala the Lord Humungus hostages. The rest of the movie is one long chase scene with brief interludes of character development and storytelling.
The intial premise is simple but there are layers of madness displayed in the characters forced to live in the wasteland. Max is haunted by the death of his family his inability to protect them and is always seeing images of his daughter. Every character is broken in one way or another.
Ok let’s be honest, most people are going to see this movie for the driving and Fury Roaddidn’t disappoint. It’s is jaw-dropping to see a film limit the usage of CGI. They kept things as authentic as possible and it shows. These sequences are on par with the Road Warrior and the volume of them is insane. You can really see where the budget went. The pole bit was the best.
On the downside the story is told at such a pace that it is hard to figure out what exactly is going on when it’s happening. This is problematic in the beginning of the film and it’s not until at least an hour in before you have any real idea why any of these characters are doing what they are doing. There are elements you just have to pick up on the fly and go with and there is some unusual behavior going on.
Fury Roadis a fun watch, not quite up to snuff with the Road Warrior but a solid picture nonetheless. It’s well acted although, Tom Hardy used his “Bane” voice half the time which was weird considering that he's not the villain. Charlize Theron played the tough as nails Furiosa like a champ. Nicholas Hoult got to use his actual accent for a change which was lovely. I love it when actors and actresses get to use their native accents, instead of trying to be “American.” Hugh Keays-Byrne used his piercing eyes to strike fear as the Immortan Joe. He was also the menacing Toecutter in the original Mad Max, which is worth the watch.
I give Fury Road 7 out of 10 exploding lances.
Agree? Disagree? Post a comment below
C.J. Foxx Author of Super-Hero Bowl VI
@CJFoxxAuthor on Twitter
C.J. Foxx Like us on Facebook
The Road Warrior is one of my favorite films. That movie is the origin of the post apocalyptic world that has been copied repeatedly. One of my favorite anime series, Fist of the North Star, uses this exact style environment and the lead character Kenshiro is basically dressed as Max Rockatansky.
Fury Roadis chock full of strange imagery and a story told at 120 mph. The movie kicksoff with Max in his legendary V8 Interceptor being chased down and eventually taken down by the War Boys. After being dragged to their home and a failed escape attempt, he is locked up and chained to serve as a blood bag for a war boy named Nux who you may recognize as Nicholas Hoult, Beast from the X-men or Jennifer Lawrence’s two-time ex-boyfriend.
The leader of the War Boys, Immortan Joe does his best Dr. Proto impersonation as the sermon on the mount. He is the overlord of the Citadel a safe-haven where the Immortan Joe and his bizarre family rule with an iron fist. They have control over a seemingly endless supply of water, which he warns the citizens below not to become addicted to. One thing they don’t have is fuel which they get on supply runs from a neighboring faction. The leader of the supply crew is Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) She and her group of War Boys leave the city towards Gas Town.
About halfway there she take a turn into the desert, which is spotted by Immortan Joe’s lookout. Immortan goes to his coven which is locked by a bank safe and realizes his brides are gone and he sends all of his War Boys after her. Nux joins the chase strapping Max to the front of his vehicle ala the Lord Humungus hostages. The rest of the movie is one long chase scene with brief interludes of character development and storytelling.
The intial premise is simple but there are layers of madness displayed in the characters forced to live in the wasteland. Max is haunted by the death of his family his inability to protect them and is always seeing images of his daughter. Every character is broken in one way or another.
Ok let’s be honest, most people are going to see this movie for the driving and Fury Roaddidn’t disappoint. It’s is jaw-dropping to see a film limit the usage of CGI. They kept things as authentic as possible and it shows. These sequences are on par with the Road Warrior and the volume of them is insane. You can really see where the budget went. The pole bit was the best.
On the downside the story is told at such a pace that it is hard to figure out what exactly is going on when it’s happening. This is problematic in the beginning of the film and it’s not until at least an hour in before you have any real idea why any of these characters are doing what they are doing. There are elements you just have to pick up on the fly and go with and there is some unusual behavior going on.
Fury Roadis a fun watch, not quite up to snuff with the Road Warrior but a solid picture nonetheless. It’s well acted although, Tom Hardy used his “Bane” voice half the time which was weird considering that he's not the villain. Charlize Theron played the tough as nails Furiosa like a champ. Nicholas Hoult got to use his actual accent for a change which was lovely. I love it when actors and actresses get to use their native accents, instead of trying to be “American.” Hugh Keays-Byrne used his piercing eyes to strike fear as the Immortan Joe. He was also the menacing Toecutter in the original Mad Max, which is worth the watch.
I give Fury Road 7 out of 10 exploding lances.
Agree? Disagree? Post a comment below
C.J. Foxx Author of Super-Hero Bowl VI
@CJFoxxAuthor on Twitter
C.J. Foxx Like us on Facebook
May 2, 2015
C.J. Foxx Movie House Reviews #8 Avengers: Age of Ultron
FINALLY, there are no strings on me! Chained, tied down by my anxieties and my waiting, I am finally free. The very first thing that is apparent is that “man we have come a long way since the Avengers assembled in the first movie.” The entire movie stages such a more serious tone. Instead of flourishing in the different characters and their personalities, the intention was to drill into the weaknesses creating a sense of self-destruction. A gander into a second fault that exists, the first fault: a team is only as strong as the bond that brings the individuals together. Second: evil is not black and white, it’s not a simple conflict. (Like Pym did in the comics. Stay tuned for more on that) Tony Stark begins, with the help of Bruce Banner, to create Ultron, initially as a powerful defense, supposedly for against a higher, more prolific form of evil. Everyone knows when any person gains control and power, regardless on their (Stark’s) intentions, it always leads to evil (which, by the way, wasn’t that what they were giving Fury a hard time about in the first film?).
World, meet Ultron. The complete scariness of this villain reached some awesome levels. Being, as clever as Robert Downy with a grim, sinister spin, Ultron surpassed certain expectations. Sometimes, I felt the graphics and personality of the character was a little too impractical. The whole bringing to life of such anamorphic, make-believe character, I knew it was going to be a hard sell (reminds me of Smaug). The sophisticated human traits embedded in the character took over a little too much. The robot, cold calculating side needed to be focused on more. The connection between why Ultron despises the Avengers, is kind of glossed over as rage. It’s once again drawn up as a hate, the villain possessed this theme, far more human than I would’ve predicted. The back and forth between him and the cast was written really well, but when it boiled down to his true motives, he appeared to be less calculating, unstoppable monster and more deranged mad-scientist.
More than any other movie in the MCU, they really expected the viewer to be all caught up, and stories back tracked. The fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Loki (three times), the rise of new age Hydra… all of the other movies set this one up. Amidst all the references, and back story flashbacks, this one more than others felt like just another chapter or volume, a drop in the overall bucket/grand scheme of things. I thought it was a good choice, to have the group hangin’ together, staying close through the entire film. The same orchestrated chemistry in the “Shawarma Scene” is replicated in a beginning segment. The heroes on their day off enjoying a party, but the payoff is the after-party… where every member in a backstage pass of sorts type of feel, they each attempt to lift Thor’s hammer: “Brilliant!” I say. That part was a needed break in the action, but not boring or awkward, it was masterfully constructed.
The team follows the bad guy breadcrumbs to Wakanda (enter Black Panther reference) where they face the worst that Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch can muster. Long story short, Hulk is used as a pawn in the evil plot to destroy the hero league, again. The “Hulkbuster” showdown killed it! Very, very badass! As Tony kicks back in a crazy assortment of technological armor, he gives humorous commentary to an epic throw down. I couldn’t help but think of Planet Hulk and World War Hulk. The storyline was that Hulk lost it on an ultimate level in Las Vegas (in the comics) creating more than his usual devastation (which I believe is also part of the Civil War influence). Afterwards, the Illuminati of heroes (Reed Richards, Tony Stark, Dr. Strange and Black Bolt) decide that it’s in everyone’s best interest to exile the green monster to outer space. In Age of Ultron, while watching him lose control in the city, was this a final straw of sorts, to push the Planet Hulk development?
The most irritating moment (if I had to choose) involved Natasha Romanov’s role. Her action, her interaction and all that the Black Widow character brought was more than satisfactory, but her developed relationship with Banner/The Hulk was over the top. A mental tool they had made, naming it “lullaby” had Johansen approach the Hulk when they no longer need his services. She would say certain phrases and they would play a patty-cake then Hulk would revert back to Banner. It was interesting at moments but I thought the matter of transitioning could’ve been handled better.
Black Widow strikes again. The all over Hawkeye, in the first Avengers, then she’s Cap’s suto-romantic interest in Winter Soldier, now she’s caught Hulkamania Fever. I’m down for this in only a small manner, since the comics have spanned over such a long period of time, just like television shows, it seemed everyone eventually hooked up with everyone. In the movies, it’s harder to sympathize with since by the nature of the films, there’s not a large enough sample of the characters to relate to.
The Civil War setups were non-stop as well. Cap Vs Iron Man, liberty Vs power grows… respecting, working together but marching to a different faith. It’s kinda twisted how Civil War is so soon. In the first flick, they had their differences, and a tension is built between Tony and Steve. In the comics, they always approached things from different viewpoints but it was only an inkling compared to the full blown side-choosing they did on the way to war. Now, since Civil War is so close to the beginning in this timeline, all of the disagreements they ever have are viewed as seedlings.
Robert Downey Jr. didn’t steal the show like last time but it was partially made up with the comical cynicism brought to the table by Ultron. As the idea of Ultron is derived from the Jarvis, an entity Stark created, the notion that Iron Man is the father of the mechanical nightmare made it full circle. I, in some manner, hoped they would give homage to the original creator, Hank Pym. Since there was none, I imagine all is content on having Pym only involved as the Ant-Man project (and I at least hope, and think there will be a Giant-Man showing in the Ant-Man movie. Cross your fingers, I would bet that it is part of that conclusion/finale.)
In my humble opinion, this was Chris Evans’ best showing, he did even better than in the Winter Soldier. If there is a surprise in this movie (next to my Hawkeye revelation I reveal later) it was my realization that the Captain America, more specifically Chris Evans owns this movie. Downey did the same in the first two Iron Mans and gave an outstanding performance in Avengers, but in Avengers 2 Evans stood up to the task and nailed it. He couldn’t be a better personification of a by the book, all-American hero.
All you need to know about Thor in this movie, is that he was sexy as ever… and you should never make an Avenger movie without him. I would assume being in Chris Hemsworth’s presence is as breathtaking as his ability to pull off a Norse God in a superhero movie, but if any can do the Hugh Jackman, being a character a skillion times, I hope it’s him. I personally thought the original Thor movie was better than Captain America and Iron-Man, there is a special place in my heart for Thor and especially Hulk. No complaint, understood, there is so many to go through in one sitting, but Thor took a back seat on this one.
Mentally, I rated the first movie so high, the casting was solid and as a long-time collector, the only film I had longed for as much as X-Men film (when it came out) was Avengers. The next in line that was on my wish-list: the Batman/Superman crossover…. And I’ve been preachin’ for a Spider-Man crossover for years. My vote goes to a Punisher Vs Spider-Man, yep. The point is: these movies have evolved my fandom into enjoying comics on a different platform. The Avengers, Phase One and Two have set the Gold standard, that this movie didn’t falter from. It would be really hard, in my mind, that any can compare to the first. Age of Ultron was a digression from its predecessor, but never made me feel like I was frustrated with the canon or follow through. The characters are all in their adolescences, and waiting around the corner is the mature, extravagant plot twists.
So, Scarlet Witch kicked more ass than speedster, X-men did Quicksilver better (obviously he was a bigger focus in one, but the comparison has to be made…). With even more appreciation, I only viewed Scarlet Witch as a true Avenger and Quicksilver as an X-Man, I liked how it progressed to being more about Wanda. Side note: It was a cool part of being a fan. They were in two different leagues, successful members in their own right. A part of two completely different concepts, but they always had that brother-sister bridge, back story to bind them (like so many other crossover comic book stories).
Have you ever watched, or seen something, small and insignificant at first but it changes your whole perspective on not just one thing but life? Something like that has happened to me. Now, I don’t usually watch the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon or Jimmy Kimmel, but every once in a while I stumble across a Youtube video (like this video of Liam Neeson reading a bedtime story) that makes me think, “should I?”
The latest edition of funny things on those shows that I don’t watch but found the clips on social media is:
This video made me laugh to myself, cheering him on every time I saw Jeremy Renner on screen. Thank you to which ever higher power that had me see this before I saw the movie. It totally helped me galvanize Hawkeye as a character even more. I love the fact that I can enjoy such small things in life.
In an attempt not to be spoiler I will reserve some of what I want to write about the mid-credits/final scene (for all who haven’t seen it yet. Other reviews I could care less, but I don’t want to ruin any of it for a somewhat momentous event). Something about Thanos and the Infinity Gauntlet, he says something to the matter of “I’m going to take care of this myself.” How did Thanos get it from Odin’s Armory? Also, in the comics (and even referenced at the end of the first) he goes after the gems to kill two birds with six stones: to gain control over the whole universe, and in turn “court Death.” That was the neat part of it all. He wanted to get with Death, replacing Brangelina (maybe Deathanos?) as the most popular star couple ever… going from galaxy to galaxy adopting additional killers like Gamora and Nebula. In the future, I hope they don’t steer far from the courting Death aspect. I give Age of Ultron seven chimichangas out of a possible ten.
Agree? Disagree? Post a comment below
C.J. Foxx Author of Super-Hero Bowl VI
@CJFoxxAuthor on Twitter
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April 15, 2015
Daredevil Season 1 Review
This is what we should’ve seen in the theatres over ten years ago! First of all, I have to applaud whosever decision it was to stick to the original content. As a retelling of the same story, this is a captivating adaptation. With all of the reboots and recent writers adding their own variations (which isn’t always bad, like the Spider-Man movie serieses or hopefully the reports of the ape-shit story for the new Fantastic Four piece… we will see…). Keeping most of the same stuff and undertones from the Ben Affleck Daredevil, the Netflix series is more than a departure from the notoriously tawdry version. This turn is a stronger Daredevil universe on all levels.
The show gives off a "Batman: Year One" feeling, spanning from Matt Murdock’s first attempts at becoming an avenger of the night, forming the familiar stages of the man without fear. I had imagined the show would reveal a little more of how they would fold it into the other factions of the MCU. Unlike the popular DC shows (Arrow, Gotham and Flash [even contrasting the Marvel Films) Daredevil and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. seems content on dropping very subtle hints, Easter eggs, or teases, connecting them to past and future projects. Sometimes, while I watched DD, I yearned for more and in other instances I enjoyed the idea, catching an obscure or subdued reference that most wouldn’t. Either way, I like how this show does it compared to the Arrow where it seems the whole entire DC Universe is introduced and revolves around Oliver the protagonist, better than Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. who has a large pool of hero-star power potential and doesn’t use it… If it fell short of any, it would be of Flash and Gotham, the shows make me crave, encouraging me to tune in every week, seeing which or how each character/callback will be brought to life.
For several, uncountable reasons the cast is superb. Vincent D'onofrio performs the Kingpin role with gripping fortitude. Around half way through the season, a lonely scared boy trapped inside a monster is brought to the forefront. The viewer witnesses flashes of Wilson Fisk’s background, a tasteful, sophisticated darkness as he becomes the most prolific crime boss of Hell’s Kitchen. His deliveries are sometimes choppy, like he’s still battling a weird nervousness, plus he gives some over the top super-villain lines (I assume most of it intentional, lending to the sociopath side of the character). His assistant James Welsey is an equally gravitating baddie.
The unpredicted, undeniable gem is Elden Henson, as Foggy Nelson. His fabulous chemistry with what seems to be everybody. He owns this clever, happy-go-lucky sidekick bit (making me at times wish he were the focus. It is all you could ask for in a supporting, sidekick friend). He executed brilliant comic relief, but it made his serious moments ever so slightly awkward (that, my friend, was a nitpick). “Foggy Bear” has come a long way from skating for the Mighty Ducks.
Nelson & Murdock’s firstclient and obvious soon to become assistant/secretary Deborah Ann Woll kicks booty as Karen Page. The ravishing damsel in distress, or glue that holds the whole home base together, she definitely doesn’t shy away from the action. As per usual for these roles, she finds herself in an incredible amount of danger, handling it with surprisingly crafted grace. Janine Melnitz would be proud.
Oddly, if I had to choose a weakest major cast member (using this term lightly) it would be DD himself. Charlie Cox certainly isn't bad, but a cynical, secret-keeping, morals twisting in the wind character… that is blind, is a hard road to tow. He nails about 75% of it but I feel occasionally lacks in the emotional range. Between the civilian/lawyer by day portions, the courageous hero portions or the defeated, pained, humble portions, the writing and the follow through need to be kicked up a notch. I would even have to say that I connected more with the young Matt Murdock, Cox’s child counterpart.
Some time before the release on Netflix I saw a “leaked” picture (hail Hydra) of the newest DD suit. Until then all the trailers and marketing only showed the old Frank Miller black one, giving no hint otherwise. There were many comments questioning its source or validity… but during only the second episode, Matt mentions his costume is as a “work in progress.” I knew that moment that by the end of the season they were either going to tease or reveal the iconic, horned devil version (the one that I had stumbled upon earlier) in action. There’s no telling what reaction it would get making the original outfit permanent, but the black and red suit is a fresh live-action take on a classic.
In attempt to make this a “dark” extension of the cinematic universe, Nolan’s trilogy had established most of this same territory, and the “punch people in the face then interrogate them technique” is fluent through both. (BTW, I often hear people reference Nolan’s as the darkest or pioneering in that area of comic book movie universes. Ones that don’t get brought up enough and ones that I enjoyed a great deal [most specifically the first and second] are the Blade flicks. Even the ooold school [1989] Punisher, I know they’re not as popular or current but I like to give credit where credit is due).
The fight scenes are well choreographed, especially the “one shot” scene with the Russians. The rotating camera sequences along with slow-mo are utilized just the right amount. This show better resembles a light “R” rating, which doesn’t affect my judgment, but makes me think of all the people yammering on about how they wouldn’t attend a “PG-13” tagged Deadpool movie. Daredevil is the first of Netflix’s Marvel series with Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist on the way, then a mash up of the four in the Defenders crossover. This is a good start, keep it going.
I give this a six and a half out of a possible ten Shazams.
Those are my thoughts, feel free to comment below
C.J. Foxx Author of Super-Hero Bowl VI
@CJFoxxAuthor on Twitter
C.J. Foxx Like us on Facebook
http://www.amazon.com/dp
The show gives off a "Batman: Year One" feeling, spanning from Matt Murdock’s first attempts at becoming an avenger of the night, forming the familiar stages of the man without fear. I had imagined the show would reveal a little more of how they would fold it into the other factions of the MCU. Unlike the popular DC shows (Arrow, Gotham and Flash [even contrasting the Marvel Films) Daredevil and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. seems content on dropping very subtle hints, Easter eggs, or teases, connecting them to past and future projects. Sometimes, while I watched DD, I yearned for more and in other instances I enjoyed the idea, catching an obscure or subdued reference that most wouldn’t. Either way, I like how this show does it compared to the Arrow where it seems the whole entire DC Universe is introduced and revolves around Oliver the protagonist, better than Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. who has a large pool of hero-star power potential and doesn’t use it… If it fell short of any, it would be of Flash and Gotham, the shows make me crave, encouraging me to tune in every week, seeing which or how each character/callback will be brought to life.
For several, uncountable reasons the cast is superb. Vincent D'onofrio performs the Kingpin role with gripping fortitude. Around half way through the season, a lonely scared boy trapped inside a monster is brought to the forefront. The viewer witnesses flashes of Wilson Fisk’s background, a tasteful, sophisticated darkness as he becomes the most prolific crime boss of Hell’s Kitchen. His deliveries are sometimes choppy, like he’s still battling a weird nervousness, plus he gives some over the top super-villain lines (I assume most of it intentional, lending to the sociopath side of the character). His assistant James Welsey is an equally gravitating baddie.
The unpredicted, undeniable gem is Elden Henson, as Foggy Nelson. His fabulous chemistry with what seems to be everybody. He owns this clever, happy-go-lucky sidekick bit (making me at times wish he were the focus. It is all you could ask for in a supporting, sidekick friend). He executed brilliant comic relief, but it made his serious moments ever so slightly awkward (that, my friend, was a nitpick). “Foggy Bear” has come a long way from skating for the Mighty Ducks.
Nelson & Murdock’s firstclient and obvious soon to become assistant/secretary Deborah Ann Woll kicks booty as Karen Page. The ravishing damsel in distress, or glue that holds the whole home base together, she definitely doesn’t shy away from the action. As per usual for these roles, she finds herself in an incredible amount of danger, handling it with surprisingly crafted grace. Janine Melnitz would be proud.
Oddly, if I had to choose a weakest major cast member (using this term lightly) it would be DD himself. Charlie Cox certainly isn't bad, but a cynical, secret-keeping, morals twisting in the wind character… that is blind, is a hard road to tow. He nails about 75% of it but I feel occasionally lacks in the emotional range. Between the civilian/lawyer by day portions, the courageous hero portions or the defeated, pained, humble portions, the writing and the follow through need to be kicked up a notch. I would even have to say that I connected more with the young Matt Murdock, Cox’s child counterpart.
Some time before the release on Netflix I saw a “leaked” picture (hail Hydra) of the newest DD suit. Until then all the trailers and marketing only showed the old Frank Miller black one, giving no hint otherwise. There were many comments questioning its source or validity… but during only the second episode, Matt mentions his costume is as a “work in progress.” I knew that moment that by the end of the season they were either going to tease or reveal the iconic, horned devil version (the one that I had stumbled upon earlier) in action. There’s no telling what reaction it would get making the original outfit permanent, but the black and red suit is a fresh live-action take on a classic.
In attempt to make this a “dark” extension of the cinematic universe, Nolan’s trilogy had established most of this same territory, and the “punch people in the face then interrogate them technique” is fluent through both. (BTW, I often hear people reference Nolan’s as the darkest or pioneering in that area of comic book movie universes. Ones that don’t get brought up enough and ones that I enjoyed a great deal [most specifically the first and second] are the Blade flicks. Even the ooold school [1989] Punisher, I know they’re not as popular or current but I like to give credit where credit is due).
The fight scenes are well choreographed, especially the “one shot” scene with the Russians. The rotating camera sequences along with slow-mo are utilized just the right amount. This show better resembles a light “R” rating, which doesn’t affect my judgment, but makes me think of all the people yammering on about how they wouldn’t attend a “PG-13” tagged Deadpool movie. Daredevil is the first of Netflix’s Marvel series with Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist on the way, then a mash up of the four in the Defenders crossover. This is a good start, keep it going.
I give this a six and a half out of a possible ten Shazams.
Those are my thoughts, feel free to comment below
C.J. Foxx Author of Super-Hero Bowl VI
@CJFoxxAuthor on Twitter
C.J. Foxx Like us on Facebook
http://www.amazon.com/dp
April 5, 2015
C.J. Foxx Movie House Reviews #7: Furious Seven (SPOILERS)
There have been seven of these flicks? Wow, where has the time gone? Now I have only seen a about half of these movies. Parts 1,2 & 4 (which happened to be on today so I got lucky there) and a bit of part 5. The series isn't really my cup of tea as I'm not really into cars and street racing. Simply not for me. I did a bit of homework on the what I missed in the other films so I'm not 100% clueless going in, although I am probably going to miss some of the little character nuances and the whole amnesia story line but we'll get to that.
On to the picture, but there not really much to say about this movie. It starts with Jason Statham who plays Deckland Shaw the older brother of the villain from Part 6 in the hospital vowing revenge on the group who crippled him. He attacks The Rock in his office and after interference by THe rock's partner, Statham uses a grenade and blows the Rock and his partner out of a four story floor and on top of a car.
Now here's where things get a bit weird. Apparently Part 4-6 are prequels to part 3. There's a character named Han who is killed during a race in that movie. He was in the crew with the rest of them and went to Tokyo after the events of Part 6. Shaw goes and kills Han and calls Vin Diesel up letting him know he's coming for him and detonates a bomb he had delivered under the guise of a package from Han, which blows up Vin's house.
Vin sees the Rock in the hospital who explains that Shaw is this super bad-ass British black ops assassin, who went off the grid after the brits tried to kill him. Vin goes to Japan to make a cameo in Part 3 so he can get the rights back to Riddick, I mean get Han's person effects, which include a cross necklace. This necklace has significance in Vin and Letty's (Michelle Rodriguez) relationship which is struggling after Letty's Amnesia events from one of the earlier flicks.
At Han's funeral, Shaw shows up and Vin chases him to the Staples center and they have head-to-head car collision where Shaw used a reinforced chassis to get the upper hand. Kurt Russell and his crew military crew show up scare Shaw off and invites Vin to have a beer. While Kurt insists on this awesome Belgium beer, Vin insists on his Corona, I guess this is a thing. Kurt explains this thing called the God's eye which is basically a suped up tracking system in the vien of the one Lucius Fox and Batman used in the Dark Knight to find The Joker. he says if they rescue the hacker who created it, he'll let Vin use it to get the upper-hand on Shaw.
He agrees and they plan the mission to recover the hacker Ramsey who is being transported in the mountains. This is where Tyrese Gibson starts stealing the movie, because he has a Loverboy like charm to him and had me in stitches the whole time. During the mission which involves dropping cars out of the sky, he wimps out and Ludacris pulls a shoot on him and forcing him to join in the fun. zaniness ensue where everybody lands ok and Tyrese is floating aimlessly.
Driving happens, Paul walker gets into a fist fight with Tony Jaa in the back of a massive bus. Walker gets trapped as Jaa bails and Walker goes careening towards and eventually dangles over the edge of a cliff, which reminded me of the original Italian Job. Shaw jumps in again after Vin grabs Ramsey and Tyrese takes Shaw out. Vin and Ramsey get cornered by the kidnappers and drive off a cliff to escape. Tyrese's like hackers aren't supposed to have a body like that. Ramsey is like I gave the god's eye to this guy in Abu Daubi.
If Garfield knew how awesome looking Abu Dhabi was I think he'd go there instead. So they find out that the god's eye is in a speed drive in this Prince's 3.5 million dollar car which when described leaves Tyrese aroused. So they go steal it, Shaw shows up, lather rinse and repeat except the big fight here is with Ronda Rousey and Letty and Tyrese tries to become a DJ.
They get the God's eye and use it to track Shaw and plan an ambush at an abandoned factory outside of the city. They go in with Kurt Russell's crew and Ramsey's kidnappers show up seeking revenge on Vin. Kurt gets shot but survives to insist vin has his Belgium beer and the baddies get the god's eye. They go back to LA for the final showdown.
They setup a plan to hack the God's Eye to get it back under their control and it involves what else but a high speed chase through the streets of LA. This last sequence is just bigger and badder versions of what have already happened earlier in the flick. Vin defeats Shaw on top of a Garage, then drops the garage on top of Shaw. Paul beats Tony Jaa by knocking him down an elevator shaft and The rock steals and Ambulance and crashes it into a drone, before grabbing a chain gun and shooting a helicopter.
Everybody shows up after Vin does a turbo boost up to the helicopter and leaves a Shaw's grenades hanging there and the Rock shoots them once Vin is clear but hurt in the crash. Paul's doing CPR on Vin and Letty's helping but then she just throws Paul off and starts cradling her man. Letty reveals she remembers everything now and apparently she got married to vin and the necklace was their ring. Vin wakes up and all is well.
After saving the day the gang we have to deal with the Elephant in the room, Which is Paul Walker being dead. There's a whole domestication plot line going on with Paul and his girl who is Vin's little sister. The first scene with Paul is him driving his kid to school or day care I don't know which, I was too busy laughing at him driving a minivan. He misses the bullets and Vin tries to get him to settle down after business is finished since there's another child on the way. So at the end the gang has a relaxing day on the beach. Paul is playing with his wife and son Vin leaves without saying goodbye.
A bit later on the drive back Vin starts talking about living a quarter-mile at a time and Paul shows up and says you're going to leave without saying goodbye? Vin talks about how they're brothers because they both lived a quarter-mile at a time and they drive off together until their paths separate and the camera follows Paul's car. Touching little bit.
Furious Seven is basically a paint by numbers action movie. They have a formula down and they didn't really deviate from it. The action set pieces are well crafted and shot well. a bit quicker than I'd like it, but not to where you can't follow the fights. It's completely over the top and it's a check your brain at the door film. It felt like the expendables movies, but with cars. Everybody did well with their parts, but nobody was amazing. Adding Statham was great for me since I love the guy and him playing the bad guy is a nice touch although, the premise from his perspective is the same as many of his movies.
Notice how I didn't really talk about Paul that much, well they reduced his part after his death.
The effects they did with it were brilliant because I couldn't figure out where he was played by the double (besides the end at the beach obviously). He spoke just enough to let you know he was there and I couldn't tell any difference in the speech patterns.
The Rock and Tyrese have the best lines including an awesome moment similar to this.
Now are they going to go out on top and end the series here? Obviously not. This movie is clear evidence that they can just get someone else to fill in the Paul Walker type spot on the team for the next one. Vin carried the picture and with Statham being locked up and the Rock pretty much acknowledging that the cell can't hold him, I'm sure he'll be back at some point. They're also setting April records at the box office so there's that too.
Overall, this an above average action flick mostly due to the inclusion of Statham and even non-fans will enjoy this popcorn flick, but in a month we'll forget about it when Avengers 2 comes out - Six out of Ten Corona's.
Those are my thoughts, feel free to comment below
C.J. Foxx Author of Super-Hero Bowl VI
@CJFoxxAuthor on Twitter
C.J. Foxx Like us on Facebook
http://www.amazon.com/dp
On to the picture, but there not really much to say about this movie. It starts with Jason Statham who plays Deckland Shaw the older brother of the villain from Part 6 in the hospital vowing revenge on the group who crippled him. He attacks The Rock in his office and after interference by THe rock's partner, Statham uses a grenade and blows the Rock and his partner out of a four story floor and on top of a car.
Now here's where things get a bit weird. Apparently Part 4-6 are prequels to part 3. There's a character named Han who is killed during a race in that movie. He was in the crew with the rest of them and went to Tokyo after the events of Part 6. Shaw goes and kills Han and calls Vin Diesel up letting him know he's coming for him and detonates a bomb he had delivered under the guise of a package from Han, which blows up Vin's house.
Vin sees the Rock in the hospital who explains that Shaw is this super bad-ass British black ops assassin, who went off the grid after the brits tried to kill him. Vin goes to Japan to make a cameo in Part 3 so he can get the rights back to Riddick, I mean get Han's person effects, which include a cross necklace. This necklace has significance in Vin and Letty's (Michelle Rodriguez) relationship which is struggling after Letty's Amnesia events from one of the earlier flicks.
At Han's funeral, Shaw shows up and Vin chases him to the Staples center and they have head-to-head car collision where Shaw used a reinforced chassis to get the upper hand. Kurt Russell and his crew military crew show up scare Shaw off and invites Vin to have a beer. While Kurt insists on this awesome Belgium beer, Vin insists on his Corona, I guess this is a thing. Kurt explains this thing called the God's eye which is basically a suped up tracking system in the vien of the one Lucius Fox and Batman used in the Dark Knight to find The Joker. he says if they rescue the hacker who created it, he'll let Vin use it to get the upper-hand on Shaw.
He agrees and they plan the mission to recover the hacker Ramsey who is being transported in the mountains. This is where Tyrese Gibson starts stealing the movie, because he has a Loverboy like charm to him and had me in stitches the whole time. During the mission which involves dropping cars out of the sky, he wimps out and Ludacris pulls a shoot on him and forcing him to join in the fun. zaniness ensue where everybody lands ok and Tyrese is floating aimlessly.
Driving happens, Paul walker gets into a fist fight with Tony Jaa in the back of a massive bus. Walker gets trapped as Jaa bails and Walker goes careening towards and eventually dangles over the edge of a cliff, which reminded me of the original Italian Job. Shaw jumps in again after Vin grabs Ramsey and Tyrese takes Shaw out. Vin and Ramsey get cornered by the kidnappers and drive off a cliff to escape. Tyrese's like hackers aren't supposed to have a body like that. Ramsey is like I gave the god's eye to this guy in Abu Daubi.
If Garfield knew how awesome looking Abu Dhabi was I think he'd go there instead. So they find out that the god's eye is in a speed drive in this Prince's 3.5 million dollar car which when described leaves Tyrese aroused. So they go steal it, Shaw shows up, lather rinse and repeat except the big fight here is with Ronda Rousey and Letty and Tyrese tries to become a DJ.
They get the God's eye and use it to track Shaw and plan an ambush at an abandoned factory outside of the city. They go in with Kurt Russell's crew and Ramsey's kidnappers show up seeking revenge on Vin. Kurt gets shot but survives to insist vin has his Belgium beer and the baddies get the god's eye. They go back to LA for the final showdown.
They setup a plan to hack the God's Eye to get it back under their control and it involves what else but a high speed chase through the streets of LA. This last sequence is just bigger and badder versions of what have already happened earlier in the flick. Vin defeats Shaw on top of a Garage, then drops the garage on top of Shaw. Paul beats Tony Jaa by knocking him down an elevator shaft and The rock steals and Ambulance and crashes it into a drone, before grabbing a chain gun and shooting a helicopter.
Everybody shows up after Vin does a turbo boost up to the helicopter and leaves a Shaw's grenades hanging there and the Rock shoots them once Vin is clear but hurt in the crash. Paul's doing CPR on Vin and Letty's helping but then she just throws Paul off and starts cradling her man. Letty reveals she remembers everything now and apparently she got married to vin and the necklace was their ring. Vin wakes up and all is well.
After saving the day the gang we have to deal with the Elephant in the room, Which is Paul Walker being dead. There's a whole domestication plot line going on with Paul and his girl who is Vin's little sister. The first scene with Paul is him driving his kid to school or day care I don't know which, I was too busy laughing at him driving a minivan. He misses the bullets and Vin tries to get him to settle down after business is finished since there's another child on the way. So at the end the gang has a relaxing day on the beach. Paul is playing with his wife and son Vin leaves without saying goodbye.
A bit later on the drive back Vin starts talking about living a quarter-mile at a time and Paul shows up and says you're going to leave without saying goodbye? Vin talks about how they're brothers because they both lived a quarter-mile at a time and they drive off together until their paths separate and the camera follows Paul's car. Touching little bit.
Furious Seven is basically a paint by numbers action movie. They have a formula down and they didn't really deviate from it. The action set pieces are well crafted and shot well. a bit quicker than I'd like it, but not to where you can't follow the fights. It's completely over the top and it's a check your brain at the door film. It felt like the expendables movies, but with cars. Everybody did well with their parts, but nobody was amazing. Adding Statham was great for me since I love the guy and him playing the bad guy is a nice touch although, the premise from his perspective is the same as many of his movies.
Notice how I didn't really talk about Paul that much, well they reduced his part after his death.
The effects they did with it were brilliant because I couldn't figure out where he was played by the double (besides the end at the beach obviously). He spoke just enough to let you know he was there and I couldn't tell any difference in the speech patterns.
The Rock and Tyrese have the best lines including an awesome moment similar to this.
Now are they going to go out on top and end the series here? Obviously not. This movie is clear evidence that they can just get someone else to fill in the Paul Walker type spot on the team for the next one. Vin carried the picture and with Statham being locked up and the Rock pretty much acknowledging that the cell can't hold him, I'm sure he'll be back at some point. They're also setting April records at the box office so there's that too.
Overall, this an above average action flick mostly due to the inclusion of Statham and even non-fans will enjoy this popcorn flick, but in a month we'll forget about it when Avengers 2 comes out - Six out of Ten Corona's.
Those are my thoughts, feel free to comment below
C.J. Foxx Author of Super-Hero Bowl VI
@CJFoxxAuthor on Twitter
C.J. Foxx Like us on Facebook
http://www.amazon.com/dp
March 30, 2015
Walking Dead Episode Review 5.16: Conquer
It is time for the Season Five finale. There have been many ups and the gang reached their lowest point along the way. Now there’s 90 minutes to go. In every season finale a cast member has died EXCEPT for last season. The crew has been drinwled more this season than in any other. Who will survive and what will be left of them…
The epidose starts with Morgan, who has been following Rick the entire season. He gets a gun pointed at him by someone with a “W” carved on his head. After getting ranted about wolves and natives thinking that humans were once wolves. He gets ambushed by another guy and Morgan disposes of them with some swift bo work like he was Donatello of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Rick wakes up from his vicious Shane transformation in what constitutes as their prison, with Michone watching him. Glenn, Carol and Abraham arrives. Deanna is having a meeting tonite for anyone who wants to attend. They suspect they are going to try and kick Rick out. They make a plan to take over the camp. Glenn and Michone question Rick on his intentions, but he kicks them out so he can sleep.
Sasha lies down in a hole full of sniped out Zombies in one of the strangest moments of the entire series.
Aaron and Daryl are following the “W” boys around, they run into someone in a red hoody. They arrive at a food distribution center. Daryl wants to keep tracking red hoody and Aaron wants to go for food. Aaron wins out. There are trucks that appear to have cans of food in them, But when they open one, it turns out to be a trap as a they have Zombies inside and it releases about 100+ Zombies. They get trapped in a car.
Carol threatens Pete with a knife. After saying her piece, she gives him a casserole and asks for her plate back when he’s done. Total bad ass moment. Pete drops it and freaks out off camera. Glenn follows Nicholas outside of camp and the little shit shoots Glenn in the shoulder. Nicholas runs off, and Glenn catches up and the fight begins. Nicholas uses Glenn’s injury and some nearby zombies to make a second escape.
Back in the car, Aaron reveals that Daryl when he led Rick and company to the barn during the storm, was the deciding factor to convince him that he should invite Rick’s group to Alexandra. Daryl offers to create a diversion allowing Aaron to escape but Aaron refuses, opting to fight together. When they are about to make their move, Morgan shows up and bails them out. Morgan reveals that he’s lost and shows Daryl the Map and the note Abraham wrote before leaving for Washington.
Father Gabriel goes out for a walk and encounters a walker. He is able to kill it this time, unlike his previous attempts although he cries like a bitch afterwards. He comes back and for leaves the gate slightly ajar when he attempts to close it. After a conversation with Michone where Rick explains his original plan and why he chose to hide it from her, he notices something outside his window. It’s the open gate and he runs to it. He finds blood on it and droplets on the ground. He closes the gate and storms back in distress.
Night fell and the meeting has started. Rick is nowhere to be found. Rick’s Comrades defending him, starting with Carol, Abraham and later Maggie. Deanna reveals what Father Gabriel told her. Since Father Gabriel isn’t here, Jessie scoffs it off as hearsay. Meanwhile, Zombies enter the camp attacking Rick as he attempts to make it to the meeting.
Father Gabriel has Sasha in his house and blames her for the death of Bob. I have no idea where this came from, because we haven’t seen Sasha in like an hour since her strange nap moment. I think something got edited out. They fight and Sasha gets the upper hand, pointing her gun at him. Maggie arrives and stops Sasha from killing the father.
Glenn catches up to Nicholas and this time he is able to overwhelm Nicholas. Again though, Glenn spares his life, dragging his ass back to camp. Michone grabs her sword and starts to carry it again.
The two guys Morgan dispatched at the beginning of the episode reveal themselves again and kill the person in the red hoody. It appears they called the food plant home and the “Wolves aren’t far.”
Rick arrives at the meeting carrying a zombie over his shoulder, bloody from his earlier encounter. Rick explains there wasn’t a guard at the gate and makes his case to stay. He says at one point he was thinking “How many of you do I have to kill to save your lives.” But he then says that they have to be ready and he’s going to help them be ready. A drunken and brandished Pete shows up and accidentally kills Deanna’s husband who steps in to try and to stop him. Deanna after watching her husband die gives Rick authorization to kill Pete which he does. Morgan, Daryl and Aaron arrive just after Rick does his thing. End Scene.
I consider this finale a disappointment. Nowhere near as bad as season 3’s ending but yea I didn’t like this episode that much. I know I’ll be in the minority on this because it didn’t really do anything wrong story wise, but it just didn’t feel right. They did so much right in the previous couple of episodes especially the one where Noah and Aiden died, that my expectations were raised and they didn’t really deliver on them. They also had an extra half hour to work with and really didn’t use it. They got 88 minutes in and was like, “Oh shit, we didn’t kill Porchdick yet.” Otherwise it was just a bunch of teases and the same old stuff that is kinda boring at this point and didn’t really leave me all that interested in watching the show again in the fall.
When the biggest shock of the night is finding out that Lennie James, the actor who plays Morgan has an awesome British accent, you have a serious problem!
During the Finales (midseason ones included) I’ve noticed that they tend to show commercials for other movies and tv shows that are coming up in the next few months. All this did is remind me of what I’d rather be watching, like Better Call Saul, the next Season of Halt and Catch Fire or the new Terminator movie.
Let’s update the “Who I’d Like to See Die List!”
#3 Glenn – Last week Not Listed
I’ve disliked Glenn for a long time and in season 4 he was completely juvenile in his pursuit to find Maggie after the prison was destroyed. His selfishness nearly got him and Tara killed. He did become less annoying when they reunited, but his inclusion on the list now is because he refused to kill Nicholas, even after he was responsible for Noah’s death and attempted to kill him. Nicholas should have been killed tonite and it’s Glenn’s fault.
#2 Father Gabriel – Last week 2
They under utilized him as a villain in the finale having him get into a tussle with Sasha for some reason at the end. This was a missed opportunity but now that they have the wolves, I suppose they have no reason to make Father Gabriel a villain do they?
#1 Sasha – Last Week 1
She could have redeemed herself by killing Father Gabriel or visa versa, but she did have the whole, sleeping with dead bodies thing which was really weird.
For next season they need to kill off about 3-5 major characters and not add anyone new. There are more characters than they know what to do with and not enough time to address all of them properly. Lost had a similar cast size but did a way better job dealing with it. Abraham is one of my favorite characters but I’ll be lucky to get 3 minutes an episode of him. Rosita makes cameo appearances and characters disappear for multiple episodes. I don't even know the name of Deanna's husband.
Another place they really dropped the ball was with the Wolves. Nothing about them is particularly threatening, I mean the two jackasses get mauled by Morgan in the opening and they don’t even have a loaded gun. Are we really supposed to take them seriously?
When Gareth was introduced in the final episode last season, he was handled correctly. He was able to capture Rick and his crew. When season 4 ended you were like “Oh, it’s on now!” I do think they killed Gareth off too quickly and he was a good villain. There was none of that this time around. These guys are basically Bebop and Rocksteady and last time I checked The Turtles always beat the piss out of them and usually in the first two stages of the beat-em ups.
I realize these two guys are probably just scouts and not the leaders of the Wolves but come on you gotta show something. Had they say actually killed Morgan, then that earned you instant credibility.
I doubt the writers have the guts to kill the necessary characters to get things under control. It's become too big for its own good now. There's going to be a Walking Dead - Los Angeles, FMS
Those are my thoughts, feel free to comment below
C.J. Foxx Author of Super-Hero Bowl VI
@CJFoxxAuthor on Twitter
C.J. Foxx Like us on Facebook
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GGTL79M
The epidose starts with Morgan, who has been following Rick the entire season. He gets a gun pointed at him by someone with a “W” carved on his head. After getting ranted about wolves and natives thinking that humans were once wolves. He gets ambushed by another guy and Morgan disposes of them with some swift bo work like he was Donatello of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Rick wakes up from his vicious Shane transformation in what constitutes as their prison, with Michone watching him. Glenn, Carol and Abraham arrives. Deanna is having a meeting tonite for anyone who wants to attend. They suspect they are going to try and kick Rick out. They make a plan to take over the camp. Glenn and Michone question Rick on his intentions, but he kicks them out so he can sleep.
Sasha lies down in a hole full of sniped out Zombies in one of the strangest moments of the entire series.
Aaron and Daryl are following the “W” boys around, they run into someone in a red hoody. They arrive at a food distribution center. Daryl wants to keep tracking red hoody and Aaron wants to go for food. Aaron wins out. There are trucks that appear to have cans of food in them, But when they open one, it turns out to be a trap as a they have Zombies inside and it releases about 100+ Zombies. They get trapped in a car.
Carol threatens Pete with a knife. After saying her piece, she gives him a casserole and asks for her plate back when he’s done. Total bad ass moment. Pete drops it and freaks out off camera. Glenn follows Nicholas outside of camp and the little shit shoots Glenn in the shoulder. Nicholas runs off, and Glenn catches up and the fight begins. Nicholas uses Glenn’s injury and some nearby zombies to make a second escape.
Back in the car, Aaron reveals that Daryl when he led Rick and company to the barn during the storm, was the deciding factor to convince him that he should invite Rick’s group to Alexandra. Daryl offers to create a diversion allowing Aaron to escape but Aaron refuses, opting to fight together. When they are about to make their move, Morgan shows up and bails them out. Morgan reveals that he’s lost and shows Daryl the Map and the note Abraham wrote before leaving for Washington.
Father Gabriel goes out for a walk and encounters a walker. He is able to kill it this time, unlike his previous attempts although he cries like a bitch afterwards. He comes back and for leaves the gate slightly ajar when he attempts to close it. After a conversation with Michone where Rick explains his original plan and why he chose to hide it from her, he notices something outside his window. It’s the open gate and he runs to it. He finds blood on it and droplets on the ground. He closes the gate and storms back in distress.
Night fell and the meeting has started. Rick is nowhere to be found. Rick’s Comrades defending him, starting with Carol, Abraham and later Maggie. Deanna reveals what Father Gabriel told her. Since Father Gabriel isn’t here, Jessie scoffs it off as hearsay. Meanwhile, Zombies enter the camp attacking Rick as he attempts to make it to the meeting.
Father Gabriel has Sasha in his house and blames her for the death of Bob. I have no idea where this came from, because we haven’t seen Sasha in like an hour since her strange nap moment. I think something got edited out. They fight and Sasha gets the upper hand, pointing her gun at him. Maggie arrives and stops Sasha from killing the father.
Glenn catches up to Nicholas and this time he is able to overwhelm Nicholas. Again though, Glenn spares his life, dragging his ass back to camp. Michone grabs her sword and starts to carry it again.
The two guys Morgan dispatched at the beginning of the episode reveal themselves again and kill the person in the red hoody. It appears they called the food plant home and the “Wolves aren’t far.”
Rick arrives at the meeting carrying a zombie over his shoulder, bloody from his earlier encounter. Rick explains there wasn’t a guard at the gate and makes his case to stay. He says at one point he was thinking “How many of you do I have to kill to save your lives.” But he then says that they have to be ready and he’s going to help them be ready. A drunken and brandished Pete shows up and accidentally kills Deanna’s husband who steps in to try and to stop him. Deanna after watching her husband die gives Rick authorization to kill Pete which he does. Morgan, Daryl and Aaron arrive just after Rick does his thing. End Scene.
I consider this finale a disappointment. Nowhere near as bad as season 3’s ending but yea I didn’t like this episode that much. I know I’ll be in the minority on this because it didn’t really do anything wrong story wise, but it just didn’t feel right. They did so much right in the previous couple of episodes especially the one where Noah and Aiden died, that my expectations were raised and they didn’t really deliver on them. They also had an extra half hour to work with and really didn’t use it. They got 88 minutes in and was like, “Oh shit, we didn’t kill Porchdick yet.” Otherwise it was just a bunch of teases and the same old stuff that is kinda boring at this point and didn’t really leave me all that interested in watching the show again in the fall.
When the biggest shock of the night is finding out that Lennie James, the actor who plays Morgan has an awesome British accent, you have a serious problem!
During the Finales (midseason ones included) I’ve noticed that they tend to show commercials for other movies and tv shows that are coming up in the next few months. All this did is remind me of what I’d rather be watching, like Better Call Saul, the next Season of Halt and Catch Fire or the new Terminator movie.
Let’s update the “Who I’d Like to See Die List!”
#3 Glenn – Last week Not Listed
I’ve disliked Glenn for a long time and in season 4 he was completely juvenile in his pursuit to find Maggie after the prison was destroyed. His selfishness nearly got him and Tara killed. He did become less annoying when they reunited, but his inclusion on the list now is because he refused to kill Nicholas, even after he was responsible for Noah’s death and attempted to kill him. Nicholas should have been killed tonite and it’s Glenn’s fault.
#2 Father Gabriel – Last week 2
They under utilized him as a villain in the finale having him get into a tussle with Sasha for some reason at the end. This was a missed opportunity but now that they have the wolves, I suppose they have no reason to make Father Gabriel a villain do they?
#1 Sasha – Last Week 1
She could have redeemed herself by killing Father Gabriel or visa versa, but she did have the whole, sleeping with dead bodies thing which was really weird.
For next season they need to kill off about 3-5 major characters and not add anyone new. There are more characters than they know what to do with and not enough time to address all of them properly. Lost had a similar cast size but did a way better job dealing with it. Abraham is one of my favorite characters but I’ll be lucky to get 3 minutes an episode of him. Rosita makes cameo appearances and characters disappear for multiple episodes. I don't even know the name of Deanna's husband.
Another place they really dropped the ball was with the Wolves. Nothing about them is particularly threatening, I mean the two jackasses get mauled by Morgan in the opening and they don’t even have a loaded gun. Are we really supposed to take them seriously?
When Gareth was introduced in the final episode last season, he was handled correctly. He was able to capture Rick and his crew. When season 4 ended you were like “Oh, it’s on now!” I do think they killed Gareth off too quickly and he was a good villain. There was none of that this time around. These guys are basically Bebop and Rocksteady and last time I checked The Turtles always beat the piss out of them and usually in the first two stages of the beat-em ups.
I realize these two guys are probably just scouts and not the leaders of the Wolves but come on you gotta show something. Had they say actually killed Morgan, then that earned you instant credibility.
I doubt the writers have the guts to kill the necessary characters to get things under control. It's become too big for its own good now. There's going to be a Walking Dead - Los Angeles, FMS
Those are my thoughts, feel free to comment below
C.J. Foxx Author of Super-Hero Bowl VI
@CJFoxxAuthor on Twitter
C.J. Foxx Like us on Facebook
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GGTL79M
March 22, 2015
Walking Dead Episode Review 5.15: Try
After a violent episode which resulted in the gruesome deaths of Noah and Aiden. What’ll be in store for Rick and his crew tonite as we’re just one episode away from the extended Walking Dead Season 5 Finale.
First let me kick things off my inaugural “Who I hope will Die list!”
To make this list you have to be a somewhat major character and not a proverbial “red shirt”
I consider Nicholas and Pete in this category because they haven't been on the show very long and appear to be earmarked to die at some point before season’s end. Lets’s begin!
#3 Tara
This character is the most useless in Rick’s crew and does nothing but annoy at every step. She's being more productive right now being fixed up by Pete than she was going on runs and talking to Eugene.
#2 Father Gabriel
Father Gabriel’s inclusion on this list is due to his recent turncoat status where he declares Rick to be Satan even though he appears to be in the angel’s light. The Father is actually talking about himself since he abandoned his congregation when the zombie apocalypse occurred, leaving them to either die or be turned. He was so far in the background that I didn’t even know he actually made it to Alexandria, but this brought him back into the forefront.
#1 Sasha
Her character has done nothing but get on my nerves the entire season. We get it, you’re sad that you’ve lost Tyrese and Bob. Maggie lost most of her Family too and she’s sucked it up. Why can’t you? because you are a weak weak person. When somebody offers to make you your favorite dish, you don’t need to act like a bitch and raise a fit!
Now onto the Episode!
Carol makes a Tuna Casserole for Deanna as she mourns the death of her son, but she burns the card. The Battle lines are drawn.
Each side begins by telling their story. Nicholas spins a complete lie to Deanna and Glenn the truth to Rick. Carol recants a situation that happened Jesse beaten by Pete and was found by her son Sam. She was out cold and Bleeding. Rick wonders why Carol cares and says you know why, alluding to her deceased Abusive husband Ed and Rick cares because of his obvious feelings. Pete or Porchdick (as my sister calls him) encounters Rick by the river. He just replies “keep walking“ to a stunned Porchdick as he resists the urge to shoot him with the revolver in his hand.
The next morning Rosita reveals to Michone that Tara is recovering and that Sasha is missing. She had spent the night in the clocktower and hasn’t been seen. The duo goes out looking for him Michone without her sword. They follow a trail of Zombies with bullets in the backs of their heads until they find her in a frenzy. She’s gone on “Offense” as she just starts shooting every zombie in sight. Michone flashes back to her earlier self and begins shooting other zombies along with Rosita. Sasha once again throws a fit saying that it all worked out for Michone, completely unaware that Michone lost her son.
Rick confronts Deanna about Pete, who she has known of his behavior and condoning it because he’s a surgeon and has saved many lives. Rick wants to separates him but eventually acknowledges that he needs to kill him before he kills Jessie, but Deanna doesn't consider it civilized and would resort to exile of Pete or Rick if necessary. Rick goes to Jessie saying that wants to protect her before Pete kills her but she’s in denial as well. She shuts him out but Rick comes back in and offers to protect her and the boys, She agrees just as Pete walks in. Jessie stands up to Pete and asks him to leave. Rick and Pete get into a violent fight that involves both of them going though a window which was nicely foreshadowed the previous week.
In B Plot land Carl follows his new girlfriend outside again but she catches him and they frolic in slow motion Ugh. They each admit that they are afraid of each other and have a cute moment in a hollow tree. A Zombie with a W on it’s head shows up and she says this is the zombie’s world and they just live in it.
Glenn confronts a delusional Nicholas and declares he’s saving Nicholas’ life by keeping him stuck in the walls. Glenn has stepped up and matured quite a bit from how he was just a season ago. He acknowledges that he could have killed Nicholas outside, but he wants the gang to survive in Alexandria and realized that he couldn't do that if he killed Nicholas.
Aaron and Daryl run into a group of tied up walkers and another with the W carving.
The fight gets vicious as it’s dragged into the street where everyone can get a good strong whiff of it. Pete knocks back Jessie who attempts to break them up and Rick does the same with Carl later on. Deanna stops the fight while a bloodied Rick, threatens to kill Pete and draws his gun. Rick makes a speech saying that they need to live in the real world. Michone clocks Rick in the back of the head (while wearing the constable outfit) and it ends the episode.
This is another gripping episode and is setting up Rick being exiled from Alexandria. It started off great with the Nine Inch Nails song that opened the episode and it set the tone of unrest between the two camps. More walkers showed up with the W carved on their heads and that situation I think is going to come to head next week in the season finale and end up keeping Rick in Alexandria. I’m looking forward to just watching next weekend and hopefully it’ll be good.
C.J. Foxx Author of Super-Hero Bowl VI
@CJFoxxAuthor on Twitter
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First let me kick things off my inaugural “Who I hope will Die list!”
To make this list you have to be a somewhat major character and not a proverbial “red shirt”
I consider Nicholas and Pete in this category because they haven't been on the show very long and appear to be earmarked to die at some point before season’s end. Lets’s begin!
#3 Tara
This character is the most useless in Rick’s crew and does nothing but annoy at every step. She's being more productive right now being fixed up by Pete than she was going on runs and talking to Eugene.
#2 Father Gabriel
Father Gabriel’s inclusion on this list is due to his recent turncoat status where he declares Rick to be Satan even though he appears to be in the angel’s light. The Father is actually talking about himself since he abandoned his congregation when the zombie apocalypse occurred, leaving them to either die or be turned. He was so far in the background that I didn’t even know he actually made it to Alexandria, but this brought him back into the forefront.
#1 Sasha
Her character has done nothing but get on my nerves the entire season. We get it, you’re sad that you’ve lost Tyrese and Bob. Maggie lost most of her Family too and she’s sucked it up. Why can’t you? because you are a weak weak person. When somebody offers to make you your favorite dish, you don’t need to act like a bitch and raise a fit!
Now onto the Episode!
Carol makes a Tuna Casserole for Deanna as she mourns the death of her son, but she burns the card. The Battle lines are drawn.
Each side begins by telling their story. Nicholas spins a complete lie to Deanna and Glenn the truth to Rick. Carol recants a situation that happened Jesse beaten by Pete and was found by her son Sam. She was out cold and Bleeding. Rick wonders why Carol cares and says you know why, alluding to her deceased Abusive husband Ed and Rick cares because of his obvious feelings. Pete or Porchdick (as my sister calls him) encounters Rick by the river. He just replies “keep walking“ to a stunned Porchdick as he resists the urge to shoot him with the revolver in his hand.
The next morning Rosita reveals to Michone that Tara is recovering and that Sasha is missing. She had spent the night in the clocktower and hasn’t been seen. The duo goes out looking for him Michone without her sword. They follow a trail of Zombies with bullets in the backs of their heads until they find her in a frenzy. She’s gone on “Offense” as she just starts shooting every zombie in sight. Michone flashes back to her earlier self and begins shooting other zombies along with Rosita. Sasha once again throws a fit saying that it all worked out for Michone, completely unaware that Michone lost her son.
Rick confronts Deanna about Pete, who she has known of his behavior and condoning it because he’s a surgeon and has saved many lives. Rick wants to separates him but eventually acknowledges that he needs to kill him before he kills Jessie, but Deanna doesn't consider it civilized and would resort to exile of Pete or Rick if necessary. Rick goes to Jessie saying that wants to protect her before Pete kills her but she’s in denial as well. She shuts him out but Rick comes back in and offers to protect her and the boys, She agrees just as Pete walks in. Jessie stands up to Pete and asks him to leave. Rick and Pete get into a violent fight that involves both of them going though a window which was nicely foreshadowed the previous week.
In B Plot land Carl follows his new girlfriend outside again but she catches him and they frolic in slow motion Ugh. They each admit that they are afraid of each other and have a cute moment in a hollow tree. A Zombie with a W on it’s head shows up and she says this is the zombie’s world and they just live in it.
Glenn confronts a delusional Nicholas and declares he’s saving Nicholas’ life by keeping him stuck in the walls. Glenn has stepped up and matured quite a bit from how he was just a season ago. He acknowledges that he could have killed Nicholas outside, but he wants the gang to survive in Alexandria and realized that he couldn't do that if he killed Nicholas.
Aaron and Daryl run into a group of tied up walkers and another with the W carving.
The fight gets vicious as it’s dragged into the street where everyone can get a good strong whiff of it. Pete knocks back Jessie who attempts to break them up and Rick does the same with Carl later on. Deanna stops the fight while a bloodied Rick, threatens to kill Pete and draws his gun. Rick makes a speech saying that they need to live in the real world. Michone clocks Rick in the back of the head (while wearing the constable outfit) and it ends the episode.
This is another gripping episode and is setting up Rick being exiled from Alexandria. It started off great with the Nine Inch Nails song that opened the episode and it set the tone of unrest between the two camps. More walkers showed up with the W carved on their heads and that situation I think is going to come to head next week in the season finale and end up keeping Rick in Alexandria. I’m looking forward to just watching next weekend and hopefully it’ll be good.
C.J. Foxx Author of Super-Hero Bowl VI
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March 15, 2015
Walking Dead Episode Review 5.14: Spend
I just got back home from driving 7 hours in a car to attend the Tucson Festival of Books which is an amazing event. For those who love books and want to be writers one day it's a great event to attend. I visited and learned with authors from the east coast to the west coast. Thank you to everyone who attended the event and to all of the Volunteers and friends of the festival. This was my second year of attending and I'll be there this time next year!
Now, after the quality of the last couple of walking dead episodes I was losing interest in the show and dreading having to watch the episode. Last week's show was so uneventful that, I almost didn't put up the review! When I got in, I really just wanted to take a nap, like I was Garfield the Cat after eating Lasagna.
I'm glad I didn't.
Spend was one of the strongest episodes of the entire series. The main theme of this episode is about bravery vs cowardice. It begins with our crew Glenn, Tara, Everybody Hates Chris and Eugene going on a run with Alexandria regulars Aiden and Nicholas. The solar power system is running into issues and they have to get replacement parts. Eugene doesn't want to go as he doesn't think he's qualified.
Once at the supply factory, The team begins to get swarmed by zombies and Aiden accidentally shoots the grenade on a armored-military zombie after Glenn warns him. The explosion injuries Tara and impales Aiden on some shrapnel. They regroup in another room after Nicholas determines that Aiden is dead. As it turns out Aiden is still alive and wakes up. Eugene is left with Tara while the three remaining runners go and attempt a rescue. It is determined at this point that Nicholas and Aiden abandoned their recently deceased comrades referenced a couple episodes ago. Nicholas flat out splits while Noah and Glenn try to save Aiden until they get overrun by Zombie and are forced to flee. Aiden's death is epic and reminded me of Captain Rhodes' demise from Day of the dead
Glenn and Noah catch up with Nicholas and end up stuck on opposite sides of a revolving glass door, surrounded on both sides by Zombies. Things are dire until Eugene, a self professed coward, brings the Van around having Tara in the back. Ironically the van was blaring out techno music that ironically had earlier said "now you're going to die" before they went on the run.
Glenn comes up with a plan to get the three out of the doorway but before they could implement the plan Nicholas playing the coward card opens the door and it causes Noah to be sucked inside by the Zombies and brutally consumed, while Glenn is forced to watch in an equally amazing kill sequence to the one we just witnessed which makes up for the fourth grade digital effects they used earlier. I could rant for days that practical effects always more effective than those computer generated ones. Nicholas at this point attempts to commandeer the van from Eugene but Glenn arrives and pummels Nicholas.
In the "B" plot, Abraham helps with a crew trying to fortify the wall when a walker attack creates another moment of cowardice amongst the Alexandria crew. an errand shot takes out the hydraulics on an elevated arm of an excavator sending a lookout to the ground. The crew leaves her in the middle of a swarm. Abraham saves the lookout and takes over command of the crew using his military background to show he's a more than capable leader. Later on the foreman of the crew requests to Deanna that Abraham be made permanent foreman, as he is a better fit for the Job.
Daryl gets that motorcycle of his working real fast and heads out with Aaron.
Carol gets mean with the kid who saw her with the guns and happens to be the son of Rick's new girlfriend I mean Jessie who is married to Pete. Rick is investigating who knocked over the owl a second time after Rick did in an earlier episode. Turns out that The kid broke his own owl and his dad, Pete is an abusive person, big shock seeing that he's pretty much buzzed every time you see him and has a real douchie vibe to him. Carol is all to familiar as she was in an abusive relationship at the start of the series.
The episode ends with Glenn returning to camp and Carol saying that Rick is going to have to kill Pete.
Great episode, we experience another shocking death with Everybody Hates Chris "Meeting Mr. Mayhem."
The tension is building between Rick's Crew and the citizens of Alexandria and will only continue once Deanna finds out of her son's death. I forgot to mention that Father Gabriel somehow showed up again. I swear I haven't seen one peep of him since they arrived at Alexandria. He's professed to Deanna, that Rick is the Devil and is hiding behind the light. There are many things left up in the air, including Tara who may not survive the night. This episode did it's job and I'm back on board to watch the remaining two episodes of the season.
Good work!
C.J. Foxx Author of Super-Hero Bowl VI
@CJFoxxAuthor on Twitter
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Now, after the quality of the last couple of walking dead episodes I was losing interest in the show and dreading having to watch the episode. Last week's show was so uneventful that, I almost didn't put up the review! When I got in, I really just wanted to take a nap, like I was Garfield the Cat after eating Lasagna.
I'm glad I didn't.
Spend was one of the strongest episodes of the entire series. The main theme of this episode is about bravery vs cowardice. It begins with our crew Glenn, Tara, Everybody Hates Chris and Eugene going on a run with Alexandria regulars Aiden and Nicholas. The solar power system is running into issues and they have to get replacement parts. Eugene doesn't want to go as he doesn't think he's qualified.
Once at the supply factory, The team begins to get swarmed by zombies and Aiden accidentally shoots the grenade on a armored-military zombie after Glenn warns him. The explosion injuries Tara and impales Aiden on some shrapnel. They regroup in another room after Nicholas determines that Aiden is dead. As it turns out Aiden is still alive and wakes up. Eugene is left with Tara while the three remaining runners go and attempt a rescue. It is determined at this point that Nicholas and Aiden abandoned their recently deceased comrades referenced a couple episodes ago. Nicholas flat out splits while Noah and Glenn try to save Aiden until they get overrun by Zombie and are forced to flee. Aiden's death is epic and reminded me of Captain Rhodes' demise from Day of the dead
Glenn and Noah catch up with Nicholas and end up stuck on opposite sides of a revolving glass door, surrounded on both sides by Zombies. Things are dire until Eugene, a self professed coward, brings the Van around having Tara in the back. Ironically the van was blaring out techno music that ironically had earlier said "now you're going to die" before they went on the run.
Glenn comes up with a plan to get the three out of the doorway but before they could implement the plan Nicholas playing the coward card opens the door and it causes Noah to be sucked inside by the Zombies and brutally consumed, while Glenn is forced to watch in an equally amazing kill sequence to the one we just witnessed which makes up for the fourth grade digital effects they used earlier. I could rant for days that practical effects always more effective than those computer generated ones. Nicholas at this point attempts to commandeer the van from Eugene but Glenn arrives and pummels Nicholas.
In the "B" plot, Abraham helps with a crew trying to fortify the wall when a walker attack creates another moment of cowardice amongst the Alexandria crew. an errand shot takes out the hydraulics on an elevated arm of an excavator sending a lookout to the ground. The crew leaves her in the middle of a swarm. Abraham saves the lookout and takes over command of the crew using his military background to show he's a more than capable leader. Later on the foreman of the crew requests to Deanna that Abraham be made permanent foreman, as he is a better fit for the Job.
Daryl gets that motorcycle of his working real fast and heads out with Aaron.
Carol gets mean with the kid who saw her with the guns and happens to be the son of Rick's new girlfriend I mean Jessie who is married to Pete. Rick is investigating who knocked over the owl a second time after Rick did in an earlier episode. Turns out that The kid broke his own owl and his dad, Pete is an abusive person, big shock seeing that he's pretty much buzzed every time you see him and has a real douchie vibe to him. Carol is all to familiar as she was in an abusive relationship at the start of the series.
The episode ends with Glenn returning to camp and Carol saying that Rick is going to have to kill Pete.
Great episode, we experience another shocking death with Everybody Hates Chris "Meeting Mr. Mayhem."
The tension is building between Rick's Crew and the citizens of Alexandria and will only continue once Deanna finds out of her son's death. I forgot to mention that Father Gabriel somehow showed up again. I swear I haven't seen one peep of him since they arrived at Alexandria. He's professed to Deanna, that Rick is the Devil and is hiding behind the light. There are many things left up in the air, including Tara who may not survive the night. This episode did it's job and I'm back on board to watch the remaining two episodes of the season.
Good work!
C.J. Foxx Author of Super-Hero Bowl VI
@CJFoxxAuthor on Twitter
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March 14, 2015
Walking Dead Episode Review 5.13: Forget
Tonite’s episode is called “forget,” last week’s was called “remember.” There’s a purpose to that. This episode is more about the acclimation of the group to the new surroundings. Deanna has a party where everyone Alexandria gets a chance to meet the Rick and his crew. It’s a bit jarring to see everyone wearing normal clothes and it’s definitely jarring for them to be in the community where there are kids worrying about cookies and stamping people.
Sasha gets a bit in the opening where she’s shooting framed pictures of people in Alexandra including Aaron. She’s still grieving from losing Tyreese and Bob. She later has a freakout at the party because someone who is nice enough to make a meal for her is worried that Sasha won’t like it. Daryl has a Spaghetti dinner with Aaron and Eric. Michone is trying on one of the constable jackets with her sword at her side and later she retires he blade. Abraham tries to enjoy himself at the party. You get the picture it’s awkward.
The main plot (if there even is one) revolves around Rick, Daryl, and an undercover Carol are working behind the scenes trying to create an ammo and gun stockpile. They are trying an Ocean’s 11 style capper to get some 9mm pistols and ammo to the place where rick left his pistol before they entered Alexandria. It’s decided that Carol is the one to who gets to do the deed. Daryl is being followed everywhere he goes by Aaron and Rick is too noticeable as a cop. Carol gets the guns but is nearly caught by a child she threatens to tie to a tree outside camp.
Aaron and Daryl have a bit of a bonding experience outside while trying to wrangle in a black horse named “Buttons.” They are both considered outsiders, Aaron because he’s a Homersexual and Daryl because well he’s Daryl. After they have the Spaghetti Aaron invites Daryl to the garage and reveals that he has motorcycle parts and an unfinished chopper. He also asks Daryl to be his partner on Recruitment missions. Fun twist here because there has been a question about Daryl's sexuality on the show.
The most interesting development (to me anyway) revolves around a zombie Rick finds that has a W slashed on its forehead.
The team is gradually forgetting their lives on the outside and are trying to adjust to their new lives inside the walls. Things are kinda slow right now and many characters have been relegated to background to making cameos appearances. I thought for a bit that Father Gabriel had been shuffled aside due to some internal “Cousin Oliver” issue since I haven’t seen him at all in like three weeks. This wreaks of the calm before the storm as we’re just three episodes until the season finale and shit is going to pick up. It better, because if it doesn't I'll just stick to more interesting shows like Better Call Saul.
C.J. Foxx Author of Super-Hero Bowl VI
@CJFoxxAuthor on Twitter
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Sasha gets a bit in the opening where she’s shooting framed pictures of people in Alexandra including Aaron. She’s still grieving from losing Tyreese and Bob. She later has a freakout at the party because someone who is nice enough to make a meal for her is worried that Sasha won’t like it. Daryl has a Spaghetti dinner with Aaron and Eric. Michone is trying on one of the constable jackets with her sword at her side and later she retires he blade. Abraham tries to enjoy himself at the party. You get the picture it’s awkward.
The main plot (if there even is one) revolves around Rick, Daryl, and an undercover Carol are working behind the scenes trying to create an ammo and gun stockpile. They are trying an Ocean’s 11 style capper to get some 9mm pistols and ammo to the place where rick left his pistol before they entered Alexandria. It’s decided that Carol is the one to who gets to do the deed. Daryl is being followed everywhere he goes by Aaron and Rick is too noticeable as a cop. Carol gets the guns but is nearly caught by a child she threatens to tie to a tree outside camp.
Aaron and Daryl have a bit of a bonding experience outside while trying to wrangle in a black horse named “Buttons.” They are both considered outsiders, Aaron because he’s a Homersexual and Daryl because well he’s Daryl. After they have the Spaghetti Aaron invites Daryl to the garage and reveals that he has motorcycle parts and an unfinished chopper. He also asks Daryl to be his partner on Recruitment missions. Fun twist here because there has been a question about Daryl's sexuality on the show.
The most interesting development (to me anyway) revolves around a zombie Rick finds that has a W slashed on its forehead.
The team is gradually forgetting their lives on the outside and are trying to adjust to their new lives inside the walls. Things are kinda slow right now and many characters have been relegated to background to making cameos appearances. I thought for a bit that Father Gabriel had been shuffled aside due to some internal “Cousin Oliver” issue since I haven’t seen him at all in like three weeks. This wreaks of the calm before the storm as we’re just three episodes until the season finale and shit is going to pick up. It better, because if it doesn't I'll just stick to more interesting shows like Better Call Saul.
C.J. Foxx Author of Super-Hero Bowl VI
@CJFoxxAuthor on Twitter
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Walking Dead Episode Review 5.12: Forget
Tonite’s episode is called “forget,” last week’s was called “remember.” There’s a purpose to that. This episode is more about the acclimation of the group to the new surroundings. Deanna has a party where everyone Alexandria gets a chance to meet the Rick and his crew. It’s a bit jarring to see everyone wearing normal clothes and it’s definitely jarring for them to be in the community where there are kids worrying about cookies and stamping people.
Sasha gets a bit in the opening where she’s shooting framed pictures of people in Alexandra including Aaron. She’s still grieving from losing Tyreese and Bob. She later has a freakout at the party because someone who is nice enough to make a meal for her is worried that Sasha won’t like it. Daryl has a Spaghetti dinner with Aaron and Eric. Michone is trying on one of the constable jackets with her sword at her side and later she retires he blade. Abraham tries to enjoy himself at the party. You get the picture it’s awkward.
The main plot (if there even is one) revolves around Rick, Daryl, and an undercover Carol are working behind the scenes trying to create an ammo and gun stockpile. They are trying an Ocean’s 11 style capper to get some 9mm pistols and ammo to the place where rick left his pistol before they entered Alexandria. It’s decided that Carol is the one to who gets to do the deed. Daryl is being followed everywhere he goes by Aaron and Rick is too noticeable as a cop. Carol gets the guns but is nearly caught by a child she threatens to tie to a tree outside camp.
Aaron and Daryl have a bit of a bonding experience outside while trying to wrangle in a black horse named “Buttons.” They are both considered outsiders, Aaron because he’s a Homersexual and Daryl because well he’s Daryl. After they have the Spaghetti Aaron invites Daryl to the garage and reveals that he has motorcycle parts and an unfinished chopper. He also asks Daryl to be his partner on Recruitment missions. Fun twist here because there has been a question about Daryl's sexuality on the show.
The most interesting development (to me anyway) revolves around a zombie Rick finds that has a W slashed on its forehead.
The team is gradually forgetting their lives on the outside and are trying to adjust to their new lives inside the walls. Things are kinda slow right now and many characters have been relegated to background to making cameos appearances. I thought for a bit that Father Gabriel had been shuffled aside due to some internal “Cousin Oliver” issue since I haven’t seen him at all in like three weeks. This wreaks of the calm before the storm as we’re just three episodes until the season finale and shit is going to pick up. It better, because if it doesn't I'll just stick to more interesting shows like Better Call Saul.
C.J. Foxx Author of Super-Hero Bowl VI
@CJFoxxAuthor on Twitter
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http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GGTL79M
Sasha gets a bit in the opening where she’s shooting framed pictures of people in Alexandra including Aaron. She’s still grieving from losing Tyreese and Bob. She later has a freakout at the party because someone who is nice enough to make a meal for her is worried that Sasha won’t like it. Daryl has a Spaghetti dinner with Aaron and Eric. Michone is trying on one of the constable jackets with her sword at her side and later she retires he blade. Abraham tries to enjoy himself at the party. You get the picture it’s awkward.
The main plot (if there even is one) revolves around Rick, Daryl, and an undercover Carol are working behind the scenes trying to create an ammo and gun stockpile. They are trying an Ocean’s 11 style capper to get some 9mm pistols and ammo to the place where rick left his pistol before they entered Alexandria. It’s decided that Carol is the one to who gets to do the deed. Daryl is being followed everywhere he goes by Aaron and Rick is too noticeable as a cop. Carol gets the guns but is nearly caught by a child she threatens to tie to a tree outside camp.
Aaron and Daryl have a bit of a bonding experience outside while trying to wrangle in a black horse named “Buttons.” They are both considered outsiders, Aaron because he’s a Homersexual and Daryl because well he’s Daryl. After they have the Spaghetti Aaron invites Daryl to the garage and reveals that he has motorcycle parts and an unfinished chopper. He also asks Daryl to be his partner on Recruitment missions. Fun twist here because there has been a question about Daryl's sexuality on the show.
The most interesting development (to me anyway) revolves around a zombie Rick finds that has a W slashed on its forehead.
The team is gradually forgetting their lives on the outside and are trying to adjust to their new lives inside the walls. Things are kinda slow right now and many characters have been relegated to background to making cameos appearances. I thought for a bit that Father Gabriel had been shuffled aside due to some internal “Cousin Oliver” issue since I haven’t seen him at all in like three weeks. This wreaks of the calm before the storm as we’re just three episodes until the season finale and shit is going to pick up. It better, because if it doesn't I'll just stick to more interesting shows like Better Call Saul.
C.J. Foxx Author of Super-Hero Bowl VI
@CJFoxxAuthor on Twitter
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http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GGTL79M
March 1, 2015
Walking Dead Episode Review 5.12: Remember
Remember when Rick was clean shaven? Yea I forgot too. You used to be able to tell how far into the series you were based on his facial hair. Not anymore!
The gang arrived at Alexandriais a community of $800K homes that got converted into a one of the last safe havens on the planet. It’s solar powered so they have electricity and it’s a total shock for everyone. The last time the gang got hot water and electricity was the CDC from season one and that was for one night before the whole place blew up.
The gang is used to things going bad for each other when something “good” is presented to them. So much of the episode is acclimating themselves to the new environment. They do so with varying levels of success. Rick, Carol (although she’s clearly playing possum), Michone, and Carl fit in well, Daryl not so much. This is funny because Daryl is the one major character at this point who wasn’t in the comics in any form, (Noah’s in the same boat, but he’s been on the show for like half a season) and his not fitting in makes sense character wise, but also because he technically wasn’t there.
The leader of the Alexandra is Deanna who was a congresswoman before the outbreak. She takes a liking to Rick immediately and sees potential in him. The group feels things out, Rick explores and makes acquaintances with the lovely Jessie played by Alexandria Beckenridge. Carl meets a group of kids and plays video games. Carol get some new clothes (that Daryl detests) and becomes a cook for older folks of Alexandria.
The Rick shaving was an interesting scene because it reminded me a bit of Shane’s hair cut scene from season two. Shane changed completely after the hair cut and Rick is changing too. I know the first time I shaved my head it changed things a bit. Michone even took notice since she had never seen clear cut Rick before.
Deanna’s son, Aiden is a prick and he leads Glenn, Tara and “Everybody Hates Chris” on a run, he goes over their system but it’s pretty clear that these guys aren’t all that experienced. They have a dispute over a strung up zombie and it nearly kills them because Aiden insists on recapturing it as it had killed their friends. When they get back a fight ensues and Glenn pops in the kisser like Jackie Gleason on the Honeymooners.
Deanna makes Rick a constable and we close with Rick in his new police uniform. Carol and Daryl express worry about them growing weak (which Carl had mentioned earlier), while living in the compound, but he isn’t worried about that. They can make it and if the people in Alexandra can’t then they’ll take the city as their own.
I liked this episode and in particular the chilling ending. Rick really did change when he shaved his beard, I was getting worried about the show after how lame the past couple of episodes have been, now at least (as my sister has hinted) I think things are moving again.
C.J. Foxx Author of Super-Hero Bowl VI
@CJFoxxAuthor on Twitter
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The gang arrived at Alexandriais a community of $800K homes that got converted into a one of the last safe havens on the planet. It’s solar powered so they have electricity and it’s a total shock for everyone. The last time the gang got hot water and electricity was the CDC from season one and that was for one night before the whole place blew up.
The gang is used to things going bad for each other when something “good” is presented to them. So much of the episode is acclimating themselves to the new environment. They do so with varying levels of success. Rick, Carol (although she’s clearly playing possum), Michone, and Carl fit in well, Daryl not so much. This is funny because Daryl is the one major character at this point who wasn’t in the comics in any form, (Noah’s in the same boat, but he’s been on the show for like half a season) and his not fitting in makes sense character wise, but also because he technically wasn’t there.
The leader of the Alexandra is Deanna who was a congresswoman before the outbreak. She takes a liking to Rick immediately and sees potential in him. The group feels things out, Rick explores and makes acquaintances with the lovely Jessie played by Alexandria Beckenridge. Carl meets a group of kids and plays video games. Carol get some new clothes (that Daryl detests) and becomes a cook for older folks of Alexandria.
The Rick shaving was an interesting scene because it reminded me a bit of Shane’s hair cut scene from season two. Shane changed completely after the hair cut and Rick is changing too. I know the first time I shaved my head it changed things a bit. Michone even took notice since she had never seen clear cut Rick before.
Deanna’s son, Aiden is a prick and he leads Glenn, Tara and “Everybody Hates Chris” on a run, he goes over their system but it’s pretty clear that these guys aren’t all that experienced. They have a dispute over a strung up zombie and it nearly kills them because Aiden insists on recapturing it as it had killed their friends. When they get back a fight ensues and Glenn pops in the kisser like Jackie Gleason on the Honeymooners.
Deanna makes Rick a constable and we close with Rick in his new police uniform. Carol and Daryl express worry about them growing weak (which Carl had mentioned earlier), while living in the compound, but he isn’t worried about that. They can make it and if the people in Alexandra can’t then they’ll take the city as their own.
I liked this episode and in particular the chilling ending. Rick really did change when he shaved his beard, I was getting worried about the show after how lame the past couple of episodes have been, now at least (as my sister has hinted) I think things are moving again.
C.J. Foxx Author of Super-Hero Bowl VI
@CJFoxxAuthor on Twitter
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