The Walking Dead: Season 5, episode 3: Four Walls and a Roof

This review is NOT spoiler free!

Again, a bit late with my review. I'm sorry but I was very busy with school. The third episode of season five wasn't too bad I must admit. Compared to the previous two seasons it's actually not too bad at all so far. It was again an episode with quite a bit of action and good action I must say. 

Season 4 was pretty much one big build-up towards the whole Terminus thing and to be honest I expected that the Terminus thing would go further a while in season 5 as well. It actually ended with this episode and that's something I'm pretty happy about. If you've read my rant in my previous review, you know that I was quite afraid they will take profit of this for way too long, but luckily they knew when to stop with this storyline. The whole Terminus thing took 4 to 5 episodes perhaps in total, 2 from the previous seasons and 3 from this one. And that's not too bad, I think. It's also because there was a break from a year between the second and third episode that made it bearable. When these 5 episodes would've been in one season it might've become boring, but now it was timed quite good I think.

At the end of the second episode we saw Bob being captured by the Terminus people, or the Hunters as they call themselves. The Hunters are a group of cannibals who happened to be eating Bob his leg when he woke up. I already said this before but I think it's pretty awesome to have a group of cannibals added to The Walking Dead. It would've been quite unbelievable that there wouldn't be one group of sick people who didn't go that road. Cannibalism is something pretty disturbing and I thought it's a nice addition to the show. I already expected this, we all did, but Bob was indeed bitten by a zombie, meaning the Hunters were eating tainted meat. 

It would've been quite interesting to see if the tainted meat would've had any effect on the people. The meat was being cooked properly, but unfortunately we don't know if they would've gotten infected as well. This is because Rick and his group are pretty sick of all shit going down and they took justice in their own hands this time, and quickly as well. In most seasons you see them hesitate when they capture the bad guys because you can't just kill a living human without reason, but I'm glad that's over because it means the Hunters were dealt with once and for all.

That's pretty much the main storyline in this episode, and in my opinion it was pretty interesting. The more tiny story lines of this episode included Abraham wanting to go to Washington, which he eventually did. This means that Glenn, Maggie and Abraham's crew left the group, but I suspect that they will meet again sometime. It was also about Tyreese overcoming his fear of killing, which he did eventually. He's quite a cute character actually, since he probably looks the most badass compared to the rest, but he's the sweetest. Always walking with the baby and stuff, very cute. 

At the end of the episode we got a glimpse of what might come in the next episode, and perhaps the rest of the season. Darryl and Carol got back, we saw Darryl in one piece but he was being all mysterious about Carol who was in the bushes. Unfortunately the episode stopped here so we'll have to wait till next episode to know if something was wrong with her. For those who don't know yet, they were chasing the car that took Beth away, and I expect that the rest of the season will be about those people. We did see a glimpse of Beth in the next episodes' trailer, meaning she's still alive. It seemed like she was in a hospital of some sort and things were messed up. I'm actually quite curious where the show will continue to go after this. What's a bit strange actually is that Maggie just left while her sister hasn't been found yet. 

The third episode was quite good, it dealt with the bad guys and showed some perspectives of the human nature. It also made me very curious about the next episode. I think so far this season is better compared to season 4. It's still too early to really tell though.

The Walking Dead: Season 5, Episode 2: Strangers

This review is NOT spoiler free!

Oops, I'm a bit late with this one. I actually saw it right when it came out, but I totally forgot writing about it. As usual the episode was less exciting compared to the first episode, but well, that's pretty standard with The Walking Dead. Sometimes I think it would be best to just watch the first episode, the mid-season finale, the first episode after the mid-season break and the last episode of the season since they're the most exciting ones. I wouldn't say that this episode was boring, but it lacked action. 

In this episode there's a new character introduced, a man named Father Gabriel who claims that he has not killed anybody (alive or not). Of course this raises a lot of questions since the guys is still alive after 2 years or something. He seems to be okay, but well, everyone that seems okay in this show will turn out to be a dick, so we'll have to wait that one out.

I'm probably the most impatient person ever and I couldn't help but check the internet about a few facts about him, since he is of course a character in the comic book. The TV show doesn't follow the comics exactly (for example, Andrea and Sophia are still alive), but it does follow it somewhat. I will not tell anything about it though, since you might not want to know the details. If you do, you can always check the internet yourself :). According to the comics though, there's still a shit load to come for next seasons. 

The thing that I'm often annoyed about with TV shows is when times are finally good again, it lasts like a quarter episode and shit will go down again. It's a bit comparable with Lost, every time they're close to being rescued the show gets another season meaning it needs to continue it's storyline and everything will be bad again. And with The Walking Dead I'm afraid it will get boring eventually because it just keeps on going, when times are good, thing will go down again and it will just be never ending. When the first episode of this season was released there was an announcement that The Walking Dead was being renewed for a sixth season, which is pretty unbelievable since the first episode might be good, but the rest might be shitty as hell. 

It's obvious that The Walking Dead is not as good anymore as it used to be (and with that I mostly mean the first season, perhaps the second one), but the makers have the attitude to keep on going while it's popular. Meaning, one day the show might not be popular enough anymore, leaving the watchers with an open ending, because it suddenly gets cancelled. That's the thing I like with Breaking Bad, there are only five seasons and they only start gaining this popularity in season 4 or so, but they knew when to quit. They knew to quit on the right time without expanding it story onto endless seasons. Even Game of Thrones already knows when the last season will be, and that one will be quite hard since they're still waiting for the new books to come out. That's what The Walking Dead creators should do, to know when they should stop, because I expect this will go nowhere eventually. 

Okay, sorry for this small rant! Now onto the episode, shall we? 

Again - spoilers!

This episode the group runs into Father Gabriel like I explained before, and well he has some kind of secret only we don't know yet what it is. He seems like an awesome character though and I'm actually hoping the will join the group. I think he might be very interesting. I think it will take a few episodes to get to know his story so at the moment I can't say a whole lot about it yet. 

Another thing is of course the Terminus people. It was pretty clear that the whole build-up to Terminus wouldn't be wiped away in one episode. This episode we got to know their real story, and it's pretty sick. I've heard the rumors of course, that these Terminus people were actually 'the Hunters', who happen to be cannibals. Well, they are cannibals, and in my opinion it's a pretty badass addition to the storyline. It was not really clear what happened, but I think that Bob was bitten in the basement. That's probably why he was outside, crying, when they took him. The Hunters cut off his leg -I expect the bitten leg- and well, the episode ended with them eating that leg. I'm not sure if them eating that leg will infect them though, I sure hope so. Anyway, we'll probably find out the next episode. 

This moment was very vague, I'm not really sure what was going on actually. Carol was outside, killing a walker. She ran into Darryl, and then something with a car and another car. It was really confusing, I had to idea where they were and where all the cars came from. Sure I recognized the car that took Beth and I know that that will be their lead to Beth but the whole scene was just weird. Speaking about Carol by the way, probably the most awesome character development ever. I don't really care about Beth, but I'm curious who took her.

Wow! Long review! Sorry for the rants, and sorry for the actual little review. I'm curious about next episode, hopefully it will be a bit more exciting though. 

Party Slashers Fundraiser!

Hello!

Recently I got an email from Carl Bachmann, who happens to be the writer and director of horror-comedy Party Slasher. Not ringing any bells? Well, that's because Party Slashers hasn't been exactly made, YET. You can help Carl to bring his project to life, and with this help you can receive some awesome things. For example, you get the opportunity to be decapitated in the film! Who doesn't want that?! But that's not it, you can get other cool stuff as well. Perhaps you should check out his Kickstarter site where you can read all about it and watch the first test scene of Party Slashers. 

Party Slashers is about a group of high schoolers who must try to survive Halloween after it's being crashed by undead mass murderers who were summoned during a Dungeons and Dragons game. 

If you're interested in donating a bit of money to see this project come to life, just go to the Kickstarter! 

Click here!

Carrie (2013)

Carrie

IMDB rate: 6,0

Genre: Supernatural

Starring: Chloë Grace Moretz, Julianne Moore, Gabriella Wilde

For those who've read many of my reviews know that I'm not a big fan of 'old' movies. Maybe because I grew up in the time of remakes, I don't know. This is of course not the case with every old movie. I did  liked the original movie of Carrie a lot, and for the first time ever I watched the original movie before the remake. I don't do this on purpose, it's just often that the remakes are being released and I end up watching them before I watch the original. Globally speaking, remakes aren't much appreciated, even though there are a few very good ones around, dare I say it - some are better than the original. However, this is not the case with the newest Carrie movie. At least, not in my opinion. 

There's not a whole lot bad to say about the Carrie remake though, simply because it's almost an exact copy of the original. In my opinion, remakes are good when they have something to offer that's better. For example, The Hills Have Eyes is an amazing remake. The reason why it's a great movie is because the savages are looking way scarier compared to the original, it's not just a more modern version, it's really an update compared to the original. Same thing with Dawn of the Dead, the original is nice and stuff, but in my opinion the zombies don't look very scary. In the remake they are made really gross and  scary, which haves a much bigger effect on the viewers. The story is also changed a bit, perhaps not the greatest change, but the one who made it apparently thought it needed a change. Back to the subject, in Carrie there's no big changes, no update what so ever. The only big difference is that the shameful moment of Carrie in the shower is being posted online, that's it. In my opinion, it's a bit of a useless remake.

Because it's an useless remake doesn't mean it's a bad remake. It's a decent movie, but because it doesn't offer nothing new it's just literally an exact copy of the first Carrie movie. The deaths are slightly different, there's an useless pregnancy involved, the annoying spinning scene isn't copied and there's some use of social networking, these small changes just don't need an entirely new movie, I think.

Now, back to the actual movie quality. I think Chloe Moretz is an amazing young actress, who played in quite a few horror movies already (Let Me In, The Eye, Amityville Horror). I don't mind seeing her in horror movies though, she was great in every one of them. I must admit though that I wasn't entirely convinced with her playing Carrie White. Her insecurity seemed a bit over-the-top, making it less convincing. Also, I think she's way to pretty to play such an odd girl, especially compared to Sissy Spacek who has a bit of an odd look, making her much more believable. Julianne Moore as the mother wasn't a bad choice, she somehow seemed a bit less crazy compared to Piper Laurie.

There were a few casting choices who weren't a good choice at all. For example, Gabriella Wilde as Sue Snell and Ansel Elgort as Tommy Ross. They were totally unbelievable as a couple who would feel for Carry, since they both look like the biggest assholes themselves. They were just one of those typical American High-school movies lovers who love to bully, instead of helping them. This is of course pretty much based on their looks, I just didn't like them as Sue Snell and Tommy Ross. The girl who played Chris Hargensen (Portia Doubleday) was the worst actress ever by the way, she wasn't convincing at all, terrible casting choice as well. 

The supernatural powers of Carrie are used a lot more in this movie, personally I liked this a bit more since in the original Carrie movie there wasn't much focus on her powers. The death scene of Chris was also fucking brutal, something that was a cool addition to this movie as well compared with the original. 

Every time when you've watched some original version of a movie and the remake you can't help but compare the two, I know that this review is a lot of comparing, but well, all I want to say with it is that I personally liked the first Carrie better. Perhaps when I had first watched the remake and after that the original my thought would be entirely different, but of course I can't check that. Carrie is a nice movie, but I wouldn't call it great. For the better Carrie experience I would recommend watching the original. 

My rate: 6/10

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (2014)

Once in a while I like to write about something different than a horror movie. Not so long ago I watched Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, or in short: Sin City 2. 

I personally was a big fan of the first Sin City movie. It was a very refreshing movie in my opinion. They kept the color scheme of the comic book, which was mostly black and white with very few use of color. The use of color is of course what's most notable about Sin City, it's what made things pop out. What I also liked were the white glasses of Kevin, it was something that made him somewhat outstanding.

In Sin City 2 they just overused this interesting color scheme. It was not special anymore because it was used for every little unimportant thing. The blue dress? Nice, but it had to further use. Also, suddenly every character that wore glasses had them made white, again, with no further use. It's sad because I thought this was what made you recognize Kevin most, or perhaps they should've used it for another psychopath, not just for every character who happens to wear glasses.

Sin City 2 is a bit of a sequel and a prequel, which makes it difficult to keep track sometimes when what takes place. As if this wasn't difficult enough already, it's being made harder because there's almost nobody left of the original Sin City. Michael Clarke Duncan's Manute is now being played by Dennis Haysbert because Michael Clarke Duncan sadly passed away. The cop Bob is now being played by Jeremy Piven instead of Michael Madsen. Jamie Chung replaced Devon Aoki as Miho, of course Miho's role isn't that big but I loved the deadly look of Devon Aoki, while Jamie Chung looks more sweet instead of deadly. Josh Brolin now plays Dwight, who previously was played by Clive Owen. In this case however it's justified since the character got a new face and they actually did their best to make Josh Brolin resemble Clive Owen's Dwight as much as possible. 

All together, it was pretty confusing some times. Besides this cast misfortune and the wrong choice of colors, the script was just terrible. It was just messy and it did not fit together well at all. The characters are just plain, even Nancy's (Jessica Alba) great role was turned into nothing in this movie. We were all surprised when Bruce Willis showed up in the cast list on IMDB, but in fact his role in Sin City 2 might have been the shortest one of his entire career. 

I'm not always the biggest fan of Mickey Rourke, but he was pretty good in his role as Marv in Sin City 2, unlike others. Joseph Gordon-Levitt was also a great choice for the role he had, I think he was my favorite in this movie. It's just so sad that it turned out to be this bad. 

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For is not a good movie. It has a terrible script, and it's overplaying the significant small things from the first movie. It's not worth watching, at all. Dare I say it? I think I enjoyed The Spirit (aka the so called bad movie version of Sin City) more than this movie.

My rate: 4/10

Horror Movie Survival Kit

A few days ago I received an email from Man Crates Gifts for Men with the question what things I would like to have if I find myself stuck in a horror movie. Quite an interesting question actually, since we've seen tons of objects fail at the moment of truth. 

Man Crates Gifts for Men is an American company who create unique gifts. Manly gifts this is. The items turn up in a crate with a crowbar, meaning you'll have to delve into that gift in the most manly way possible. They even have a Zombie Apocalypse survival crate, you might want to check that out, might come in handy someday. 

The first thing that came to mind is a chainsaw. It's definitely the most badass object for every kind of creature you might encounter. But wait... don't these things fail often as well? In Evil Dead they were lucky enough that the chainsaw worked in time, but there are plenty movies where the chainsaw couldn't start. Leatherface never seemed to have this problem, but hey, not everybody was raised like him. Now I think of it, even after Chucky's arms were cut off he managed to crawl to Andy. So nope, no chainsaw after all. 

The thing you would need in a survival kit depends on the creature you encounter, a stake for a vampire, a crucifix for the possessed person around, some extra limbs when you end up in Hostel and perhaps a nice samurai sword when you end up being in a zombie apocalypse. 

Here's what I really would like to have to survive a horror movie:

1. The best flashlight ever made, with infinite batteries and stuff. 

Every goddamn horror movie the flashlight fails at the most important moment. When you're heading to the basement because you heard a sound, or when you're going to the woods because your little brother escaped again. I would like a badass flashlight, who will not fail on me when I need it the most. Not even the flickering so I have to slap it a few times so it will work again.

2. An amazingly armored truck

Not just an armored truck though, of course I will need one that will start when I say it should start. Not the bullshit with keys being dropped to the ground, that won't happen to me. It would be amazing as well if it was driven by sun energy or something, so no gas stops. This thing is indestructible! 

3. A samurai sword

I mentioned it earlier already, but I think this one is a keeper. It's silent, doesn't need any reloading and it's easy to take with you. A bonus: you look frickin' badass. 

4. Forrest Gump's running legs

If my armored truck fails  (of course it wouldn't, but if) I would like to be able to run for my life. A pair of Forrest Gump's legs might save my life. 

5. Some guts

What's most helpful in a horror movie is being fearless. Even when your group decides to split up you know you're the fearless one and nothing can stop you! Also, being fearless might stop you from screaming for help, or screaming at all. Screaming might betray your position or it may cause that the creepy doll lady takes your tongue. 

6. An emergency kit for when all above fails

This emergency kit is of course to become a bad guy, because they never die. Even when they die, they're being resurrected in the sequel. So you always win. Here's what in it:

- A mask (hockey or a face of another). This is of course to hide your face and to make you look scary.

- A weapon (machete, chainsaw, a knife of choice). To attack the attacker.

- Duct tape. This is to cover your own mouth, because bad guys don't speak, at all. 

- When the duct tape isn't an option, some humor (a joke book). Because they don't speak at all, or they're jokers. 

- Armor, to make you pretty much invincible. 

My survival kit might be a bit unrealistic, but I think this might be the only way I survive this horror movie. 

I hope you enjoyed this post and please let me know what you will like to have in your Horror Survival Crate?!

The Walking Dead: Season 5, Episode 1: No Sanctuary

This review is NOT spoiler free!

It's that time of the year again, a new season of The Walking Dead has started! For those who don't know already, I was a big fan of the first season, the second and third season were okay, but I wasn't the biggest fan of season four. We were left with a big cliffhanger where most of the group was locked in this so-called sanctuary Terminus. The last episode of season 4 was pretty tensive because of this cliffhanger, also the group was finally almost back together, which was pretty nice.

This episode was filled with a lot of action - finally. The last few episodes in previous seasons were just a bit... I wouldn't say lame, but it was pretty close to lame. They were just using too many episodes for useless stuff and using multiple episodes to build up to something. I hope they won't do that again, and in my opinion they started this season off amazingly. Sure it was slightly predictable, but that doesn't really matter since the viewer wants that most of the group stays alive.

If you're still reading this, this is where the real spoilers start!
This episode starts pretty much where the last one left of. Rick and his group are trapped inside Terminus. Meanwhile, Carol and Tyreese are wandering in the woods when Carol decides to go to Terminus, while Tyreese stays behind with baby Judith. In Terminus Carol manages to distract everybody, meaning Rick and the group could escape. Afterwards, Carol is being reunited with the group. She brings them to Tyreese, meaning that Rick and Carl are finally reunited again with Judith.

It was a nice episode, it really was. It was tensive, but also brutal and awesome. There are some pretty nasty deaths, and it's quite awesome that Rick and co. aren't dealing with all this shit anymore. They immediately kill anybody who is crossing their path, which is nice. Previously it lead them to situations where they were almost killed, but they're kinda done with it, I think. There were finally tons of zombies again and that included also some nice killing of them. In the end there was the final reunion with the entire group, which was a touching moment. At first I was scared they would drag the reunion over half of the season again, but luckily they did it right away. The only one still missing right now is Beth, but in my opinion she isn't really missed. I wouldn't care if she was dead, actually. She's an useless character who only sings. In the end we got a nice little surprise with Morgan showing up, perhaps he was the one kidnapping Beth? I'm also still interested in the Terminus people, since there are rumors they are cannibals. I think we aren't done with them yet actually, so maybe we still get some inside scoops.

This episode was a promising start for this season, it made me really excited for the other episodes. Perhaps The Walking Dead will finally be interesting again!