Author: Julian Cannon

Movie Review: Thr33 Days Dead

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Thr33 Days Dead was released in 2014 after years of development. It was writen and directed by John M. Ware as he also stars in the film as well. I recently got the chance to watch the film and here are my thoughts of Thr33 Days Dead.

Before I mention the plot, I have to bring up the production. Now I know that independent filmmakers have a budget and limited space and equipment. I am watching this in my eyes of the year 2020 as this film was released in 2014, but I had to put my eyes of 2014 on and I spotted many production issues. The sound was in a high or low pitch from multiple scenes that I can count as I believe the sound mixing could have been fixed. I even thought at times that my Macbook’s sound was adjusting itself because I had studio headphones on while I was watching Thr33 Days Dead.

I also want to talk about the pacing. The outstanding number of jump cuts and transitions became an eye sore and was distracting. Especially the scene where they were trying to get away from a small horde of zombies in the forest. They succeeded on getting away, but the sequence of them killing the zombies could have been edited much better. It makes WWE’s directing of camera cuts during those The Shield brawls on Raw and Smackdown in that same year look like a masterpiece compared to this and there are times that I do not like WWE’s camera cuts. But one scene that had a small detail that I liked is when they were at the town when they were about to enter a store. A shooter was shooting down zombies while the three main characters were trying to enter that store before the shooter alerted them. This all happened on a split screen to the style of 24 and I am a huge fan of 24 so I liked that.

The plot is pretty straight forwards. Three childhood friends Jeff, Justin, and Patrick are out fishing, only to discover that the zombie apoclapyse has started. All three of them go from the fishing lake, to the city to realize that it is also overrun by the dead. During their adventure, they meet Valerie and Pete to continue their adventure and to protect themselves from the dead that are overtaking the areas. There are some scenes that were funny, some that had a small bit of tension, and some that are hard to watch. But the film ends on a cliffhanger and before that cliffhanger happens, it’s final sequence is similar to the final few minutes of Night of the Living Dead.

There was so much that I believe could have been either fixed, cut, or straight out avoided during the post production process. I think it is okay for independent filmmakers to have at least a few not so good movies in order to have a good learning experience. The project was ambitious as I can tell that the cast really did try to act out their scenes. Also, the number of extras for an independent film to this scale is something I took notice as not a lot of independent horror films has this many extras. It is good that they were extras and not just people digitally added in during post production too. Let me put it like this, All the ingredients were there, and the pot was ready. But the problem with those ingredients, is that blending them well together in order for the meal to turn out right did not happen because those ingredients were left on the pot for hours which sums up Thr33 Days Dead.

To give more context, The SyFy mini series Town of The Living Dead that showed the behind the scenes footage of the making of the movie and I believe that is the most interesting aspect of the entire thing. I also enjoyed the making of the film far better than the film itself. Especially the making of the boat explosion, the zombie baby that was born, and the many ways they had to get their tools and props for this film. I have never made a film before and I did not want to be too harsh because as I said before, everyone did their best effort for Thr33 Days Dead. But I could not skip the many flaws that I have seen. Also, former WWE Superstar Luke Gallows made a cameo in the film!

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Feuds of the Dead Week 1: Carol vs Alpha

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The Walking Dead has had many feuds during it’s first ten seasons. Some are memorable, and some are not so memorable. Whether if the fans liked the feuds or not, they were significant for the major characters, and everyone else surrounding those characters. Last week, I tweeted to everyone what feud of The Walking Dead would they like to see on this weekly miniseries Feuds of the Dead and Rick vs. The Governor was leading the poll, but Carol vs. Alpha won the poll. It is time to revisit the Carol vs. Alpha feud that ran from Season 9, to Season 10.

THE BEGINNING

On season 9, Carol was married to Ezekiel and they adopted Henry as their son. Carol and Ezekiel essentially became the king and queen of The Kingdom for a while. But as their paradise was blooming, the threat of The Whisperers were coming to the communities. The first member of any of the communities to meet their demise was Jesus as it happened at the graveyard. From that time until the fair, every community pact together to stop the threat of The Whisperers after being very disconnected with eachother for a while. At the day of the fair, Alpha infiltrated the fair in disguise and seen some artwork of Carol and Ezekiel as she remarked that she would like to meet “the queen.” Later that night, Daryl, Michonne, Carol, and others were surrounded by Whisperers including Alpha and Beta.

When Alpha appeared, her machete was bloody and she showed Daryl the mega horde. In the morning, that same group seen Alpha’s border with heads on every pike as Alpha lured and beheaded members of each community. The last person to be revealed was Henry and Daryl did not want Carol to look at his severed head. After the winter storm, it is revealed that Carol left the communities as she took a boat to go to the sea during the time between the winter storm, to the season 10 premiere. Carol reuintes with Daryl, Ezekiel, and Connie. Daryl and Carol were catching up while they were alone until they were all interrupted by the satellite crashing down as everyone gathered together to put out the fire. After that, Carol and Alpha had a staredown as Carol was on top of the cliff, and Alpha was far below.

THE BORDER

Melissa McBride as Carol Peletier, Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon, Danai Gurira as Michonne – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 3 – Photo Credit: Jackson Lee Davis/AMC

At the first meeting at the same border that they seen the severed heads on those pikes, Alpha was telling Michonne that they are taking more land because she knows that they crossed her border multiple times. Carol was not hearing anything Alpha said since it will cut their hunting area. Alpha wanted Carol to repeat what she said and Alpha also taunted Carol about killing Henry. So Carol shot at Alpha, but Michonne smacked Carol’s gun from her hand away at the moment she pulled the trigger. The tension of this feud is rising at this scene alone. After they retreat, Carol declares that Alpha has to die. It is also here that Carol took medication that had a side effect that gave her hallucinations as she seen the ghost of Henry at an abandoned school while she also seen a shadow figure about to stab her. Daryl checked on her wellbeing at this time.

The feud continued as Alpha is strategically wearing the group out. Carol captured a Whisperer and interrogated him about the location of Alpha’s horde. Carol also tried to use Lydia as leverage to get to Alpha too. But before that, they had a heart to heart conversation before Lydia figured out the plan. The feud picked up again as Alpha lead Carol, Daryl, Magna, Connie, Kelly, Aaron, and Jerry into a trap which was the dark cave that had Alpha’s mega horde which was thousands of walkers. They got out the cave, but Connie and Kelly didn’t. Carol’s obsession of destroying Alpha and her horde also affected the group as Yumiko blamed Carol for all of them being in that cave to begin with. But Carol has a plan and I will get to that now.

THE END

Carol also battled alongside with everyone at The Hilltop at the time it was burning down due to the flaming arrows that were shot by The Whisperers during that battle. After The Whisperers won that battle, Carol’s grand plan comes to light. Carol’s plan involved Negan as she not only secretly released him, she made him a promise that if he kills Alpha, she will spread the word to the group and make sure that Negan will have a different view to the communities when she tells them. Carol did this as a backup plan to kill Alpha incase her original plan did not work. Negan did just that by luring Alpha into a shed to make her believe that Lydia is there. Negan rolled Alpha’s head to her feet as it was poetic as Alpha wanted Carol to look down at her and Carol did exactly that except that she is alive, and she is dead. But it was not truly over yet as She asked Negan why did it take so long for him to kill Alpha. Negan told Carol that he needed to get her trust before he could do so. Carol was then taunted by the conscience of Alpha as she would not get out of Carol’s head until Carol got the strength to get over Alpha as she killed a walker while she was trapped under debris. This is where the feud between Carol and Alpha ends.

Interview: Melissa McBride on Carol’s Showdown With Alpha, Traveling With Norman Reedus, And Working With Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and a Farewell to Danai Gurira

As Carol got her revenge, she questioned if it was worth it due to what happened during the road to get revenge on Alpha. Revenge stories always have a rough road as they are never sweet and straight forward to just getting revenge of one person or large group. You will lose people along the way and this is what happened to both Carol and Alpha. The difference here, is that Carol cares for her own people and Alpha does not other than Lydia. Carol and Alpha are very strong characters and When these two were first on screen together, I had a feeling that these two would have a showdown on the television show compared to the comic book series since comic book Carol was dead long before Alpha showed up. This feud has been a highlight of season 10 and it is also one of my favorite feuds of the series.

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Get Your Signed Copy of Negan Lives at this Comic Book Store

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News broke a few days ago that Skybound will release Negan Lives, which will tell the story of what happened to Negan from his final appearence on issue #174, to issue #193. This will be an intriging story since the fans wanted to know about his wearabouts before he had a cameo on the final issue.

The issue will be in stores and not on digital as Robert Kirkman wanted to give back to the comic book stores for not only supporting The Walking Dead comic book series for years, but to also give back to every comic book stores that were also affected by the pandemic as all the sales of Negan Lives will go back to the stores. One store in particular, will be allowing fans to purchase a signed copy of the book.

Megabrain Comics and Arcade is located in New York state and Jeffrey Dean Morgan is a frequent visitor at this store. Jeffrey will sign copies of Negan Lives and you have a chance to buy it from the store. It will cost $20.00 and it is limited to one copy per user. Jeffrey Dean Morgan cares for the fandom of The Walking Dead since he plays as Negan himself and he wanted to give back as well.

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Doomsday Kingdom Vol-1 The Feeding Post Review

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Ronny Haze of Make A Path Presents has been a central member of The Walking Dead community for some time now as he not only runs his YouTube channel talking about The Walking Dead and other mediums such as movies and video games, he is also a comic writer and creator. Since The Walking Dead comic book series finished with issue #193 (Along with the Negan one shot coming in July 2020) , the majority of the fans of the series has been looking for their next post-apoclapyse story. I recommend everyone to check out Doomsday Kingdom as this series not only fills in the gap of a new story style than we are used to on The Walking Dead, it also has a new twist on the genre. Here is my review of the first volume titled The Feeding Post which collects issues #1-4.

First, I will like to say that artist James Milne did a great job with the art. I can tell from the first issue, to the rest of this volume that the artwork and coloring has improved. Granted that he had more time to do this, it came out very well and I am impressed with the amount of gore that was presented in these issues as well.

The story itself, starts normal, but gets very dark real quick. At the start of the issue, you will see the cover character in his full uniform at first asd he is named The Rider, but learn his backstory as the story goes on. This is a unique take as backstories are established on the first few pages at most times. But you will understand why he becomes this mysterious person on the cover. It keeps you engaged to wonder what he was like before the world changed. During his backstory flashbacks, You will learn that his name is Tristian and you will also see what lead to those changes as it just started as a normal day, and then by the afternoon, he had to take his daughter home from school as her fever got worse. She then passed away. He got very emotional after this and I could feel his pain since I would react the same way if my child passed away like this at an early age.

The other characters like Katie and Lazaro are likable too. And I believe that Ronny Haze thought of how he will keep their scenes interesting even though they are in the story at a minimal time for this volume and not have them there to be filler characters as they are central to the story too.

By the end of this volume, I started to think that the story has really fleshed out how civilians would react to a situation like this. It was not rushed as both Ronny and James made sure to have as much time possible to showcase how slowly it will be for the world to end instead of a fast rate. You also see people doing things in this world that they normally would not do if the world was not ending especially at the last half of the volume. I cannot go too much in detail of certain plot twists, but they will be shocking and I have faith that it will pay off.

There are some scenes in this volume that caught my attention even for the small moments. The first one I can think of is when one person literally **** their pants. I gasped as I turned the page for that to be revealed and I laughed afterwards because that must have been an easter egg to one of Negan’s lines. Follow that up with the next scene where everyone’s phones are ringing and the masked bandits begin to ask for everyone’s food as they were dressed in armor. There is another scene in this book that is so bloody, that it took me a few minutes to process what just happened as I was looking at the entire one page panel. Also, there is something really disgusting that happens too and it is more disgusting than the guy that crapped his pants and this happens after a character turns. You might want to be prepared to not eat as you are reading this volume because there are some unthinkable moments that happen that your stomach will not handle. I can handle gore since I love horror, but I was not prepared for that particular panel.

Overall, I enjoyed this nice twist to the apoclapsye genre as it was something I did not expect at all. Ronny Haze and James went out of their way to create an original story while also making sure to not make it a repeat of stories everyone already heard of, or read before. From the first issue, you will find out why the volume is titled The Feeding Post. And by the end of the fourth issue, you will understand the meaning behind the name. Ronny Haze has stated that each volume will have a different theme and story and I so far like the direction the story is going. Being a content creator for YouTube and making an comic at the same time was quite unheard of a few years ago until Ronny Haze started this project and I am happy to see it’s growth and success.

You can buy Doomsday Kingdom via Indiegogo on this link.

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The Walking Dead Comic Book Series to Return With a Special Negan Issue

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Have you wondered what happened to Negan after his final appearence on issue #174 until when he appeared for the final time on the final issue? Well our questions will be finally answered on this special issue titled “Negan Lives.”

Negan Lives will be a one-shot that will give a glimpse on what he was up to, and what lead Negan to The Commonwealth after his final appearence. On his final appearence, Maggie spared his life and he left his new Lucille burning on the campfire as he walked away. With this one-shot, we can expect a good story.

It is also to note that this issue will be in stores on July 1st and there will be a gold and silver variant editions of the issue as well. Negan Lives will not be sold on digital and The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman had stated that the revenue will all go to the comic book stoires selling it:

“While Charlie Adlard and I had laid the series to rest, this felt like something special we could do for the store owners who made our series a success to begin with. To that end, I’m happy to report that 100% of the revenue generated from this book will go to the stores selling it. The retailer community does backbreaking work to get comics into the hands of our loving fans, we should all be doing more in these trying times to show them how appreciated they are.”

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Norman Reedus Delivers Update on The Walking Dead Onslaught

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Official VR Game of “AMC’s The Walking Dead” Enters Final Stages of Development

Survios Inc. and AMC revealed today during the UploadVR Showcase that The Walking Dead Onslaught, the official VR game of AMC’s The Walking Dead, has entered the final stages of development and confirmed that a gameplay reveal will be coming later this summer. Accompanying the announcement was a video greeting from TheWalking Dead star Norman Reedus, who recently wrapped his voice recording as Daryl Dixon for the upcoming title. The game will also feature voice work from cast members Melissa McBride (Carol) and Josh McDermitt (Eugene).

You can see below of Norman Reedus’ announcement of the final stages of development.

The Walking Dead Onslaught is scheduled to launch later this year on Playstation VR, Steam VR, and Oculus Rift. For the latest information, follow Survios on Twitter and Facebook.

Follow me on Instagram and Twitter @julianexcalibur for more content. Contact me at julian@alternativemindz.com

The Walking Dead Fans Come Up With Baby Names if Daryl and Connie Had a Child

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There are a number of fans of The Walking Dead that would like to see Connie and Daryl Dixon in a relationship. This is due to how organic their chemistry are whenever these two are on screen with eachother. So the question is, if these two were to have a son or daughter, what would be the name of their first child? I went to Twitter to see what the fans think, and here are some of the responses that I would like to share.

DJ would be quite insteresting as it would be similar to RJ. Imagine when they grow up and ask for eachother’s names? That would get a chuckle of a laugh for that moment in a genuine way. I would also want to know what exactly DJ would stand for too.

Girl Dixon or Boy Dixon would fit too because of who Daryl is. I mean, he did name his dog “dog” so this name could happen. I would not personally name my children boy or girl, but Daryl would have to come up with a good reason for that name choice!

Now I like the Hunter name. Especially for when he grows up in the apoclapyse, he will know how to use Daryl’s crossbow when he is at least 10 years old. Or Connie could teach him how to use her weapon as well.

Dannie is something I have not thought of during my whole thought process of this topic. Not only would that be close to Donnie, everyone would relate to the name since it is close to the name that the fans coined for Daryl and Connie’s potential relationship.

This name choice also fits the Daryl character as Boy or Girl. But I would like to know, what happens when Baby turns 20 years old? Would Daryl or Connie have to change his or her name?

This would come first circle for Daryl if he named his son Meryl just like when Maggie named her son Hershel. Plus, I would not think that Meryl jr. would not grow up to become a bad guy especially since Daryl and Connie will have him on the right track.

Donnie would be very meta and I would actually like that. In fact, that would be the ultimate fan service for the fans of their relationship and maybe for the majority of the casual viewers of The Walking Dead. Angela Kang is even hopeful to see these two together so to name their first child Donnie would be the icing on the cake.

What do you think of some of these names? Do you have your own name for their first child?

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The One Time WWE Used Product Placement The Right Way Worked and Here’s Why

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Over the years, WWE has had product placement on television whether if it is Raw, Smackdown, NXT, or even the pay per views. Not only does whatever product that is being shown on television is being seen by millions of viewers worldwide, it will also increase the awareness and interest of the brand that is being showcased on television. There are hits and misses when WWE does this at times. But last weekend at NXT Takeover: In Your House, one of the best uses of product placement on WWE programing happened.

This happened during the backlot brawl match for the NXT Championship between Adam Cole and Velveteen Dream. While they were both brawling by the cars, one car pulls up and the driver asked “did somebody call an Uber?” This moment was so sudden and random and it not only worked, it also fit to the entire scenery of the match. It was also not forced and in your face as many other times WWE has done product placement on their shows.

Don’t get me wrong, The few times that I thought WWE used product placement right were good. The first one I can think of, is at last year’s TLC when KFC had their own table. That also fit the theme of the show as that table that was full of KFC food and products, was destroyed during a match. But the difference between this one, and the Uber product placement, is that it was quick and it was not in your face like the KFC spot.

I think that WWE can do more of this type of product placement without overstaying it’s welcome like this. Do you remember nearly almost a decade ago when there was Mountain Dew on the commentary tables for the whole night and not one of the commentators even cared that it was there? I understand that brands paid for the spot, but if it will not have no use other than just being there, what would be the point then? This one product placement that happened on NXT was far better than the various times WWE used product placement on their main shows for the last decade.

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Velveteen Dream Became Negan With His Ring Gear at NXT Takeover: In Your House

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Last sunday, NXT Takeover: In Your House took place at Full Sail University as one of the promoted matches of the show was Velveteen Dream vs. Adam Cole for the NXT Championship in a Backlot Brawl match. What got everyone talking besides the match, was Velveteen Dream’s ring gear which payed homage to The Walking Dead’s most popular villain, Negan.

Just like Negan himself, Velveteen Dream had his jacket, scarf, boots, jeans, and even his own version of Lucille without the barbed wire wrapped around it. It is quite fitting since there were cars surrounded around the ring just like there were cars surrounding Rick and his group when they first encountered Negan with his large number of Saviors.

Although Dream did not win the match, his ring gear and entrance got the entire Walking Dead fandom to react to his ring gear. Velveteen Dream has had inspired gear before such as Hollywood Hulk Hogan, Notorious B.I.G, Toronto Raptors, and even NFL inspired gear at last year’s NXT Halftime Heat special during the Super Bowl.

Personal note, I love this since I am a fan of Negan and The Walking Dead.

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I’ve Watched The First Five Episodes of Season 2 of NOS4A2 and Here is my Non Spoiler Preview

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Ashleigh Cummings as Vic McQueen, Jonathan Langdon as Lou Carmody, Jason David as Wayne McQueen – NOS4A2 _ Season 2 – Photo Credit: Zach Dilgard/AMC

NOS4A2 returns for a second season on June 21st as the second season takes place 8 years after the death of Charlie Manx. But what will come to Vic and her family and friends after his death is another story within itself. I do not want to give all of my thoughts on the first few episodes on this introduction as I shall begin giving you my thoughts on the first few episodes right now!

The first episode titled “Bad Mother” showcases how Vic, Maggie, Lou and the rest in her circle are coping with the aftermath of the death of Charlie Manx. They were really convinced that he was dead, but Vic is the only one that does not think that he is dead after she killed him on the season one finale. Vic and Lou are now in a relationship and they have a son named Bruce Wayne. Wayne also likes basketball too and I think basketball fans will get a good laugh on what Lou bought Wayne when he returned home. Maggie is now in a relationship with Tabitha, and Bing has moved on from the previous season, but is still on Charlie’s side. Over at Christmasland, Millie is waiting for her father to return. But at that time, she is with the rest of the other children. In fact, you will see her at the opening of the episode. There is also a few Star Wars references that are brought up by one of the couples as this person wanted to compare themselves too. There are also nice moments involving Vic and Wayne not only on this episode, but on episode 3 and 4 as well. The only other thing I can say about episode 1, is that it is a solid opener and it will keep you engaged to watch the second episode.

Now about Charlie, his scenes on the second episode are gory for most of the episode. I cannot give too much away, but it goes back and forth on the younger version of Charlie, and the current Charlie. You will learn more about Charlie in these flashbacks than you did in the first season as it will give context and answers that everyone has had about him. You will like this episode, I promise you that.

I will place episodes three and four here together because I believe that they needed to be watched back to back as one episode. There are a few minor changes from the book on these episodes that might split the fanbase. But my favorite parts of this episode is everything with Millie and Charlie. Vic also had a good conversation with her mom on one of these episodes about parenting and everything that comes with it. I will also not say which episode that this happens, but Vic and Charlie will encounter eachother for the first time in years. Also to note, Charlie is also trying to capture Wayne and the way he is trying to do it, is quite clever. Also on episode four, there is a good fight scene that happens in the basement, and another that happens on episode three. Wayne is also fed up with Vic’s obsession of Charlie too and that moment will be worth paying attention too. Another good moment between Lou, Vic, and Wayne is the three of them swimming after Lou and Vic’s dad teach Wayne how to fish.

The first second of episode five might want you turn away for a split second if you are not into gore. But this episode is centered around Wayne and it felt more like a mission when I watched this. This episode also has a lot of action as I was on the edge of my seat during those sequences. I also will not say who, but someone gets a half joker smile as a wound during a fight! I think I can say that episodes two and five are my favorites so far of the season and the cast is pretty great in this season too. That is all I can say about episode five as that episode is too spoiler heavy.

I also would like to say that the pacing here is better structured on this season than the last season even though there are a few changes from the novel. There are also a lot of easter eggs from the novel that you will enjoy too and there are a lot of moments that will make you laugh and feel a bit emotional towards the characters.

The second season of NOS4A2 premieres on AMC Network on June 21st, 2020.

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