Pollyanna McIntosh as Jadis, Annet Mahendru as Huck – The Walking Dead: World Beyond _ Season 2, Episode 8 – Photo Credit: Chip Jackson/AMC
The Walking Dead World Beyond knocks it right out of the park with another explosive episode.
The fact that everyone is starting to go berserk on the CRM on their own ways makes it even more satisfying. Even during the shootout that involved Will, Elton, Silas, and Indira’s group really brought in the tension in the air. It was much needed after seeing how CRM operates this entire season. If they actually let CRM go forward with those planned executions, that would have been a dark hour!
Much like tonight’s episode of Fear The Walking Dead, I seriously hope that they do not make CRM look weak in the upcoming episodes. But I am enjoying what is being offered here.
During the episode’s beginning, there is an emotional scene with Will. His acting was phenomenal during this scene which was capturing the emotion instantly. however the slo-mo camera went for way too long in my opinion. But it did not hurt the scene at all.
Joe Holt as Leo, Nico Tortorella as Felix – The Walking Dead: World Beyond _ Season 2, Episode 8 – Photo Credit: Steve Swisher/AMC
Leo and Felix are plotting this plan against Jadis and the CRM very well. I totally did not expect for Joe to be the brains behind the plan. The rest of the characters are going along with it. It is a huge contrast to how they were behind the walls compared to the current time.
The Percy and Iris relationship is growing on me. When I watch them, I do see a connection with the two characters. Could they both make it out alive by the series end, that is another question I have looming over my mind.
Call me crazy, but I have been enjoying World Beyond over the majority of the main show’s final season and Fear’s seventh season. That is something I did not think I would say in 2021. There are two more episodes of World Beyond and I am really curious to see how the show will wrap up.
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Maggie Grace as Althea – Fear the Walking Dead _ Season 7, Episode 6 – Photo Credit: Lauren “Lo” Smith/AMC
We may have just witnessed the final appearance of Althea on tonight’s Fear The Walking Dead. And to be honest, I am okay with it.
This is because the character has not been utilized to it’s full potential ever since her first on screen debut back in season 4. Sure, we uncovered a chuck of story with Al in the coming years, but it never seemed to make me sympathize with Al. That was until she meet the CRM soldier Isabelle.
Speaking of CRM, whoever wrote this episode must have not seen World Beyond. The military members are a force to be reckoned with. And all it took was for this episode to make two members look goofy and silly for no apparent reason. Fear The Walking Dead is hit and miss with groups. But that one should have not been made to look like a joke.
Lennie James as Morgan Jones, Maggie Grace as Althea, Karen David as Grace – Fear the Walking Dead _ Season 7, Episode 6 – Photo Credit: Lauren “Lo” Smith/AMC
I did however like the scene where Morgan used the civil war style cannon to blast the two soldiers to pieces. But his plot armor of finding all of these characters is getting tiresome. Especially since there are points where everyone is taking their masks off or riding horses that seemed to be immune to the radiation. That is my biggest issue with this current season as it is giving me flashbacks to the level of stupidity of season five.
Maggie Grace is a great actress and I believe this episode showcased how great she is. Al letting go of her journalistic past to live the rest of her life with Isabelle is quite telling. What is going to happen to the rest of those video recordings? Who knows! The seventh season has been very underwhelming so far besides the fifth episode. Things need to pick up!
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Aliyah Royale as Iris, Ted Sutherland as Percy, Nico Tortorella as Felix, Alexa Mansour as Hope, Joe Holt as Leo – The Walking Dead: World Beyond _ Season 2, Episode 6 – Photo Credit: Steve Swisher/AMC
Jadis made her return to The Walking Dead universe last week on World Beyond. Now that she is a full fledged member of the CRM, things have changed.
Over the last six years since Jadis saved Rick, she told Huck what she was up to in between that time. It is here that I was convinced that Jadis is not the same person she once was. Pollyanna McIntosh brings a unique presence to the show just as Elizabeth does when she first appeared. So far, I like what I am seeing with Jadis. With the revelation that she used her language to manipulate them into working together, they retroactively made the former group The Scavengers on the main show more interesting.
It’s interesting to see Felix and Huck’s uneasy alliance. Even though they don’t trust each other, the two of them still have a connection, and I think that was apparent in the last moment when Huck advised she would be with him. However, if she has the chance, she would still like to be friends with him.
I also figured that Dev was going to die real soon. I however did not expect him to go out with an unexpected death. Will is going to have to continue running from the CRM before they capture him.
Natalie Gold as Lyla – The Walking Dead: World Beyond _ Season 2, Episode 6 – Photo Credit: Chip Jackson/AMC
As World Beyond continues, it seems like everyone is going to die trying to spread the word about the CRM. Iris and Hope will get to the truth without being killed by the CRM, but it won’t be in time to stop them from using chemical weapons on them.
World Beyond has achieved an intrigue level that meets my expectations. I believe the series should have started out in the same way as it is now. After wasting so much time on a coming-of-age survival adventure story, the plot turned completely away from it. I am happy to say that the series has finally found its footing!
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Mo Collins as Sarah – Fear the Walking Dead _ Season 7, Episode 4 – Photo Credit: Lauren “Lo” Smith/AMC
Fear The Walking Dead’s Sarah caught my interest since her debut a few seasons ago. But the character has not been fleshed out. On today’s episode of Fear, it is my favorite involving the character.
While Sarah was looking for Wendell, she encountered Josiah. I find it a sheer coincidence that they found each other this quick. But the encounter did impact the story told for this episode. It is a good thing that Strand assured Sarah that Wendell is okay. But can we honestly believe him since we have not seen his body?
Speaking of which, I like the fakeout they did in the episode as I was believed that Wendell was devoured. But as I learned with TV tropes, until I see a body, nothing is confirmed. But Rufus getting bitten gives me flashbacks to Shiva being devoured on the main show.
Mo Collins as Sarah, Danay Garcia as Luciana – Fear the Walking Dead _ Season 7, Episode 4 – Photo Credit: Lauren “Lo” Smith/AMC
Even though they appeared for a few minutes, it is good to know that the other characters such as Charlie, Lucianna, and AL are doing fine and that they watched over Sarah. Mo Collins did great during this episode! I wondered why it took them this long to showcase her full potential.
I am really curious on why Strand is written this way. It is becoming difficult to believe that Strand will evolve into a different character every episode. He wouldn’t be this ruthless and evil, though it was better than riding hot air balloons. It’s almost cartoon-like. I find it so petty that he can dictate who can enter his building. He now has a ruthless lackey who was originally a shy guy in the season six finale. It’s hard to believe that.
With the criticisms aside, this episode is solid and one of the best this season!
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Julia Ormond as Elizabeth – The Walking Dead: World Beyond _ Season 2, Episode 4 – Photo Credit: Steve Swisher/AMC
This week’s World Beyond picks up right where we left off last week. Now with everyone reunited, it does not mean that everything from the previous season is settled.
This episode was made worthwhile by Huck’s presence, in my opinion. Specifically, the flashback scenes and her interactions with Elizabeth and Felix were the only thing in this episode that changed the story/characters. Moreover, it was the only thing to change, which made it especially suspenseful. Felix was about to damn near kill Huck, but that did not happen at all!
The transformation of Iris still confuses me. I find it a bit amusing how they will just replace characters and not do proper character development on this episode of World Beyond. The plot is being held up by their refusal to reduce the amount of filler. It is the end of the world so why not pair Iris and Percy up as a couple! Silas was treated similarly. His rage blackouts and flashbacks when it comes to killing have suddenly subsided. Trauma doesn’t disappear overnight.
Speaking of Silas, the first scene after the opening with the minefield and fireworks were done better here than how it was done on the main show. I also do like Dennis. My interest in Dennis’ character has me wondering if he’s spending time with his girlfriend in anticipation of a fight with the bad guys. He obviously doesn’t have her anymore. Additionally, I am curious to see which side he’ll be on later, starting from the assumption he will eventually help Silas instead of simply watching over him.
Nicolas Cantu as Elton, Madelyn Kientz as Asha – The Walking Dead: World Beyond _ Season 2, Episode 4 – Photo Credit: Steve Swisher/AMC
At the end of the day, Today’s episode of World Beyond matches the title as everyone had to question who is family and who is not. That is greatly displayed during the entire runtime of the episode and I welcome it. Sure, there were some dialogue decisions that should have not been on the script. But those lines were not damaging to the plot at all. Overall, Today’s World Beyond is really decent.
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“Halloween Kills,” a sequel to 2018’s Halloween, showed how weaponizing pain can cause individuals to become as depraved as the entity they are fighting.
The writers Danny McBride, David Gordon Green, and Scott Teems hoped to accomplish that, in addition to addressing those Haddonfield residents who have also been impacted by Michael Myers’ attacks beyond the Strode family. In spite of a plethora of grisly kills and thrills, the film’s tone is too uneven, and the story so superficial that it does little to advance the story, which should be completed in one more movie.
Directed by Green (who has directed the previous installments as well), “Halloween Kills” takes place immediately after the events of “Halloween” and is set in the same night as its predecessor. Allyson (Andi Matichak), Laurie’s granddaughter, travels to the hospital with her mother Karen (Judy Greer) following the attack by Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney).
Michael is once again on the loose after he is discovered not to have died in the house fire he was trapped in. An evening of remembrance for Haddonfield’s original 1978 attacks brings a group of survivors together to remember the anniversary. The group rallies together to defeat Michael for good.
There are many references and callbacks to the original film in the new one, as well as characters played by the original actor. These include Kyle Richards as Lindsay, one of the kids Laurie babysat in 1978, Nancy Stephens as Dr. Sam Loomis’ former assistant Marion Chambers, and Charles Cyphers as former Haddonfield sheriff Leigh Brackett, whose daughter was killed in the 1978 attack. Another old character resurrected by new characters is Lonnie Elam played by Robert Longstreet and Tommy Doyle, another child Laurie babysat who becomes the child leader.
The way “Halloween Kills” expands on the original story is unnecessary. The movie opens with a flashback to 1978 during which deputy Frank Hawkins is accidentally shot and killed by his officer and then prevents Dr. Loomis from carrying out Michael’s execution, a decision he regrets looking back on the moment.
It doesn’t do much to increase the importance of the original movie or of the current storyline. While the movie is frequently more about pleasing the fans-which is fine if they like it-than telling the story that the first film set up as focusing on three generations of Strode women, it is often more about satisfying the fans than telling the story. Their presence is almost nonexistent as “Halloween Kills” focuses on a bunch of clumsy fools’ efforts to foil Michael. Although the film is supposed to be about trauma, Karen and Allyson barely even mourn their father and husband’s deaths. He is barely even mentioned.
It’s also at this point that the movie feels like it doesn’t fully understand what it’s trying to be. We already know where Michael is located at the beginning of the film, so the action doesn’t really build up, and the scenes go back and forth between serious and slapstick. Almost comically, when a group of characters runs into Michael, he kills them one by one, as their stupid, halfhearted attempts at survival are swiftly thwarted.
Although I have to admit that a lot of these scenes are fun, the movie also makes an attempt to be a cautionary tale that doesn’t mesh well with the rest of the film. Tommy whips the crowd into a vengeful frenzy, chanting “evil dies tonight,” as they prepare to bring down Michael in the hospital. The horrible consequences of their violent lust result in them attacking the first person they see who is suspicious. The film’s aim is to explore the idea of a monster creating even more monsters, and thus, creating even more monsters, but the concept is handled poorly, and is not woven into the story.
In spite of what many have said, “Halloween Kills” is not a bad movie. Blood and guts are plentiful in slasher films. Nevertheless, there are many dialogues that could have been cut, as they don’t feel natural at all. Despite its epic nature, it’s hard not to wonder exactly what the point of this film is when it ends almost in the same place we started.
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Ritchie Coster as Pope, Lynn Collins as Leah – The Walking Dead Season 11, Episode 8 – Photo Credit: Josh Stringer/AMC
You would think that The Walking Dead would stop repeating their mistakes over and over again. But that is not the case with tonight’s mess of an episode titled “For Blood.”
That is because the tired gimmick of a “cut to black” cliffhanger was used again here! It comes off as the writers not knowing how to finish the first half of the final season. Sure, there may be some context to why the abrupt ending happened like this on the production side. But for the casual viewer that watched this show for years, it is enough.
Did The Walking Dead learn from past cliffhangers not to do this again? In fact, most of this season’s episodes ended in a cliffhanger that did not move the plot forward at all. If I had to sum up the first half of the final season of this world renowned series, I would say that Maggie and her friends went on an RPG video game-esque side quest to get food. That is the general summary.
On to the episode itself, the only scene I actually liked was the opening minutes. Negan and Maggie killing those reapers in the style of The Whisperers is badass. There are also some parts in Alexandria that I do like too. From Rosita killing those walkers, to the storm, there is some good stuff. But then, my brain turned on.
Cailey Fleming as Judith, Annabelle Holloway as Gracie – The Walking Dead Season 11, Episode 8 – Photo Credit: Josh Stringer/AMC
How could the storm happen in Alexandria but not yet to where The Reapers are? Both scenes are at night so I do not know the explanation at all. And as good as Rosita killed those walkers, the way she knocked the door was too casual for someone who is desperately trying to get back in the house. It took me out of the moment. However, the shot of her once the door opened is really cool.
Then we are back with The Reapers. A field of landmines and firecracker arrows along with Pope’s anticlimactic death just fueled the laughter in me. Pope talked all the game about how much of a leader he is with his religious ideologies and military background. All of that for him to be killed from Leah like that. And now I am supposed to believe Leah is a threat? Pass! Maybe Leah realized that she was with the wrong family. But she talked a big game about family before she even killed Pope. Tell me what is making sense anymore please!
I do not mean to crap on this mid season finale of The Walking Dead, But I believe it deserved this criticism. Everything with The Reapers has been wasted potential and I do not care to see them again. It is the final season and we got the same formula again when it is time for the 8th episode. And how will they even open the next episode? It does not matter now because AMC premiered their 11B promo this week ahead of the cable airing of “For Blood.” When the The Walking Dead returns in 2022, please continue everything with The Commonwealth because that has been more interesting (Along with the Connie’s Horror House) this entire season so far. An unsatisfying mid season finale cliffhanger that can be outclassed by a local high school theater play is my lasting memory of The Walking Dead for the rest of 2021.
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Teo Rapp-Olsson as Sebastian – The Walking Dead _ Season 11, Episode 7 – Photo Credit: Josh Stringer/AMC
This week’s episode of The Walking Dead just debuted one of the most hated characters in the comic book series. That is, Sebastian.
If you are not aware of who Sebastian is, he is Pamela Milton’s son. Sebastian killed Rick Grimes on issue #192 of The Walking Dead. Now that he is on the main show, the question that will be drawn out for another year is who will take comic book Rick Grimes’ death!
The actor Teo Rapp-Olsson does a great job of bringing the spoiled kid to life on The Walking Dead. From his scenes with Eugene, to the scene with Mercer and Lance, I am sold on Teo Rapp Olsson playing this character. Now on to the episode itself!
Michael James Shaw as Mercer, Josh Hamilton as Lance Hornsby – The Walking Dead _ Season 11, Episode 7 – Photo Credit: Josh Stringer/AMC
There were some good things that I did like on “Promises Broken.” The Maggie and Negan saga that has been ongoing this whole season, finally reached a point where I am glad that these two had a conversation. Negan admitted that he would have killed the entire group when they first met was cold! Not as cold as to why he told Maggie this in-front of her face. The point for this scene, is that these two needed to talk no matter if they liked it or not.
Another thing I did like is that Negan learned something from The Whisperers as he taught Maggie how to herd walkers. I got a laugh out of Maggie wearing a Whisperer mask. Believe me! I did felt that it was random for Elijah to finds his sister as a walker at the end of the episode. That is just me.
Everything with Daryl and Leah I did not care about. The Walking Dead is seriously forcing these two to have scenes together to build a lost bond. But it does nothing for me. But at least they found some survivors. The survivor’s wife went out in a horrible and sad fashion.
I will also have to say that Yumiko’s character progression is a bright point for this first half of the final season. It will take some time for her to get used to the old ways before the apocalypse hit. Yumiko is going to be a central figure in The Commonwealth. And she even saw the real Stephanie! And I can say that I am happy that Ezekiel is feeling much better! Next week is the last episode of The Walking Dead of 2021!
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As a huge Sopranos fan, I was disappointed by the movie. What made The Sopranos so great was the organic character development where you’d see beefs and alliances develop between characters over the entire season, snappy dialogue, and motifs/devices that injected a touch of the supernatural/fantastic (think Chrissy’s crow, the ghouls following Paulie around, Tony’s many dreams) while also helping to explore the complex psyche of Tony Soprano.
The Many Saints of Newark is not that. In many ways, it feels like a parody of the show – many have already commented about the cartoonish characterization of the young Silvio (his first appearance in the film is cringeworthy, and borders on parody on the level of an SNL skit), Paulie, Pussy, and Junior (how many times does Junior say “Your sister’s ****”?) which often feel jarring in the moment.
I felt as if I was brought to a Sopranos themed amusement park, where the main attraction and draw is seeing the characters in their youth, played by actors whose main performance notes seem to be exaggerations of whatever mannerisms the characters had on the original TV series. This experience might be delightful to some – personally, it was charming for a second before it descended into camp.
The plot is largely unremarkable – there’s a lot of screen time given to Giuseppina, who mainly exists to be a Helene of Troy-type deal for the male protagonists despite all of her talk of wanting to be an independent woman; there is a half-assed, exposition-heavy exploration of how African Americans fit into the organized crime scene, and a few scenes depicting the 1967 Newark Riots that felt very much like the film was reaching to strike a historical note, in the same way Godfather 2 did with the Cuban Revolution.
The difference between MSoN and Godfather 2 (and the problem with MSoN) is that Many Saints of Newark seems to never be sure of what it wants to be – it perpetually seems to be stuck between the three modes of pandering shamelessly to fans of the franchise (like the Star Wars sequels), making a statement/paint a scene of the racial tensions in Newark in the 1960’s, and exploring the character of Dickie Moltisanti, the movie’s eponymic protagonist.
With no clear direction and emphasis on the second and third desires, the movie ultimately ends up as little more than a trip to Sopranos-land, and the end credit score feels like another grab at the fanboys more than anything else.
There is something to be said about how Many Saints of Newark was marketed – as a movie focusing on Tony Soprano’s young self. Like many other fans of the show, I expected many scenes form Tony’s youth alluded to in the TV show – the jacking of Feech’s card game, Tony’s brush with his football coach, an exploration of his relationship with Young Carmella. We see none (or very little) of that in the movie, and I couldn’t help but feel taken advantage of.
Overall, the only “prequel” for the Sopranos are still Scorsese’s mob hits like “Goodfellas” or “Casino” for me – especially “Goodfellas,” for its influence on The Sopranos, not to mention the number of casting overlaps between the two. For a fan, I think Many Saints of Newark is still worth a watch – but if asked if the movie stands alone by itself, I would have to respectfully disagree.
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Alexa Mansour as Hope – The Walking Dead: World Beyond _ Season 2, Episode 1 – Photo Credit: Steve Swisher/AMC
The Walking Dead World Beyond’s first season concluded with a cliffhanger that will be explored on the second season. The reception of the first season has been mixed. I, for one can agree with the reception as I felt like it was a chore at times to get through the first season with the exception of the last half of the first season.
With all of that aside, I got a chance to watch the first two episodes of the second season. Here are my non-spoiler thoughts broken down by each episode.
Episode one titled Konsekans, follows up with the end of the very first episode of the series in a massive way. Although I cannot say what happens at the moment, but there are missing items from the first season about CRM that are addressed right away. The thing here is, why was this moment not shown on the first season of World Beyond? Elizabeth is also heavily featured on the first episode as well as she wants Hope to work with CRM.
My take on some of the dialogue exchanged between Elizabeth and Huck is that the two actresses do not have good chemistry on screen together. But I am sure that it will get better more episodes into the second season of World Beyond. Speaking of following up, Will told Felix and Hope the story of what happened to him prior to the season one finale of World Beyond. It is an interesting story. However, I wished it could have been fleshed out more for me to care about the character.
There are things that do get a bit confusing with one of the character’s hallucination sequences. Get ready because it is there for the majority of the second half of this episode. The end of this sequence is satisfying though. It is just how it begins and what happens in between is what boggles my mind.
Iris became my favorite character on this episode. Especially towards the end when she does something major. In the universe of The Walking Dead, we are used to seeing adults and kids doing this whether if they are in a community, or not. Here on World Beyond, it strikes different because everyone never left their community before to deal with doing what needs to be done at that moment. It is a good scene!
Nicolas Cantu as Elton – The Walking Dead: World Beyond _ Season 2, Episode 4 – Photo Credit: Steve Swisher/AMC
If you take out the hallucination scenes and watch this episode of World Beyond, it is enjoyable. The second episode titled Foothold is better than the first episode. There are a large number of things I cannot spoil, but you will learn more about CRM on this episode than the entire first season of The Walking Dead World Beyond.
I can also say that the plot is moving very fast this time just on these first two episodes alone that is keeping me engaged to learn more. There is also dialogue that is still suited for a high school play. But not overbearing like the first season. Overall, this season starts off stronger than the last even though parts are hard to follow.
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