Maggie Grace as Althea, Austin Amelio as Dwight – Fear the Walking Dead _ Season 6, Episode 5 – Photo Credit: Ryan Green/AMC
Fear The Walking Dead returns this week with a brand new episode. “Honey” not only delievered as a great episode, it also explored more of Dwight and Sherry’s reunion. Add in Morgan and Al to the plot as well, and you have a well-rounded episode. Here is my review of “Honey.”
Dwight and Sherry’s reunion is not all love and romance. Emotions and feelings from the past is brought up. Dwight found out that she has been with them for some time now. Dwight wanted Sherry to join him and Morgan to take down Virginia, but she is already planning on doing the same thing. The key difference here, is that Morgan wants to take his strategic time and Sherry does not want to take her time.
The three do clash over their ideas. Even Dwight and Sherry did too. Later in the episode, they both talk about their past with Negan as Sherry is still traumatized and hurt by him. I started to feel bad for Sherry at this moment. As much as I love Negan, he put his “wives” through hell when his reign of terror was at his highest point. Sherry also did not want to see Dwight become the person she seen at The Sanctuary. Even though Dwight did change, his old self did come out for a brief period on “Honey.”
While Dwight was interrogating one of Virginia’s men, I looked at it differently as I would normally would. Dwight was trying to get as much information out of him as possible. It was more of urgency than going back to his old self despite how Sherry and Morgan felt it. The Walking Dead universe is known to push a character above a certain limit. And this is one of those scenes where I felt that they did that.
I also love the action sequence early on when they all got back the S.W.A.T van. It is the most action I have seen on Fear when it came to transportation methods. The sequence was a high stakes mission and it really felt like I was watching a movie for a few minutes.
Lennie James as Morgan Jones, Austin Amelio as Dwight – Fear the Walking Dead _ Season 6, Episode 5 – Photo Credit: Ryan Green/AMC
My take on Morgan and Dwight’s verbal exchange, is that Dwight waited way too long for results. I could not blame him at this point. Mostly because he has heard all of Morgan’s promises and it lead up to this situation. Dwight wants to take down Virginia as much as Morgan does. But I believe that Morgan is going to do this the right way. I can also say that Dwight was also right for stopping Sherry. If Sherry would have killed those rangers, Virginia would have known. Morgan learned this during the war against The Saviors when Jesus wanted him to take that approach. And now, Morgan is Jesus in this situation.
“Honey” is a strong episode. Dwight and Sherry had a lot of catching up to do. And they did even though it hurts to see them on opposite sides again. I also like that Morgan’s arc is living up to what he said at the premiere episode. “Honey” contains action, drama, suspense, and heartbreaking moments all packed in one episode. The streak continues for this amazing season of Fear The Walking Dead.
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Garret Dillahunt as John Dorie, Colby Minifie as Virginia – Fear the Walking Dead _ Season 6, Episode 4 – Photo Credit: Ryan Green/AMC
“The Key” is the latest episode of Fear The Walking Dead. John goes on a mission to find out who killed a resident inside one of Virginia’s communities. While John is investigating, he adds the pieces to the puzzle for his answer.
What I love the most about “The Key”, is that it is a classic murder mystery plot. Since John was a former officer, he uses his critical thinking skills and analysis of the evidence. I believe that is why Virginia wanted him in the first place. John did everything that he could to not only find out who did it, but to also make sure that Janis was innocent.
Garret Dillahunt’s performance on “The Key” is one of the best performances he has done as John Dorie. Garret really convinced me that John can really be resourceful at that situation. I really also felt for John as he did not have any hope of reuniting with June. But they did towards the end of the episode. After Dwight and Sherry reunited, it is also a great feeling to see John and June see eachother again.
Strand tried to play it off that he had no knowledge of Cameron’s death. I suspected that he did due to him acting strangely when John was talking about it with him. The fight between the two is exactly how I pictured it. John getting the upperhand while Strand on the ground getting his ass kicked. It is clear that Strand is much more into Virginia’s way of life than John is.
Garret Dillahunt as John Dorie, Colby Minifie as Virginia- Fear the Walking Dead _ Season 6, Episode 4 – Photo Credit: Ryan Green/AMC
The last few minutes of “They Key” started with Morgan getting into a car crash. I will have to admit, that crash did made me jump since I did not see it coming. Morgan then fought with the two men that spray painted the grafitti on the first and third episode. One of them had their stomach split open, and the other was piereced through his stomach. What they were both looking for, was the key that Morgan had around his neck.
If that key means something, I would wonder why would the two of them were looking for it. That key would have to open something really good since they both risked their lives for it. Morgan’s fight scenes on both the main show and Fear have always been good so I was not disappointed.
“The Key” took a simple concept of a mystery and turned it into an epic, fleshed out episode. The setting really made it feel life a western and it really fit John. Everything is starting to come together, but we have yet seen the rest of the characters yet. Fear The Walking Dead has had four great episodes back to back. I never thought I would say that, but this season has been amazing so far!
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Nico Tortorella as Felix – The Walking Dead: World Beyond _ Season 1, Episode 2 – Photo Credit: Jojo Whilden/AMC
The Walking Dead: World Beyond returns for their second episode this week. After CRM massacred Campus Colony which has a little over 9000 residents, Iris, Hope, Silas, and Elton go on a adventure to find Iris and Hope’s father. With that out of the way, here is my review of “The Blaze of Glory.”
What I like most about the episode, is Felix’s backstory. Before the apoclapse, he was living with his parents. But his parents did not accept his sexuallity at all. This got really heated when he came out to them and that they kicked him out of his home. Felix also struggles with his memories about this and when he went back to his home with Huck later in the episode, he seen his parents as walkers.
Now how often he goes to his former house to see this is a question in the air, but I thought the way they had his scenes blend in with his younger self was really good. It added to Felix’s mental state at the time when he and Huck were opening up to eachother. Also in his backstory, there is one scene that got my curious mind open during the scene at the start of the apoclapse. When he was running and trying to call his mom, the airstrikes happened. This also happened on The Walking Dead back in season 1. It made me wonder how many other cities had endured this at the start.
Nico Tortorella did great with the character Felix on this episode and he is slowly becoming my favorite on World Beyond.
Alexa Mansour as Hope, Aliyah Royale as Iris, Hal Cumpston as Silas, Nicolas Cantu as Elton – The Walking Dead: World Beyond _ Season 1, Episode 2 – Photo Credit: Jojo Whilden/AMC
If there is a group of people that are not prepared to take on the outside world, it is Hope, Iris, Silas, and Elton. I know that it will take time and that they are teenagers in the apoclapse. How much they learned while they were being taught by Felix has not been put to use yet for them. Their inexperience is really showing when they encountered empties. But I believe that they will be more experienced down the road. But it was also good that they acted in stealth mode to avoid the empties later on until the action begun.
What i found some resemblence of normal teenagers on this episode, is when they played monopoly in the treehouse. I know that World Beyond is supposed to have a dark setting, but once in a while, we have to remember that the characters are young. Monopoly can be played by all ages, but I think it works here for the four characters. A scene like that cannot happen on Fear or on the main show because it would really not fit the same situation. Also, bonus points for that walker taking a bowling ball hit!
Towards the end of “The Blaze of Glory”, I was puzzled by the last few minutes. And I think it is because I have family members who are firefighters that might think the same thing as me. Why would all four of them decide to sleep in an area with all of that heavy smoke from the tire fire? For any normal person at that age, they would have been dead or severly suffocating being near all of that smoke for no longer than an hour. Watching all four of them not even having breathing problems at all the whole time when they went to that area is just not realistic.
Overall, this episode is a slower than last week, but I enjoyed most of the character development from everyone. Felix’s scenes with Huck and his flashbacks are a huge highlight. I am looking forward to next week’s episode.
If you have not seen it yet, check out my interview with Aliyah Royale as we talked about the first two episodes of The Walking Dead: World Beyond.
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The season 10 finale of The Walking Dead just finished airing across the United States. When I watched it a few weeks ago, I was impressed with the episode. “A Certain Doom” will rank as one of the best finales of The Walking Dead since the fifth season.
What made this episode strong, is the wonderful acting especially by Melissa McBride and Cassady McClincy. Their bond together really shined on this episode. The biggest scene on this episode involves the both of them as Lydia saved Carol from falling off the cliff as the walkers were walking off the cliff. What set the motion of the end of The Whisperers, is when Lydia tossed Alpha’s mask off the cliff. That scene is very poetic as Carol’s hatred and revenge towards Alpha has come full circle as this memorable scene gives us the viewer, and the characters relief that it is finally over.
Gabriel’s scenes were great too. Many times during his on screen prescence, we were lead to believe that he would either get his comic book death, or his on screen death by the end of the episode. I based this because there are several times on The Walking Dead where a character gets too much airtime and dialouge and then they wind up dead. That did not happen here as the masked person and Maggie saved his life. Gabriel had a great character development since he became the head of the council back in season 9. I cannot wait to see what he will do in season 11.
The battle scene at night was really good. I liked the idea of those Whisperers using walkers as body shields while the group battled them. The other Whisperers did what they could to bring down the wagon and their plan worked despite them getting killed. Battle scenes have been excellent during this season of The Walking Dead and Walk With Us had the best battle scene this season.
Those Commonwealth soldiers at the final moments of the episode got me excited for the New World Order arc. That will happen at the next season. The detail and the look of those soldiers were comic book acurate and I was amazed on how they pulled that off. Everything from the armor, the guns with the blade attached, and even their stance was really taken from the comic. Huge props to the team for this.
The scene when Carol and Daryl were talking about New Mexico really set the stage of their upcoming spinoff. That spinoff is currently untitled, but it would be quite interesting to see how they will exit the main show.
Now, there are crucial moments from the comic book stories “The Whisperer War” and “A Certain Doom” to note. Those moments such as Gabriel’s brutal death by Beta, the full Negan vs. Beta fight, and Andrea’s walker bite reveal were not adapted on screen. Those four moments were expected to be adapted due to episode 15 being named “The Tower” and the finale being named “A Certain Doom.” But those two names was really a bait and switch tactic and it disappointed me too.
Speaking of Beta vs. Negan, this was the main cover of the Vol-27 story. Everyone could not wait for these two to have their big showdown. But it ended in less than 30 seconds. Huge disappointment! I could not think which was worse. Beta’s death on the show, or on the comic. At least on Beta’s death in the comic, there was an actual fight. And Daryl should have known that Beta had armor because they fought previously. And on their last fight, Beta had armor on.
Walking through that massive horde gave me chills. But at the same time, I think that it is eye opening that only one person of the group was killed in that horde by a Whisperer. I know that the guts trick has been done for years. At this point, I just think of it as an invincibility star from Super Mario. There should have been more of a sense of danger and unpredictability during this long sequence. But it is very cool to see those walkers that upclose next to everyone.
I cannot say much about Maggie since her return is brief. I do believe that her return will be expanded on in tho upcoming six extra episodes. It will also be interesting to see how Maggie and Negan will interract too.
With the major hiccups out of the way, I still think that this is a very strong episode. It wrapped up the feud between the communities and The Whisperers in a great way. What the finale also did, is that we now have something huge to look forward to on the final season!
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Alexa Mansour as Hope, Aliyah Royale as Iris, Hal Cumpston as Silas, Nicolas Cantu as Elton – The Walking Dead: World Beyond _ Season 1 – Photo Credit: Jojo Whilden/AMC
Last year, it was announced that a second spinoff of The Walking Dead franchise was in development. From that point on, we were given little details over the months of 2019 until the first trailer was revealed at New York Comic Con.
At the beginning of 2020, the name of the series became known to the public as The Walking Dead: World Beyond. I have watched the first and secondepisode of World Beyond and I will give you my non-spoiler opinions about the two episodes and what can everyone expect from the series.
World Beyond’s first episode gets straight to the point of the mysterious CRM group within the first few minutes of the first episode. You will also get to know a little more about what do they do in other states and why they are there in that community.
At the end of the episode however, you will find out why they arrived at that community to begin with. The main focus of the first episode are the two sisters Hope and Iris. They both went through a crazy event over a decade ago that kept them together, but they are both curious to why CRM is very secretive.
Iris stood out to me more than the entire cast of the episode as she feels that she has to be the one to give her all to the community while not focusing on herself as a person. There will be more to this when she speaks to a particular person.
Iris and Hope also seems like the most affected members of that community to what happened 10 years ago as they both still struggle mentally to live their lives in a safe community. You will also see that there is an unexpected connection with Iris, Hope, and Elton too and Elton is a fun, easy going person who is also curious to see what the world outside their community is like.
Nico Tortorella as Felix, Annet Mahendru as Huck – TWD: World Beyond _ Season 1 – Photo Credit: Jojo Whilden/AMC
Felix is the head of the security of Campus Colony and it shows since his jacket with the CRM emblem is a different color than everyone else. Felix is also the first LGBT character on World Beyond as he told a story of his ex-boyfriend to one of the characters on one of the scenes.
He also acts as a big brother to one of the characters too especially on a particular scene where he had to temporary arrest that character. Felix’s authority is believable due to the fact that he is the oldest of the main characters.
The other security guard that is part of the cast is named “Huck” (played by Annet Mahendru) and we do not know her first name yet. She has a bond with Felix and also with Hope. But on the second episode, we see her and Felix spend a lot of time together and they both get to know more about eachother.
The main plot of the first episode is that they are celebrating a holiday to remember what happened a decade ago. Also during the episode, there will be a particular reason to why the group goes out of the Campus to adventure the world. There is a motivation behind it and it will not be too long to find out why.
The second episode revolves around the first adventure the group goes on, and a backstory on Felix. Felix’s past made me really feel for the character because he went through so much. You would have not thought that the head of security at that community had a tragic backstory when you see Felix on the first episode. Nico Tortorella stated on Talking Dead not too long ago that his character was kicked out of his house when he was younger due to him coming out as gay. That will be expanded on this episode.
Another thing about Felix’s past during this episode, is that it also haunts him in a disturbing way to his mental state.
What is also interesting, is that when you hear the main characters interract, you will learn that they all have had a bad past which brings them all closer together. This is showcased during the episode even though it also shows that they are inexperienced dealing with taking down empties.
Life outside of what they are used to will take time for these characters to get adjusted to because it gets tough out there for them early on. There were many times that I rememberd that this is their first time outside the walls to see the world.
Elton also really shined on this episode too and he questions if they can survive outside of where they lived, and if they would one day become one of the empties. There is a particular reason to why Hope and Elton are connected and once you find out, your mind will be blown.
The second episode does end in a minor cliffhanger, but it is the character development of the characters in a swift time that makes this one stand out.
I will have to say that it was werid to see everything so normal in that Campus like nothing even happened at first from an outsider looking in as there are school classes, karate classes, and much more. But they realize that the dead, which are called “empties” on this series, is still out there. There is more to the cast other than them being young ten years into the apoclapse and you will get to know who everyone is little by little.
Also, bonus points to Silas as he reminds me of one person I knew in high school!
I was optimistic and curious of the second spinoff since it was announced and when I went on the set tour last fall (That article will be coming soon), I got to learn about more of the show and how it will tie into the unannounced Rick Grimes movies. Especially since CRM is more than just trading people for supplies.
There is a strong cast and I am looking forward to the rest of the season. But it will take time for the general audience to grow with the characters because many will most likely tune in just for the lead up to the Rick Grimes movies than the characters itself.
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The ongoing pandemic has made Disney to make an unfortunate decision to premiere Mulan on Disney+ on September 4th. Mulan has been highly anticipated ever since the reveal trailer has been released last year and I was also looking forward to the film as well since I am a fan of the original animated film. I knew going into this version of Mulan that it would be more adapted from the novel. Here are my thoughts of Mulan and whether if it is worth the $30 purchase, or to wait until December of this year to watch it without premium access.
The scenery and cinematrography of Mulan is breathtaking. I love how the locations were brought to life from the animated film. The battle scenes made me feel like I was watching an episode of Game of Thrones especially the avalanche scene. The tone and setting of the live action version of Mulan feels more of a war movie this time around. I also want to praise the music too and there were tunes that I reconized from the animated film during the sequences of Mulan and I think that this worked better and made this version of Mulan flow better as I feel that I was not interrupted when I wanted to digest a scene that I was looking at while I heard the music in the background.
For what I praised, there are also rough points and critiques I had in my head as the transition from animation to live action was not handled as good as I thought it would be. On the animated film, all of the characters had personality and their own characteristics that made them all stand out. On 2020’s Mulan, I did not feel the same way as I was watching how they all interracted with eachother. I also feel that the character Mulan should have not been seen in the public as a person born with all of these superpowers and abilities and rather be seen as this person who is smart, strong, and also bright.
Mulan’s father was not convincing enough for me to believe that he was very strick towards Mulan and her lover Chen Honghui barely had enough screentime for me to think that him and Mulan could build chemistry even after the reveal. In fact, there were many moments in Mulan that felt like it was over way to soon as they started that that was my issue with the rushed pacing of this film. As wonderful as Mulan looks, there is no denying that the story is way too fast.
Xian Lang is the best character developed in Mulan and she is a new character that is specifically made for the live action version of Mulan. It pains me to write this, but watching Xian on screen made me feel that she is a complex character that is also broken, hopeful, and fragile. Everything that I felt for Xian, I should have felt for Mulan and I did not during the entire time I watched her on screen. And I love the costume design of Xian Lang! But when you break it down, Xian was not needed for the overall story as Xian was a storybuild just for that final scene at the end of the movie.
The film’s villain Bori Khan is too one dimensional for me as his story is that he wanted revenge on The Emperor for killing his father. Just like Mulan’s father, I just could not buy him as a threat as Mulan was just too overpowered by the time they had their fight towards the end. I also did not feel engaged at all when his presence was known and I did not care to see him defeated. Jason Scott Lee tried, but there was little to no substance of the character.
In my eyes, I think it is worth watching Mulan when it is free for Disney+ in December. I totally understand why it is priced and I feel for the entire marketing team, script writers, and production crew members that poured their time, effort, and money to make this film possible. There has been an outrage over this when it was first announced and if you think that price is too much, think of how much Black Widow will be if it heads the same direction of availability that Mulan did. Of the Disney remakes, I rank this higher than all of the other Disney remakes so far. Especially since this follows the original story. Mulan felt like a brand new movie, but it falls flat more than it shines and I wish it could have been better.
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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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Scorn tells the story of three people that has a passion of the film industry as they are all planning their next film. The film stars Lindsley Register (as Zoey), who is known as Laura on AMC’s The Walking Dead, Alexandar McPherson as Liam, and Daniel Ellis as Merrick. What happens when these three come together to make their film, you will find out now in my review of Scorn.
Zoey is the girlfriend of Liam, and they are coming back from the premiere party of Liam’s recent film as Zoey and Liam talked about the premiere and the fact that Liam was talking to one of the co-stars of his film, Olivia. They have an argument over that and his alcohol use since he was drinking at the party, and now their house. Then, here comes Merrick as he entered the house. Merrick wanted to cast Liam and Zoey as leads for a future film that he is producing. The key thing here during this sequence, is that Merrick was also at the premiere and he seen Liam not only talking to Olivia, but he seen them both go upstairs and away from the view. Scorn starts to pick up here when you Merrick placed the cocaine on the table and Zoey was really testing Liam here to see if he will do it after she did it. After they did that, they begin to talk about their love lives and their past. Also to note, Liam’s former lover was killed before he meet Zoey, but more of that soon. They started going over the scenes of his film. They talk about this while Liam is riding a bicycle around the living room.
Liam then received a phone call as he was told that his pilot has been green lit and the production will begin in Georgia soon. This was exciting news. Merrick then wanted both Zoey and Merrick to rehearse their scenes. One of those scenes that were rehearsed, had a version where Zoey and Liam had to do their lines and the same scene again, but with Zoey without any clothes on afterwards. It is at this point where I thought that Merrick wanted to plot to break them up. The next time they rehearsed that scene, it got intense as they were talking to eachother in character in a way that mirrored their current situation in their relationship. Also, bonus points for that glass breaking because I like the sound of glass breaking. Liam wanted to be with Olivia, and Zoey confronted him about it after Merrick told Zoey about Liam cheating on Zoey with Olivia. Merrick then decided to kiss Zoey and she pushed away. At this moment, I wanted Merrick out of the room and so did Liam as he yelled for Merrick to get out the house since he figured out that Merrick wanted to be with Zoey. Both Liam and Zoey talked about the scene that they rehearsed as they both felt that they were actually talking to eachother in that rehearsal and not their characters.
Liam told Zoey that he does not want to be with her anymore as he wants to be with Olivia for various reasons. Zoey did not want to break up with him. Then, blood comes out his mouth suddenly. We find out here that the drink that Liam had was meant for Olivia as it was spiked. Liam fell to the floor and Zoey tried to save him. It is revealed here, that Zoey also killed Liam’s former lover. Liam dies, and Zoey says that they both belong together as she use a knife on herself to commit suicide as the film ends.
Scorn not only showcases the struggles of creating your own show or movie ideas, it also brings awareness of how dark hollywood can get that meets beyond the eye. For an independent film, I thought the theme and tone was brought to light very well as there are positives and negatives of the industry. Lindsley Register’s potential is also really shown here as she made a believer out of me during the whole film. I also like the rest of the cast as well on the film and it also makes me wonder, what else happens in this indursty that is not shown to light. I enjoyed Scorn and this is a film that should not be missed. If you have a little over an hour to spare, check Scorn out on Amazon Prime.
Check out my interview with Lindsley Register and director Jonathan Kirk on this interview I had with the both of them below.
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Greg Daniels, former director and author of The Simpsons and The Office, and the co-creator of Parks & Recreation, appears to be like to replace his stellar resume along with his newest present Upload, which he has created, written, government produced, and directed six episodes of. The narrative is ready in a futuristic world of 2033, and revolves round Nathan (Robbie Amell), a software program entrepreneur who will get borderlined killed in a automotive accident. His girlfriend Ingrid (Allegra Edwards) goads him into signing an settlement; as an alternative of getting operated on to reside an incomplete life, he consents to be an ‘add.’
An ‘add’ is a programmed extension of a human into an synthetic world of their selection. If they might select, they’ll be ‘uploaded’ to the world they agree to pay for. Nathan is a middle-class American but his uber-rich girlfriend insists to sponsor his ‘afterlife.’ He will get uploaded to Lakeview, an afterlife for the extremely wealthy. He can nonetheless talk with the world he leaves behind through audio or video name. And if they’ve the cash, his mates or family members can go to him with using a digital reality-style eye set. Right from the phrase go, Upload is a deliriously fascinating world. It advantages from each the graceful VFX and the imaginative writing of the present. But for a present with a wealthy imaginative and prescient of what a man-made afterlife would appear like, the storytelling appears a bit dated, not just for 2033 but for now as properly.
It takes as many as eight writers (all of which, save Daniels, have written just one episode) to develop a present that’s as disoriented as its protagonist concerning the route it ought to head in. At instances, it’s a fish-out-of-water slice-of-life drama the place the protagonist is discovering a day within the lifetime of an add. This is the place the narrative is probably the most surefooted, and the creator’s grip on the story appears to be tight. But at different instances, it’s a romantic comedy involving Nathan and his angel (that’s what the caretaker in Lakeview known as) Nora, performed by Andy Allo. It turns into a love triangle between the the real-life girlfriend Ingrid, the virtual-life angel Nora, and the person actually caught between, Nathan, an add. In the arms of a talented editor and one decisive author, Upload may have been only a movie. But the eight writers, and the three administrators, stretch the narrative until it snaps. Though the primary half of the present is extra thrilling, the world-building takes too lengthy to get the ‘plot’ began.
What maintain the present going regardless of the underwhelming long-form writing are the performances. Amell, who was earlier seen in The Flash, will get a well-deserved improve because the main man. He is honest, and has disarming allure. While the clunky writing disappoints him, he hardly ever looses grip on the battle of his character. But he shouldn’t have been lowered to merely an object of want, and will have been allowed to inform a narrative of is personal. He is as helpless to the circumstances within the present as is his character within the bigger narrative. Allo makes for a parallel protagonist one can root for. She channelises the destiny of her character with relatable fragility precisely but additionally shows sufficient endurance for the viewers to root for her misadventures. Edwards additionally does full justice to her rich-b*tch persona, and offers the viewers one thing to take into consideration by difficult their notion of her in direction of the tip of the present.
Technically, the present does significantly better in retaining stuff much less strained, and but sufficiently layered. Production designer Rachel O’ Toole doesn’t go all The Jetsons on Upload, and makes Lakeview an correct depiction of what such a world may appear like 13 years down the road. It has been designed as a technologically superior type of a seven-star resort. The resort workers, created by Artificial Intelligence within the present, feels as inaccessible because the overly formal workers on the plush resorts of immediately.
Costume designer Kathleen Felix-Hager and music director Joseph Stephens maintain their contribution consistent with the present style quite than pondering ‘fashion-forward’ and turning to techno cliches. Simon Chapman’s cinematography works in tandem with the VFX division to paint a seamless entire. The technical prowess and the ingenious world-building assist to make Upload much less synthetic. But given how the narrative strikes forward and stoops down to conformity, it ceases to be persistently clever.
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Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon, Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 14 – Photo Credit: Jackson Lee Davis/AMC
Last week, we seen the final episode Danai Gurira portray Michonne on The Walking Dead. While she made her exit last week, we finally get to see what everyone has been up to on this week’s episode especially since Alpha meet her demise in the hands of Negan. Here is my recap and review of “Look at the Flowers.”
In a flashback, Carol viits Negan in his cell. She talked to him about what he wanted and he said that he wanted a steak, and a beer. Carol offers to free Negan. Negan initinally did not want to take the offer as he told Carol what could happen if he got out. Carol then made a deal with Negan. He kills Alpha, in exchange of Carol letting everyone know that Negan did it so he can be seen in a better light. In the present, Carol puts Alpha’s head on a pike on one of Alpha’s borders. Negan asked her if it is what she wanted and for her to start spreading the word at Alexandria. Carol asked Negan again what took him so long to kill Alpha. Negan explained why it took long as he had to get her trust. Carol then told Negan that she is not returning there yet and told him to wait. Negan then asked her why is she not holding up her end of the bargin, and then Carol told Negan that he is free and that he can do whatever he wants.
Over at the house that the group stayed in, Ezekiel and Jerry had a conversation for a moment, and then Magna arrives to the house as Jerry was surprised to see her. Rosita is in pain and has a burn on her stomach from the battle at Hilltop and Eugene watched over her. Eugene assured Rosita that she needs to see Dr. Alex and Rosita told Eugene that he needs to go see Stephanie. This is where we see that Eugene announced to everyone that he has been in contact with Stephanie over the radio. Everyone reacted in a mixed way as they could not trust her due to what they went through with Dante. Ezekiel said to give Eugene a chance to talk about this before they can judge. Eugene explained who Stephanie was and said that he has to go, and that she is a friend. Yumiko and Magna talked for a few minutes and Yumiko wanted Magna to go. Magna insisted that Yumiko should go instead even though it is a bad time right now. Jerry had his daughter Aliyah over his head as he was walking and Ezekiel told Jerry that he is going because he is sick. Ezekiel also wanted Jerry to make sure that the legacy of The Kingdom to live on. They both then hugged after this.
Ryan Hurst as Beta, Mark Sivertsen – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 14 – Photo Credit: Jackson Lee Davis/AMC
Beta and two Whisperers are walking towards the border and Beta noticed Alpha’s head on the pike. One of those two Whisperers told Beta that he is the new Alpha. Beta told that Whisperer to take his mask off and to listen to what walker Alpha is saying. Beta then pushed his ear to her mouth and asked him what was she saying. He put it so close to Alpha’s head, that walker Alpha started to bite his ear and then Beta pulled him away as the second Whisperer ran away. Beta then took Alpha’s head off that pike. Negan is going back to the cabin where he placed Lydia and he sees that she is gone. Daryl punched Negan and asked him about the whereabouts of Alpha. Negan told Daryl that he killed Alpha and Daryl did not believe him. Negan then showed Daryl that he is in possession of Alpha’s mask. He also told Daryl that Carol let him out (Also referred to her as Daryl’s girlfriend).
While Carol is by herself, she hears Alpha’s voice. this is more of Carol talking to herself than a hallucination of Alpha. “Ghost” Alpha is here in a sense as a visual aid. Alpha says that she is always watching. Beta and that Whisperer that was bit, was walking in an abandoned town. A walker approaches both of them, and that Whisperer decided to take that walker down. Before he could do so, Beta stabbed that Whisperer through his back. He fell and then the walker devoured him. Beta then entered his secret house and all of his belongings are there including memoribilia of his career as a country singer. He placed Alpha’s head that is in a bag, on the table, and placed the note in his coat. He took a look around his room and looked at his poster for one second and proceeded to smash his guitar over and over again until it is smashed to pieces.
Carol is still walking by herself and hears Alpha in her head taunting her about Henry and Sophia, Negan killing her, and about Carol not accepting what she done. As she kept saying for Alpha to get out of her head, a walker behind a bush tried to grab her, but Carol killed the walker. It affected Carol because she used Lydia’s staff and the position after she killed the walker, was like one of Alpha’s pikes on the border with a head on it. Eugene, Yumiko, and Ezekiel are traveling by their horses and they are near traintracks. Eugene told a story about why those tracks reminded him of his mom and that this trip is the journey for the future of mankind. They even poked fun of chocolate bunnies as well. They all encounter two walkers that are locked up behind cages and then they stopped and investigated the area. Ezekiel struggled to kill the walkers on his own as he was coughing due to his cancer. Negan has his hands tied as Daryl is making him walk infront of him. Negan thinks that Daryl is mad because Carol did not let him know about the plan. Daryl flat out told Negan that children almost died because of the fire arrow attack that he was part of. He then told Negan to keep walking.
Eleanor Matsuura as Yumiko, Khary Payton as Ezekiel, Josh McDermitt as Dr. Eugene Porter – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 14 – Photo Credit: Jace Downs/AMC
Beta is still by himself in his crashpad as he is playing his own record and reminnicing about his past. As the music plays, walkers are being attracted towards it as Beta is forming his horde. He even ripped off part of his mask as he watched his horde form. Alpha is still taunting Carol about not wanting to send letters to Maggie about Alpha. Carol was in a shed and climbed the ladder to check what was up there and Alpha yelled which caused Carol to fall and for everything on that large shelf fall on Carol. Back to Negan and Daryl as they are walking to the pike where he said that Alpha’s head was at. Negan finds out that it is not there and Daryl draws his crossbow at Negan as he does not believe him anymore. Whisperers appear at the border and told Negan that he is the new Alpha since she is dead. Negan then went to his old ways as a leader for a moment and told Daryl to get on his knees while also telling one of those Whisperers to hand him over Alpha’s shotgun. Daryl wanted Negan to shoot him right there, but Negan shot one Whisperer, and they both fought off and killed the other two.
While Yumiko and Eugene are sleeping, Ezekiel stays up and is the lookout. suddenly, his horse fell and Ezekiel examined the horse and noticed that his horse is bitten. Ezekiel put down his horse and was sad to do this. Yumiko seen this and Ezekiel told Yumiko to leave him there and for them to go on without him because he is sick. Yumiko told him that is not happening and that they need to find out what’s possible as she said that her and Eugene needs him there. In the morning, Carol is still buried beneath the debris. Alpha teases her about the people she has lost in her life, and the people she will lose from this point on since nobody will help her. A walker is approaching and squeezed through a tight space. Alpha even told Carol to look at the flowers. Carol was not going to listen to anymore of this as she got the strength to get up from the debris, and kill that walker. Elsewhere, Ezekiel, Yumiko, and Eugene are on a bridge as they are looking at a skyline of buildings of a city.
Negan and Daryl was sharing water while they were sitting down. Negan does not think that Lydia is returning and Daryl thinks so too. Negan said that he meant it when he said that he “liked it” when he felt like his old self last night for a second and reflected on his time inside that cell for seven years. He said that it was nice that he felt like he was being respected and that he mattered, but Alpha went too far. Daryl was not interested to listen to this. Negan even tried to brighten the mood, but Daryl walked away. Later, Carol arrives at Alexandria. Daryl opened the gate, they said nothing, and Carol walked inside. Ezekiel, Eugene, and Yumiko are in the city. Ezekiel called for any person that is there. They see walkers, but these walkers were handcuffed and chained down to where they are and acting like people living their lives (It is better to see this scene than to describe it in writing). At one point, Ezekiel laughed at the walker that was handcuffed inside the car steering the wheel. They explore the area and see a skeleton walker with a pink scarf. Then they all look forward, and out of nowhere, “The Princess” makes her on screen debut as she greeted herself to the three of them that looked very puzzled and stunned in shock.
At the end of the episode, Beta reads the note and takes out Alpha’s head from the bag. He says “thank you” to walker Alpha and puts walker Alpha’s head down with his knife. He then walks outside his crashpad and and is seen with his mask fixed on the other side of his face that was missing with Alpha’s skin as he begins to walk with his horde.
Khary Payton as Ezekiel, ,Josh McDermitt as Dr. Eugene Porter Eleanor Matsuura as Yumiko – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 14 – Photo Credit: Jace Downs/AMC
This episode is much better than last week’s episode and I love how sudden “The Princess” Juanita Sanchez debut was on the show as it was exactly the same way from Issue #171. I cannot wait to see more of her on the show. Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Norman Reedus are great friends and I was happy to see them have a lenghtly scene on this episode as their chemistry continues to grow. Khary Payton continues to make a believer out of me as he is making me feel sad for Ezekiel each episode he is in ever since he revealed that he has cancer.
Ryan Hurst continues to knock it right out of the park as Beta and it was interesting to see why he wanted to get over who he was in the past. I also believe this episode is the best I have seen Carol with Alpha even though Alpha was practically a ghost in this episode in Carol’s mind. The dynamic between these two was a highlight of this season and it shows that Carol is struggling to accept whether if it was a good choice or a bad choice to kill Carol. Overall, a solid episode and there is a lot of development with the characters on this episode while there was action to blend in with everything!
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