TV & Movie Reviews – Alternative Mindz

Comic Conventions in 2018 I Have Covered

January 15, 2019Julian Cannon Leave a Comment

2018 was a great year for the comic convention and entertainment industry as a whole and I am happy that I got to witness many of the events. Raging from the big movies such as Avengers: Infinity War and A Quiet Place to the great seasons of our favorite television shows, and the headlines that made the majority of the audience react on social media and on a platform such as YouTube, we are in an age of information that can be shared and watched by millions. In that same time, the comic convention scene has become bigger in a larger scale and it has drawn many attendees of different fandoms all packed into one giant building. I have covered many of them over the years and last year was the most I have covered in one year as part of the media. Here are five that I will write about on my experience in the convention scene.

C2E2

The biggest show in Chicago every year and they do not disappoint at all. C2E2 (Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo) takes place at the McCormick Center in Chicago and you will have to take a bus to go to the center. When I went there in 2017, It was very warm the day that I went there. In 2018, the weather was a little cold and I would recommend to wear a jacket when you go there because the convention center itself is near a body of ocean. The show is great and there are two floors of the show and they are very large and it is filled up by different vendors and artists and gaming areas. Of all the conventions I have went to, this one is floor friendly the most as you would not feel lost or cramped in areas at all. The panels I have attended that week featured Guardians of the Galaxy, Tom Kenny of Spongebob Squarepants, and Khary Payton of The Walking Dead. I have also interviewed the cast of Daphne and Velma as well and we all had a blast talking. Call me weird, but as a guy from New York, I prefer Chicago style pizza and I love it!

Wizard World Philadelphia

Up next, is Philadelphia and Wizard World’s biggest show is in Philadelphia and the best part of the location is that it is right across the street from the Reading Terminal Market. You would not have to scatter around the convention center to figure out what food that you want to get since the market has a huge amount of options that you can choose. Wizard World itself is usually a great show with a great amount of celebrities that you can meet. I wanted to meet Natalie Dormer of Game of Thrones, but I did not have the time at all since I was covering the show. I did got the chance to interview Erica Schroeder in which we talked about her role in Yu-Gi-Oh and Pokemon and The panels I have attended featured Ezra Miller and Ray Fisher of Justice League, Sebastain Stan, and the voices of Overwatch. The cosplay over there was actually great too with some mind blowing ones that caught my attention that I still do remember to this day.

San Diego Comic Con

I have not been to SDCC since 2012 and when I went there to cover it in 2018, It has changed and I was amazed with the huge presence over there. This was not like other conventions where only parts of the city were comic con themed, The ENTIRE area of San Diego was comic con themed from the minute you walk out of the airport and onward. I even seen it on taxi cabs, buildings, The Trolleys and theaters, and even the line of the Conan tapings that week. It was massive to see how big it has become since I was last there and there are also offsite events related to comic con for the press and attendees for everyone to enjoy such as the Jack Ryan escape room experience, Amazon TV’s museum, The Walking Dead’s showcase, South Park escape room, and much more. This is all outside of the convention center and they are at different parts of San Diego even though a few of the events are across the street of the convention center. Speaking of the convention center, you cannot even go to the sidewalk of the convention center unless you have a badge and that is a great move to prevent scalpers from trying to rip people off. The building itself is very huge and when I was there on preview night when there were a small amount of people there, It took me a whole fifteen minutes to walk from one side of the building to another. Imagine being there when there is a huge amount of attendees. The show itself was great and the media interviews I have been part of was The Walking Dead, Fear The Walking Dead, Crazy Ex Girlfriend, Better Call Saul, and much more. I did however seen the dreaded Hall H line and I was stunned to see how many people were on the line that camped out for a few days. Hall H is where the bigger panels take place for television and movies and even surviving the line is a task. I have never went inside Hall H and I do not think I can put my body through it. All in all, SDCC I highly recommend for you to go once in your life.

Keystone Comic Con

The newest one of the convention scene is Keystone Comic Con and it is also in Philadelphia as well. Every convention has something unique and this one is the first comic con to have a wrestling ring with wrestling matches from Tommy Dreamer’s House of Hardcore. I was not surprised to see that there was a large crowd each day of the matches that took place there and it actually turned out very well. There were wrestling legends there such as Tommy Dreamer, Bully Ray, Jim Cornette, and Jerry Lawler with a few new faces such as Lance Anaoi. Speaking of wrestling, Me and my girlfriend got the chance to not only meet WWE Superstar Nikki Bella, but we spoken to her for nearly ten minutes about different topics. There was also a large gaming area in one of the rooms and there were set up by different eras of gaming consoles. There was also a costume contest that I enjoyed and different vendors of comics as well. I hope in 2019 I can cover it again!

New York Comic Con

I have covered NYCC every year since 2012 and each year I love it more than the previous year. New York is a flooded city where it does not sleep but what did sleep this year, was the MTA as the 7 Train was not running the entire time during NYCC weekend and that frustrated me a lot. Other than that, I bought a large amount of comics at this show this year other than interviewing celebrities.But the day before NYCC began, I was invited to attend the red carpet event of DC’s Titans along with a screening of the first two episodes. Also, E! Network had a truck outside where they were giving away free donuts to attendees after they place their vote on the upcoming awards show at the time. I have went to that truck at least five times per day during that week. Celebrities I have interviewed ranged from shows such as Batman:The Animated Series, The Gifted, Legacies, Lore, and The Man in The High Castle. I also did my 200th episode of my podcast there with guests Jason Solomon of The Solomonster Sound’s Off, Jon Draper of Wrestling Soup, and Ray Flook of BleedingCool.com. I also ran into Brandon Davis of Comicbook.com and Kirsten of Insider many times during the week as we talked about various news about the show. If you are in New York, NYCC is the place to be during the fall.

My first show that I will cover will be C2E2 2019 so I will report from there

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Gotham Season 5, Episode 2 Review

January 11, 2019Julian Cannon Leave a Comment

Last week, we left the shattered remains of Gotham City with an exhausted boy begging Jim Gordon for help. With a profound lack of Penguin this week, Episode 2 instead focuses predominantly on Bruce Wayne and Jim Gordon as they embark on separate missions to save those in need of help. While the episode lacks the same big set-piece driven action and meaningful plot development the first episode had, the final few scenes are likely to be a highlight for fans of the show. In many ways, Trespassers follows the rigid formula of Gotham episodes gone by with the added danger of feeling like Gotham could implode at any moment.

The story this week sees Jim gather his limited forces at the precinct, determined to drive into The Dark Zone where a whole group of kids are being held captive. It turns out they’ve been forced to dig a tunnel to the mainland at the hands of a ruthless gang. After navigating a myriad of dangerous locations, Jim finds himself caught in the crossfire between two rival gangs who erupt into a flurry of gunfire. It’s at this point where Jim finds help from the most unlikely of sources with one promise in return – kill Penguin and end this nightmare.

Interspersed between Jim Gordon’s heroic rescue are two predominant storylines, one involving Bruce Wayne and the other, The Riddler. The latter sees Ed wake up chained to a bed, patting himself on the back for beating his sleep walking problem. Only to find out he’s captured and evidently tortured a street gang member who’s left tied up in his bath. After some less-than-friendly negotiations, the gang member reluctantly takes Ed to his hideout only to find someone’s been there before him and left a message on the wall, with all fingers pointing at The Penguin.

Rounding out this trio of stories is Bruce Wayne’s journey into the depths of Gotham’s underbelly to find The Witch to help Salina. Once he arrives, it turns out the witch is actually Poison Ivy who’s ensnared various people who’s stumbled into her territory. After a tense confrontation, she agrees to help for the sake of Salina, giving Bruce something that’ll help herget better. It’s at this point where the episode cuts to the final credits, teasing the beginnings of Salina’s origin story and her destined transformation into Catwoman.

While the episode itself doesn’t push the overall narrative of Gotham forward, it does set up some intriguing questions going forward. In true Gotham fashion, the episodes are chock full of action accompanied by many twists and turns along the way. If there’s one thing Gotham’s always done well, it’s embracing the manic nature of Gotham’s various colourful inhabitants and this episode is no exception. The Riddler is one of the stand outs here, and has been since very early in the show’s run. Given there’s only 12 episodes to play with this season, it’ll be a real shame if the bulk of that time is used up with his amnesia rather than the manic Riddle-obsessed villain we’ve come to know over the years.

Along with the great acting that perfectly captures the persona for many of Gotham’s heroes and villains, it’s worth mentioning the underrated camera work and use of colour here too. There’s some really nice 45 degree angled shots throughout the episode and they’re used perfectly to really capture the off-kilter feel of Gotham. The use of colour, although slightly predictable, changes from dull and grey to full of vibrant brightness toward the end of the episode too, a nice touch to reflect Jim successfully completing his mission.

With a profound lack of Penguin this week, the trio of stories at play here work really well together. These are perfectly balanced through the majority of the episode’s run time too and for the most part, does well to hold your attention until the final scenes. This is likely to be the talking point this week though and it’ll be really interesting to see where they go with Bruce Wayne’s story. Of course, a lot of this season has been focused on the various villains and the ongoing feuds that are gripping Gotham’s new world order but Bruce’s transformation into Batman is something everyone is waiting to see. I’m guessing we’re going to be given a fair amount of character development for Master Wayne this season, perhaps ending with Batman saving the day in the finale. It’s still early days though but like the inhabitants of Gotham City, we’re hungry for more. Also to note, Part of this episode was filmed only two blocks from where my girlfriend lives and this was great to see on screen.

Julian’s Thoughts: Black Mirror Bandersnatch Review

January 8, 2019Julian Cannon Leave a Comment

For the most part, I don’t tend to rush and watch Netflix’s original films unless the reception is very high. most of them typically feel like movies that are either not good enough to make money at the box office or bizarre concept films. I guess “Black Mirror: Bandersnatch” falls into the bizarre concept category. Still, as a fan of “Black Mirror” and someone intrigued by the premise of an interactive film, I had to check this film out as soon as possible.

The amount of options you have is amazing and leads to fascinating paths. The premise of the film is also delightfully meta as it focuses on a game designer in 1984 developing his own make your own adventure game. Seeing how the filmmakers play around with this concept is genius. I used to read some of the choose your own adventure books when I was younger so I fully knew what I was getting into. The acting was great in the film. I thought Fionn Whitehead and Will Poulter really pulled you in. Through different choices, Whitehead and Poulter manage to display varying states of emotions and mental statuses. “Black Mirror: Bandersnatch” has at least five different endings and one of them cannot be accessed as of right now and It may never see the light of day until someone figures how to trigger it (many speculate that it branches from the five number password selection). There are countless numbers of possibilities the story can take with reports that not all scenes have been unlocked by viewers. Some of the choices from the beginning of the film will be referenced later at some point as well. If you watch this movie on a gaming console, Your controller will rumble to let you know when it is time to make a choice. I watched some different paths with some different endings and they vary quite a bit. The theme of this movie is also how one person can be controlled in different ways even though they would not notice it and that played very well during this movie. The film is one of the most ambitious projects ever to be filmed. That same ambition I admire might also be the only complaint I might have because it would be almost impossible to see all the different paths that can be taken. Some critics said the film was too gimmicky but I disagree. I think it could be the future of streaming films if they are done right.

With so many possible story outcomes, it’s hard to dismiss the fun you have controlling the direction the story takes. Also, with seamless editing, the film never “feels” like an interactive experience. “Black Mirror: Bandersnatch” manages to pull off the rare win for original Netflix films, I just hope it becomes the first of many. I would also like to note that you cannot watch this movie with older streaming devices or an Apple TV as of right now.

Gotham Season 5, Episode 1 Review

January 4, 2019Julian Cannon Leave a Comment

I am happy that Gotham is back, but I am also sad that the show is coming to an end very soon. No matter if you have watched one episode or all of them, this show is severely underrated. Contrasting this are some of the best episodes in any superhero show and Gotham’s attempt at fleshing out a prequel for The Dark Knight has been extremely enjoyable. Most of this has been thanks to the excellent origin stories given to the most iconic villains in Batman’s illustrious history. Season 5 begins strongly, with a tease of what’s to come and a look ahead at the chaos now gripping Gotham City.

The story begins with a welcome recap, reflecting on the events leading up to the start of this final season. It’s been 391 days since the government blew the bridges to Gotham, effectively trapping everyone inside and preventing anyone from entering or leaving. After a brief opening few shots, we’re shown the forces of good and evil coming together; “For Gotham!” Jim Gordon screams and the screen erupts into a strobe of gunfire and anarchy.

It’s at this point where we skip back to 87 days. Gotham has broken down into a lawless, anarchistic state. All the villains have carved out their own plot of land with Scarecrow, Victor Freeze, Barbara and more all going it alone and fighting over dwindling resources. Jeremiah is no one to be seen and seeking the chance to capitalize on this anarchy is Penguin. Continuing to manipulate those around him, Penguin controls a prolific enterprise of ammunition which seems to be the leading currency for negotiations.

The government has all but abandoned Gotham by this point. Jim Gordon and a very thin line of police officers hold up at the GCPD, trying desperately to get supplies for a continued flurry of refugees who have got caught in the crossfire between gangs and weren’t able to evacuate. After a desperate plea to the forces outside the city, there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel in the form of a Wayne Enterprises helicopter. In true Gotham fashion, the extent of chaos is fully realized when a mysterious figure shoots the chopper out of the sky and various forces converge on its location.

This then leads to different gangs coming to blows over the supplies and the extent of Gotham’s ambitions for the season ahead fully realized. Knowing this is the final season, the stakes are higher than they’ve ever been before and during this fight, more than one casualty is realized as the battle lines are drawn. Tabitha is also killed in this episode which is the most shocking moment of the entire episode. It’s a bold move from the writers too and something that appears to set the tone going forward. We also see more of Scarecrow here too although given his brief appearance last season, we’ll hold our cards close to our chest before presuming he’ll be a focal figure for the season to come.

The episode ends with a look ahead at what’s to come. Penguin continues to antagonize, putting out a bounty on Jim Gordan’s head. Barbara has been pushed over the edge and seeks vengeance while Bruce Wayne is determined to follow a new path to help Selina recover from her paralysis. The Riddler is waking up in different places around the city and seems even more agitated than usual. All of this while Jim Gordon follows an ominous message from an exhausted child who passes out soon after revealing his message. There’s an awful lot to chew over for the week but there’s no denying that this episode sets a very high bar for the season ahead.

The fifth season of Gotham opens with a real banger of an episode. There’s some explosive action and crucial questions raised for the forthcoming season ahead. If there’s one thing Fox’s superhero prequel has always done well, it’s the characters and this episode does not disappoint. In the season where we finally close the curtain on Gotham, the first episode gets off to a flier and it’ll be interesting to see if the show can keep this momentum going next week when we return to the lawless streets of Gotham City.

TV Shows to Binge Before The Winter Break Ends

January 3, 2019Julian Cannon Leave a Comment

Happy 2019 everyone. I hope that everyone that is reading this enjoyed their time off during the holidays. 2018 was a great year for television with current shows such as The Walking Dead, West World, Gotham, and Legends of Tomorrow and new shows that landed on television and the streaming services. Some are a hit or miss, but they are watchable during the winter break. When the winter break ends, it is back to reality for the world to get back to either school or work as the normal life resumes. But it does not have to be all normal as you can still do some activities after the day ends. Although there will be minimal time during the week, the weekend is where you can do whatever you want and one of those things is watching television. Gone are the days of sitting in front of your TV staring at commercials every seven to ten minutes as you can pause the show you are watching on your streaming account. Today, I will recommend a few shows to watch during the winter break. It is January now and many people will be inside (if you are in the northeast region) due to cold weather so why not binge a TV show.

Black Mirror (Netflix)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ELQ6u_5YYM

This series can challenge the viewer’s mind in many different ways and the best part about this show is that you can watch all of the episodes in any order that you want to. It is one of those shows where you do not have to watch the first episode since each episode has a different story. There are also mind bending plot twists on some of the episodes of this show that will have your mind blown. A perfect example is the ending of the episode “Shut Up and Dance”. I will not spoil the ending, but it makes you think of how far can you go to hide a secret. Give Black Mirror a chance and recently, a movie called Black Mirror: Bandersnatch has made it’s way to Netflix and it is an interactive movie with five possible endings.

Everything Sucks (Netflix)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hf_YjzEvYeQ

This show takes place in the year 1996 at Boring High School in Oregon (I am not joking, that is the name of the high school) and most of the show’s plot revolves around the A/V club in that school. The characters on this teen comedy has different personalities and one of them is also closet gay which becomes another sub plot of the show when the way it was revealed during the show. Another good aspect of the show is that it was not just about how everyone looked at the 90’s as it felt natural and not forced in your face. The acting of all of the characters during that time period fits the narrative of what the show was about. And this is the freshman year of high school so there is also drama with other students and parents as well. I recently found out that Netflix pulled the plug on this show due to high production costs and I was bummed to find out about that news. Take a chance to watch this show as I think that it is underrated.

Gotham (FOX)

The fifth and final season of Gotham premiers this week and this is another show where I feel that should have not ended this quick. Gotham showcases the characters of the Batman comic book series in their younger days as Commissioner James Gordon and Harvey Bullock are the main stars of the show. There is intense action in every episode that will keep you on the edge of your seat. We are also shown the younger versions of Bruce Wayne, Catwoman, Poison Ivy, The Riddler, The Penguin, Scarecrow, and even The Joker. There was a concern about continuity issues since most of the stoylines from the show that are in the comic happens when all of the characters are older, but it blended in well on the show especially The Court of Owls plot arc on the show. If you want to see a young Batman on television, then this show is for you. It is also not connected to the Arrowverse shows at all so you will not be confused with trying to catch up with the other shows at all.

Unreal (Lifetime/Hulu)

Another good show with an interesting concept as it is about a production of a “Bachelor/Bachelorette” reality show. This is not a reality show at all and I was intrigued about it. The head of the production is a woman named Quinn and her on and off again producer is Rachel and they have a team with them to produce the show. You will find out real quick who is the enemy and who is not and the show has many moments that will make you laugh especially when Quinn makes funny comments about the contestants as she sees them from her production room. I will not spoil too much about the show, but there is also drama with the cast and the contestants and it all makes up for good TV. If you are into TV production, I would fully recommend the show. Plus, I know that reality shows are over produced, but it was not until this show where it exposed how over produced those reality shows are.

You (Lifetime/Netflix)

If you want a psychological thriller that is based off a novel, then this show is for you. Taking place in New York City, This show is about a male that stalks his love interest with social media and he does everything he can to be in a relationship with her and to protect her. He does this by killing people that are close to her such as her boyfriend and her best friend. The best parts about the show is the narration sequences that blends in with the scenes to give the viewer what is on his (and sometimes hers) mind as the scenes go forward. The concept is interesting and this show took advantage of the use of social media the most out of any scripted show from the first episode, to the season finale. Good thing that Netflix picked the show up because season 2 is coming soon.

The Edge and Christian Show That Totally Reeks of Awesomeness (WWE Network)

Of all of the WWE Network original shows, this show I would recommend the most. Edge and Christian are a former tag team in WWE in which they have won the tag team championships together seven times. They would both have a successful careers without each other winning multiple World Heavyweight Championships on their own. The team was known for their highly praised comedy skits inside and outside the ring and a show about them doing comedy skits is so totally worth watching. There are great skits on this show that breaks the fourth wall such as “Will WWE Talk About It” which is the funniest part of the show. During the episodes, Edge and Christian go on a mini adventure and there are also sometimes Easter eggs that are included in their dialogue. For example, one of their most recent episodes, they traveled to a dark cave and everyone in the scene commented about how dark it is inside the cave. Then Christian says “are we in the impact zone?!” and I laughed to tears hearing that unexpected line. There are also game show skits within the show such as the “Chumpstain Challenge” as Charly Caruso is the host and Edge and Christian answers themed questions. This show has a mix of everything packaged into one show on the WWE Network.

Julian’s Thoughts: Aquaman Review

December 27, 2018Julian Cannon Leave a Comment

The DC Extended Universe has had a few more issues than the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Not for nothing, but Man of Steel was two thirds of a great take of the original superhero that turned into a CGI 9/11 mess, Batman v Superman was a dull, overlong, muddled mess that crammed six films worth of story into a single film with only fleeting moments of brilliance, Suicide Squad was a compromised but fun enough mess with enough ideas to warrant a second viewing. Then came Wonder Woman, Patty Jenkins’ game-changing story of love conquering all troubles and being the greatest thing in the world; it smashed records and was a fun ride that called to mind Richard Donner’s Superman (the granddaddy of the genre). Justice League was a mess, but now with a slate of intriguing films on the horizon, the DC universe can do anything, which leads us to James Wan’s Aquaman.

Aquaman is the first post-Justice League film from DC, and it shows that the lessons from previous DC adaptations have been learnt. Gone is the dark colour pallette, the reluctance to have fun, the overstuffing of storylines and the dour tone. Welcome a bright, epic adventure film with plenty of things going boom, and laughs to be had along the way. James Wan has had an extraordinary fourteen year career. Having made Saw and then moving on to lesser seen films like Dead Silence and Death Sentence (the latter being a great little revenge flick) he made films like The Conjuring 1 & 2, Insidious 1 & 2 and then out of nowhere directed Furious 7, the best of the Fast and Furious franchise even with a sad loss of Paul Walker during filming. Here, Wan crams everything into the film like a child playing with action figures.

Jason Momoa returns as Arthur Curry, half human half Atlantean, the first born child of Queen Atlanna and heir to the throne. His destiny is forced upon him when his half-brother King Orm begins manipulating the seven underwater kingdoms into attacking the surface world, and things go bonkers.

From the off, Wan might as well be handing out copies of his favorite 80s movies. It’s no secret that most superhero directors want to show you the movies they’re inspired by, but here it shows more than ever. For people who like old-school adventure films like Romancing the Stone (brilliant), Raiders of the Lost Ark (brilliant) and The Goonies (brilliant) you’re in for a fun ride. There are moments that look like throwbacks to Stephen Sommers original The Mummy (brilliant but less so), and the film is all the better for it.

Momoa plays his superhero like a slightly hungover bouncer, reluctant to get involved in a world he has no real stake in, his only tether to the human world being his father (a very well used Temuera Morrison), and his claim to the throne of the ocean holds no interest. Having rocked up to the party in Justice League like a absolute dudebro and yelled things like “my man” and “i dig it”, this time around he has a bit more heavy lifting to do. Given his frame, his eyebrow scar and his voice like gravel there is so much to relish in his performance here – he stands confidently with other heroes of the DC universe as being distinct but of that world.

The film also has that old-fashioned feel, thanks to a great supporting cast – Morrison along with Nicole Kidman play Curry’s parents well, in a well-done prologue showing the quick romance between the two that leads to young Arthur being born. Patrick Wilson decides to chew his scenery as the villainous Orm, deciding that other royal sibling-relation superheroes are OTT enough, with none of the charm of Loki, the nuance of Killmonger or even the manipulation of Ares, this time around we get a shouting Wilson, going for absolute broke and clearly having an absolute blast. Willem Dafoe and Dolph Lundgren aren’t used to their full potential, but they flesh out the world, and are convincing even as they pretend to swim in the underwater world.

It’s actually the secondary villain of the revenge-driven Black Manta played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II that gets some of the best sequences, he has a cool suit and the guy looks like he means business, laying waste to a small Sicilian village in his revenge quest against Curry.

There are some fun cameos along the way (Julie Andrews voices a giant sea monster for one), and the score by Rupert Greyson-Williams flips between a superhero score and something resembling Tron’s soundtrack, but it works. This is a love letter to those swashbuckling adventures of days gone by, and the film doesn’t mind being silly.

There are some awkward issues: a lot of action sequences begin with someone being blindsided by an explosion, and the underwater hair effects seem a little uneasy, but even so, neither undo the film because Wan knows not to do the same old action sequence. There’s a fun Tron/Star Wars style escape from Atlantis, there are sword fights, parkour rooftop running, and good old-fashioned fisticuffs.

By no means does this make for a perfect viewing, and at two and a half hours the film does sometimes go into overlong time, but even as the CGI heavy third act begins to weigh hard, there’s another bizarre sea monster ready to show up, including giant angry sharks, big crab people, a CGI Djimon Hounsou, seahorses big enough to ride and enough jokes to keep you going.

In the end, this is a movie that doesn’t want to upset or bore, it wants to entertain, offering good old-fashioned thrills without being too tethered to the movies before it, taking a leaf from Wonder Woman’s book and like that film heralding a brighter future for the DC Universe. If Shazam! and Birds of Prey can keep up this momentum, DC might have a future after all, and as for Aquaman, if there was ever a reason to go see a big movie it might be the sight of an octopus playing the drums.

Final Grade: A

THE WALKING DEAD SEASON 9, EPISODE 8 “EVOLUTION” REVIEW

November 26, 2018Julian Cannon Leave a Comment

The final episode of the first half of the ninth season of The Walking Dead ends with a shocking surprise along with a shocking death as well. The episode is a reminder that The Walking Dead is a horror show and for the first time since Negan gave Glenn and Abraham their brutal deaths, the horror of the show has been set in tone as we finally got the brutal attack by The Whisperers. There were also great moments during the episode as well that involved Carol, Megan, and Michonne. Now it is time for me to give my thoughts about the newest episode as The Walking Dead will not return for a few months after this episode.

Over at Alexandria, Father Gabriel has been given the role of taking control of Alexandria after the others leave to look for Eugene. He visits Negan in the cell twice as the first time, Negan kept bouncing a ball off the wall while he talks to Gabriel about Rosita and again later that day as Negan taunts Gabriel. Gabriel wants no part of taking Negan’s humor so he tells him for once in his life to shut up. Negan asks what is going on as Gabriel tells him that he should be out there helping Rosita but he is there with him right now. As they finish talking, Gabriel leaves but the guard that was with Gabriel forgot to lock the cell and Negan escapes later that night when he noticed the door was not locked after his ball went through the cell! I did not think that he would escape this early, but I am glad that he is out now.

Henry has taken Carl’s role from the comic as he wants to learn about crafting weapons. He later meets Endid, Alden, Gage, Addy, and Rodney during dinner. Henry along with Gage, Addy, and Rodney decided to drink alcohol later that night and when Henry notices that Rodney and Gage were toying with a walker that was under some wood, Henry decides to put it down but he is stuck at the pit the walker was in. Henry ended up at the cell in The Hilltop as Earl told him that he will be there for two days for him to think about his actions. Earl also told him that he will speak to Jesus about releasing him early.

Also at Hilltop, Michonne brings Magna and her group there and there is still disdain between her and Tara over the years (which has not been explained why yet, but we will find out) as Tara does not want anything to do with the group, but she does say that Jesus and her will talk about it. Tara also updates Michonne about the status of Eugene and Rosita as Michonne was not aware about what happened to them. As Michonne and Siddiq were seeing Rosita, Siddiq apologizes to Michonne to not letting her know about Maggie and then Rosita wakes up to tell them both that she knows where Eugene is.

Thanks to Daryl’s dog, Eugene has been found at the barn as Eugene thinks that the herd from two episodes ago is looking for him since he said that he heard them circling around a few times. Eugene also mentions that it was not a normal herd at all. Daryl tried to divert the herd by using an alarm earlier that day, and firecrackers at night and even his dog tried as well but that did not work as The Whisperers were directing them. When Michonne, Magna, and Yumiko finally show up at the haunted looking graveyard, the action begins as they help clear the herd. Jesus even showed off his badass looking ninja skills to take down some of the zombies. As Jesus was clearing the herd in the graveyard that was trying too get through the gate, he is viciously and shockingly stabbed to death by a Whisperer which caught him off guard. After Jesus was killed, everyone kills some of the other Whisperers that were approaching them and then goes examine one of the walkers that they killed and they realize that it was a person wearing zombie skin as the group looked in horror. Following this, The Whisperers and the heard circle back around the group as they whisper more words as the episode ends.

This was an amazing episode as the horror and the atmosphere was jumped up more than a hundred times. The surprise attack of The Whisperers was very well done and it was also creepy to see it play out on screen. I also loved that they used the graveyard for that scene because the fog added the terror of what was not coming. With Negan now out, Ezekiel planning the fair, the threat of The Whisperers, and situation with Henry, We are ready for a jam packed second half once it returns in a few months. We also did not get Alpha in this episode, but I have a feeling that she along with Beta will appear within the first few episodes of the second half. The first half of Season 9 has been refreshing and even with Rick Grimes’ exit, the show is still strong while he is not there. What will come in the second half, we will have to see.

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The Walking Dead Season 9, Episode 7 “Stradivarius” Review

November 18, 2018Julian Cannon Leave a Comment

After last week’s shocking ending of the episode with the debut of The Whisperers as Eugene and Rosita were hiding from them, This week, we have a character driven episode as we witness more of Magna and her group, Daryl and Carol and much more. The Walking Dead usually does great with their character driven episodes and it was no stranger that this one is a very good one which sets up the mid season finale on next week’s episode. But now, it is time to give my thoughts about the seventh episode of the ninth season of The Walking Dead.

Rosita was running in the woods as she was escaping The Whisperers but we do not see Eugene with her. She hears whispers from different directions during this as she was horrified from realizing that the dead were talking. She passes out and while this was going on, Aaron and Jesus found her after they see that a flare was fired. Aaron and Jesus were also trainning as well and it is finally great again to see Jesus acts like his comic counterpart as far as action goes. Rosita mentioned to them that she left Eugene in a barn for him to be safe and for her to alert the rest for help.

At The Hilltop, we find out that Jesus is now the leader, but he seems to not liking the responsibility of leading a community since he was a scouter. He is a leader by name, but Tara is running the place and it is about time that Tara had a better position from what she was in the last few seasons. You would most likely ask yourself “where is Maggie?” Well that question has been revealed as Siddiq revealed to Michonne that Maggie went with Georgie from Season 8 to build another community. This explains the “open ended” way to have her return in a future season. But I wish that she got a better sendoff.

Carol and Henry visit Daryl as he has stayed there for six years. He was originally looking for Rick’s body, but he got used to the area so he just stood there. That is Daryl being Daryl everyone. Carol wants Daryl to help her take Henry to The Hilltop so he can learn how to craft weapons as a blacksmith. Daryl also has a dog now that helps him build traps for incoming walkers. There was also a scene with the dog being trapped in one of the traps as the walkers were about to eat him alive. Daryl tried to save him, but Henry winds up saving them both. As a dog owner myself, I was on the edge of my seat hoping that the dog would not die in that scene. Another thing I liked about Carol and Daryl’s interaction is that these two has had chemistry going back to season 3 and it finally was displayed here once again. Carol also gives Daryl a much needed haircut and I bet that the fans wanted that for the last 5 seasons.

Michonne changed her mind of taking Magna and her group to The Hilltop and decided to do it but once a few scouts from Hilltop notify Michonne that Rosita needs care, she goes. She still does not trust her after the introduction meeting with the counsel on last week’s episode as Michonne was very suspicious of Magna. When they went back to the area where Judith found them, they discover that everyone else at the camp is dead so they spent a night at an old building until the next morning. Michonne notices that the walker herd is the same one from when Magna’s group were introduced. Magna and her group did not want to put down Bernie since he turned so Michonne did it. It has been a long time since we had a scene like this. Michonne and Magna’s conversation is also very good as the writers of the show did not hesitate to make Magna and her group big parts of the show.

Based on the information Rosita gave to Daryl, Aaron, and Jesus, the three of them go out to look for Eugene and this is where the episode ends.

This episode is worth watching as it is building up to the impending doom of the danger of The Whisperers (especially since the next episode is called Evolution) so how the rest of the group will react to them will be something to look forward to. Daryl and Carol’s scenes were my favorite parts of the episode along with his new dog and once again, it is great that Tara is not taking a backseat anymore. Even Enid is now the new doctor of The Hilltop and I believe the reason for that is the way she saved Aaron when he got his arm injury. This season continues to grow stronger each week.

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The Walking Dead is on AMC Network every Sunday at 9:00 PM EST.

The Walking Dead Season 9, Episode 6 “Who Are You Now?” Review

November 11, 2018Julian Cannon Leave a Comment

Six long years has passed since the disappearance of Rick Grimes as the rest of the characters are moving on. But some of them are still grieving in different ways that I have never thought of. Rick has been the one person to lead the right way for the last few years and it struck me even more when I did not see Andrew Lincoln’s name on the opening opening sequence and we will have to get used to that every week from this point forward. With the end of last week’s episode when we got introduced to Magna’s group and a 10 year old Judith Grimes, it is time to dive deep in “Who Are You Now?”

Michonne visits the area where her and everyone else last seen Rick Grimes as they still think that he is dead. She has a great monologue about how they are pushing forward for the last few years. We are also shown Daryl as he is fishing and living by himself in the woods. Also to add, Carol and Ezekiel are full fledged married and she even has longer hair now. When Michonne leaves the area, she sees the bridge as we found out that it was never rebuilt since the explosion. Michonne is also the new leader of Alexandria as she has toughened up to not let any new survivors in at all. But that will soon change.

Carol has also changed in the last six years as she is much more bold and stronger now than ever and I believe that is what love does for you. She takes Henry (who is now a teenager) to the Hilltop so that he can learn how to craft items as a blacksmith. During the trip, they run into a few Saviors and who would have think that they were still the bad guys six years later. I also wished that there was an explanation on the fallout of the riot before the time jump but that might happen in a few more episodes. Regina and Jed of The Saviors has robbed Carol and Henry and they also took Carol’s wedding ring and Henry was shocked to see that Carol just let them do that. She later tracks down the Savior that took her ring and burned him and the rest alive. That was pretty dark and it reminded me of when Carol burned those Saviors alive way back in Season 6.

There were also scenes of Rosita and Gabriel as Gabriel wants to try to communicate with other survivors via the radio. This was an interesting twist from the comics since Eugene is the one to do that in the comics. When they realize that the signal is very weak, Rosita and Eugene heads to the water tower to place an amplifier to boost the signal. But the trip back will have a shocking discovery with them but more on that towards the end of my review. Also, can we have Gabesita trending because Gabriel and Rosita are now a couple.

Judith Grimes brings Magna and the rest of her group to Alexandria as she also pleads with Michonne to let them stay. Gabriel and the counsel which includes Aaron, Michonne, and others also interviewed all of them and asked them questions about what they were doing before the apocalypse and who they are as a person now. This scene mirrored the one in the comics as Rick Grimes was the one to ask them the questions. Michonne does not fully trust Magna since she lied about her background as she notices a prison tattoo and a knife in her belt (can I also note that Magna has a knife everywhere she goes because she had a few more after this scene). Michonne wants to take them all to the Hilltop. We also find out that Michonne has a son so this must mean that she was pregnant before the time jump. Imagine if Rick comes back from wherever the helicopter took him to find out that he has another son?

We get a nice scene with Negan helping Judith with her homework and he is still in the cell. Negan tried to play a mind game on her to reveal who the new people are but Judith was smart enough to know to not buy into his tricks at all. I would like to see more scenes with these two.

The episode ends as Eugene and Rosita tries to camouflage themselves from a zombie herd. But the shocker is straight out of issue #130 of the comics as some of the “zombies” were whispering asking where were the two that they just seen. Eugene and Rosita were shocked to hear this as this is the first appearance of The Whisperers!

This episode moved up the pace from last week’s episode but there are two questions that rings into my head. What was the fallout of that camp riot with The Saviors and where is Maggie and how will her disappearance be explained for the rest of the season? Other than those two questions, this was a great episode that not only dealt with the emotions of the three characters that were tied to Rick Grimes the most, but it gives us more exciting story lines to look forward to especially now since The Whisperers are now here. There are two more episodes left for the first half of Season 9 and we are just getting started.

The Walking Dead premieres live every Sunday at 9pm EST on AMC Network

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The Walking Dead Season 9, Episode 5 “What Comes After” Review

November 4, 2018Julian Cannon Leave a Comment

Last week, Rick got injured by falling of his horse which leads him to getting impaled on a metal rebar as he loses conscious as the episode ends. This week, not only we are shown the final moments of Rick Grimes on The Walking Dead, but we also see new characters at the end of the episode along with a good twist from the comic series. Time to deep in “What Comes After” which is also the same name as volume 18 of the comic series (the material of volume 18 however, was also most of the first half of Season 7 of the TV series).

Rick gets his way out of the scary situation by pulling himself up with the belt he had on as the double herds of walkers were approaching him. He then gets on the horse to lead the herd away as he is bleeding out on his way. During this along with the beginning of the episode, Rick has hallucinations from previous scenes of his journey starting with the hospital along with the characters that are no longer here such as Hershel at the barn, Shane at the scene of the pilot episode before he was shot, and Sasha. The scenes with Hershel were heart warming as Rick apologizes for what happened to him and his family. It is also important to note that this scene is the very last scene Sott Wilson has ever been filmed as he passed away during the weekend of New York Comic Con. Rick’s scenes with Shane however, were not that very heart warming as Shane makes it known that he himself was a pain in the butt. He also asks Rick about his daughter as well.

Another hallucination during this episode is when Rick is standing over a large amount of characters that are dead (or yet to be dead) and that mirrors the issue 100 variant cover of the same scene.

Maggie finally arrives at Alexandria as her and Michonne are talking about Negan. I love that Michonne mentioned that if Glenn would have wanted her to do what she wanted to do. Michonne lets her see Negan and this scene mirrored the one on Issue 174 which was released last December. Negan wants Maggie to kill him so he can be with his wife but Maggie refused as she would rather let him live and suffer. If Lauren Cohan was not leaving the show this year, I bet this scene would have happened on the next season but I understood why it had to happen.

Jadis is also seen driving the van that used to belong to Heath who went missing back in Season 7 and my theory about what happened to him seems to be coming to light. But more about her later.

Rick leads the herd to the camp as the bridge that we thought was going to break, did not. But as the others are coming to his aid, he thinks that they are part of the hallucination he has seen earlier. He then shoots his gun at the dynamite that he noticed as the bridge explodes. Everyone looks shocked as they (including myself) thinks that Rick has died. But we find out that the helicopter Jadis has been in contact with has been called after she found him by the river as Jadis also tells them that they have a B. I still do not know the meaning of A and B, but I am still curious. The helicopter takes Rick Grimes away as his status after this is missing.

We are then shown another time skip of about 5-6 years as we are finally introduced to Magna and her group as they were trying to get away from a herd until a 10 year old Judith Grimes saved them. She also wields a shotgun and is wearing Carl Grimes’ hat as the episode ends.

In the Comic Series, Magna and her group were introduced almost the same way at issue #127. The few differences is that on the comic series, they were introduced two years after All Out War ended and that it was Jesus and Heath that saved her and her group.

I love this episode. I know that the way Rick’s exit was handled will be up for debate in the coming days and even months since AMC promoted that this will be his last episode. Leaving his exit opened ended means that he might come back in the future. We also know that Lauren Cohan will come back soon as well, but we do not know exactly when. Putting those two moments aside, the callbacks to previous seasons gave me memories of why I love the show in the first place. I just wish that Carl, Lori, Andrea and a few others were shown. Maggie’s interaction with Negan felt like a closure of their story as Negan was not up to his usual mind tricks at all. He was broken and he knew that his time was running thin once he seen Maggie. More questions are also in the way as i think of will we find out more about the helicopter, how will the group move on from Rick not being there, how will Magna’s group react to the communities and much more. This episode is an emotional roller coaster.

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