The King’s Speech

Posted by ron On April - 21 - 2011ADD COMMENTS


In a prude nation like England speak only when spoken to, be discreet, and never waste a word when only one will do.

At one point or another, every one has had to deal with speaking in front of an audience and if you remember distinctly, how the weight of one sentence generated so much anxiety never mind, it felt like an eternity to finish. The source of anxiety was the key to the riddle of George VI’s stuttering issues in the King’s Speech directed by Tom Hooper. With a brother who abdicated the throne for a divorced socialite and a Second World War on the horizon, George VI (Colin Firth) has a problem. He can’t seem to get his words out when it counts most. When all else failed, unorthodox practitioner Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush) was called in to work on his phonetic enunciation.

The King’s Speech took place during a fascinating time when socializing between the classes in England was very uncommon. One could be thrown in prison for merely calling a Royal Family member by the vernacular. Radio was the only methodology to reach every corner of the country. The purpose, description of the event, and structure of the words meant every thing in terms of getting the nation to support a cause. Perhaps there was no more important message than that of asking a country to go to war and trust in one man.

The relationship between George VI and Lionel Logue wasn’t so much an actual depiction but an allegory of trust issues between the classes. Neither man respected each other despite very formal pleasantries. Sometimes more is less in terms of the quality of life that each man held. After King George VI took the throne, he came home to find out his private life had changed forever when his children chose to curtsey instead of running to his open arms for a hug in his own home. Family life became as much a business as Royal life. Mr. Logue never had such problems as displaying public affection but he certainly enjoyed torturing George VI whenever he had the opportunity. In politics, no one is devoid of ego and that goes double for any citizen who loved to defend their apathy towards their country. This movie was effective in portraying that the problems and distrust between ‘them and us’ was never anything recent, just subtler.

Today speech is a lost art form especially with the advent of video. A person can appear to be a complete mess of a speaker but pan to show his assets and suddenly speech doesn’t matter. Speech should matter because it is a reflection of the handle and control over not only yourself but more importantly the use of the language to communicate an idea.

If I had to rate the King’s Speech, I have to describe it with a rich, full-bodied red wine full of class, dignity, and respect.

Cheers,
Ron

Your Highness

Posted by ron On April - 21 - 2011ADD COMMENTS


Pointing phallic objects at your enemy was the name of the game in Your Highness.

In a tale of two princes, Thadeous (Danny McBride) and Fabious (James Franco) were polar opposites until a naughty wizard stole Franco’s bride and so a raunchy sword and sorcery adventure began in Your Highness. As a companion piece to the Pineapple Express, Director David Gordon Green reunited with his boys and added the talents of Oscar winner Natalie Portman and Tobey Jones with cameos from Charles Dance and Zooey Deschanel. With more brand names than an Adam Sandler comedy, Your Highness had some potential to grow up as the love child of Men in Tights meets Monty Python. Alas my lords and ladies of the D20, this film never made its saving throw. However it had its moments with McBride basically running around with an implied “kick me” sign on his back and literally a Minotaur penis tied around his neck.

If you’re looking for top shelf, lowbrow humor Your Highness delivered more phallic jokes than any 3 Kevin Smith films combined in a tribute to fans of the Dragon lance novels. Unfortunately, it never chose a wise path from which to move the humor in a direction that anted up the laughs. Basically McBride was the butt of every joke in the film, many of which you could see coming from Fistandantalus’s tower. As a result, none of the talent received enough experience points from the dungeon master to level up because the jokes were never on anyone else. Like 3-day-old mead, every thing was exhausted by the second act.

Some of the strongest humor was subtle homage to the love of the Tolkien world. An apropos tongue in cheek homage to the Lord of the Rings films by utilizing cinematography worked as well as some of the recreations of familiar scenes. Green has a lot of love for the world of dungeons and dragons but the humor beats you over the head that it took you out of the loving fun and affection for his geeky roots.

If I had to rate Your Highness, I give it a pabst blue ribbon from the can. An old familiar friend that invokes good times but also a taste I can get tired of pretty quickly.

Cheers,

Ron

Blue Valentine

Posted by ron On April - 17 - 2011ADD COMMENTS


The best of intentions can often lead to some harsh lessons in life and love.

When the usher at the Village East Cinema actively warned every person who bought a ticket for Blue Valentine not to see this movie with your significant other, an overwhelming feeling of Caveat Emptor washed over every cinemaphile in the vicinity.

Serendipity was a cruel muse in Derek Cianfrance’s Blue Valentine. It’s a story about how two people fall in love but ultimately end up miserable. The film plots two starting points in time that ultimately converge at a point where the two individuals played by Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams simultaneously marry and divorce. If the brief synopsis sounded generic, it was. Plots in romantic films are rarely innovative. Judging from the rate of divorce society hasn’t been learning from its mistakes. In fact, one would argue more people are falling out of love than ever before. However, it’s not so much where the story in Blue Valentine began or its predictable ending but rather the contrast of temperature generated by the two acting powerhouses in each forthcoming scene in one moment in time juxtaposed against the other moment in the time line.

Due to the quality of acting, Blue Valentine created its own category that was equal parts love story and horror film, not of the Fatal Attraction variety but more of one that made anyone unlucky in love re-visit the demons of past tortured relationships and reopened a few old wounds in the process. Both Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams challenged themselves to create believable compelling characters that are naïve by no fault of their own. Dean (Gosling) was a free spirit who never had an agenda in life. He hoped to get by in life with good looks and clinging to his idealistic vision of love. He was forced out of his comfort zone and into the role of committing to something that he would later leave unfulfilled. Cindy (Williams) fell for Dean’s humor and dreamer mentality but it’s clear she never really loved him. She just felt guilty when he was beaten to a pulp by her ex-boyfriend for their affair. When Cindy found out she was pregnant, she went to Dean without ever really finding out who the father was. It’s a moment of great personal sacrifice and serious contemplation. As the couple aged, the wear and tear of being parents and struggling took its toll. Her compromises and having lived with Dean’s complacency and drinking drove her mad. Cindy didn’t become her parents but lived a nightmare worse than even she could have imagined.

Through their performances, the film never tried to rationalize why people fall in love or do the things that they do. Emotions cannot be rationalized, thus the complexity in spontaneity with human nature. The only thing that can be measured in a relationship is cause and effect. Certainly these two well-intentioned individuals weren’t exactly honest with themselves or each other when they signed up for marriage. It’s brutal honesty and heartbreaking in a way that Chinua Achebe, author of Things Fall Apart would shed a tear.

If I had to rate Blue Valentine, I’d give it a well aged, Scotch with a lot of personality and familiarity that is hard to swallow but good to the last drop.

Cheers,
Ron

Sucker Punch

Posted by ron On April - 17 - 2011ADD COMMENTS


Emily Browning aka Babydoll stares into the abyss of her mind or is that the inglorious mess of this movie?

Five anonymous young ladies with nicknames you might expect to get lap dances plot to escape from an asylum in Sucker Punch. Like something out of Mathew Barney’s Cremaster Cycle, Zach Snyder manifested his own multiple worlds within one body as the ultimate forbidden planet for fan boys. From the mind of one imprisoned girl, young sexpots in costumed high heels fought 10ft samurais, robots, a zombie Kaiser, and a dragon. Unfortunately, all these fictional food groups from so many genres of geekdom were randomly shuffled into a linear format reminiscent of standardized video gaming. When the impact of the reality didn’t measure up to the fantasy, the CGI spell was shattered and left behind a cathartic unidentifiable mess of a movie.

Director Zach Snyder has always had an eye for rich, captivating visuals that were capable of creating awe. Complemented with strong source material, he’s able to navigate a story and at least observe the traffic lights that serve as transition points in character development. The direction in Sucker Punch more closely resembled the Lindsay Lohan School of Driving. Intoxicated with imagery, he ran too many red lights, and went off the bridge of no return. Unfortunately, his 7th feature film served as a cautionary tale when a box office name brand was allowed to run wild without any inhibitions. With Man of Steel, Zach Snyder has raised the stakes even higher and one wonders how does Warner Brothers feel about him directing one of their flagship characters?

Unlike the Usual Suspects, there’s no source or reference for the wild imagination a little girl who lived in a house more closely resembling the Adams Family in what looks to be some time before 8 tracks were replaced by cassettes. So where do the ideas for all these creatures and imagery come from in Baby doll’s mind? Never mind that. Why wouldn’t a girl sentenced to lobotomy by her stepdad, fantasize about getting revenge? In an asylum where molestation and rape of women seemed implied, one has doubts that its victims imagine themselves as burlesque combat machines.

This film aimed to encourage empowerment and fighting for control over your life as a defenseless girl but the themes were an afterthought after it was revealed Baby Doll (Browning)’s doorway into the fantasy world was performing a shimmy that entranced her victims. As the dance number distracted them, the other girls could carry out their plan to escape. Fortunately Snyder spared the audience from watching a barely legal girl dance provocatively in front of the slimiest men caught on film.

Note to the producers of Sucker Punch, in order to make a successful movie you’re going to need 5 things:
1. Plot
2. Screen play
3. Direction
4. Acting
5. Ativan
For movie lovers everywhere, you might need a prescription of Valium before indulging this painful mess of a movie.

If I had to rate Sucker Punch, I’d give it a Four Loko Red Bull suicide note.

Cheers,
Ron

Rango

Posted by sean On April - 5 - 2011ADD COMMENTS

“We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold…”

The Old West has its mythic gunslingers such as Wyatt Earp, Billy the Kid, and Jesse James, but now, another name can be added to that list.  His name: Rango.  As the most unusual character to wear a ten-gallon hat, Rango, a method-acting chameleon, takes you on a thrilling, hilarious quest way over his scaly, delusional head.

 

Director Gore Verbinski’s animated feature follows the title character (voiced by Johnny Depp) through the barren desert after his glass tank falls out of a car.  From the moment Rango realizes his hostile predicament, the film delivers plenty of laughs with slap-stick gags and referential humor in the form of hallucinations and a cameo by Depp’s friend and former role, Hunter S. Thompson (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas).  There is also a disparity in the age-level of humor as it’s anchored by Western images and dialogue consisting of diction that few children will get.  It’s not necessarily a flaw that the film’s aim is skewed more towards grown-ups, but anyone under the age of ten won’t understand words like “prostate” used in some of the quick one-liners, nor will they realize how many Westerns are given homage to, playing on the nostalgia of an older generation.

 

 

Once Rango stumbles upon the town of Dirt and its animal inhabitants, the lizard puts on a façade of a western badass, selling himself to the townsfolk as something he’s not.  The film lingers on this build-up of lies with the audience anticipating for it all to collapse, but before Rango follows a predictable path, Verbinski pushes the film into unforeseen territory with exhilarating gunfights and aerial battles.  Half-way through the second act, the film jettisons forward like a rollercoaster in the desert with adventurous set-pieces that trump most of what Hollywood has offered lately with its live-action blockbusters.  When the film takes a break from the gunfire, it plunges head-first into a surrealistic fairytale through trippy moments of epiphany more creative and entertaining than any drug-based comedy.

 

The biggest highlight of the film lies within the gorgeous animation.  Standing toe-to-toe with Pixar, the vast color palette and fine details give life to each character as they bask in the desert lighting.  Close-ups revel in the most minute features from the scales on Rango’s face to the dry mud in a prospector’s fur.  The character designs are also exceptionally unique, playing on the tropes of the Old West and blending them with the most unusual critters you’ll find chilling at a saloon, from an outlaw gila monster and his reptilian posse silencing everyone with their entrance to the town-drunk turkey getting thrown out of the bar.  There are even a few characters that may appear gruesome or frightening, such as the menacing Rattlesnake Jake with his demon-red eyes and malicious slithering.

 

Verbinski delivers a heaping plate of cinematic enjoyment with the twisted world of Rango, making the film a refreshing ice-cold beer in the desert sun.  It’s dirty and beautiful at the same time, a mesmerizing combination on the foundation of a familiar, yet quirky plot that remains head and shoulders above the majority of animated features released in the past few years.

-Sean

Battle Los Angeles

Posted by ron On March - 28 - 2011ADD COMMENTS


Epic opening to Battle Los Angeles engages the eye but fails to give you much more than a swig of what it could truly be.

Battle Los Angeles was the equivalent of going to a fast food chain expecting a heavy meaty grease saturated guilty pleasure and coming away shockingly unsatisfied despite lowered expectations. Perhaps the reason why it was so unsatisfactory was due to millions spent in marketing the CGI and interviews that promised character depth but neither was delivered.

As the arch typical staff sergeant with a sketchy war record, Aaron Eckhart was supposed to convince us of this gritty battle hardened non-compromising rough neck. Instead the material delivered nothing that would suggest this guy was unhinged and untrustworthy after saving two marines at the get go. Without getting too far ahead none of these characters suggested they were capable marines let alone belong in the military. The unit more closely resembled college kids playing lazer tag for the first time. Stop this review if you’ve heard of the lippy soldier, the soldier married with a kid, the soldier trying to get married and the soldier whose family member died with an ax to grind. Maybe that’s why Michelle Rodriguez who played the communications officer was the best shot of the bunch. Maybe she had a career change moment kind of like one has in college when you suddenly realize its not worth pursuing something if you don’t get something out of it.

The most successful war films don’t try to make it about different personalities meshing at a job. Instead they focus on the inner and outer conflict itself. The quintessential problem with Battle Los Angeles was the lack of conflict. Its focused on filling a quota en route to an objective. Therefore the stakes were never raised.

If you’re wondering why I keep emphasizing the characterizations, the CGI is already spoken for if you saw the trailer. The aliens are so out of focus that no one can remember what they look like. To coin a phrase, out of sight is out of mind. A film where its audience can barely remember what the aliens look like makes you wonder, why bother with aliens? One theory, any attempt to do a legitimate Red Dawn with nation du jour would risk offending paying customers in the international box office.

Battle Los Angeles was the equivalent of Invasion USA meets Independance Day except more time was spent hiding in bombed out areas of a Hollywood set than delivering the actual battle.

By the time, the tired plot reached the aliens’ objective it made even less sense why the aliens would choose LA especially if you understand some of the water shortages and fires over the recent years.

If I had to give Battle LA a drink rating, I’d have to give it a day old open bottle of sparkling water. Flat without any of the bubbly personality that violent video game porn should deliver on the big screen. Never thought I would live to say this but where is Michael Bay?

Black Swan

Posted by ron On March - 28 - 2011ADD COMMENTS


Are you crazy is that your problem? Maybe but crazy is often beautiful.

There were no surprises, plot twists or clever ruses in Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan. Simply put, it was a character study chronicling the downward spiral of a young woman’s sanity in the ultra competitive world of ballet. If you’ve ever had any experience with athletics, you can certainly relate to the heavy abusive rituals that Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman) endured on a daily basis in her quest for artistic perfection. From the movie’s start, it’s painfully apparent ballet can never be a recreational activity, it’s an all consuming mistress with a stop watch who will take second place from no one.

Unfortunately perfection has its price. The very unpredictable Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel) has final say in who dances to his beat in the Black Swan play. Much to Nina’s delight, the lead is hers to lose but on the condition that she would do whatever Mr. Leroy says. As his demands are raised so did Nina’s stress level.

Enter Nina’s rival played by Mila Kunis. Kunis’ free spirit without a care or consequence was the anti-thesis of Nina’s approach to life and the perfect foil for her own downfall as her darker half takes over.

Darren Aronofsky mastery over his craft was also a feat of perfection. The camera work, editing, sound, and execution of the script was every bit of the White Swan: Form and function. The suspense, seduction, and disturbing horrific self destruction of human fragility was his Black Swan. Together, it’s no surprise that this film had received so many nominations. Not since Jodie Foster and Jonathan Demme has an actress and director duo been so insync. Portman didn’t just convince us of White and Black sides of her soul but the most important part, the painful transformation. It’s the transition scenes that really raised the stakes and invested our fears and hopes for Nina.

If I could rate Black Swan with a beverage of choice, it’s easily a fine wine that’s just going to get better with age. Cheers.

Guerillas Book 1 by Brahm Revel

Posted by ron On March - 27 - 2011ADD COMMENTS


Undeniably almost every Vietnam movie or story ever made seems to continuously subscribe to a nihilist rite of passage for American soldiers who go from boys to men in one tour of duty. Hopefully Hollywood can uncover this gold mine of originality that is very accessible to new and old readers of comic books.

Brahm Revel’s Guerillas began conventionally as a cliche’ band of brothers but quickly made an unconventional plot twist that invoked cinema based themes in Platoon and the Island of Doctor Moreau. Disillusioned John Francis Clayton, the book’s main protagonist, was drafted into a war that he quickly wanted no part in. War may not be fit for man but beast as Clayton was saved by trained guerillas gone rogue. Clayton discovered his new found Ape platoon to be more humane than the one he lost in a fire fight. It seemed clear that animals are far more proficient killers and Mr. Revel didn’t hesitate in how men and ape aren’t inherently evil but both are trained as killers. As the story progressed their advantageous ability to nurture shined through the chaos and killing. Perhaps Mr. Revel was trying to say we could learn a lot about the way animals behave and maybe their code of acceptance isn’t defined by race or species but naivety.

As a story board artist for the Venture Brothers, Mr. Revel’s visual language never failed to be clear and effective in pushing the story forward even when dialogue was absent. Much like the Venture Brothers he balanced the darker violent components with equally lighter moments such as using a soldier man’s love for cigarettes to cleverly articulate monkey see, monkey do humor.

Guerillas is a book about survival, coming of age, and most importantly acceptance. We all want to be on the same side but for whatever reason, we can’t accept each other for who we are. If animals can live with man, why can’t we accept each other? Perhaps human beings suffer from a rare gene that animals have. It’s called common sense.

If I had to rate Guerillas, I’d give it a refreshing after work beer that is familiar and yet something to look forward to. Cheers.

Durarara

Posted by sean On March - 9 - 2011ADD COMMENTS

Anime has garnered a huge following in the West since the first shows were brought over in the Sixties, beginning with Astro Boy and Speed Racer.  Fifty years later, anime shows are still being brought over and translated for American audiences, the newest of which is Durarara, based on a light novel/manga series.  Revolving around a multitude of colorful characters, from simple high school students to mythological beings, Durarara tries to weave dozens of arcs to create an entertaining story but gets tangled up along the way.

 

Durarara is eerily similar to ABC’s Lost through its sense of mystery, its journey into the supernatural, but most of all, its narrative structure.  Made up of character-focused episodes, Durarara takes place in Ikebukuro, Tokyo as freshman Mikado Ryūgamine transfers to a local school at the invitation of his old friend, Kida Masaomi.  In the first episode, Kida gives Mikado a grand tour of the city, telling him about the gangs and the who’s-who of area, along with the urban legend of a headless biker, the Black Rider.  From there, the lives of over a dozen characters intertwine due to a series of attacks on city citizens connected to corrupt companies, secret gangs, and ancient myths.

 

It takes the first five or six episodes to do what the pilot should’ve done in introducing this world.  By attempting to flesh out each character in their own episode(s), the story gets spread so thin that you will finish a third of the series before you get a firm grasp on one of the main plots.  Luckily, with the show running at only twenty-four episodes, the plotlines get less drawn out from there, but that circles back to the problem of too many characters.  Some who are given too much screen time suddenly become irrelevant and disappear without tying up all of their loose ends.  At the same time, characters you want to see more often, like the violent bartender Shizuo or Russian sushi-chef Simon, are given a scene here or there without any further exposure of their back-story.

 

On the upside, Durarara juggles the drama and humor very well once it gets the ball rolling.  The different plotlines stem from reality-based problems such as gangs and teenage love while splicing in supernatural forces from Japanese and Celtic mythology, and like any youth-based story, there are plenty of laughs and light-hearted moments.  These are nice touches that never seem overbearing to the series as the story, deep down, is about the characters and their progression through a less-than-ordinary life.  As for the animation, it’s slick and vibrant in its use of colors.  It may not be like Akira or other anime where every crack or shadow is detailed to convey a sense of realism, but the artwork is stunning to look at most of the time and captures the feel of the city and its inhabitants.

 

Durarara drags at first, but then it sprints at the end, leaving behind the feeling that maybe one day the series will wrap up the story arcs it left open.  Minus the setbacks, it is a quick, cold beer for being a show that anime fans can enjoy without the worry being disappointed after several years of commitment.

 

Part 1 is now on DVD and Part 2 will be released on March 29, followed by Part 3 on May 31.

-Sean

The Walking Dead: Season 1 Overview

Posted by Jose On February - 27 - 2011ADD COMMENTS

October 31, 2010. Halloween. For many, it was a night to dress up, go trick-or-treating, and get more hammered than a hardware store. For many this year, it was the night to stay home and turn their televisions to AMC. Why? It was the night the world was introduced to The Walking Dead. Though based on the hit series written by Robert Kirkman and published by Image Comics, there were many who went into the show cold, not having reading the comic. Present company included. Going into it cold, how did the six episode season fare? What made it stand out and made it a hit success?

The show takes place in the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse. The world, much like the zombies is a shell of it’s former self. You’re probably asking yourself, “Hasn’t this been done a million times, already?” In a sense, you’d be right, but the saving grace of this show is this; where as movies that portray a zombie apocalypse spend very little time on the setting itself—a mere transition to establish the world isn’t what it used to be—this show makes the setting a character in itself. Everything has a dull, muted tone. When we think back to how things were, we remember them as a shining glow of memory. In the wake of such a horrible event, the world mirrors the zombies in that it’s decayed, it’s dirty and no matter what you do, it will never be what it once was. The cinematography is used to full effect, giving everything an uneasy feel.

In contrast to that, the area of the woods, a haven for a group of survivors is placed in vibrant greens and browns. There is life in those woods and is really one of the few settings in the show that gives you a chance to breathe and relax. You the viewer feel at peace during these scenes…well, about as much at peace as the story allows you.

The acting on this show is astounding. Leading the cast is Andrew Lincoln, playing Rick Grimes. A deputy sheriff wounded in the line of duty, Rick awakens to find the world he knew is all but gone and now overrun with zombies. He searches for his wife Lori (played by Sarah Wayne Callies) and son Carl (played by Chandler Riggs). Rick is our anchor, the person we relate to most on the show. When he struggles to search for his family, we’re rooting for him every step of the way.

But, as good as Lincoln is, he’s backed up by a strong supporting cast. Jon Bernthal plays Shane, Rick’s partner who finds and takes care of his family after believing Rick to have died in the hospital. Shane’s story is complex as he watches over Rick’s wife and son, while falling in love with Lori, Rick’s wife. Once Rick re-enters the picture, it is not an easy thing to live with. Laurie Holden plays Andrea, a woman who is taking care of her sister. Andrea has one of the stronger emotional journeys throughout the entire season, as she struggles with what it means to lose everything you know and love. A fan favorite, Jeffrey DeMunn plays Dale, an elderly camper who often serves as the heart of the group. Though other actors portray the survivors, these three give the show a look at all ends of the spectrum of what it is to hold on to a shred of good in such a bleak environment.

Though, not everyone is good. Although he must be sick of playing the bad ass, Michael Rooker does a spectacular job as Merle Dixon, a red neck who doesn’t play well with others. Though, ultimately left to get his comeuppance in the second episode, Rooker plays Merle with such anger and charisma that you wish he wasn’t handcuffed to a pipe on the roof. Playing his brother Daryl, Norman Reedus shows you that Dixon men aren’t the type to take bad news laying down. Daryl, often choosing to shoot his crossbow first and asks questions never, straddles the line between concern for his brother and violent rage doesn’t grow much as a character but then again he doesn’t need to. And finally, Noah Emmerich as Dr. Jenner, the last man in the Center for Disease Control or CDC for short. Jenner isn’t quite good nor is he all bad. Jenner is a man locked in quarantine trying his hardest to find some reasoning behind the zombie outbreak, unfortunately he isn’t the best at what he does and solitude has gotten to him. Jenner may be one of the more tragic characters of the show.

And that’s something else that needs to be addressed. From what’s been said of this adaptation, it follows the comic in terms of how bleak it is. There are small blips of hope and happiness like Rick finding his family or Andrea smiling as she finds the perfect birthday gift for her sister, but those moments are few and far between. The show takes something as happy as riding a horse along the empty streets of Atlanta to something as horrible as a horde of zombies around the corner (literally) ripping said horse to pieces.

Speaking of Zombies, what I found most interesting about this show was how sparingly they were used. In this world, Zombies are more a force of nature. They arrive, they inflict damage and discord and that’s the end of it. They’re always on the periphery waiting. And thanks to practical effects, they feel all too real. The prosthetics give the zombies a look of true decay. Whether they’ve risen from the grave or have recently been turned, the undead look like shells of former people as opposed to a bunch of zombie fans in poor make up chewing the scenery more than human flesh. Had the zombies not worked, I don’t think the premise of the show would have, either.

That’s the thing about this show. While it may not be the happiest of shows out there, and while it may spend more time focusing on the people more than it does the zombies, that’s its ultimate strength. The show is more about how people struggle to survive themselves than an unseen destruction of society. And while the formulaic “People are the real monsters” cliché is alive and well here, what keeps us coming back for more is people like Rick Grimes who, despite constant kicking while he’s down, continues to get up and make hard decisions simply because it’s the right thing to do.

Though only six episodes, this first season told a story that started and ended with a bang. And not just in the metaphorical sense. Going into this show cold, there is no way to tell what’s going to happen to the characters. Will we ever find out what caused the Zombie outbreak? How do you cope with the notion that there are more of them then there are of you? Where the hell do you go from here? We’ll have to wait a year for those answers. I guess that’s the appeal of the show. Even when it’s filled with bleak and hopeless moments, you still hold on to that shred of hope things will be okay. In a nutshell, that is The Walking Dead season 1.

TAG CLOUD

morris review

WP Cumulus Flash tag cloud by Roy Tanck requires Flash Player 9 or better.

Sponsors

About Me

Thoughts on Cinema is dedicated to film reviews. An uncompromising opinion on the intellectual, artistic, and entertainment value to the consumer. With rising ticket prices, we dedicate ourselves to present to you content regarding what you should or should not be viewing. -Ronald H. Pollock Founder and Editor in Chief

Twitter

    Photos

    IMG_0327.jpgtest2024-03-19_08-01-47