WELCOME TO TERMINUS... WAIT, WHAT? THEY'RE ALL GOING TO A PLACE THAT MEANS 'A FINAL POINT IN SPACE OR TIME - AN END OR EXTREMITY? AND THEY THOUGHT THEY'D BE SAFE THERE? WOULDN'T A BETTER PLACE BE NAMED 'HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY SAFE HAVEN Y'ALL' OR SOMETHING?

The Walking Dead Returns

And so it's here, the long-awaited premiere of the fifth season of The Walking Dead. Relax kids, this is not going to be a comprehensive (and boring) recounting of the first four seasons (but if you haven't seen them and plan to today before season 5 starts, stop reading here). This is just my opinion of them.... HEY COME BACK HERE!!!!



When the series first started, I was an instant fan, as tons of people were. It was different, gritty, no happy endings, lots of zombie bashing, and unapologetic violence and gore. Hey, AMC got on the map with this program (No I don't want to hear of all the others before it - this is a TWD review, 'kay?).

Yup, I was all in - liked/disliked Rick, thought Shane was cool but evil, Lori was a slut, Carl needed a serious time out, Andrea was what I thought I'd be if in that situation - looking quickly to be as ruthless and as good a shot as anyone - no wilting flower for her or me. We swore we'd never be like Carol. And of course we all listened to Dale, got mad at Merle (but enjoyed him anyway) and crushed on Daryl. And the rest... we sort of remember.

But by the second season something happened that reduced my personal enjoyment to almost nothing - social media. I was DVR'ing all the episodes, cause for one I didn't want to wade through the commercials, second I wanted to be able to replay scenes I didn't quite get the sense of or just plain enjoyed watching. But I was a heavy Facebooker and even belonged to a couple of TWD groups. And I quickly found out the folly of that. 

These people all had smartphones and sat in front of their TV's, watching and texting furiously at the same time. Which meant that if you were on Facebook, even if you tried to ignore everybody (this included all news and entertainment sites), chances were you got the whole program shoved down your throat before you even got a chance to watch it. Many, many times. I think after the 'Sophia' episode I decided that enough was enough and just stopped watching.

But... although I was free of the addiction of seeing who would live and who died each season, I did miss it. I do admit that even though it was getting apparent this was turning into a soap opera with some zombie bashing mixed in, and the CGI work was getting more and more obvious that there was still some pretty neat stuff to be found in this series which is like but not completely true to the comic book series it began from.



And so I thought okay, I'll catch up - but the DVD sets were astronomical in price and I like to get good sets of what I'm collecting - but hey, you've gotta admit that it was just too much. Fortunately, I found a dealer who had brand new still-sealed-in-plastic sets of seasons 1-4 (just the discs, not the 'collectibles') for about half of what I could find them for elsewhere. Boom. Aaaaand then of course Netflix decides to have all four seasons streaming on their service (dammit).

So. Season one saw the introduction of a central group of characters and a lot of peripheral characters that died with regularity during the season. It was a lot of backstory, establishment of character places in a sort of democracy, lots of neat (and still pretty human looking) zombies and, of course, lots of violence bashing, shooting, and spearing said zombies. 



For those of us pretty well familiar with the zombie movie genre this was pretty quality stuff - for those who hadn't seen many, it was shocking but strangely compelling. And poor Norman Reedus, playing a character who wasn't even IN the comic series (Daryl Dixon) found himself to be an instant beefcake poster boy for the show. It was tense, it was fun, and it was original. We couldn't wait for the next season...

So. Season two came with changes, as all good series have. But then we were introduced (at least I hadn't heard of it before) to something called a mid-season finale. Say what? We have a hiatus in the MIDDLE of a season? And everrrrrrrybody was talking about the episodes as they happened. I knew the whole damned thing weeks before I was able to sit and get caught up. So, again, weeks after everyone sobbed and discussed and complained, I finally got to see this:

We sat through HALF A SEASON looking for Sophia (and some other stuff happened too) just for this. And by the time I actually got to WATCH it, I could practically quote line by line what happened before it did. It sucked. I quit watching.



So I didn't see (then) that Shane went batshit nuts, Rick got hard and nasty, Carl wouldn't stay in the damned house, Lori played Shane and Rick off of each other, Dale got killed, a kid is captured, Rick wants him released but Shane kills the kid and then tries to kill Rick. I did watch the EPIC episode though - how could I miss this? Shane gets killed, not once but TWICE. The first time by Rick, the second by an impossible act even for a sharpshooter: Never-stays-in-the-house Carl sees his dad and a dead Shane. He also sees Shane get back up. Now IN THE DARK he draws and somehow over his dad's shoulder manages with ONE SHOT to get zombie-Shane smack in the forehead. C'mon people, really?

The farm is overrun by walkers, lots of extras get killed so that you have a small and familiar group to see and they wonder what the hell they're gonna do now. Sorry people, but season two could have been cut in half and been a whole lot better.

So. Season three starts with a very pregnant Lori struggling to keep up with the group when they finally find the prison they've apparently been circling for months waiting for the season to start, and begin cleaning out the 'walkers' inside, mostly guards and prisoners (and some visitors). They find several live prisoners but they are all killed before any attachments are made so we still have our basic group left over from season 2, with wise veterinarian Herschel taking the 'place' of the lamented Dale. Lori has the baby during a walker attack and dies at Carl's hand.




And we get to meet the Governor (wonderfully played by David Morrissey), a psycho who runs the 'safe' town of Woodbury, where Andrea and Michonne (who finally shows up) end up. He seems to be a benevolent man until it is revealed that not only does he kill for fun, but he keeps his zombified daughter chained up, pressuring a scientist to find a 'cure' for her, he has a collection of heads in fish tanks, and also has found Merle and made him his right hand... uh no, wait, he lost that - his henchman.

This was a great season, almost as great as season one. There was lots of action, lots of conflict, lots of twists. And some weird, weird stuff. But I honestly think that season three was the best of the four and worth a look even if you're not a TWD fan.

So. Season four. I'm sorry to say this TWD fans but I was very VERY glad for my fast forward button. Since they took in all the people left from Woodbury, that was apparently too many people to keep track of, so there's a bad infection that kills a lot of them. At the start, two who had it badly (you cough up blood and die) were mysteriously dragged outside and set on fire. Rick somehow finds out it was Carol and banishes her out of the prison.


Aaaand then we have endless exposition of characters we don't give a crap about. What happened to the Governor and what he does next was interesting but all the rest? Geez, they're just filler, right? Almost a WHOLE SEASON of filler.

After the Governor kills Herschel and tries to take over the prison, everybody scatters and we get individual stories that we. just. don't. care. about. Really.

Even though they are all scattered, they all manage to find a sign to a place called 'Terminus' which apparently means that they scatters to a small area yet never manage to run into each other, as the signs are all by a railroad track. Duh. 



There are two disturbing events in this season, the first worthy of a horror movie by itself. Carol had tried to teach the children to defend themselves, determined to make sure no one was a victim their whole lives like she was. One of the children, about ten or so, is a developing psychopath but she didn't know that. One of the new characters saves the girl and her sister, along with Judith (which Rick and Carl did not see and presume she is dead). He finds Carol and she resumes her teaching, noticing the older child a bit strange but what comes next is pretty shocking.

Lizzie (the ten-year-old) is left to take care of her younger sister Mika and baby Judith while the two adults look for water. When they return they're shocked to find that Lizzie has killed her sister and is about to do the same to Judith. Lizzie explains that her sister will be fine because she did not 'hurt her brain'. A grieving Carol takes Lizzie into the forest and puts a bullet in her head. Ouch. Carol and Tyreese take Judith and go on the road.

The other event is when a group of toughs led by 'Joe' (the very talented face-you-know-instantly-but-not-his-name Jeff Kober) find Daryl, make him part of their group, but show their true colors when catching up with Rick who had been forced to kill one of them. As they prepare to rape BOTH Carl and Michonne and then kill Rick, Daryl helps the three wipe out the gang and escape - on to Terminus.



One thing I found interesting: Some time has passed since this 'apocalypse' happened, right? Well the writers have also kept up with that. The zombies are 'aging', in that they are no longer as human looking as they were in the first season, and many of them are only partially there, such as this one who is actually mostly slime melded with the ground. The 'fresh' zombies are the ones who were recently killed (or died of whatever) and so most of the 'walkers' smushed by our heroes were mostly smushed in the first place.

So the end of season four finds most reuniting at Terminus, the 'safe haven'. But when Rick notices that several 'citizens' are in possession of things that had belonged to his group, he attempts an escape and all are shoved into a railroad car and that is where the season leaves us. Rick, who by now is a very hardened man, says "They're going to feel pretty stupid when they find out they're screwing with the wrong people." We can expect a lot of bloodshed beginning the next season.

And I'm done 'cause I badly need a nap and want to see how this is going to start. Since the whole season is called 'Terminus', I expect their escape and revenge to take quite a while.



                        

MAJOR BEEFCAKE, SWOONING WOMEN AND REVENGE SERVED VIOLENTLY

The Boondock Saints (1999)

In 1974 a particularly violent film (for its time) shocked audiences with the idea that one man could so callously kill in the name of revenge. It was called Death Wish and starred one of the major actors of the time, Charles Bronson. The story was of a home invasion by three would-be thieves who are enraged when they find little money. In retaliation they beat and rape the mother and daughter of Bronson's character. The mother dies, the daughter, forever traumatized. The whole theme was controversial - is it right or wrong to go out for your own justice or depend on the police? The theme caught like wildfire - there were five Death Wish movies in all.

I Spit On Your Grave (1978), another type of vigilante movie, was about a beaten and raped woman who systematically stalks and kills each of her attackers. Again the question being - was she in the right?

So we fast forward to 1999. Twin brothers Connor and Murphy McManus (Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus) are good Irish Catholics who work in a meat packing plant. On St. Patrick's day they celebrate in their favorite pub, and are told by the tearful bartender that the pub is closing because it has been taken over by the Russian Mafia. In fact, some heavies from the Mafia come in to close the place early. There's a scuffle and the twins are marked by the very large Mafia dudes (guess they were doubly heavy) for death. 

The next day the bodies of the Mafia men are discovered in an alley. The local police postulate several theories, none of them even remotely logical as to how the two died. In comes special FBI Agent Paul Smecker (Willem Dafoe), brought in since the dead men were recognized as Russian mob guys. He not only recognized immediately that the local police aren't trying very hard to solve the case but that something very interesting had happened in this alley. He was right.

The scene plays out - Conner and Murphy are attacked, one handcuffed to a toilet, the other taken into the alley to be shot. Conner (the one with the toilet) rips it from the wall and from the roof drops it on the man about to kill his brother. He then jumps down and both dispatch the men. They are now considered vigilantes and are targets of criminals and authorities. And thus the movie continues in this vein.

I don't think I have to really detail what happens in this movie - you know that they decide that fighting bad guys and cleaning up their neighborhood is their 'calling' and the FBI Agent who at first is determined to bring them to justice eventually decides that they ARE the justice doing what he really wants to do but can't.

The interesting parts of the movie are the scenes where the brothers are revealed to be quite intelligent - they are not thugs - in fact they know at least six if not more languages and are very religious. The agent can find nothing to fault them at the time - they did act in self defense - and lets them go.

They subsequently decide to clean up other bad guys - using techniques they've observed in movies. With incredible luck, even though massive screwups take place they win each time and many in several Mafia 'families' die. The FBI agent acts out each scenario as it takes place in slow motion behind him, making the scene look like a violent type of Tai Chi - very strange. It's also strange that they felt the need to point out that the agent was a homosexual - that seemed superfluous to the plot and had nothing to do with his abilities or character.

Impossible and overdone..

One Mafia boss decides to end the brothers once and for all by getting released from prison a real monster. His name is Il Duce and apparently he makes Hannibal Lector look like a boy scout. Shackled from head to toe and kept in a cage he is somehow paroled and instructed to take the brothers out. But as he's about to do that as they are ready to dispatch yet another bad guy, he hears them recite their family prayer - it's a ritual they use before every, um, murder. Instead of killing them, he puts his hands on their shoulders and finishes the prayer with them. Il Duce is their father.

The last Mafia boss, Papa Joe, is about to be acquitted for about the umpteenth time in court. The brothers, together with their 'da' walk into the courthouse and in front of the whole room dispatch Papa Joe. They walk out, free men and heroes to most of the spectators.

Okay people didn't like this movie at first but it's become kind of a cult movie, with a sequel following. I had several problems with it though (and I'm sure the female population will hate me for this). Two brothers, good Irish Catholic boys decide that murder is no big deal? And there were some goofs. One, everyone who's a fan of Norman Reedus knows he has his first name tattooed on his chest, yet in the movie his name is Murphy. Which is why the first rule of tattooing is never NEVER have a name tattooed on yourself, even if it's your own.

The scene where Connor throws the toilet from the roof also has some goofs - we see him haul it up and get ready to hurl it. The top of the tank comes off and falls first. We see that the toilet has no seat or seat cover. Yet when the toilet hits the mobster, it has both a seat and seat cover.

Again I have a problem as to why they made Dafoe's character a homosexual - not because of the sexual orientation, but because it has nothing to do with the plot or his character. Toward the end of the movie he shows up as a prostitute in drag to sneak into a mobster's house but that still doesn't explain why they made a point of showing him to be gay. Is it to show that intelligent FBI agents can be gay? We already know that. It was an unnecessary plot point is all.

Having Billy Connolly as the violent 'da' of the boys was also confusing and unnecessary, as the first time he finds the boys they have a shootout where each are injured - what was the point of that?

The language was also rough and unnecessary. These are supposed to be very intelligent and religious men. But this movie is far from the top when it comes to language - on a list of movies with multiple 'F' bombs, this movie has more than The Devil's Rejects, less than Pulp Fiction, more than Platoon (another Dafoe movie), and less than Goodfellas.

I guess I'm just not crushing on the brothers McManus.

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THE WALKING DEAD: CHARACTERS WE LOVE AND HATE








Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus)

The character of Daryl doesn't appear in the comic series and was written for the television series. He quickly went from an ancillary character to one of the most if not the most popular character on the show. His following is large and very very loyal.

Daryl is the 'redneck' of the group (and that's not a slam) and so has very good survival skills, a good head on his shoulders, a quick temper, but loyalty to the people he ends up being with. In the first season we saw him as very aloof and cynical, mad at the world because the group had left his brother behind in the city (that will be described later) and determined to survive even if it meant shunning the others.

In the second season we see an evolution in his character. He becomes more personable, starts to actually care about the people he is with, and even risks his life to try to save a little girl who has become lost. He does what has to be done, says what's on his mind, and takes garbage from no one. He probably has single-handedly caused an immense increase in the sale of crossbows. And sleeveless shirts. And possibly dead squirrels and necklaces of zombie ears.


Norman Reedus is not a stranger to either television or movies. Most know him as Murphy MacManus in The Boondock Saints but he has been in a ton of other movies and television shows as well. He also is not part of the 20-something crowd (he's 43) but is gorgeous (of course) and more fun to watch than most younger actors.

Now I knew that Norman was in the music video Judas by Lady Gaga (as Judas) but he has been in other music videos as well: Flat Top by Goo Goo Dolls, Cats In The Cradle by Ugly Kid Joe, Strange Currencies by R.E.M., Fake Plastic Trees by Radiohead, Violently Happy by Björk and Wicked as it Seems by Keith Richards.

He has also worked as a model (no surprise there) and as a director: His 3 short films are titled "The Rub", "I Thought of You", and "A Filthy Little Fruit". His first feature film directorial debut was in early 2008. He runs a New York-based film production company named Bigbaldhead.

Brains and good looks too.... hope Daryl stays with TWD for a long time.

                         

A TV SERIES YOU CAN SINK YOUR TEETH INTO, EVEN IF YOU'RE DEAD

THE WALKING DEAD

I would be very remiss if I didn't give immediate props to one of the most entertaining and best zombie based series on television. Not that there's been ANY zombie based series on television, but if there were, this would be the best.

Now my spouse says it's just a soap opera with a couple of flesh eaters thrown in. A point taken but that is also the main topic of the series: How does mankind go on when there are a very large amount of crazed undead trying to eat them? Do they just run screaming or do they try to deal with it? 

This won't be the only mention of this show, it is my favorite and there are already many sites dedicated to the fans that have both absorbed the comic book series on which it was based and every episode shown. They know character traits, backgrounds, explain points that may seem a little murky to some, and basically are the most loyal fans of a current television program as far as I'm concerned. WE ROCK! Ummm sorry about that, slipped out.


If you haven't tried this show, I highly recommend buying or renting the DVD's (the first four seasons are also available for streaming on Netflix) and checking it out. Yes, it can be brutal. Yes, it can be tedious (human relationships often are). Yes, it can be frustrating. But it is also exciting, new, creative and definitely a huge step above current television program offerings.

In other words, this is excellence in broadcasting. Yeah I know that's radio, but it sounded cool.


And now, as of this update of 11/18/14 we are in our fifth season of watching Rick Grimes try to keep his extended family together and alive and the series is still fresh (even if the zombies are getting a little worse for wear), we still have Daryl but not Merle (awww), and now a lot of the living account for the danger and not just the 'walkers'.

And it's still cool.