Another week, another mediocre Walking Dead. This weeks episode "Secrets" was one of the better ones this season but still yet again does not compare to season one. Yes guys, I know, I'm repeating myself but this is an issue and it must be discussed but I will save the whole rant for the mid-season finale. Now onto the review.
"Secrets" felt different from most eps this season as it had subtle changes that made me actually enjoy this episode. We start off with Carl (who is now on his feet from his surgery) stealing one of the guns the crew has. He gets caught causing Lori to get into a fuss. Looks like it's time for some gun training but not for just Carl, but for the whole group. The scene was cool and showed off some nice camera angles but ended too short. Andrea appears to be the quickest learner as Shane thinks she is ready for the advance lesson.
Those lessons are cut short as Shane mentions Amy (Andrea's sister). This insults Andrea and makes her storm off. Shane apologizes and asks her to join him on the hunt for Sophia. She says yes and they are off to a nearby housing complex. This was my favourite part of the episode, they get overrun by zombies and Andrea finds her zen in all the chaos. Headshot after headshot, this was a cool scene that reminisced of season 1. Good job. Also on the way home a little bond forms between Shane and Andrea. We then get our second sex scene of the series but don't expect anything too graphic as we are left to imagine the rest of it (sorry guys its TV).
Back on the camp, Glenn and Maggie go for another run into town to get medical supplies (morning after pills) for Lori. This also gets interrupted by a zombie (yeah guys TWO zombie scenes) and has Glenn beating the everloving crap out of it. When they arrive back at camp Maggie freaks on Lori for asking them to go get medical supplies and leaves in complete rage. When Glenn confronts Maggie she says she doesn't want him (Glenn) to turn out like the others in the group. She kisses him passionately then leaves Glenn with a very confused look on his face. At first when she does get the morning after pills from Glenn she takes them, but then she runs to the field and forces herself to throw them up. Sarah Wayne Callies' acting was fantastic this week and she has become one of my favourite female actors on TV. Rick walks into his tent and notices the pill box and runs off to find Lori. He finds her and this leads to a very strong scene from both Andrew Lincon and Sarah Wayne Callies. The emotion and passion they both drew makes me totally believe in their marriage. Well done to both. Rick learns about the pregnancy and how Lori and Shane slept together, words are exchanged and cut to credits.
I'm not really sure what to say when it comes to this weeks Walking Dead. We did get two cool zombie scenes (makeup teams definitely deserve awards this season), and we did get brutality and headshots, but the story still hasn't progressed in any major way giving us a lot of filler and unnecessary content. It's times like this when I wished AMC stuck to the story of the graphic novels. I did enjoy Andrea (Laurie Holden) and Dale (Jeffery DeMunn) this episode, usually I can't stand either, but the writers found a nice groove of making them different. From Andrea taking down a horde of zombies to Dale trying to tell off Shane, the characters are progressing. That's what this first half of this season essentially is.
We have Rick learning that sometimes he has to make hard decisions, Daryl becoming more caring and likeable, Shane becoming a huge asshole, Andrea becoming almost fearless, and Lori having the revelation with her pregnancy. It is quite dull compared to last season but you can't say AMC isn't trying. That's why I keep giving the show good ratings, because compared to other TV shows The Walking Dead can still deliver quality content and it still is one of the best and original shows on nowadays . That is why this weeks episode "Secrets" was enjoyable, but be warned, my expectations are set high on next weeks finale.
8.6/10
Showing posts with label AMC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label AMC. Show all posts
Monday, November 28, 2011
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
The Walking Dead Season 2 Ep 5 Review
As you all know I haven't really been a fan of this season of The Walking Dead. It has been full of slow story development and just plain boring content compared to last seasons action packed epic. I have explained why this is in previous reviews but honestly, I feel like I'm just making excuses for it now.
This weeks episode "Chupacabra" was better than most episodes this season but still lacked the action and suspense that made me attached to the show in the first place. I really hope that AMC can somehow step up the pacing now that we enter the second half of the season. Enough with that tho, onto the review.
This episode starts off with a flashback bringing us to Shane, Lori and Carl, before the initial takeover of the zombies. It also shows how they met up with Carol, Sophia and Ed who was still an asshole even before the apocalypse. We are shown a scene where the government is dropping napalms down on a city while Shane and Lori watch in horror. I would like to see more flashbacks that show the characters fleeing from their hometown and seeing zombies for the first time, but this was nice as well.
Back to the farm where the gang continues the hunt for the still missing Sophia. They split up into groups to cover more ground and they're off. Rick and Shane pair up together and have a nice little scene in the woods together, it gave us more info on their back stories and it also shows us the differences between the two. Rick is a good leader but lacks the discipline to make the hard decisions for the group, something that Shane is willing to do (killing Otis to save Carl).
Now onto Daryl, whom most of this episode focus' around. Daryl takes one of Hershel's horses so that he can go to the top of the mountain ridge to get a birds eye view of the ground, this gets interrupted as the horse gets scared by a snake and sends Daryl tumbling down the side of the mountain leaving him with an arrow through his side and stranded at the bottom. When he tries to climb back up he falls yet again injuring him further. It seems like all the falls gets to Daryl's head as he starts to hallucinate that his brother Merle is with him. They have a very weird heart to heart that ends with Merle's hallucination being a walker. Daryl soon wakes up and goes straight to zombie killing. This scene was very cool because it shows us how tough Daryl actually is and the lengths he will go to to survive. He makes an ear necklace from the walkers he killed and its back to climbing where Merle returns to antagonize Daryl yet again. This brings Daryl to a state of rage which does lead to him making it to the top.
When Rick returns to the camp he gets in trouble with Hershel. It seems that Daryl never asked to borrow a horse and Jimmy (one of Hershel's men) never asked for Hershel's permission to join the hunt for Sophia. In my opinion it looks like the writers are just trying to find ways for Hershel to kick Ricks group out so the story can progress. The only problem with this is that the group isn't going to go anywhere until they find Sophia, this is the main thing holding the whole story back from getting anywhere.
When Daryl returns to the camp Andrea mistakes him for a walker and shoots at him, just grazing his head and knocking him unconscious. This was also another thing that just felt like it was added to give Hershel more excuses to kick the group out. It looks like the writers are waiting for the mid-season finale to kick the group off the farm. It's a good and bad thing, it makes me have faith for the second half of the season, but it also makes me angry that they wasted most of the first half dealing with things that could have been solved in two episodes or less.
Onto the end of the episode, Maggie and Glenn's relationship seems to be growing as they plan to have sex again. Glenn leaves Maggie a note telling her to meet him in one of the barns but Glenn gets more than he bargains for when he finds the barn full of walkers and then cut to credits.
This weeks episode "Chupacabra" was better than most episodes this season but still lacked the action and suspense that made me attached to the show in the first place. I really hope that AMC can somehow step up the pacing now that we enter the second half of the season. Enough with that tho, onto the review.
This episode starts off with a flashback bringing us to Shane, Lori and Carl, before the initial takeover of the zombies. It also shows how they met up with Carol, Sophia and Ed who was still an asshole even before the apocalypse. We are shown a scene where the government is dropping napalms down on a city while Shane and Lori watch in horror. I would like to see more flashbacks that show the characters fleeing from their hometown and seeing zombies for the first time, but this was nice as well.
Back to the farm where the gang continues the hunt for the still missing Sophia. They split up into groups to cover more ground and they're off. Rick and Shane pair up together and have a nice little scene in the woods together, it gave us more info on their back stories and it also shows us the differences between the two. Rick is a good leader but lacks the discipline to make the hard decisions for the group, something that Shane is willing to do (killing Otis to save Carl).
Now onto Daryl, whom most of this episode focus' around. Daryl takes one of Hershel's horses so that he can go to the top of the mountain ridge to get a birds eye view of the ground, this gets interrupted as the horse gets scared by a snake and sends Daryl tumbling down the side of the mountain leaving him with an arrow through his side and stranded at the bottom. When he tries to climb back up he falls yet again injuring him further. It seems like all the falls gets to Daryl's head as he starts to hallucinate that his brother Merle is with him. They have a very weird heart to heart that ends with Merle's hallucination being a walker. Daryl soon wakes up and goes straight to zombie killing. This scene was very cool because it shows us how tough Daryl actually is and the lengths he will go to to survive. He makes an ear necklace from the walkers he killed and its back to climbing where Merle returns to antagonize Daryl yet again. This brings Daryl to a state of rage which does lead to him making it to the top.
When Rick returns to the camp he gets in trouble with Hershel. It seems that Daryl never asked to borrow a horse and Jimmy (one of Hershel's men) never asked for Hershel's permission to join the hunt for Sophia. In my opinion it looks like the writers are just trying to find ways for Hershel to kick Ricks group out so the story can progress. The only problem with this is that the group isn't going to go anywhere until they find Sophia, this is the main thing holding the whole story back from getting anywhere.
When Daryl returns to the camp Andrea mistakes him for a walker and shoots at him, just grazing his head and knocking him unconscious. This was also another thing that just felt like it was added to give Hershel more excuses to kick the group out. It looks like the writers are waiting for the mid-season finale to kick the group off the farm. It's a good and bad thing, it makes me have faith for the second half of the season, but it also makes me angry that they wasted most of the first half dealing with things that could have been solved in two episodes or less.
Onto the end of the episode, Maggie and Glenn's relationship seems to be growing as they plan to have sex again. Glenn leaves Maggie a note telling her to meet him in one of the barns but Glenn gets more than he bargains for when he finds the barn full of walkers and then cut to credits.
Chupacabra was one of the better episodes this season but it was still full of filler and didn't progress the story in any major ways. I did enjoy the fact that most of the episode was centred around Daryl because it made me realize how much he has actually changed since last season. He has come from the big huge jackass, to a caring man and one of the strongest members of the group. I enjoyed seeing Merle again because Michael Rooker put up a hell of a performance. I also liked Dale (Jeffrey DeMunn) a lot more this episode as he was actually funny and did provide support to other characters. Hershel (Scott Wilson) is beginning to get on my nerves as he is now being written off as the cranky mean old man, and I still can't stand Andrea (Laurie Holden) because she continues to be the dumb blonde that won't listen to anyone.
Still not a big fan of this how this season has been turning out but Chupacabra gave me some hope that this season will get better.
8.5/10
Still not a big fan of this how this season has been turning out but Chupacabra gave me some hope that this season will get better.
8.5/10
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Hell On Wheels Series Premier Review
This fall AMC releases its new original series Hell On Wheels. It's been getting me pretty hyped with its sneak peaks and trailers in between Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead. Now its finally here and AMC is bringing the old west back and there doing it in style!
Hell On Wheels takes place in Washington 1865. The time of railroad expansion, something that hasn't been done for a while. It feels fresh especially when your tossed right into the story seeing a man getting shot in the head in a confessional booth. This is also where the audience meets the protagonist, the sly gunslinger Cullen Bohannon (Anson Mount). What a nice way of AMC showing us the dirty grimy ways of the old west.
The credit intro was also done well, it was paired with excellent music that feels like classic western soundtracks from classics like old Clint Eastwood movies. Great job to the editing team.
The story expands as we then meet
Thomas 'Doc' Durant the wealthy business man in charge of the railroad played by Colm Meaney who by the way delivers a fantastic opening speech. Kudos on that one sir. We are also shown how harsh Doc can be when he screws a man out of 150 shares, half of what he was supposed to get. I'm excited to see how mean he can actually get as he is an interesting yet charming character.
The story returns to Cullen on a train meeting the two Irish Twins Sean and Mickey McGinnes (Ben Elser) (Phil Burke) who are a funny pair together. Their role as brothers is very believable and they do a good job together. The train ride ends and our protagonist enters one of the construction sites of the railroad. AMC creates a beautiful and stunning environment filled with fantastic set pieces and extras that give the west a grand look and style. We also meet Ted Levine's character Daniel Johnson, the one handed, foul mouthed, wreckless drunk who is incharge of the entire site. I thought he was quite funny and played his character well.
The show also brings the action in one of its subplots involving Robert Bell (Robert Moloney), the designer of the railroads who is very ill, and his wife Lily (Dominique McElligott). The camp site they are inhabiting gets attacked and raided by the natives. The attack ends Robert's life and leaves Lily running for her life with the plans for the railroad. This scene was fantastic, David Von Ancken can direct action very well. Not too many camera cuts, and cool angles show that AMC can produce quality action. Makeup and visual effects make the Natives believable and scary and I can't wait to see more of them this season.
Back to the railroad, Cullen gets put in charge of looking after the Black rail workers. We meet Common (Elam Ferguson), a black rail worker who hates whites and is just trying to make it in the world and his friend Willy (Jessie Lipscombe) a man who has accepted his place as a low level slave. They disobey the rules by getting a drink early because Willy is in dire need of water. Johnson spots this and beats Willy senseless.
After during dinner, Cullen tells a tale about how he lost his wife. We are then introduced to the true storyline of the show. Cullan is out to seek vengeance on the men who raped and murdered his wife. Johnson is one of those men, he also realizes who Cullan is and takes him out back to kill him. He says he is sorry for what he did to Cullan's wife and that it wasn't his idea. There is another man behind the true motive. Before Cullan can find out who it is Common comes out of nowhere and slices Johnson's neck. What a great start to a series.
AMC did a good job bringing the westerns back to tv. It gives you a nostalgic feeling like your watching old westerns but has style and flare that makes it shine like something new. Be warned that some of the dialogue is hard to follow because the show tries to stay accurate with the time setting and it is boring at some scenes, but this is only episode 1. I have faith that the show will improve. Acting is great but some characters (the priest) feel weak compared to everyone else. The main story (Cullen looking for the men) was hard to grasp at first but by the end I was fully aware of what was going on. Great start and I'm looking forward to see what AMC has in store for the rest of the season.
9.3/10
Hell On Wheels takes place in Washington 1865. The time of railroad expansion, something that hasn't been done for a while. It feels fresh especially when your tossed right into the story seeing a man getting shot in the head in a confessional booth. This is also where the audience meets the protagonist, the sly gunslinger Cullen Bohannon (Anson Mount). What a nice way of AMC showing us the dirty grimy ways of the old west.
The credit intro was also done well, it was paired with excellent music that feels like classic western soundtracks from classics like old Clint Eastwood movies. Great job to the editing team.
The story expands as we then meet
Thomas 'Doc' Durant the wealthy business man in charge of the railroad played by Colm Meaney who by the way delivers a fantastic opening speech. Kudos on that one sir. We are also shown how harsh Doc can be when he screws a man out of 150 shares, half of what he was supposed to get. I'm excited to see how mean he can actually get as he is an interesting yet charming character.
The story returns to Cullen on a train meeting the two Irish Twins Sean and Mickey McGinnes (Ben Elser) (Phil Burke) who are a funny pair together. Their role as brothers is very believable and they do a good job together. The train ride ends and our protagonist enters one of the construction sites of the railroad. AMC creates a beautiful and stunning environment filled with fantastic set pieces and extras that give the west a grand look and style. We also meet Ted Levine's character Daniel Johnson, the one handed, foul mouthed, wreckless drunk who is incharge of the entire site. I thought he was quite funny and played his character well.
The show also brings the action in one of its subplots involving Robert Bell (Robert Moloney), the designer of the railroads who is very ill, and his wife Lily (Dominique McElligott). The camp site they are inhabiting gets attacked and raided by the natives. The attack ends Robert's life and leaves Lily running for her life with the plans for the railroad. This scene was fantastic, David Von Ancken can direct action very well. Not too many camera cuts, and cool angles show that AMC can produce quality action. Makeup and visual effects make the Natives believable and scary and I can't wait to see more of them this season.
Back to the railroad, Cullen gets put in charge of looking after the Black rail workers. We meet Common (Elam Ferguson), a black rail worker who hates whites and is just trying to make it in the world and his friend Willy (Jessie Lipscombe) a man who has accepted his place as a low level slave. They disobey the rules by getting a drink early because Willy is in dire need of water. Johnson spots this and beats Willy senseless.
After during dinner, Cullen tells a tale about how he lost his wife. We are then introduced to the true storyline of the show. Cullan is out to seek vengeance on the men who raped and murdered his wife. Johnson is one of those men, he also realizes who Cullan is and takes him out back to kill him. He says he is sorry for what he did to Cullan's wife and that it wasn't his idea. There is another man behind the true motive. Before Cullan can find out who it is Common comes out of nowhere and slices Johnson's neck. What a great start to a series.
AMC did a good job bringing the westerns back to tv. It gives you a nostalgic feeling like your watching old westerns but has style and flare that makes it shine like something new. Be warned that some of the dialogue is hard to follow because the show tries to stay accurate with the time setting and it is boring at some scenes, but this is only episode 1. I have faith that the show will improve. Acting is great but some characters (the priest) feel weak compared to everyone else. The main story (Cullen looking for the men) was hard to grasp at first but by the end I was fully aware of what was going on. Great start and I'm looking forward to see what AMC has in store for the rest of the season.
9.3/10
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)