The Walking Dead S6x06 Always Accountable

Photo Credit: The Walking Dead / Gene Page

Last week Rick emerged in a sea of the quarry walkers strolling up to the gates of Alexandria. The civilians dealt with the invasion in various inactive ways, while the whereabouts of Sasha, Abraham, and Daryl were a mystery. This week's installment Always Accountable showed a continuing breakdown of one day's timeline dealing with walker march. Below includes spoilers of the series so far. You've been warned but hope you enjoy!

The Walking Dead S6x05 Now

Last week's episode focused on an extended flashback on Morgan, leaving us with heavy-loaded questions about Rick and Glenn's survival as hoards of zombies came their way.

Episode 5 titled Now returned us to Alexandria following the Wolves' attack and how the dwindling number of civilians would move on despite such a severe blow to their community. Below includes spoilers of the series so far. You've been warned but hope you enjoy!

Old Isn't Bad: Spreading the Love for Classic Film

Entering the film world in college, I expected to hob-knob with classmates over movies we loved, hated, seen recently, and so on. Disappointingly, I realized so many students don't actually like or even love movies - or if they do, so many have only seen newer releases from the past five, maybe ten years. Even more disappointing, is that teachers, as well as student, had a distaste for Classic Hollywood films, mostly because they are just old.

The disturbing trend about film is that apparently, it has an expiration date. Anything beyond 2005, or 2000, or sustains a Star Wars-like reputation, is not worthy or interesting to watch.

In and out of the classroom what is disheartening is not only the lack of interest in classic films but the disconnection of what they are: out of date, not worthwhile, useless. So, I'd like to put an end to the stigma about older films with these simple steps.

1. Don't Add 'Well It is OLD'. With Facebook status posts and tweets every nanosecond, often my generation likes to go for what is new, current, and so not fifty years ago. If you add 'It's Old', or the old 'Back in my day, kid', our attention is lost. There's no need to make a big deal about age - whether it is relatively young or entering it's senior years.

2. Don't be surprised if they haven't seen it. Ever not listen to a certain type of music or never gone skydiving, and made to feel like you are the biggest outcast in the world for having missed out on that once-in-a-lifetime, life enhancing opportunity? Yeah, when you mention a classic film someone hasn't seen, don't go for the big gasp, hand to the forehead, "Oh my gosh, you haven't?! WHY NOT?!". You just turned a potential fan into someone carrying a sour attitude towards classics forever.

3. Share but do not preach. John Brunner once said, "There are two kinds of fool. One says, 'This is old, and therefore good.' And one says, 'This is new, and therefore better.'" When we talk about classic films, there's no need to go off into film lingo about the production, cast, etc. To a fan who hasn't seen many classic films, talk about them like you always do with a movie you just watched last weekend; conversational and fun.

4. Tell them where to go. Old Hollywood films are rare but don't have to be completely dismissable. Suggest where they can be watched. Turner Classic Movie channel plays all classic genres uncut and commercial free. Suggest your friends to check out The Essentials to ease their way into the genre. There's also Netflix, Amazon, and even YouTube. Try to sound like the movies can be at your friends' fingertips ready to watched like so many modern movies are.

5. Don't be ashamed. I'm often guilty of this. When talking to other students, and they have no idea what the heck I'm talking about, I'm often interrogated about why do I like classic films, aren't they in black and white and so on... Well, yes, they are. Soon I'm shamed or quieted because other students find it weird I like older movies. Simply, don't! Share your love for them when you can...and don't make a big deal that they are old(er).

The Walking Dead S6x04 Here's Not Here

Photo Credit: The Walking Dead / Gene Page

The sixth season of The Walking Dead has shot off like a rocket or a rollercoaster. I don't know which is a more accurate description. Last week's episode Thank You threw everyone for a loop. For nearly a week fans and pop culture blogs theorized over one core character's fate while we were left with one of the show's biggest cliffhangers. If there is one thing that showrunners are succeeding with so far, it's making major departures from the expected.

This week's newest episode Here's Not Here was no exception. Parting from the freight train of feels we were experiencing, more sides of fan favorite Morgan James finally came to light.

10 Stunning Alfred Hitchcock Posters

B-Maze

It's not truly fall without wandering into the world of suspense. Director Alfred Hitchcock is the master of leaving audiences on the edge of their seat and attempting psychological horrors in cinema never before accomplished before. Celebrating some of his best work, here are posters from his illustrious career.

Eat, Drink, and Answer Halloween Questions!

I'm a huge nerd for questionaires. On a little old website called LiveJournal, friends could send each other questions and memes about their favorite fandoms and life in general. Mostly these days "ask box" challenges are passed around on tumblr. Grabbing a Halloween-themed ask over on tumblr, I thought it'd be fun to answer some of them here. I tag anyone who wants to do the same thing here or on tumblr, and feel free to leave a comment of your answers!

Bat: If you could transform into any kind of animal, what animal would you be?

As a swimmer, and someone who loves to travel, I'd transform into a bird - probably a duck. A lame choice probably but they are so cute and have the best of both worlds: land, water and people at parks feed them all the time. They have it made!

Black Cat: Are you superstitious? If so, what are you superstitious about?

I'm not superstitious but I'm a little stitious.

Broomstick: If you could travel anywhere in the world where would it be?

London, London, London. I would flee across the pond in a heartbeat to explore the Warner Bros Harry Potter Studio and Platform 9 3/4 at Kings Cross Station. The rain and trains would be more than welcoming after dwelling in Florida heat for ten years and driving two hours anywhere to find something exciting to do.

Candy Corn:What food disgusts you the most?

Not sure why candy corn is used as a food to disgust 'cause I love it. I'm not sure there is a food that disgusts me.

Cauldron: What is your favorite thing to cook?
I'm not too bad at cooking anything pasta. I seem to have an automatic mental timer on getting every kind of noodle the right consistency.

Cobwebs:One place you would never want to get lost in in the dark?

Anywhere alongside a highway or back road. NOPE. No, thanks.

Coffin:Are you claustrophobic?

Yes. It's not an extreme case of claustrophobia, but it kicks in at times. Watching films with isolated locations doesn't scare me as much, but in real life, I have to be aware of where the exits are. I need to know a way out in order to keep my cool. Visiting houses with low ceilings, or at Disney World sometimes you can be herded into a crowded room with little to no queue to the actual line for thirty minutes - I can feel dizzy or trapped.

Demon:What is your worst flaw?

Jumping to conclusions. A writer can bounce all over the place and exaggerate something small  to the inth degree in seconds, usually playing a real-life scenario into something fantastical- at least in my own mind. 

Eerie: One thing that always creeps you out?

Frogs. Frogs, and Frogs. Florida has helped me confront every creepy crawly there is - including surviving a poisonous spider bite. But I will NEVER get over frogs.

Fright: What is your biggest fear?
With phobias, it's frogs and heights. In life, maybe finishing life with things left that I wanted to do or see and was capable of achieving but didn't feel confident enough to do it.

Ghost: If you could be reincarnated, would you come back as another human or an animal? If an animal, what kind?
I don't know if I'd like to come back as anything or anyone else at all. If I did come back, I think I'd want to be myself - a polite ghost....I also think I just figured out what I'm superstitious about - talking about becoming a ghost in my afterlife....

Haunted House: If you could be roommates with anyone of your choice, who would you pick?
Veronica Roth, Emma Watson, and perhaps the 10th Doctor who drops in every once and while to take me on a grand adventure.

Hocus Pocus: What is the most ridiculous thing you've ever heard?

This isn't a sassy answer, but anything human nature is capable of doing to each other. On a lighter note, also somethings that my sister and I have joked with each other because we're pretty freaking crazy together.

Jack-o'-lantern: Do you have any scars? If so, how many?

I have one on my leg but I have no idea where it came from. Woopsies!

Monster: What is your favorite scary movie to watch in the dark?
The Birds. It's my favorite Hitchcock movie and has just the right amount of thrills.

Potion: What is your favorite thing to drink? Alcoholic and non alcoholic?

Java Chip Frappacino - nice blend of coffee, chocolate, and whip cream. Also, Pumpkin Juice and Butterbeer - they're both wonderfully sweet but not overly sugary.

Pumpkin: What is your favorite food around the holidays?
I'm not sure if it's a "holiday" food but mash potatoes poured with butter or gravy. It's such a yummy comfort food.

Spooky: What was your last nightmare about?

Not sure it was a nightmare but I had some wicked dreams of joining Scully and Mulder on solving some of their cases. The dreams were awesome but also creeped me out with encounters of strangers with supernatural powers.

Vampire: Which one are you? Early bird or night owl?
For insomnia's sake, I'm a night owl. I can stay up very late, get up in the same morning on a few hours of sleep and keep going - but that's not very healthy. If I could get on a good schedule (which is my newest goal), I'd be an early bird.

Witch: If could have the power to cast any kind of spell, what kind of spell would you cast?

My first instinct was to pick Accio from Harry Potter, but then I thought that I wouldn't want to get lazy over time from always beckoning things to me. I'd like to go with something doing with flying or bringing light into my life when I needed it, like Lumos or Expecto Patronus.

Zombie: What is one food you always overeat?
Ice cream, ice cream, ice cream. Yep. Just can't have one scoop, gotta have the kitchen sink sundae too.

Crimson Peak (2015) casts romance out of horror

Photo Credit: Crimson Peak / Universal Pictures

Set in the early 19th century, Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska) is a vibrant aspiring writer penning ghost stories. Her work is turned down by possible publications with editors suggesting to add a twist of romance, something she won't adhere to. When a mysterious aristocratic inventor Sir Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston) lures her into a whirlwind romance and marriage, she is whisked away to his and his sister's (Jessica Chastain) mansion after her father's death. But, there is terrible secret surrounding her new home and life. Edith's mother visited her as a ghost with a warning to beware of Crimson Peak. It is one that she does not heed until it is too late,

Like Cushing's novel, director Guillermo del Toro's highly anticipated gothic film is not about the horror, but romance. It's hard not to fall in love with the extraordinary detail of this world exploding with color and detail. The golden and bold hues of Edith's home before Crimson Peak is like a dream-like utopia. Her costumes and home are filled with warm oranges, almost like looking at her life with rosy colored glasses as we are too. In contrast, the slab of a castle sits on a wintry slope slowly slinking into a red-clay oblivion, illuminated with grays and sharp blues. Though not a horror or scream fest, del Toro creates a creepy and beautiful false sense of security for his heroine and audience.

Crimson Peak is all about the supernatural but not really. His ninth film is a haunting exploring redemption. Edith learns about the darkness of someone and then keeps on loving them. Thomas and Lucille are trapped by their pasts, and Edith is caught in the crossfire. Her natural curiosity and warnings by her mother inspire her to lurk deeper into the shadows of their dismal home that is literally bleeding with secrets. Ghosts and supernatural phenomena are more of a catalyst rather than a tool to scare; they're creepy and visually stunning but not necessarily "jump out of your seat" terrifying. It's a dark, enchanting fairytale with an aura of fear occupying such an opulent setting.

The cast here all provides some wonderful work. Mia Wasikowska is wonderfully spunky as Edith. She brings a natural charisma as a charming and innocent ingenue. When the stacks seem up against her, she is easily someone to root for. And, Tom Hiddleston makes that both a difficult and easy task. One gaze at him and it's not a struggle to understand how easy it is to be swooned by his mystery, no matter how a puzzle he may seem. (He also just looks really great in period clothing, and yes, we see his butt in a romantic-entanglement scene.) Jessica Chastain gives an exciting and gruesome performance we haven't seen before. Her transformation as Lucille is one that won't be forgettable for a while.

Crimson Peaks' has some cracks in the foundation - mostly to do with the studios' marketing. Posters and trailers promoted Guillermo's work as more horror than romance. While the film is creepy, it's not similar to the gore-fests horror movies are like these days with. In night vision handy-cam, CGI phantoms don't grasp an unsuspecting mother or father from behind and whisk them into a dark hallway. A scary doll isn't sitting in the corner casting possession over a house. Instead, the story is purely a romance with a ghost story at its center. It's not about surprise scares but suspense, but is it enough suspense without killer thrills is up to anyone who sees it.

Personally, I loved the story and the characters. My biggest wish that some of the phantoms such as Mother and cast a bigger spell and impact to the story, but it's a fun ride nonetheless. The production is truly spell-binding, and the experience is creepy at best and a little unfrightening at its worst. The movie suffers mostly from the studios' failure to market it well. There is a fine difference between gothic horror and romance, and Crimson Peak achieves the latter. If anyone goes in expecting the former, they're bound to be disappointed. I was spared that confusion and really loved it.

Rating: ★★☆

Have you seen Crimson Peak? What do you think?

The Walking Dead S6x03 Thank You

Photo Credit: The Walking Dead / Gene Page

Last weeks Just Survive Somehow (JSS) took on an even deeper message with this week's Thank You. What was a mantra for Enid has now taken on a new effect for the whole series and the fandom community.

The aftermath of the zombie hoard setting out for Alexandria continues to be answered. We witnessed how a narrow margin the civilians from the safe zone survived from the Wolves last week, but what would be Rick's plan to deter the walkers from the town's walls? What would his and the others reaction be to the atrocious violence that took place while they were gone? We find out!

The Walking Dead S6x02 JSS

Photo Credit: The Walking Dead / Gene Page

The premiere episode of The Walking Dead left us in turmoil as thousands of walkers wandered towards Alexandria. As the final moments of First Time Again faded to black, an unknown culprit blaring a truck horn instigated a domino effect to Rick's plan of directing those walkers out of a massive quarry.

For only the second episode of the newest season, JSS may be at the top of the pack of favorite episodes. When the producers and writers declared that this sixth season was bigger and better, they weren't kidding! It left us catching our breath after nearly an hour of action-packed gore and subtle character conflicts.

Dracula Dead and Loving It (1995) bats away the vampire's legacy

Photo Credit: Dracula Dead and Loving It / Columbia Pictures

Director, writer, and actor Mel Brooks is the king of parodies. No matter how many modern films come out satirizing horror or romantic comedies, no one can do it like the master. Best known for transforming Mary Shelley's tale of Frankenstein into a classic comedy, Brooks does so again with Brahm Stoker's Dracula.

Taking creative liberties from the classic tale, solicitor Thomas Reinfeld (Peter anacNicol) becomes a insect-eating delusional ward to Dracula (Leslie Nielsen), a vampire - obviously. They journey from Transylvania to London where he has bought a castle. Crossing paths with his new neighbors Dr. Seward, his daughter Mina, her fiance Jonathan, and his ward Lucy, Dracula's true identity is closed in on by vampire hunter Van Helsing.

Young Frankenstein, starring Gene Wilder and Peter Boyle, is one of Brook's most popular parodies. The 1974 comedy fares a little better with the production value than here with Dracula Dead and Loving It, but still, the cast is hilarious. Exchanging Gene Wilder, Madeline Kahn, and Peter Boyle, you get Leslie Nielsen, Amy Yasbeck, Steven Webber, and Harvey Korman. Even the good man himself Mel Brooks join the cast as Inspector Van Helsing, who is not as gung-ho and adventurous for taking down Dracula as we normally see his tale played out.

Brooks is famous for taking well-known characters and turning them on their ear, as well as producing original works that are purely wild and zany. Here he does the same with great exaggeration. Famous lines are altered for laughs. He pokes fun at the colloquial English terminology. Jonathan Harker and Van Helsing are convinced Sewards' ward Lucy has been turned into a vampire. When they try to stake her, he has to be realistically dowsed in blood. And, that's just the start!

Dracula Dead and Loving It is one of the many strange movies my grandmother played for me and my sister when she watched over us as children. While Brooks' filmography is certainly familiar to true movie buffs or comedy-aficionados, it's been wonderful and refreshing to see the cult following this 1998 flick seems to have on places like tumblr with movie lovers my age. This movie isn't as well-known as his other works, but it's got all the laughs to make it a worthy gem.

28 Days Later (2002) brilliantly infects the zombie genre

Photo Credit: 28 Days Later / Fox Searchlight Pictures

Zombies are "in" right now, thanks to mega-popular comic book/tv series The Walking Dead and films like Shaun of the Dead. In 2002, the undead was just coming back onto the scene thanks to a revitalizing spin from director Danny Boyle,

28 Days Later isn't exactly about an undead apocalypse. A virus causing a violent rage unleashes when an animal-rights groups' mission to rescue lab-tested monkeys fails. People don't die and come back as zombies though, as is the lore of the genre. The rampant disease spreads when uninfected humans come in contact with the carriers with contaminated blood or saliva. Instead the infected become animalistic having no conscious and are ignited with a bloodthirsty rage, but aren't technically flesh-eaters.

Jim (Cillian Murphy) wakes up in a hospital smack dab in the middle of the post-apocalypse. The streets are barren, the government has fallen, and the world appears to have emptied of any human contact - except for a stubborn and headstrong survivor Selena (Naomie Harris), and a father-daughter duo Frank and Hannah. Jim quickly learns the rules to surviving. If you are bitten, you're less than a few heartbeats from becoming one of them. Unless you've got no other choice: don't go anywhere alone and only in daylight.

Unlike the carnivorous savages people turn into once they are infected, the film itself doesn't try to be downright horrifying, but it definitely is. The opening scenes of Jim waking up to an isolated and unaware of the desecrated world, walking around a deserted London, is enough to put anyone on edge. Most of the film isn't out to make you jump from your seat but has the power of making you question what people are capable of when the end of days has arrived.

Jim (and his partnership to Selena) is one of the best and most hopeful dynamics of the story. The rules of civility changed the second he woke up from his coma and he has no other choice or chance but to commit to his and hers survival. He struggles to hold onto his old self but has to face the risk of becoming barbarous to stay alive. Though made to look physically shriveled and weak, Cillian Murphy is simply enigmatic. He's frail physically and emotionally, but he has a capability to make you feel like there's still a fire burning inside him somewhere.

Selena, played by the awesome Naomie Harris, is refreshing as a female character overall. Having endured loss and adapted to the eye-for-an-eye lifestyle she's been forced into, she is stubborn and pragmatic. She doesn't put up with any threats that might kill her - not even Jim at some instances. But, she isn't just kick-ass, or defensive, or holding on the edge of her rope; she's also vulnerable in taking a chance on Jim and what their life can be like in the post-apocalypse.

Acquiring shelter, food, and protection is one way to keep breathing one more day, but re-establishing normalcy and finding your family might be the best way to persevere. Their union makes us question if you have to turn into an animal because of other shady survivors and the "undead".

Boyle's film is not necessarily gory, but it's still unsettling because of his examination: the many ways humankind degrades when faced with a societal fall like this; what the fear of a disease will turn people into. This is a limited-character drama told with a rock anthem of survival. A grungy, urban violence is its setting, obviously devastating and gritty. Through a steady momentum of thrills, the film has pausing moments of poetry and hope of the future. Despite how many threats, both human and non-human, ravages what's left of civilization, there is still glimmers of benevolence, love, and generosity left. The characters just have to hang tight on, day by day.

Rating: ★★★

Have you seen 28 Days Later? What do you think?

Horror Movie Survival Kit Inspired by ManCrate

Halloween is the perfect time of year to watch scary movies. A group of high school students are attacked by Ghost Face. A hotel won't let you leave one of its rooms. A family won't leave the house they just bought, even though it's filled with poltergeists or ghosts. As we watch in terror as characters try to evade their serial killers or phantom hosts, at times don't we all think we have what it takes to survive a horror movie?

Well, we're in luck! ManCrates focuses on creating awesome gifts for men in custom wooden crates that he has to open with a crowbar. In celebration of the Halloween season, the awesome people at ManCrates asked me to come up with what I would want in my own dream crate that would help me and others make it to the end credits of a horror flick.

There are a few obvious essentials to surviving a horror movie like being familiar with the commandments and carrying a few in-case-of-emergency aids (flashlight, phone chargers, etc). When we're caught in the middle of a zombie apocalypse, or are pitted against vampires, it's best that we are prepared for anything. Here is a list of tools I thought would be awesome for a Horror Movie Survival Kit. Enjoy!