"Walking Dead" Season 8 Premiere (10/22/17)

Let's get real here, the 100th episode & season 8 premiere for TWD was mediocre.
Too many cut scenes, confusing time jumps or dreams (depending on who you ask!), Negan's portrayal, etc.
Shame shit, different day.

Again?

I understand the need for foreshadowing but doing so many, so surrealistically, is downright confusing.

Again, I say that the quality has suffered. There's no big pay off, especially for a premiere or a 100th episode.

"Shin Godzilla" Blu-Ray & Movie Opinion.

Kaiju fans have a new reason to rejoice with the new blu-ray release of the newest reboot, "Shin Godzilla" aka "Godzilla Resurgence".

The bold, new take on Toho's cash cow isn't exactly what many kaiju fans were expecting, especially American fans but that's a good thing.

The US released blu-ray/dvd/digital download pack only has one extra: a podcast-like interview with distribution company "Funimation's" resident Godzilla nerds.

The blu-ray itself is of exceptional picture & sound quality. The movies special effects are eye popping! Options are Original Japanese with English subtitles or Dubbed English.

The movie itself is a much needed reboot to bring new ideas into the Godzilla Mythos & it does so in spades!  Harkening back to the original film in 1954, it takes a different approach to traditional kaiju story telling.

It's an allegorical study of how mired Japanese government is in red tape & disaster response woven into the monster story.

Godzilla himself is now a horrifying harbinger of death & destruction. The new ideas of Godzillas origins, his physiology & abilities are interestingly expounded upon.

A true kaiju-lover will want this as an addition to their collection.

Deadite Joe ranking: 4/5 Chainsaws.

TWD: "Wash, Rinse, Repeat"

Well, the Season 7 finale has aired, analyzed, re-watched, digested & regurgitated for dissection.
My opinion: "It was good."

Reasons:
1- No real payoff except for the "run & gun" parts. Which, it seems, are the parts TWD writers try to avoid. We knew Sashas fate episodes ago. No surprises there. Shiva was the highlight of the episode.

2-Negan, in one of the most out of character moments since his introduction, makes an error in judgement that doesn't make any sense whatsoever. For a man who covers his bases, he didn't in the one instance that mattered.

3-There's a "surprise twist" & then there's a "cheat". The Scavengers betrayal of Rick was a cheat. No subtle forshadowing. Plus, the Scavenger culture is simply ridiculous. Their speech, their mannerisms...it's just too silly. A Scavenger kicked Michonnes ass, really? An UNKNOWN scavenger too. Are we to believe they're awesome warriors by their creed & their junkyard life? Another cheat.

4-Flashbacks can be a useful tool to help further a story narrative but when used for ret-conning is totally unnecessary. Fluff & padding.

5-Red shirt syndrome. Lotta deaths, just no-one we really cared about...or knew who they were in the first place.

6-Repetitive Storylines. Negan is only different from the Governor in a few ways. Same shit, different guy.

7- Zombies relegated to few & far between gags. They're not much of a threat anymore. Hell, where our characters at one time had to remain silent to avoid attracting walkers now, it appears that entire speeches can be loudly yelled without interruption by those pesky undead.

8-Run time too long. Too many commercial breaks. Finale ratings are usually higher, so ad rates go up. Longer run time means more breaks which means more money.

TWD should take some lessons from the "Ash vs Evil Dead" playbook. A 30 minute episode mandates a brisk, active pace without sacrificing character development at all.

It was good. "The best episode ever!" - No.

Eibon Press "Zombie" Issue #2

Issue #2 continues the movie storyline and seamlessly adds depth to it with new elements.
Fulci films are an acquired taste and sometimes his films defied certain horror movie storyline sensibilities but that's the core of his film style.
These comics are the of the highest quality and they are created with the Fulci fan in mind.
In a word: Awesome.

Eibon Press "Lucio Fulci's Zombie" Graphic Novel #1

Issue #1

Eibon Press has released an incredible adaptation of the zombie masterpiece by Lucio Fulci! 

Not the run of the mill graphic novel here but an ingenious design with great readability. Each issue is contained within a unique "Eibon Sleeve" with different artwork than the cover. In addition, each issue contains collectibles!

The value of these limited printing graphic novels has, in most cases, more than doubled their initial purchase price!

No need for me to tell you the story because if you're here, you're most likely a fan of the movie already. If you haven't seen it - go do it right now!

I'll be posting a pic & short overall review of issues #2 & #3 in the next blogs.

Issue #4 preorders begin in March!