Claiming your territory is the law of the land, Carl and Michonne really like candy, a wall o’ zombies, and Rosita’s smoking hotness, all that and more on this episode of “The Walking Dead”! Once again the casting crew for “The Walking Dead” have really done their job in sticking true to the comics by casting Christian Serratos as series hotty Rosita. She was always cute during her years on Nickelodeon, but she virtually disappears in the character garb and has proven to be an interesting heroine. This time around the episode is split between three portions of characters, all of whom are getting ever closer to the enigmatic Terminus. Except Glenn has finally found a sign by Maggie to meet her there, and he’s more desperate than ever.
The Image Revolution (2014)
Director Patrick Meaney’s chronicle of the group of innovative artists that gave Marvel and DC the collective bird and took control of their own lives is a wonderful insight and word of warning at what happens when there are too many cooks in the kitchen. Surely, no one person is to blame for helping Image nearly drop out of the scope of pop culture and crash, but when you team a group of artists together who could walk the walk and talk the talk, there is bound to be conflict and inevitable resentment. I consider myself lucky enough to have grown up during the Image Revolution, where most of my money was spent on DC and Marvel, and immediately went over to Image. I bought titles like “Prophet,” “Youngblood,” and “WildCATS” religiously, while cutting my teeth in Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld’s art for many years.
Tom Holland’s Twisted Tales (2014) (DVD)
A two and half hour anthology horror film? Come on, no one has such interesting stories that it needs a two and a half hour run time. The question is would you rather have a few excellent horror stories, or a lot of sub-par ones? If you answered the latter, “Tom Holland’s Twisted Tales” is the movie for you. Seemingly comprised of separate episodes of a series called “Twisted Tales,” they’re pasted together to form an awkward, often boring anthology horror film with no budget and no creativity.
Veronica Mars (2014)
The movie that Kickstarter gave us is finally here, and it’s pretty great to see Veronica Mars back and in action. I fondly recall following “Veronica Mars” during season two after I grabbed a hold of season one and tore through the entire freshman year in one sitting. Like many series before it, “Veronica Mars” is one of the more under appreciated crime dramas that never got its due, despite a loyal fan following and critical acclaim. Thankfully creator Rob Thomas is finally able to put his love child to bed, and give fans the sign off we’ve been pleading for, for years.
Virtual Encounters (1996)
It’s Skinemax time and “Virtual Encounters” is the movie for anyone interested in delightful mediocre mid-nineties porn. As a movie it’s a pretty crummy and boring attempt to add fantasy elements to a genre already built around fantasies. Part of the Surrender Cinema division from Full Moon, “Virtual Encounters” is pseudo-science fiction that basically just features a slew of mildly erotic sex scenes that have no real context to them. They’re just there to get about as much mileage out of the movie before it ends.
Kindergarten Cop (1990)
Back in the eighties and nineties, Arnold Schwarzenegger was larger than life. With his large build and thick Austrian accent, his rough exterior was contradicted by his sweet personality. This carries over more than successfully in Ivan Reitman’s “Kindergarten Cop,” one of his many efforts to connect with younger audiences. His transformation in to kids film star is nearly seamless, as he’s able to connect with his primarily younger cast surprisingly well, and garners a strong chemistry with just about everyone in the film.
Musical Chairs (2014)
“Cheer Up. You’re Alive.”
While Susan Seidelman’s musical drama is contrived and formulaic, it gets a free pass mainly for being such a charming romance that at least tries to break its predictability. “Musical Chairs” is the celebration of dance, despite physical disabilities, all the while focusing on a couple that find love through their hardships and their passion for the dance floor. It’s very interesting that “Musical Chairs” really dodges the more conventional aspects of films of this ilk, and also seems to strive for more diversity in characters beyond skin color.