All posts by Michelle L. Mattock

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The Walking Dead: 3.11 – “I Ain’t a Judas”

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Security is on lock down and the group is on edge after the attack by the Governor and his crew last week. Carl even told his father to take a rest and let Daryl and Hershel take over as leaders of the group. The prison is full of tension. I’m still not clear on how some things have settled. Merle is now just totally welcome by everyone but Glenn, pretty much. Michonne is also now completely welcome. Not just welcome… but participating and talking! In fact, Rick says that he is going to go to Woodbury to take care of the Governor, and is not only taking Carl with him because “he’s ready”, but also Michonne! Yes, the same Michonne who was going to be sent on her way after the group made it back to the prison after losing Daryl. I guess those two proved their worth when Phillip and his friends unleashed a truck full of walkers on to their property.

I Ain't a Judas

With Woodbury asking for citizens of the small town to join in an army to fight against Rick’s group, even teenagers with asthma, Andrea sees that her old buddies are in clear danger. She asked for Milton’s help covering for her so that she can make a trip out to the prison. When Milton tells the Governor what her plans are, he asks Milton to help her as she asked. Andrea makes a pet walker like Michonne had when she met her, by chopping his arms off kicking his teeth in. Tyreese and his group came across Andrea and Milton in the woods and Milton took them back to Woodbury where the Governor gave his sociopath welcome to the town. Tyreese and the group explained that they’d gone to the prison and encountered crazy Rick who kicked them out, and that they would join in their Woodbury army to earn their keep.

I Ain't a Judas

When Andrea gets to the prison, Rick does the coolest thing he’s done in episodes…. he throws her against the fence, frisks her, makes her get on the ground, takes her stuff from her, and treats her exactly how he should! Like a total outsider… because that is exactly what she has become.Carol is excited to see Andrea, but she seemed to be the only one. It was actually really cool because Andrea hadn’t been there for so many of the big events that defined the end of season 2 and the first half of season 3. She had no idea Shane was gone or how it happened, had no idea about Lori or little asskicker, and was shocked to see Hershel is now an amputee. I loved the reminder of those big events. This season has been so focused on Woodbury and the prison that I forgot how insanely dangerous it was for the group in older episodes, traveling from place to place, especially when the kids never stayed put! Now, both groups are in large secure places. They have come very far!

I Ain't a Judas

Andrea tries to explain to Rick and the group that they need to make peace with the Governor, and that there is more than enough room for them at Woodbury. Michonne gives her a reality check when she explains that the Governor sent Merle to kill her. Also, that he would have sent him to kill Andrea, had she gone with her. Andrea is sent with a car and a gun and one of the coolest things Carol has ever said; she tells Andrea to sleep with the Governor… to give him the best night of his life, and when his guard is down to kill him. Well, she says end this, but she means kill him.

Merle tries to bury the hatchet with Michonne. He tells her that the whole hunting her down thing was just business, and to let bygones be bygones. I have not made up my mind about whether or not I like Merle being in the group. What he did to Glenn was unforgivable, yet he really didn’t have a choice, or at least not a good one. The episode ends with Andrea arriving back to Woodbury to seduce the Governor. When he falls asleep, she stands up, grabs a knife, and goes to kill him… and then backs off.

zandrea0 zandrea1

LIKEABOSS
PUSSY OUT! Like a boss.

Overall, I have mixed feelings about this ‘I Ain’t a Judas’. I love the introduction of Andrea to her old group. I hope it makes her remember how awesome she used to be, and I hope she feels terrible for being nothing more than the Governor’s little trollop. I think that Carol’s character is finally proving worthy of the show. These past few episodes, she has made herself useful. Carl is ready for the outside world, I agree with that. However, I am concerned for Rick being ready for the outside world. He left the gates of the prison because he saw a ghost…. and then admitted that he knew it wasn’t real and that it was a ghost. What happens if he ghost of Lori shows up while they are fighting a herd of walkers, and Rick just wanders off? I can only imagine that Andrea doesn’t kill her psychotic, tyrant boyfriend, or we wouldn’t have the remarkable battle that is sure to come!

I am excited to see what happens. I really enjoyed this episode, but I feel like too many things aren’t being talked about. How is it suddenly okay with Hershel and the rest to see Rick leading a group out into the open? How is it alright with Rick that Michonne not only stick around, but has his back? And how the hell do they go from letting Daryl go so that they can stay away from Merle, to giving Merle a key to the gate and a gun?! They are clearly setting a lot up, but they’re also letting a lot go.

3/5 Grizzlies.

grizzly rating 3of5

TV

The Walking Dead: 3.10 – “Home”

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Last week marked the return of AMC’s The Walking Dead from their mid-season hiatus. It focused mainly on Rick’s return to the prison and him losing his shit. Well, that continued this week with Rick is still long gone mentally and seeing hallucinations of his dead wife. When we start, Rick goes out beyond the gate of the prison to stand with Lori. His mental break has been rather public and here, again, he makes no attempt to hide it…

Home

The governor wants Andrea to take over Woodbury. Now, I would love nothing more than to see a good old-fashioned Andrea fight between her and the Gov. She never used to even trust the people in her own group! All of a sudden she is this trusting, obedient lady. I am not yet over that. The Governor then goes to Milton and tells him to keep tabs on Andrea. How that works, I’m not sure. I could snap Milton in half. And his poker face is laughable. My hope is that Andrea is going to come to her senses when she realizes that her friends are in trouble. OR better yet, when she realizes Michonne is with her friends, alive, and they are all in trouble.

HomeAndrea and Milton 2

MEANWHILE. BACK AT THE PRISON: Michonne actually has something to add about Glenn’s plan. Oh yes… he has a plan. He wants to go to Woodbury with Michonne and make a stand for the group’s sake. As I mentioned in last week’s review, Glenn should take over the group. Oh wait! That is currently happening! The group needs to find out how the walkers are getting into the tombs, and Maggie is lying in bed. She is unwilling to speak to Glenn… not exactly sure why. I guess she is upset that Glenn is upset about what happened to her, but I have no idea why that is pissing her off. The man with the awesome mustache, Axel, is pretty keen on Carol. I wonder if Daryl will come back all jealous! “That’s my mousey, scrawny she-man!”

The good man in Daryl goes to help a few stranded folks, of course against Merle’s wishes. Daryl crushing the walker’s head by shutting the trunk on it… just the most atrocious thing I have ever seen. Outstandingly grotesque.

Trunk Kill

Daryl turns his weapon on Merle, who was trying to take from the mother and baby they just saved. I mean… that man is putrid. Daryl and Merle get into a spat, which actually leads to a bit of back story between the two. Daryl says to Merle “You lost your hand ‘cause you’re a simple-minded piece of shit.” It then comes to light that the brothers Dixon were abused as children by their father, Merle left, leaving Daryl to continued abuse, which resulted in scars all over his back. So when Daryl had to walk away and was saying that Merle was the one leaving him… again… Merle seemingly realized who he needed to be, which is a good brother to the only family he has left.

While Glenn is gone looking for the breach, Rick claims to Hershel that he’s got “stuff” outside the prison gates, and that he needs to stay there. He explains to Hershel that he saw Lori and she was on the phone earlier, along with Shane, and the rest of the group that had been killed. He explains that there must be a reason and although it does not make sense now, it will in time so he refuses to come back inside the prison.

During a tender moment between Carol and Axel, a bullet rips through Axel’s head and so begins the Governor’s attack on the prison.

Phillip

 The Governor’s crew smashes an armored truck full of walkers through the gates and onto the prison grounds and released its contents. While Glenn extracts Hershel, we get to see not only Michonne swinging her Katana, but Daryl and Merle’s arrival just in time to save Rick as well. This all out assault resulted in only one death from our prison group – Axel, who then acted as a human shield to keep Carol alive during the firefight. The Governor also suffered only one casualty when Maggie picked off the sniper who somehow got into the guard tower.

Maggie

This episode was much better than last week’s, in my opinion. I love the development of characters that have been around since the beginning, like how we are just finding out about Merle and Daryl’s past. The action in this episode was a big part of what was missing from last week. There was the scene between the Dixon brothers resulting in Daryl turning a weapon on his brother. It was very exciting! And then, of course, the end of the episode, when the whole group had to grab a gun and try to stay alive. Honestly, when Daryl showed up just as Rick was about to become zombie chow, my heart skipped a beat! And then, Michonne’s beautiful Katana work made me cheer out loud. This was a great episode. I was still slightly annoyed with the Woodbury situation, making Milton look important and Andrea unlikable, but I have a feeling that will change.

Overall, I would give this episode a 4/5. This may be generous because the last episode disappointed me so much, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

grizzly rating 4of5

Animated Gif Credits – TWD-Gifs

TV

The Walking Dead: 3.07 – “When The Dead Come Knocking” Review

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After letting this last episode of The Walking Dead absorb into my brain, I must say that it is one of the best of the series. “When the Dead Come Knocking” was spectacular for several reasons, not the least of which being that Rick hot his groove back! I was nervous when he was losing his marbles that he would just remain the group basket case, and they’d need a new leader. Not only did Rick get his shit together, but he also talked to Carl about what happened with Lori. Now, I don’t know about you all, but most of the families I know hate confrontation and love to brush issues under the rug, no matter how serious. This was a proud moment as a Rick Grimes fan. He’s taking care of business again! He also let Carl name the wee baby Grimes, Judith.

Episode 6 ended with Michonne arriving at the prison, and that was the part I was most excited about. I love how she is always protecting herself, to the point where she will put herself in more danger! She had a bad feeling about Woodbury, so she left, putting herself in even more danger to be killed by walkers. She is one seriously badass character.

Michonne passed out from blood loss and Rick and the boys brought her inside of the prison. Hershel fixed up her wound and she was thankful. She was talking to Rick and was extremely defensive, as always. But this is not a trait specific to Michonne, she just approaches it differently. She protects herself by sometimes not saying anything at all, and mean-mugging everyone. Rick treats everyone with the same skepticism and has sometimes had to kill human beings for putting him or his loved ones in danger. I would say that Michonne and Rick are really a lot alike as both will do whatever becomes necessary to protect themselves.

Glenn getting the living hell beaten out of him by Merle was the most horrifying thing in this episode. Although, he did manage to display how much of a total badass he is.

Maggie was, of course, forced to strip the top half of her clothes off  and was almost sexually assaulted. That was hard to watch.  After all of that, she spilled to the Governor where their group was hiding out, because Glenn’s life was being threatened.

Proving she can play ‘awkward topless’ more than one way, here is Maggie in the cinematic classic VAN WILDER 2…

I have been at the edge of my seat since Sunday, awaiting the mid-season finale “Made to Suffer”. Join me on Sunday, as I pick apart the highly anticipated episode and make my undoubtedly incorrect predictions for the remainder of season 3.

5/5 Bears.

 

 

TV

The Walking Dead: 3.05 – “Say The Word” Review

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“Say The Word” was an extraordinarily intense episode of The Walking Dead. Getting back to the standard format of the show, this episode picks up where episode 4 left off. After learning that his wife is dead, Rick is in a state of shock. This is not the Beth type of shock where you lay in a bed and become suicidal… this is Rick’s own personal hell. He becomes enraged and takes an axe to anything he can find in the prison.

He comes across a walker who…*shudders*…ATE Lori. Her body is gone with only scraps and a bullet remaining on the floor where she was left. It was devastating.

Back at Woodbury, Michonne got the award for best zombie kill of the week by unleashing some caged biters and letting her katana loose on them.

 

Michonne then had to have a sit-down with the Governor, who wants her to stay. He explained that she fits in. He then spoke with Andrea to try to get her to convince Michonne to stop being so aggressive and just embrace the town, as she is making other people uncomfortable. Andrea is being an idiot about it, but I cannot in any way blame her. If I had spent the past 8 months constantly fighting for my life, I would want peace and safety, too. After Michonne leaves without Andrea, who refuses to succumb to the ultimatum, the Governor asks Andrea to go with him to the event they’re having that night in the town. The event? ZOMBIE FIGHT CLUB!!!

This is one of the most interesting uses for these guys I have seen on this show.  The walkers form a ring around the two men and are chained to posts. The chains are loosened as the fight draws near an end. Merle wins this fight, of course.

We also saw that the Governor keeps his daughter, who is a walker, locked up. He was brushing her hair. Everyone in the room with me while I was watching this kept saying how creepy this scene was. I, for one, thought that it was just devastatingly sad. Here, this man has his daughter, his own flesh and blood, and she wants to kill him. We have seen it a lot in this show. Sophia had to be put down by Rick, Andrea’s sister Amy had to be put down by Andrea… it is so sad to see. Everyone is losing people closest to them, and I imagine that what happened to his family turned the Governor into this madman.

Maggie and Daryl went out and found supplies for the wee baby Grimes (Walsh?). They brought back formula and such, which lead to a sweet moment in the episode. Daryl was feeding the unnamed baby and smiling. As a woman, I am absolutely a sucker for this stuff. It was adorable.

At the end of the episode, after Rick has absolutely destroyed the walker who ate Lori, the phone in the boiler room rings. He picks it up, aaaaand of course the episode ends. WHO IS IT?! Could it be Carol calling trapped in another part of the prison? Could it be someone working for the Mayor, scouting all of the nearby places for survivors? Or is Rick just losing his marbles? Could it be someone like Shane or Lori on the phone? Could Rick be literally going crazy? Who takes over the group then? Although I am not happy that I’ll have to wait to find out, I am glad I have something to look forward to!

I could not have imagined that this season would be so amazing. I have loved just about every episode of this show so much that I find it difficult to be objective in rating them and trying to not give everything a perfect score. After much deliberation, I would say this is 4/5 Grizzlies.

Movie News & Opinions

Plans For ‘Casablanca’ Sequel

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When reading about the possibility of a Casablanca sequel on Huffington Post, I could not stop shaking my head. I thought this must be some sort of joke, and there is no way this will happen. Well, my friends, it is true. A sequel to one of the greatest films of all time has already been written… the strange part is by whom. Howard Koch, one of the co-writers of the original Casablanca script, wrote Return to Casablanca in 1980, about 40 years after the original was released. Cass Warner, who is part of the WB family, discovered this script and intends to have it made into a film.

Another concern I have is who would play Rick and Ilsa? Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman both passed away quite some time ago and I cannot think of a single actor or actress who could bring these two characters to life again. While Cass Warner searches for a filmmaker for this sequel that was turned down by WB a year and a half ago, I deem it already doomed. Casablanca is one of the most beloved films of all time. Several other films, TV shows and music artists have paid homage to the classic, verifying its huge impact on the world. From time to time, you’ll notice your friends quoting Casablanca. I cannot imagine that the sequel will have nearly as much impact. Generally, sequels are not nearly as good as the original. And with such a classic as Casablanca, WB would need one hell of a script.