MOVIE REVIEW: Cargo

RELEASE DATE: May 18th 2018

RUN TIME  1 Hour 45 mins

MY TEN STAR RATING 9

FAMILY MOVIE RATING 5.5

DIRECTORS: Ben Howling. Yolanda Ranke

MAIN CAST: Martin Freeman, Anthony Hayes, Susie Porter

NETFLIX Story Line
From the producer of The Babadook, and starring Martin Freeman, comes Cargo. Based on the viral short film, this is the story of a man and his infant daughter who are stranded in the middle of a zombie apocalypse in rural Australia. And when he becomes infected, the countdown begins for him to find her protection before he changes forever.

WHAT I LIKED 

I am a fan of Martin Freeman and to see him bring his talents to the post apocalyptic world that closely resembles the Zombie Apocalypse was a treat for me because I love Zombie movies. I did not even know this was a Zombie movie which was even a bigger surprise. Martin did not disappoint me. I really like the ideal of the infected searching for survival methods even when they know they are going to die or turn. 

WHAT I DID NOT LIKE:

There was not much to not like, this was not your everyday Zombie movie, some people may want more zombie involvement, but that would have went against the story line. I myself like more Zombies and Zombie heards, but the story was so strong that would have hurt the story line

SIDE NOTES 

This was a Netflix Original and was rated TV-MA, and I can not recommend this as a family movie for intense scenes, but if your family loves Zombies I can recommend it, but it may not be good for young viewers. This movie is not so much about Zombies as it is family survival. I gave this movie a 10 on IMDB.

MOVIE REVIEW: Pride Prejudice and Zombies

RELEASE DATE: February 5th 2016

DIRECTOR: Burr Steers

MAIN CAST: Lily James, Sam Riley, Jack Huston

IMDB Story Line

Five sisters in 19th century England must cope with the pressures to marry while protecting themselves from a growing population of zombies.

WHAT I LIKED

It is the Zombie Apocalypse British Style. The Zombies have intelligence but yet very deadly. According to my daughter they creatively kept the story close to the book. This movie also brought back the horror of the Zombie genre which has somewhat been weakened with the recent Zombie movies and TV shows, But I still love the AMC TV show The Walking Dead, but that show is more drama then zombie and horror. This movie is British tea time with a infected bite. There is a good mixture of horror and humor and a healthy touch of classic British theater.

WHAT I DID NOT LIKE

Is more of what I question

While I usually do not like the ideal of a intelligent Zombie, they made it work. However is this a first stage of the Zombie virus? Does the Zombie eventually decompose to the brainless need for feed Zombie?

SIDE NOTES

I am sorry to say I did not see this movie on the big screen, but did buy the blue ray. The movie was given a PG-13 rating but could have been pushed to a weak R. Depending of the age of your kids and family values this could be a family movie, But I strongly recommend parental guidance for any child watching the movie.

MOVIE REVIEW: Resident Evil: The Final Chapter

 RELEASE DATE: January 27th, 2017

DIRECTOR: Paul W.S. Anderson

MAIN CAST; Milla Jovovich, Iain Glen, ALi Larter

IMDB Story Line

Picking up immediately after the events in Resident Evil: Retribution, Alice (Milla Jovovich) is the only survivor of what was meant to be humanity's final stand against the undead. Now, she must return to where the nightmare began - The Hive in Raccoon City, where the Umbrella Corporation is gathering its forces for a final strike against the only remaining survivors of the apocalypse.

WHAT I LIKE

This was nonstop action from start till the end. impossible situations all the way through the movie. Great story telling, understandable, deep but not confusing. Special effects where awesome. Spectacular visuals  For the most part it fit all the the missing parts of of the previous movies together. Like I said for the most part because...........

WHAT I DID NOT LIKE

The movie seemed to change the story line of the second movie dramatically, I really was upset with that small part in the beginning.

SIDE NOTES

I went and seen this movie on the super size RPX Regal Cinema at Great Northern. Did not care to see it in 3D, But I will buy the Bluy Ray when it comes out.But very happy I was able to see it on the big screen.

Movie was given a R rating, PG-13 would have been sufficient. I gave the movie a 9 on IMDB. It would have got a 10 if it would have not been for the dis-likes. 

FEAR THE WALKING DEAD: Slower but I like it

Fear the Walking Dead reminds me of the recent Zombie Apocalypse 2015 movie "Maggie" Staring Arnold Schwarzenegger as a Dad trying to save his daughter from turning after she is bitten by a Zombie. Yes the show is slower but much deeper in thinking then "The Walking Dead". It's a whole different look. To me this takes me back when we where actually afraid of Zombies. The Walking Dead does not scare me that much but I love the story. Fear gives me that fear back and I will continue to watch as long as it is on.

I think the audience is to entrenched into the thinking about hordes of zombies and you have to run and shoot. But when your watching a zombie movie, do you ever ask yourself what is the story of that family that is running and trying to survive? Like Walking Dead,  Fear the Walking Dead does that but goes deeper. I am not sure how many seasons they can keep this going, but I like watching civilization self destruct and fall apart step by step.

The only fault I have with the show is I think the contagion is moving a bit slow, but what do I know maybe that is what happened before mutation of the virus. I just wish critics would step back and think about the bigger picture and think like adults instead of saying it's to slow.

#ZOMBIE MOVIE REVIEW: Dawn of the Dead

RELEASE DATE: March 19th 2004

DIRECTOR: Zack Synder

STARS: Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, Mekhi Phifer

IMDB Story Line

Ana, a young beautiful nurse finishes her day-shift at the hospital to return home to her beloved husband, they make love and sleep together. The next day, after her husband is killed by her neighbor next door, he suddenly comes back to life. She discovers the chaos happening in her neighborhood and escapes from her home. Soon after coming to her senses in the woods, she encounters a cop and other survivors, they decide to find safety in a mall. Soon more survivors come, and they learn that if they want to stay alive, they should stick together as the world is overrun by an army of undead. Can they survive the horror in this horrific global chaos? When there is no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth Written by Emphinix

WHAT I LIKED:

It was a zombie movie, I love zombie movies, is was scary, and you had the evil human element. I really like the living in the mall part. I thought the story line was strong and it was able to bring me in to the nightmare of a zombie Apocalypse.

WHAT I DID NOT LIKE

OK, this movie was never going to win a Oscar, there is nothing that I really dis-liked about this movie

Movie was rated R well deserved, no explanation, be careful letting younger children watch, very intense scary scenes

FOUR STAR RATING:If  I had had never watched World War Z and the Walking Dead, this movie would get a 4 star rating but because of other zombie movies I have watched I will give it a 3

I seen this in the theater and I did buy the blue ray 

MOVIE REVIEW: Maggie (2015)

RELEASE DATE: May 8 2015

DIRECTOR: Henry Hobson

STARS

Arnold Schwarzenegger as Wade Vogle

Abigail Breslin as Maggie Vogle

Joely Richardson as Caroline

IMDB SYNOPSIS: A teenage girl in the Midwest becomes infected by an outbreak of a disease that slowly turns the infected into cannibalistic zombies. During her transformation, her loving father stays by her side.


WHAT I LIKED


This was a very different look at the Zombie Apocalypse. In a way somewhat a timeless look at what happened when the contagion started to mutate,because you still had civil law enforcement, there was still a government, a look for a cure as if it had not reached full civil discourse. You was not sure how long ago the out break had been going on. It seemed to me that there was still some normalcy going on in the world, But then again this was not so much about the Zombie Apocalypse as it was a fathers love for his daughter and watching her die, but yet still holding out hope for a cure.This movie was just great story that happened somewhere during the Apocalypse


WHAT I DID NOT LIKE


Seeing on of my favorite actors Arnold Schwarzenegger playing a helpless father, I just felt bad for him, it was uncomfortable watching him suffer like that, but in this situation it was needed to tell the story and he delivered as he always does, but as a father he broke my heart, but I am use to seeing in Arnold in full armor and lets go kick some ass mode. This was just different for me. But I am going to seek out other movies of him that I have not seen yet


Movie was rated PG-13, and it was a fair rating, If your family is into drama and zombies, this is a good movie to watch, very little gore, but there was one intense scene when Maggie has a accident on the swing set and a intense animal animal scene that may not be good for younger kids.


FOUR STAR RATING: 3


I did buy the Blue Ray, It's a keeper

How Does Watching Horror Movies Affect Your Mind and makes you change your underwear?

The other day I was watching a repeat of "The Walking Dead" and thought to myself are horror fans desensitized to zombies or are we suspicious of everything? Have horror TV programs and movies made us ready for anything because of the fictional reality and believable situations they feed our mind? There was something about the old black and white shows that came out in the fifties that would just freak you out. I remember the first time I saw the 1960 Classic "Little Shops of Horrors" and that little ugly potted plant said feed me. I ran to the corner of my bed room and hid. it scared the living snot out of me.

I was freaked out at just the thought of something like could happen. When the movie ended I carefully turned the TV off and went and got myself a glass of milk. We had potted plants in the house and I swear they looked at me from that point on. The 1986 remake staring Rick Moranis entertained me, but did not have the same effect. It did not challenge my imagination.

The first time I saw a zombie movie was "Night of the Living Dead" from 1968. I was addicted to zombies from that day on. But as movie quality got better, I was less scared, It was like I was ready for the undead ,   Or was I? I still have nightmares about a Zombie Apocalypse. Walking Dead still gives me a chill, but I am more into the drama. If a favorite character gets killed by one, I get tense. But it depends on how it happens. When Dale got killed in "The Walking Dead" Episode "Better Angles" That got to me, that was a creepy episode. It's when the Walker comes out of no where and grabs you. Same with horror movie or shows, it's when the horror hit's you before you know you have been hit.

I think movies like  the remake of the 1982 Poltergeist this year, The Paranormal Activity series that started in 2007 and 2010 Insidious movies, 2013 Conjuring series including 2014 Annabelle they are working on the surprise factor again. Alfred Hitchcock once talked about this in a interview. It is to make the audience forget about the danger in the room because of the drama of the people. Sound familiar? The Walking Dead famous line "Kill The Dead, Fear The Living". Think about it. The Walking Dead has more drama and problems with the living then the Dead. If it was not for the Governor Rick and his gang would have kept the prison. But that would have killed the show and then it would be boring. And what about Carl killing his mom before she turned.

How do we define what is scary and what is boring? What scares you may make someone else laugh. Clowns scare me to death, they make children laugh.

 Do you remember the 1978 movie Phantasm? I was more afraid of  the funeral home then the silver ball, and that big tall guy just freaked me out and I still don't know what the movie was about.

I don't know, it's just not a horror movie unless I am traumatized and have to think about changing my underwear.

The Christmas that Zombies invaded Santa's Village at the North Pole

I wrote this 12/11, I thought I would re-post it


Just a few years ago the North Pole was invaded by Zombies and Christmas was almost canceled. But don't zombies freeze in zero temperatures? Yes they do, unless a elf makes a mistake in Santa's communication center. That is exactly what happen when the head elf was working on the time and reality capactior for Santa to manipulate time for his midnight run.

Head Elf Macky is a big TV movie buff. Anything unreal make believe, fantasy and sci-fi is what he likes. A week before Santa's big run he was in the communication center upgrading systems control and was watching TV at the same time.  He was watching his favorite zombie movie when the reality manipulator had a power surge and captured data from the 100 inch Flat screen TV with a Wi-Fi connection. The device was confused with the data and it replicated what it saw on TV and created Zombies all over the North Pole surrounding Santa's Village. Because the Zombies where created by the North Pole computer and the super 3-D transporter reality printer that had not yet been debugged, they knew how to get access to the village. It was just the way it worked. The North Pole  Security System would not recognize the Zombies as a threat, and allow them access before Elf Central Command (ECC) would know there was any security risk.

These Zombies where just as dangerous as the Zombies we know today. Before the  ECC was alerted hundreds of Elf's where bitten and became zombies. with only 24 hours to go, Santa and the main village staff was working hard to get things ready when the emergency alert alarm sounded. This alarm had never been used since it was created. Many of them including Santa had to look up the code to see what was going on. the Code was Elf Con Five. This was the maximum alert. Meaning for the first time in History, Santa's Village was on a security threat lock down. No one was allowed to leave or come in the village. All operations came to a stand still.

Santa and top security elf's went to the lock down control room. Dust and cob webs where everywhere because this maximum security room had never been used. Santa stormed in the room and heard a briefing that even had him in disbelief.  "How" he asked . He was informed of the Zombies and information was still coming in from other elf stations. He was made aware of what happened in the communcations center with head elf Macky. Santa had the the Elf Security Chief remove Macky from his post until a hearing could be held. Santa asked the question "What are our options?"

Elf Security Chief (ESC) said "what ever we do we must act ASAP".  Again Santa ask "And what must we do ASAP"?  "We have to mobilize the Elf Military and declare war on the Zombies until all are dead and we must use extreme prejudice when dealing with the zombies". "And what do you mean by that?" Santa ask. "We kill what we shoot" replied the ESC. "We have never used force on any life form in the North Pole" Santa said. "Oh my God! then we have already lost the war before starting it" screamed the ESC. "Don't you get it? This is not life we are dealing with here Santa this is like a virus"  said the ESC. "But is not a virus life like?" ask Santa. So the ESC scratched his head and replied with this. "OK, I will give you that one. So let me suggest this then! The next time you get the flu we will let you die because you don't want to kill a virus!" it was quiet and they where losing precious time.

Santa asked ECC how much time they had left to make the run and the answer was 12 hours. He looked at the ESC and asked if it was possible. He said that they would have to start now and would need permission to use lethal Atomic Magic dust AMD. Santa said he had no ideal what that was. The ESC  told him that many years ago that the high counsel decided that it would be best if Santa did not know about the dust in case of such emergencies, but as a safety concern it could not be used unless Santa give executive  authorization orders to the ESC. Santa said "we will discuss the whys and how later before more elfs die ,what does it do?  The ESC answered by saying it kills what ever it hits, and would be used to make the ammo that is used against the Zombies."OK" said Santa, "no more talk, this operation is hear by ordered and shall be operated under the the ECC but until further notice all ECC operations personal will report to the ESC until I order other wise"

While this was a wise decision Santa was clearly not comfortable being Commander in Chief , Santa's Headquarters never needed this type of operation in the entire history of his Village.
All over the North Pole you heard alarms and sirens and the village was in complete lock down. Santa also ordered Santa News Network to release the following statement.

Breaking News Report: SNN, we interrupt this telecast to bring you of the following emegency announcement:

In a joint operation by Elf Central Command under the orders of  the Elf Security Chief we will enforce a emergency curfew for all of Santa's Village and workshops. All Elf families to stay in your living quarters until further notice. The north Pole and the Village is under attack and if you do not follow instructions being e-mailed to you on Elf Net You may die at the hands  of the enemy and Christmas may be canceled. 

The elf army took there positions and waited for the Zombies. Elf Air Force began the attack first, but with little or no results because the AMD weapons was not penetrating enough zombies. this operation was going to take hours. The war went well into midnight before the elf infantry began mobilizations. They had the best results, direct hits in the head was killing Zombies, and the Air force AMD weapons had a delayed reaction but it did finally start to kill Zombies, the dust made it to the Zombies brain. The zombies died off and the North Pole returned to normal. Military action had been called off for the most part. But the damage was done, the Christmas Eve Event was suppose to start two hours before.

Santa returned to ECC and said "what do we do?" the ESC spoke up and said we have a option, and I mean just on option" . "and?" Santa asked. The ESC said "we can alter time" , "What?" Santa asked "alter time Santa, just like I said". "Explain" said Santa.

The ESC said this  "  We can use the same time formula that you use for the big run because time is not a factor here at the pole as it is in other parts of the world". "That is Right" said Santa. "No one would remember except for those of us in this room  So lets do it!" Said Santa. "We can't" Said the ESC. "Then why did you tell me this?" ask Santa "Well we can but the person that needs to execute the operation is under house arrest" Explained the ESC. "Macky?" ask Santa. "Yes Macky , But you would have to pardon him for it to be allowed" Explained the ESC. It was quiet in the room and Santa grated a full pardon to the former head Elf. The Elf would still have to report to a board of inquiry so that protocols could be put in place so that this type of disaster could never happen again. Macky was OK with that, because he knew he was insubordinate in his actions.
And so they put there plan in action, Loaded Santa's sleigh and no one knew that last Christmas was almost the last Christmas.

Becoming a Zombie for Halloween Just for Fun.

This October I decided to Have some Halloween fun and let my daughter give me a Zombie make over. She used some of her own make up from her collection, zombie and other make up from a seasonal Halloween shop and toilet paper for texture

Zombie Apocalypse: Science Fiction or Preparation for Armageddon?

I worte this two years ago on the old wordpress blog site, with the upcoming series I have coming on the AMC TV SERIES THE WALKING DEAD I decided to repost this on the new blog site

MARK G POGUE

I WILL RISE UP THE DEAD AND THEY WILL EAT THE LIVING

EPIC OF GILAMESH

Last night I watched "Zombies: A Living History" I went in to the program thinking that it was just a history of the Zombie story. It was that and more. I did not expect the more. I keep on asking myself are they saying that the possibility of the dead coming back to a form of life and feeding on the living is true? As a matter of fact they where. But not in the way you think. How you ask? While many cultures have has their own legend of a Zombie it was Director George A. Romero 1968 movie "The Night of the Living Dead" that gave us the modern APOCALYPTIC Zombie. A mass invasion of the undead or the walking dead.

While I was learning about the Zombie History , I keep seeing references to disasters and wars in World History, but while some points they made went back hundreds of years, I was most horrified by accounts of events of the past 100 years. Since Romero's 1968 movie half of all the Zombie movies where made after 9/11/2001.

IT HAS GOTTEN TO THE POINT WHEN YOU TURN ON YOUR TV THAT EVERYTHING YOU SEE IS POTENTIALITY DISASTROUS! 

MAX BROOKS, AUTHOR OF WORLD WAR Z

In viewing the documentary I also learned that there has been a long standing fear of the dead coming back to life. One example is this question. Why are coffins are bolted shut if the person inside is dead? Some countries use to bind the dead and put tight restraints around them. Some countries would put rocks in the mouth so the dead could not bite anyone if they came back to life. The reason for this is that zombies represents the worst fear of disease.That fear is still so true today that the Center for Disease Control (CDC) issued issued a Zombie Novella in order to teach emergency preparedness in 2011.

The days after 9/11 the Bush administration made it clear that the only way to stop a terrorist is to destroy it. and what do we know about zombies? The only way to stop a zombie is to destroy it.

In the past 12 years we have saw examples of civilization breaking down. 9/11 we keep it together because a country pulled together but we learned the enemy could hit us and maybe destroy us. Then Katrina stuck and it was a total break down from the police department on up. As Max Brooks said , we have a global war on terror ,we have global warming. Massive earth quakes, storms, tsunami etc. We have had other global disease epidemics like SARS, Mad Cow,West Nile Virus just to name a few.

These all represent a threat to the break down of civilization, plagues break down civilization. National disasters break down civilization. Zombie Apocalypse is the study of uncontrolled pandemonium and it is used for a model to teach Personal or emergency preparedness.

On Twitter I follow many Zombie fans including a group I am going to pay closer attention to a called Zombie Squad.

Their mission (From Web site)

Zombie Squad's mission is to educate the public about the importance of personal preparedness and self reliance, to increase its readiness to respond to a number of disasters such as Earthquakes, Floods or Zombie Outbreaks.

They are forming a community to teach people to be ready for anything. If your ready for Zombies your ready for anything.

It occurred to me while watching this that there is a growing sense of that the world as we know it is going to end. People are upset with the new standard of living with the great recession. People are not happy. People are stressed and restless.

But what about the government labs that store and create viruses? Could they ever make a mistake and harm the public?

Zombies are the worst fear of disease or uncontrolled civil pandemonium because a pathogen does not need tanks to do harm. When the public hears the word virus a panic starts, even though it is soon controlled. But what if control did not happen soon enough, and our governmental authority started to break down. The American people are so polarized and upset with the government it makes me ask the question: Could a massive uprising of the people be far off?

On a recent TV special years ago on the Super Volcano in Yellowstone Park a Representative from FEMA said there is no amount of preparedness that could make them ready for a full response. Is it possible that the recent attention from the media on Zombies is a teaching method to warn us and tell us to be prepared for anything?

Tell me: Are you ready for a Zombie Apocalypse? Or Anything that might come our way? Are you? Am I?