Latest Movie News From Moviefone |
- 'Empire' Star Grace Gealey Says 'Everyone Is At Their Climactic Moment' In the Finale
- 'Circle of Friends' Cast: Where Are They Now? (PHOTOS)
- 5 Hopes for the 'Walking Dead' Spinoff
- What's New on TV, Netflix Streaming, Digital, and DVD/Blu-ray This Week: March 16 - March 22
- 'Beauty and the Beast' Now Has Release Date - Plus Emma Thompson, Kevin Kline
- 'Sherlock' Special Episode Will Take Place in Victorian Era
- 'American Horror Story: Hotel': Jessica Lange Checks Out, But These Two Guys Are In
- Will Lily James Return to 'Downton Abbey'? She Kind of Wants the Worst For Lady Rose
- Here's the Best of Justin Bieber's Comedy Central Roast (VIDEO)
- Watch Shailene Woodley and Theo James Impersonate Each Other in Our 'Insurgent' Unscripted
- Box Office: Does 'Run All Night' Mark the End of Liam Neeson's Run of Action Hits?
- Recap of Revenge Season 4 Episode 16: Retaliation
- 'The Walking Dead' Season 4, Episode 14 Recap: Almost Paradise
| 'Empire' Star Grace Gealey Says 'Everyone Is At Their Climactic Moment' In the Finale Posted: The epic two-hour "Empire" is set to air this Wednesday, and we're chomping at the bit to find out what's in store with Cookie and company. Grace Gealy, who plays Anika Calhoun, recently sat down to reveal some juicy hints. Looks like we can expect drama for all the characters as this season comes to a powerful end.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| 'Circle of Friends' Cast: Where Are They Now? (PHOTOS) Posted: "Circle of Friends" -- based on the Maeve Binchy novel about a group of university students' complicated love lives in 1950s Dublin -- debuted in limited release on March 17, 1995. Its stars have gone on to much bigger things but, like them, we're still very fond of the film that helped launch many of their careers. Minnie Driver, who played plainspoken Irish lass Bernadette "Benny" Hogan in her first major film role, recently told EW, "It gave me my whole career, that movie." Just two years later, she was an Oscar nominee for "Good Will Hunting." Where is the cast now? Over the past two decades, they've collected awards (including an Oscar and a Tony), headlined TV series, and more than one has ended up on "Game of Thrones."  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| 5 Hopes for the 'Walking Dead' Spinoff Posted:  "The Walking Dead" ends its fifth season on March 29, but fans won't have long to wait for the companion series, aka spinoff. AMC is airing the first six episodes in late summer, presumably as a lead-in to the mother series' Season 6 premiere in October. Intel is slowly shuffling out about the spinoff, with the producers emphasizing how different the companion series will be from the main show. This will probably be a hit for AMC whether hardcore Dead-heads like it or not, but we really want to like it. So here are five hopes we have for Zombie Round 2.1. Give us the big picture The main show, which is tied to Robert Kirkman's comic book, started with small-town sheriff's deputy Rick Grimes waking up in a Georgia hospital a couple of months after the zombie apocalypse began. We've followed him in Georgia for five season and just hit a small community in Virginia. The focus of the main show is very limited, and Kirkman said if he had any regrets it was having the show hit the CDC in Season 1, which was the only time we got any perspective on the world. We don't know how the outbreak began or any of the details of how it spread. Now is that time for that perspective. The spinoff is meant to be a prequel, but only at first, showing us the start of the apocalypse then catching up to Rick's timeline (without ever showing Rick or the current group). The CDC may be shown as talking heads, but it would also be good to see what's happening around the world, not just get details in speeches. On the main show, Jenner said something about France getting closest to a cure. How close, and what does that even mean, or look like? And how did everyone become infected, so that they turn at death, even if not bitten? Take a step back and give us the big picture of how the world ended. 2. Show us more locations The spinoff pilot was shot in Los Angeles, which isn't exactly new ground for television, and if we just follow another small group of people based in one location it may feel like a retread of what we've been watching for the past five seasons on the main show. Why not follow multiple locations, either concurrently with the L.A. group or starting with L.A. then moving on to a series of new locations, with a different cast and place in the world each season? Show us snow walkers in Canada, rainforest walkers in the Amazon, or -- heck -- just leave the coast of California on a boat and see how far the characters make it. T-Dog always wanted to go to the coast on the main show, let's see how someone fares. AMC isn't just going to write a blank check, but if they're already in L.A. they can use soundstages and at least pretend to show us the world. 3. Amp up the action The main show has been criticized at times (looking at you, Season 2!) for its slow patches. We're fans of the deep character moments, but if they're going to go ahead and launch a second show they might as well cater to the fans' craving for more action. Think Season 5 premiere, not Season 4 premiere. Keep it moving. And since this is the start of the outbreak, we're expecting a lot more deaths. Not the occasional heartfelt death with an accompanying song from Beth, but massive bombing-of-Atlanta casualties. We need to see how the population thinned to the extent that it became survival of the fittest/luckiest. 4. Make the characters (especially the teens) likable Cliff Curtis and Kim Dickens are leading the spinoff cast, and they seem to both play educators with children -- teenagers. That could be bad -- like Dana Brody from "Homeland" bad -- with the added irritation that they're L.A. teens. No offense to L.A., but shows like "90210" and "The O.C." have already given us enough from that world. Plus, the spinoff character descriptions suggest some moody kids are ahead, with words like "rebellious teenage son," "angriest kid in town," and "screwed up" thrown in. It's worrisome. Executive producer David Alpert talked about the spinoff at SXSW, saying (via The Daily Beast), "...we're going to invest ourselves in these characters that are nuanced, detailed, and honestly really f--ked up and having these awful experiences between themselves, and trying to find a way, as a lot of us do. You have an ex-wife, you have an ex-husband, and you're trying to find out, 'How do I pick up the kids from school?' and just when you think you can barely hold on, zombies start coming." OK, but please make the people we're stuck with more likable than they currently sound. A zombie spinoff should be an escape for the audience, not torture. Don't make us root for the walkers. 5. Ditch the "big bads" -- unless you show their origin stories The main show is now in a world where humans are bigger threats than walkers, but hopefully the spinoff avoids the big bad route. Human conflict will surely be a main focus, but there's no need for standoffs with group leader "villains" like The Governor at Woodbury, Gareth at Terminus, Dawn at Grady, or (eventually) Negan of The Saviors. That said, if they want to show how a regular person could become like The Governor over time, through the chaos and tragedy of the outbreak, that's different. We haven't seen that yet on the main show, we just keep meeting existing group leaders and (sometimes) hear their backstories in speeches. Show how they got to that point or don't show them here at all. However this plays out, AMC has invested in at least two seasons - -the six-episode mini season in 2015 and another season of whatever length in 2016. If we could add another hope, it's that the second season is longer and covers more of the long summer zombie wasteland where the main show leaves off. (Consider a May-October run, AMC!) What are your hopes for the companion show? Do you hope we see celebrities in the zombie apocalypse, since it's L.A., or skip that, since "Zombieland" already had Bill Murray as himself? This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| What's New on TV, Netflix Streaming, Digital, and DVD/Blu-ray This Week: March 16 - March 22 Posted:  At a loss for what to watch this week? From new DVDs and Blu-rays, to what's streaming on Netflix, we've got you covered.New on DVD and Blu-ray "Top Five" Chris Rock's rom-com got rave reviews, and the Blu-ray offers some insight with a commentary from Rock and co-star JB Smoove and other extras. "Song of the Sea" This gorgeous Oscar-nominated animated feature is about a girl named Saoirse and her brother Ben, who discovers that the fairy tales his mother told him about selkies -- half human, half seal creatures -- are all too true. "Penguins of Madagascar" Here's another animated feature, albeit one with a much more modern flair. The bumbling penguins of previous "Madagascar" films are recruited for a wild espionage adventure. Voice actors include Benedict Cumberbatch, John Malkovich, Chris Miller, and plenty of others. TV Worth Watching "Dancing With the Stars" (Monday, ABC at 8 p.m. EST) Patti LaBelle, Michael Sam, Suzanne Somers, Rumer Willis, and other stars put on their dancing shoes for the two-hour season premiere. "Empire" (Wednesday, Fox at 8 p.m. EST) Tune in for the two-hour season finale, if only for all the amazing one-liners from Cookie (Taraji P. Henson). "Glee" (Friday, Fox at 8 p.m. EST) Hardcore Gleeks will definitely want to set their DVRs for this two-hour series finale. New on Netflix "A Different World" Denise Huxtable gets her very own spin-off with this sitcom about the adventures of students at Hillman College. Lisa Bonet, Marisa Tomei, Dawnn Lewis, Jasmine Guy, Kadeem Hardison, and tons of other actors make up the awesome excellent cast. "Saw," "Saw II," "Saw III" This isn't so much a recommendation as a public service announcement. "3rd Rock From the Sun" The weird sitcom about aliens trying to figure out human behavior is now available for your streaming pleasure. Revisit and revel in Joseph Gordon-Levitt's awkward phase. New Video on Demand, Rental Streaming, and Digital Only "Community" (Yahoo, Tuesday at 12:01 a.m. EST) This fan fave is finally returning with a one-hour season premiere. Will Yahoo's major move into streaming TV pay off? We shall see. "The Zero Theorem" (Amazon Prime) Terry Gilliam's latest sci-fi flick stars Christoph Waltz as a lonely computer programmer with an existential crisis, Matt Damon as his boss, Mélanie Thierry as his love interest, and Tilda Swinton as his AI therapist. Naturally. "Spring" (BitTorrent Bundle, Vimeo, limited theaters) "Spring" is a beautiful monster movie slash love story starring Lou Taylor Pucci as a dude who ditches his life in America for some European adventures. He meets a beautiful and secretive student named Louise (Nadia Hilker), and then things get weird. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| 'Beauty and the Beast' Now Has Release Date - Plus Emma Thompson, Kevin Kline Posted:  Be Disney's guest to watch Emma Watson as Belle and Dan Stevens as The Beast in "Beauty and the Beast," which will be released on ... March 17, 2017. That's almost exactly two years from now, so pencil it in your calendar and start sewing your own version of Belle's yellow dress to wear to the premiere. (Don't judge, it's a good idea!)In addition to the "Harry Potter" and "Downton Abbey" alumni, Deadline notes, the live-action "Beauty and the Beast" movie will star the amazing Emma Thompson as Mrs. Potts, Kevin Kline as Belle's father, Luke Evans as Gaston, and Josh Gad as LeFou. Top that cast! Production is said to begin in London in May. Hopefully director Bill Condon and company can have as much success with "Beauty and the Beast" as another "Downton" star is now having with the live-action "Cinderella." We're guessing this one will do even better. (Don't believe us? Ask the dishes!) This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| 'Sherlock' Special Episode Will Take Place in Victorian Era Posted:  Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman have been playing very modern versions of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson in "Sherlock," but a special upcoming 90-minute episode will take them back in time to the Victorian era of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's original stories.Entertainment Weekly talked to "Sherlock" co-creator Steven Moffat before a SXSW conference, noting that fans had seen the show's two stars dressed in 19th century clothes during recent filming. Were the characters dressing up for a party, a dream sequence, or some other reason yet to be explained? "The special is it's own thing," Steven told EW. "We wouldn't have done the story we're doing, and the way we're doing it, if we didn't have this special. It's not part of the run of three episodes. So we had this to do it - as we could hardly conceal - it's Victorian." He said the standalone episode is its own little "bubble" and it's basically completed. That episode is expected to debut around Christmas 2015, before the launch of Season 4's three new episodes. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| 'American Horror Story: Hotel': Jessica Lange Checks Out, But These Two Guys Are In Posted:  Sadly, the goddess that is Jessica Lange is indeed leaving "American Horror Story" and won't be joining the crew for round five in "Hotel."With a "Yes, I'm done," Jessica confirmed her departure while at PaleyFest on Sunday, adding that she loved playing her four characters in "Murder House," "Asylum," "Coven" and "Freak Show." However, it was also announced that "White Collar" star Matt Bomer and "30 Rock" alum Cheyenne Jackson will be added to the "Hotel" cast, which already includes Lady Gaga. The actors told the PaleyFest audience they couldn't confirm or deny any details on their characters since they apparently don't know yet themselves. Matt was a guest star on "Freak Show," so maybe this puts him squarely in the group of AHS regulars. "AHS: Hotel" is meant to premiere its 13-episode season in October. Will you check out without Jessica Lange, or continue to watch these guys and Gaga in action? This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Will Lily James Return to 'Downton Abbey'? She Kind of Wants the Worst For Lady Rose Posted:  When you're already a princess, who wants to go back to just being a "lady"? Lily James is the new "Cinderella," which topped the weekend box office. However, she also plays Lady Rose on "Downton Abbey." In the most recent Season 5 finale, Lady Rose married Atticus and went off to start a life with him. So ... was that it? Between press for "Cinderella" and Rose's story, have we seen the end of Lily at Downton?Not if the actress can help it. "I'm really hoping to come back," Lily told Zap2it during the "Cinderella" press junket. "I feel like it's definitely going to happen," she said, but noted that it depends on what Julian Fellowes decides to write for Season 6, plus "other things," presumably her own schedule. Lady Rose is the free spirit of Downton, and she can jump into things without thinking. She and Atticus seem like a perfect match, but you never know. When asked what she'd like to see happen to her character, Lily laughed and said she didn't know, but added, "Part of me wants her to like lose her sh-t and come back completely wrecked and a ruined woman, and part of me wants her to keep her happily ever after." Heavens! Well, Downton does house its share of tainted women, even if society may not know. The Dowager Countess would be appalled, but she won't be around too much longer herself. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Here's the Best of Justin Bieber's Comedy Central Roast (VIDEO) Posted: Love him or hate him, you can't miss "Comedy Central's Roast of Justin Bieber." The tween heartthrob and polarizing pop star volunteered to take the heat this past Saturday, from insult-hurling comics Hannibal Buress, Chris D'Elia, and the night's MC, Kevin Hart. Even Martha Stewart and Shaq got in on the fun (seriously). But what were the best jabs of the night? The Justin Bieber's Roast airs March 30 on Comedy Central.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Watch Shailene Woodley and Theo James Impersonate Each Other in Our 'Insurgent' Unscripted Posted: "Insurgent" stars Shailene Woodley and Theo James are going Unscripted, and we're taking you along for their spirit animal-, superhero-, and impersonation-fueled ride. The "Divergent Series" actors answer fan questions and made up some of their own, resulting in a remarkable display of Native American history... among other things. Watch below, and catch "Insurgent" in theaters Friday, March 20.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Box Office: Does 'Run All Night' Mark the End of Liam Neeson's Run of Action Hits? Posted:  It's no surprise that "Cinderella" beat "Run All Night" among newcomers this weekend. The Disney live-action fairy tale was widely expected to suck all the oxygen out of the box office, and its estimated $70.1 million debut is in line with predictions.Still, "Run All Night" seemed like it would be smart counter-programming, drawing older men who wouldn't be interested in a movie made for young girls. Yet "Run All Night" underperformed even its modest predictions (in the $14 million range), opening instead at just an estimated $11.0 million. For the third week in a row, then, Hollywood experts will be tearing their hair out, wondering if a formerly sure-fire leading man (Will Smith two weeks ago, Vince Vaughn last week, and now Liam Neeson) has permanently lost his mojo. In each case, despite a recent downward trend, the funeral arrangements seem premature. True, it's not hard to see why Neeson's career appears to be in trouble. Nonetheless, "Run All Night" had a particular set of problems that can account for its failure, meaning it's too soon to write Neeson off just yet. Here's what went wrong with "Run All Night." The Premise: A world-weary Neeson is forced to pull out his guns to protect his adult child from abductors and killers. Sounds like the "Taken" movies, the most recent of which was in theaters just two months ago. Plus, "Run" was directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, who directed Neeson's thrillers "Unknown" and "Non-Stop." So if the action beats seemed familiar, maybe there was a reason. The Marketing: "Run" is supposed to be a gritty, nocturnal New York City thriller. So why does the trailer show Neeson, in apparent daylight, shooting a rifle in the forest? Is he going after antagonist Ed Harris or hunting Bambi? The Timing: Speaking of baffling marketing decisions, why was the film's release date moved from April to March? In April, it would have faced off against the admittedly formidable "Fast & Furious" franchise ("Furious 7" opens April 3), but not much else. Besides, those movies skew younger than Neeson's do. In March, however, he's facing off against a saturated market for movies aimed at older guys, from Will Smith's caper "Focus" to VInce Vaughn's old-dog-new-tricks comedy "Unfinished Business" to Sean Penn's similar thriller "The Gunman" (opening next weekend). Not to mention competing against himself; couldn't the studio have put another month of breathing room between "Taken 3" and "Run"? Hey, maybe these older leading men aren't having slumps; maybe they're just having trouble competing against each other (or themselves) for the same audience. The Reviews: "Run" earned very good word-of-mouth (as indicated by its A- grade at CinemaScore), so those fans who saw it liked it. But critics weren't as fond; it got a 59 out of 100 score at both Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes. Unfortunately for the film, its target demographic -- people old enough to be fans of both Liam Neeson and Ed Harris -- still cares what critics say, even more than recommendations from friends. The 'Cinderella' Factor: There was no way the Disney fairy tale wasn't going to steal the box office thunder of every other movie this weekend. First off, ever since "Alice in Wonderland" five years ago, Disney has perfected a template for releasing lavish live-action fairy tale adaptations in the spring. Second, the title has more built-in familiarity than last year's "Maleficent," "Oz the Great and Powerful," or even "Alice." Third, the reviews were strong, as was the word-of-mouth (measured by an A grade at CinemaScore). And fourth, the movie had the eagerly anticipated short "Frozen Fever" tacked on, just in case the feature wasn't a big enough draw for princess-loving little girls and tweens. The movie couldn't miss, and it didn't. Even without the benefit of 3D surcharges, it still opened bigger than "Maleficent," which did have 3D and a better release date (in May) but still came in just a hair behind "Cinderella" with $69.4 million. Bad Luck: A year ago, Neeson had a sizable hit with "Non-Stop," which opened at $28.9 million on its way to a $92.2 million domestic gross. Since then, however, he's had three disappointments in a row: September's "A Walk Among the Tombstones" (which still opened higher than "Run," with $12.8 million, though it finished with just $26.3 million), "Taken 3" (which had the misfortune of competing against "American Sniper," a bigger smash than anyone had anticipated, and which finished with the lowest take of any of the "Taken" movies, and yet which still earned a solid $88.4 million), and now "Run." Still, this slump looks worse than it is. "Tombstones" earned another $26.8 million abroad, for a global total of $53.2 million; not bad for an arty thriller that cost a reported $28 million to make. "Taken 3" still earned another $201.1 million overseas, for a worldwide total of $289.5 million. Lots of stars would kill for that kind of disappointment. Overseas figures aren't in yet for "Run," but there's no reason to assume, if Neeson's pattern holds true, that the film won't make at least half its money abroad. Like many leading men, Neeson has a big enough following in the rest of the world to keep the 62-year-old star cracking skulls as long as he wants. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Recap of Revenge Season 4 Episode 16: Retaliation Posted:  Other things to note before diving into this recap: Margaux LeMarchal is obsessed with ruining Emily Thorne's life, and Jack Porter is at serious risk of drowning in a puddle of his own tears. Praying for him. Natalie's True Nature Is Revealed, David's Beard Says Hi It's Independence Day in The Hamptons, which means everyone's once again celebrating their love for the USofA as well as their mutual loathing for one another! However, this year it's Natalie who holds the annual soiree for The Hamptons' elite, and she decides to invite David Clarke as her date -- because apparently she doesn't mind that horrifying crop of fur that he calls a beard. Considering that David and Victoria were hooking up a few weeks ago, you can only imagine Victoria's wrath when she realizes that Natalie has her eye on David. But shocker: Victoria is right on about everything -- and we mean everything. Not only is Natalie going after the Grayson gold, she was secretly in love with Conrad and only married Grandpa Grayson as sloppy seconds. Apparently she's in town to complete Conrad's mission and ruin David's life by claiming that he sexually assaulted her -- but don't stress: Victoria saves the day and gets Natalie's deranged musings on tape. Looks this socialite is being cast away like an old bandage dress. Emily Beats Margaux at Her Own Game, Gets Into Bar Fight While Doing So We don't know if it's the crazy baby living in her stomach or the fact that she was manipulated by Jack's small child last week, but Margaux is out for revenge. Her plan? Threatening to expose the location of Officer Ben Hunter's ex-wife, April, who happens to be hiding from an abusive ex. Drama! As you might expect, Ben is willing and ready to throw Em under the bus if it means protecting his former paramour, so he forks over Em's OG birth certificate to Margaux... Or does he? Turns out Ben is secretly working for Emily, but his double-cross causes Margaux to put April in harm's way. Emily and Ben head over to a backwoods bar to protect this girl from her ex-boyfriend after Margaux tells him her secret location, and you better believe Em ends up getting her revenge on. First, April reveals that she had go into hiding thanks to Ben ratting out her boyfriend to the police (sigh, typical Officer Hunter), and then said boyfriend and his hilarious hair show up and get into a bar fight with Emily. Spoiler alert: she wins. You've been revenged, buddy! Jack Feels Sorry For Himself, Gets A DUI Jack is a broken man, and it's all thanks to the fact that Emily totally rejected him. This poor guy is a shadow of his former self -- but hey, at least he has Baby Carl David, who's basically being raised by nannies because Jack is too busy sobbing internally / working at a bar. In other words, he needs help. But don't worry, FKA PoPo Porter nabs a gig at Nolan's club after having a meltdown about how he's not a charity case, and he also gets Nolan to open up a day care just feet from the bar! This is great news (minus Carl being raised at a bar...), but just when Jack's life is looking up everything goes wrong. You see, Margaux schemes with the police to get her ex-boyfriend pulled over and arrested for a faux DUI -- and as if that isn't bad enough the cops take Baby Carl David! Though considering the fact that he's already being raised by strangers, this might not be the worst thing ever. In other news, Nolan and Louise are enjoying married life, but there's trouble in paradise when Louise wants her evil brother, Lyman Ellis, to move in with them. After Louise vehemently defends her big bro, we learn that he's secretly downloading files from Nolan's computer for Margaux. But don't worry Louise gets revenge by pushing him off a cliff, so yeah -- he may or may not be dead. Bye forever, Lyman. And now, some burning questions.... 1. Is Lyman really dead? We didn't see a body.... so hmmm. Pics or it didn't happen! 2. Will Baby Carl David really be taken from his dad? This injustice will not stand! 3. Victoria saved David from yet another scandal. Does this mean they might get back together? 4. Nolan seems torn about his relationship with Louise. Do you think he has real feelings for her? This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| 'The Walking Dead' Season 4, Episode 14 Recap: Almost Paradise Posted:  A major power struggle is a-brewin' in Alexandria, and for once, it may be Rick and (some of) his people who are on the wrong side of the equation. This week's episode of "The Walking Dead," entitled "Spend," made it clear that the community was not without its flaws: Jessie is almost certainly being abused by her husband, Pete; Deanna's son, Aiden (the a-hole who nearly got his search party killed a couple weeks ago), and his pal, Nick, prove that they're every bit the jerks we thought they were by confessing that they abandoned four people to be eaten simply because they got spooked; construction foreman Tobin nearly lets one of his workers get devoured by an oncoming horde (before Abraham mercifully and badassedly steps in) simply because that's just protocol. But for all Alexandria's faults, it seems that the settlement isn't exactly Woodbury or Terminus, either -- at least, it doesn't appear to be. Father Gabriel believes the place is paradise, but I wouldn't go that far just yet. As his conversation with Deanna at episode's end proves, there's still quite a bit we don't know about either side's motivations -- and Deanna doesn't look like the type to take a fledgling coup lying down. It's unclear how far she'll go to assert her power over Rick and the rest of his people, but I'm betting she's got a sharp set of claws waiting to break out from under her calm and cool facade. Much like last week's installment, there were a lot of little character moments packed into this episode, the meaning of which I suspect will become clearer as we get closer to the season finale. While the main action revolved around the search party (made up of Eugene, Tara, Glenn, Noah, Nick, and Aiden) and their treacherous attempt to attain supplies to fix Alexandria's power grid, I think that the scenes that played out between Deanna and Gabriel and Carol and Rick and are what will power the plot moving forward. Rick seems to have picked one of the worst love triangles in which to insert himself, since Pete appears to be both very dangerous and very perceptive of the constable's crush on his wife. His taunt that in the grand scheme of things, Jessie's ruined owl sculpture isn't that important, especially since Rick lost his wife, really rubbed me the wrong way -- a means for Pete to hint that he knows exactly why Rick was helping Jessie, doesn't care at all about his wife's silly hobbies, and thinks Rick's job (and Rick himself) is a joke. Score one in the passive-agressive war for the not-so-good doctor. (Speaking of Pete's medical background, he reminds Rick of the need for a checkup, and also inquires about when Rick will bring Carl and Judith for an appointment, too. Perhaps to measure their BMI and cross-reference it with Alexandria's copy of "Cannibal Cooking for Dummies"?) Carol inserts herself into Rick's storyline through her connection to Sam, the little tyke (and Jessie and Pete's youngest son) who she blackmailed with cookies -- and the very real threat of abandonment/zombie devouring -- last week. Apparently learning nothing from Carol's pants-wettingly terrifying threats, Sam sneaks into Carol's house in search of the confections, and is caught red-handed. He tries to explain why he's there -- he wants cookies, he's bored because his power is out and he can't work on his owl statue with his mom -- and Carol just completely shuts him down in the most bitchy, awesome way possible. "None of these are my problems, Sam. I don't care. Get out." The kid can't take a hint and begs her to make more cookies. She's as sharp with him as possible, and still he won't leave, pestering her until she agrees to whip up another batch -- but he needs to steal some more chocolate (and get an extra bar for her to eat, too). "And if you get caught or say anything, you're not going to like what happens," she warns him, showing shades of her speech from last week. Somehow, Sam doesn't see this as a sign that he should stop negotiating with the woman who wanted to toss him out as zombie food, and returns later with the promised candy bars. Carol continues to snap at and scold him (he's not leaving with more than half the cookies since he "barely did half of all the work," he tries to chat until she abruptly interrupts him, "Sam, we're not talking"), but eventually the kid engages her. He admits he ruined the owl statue, because he breaks stuff when he's sad, and asks Carol why she took the guns before asking if he could have one. "It's not for me," Sam says, and it clicks with Carol that maybe it's more than broken owls and a lack of power that have driven the child from his house. After a futile attempt to speak to Jessie (Pete answers the door and shoos her away), Carol rushes to Rick's place to explain her discovery, and make a startling declaration: Rick is going to have to kill Pete. "I know how this is gonna go," she explains. "There's only one way it can go." But while Rick killing Shane back in season two made sense, since Shane was actively attempting to off the sheriff's deputy, Pete's demise may be a trickier pill for others to swallow. That's certainly the kind of abhorrent behavior that Gabriel was alluding to in his conversation with Deanna, in which he implores Alexandria's leader to come to her senses and realize that Rick and co. are pure evil -- and they can't be trusted for any reason. Sure, Rick and Carol are up to some subterfuge, but how would Gabriel know that? He's proven himself to be unstable in the past (shutting out his parishioners; rushing off without notice and straight into a pack of zombies), so viewers know that his judgment is suspect. But Deanna doesn't. Will the onetime congresswoman be swayed by the opinions of a man of the cloth? I have to assume so. Deanna's mounting distrust of Rick's group will surely only be heightened when she discovers that her son has died while off on a run with several members of the constable's gang. And fellow jerkface Nick, whose foolish actions caused Noah to be eaten right in front of a horrified Glenn, and who also tried to hijack the van and abandon Glenn and Eugene, will no doubt continue his crazed cowardice and insist that he did nothing wrong, and that it was the others who were at fault for Aiden's death. (Which could have been prevented, by the way, if Aiden had just listened to Glenn and STOPPED SHOOTING THE ZOMBIE WEARING ARMOR. How thick can you get? Between that and his eagerness to string up walkers that had done him wrong, I say a hearty good riddance to that guy.) The ramifications of all these events are set to come to a head in a major way, and I'm both terrified and excited. This season is going to end with some serious bloodshed -- but at least it won't be boring. Other thoughts: - Poor, poor Noah. He lives long enough to make it back to his home, then sees it completely destroyed and loses a close friend in Tyreese; he finally grows a backbone, some shooting skills, and some hope for the future, and is promptly thrown under the bus (and into a horde of flesh-tearing zombies) by a near-stranger. I'd say his death will have a deep impact on the rest of the group, but who am I kidding? Both Beth and Ty bit the dust and barely anyone cared after a week. Noah, the newest member of the group, will probably get a nice burial plot out back and completely forgotten within the first five minutes of next week's episode. (If that.) - Speaking of Noah's demise, how about the gall of Nick, huh? I'm still furious that Glenn and Eugene let him live. It seems that they're taking him back to settle things with Rick and Deanna at Alexandria. But there's no way Deanna will agree that they should kill him, right? And what if Tara dies? That was Aiden's fault, but I'm betting that the others place the blame for that on Nick's shoulders, too, since his equally-terrible friend isn't alive anymore to take the fall. - While Tara's life is indeed hanging in the balance, I must admit that really don't care whether she lives or dies. Try as the writers might, I just cannot invest myself in her storyline. (Naturally, this means that she will outlive everyone else on the show.) - Abraham feels confined (and showing signs of PTSD?) in Alexandria, until he acts a hero and saves poor Francine from certain death at the hands of a group of zombies encroaching on a construction site from which the community is salvaging scrap metal. Tobin asks his men to fall back as Francine tumbles, meekly explaining that they just can't handle the horde; Abe, never meeting a challenge (or a pansy) for which he wasn't a match, starts swinging at the oncoming walkers with an axe, taking them down by hand, one by one. He impresses the crew and promptly takes over the site, instructing everyone to get back to work. Tobin eventually caves, and later goes to Deanna to resign his post, telling her that Abe should be the man in charge. - Of course, this troubles Deanna, who confides in Maggie (who's sitting in on these meetings, for some reason) that she's worried about how it will look to the rest of the Alexandrians that yet another member of Rick's crew has been assigned to a position of power, despite their newness to the community. "It's becoming a pattern," Deanna muses. "We know what we're doing," Maggie insists. " ... You wanted a future. You need us for that." - That was before Gabriel busted in with his warnings about Rick's group representing Satan in disguise, though. Deanna may be wary of the preacher's crazed rantings, but the knowing look she shared with Reg after assigning Abraham Tobin's post spoke volumes about her skepticism. It's been stoked in a major way, and now Father Stokes is making things worse. "The day will come when they'll put their own lives before yours, and everyone else's. And they will destroy everything you have here," he warns her. "I have a lot to think about," Deanna replies. The game is on. Photo credit: Gene Page/AMC This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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