Rehabilitated Zombies (PDS- Partially Deceased Syndrome)

If you are a fan of the show  The Walking Dead then you need to check out this BBC America series called In The Flesh. Sadly I discovered this series, after it had already debuted, but better late than never. I started watching it from the start of the 2nd Series. SO I recently caught up on the event of the debut series by renting the first DVD.
If you have not heard of this series before it takes place in Wales(UK), and it's a world where the dead rose on a particular day. But not all of the dead came back to life...only certain random people. They did come back as flesh eating monsters, but people learned that they could be rehabbed by using a chemical injected into their spinal columns. These PDS "sufferers" as they are often called are ostracized by the community and are treated rather poorly. Those who have not received treatment are called "Rabids"

So these people are entering a world that is scared, hates them, and they are not sure where they fit in. Are they still human or Undead? This also gives rise to cult like religions on both sides dealing with the "Rising". All of these elements along with very likable cast of characters has made for quite the interesting and not the average zombie TV show.

Past episodes can either be rented or purchased on disc format, and viewed by streaming on Amazon. No one is paying me to review this show, and I receive a very small commission for my links.

Some Sites to Earn Extra Cash

I know times are tough and everyone is feeling strapped for cash these days, so that is why I decided to share with you all some of the things I have found that are helpful in getting a few extra bucks. No you cannot get rich from these websites, but they will provide you with some extra income.

Clickworker - This is a German based site that pays workers to write, translate and research for information online, also to verify different items. They do require workers to take assessments to see how proficient you are with English or other languages that you may know. If you choose to take the assessments you will then have the opportunity to complete more jobs. They pay a few cents for each job, but they are quick and easy assignments and the cash adds up fast. This site pays once a week, and can be completed through Paypal if you choose. Once you become a member of this site you can then recruit others, and be paid $5.00 for every worker that joins and earns the amount of at least $10. I have been doing this for quite awhile. I will admit I was skeptical at first , but it is a better site than others I have tried in the past.

Bing - Almost everyone searches for things online, and yes almost everyone uses Google. But Bing is a new up and comer, and they are offering users the chance to earn rewards for searching. While it is not as accurate as Google it is still worth using the search engine to gain rewards for searching random things. This is another service that offers a referral program, and if someone joins and achieves silver status you are awarded 500 pts.

SurveySpot - Taking surveys is another simple and easy way to get easy cash. Plus you also get the opportunity to tell brands what you really think about products and services. Sometimes you may even get to try new products before everyone else.

Opinion Outpost - Similar to the above survey site, but they offer more payable surveys.

Cash Crate - Is a site that offers many opportunities to earn cash from surveys, to signups and more. Please click the website name to learn more.

These are just a few opportunities that I have chosen to share with you all. I hope that they may be of further interest to you and wish you luck in your pursuits.

Adult World Film Review

Once I had heard that this film was being filmed in my area, and would take place in the city of Syracuse. NY I was intrigued and could not wait to see it.  If you have not heard of this movie it stars John Cuzack, and Emma Roberts. Ms. Roberts plays a young suburbanite who has recently graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in Poetry, and aspirations to be a famous Poet. She fails to get anything published and her parents are sick of paying for her expenses. She seeks employment, but cannot seem to get hired anywhere , but at an adult bookstore named "Adult World". Funny thing is there really is an Adult World in Syracuse, but it is nothing like the one in the film. One day she happens to come across one of her favorite poets, and resident of Syracuse, Rat Billings(played by Cuzack).

I found this film to be interesting at first, because it showed great aerial views of the cityscape,  the SU campus, and downtown area. But this was not enough to make this supposed comedy worth watching. I found Roberts interpretation of a CNY suburbanite to be extremely annoying. She was loud, obnoxious, and overall very annoying of a character. The plot of the film seemed stupid as it's about how this girl doesn't have a clue that she will not be the next famous writer, and how her mentor is basically using her for a cleaning lady while mocking her the whole time. For some reason a college graduate is so vacuous that she misses this.

I did find it cool that they featured the Gear Factory, which is one of Syracuse's galleries. It also featured the artwork of local CNY artists.

I found the movie to be too unbelievable and even the snow scenes in the film did not do the region justice, and it must have been filmed early or very late in the winter season. Overall this movie was just okay. I would never watch it again, and as  resident of CNY can somewhat brag that a film was created here. No one has paid me to review this film , and I rented a copy with my own money.

 

Who is the Villain? Film Review of Red White & Blue

I came across this film in a listing of 10 horror films that should be seen to be believed or something like that. As I watched this I had seen the ending of this film a very long time ago on IFC, which is who produced this movie.  I rented a copy of it from Netflix, and no one is paying me to review this, which I will give my honest opinion on this film.

The movie does not start out at all like a horror film, and I kept asking myself...."why is this considered horror?" You see it starts out with a skanky girl named Erica, and we see how she goes from bar to bar just picking up random guys and sleeping with them. We later learn that she lives in a room for rent establishment and pays for her board by cleaning. The film jumps all over the place, and shows different players in the film. This really confused me, as the story telling is not right in your face and direct. The viewer kind of has to play detective and figure it out as the film progresses.

One of the other characters that is introduced is a man named Nate, who lives on the same floor as Erica. He seems to be a strange loner, who shyly observes Erica, and later helps her get a job where he works. One day he tells her this bizarre story about how he used to torture animals as a child. Creepy. They slowly develop a relationship, but not in the way one would expect.

At one point in the film Erica reveals just why she sleeps around, and "never fucks the same guy twice".  She tells someone how when she was 4yrs old her mothers boyfriend raped her. So is she the victim or the villain?

I don't want to spoil this film for those who have yet to see it, but it has been called a revenge film, and if you put together all of the stuff I have mentioned already you may get an idea of just what happens to make this be considered a horror film. I liked this film, and rated it 4 out of 5 stars. I think it was a bit confusing at times, but kind of made sense in the end. There is no real marking the separation of time events, but only through paying attention to the dialogue. We also see near the end just why the film is named what it is, and this was another one of those moments where you had to pay attention to catch it.

Film Review : Her

I just rented and finished watching this film starring Joaquin Phoenix, which was written/directed by Spike Jonze. My first impression of this film was that it really reminded me of The Lonely Guy a film from the 1980's that starred Steve Martin. If you have not heard the plot of this movie it is basically about a lonely man who months ago ended a relationship, and eventually falls in love with his computer's OS.

Yes, I know it sounds really strange and bizarre. I have always found these types of things interesting though.  The Operating System is a new kind that is always learning, and seeking to become a better match to it's owner.  This would be great if we had OS's that could be intuitive, and no what we like and could think somewhat.

To get on with some things about this film I noticed that the women of this future are just extra complicated even more so than present day people. I say this because Theo goes on a date with this woman, and she seems to be really connecting with him, and as the viewer you are kind of hoping that something develops, but then this would be the end to a strange film. His date gets really weird, and then says to him, which floored me and I thought was really strange....she says "You're really creepy" kind of guy. This was said after she was talking about them being different types of animals, and an almost hot/intense make out scene. Also this future is one in which people do not write their own correspondence, as it's written by people like Theodore who works for a Letter Writing company. The main character to me seems like a very normal sort of man, and everyone else seems so out of touch and strange. But this movie is about so much more than just the main character being alone, but with undertones that make me think of today's society how people look down at their cell phones, and do not really interact. You see this through out the film, as he commutes to his work the viewer sees that every one else is busy talking to their computers.

As these OS's become more self aware they then surpass their humans in thought, and intelligence. I won't say anymore about this and would not want to spoil this film for those who have not seen it. I rated this 4 stars out of 5 on Netflix.

As a final thought I feel the need to mention that no one has offered me money nor am I being paid to write this review. I have used some amazon links for which I get a very small commission if someone chooses to purchase something.

The Normal Heart Film Review: Early HIV/AIDS History

This film debuted on HBO on May 25th of 2014, and I guess it was based on a book of the same name., which was also a Broadway play.

I watched half of this on the premiere night, and DVRed the rest to watch the following day. This movie had an all star cast, such as Mark Ruffalo, Julia Roberts, and Jim Parsons. It is somewhat based on the authors life, and people he knew. The main theme of this film is the development of AIDS epidemic in the early '80's, and the fight by certain individuals to get the public to notice. It was also to get the healthcare community to react, and look for a cure. This was a very touching movie, and now it is hard to imagine, just how frightening this must have been at the time. I do remember growing up and how wide spread the fear of getting this virus affected everyone, and how at first they thought only gay men could get it. I think the actors did a great job of convincing the viewer of just how traumatic this time period was. Even if this film didn't have an all star cast I still think this would have been a good film, but I think having these actors will help to get more people to watch this film.

Just like the virus does not discriminate based on sexual orientation I do not think that you have to be gay to enjoy and get something from this movie. This movie is very sad at times, and there is a lot of deaths, but that was the main point in getting the public to respond to this epidemic. There is strong sexual content, so if certain things bother you perhaps you can fast forward through those parts. I have rated this film 4 out of 5 stars, and recommend everyone to watch it.

The Revenant Movie Review

I just recently saw this film, and I recalled seeing the trailer a long time ago, and thinking that it looked like an interesting film.

Here is one of the trailers for this film.

The story of this movie is that a guy named Bart is in the service, and he gets killed while serving in the middle east. He awakens to find himself in bad shape, as his mouth is sewn shut, and he is filthy. He tries to rationalize that perhaps he was buried alive, and has no idea how long it has been. He tracks down his best friend, and approaches him to get some help figuring out just what is different about him.  His friend is kinda freaked to see him suddenly alive, and almost thinks it's someone playing a cruel joke on him. He let's him in and together they realize that Bart is decomposing, but seemingly alive at the same time. Through various experiments, and research online they come to the conclusion that he is a Revenant, which is an undead being that lives on the blood of the living. Bart has to drink blood to stop decomposing, and when it is daytime he returns to a dead like state. He seems like a vampire, but looks like a zombie. Together these friends decide that they best way to provide blood for his friends survival is to become vigilantes, and at the same time help save people from criminals. While they are pursuing this scheme Bart has unknowingly started something that is not revealed to almost the end of the film. I will not spoil this, and tell you just what happens, but it is a nice unexpected twist that further makes this a great movie.  I really enjoyed this movie, and think that if you have an interest in dark comedies or zombie/undead films that this is the movie for you. I rated this 4 out of 5 stars on Netflix.