“The Walking Dead,” Season 1, Episode 6: “TS-19″

“The Walking Dead” had some ups and downs for such a short season. But Sunday’s season finale more than made up for any of the times I was bored by the show.

It opened with a flashback between Shane and Rick. It recounted how Rick was both abandoned in the hospital and why Shane thought his friend and partner was dead. Shane isn’t a bad guy (which I hope we all realize). It’s just that what’s going on around him has turned him into a live wire. The flashback proves Shane did all he could to rescue Rick from the hospital. He at least kept the dead out of his room by barricading it with a hospital bed.

Cut back to modern day. The group of survivors are inside the Center for Disease Control and appear to be the safest they’ve been since the outbreak. Dr. Jenner says they can come in as long as they submit to a blood test. They agree. He also warns them that once the doors close they won’t reopen. They don’t question this.

The group isn’t happy to find that Dr. Jenner is the only person left at the CDC. But they are happy there’s food, hot water and general safety. But something still isn’t right. He’s not telling them much. Everyone gets drunk to forget their worries. A drunken Shane nearly rapes Lori. But she scratches him and he leaves.

The following morning at breakfast, they demand some answers from Jenner. He takes them to where all the CDC magic happens, queues up the computer and gives them a lesson. He shows them what happens to a person who is infected through death and resurrection. He also lets them in on the fact that he’s failed, has no idea what the disease is and there likely isn’t any cure anywhere. Or maybe no one else but them for that matter.

Then someone notices a countdown clock and Jenner tells them that’s when the generator power runs out. He won’t tell them what that means exactly. Rick asks the computer. “She” informs them that once the power runs out the CDC will undergo complete decontamination. Which they soon learn means the entire building will be blown up by explosives almost as powerful as a nuclear weapon.

Jenner kind of flips out a bit and locks them all in there with him. Playing God, he informs them they’re stuck and they’re better off to stay in there with him and meet a quick and painless death. The alternative doesn’t sound much better, but they’re not ready to give up. Well, most of them. Jenner does finally let them free but Andrea and Jacqui decide to stay and meet their deaths. Dale convinces Anderea to go just in time.

Everyone who wants to be outside is just as the clock is running out. Then the CDC explodes. I won’t complain about how fake and disappointing the graphics were here because I liked the episode.  So the survivors get into their vehicles and take off. Who knows where they end up and what next season holds.

I thought the finale was a great mixture of suspense and drama with a great payoff. I knew they weren’t all going to die, but I never quite expected it to end the way it did. It got pretty intense in the last 15 minutes. I kind of hoped Andrea had stayed in the building. I know that sounds terrible but I don’t like her. If I see her pull a gun on someone she shouldn’t one more time, I’m going to explode.

It was also pretty frustrating in the sense that Jenner kind of betrayed them. They thought they were safe there. They not only thought there would probably be a cure there, but the facility is kind of a dream for survivors. There’s no way the dead could get into that building. And there’s food. And water and comfort. Then they find out it was all very temporary.

Were you as impressed by the season finale as I was? What did you think of the season as a whole? What do you think Jenner whispered to Rick before he left the building? Maybe one of the survivors is actually infected?

“Dexter,” Season 5, Episode 11: “Hop a Freighter”

You can always tell when a season of “Dexter” is winding down because things get intense and crazy and my fingernails get shorter.

Sunday’s “Dexter” was definitely a nail-biter and from the preview of next week’s season finale, I might chew the tips of my fingers off. I wonder if Deb will finally catch Dexter in the act?!? Ack! Ok, I’m getting ahead of myself. This week’s recap first.

Dexter (Michael C. Hall) and Lumen (Julia Stiles) are down to one final victim and that’s Jordan Chase. The problem is he’s the hardest one to get. He’s surrounded by guards and knows they’re after him. As Dexter and Lumen are talking about what to do, they discover the apartment has been bugged. Dexter immediately thinks Jordan is behind it. But when he finds the camera, he realizes it’s someone from Miami Metro.

When he sneaks and sees who has checked out the surveillance equipment from the station, he’s not that surprised to find it’s in Quinn’s (Desmond Harrington) name. But of course we know it’s really RoboCop (Peter Weller). Dexter and Lumen break into Quinn’s apartment and find the photos RoboCop took of Lumen and Dexter discarding Cole’s body.

Later, Dexter also figures out which van is housing the equipment outside his apartment. Equipped with his kill suit and syringe, Dexter is ready to take Quinn out. But before he can, RoboCop tasers Dexter and stuffs him in the van. He drives Dexter to a remote location, calls Quinn and demands he come to where they are to make a bust. Lucky for Dexter, he doesn’t tell Quinn Dexter is in the van. Dexter overpowers RoboCop and kills him. Quinn shows up moments later. He thinks no one is there and leaves. But he unknowingly got some of RoboCop’s blood on his shoe.

While Dexter was being kidnapped, Lumen (being very stupid) allowed the weird mousy survivor Emily (Angela Bettis) to lure her to her house where Jordan is. Jordan isn’t happy she came alone, but adjusts to the change of plans. He kills Emily (saw that coming a mile away) and plans to do the same to Lumen it seems.

Elsewhere, Deb (Jennifer Carpenter) is closing in on Jordan and needs a court order to keep him in the country. He made plans to leave the country on a speaking tour (thus going on the run). He seems to want to take care of Dexter and Lumen first, however. LaGuerta (Lauren Velez) makes up with Deb by getting her the court order. Deb rushes to Jordan’s plane only to find out he hasn’t made it yet. That’s because his plans for Dexter and Lumen didn’t quite work out.

Dexter shows up to an empty house. He finds Emily’s dead body and a trail of blood. He also finds Lumen’s knife (which he just bought for her). So Jordan has her and that will be resolved in some way next week.

Speaking of next week, I have to go back to my Deb theory. All season she’s been dropping hints and supporting vigilantism. Well, sort of. I think next week she finally finds out what Dexter has done. But she’ll think it’s only this time and it’s only for Lumen. And I think she’ll cover for him. Afterall, she is Harry’s daughter. And she loves Dexter. That’s just my little theory. Do you have any? What are your thoughts in general?

Check out the “Dexter” season finale preview here!

I really wish I understood why so many current movie posters suck. Designing movie posters is like my dream job (right behind starring in movies and watching movies). So it upsets me to see how crappy the one above for “The Adjustment Bureau” is. I mean with a name like that, I guess you can’t expect too much. But the hilarious writer at I Watch Stuff said it best when he called it an AMC promo.

Maybe these posters suck because these movies that suck. Because the one below … I don’t even know what to say. I don’t think I would’ve noticed if it was Kristen Bell or someone as “The Resident.” But two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank? Wow.

Fox Searchlight released a clip from the upcoming “Black Swan” and it features Natalie Portman as ballerina Nina. It’s an interesting clip because Darren Aronofsky shot the dance sequences on stage with a hand held. Maybe it makes Portman appear less stiff and more graceful. No, it doesn’t. OK, now I’m just being snarky. Maybe that’s who that part is supposed to be danced. I know nothing about ballet.

James Franco and Anne Hathaway will serve as co-hosts of the 83rd Academy Awards, Oscar telecast producers Bruce Cohen and Don Mischer announced today.

That’s quite an interesting move. I can’t recall anyone as young as either of them ever hosting the Oscars. At least not in my time. And Franco? He’s a potential nominee for “127 Hours.” Or at least he’s getting early buzz. How will that work? A host being nominated for an Oscar and possibly winning? Interesting. It should all be very interesting.

Sounds like producers are trying bring some youth to the telecast. “James Franco and Anne Hathaway personify the next generation of Hollywood icons— fresh, exciting and multi-talented. We hope to create an Oscar broadcast that will both showcase their incredible talents and entertain the world on February 27,” said Cohen and Mischer. “We are completely thrilled that James and Anne will be joining forces with our brilliant creative team to do just that.”

Let’s just hope all the nominees aren’t oldsters. That’ll foil their plans to bring youth to the show.

The Oscars will air Feb. 27 on ABC. The nominations will be announced Jan. 25.

“Dexter” Season 5, Episode 10: “In The Beginning”

For the first time this season, “Dexter” grabbed me, pulled me in and made me care about my favorite TV show again.

It’s been a long and slow season for me. I love the characters and am devoted to the show but I’ve felt so disconnected this season. I feel like the usual “Dexter” magic is missing. But Sunday’s episode brought the magic back. I’m connected once again. It’s not cool that it took 10 (out of 12) to get me there, but at least it did. And I knew it would.

Last week ended with Jordan Chase calling Dexter’s (Michael C. Hall) house and realizing he was talking to Lumen (Julia Stiles). So this week, Dexter takes all precautions. He sends Harrison away and he takes Lumen to his (or is it Deb’s?) apartment as they plan to get rid of Lumen’s final two attackers.

The blood sample Dexter took from Jordan’s necklace turned out to be from a woman still alive. Dexter and Lumen visit her but she shuts them out.

Back at the station, LaGuerta (Lauren Velez) and the team are going over the newly-reopened barrel girls case and their prime suspect is Jordan’s head of security Cole. But of course Dexter and Lumen disposed of him last week. Since they don’t know that, Deb (Jennifer Carpenter) and Quinn (Desmond Harrington) go after Cole. Jordan informs them he’s been missing for a bit. Deb rips Jordan a new one. And they’re off.

At Cole’s house Quinn finds a collection of DVDs that feature the recorded tortures and murders of the 13 victims. That means Lumen’s DVD is in the mix too. And Deb has seen Lumen. Dexter panics. He quickly figures out a way to get the No. 13 DVD so no one will ever link Lumen or him to the case.

Lumen goes back to the woman from Jordan’s necklace. This time she lets her in. She tells Lumen everything. Jordan, who used to be a fat kid called Eugene, and his buddies (Cole, Boyd, Dentist Dan and mystery man) raped and tortured her at a summer camp when they were teenagers. She also tells Lumen who the fifth man in the photo is. His name is Alex Tilden.

Before Dexter and Lumen get to Alex, Deb and Quinn do. It turns out Alex (Scott Grimes) had shown up in Cole’s phone call log and Deb and Quinn were there checking him out.

Lumen and Dexter first have to check out Alex’s house and figure out where the kill room should be. They find a place and plan for the kill the following day.

Jordan shows up at his first victim’s house and we learn that she is still in with Jordan for some reason and she told Lumen everything because he asked her to. So there’s something very strange going on there. He even tells her she made him who he is today. What? I really can’t wait now to find out that’s all about.

Dexter and Lumen are getting ready for the big night. Lumen comes out in her tight-fitting black kill suit and you can almost hear Dexter’s boner popping up. He gives her a gift: her very own black murderer gloves. How sweet!

Oh, and RoboCop (Peter Weller) is totally on to Dexter and Lumen. He is recording them and sees Dexter teaching Lumen how to stab someone. Even though that’s unnecessary drama, I’m interested to see what becomes of his investigation and, in turn, Quinn. Will Dexter have to kill them? Or will there be a much easier way out?

So it turns out Jordan is setting up Lumen and Dexter. He knows they’ll be going after Alex next, so he scopes out Alex’s house until the two arrive. He then calls Deb and tells her some garbage that will lead her to Alex’s house right in the middle of Dexter and Lumen’s kill.

So Alex is plastic wrapped and wakes up to Dexter cutting his face. Then Lumen comes in to do her first official kill. It turns out to be one of the craziest scenes in a long time. Deb and Quinn are closing in on Alex’s house. Dexter’s boner returns over Lumen doing her thing with Alex. And she really does it. I wasn’t sure she would, but she did. She stabbed Alex in the heart.

Then Deb and Quinn bust in! Psych! They’re at Alex’s house, but the kill room was set up in an empty house on Alex’s street. Brilliant. That’s the show I’ve loved for five years now. But Deb is starting to piece things together. After everything else that’s been going on and after finding a small footprint outside Alex’s home, she has a hunch that the 13th victim might be on a vigilante killing spree.

Following the kill, Dexter and Lumen have sex (told you he had a boner). We all know Dexter gets his rocks off from killing and it looks like Lumen does as well. Maybe Dexter has finally found his soul mate. His final line of the night could be very telling. “With Lumen I’m someone different, ” he says. “In her eyes, I’m not a monster at all.” But we’ll see how that really plays out in the last two episodes of the season.

So what did you think? What’s going on with Jordan and his first “victim?” Thoughts? There were SO many things going on in this episode. What did I miss? Let’s talk about it all.

“The Walking Dead,” Season 1, Episode 5: “Wildfire”

After last week’s attack on the camp, the survivors are starting to clean up and regroup. Rick, using his CB radio, has warned Morgan (from episode 1) to avoid Atlanta. And Andrea is watching guard over her dead sister Amy.

The survivors are trying to destroy the campers killed in the attack because it’s inevitable that they’ll become zombies. Andrea, however, is holding out with her sister. She even pulls a gun on Rick (for the second time, mind you). For some reason, that action really made me mad. So mad that I thought they should just kill her too. I can’t believe I actually agreed with resident redneck Darryl. But I did. Andrea has done nothing but piss me off since the beginning. I’m wondering since her character has no redeeming qualities if she’ll end up dead before the end of next week’s season finale.

Amy finally wakes up as a zombie. It turns out Andrea was just waiting on that moment so she could apologize for being a crappy sister. Andrea realizes Amy is hungry and shoots her in the head. What a terrible task that had to be. This show really goes places we’ve never been.

Just as things have quieted down, we find out Jim, the prophet from last week, has a secret. He was bitten by a walker. He’s getting sick fast. Darryl, of course, suggests pickaxing him in the head then and there. But Rick decides it’s time to leave camp and head for the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta. There could be hope for Jim and the rest of them there.

So the campers pack up and hit the road. Rick sends Morgan the message that they’re leaving the camp. But we still don’t know if Morgan is even hearing it. On the road Jim’s condition worsens and he asks to be left behind. The others grant him is wish, prop him up against a tree and take off.

Elsewhere we see a new face. A man is talking to a monitor. “It’s day 194 since Wildfire was declared,” he says. “There is no clinical progress to report.” That’s Dr. Jenner, the lone survivor at the CDC. He’s still working on a cure for the outbreak (Wildfire), which (I think) we learn is called TS-19.

Dr. Jenner then makes a mistake, contaminates his work which self destructs, thus destroying any chances of finding a cure. Then the survivors show up. He spots them on a monitor and debates on whether he should let them in. As walkers approach, Rick pleads and begs for someone to let them in. Dr. Jenner finally does.

Next week is the season finale. What do you think or hope will happen?

Leslie Nielsen, one of Hollywood’s funniest actors, died Sunday at the age of 84. His agent said Nielsen died from complications of pneumonia.

Nielsen, whose career spanned nearly 60 years, was known for hilarious roles such as Dr. Rumack in “Airplane!” and Lt. Frank Drebin in the “Naked Gun” movies. More recently he played President of the United States Harris in “Scary Movie 3” and “Scary Movie 4.”

Some of Nielsen’s funniest moments:

At long last we have the inevitible straight-to-DVD sequel to “Mean Girls.”

That’s right, biotches! The Plastics are back! And it looks completely terrible. I can’t even tell who are the plastics and who aren’t. And let’s face it, the only mean girl who can stack up to Regina George is Heather Chandler from “Heathers.” So why bother. The original “Mean Girls” has my respect. Tina Fey is a genius. And since she’s not involved with the sequel, I’ll pass.

I’m not sure what’s going on right now, but there are a ton of movies coming out (all direct-t0-DVD) with a ton of b-listers, or as I like to call them could’ve-beens. And they’re all from the shady-sounding New Films Cinema.

Like the one above, “Dead Awake.” Nick Stahl. He totally could’ve been. Rose McGowan. She kind of was. Amy Smart. Well. Um. Right. Anyway, I don’t know what this movie is about, but it looks like it might be ripping off “Twilight.” At any rate, the font is definitely ripping off “Twilight.”

There you are, Melissa Joan Hart. I was wondering where you were. I’ve missed you. And look! You’re in a movie with Bill Cosby. No? Danny Glover! No? Benson?

Look, it’s Nick Stahl again! But only this time, instead of Rose McGowan, it’s Shannen Doherty! I like this one. It promise to f#%! me up. For life even.

I know it’s hard to knock Tatum O’Neal since she’s an Oscar winner. But she won that when she was a kid. And now she’s doing Lifetime-esque movies with could’ve-been Penelope Ann Miller.