Amazing Video

You all know by now what a fan I am of AMC's "The Walking Dead." Today, while searching around this great big, wonderful interweb we have I stumbled upon one of the greatest montage videos for that show that I have ever been privileged to view. It contains scenes from the first three seasons and it actually gave me chills.

It's by DJC Prod. Check it out:

Aim high. Run fast.

Brett

B'hold Designs Store
B'hold Designs Website
SHOW YOUR LOVE AND SPORT THE 'B'

So How Was It?

My brother-in-law always says:  "Opinions are like ***holes - everyone has them, and they all stink."

I totally agree, and had that going thru my mind with every review of "World War Z" I read. I don't know if you noticed, but those review are all over the map! Some hate it... some love it... some are 'meh'... and now, here's MY opinion.

I loved it. I really did.

True, it wasn't along the lines of the book in terms of story-telling, but it was similar to the book in terms of global scale. The PG-13 rating had me braced for a boring story with no thrill or suspense, but I was pleasantly surprised!

I won't bore you with a lot of details, or give away any spoilers, but the opening was fast, frightening and very intense, and carried on that way throughout the film! The sheer magnitude of the outbreak was really well illustrated with breath-taking aerial shots of wave and wave of people and zombies thrust together in total chaos.

Now, I know a lot of people don't like the running zombies... personally, I do. I've always felt the runners really up'ed the fear factor, and I loved these zombies and how they moved. If you think about it, a zombie that feels no pain and lacks the ability to focus on anything but it's food source will do anything to get to it's victim, and have no fears or inhibitions about doing so. The undead in "World War Z" trampled on, and climbed over each other... if they needed to shove their heads thru windshields they did...if they needed to jump from a skyscraper or fall down a flight of stairs, they did... it was amazing to see.

In my OWN opinion... I feel that if you can (for the sake of a movie) accept a zombie apocalypse as real, then this scenario, and the way the zombies moved and attacked was as realistic as it gets.

AND... this movie did better than expected at the box office! Apparently it's making enough money that a sequel is in the works. In fact, "World War Z" was intended to be a trilogy for Pitt, but they were unsure how it would do in the box office. Now that they're proceeding with more, Pitt was quoted as saying "we've got so many good story lines stemming from the book or inspired by the book and then just generated from our own powwows...we've got enough material, that's for sure."

So.. that's MY ***hole opinion on the film. What's yours?

Aim high. Run fast.

Brett

B'hold Designs Store
B'hold Designs Website
SHOW YOUR LOVE AND SPORT THE 'B'

World War Z Starts Tomorrow!

I'm sure by now you're well aware that the film adaptation of Max Brooks' great literary work, "World War Z" opens in theaters tomorrow, and stars Brad Pitt. You're probably also aware of the problems this work has encountered during filming, and it's MEGA budget of somewhere between 200 and 250 million dollars!

The question is, will it make it's money back? Here are some hurdles that might make it difficult.

1. Those familiar with the book can tell by the film trailers that it has taken a different path. While it remains to be seen just how different, typically when film makers that put their own spin on a popular book, it makes people cranky.

2. It's rating is PG-13. That may sound nice and maybe even refreshing to some people, but to horror fans (particularly zombie horror fans), that sugary of a rating means less gore. And, in my humble opinion, blood and gore is a necessity in this genre. Especially if we're talking about a global apocalypse that causes people to rip each other apart.

3. The zombies themselves are quite different from the ones beloved by the die-hard Romero fans. Personally, I like running zombies. I think it really ups the fear factor (see first 20 minutes of the "Dawn of the Dead" remake), and my eyes grew WIDE when I saw them swarming to get at their prey.

4. Brad Pitt himself. Now, I know Brad's a good actor, but he is not the kind of person I was hoping would pick up this story to film it. However, he's a huge name and that alone might draw people to this movie that might not have been interested otherwise.

5. The reviews I've seen are all over the place. Some love it, some hate it, some say "meh...", and as of this writing it has a 70% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

And with all that said, I'm definitely going to check it out.  If you do as well, holler back with your opinions! I'm curious what everyone will think.

Until then, here's a short bit from ClevverNews featuring Brad talking  (very briefly) about the hows and whys of the film. Check it out:

Aim high. Run fast.

Brett

B'hold Designs Store
B'hold Designs Website
SHOW YOUR LOVE AND SPORT THE 'B'

Bringing Zombies Into the Classroom

Want to hear something weird? I have a Bachelor's Degree in Music. That's not my current profession, but it's in my past.

Once while in a music theory class, the professor was pounding out chords on the piano, while we were supposed to not only recognize them, but also shout out where they fell within the key he was playing in. Sound hard? It was.... for me at least. I seemed to be the only one not getting it and it was frustrating me to say the least.

Noticing what was going on with me, he got up from the piano, went to his desk and loaded up a tape (yes, a tape) of some early Elvis Presley tunes (which I loved). Recognizing and charting the chords within the classic, hip-wiggling rock and roll music was much easier for me. My mood and attitude was switched, and I was actually able to participate and succeed in the assignment.

The professor noticed how the information wasn't reaching me and did what awesome teachers do... he found another way.

And that's exactly what Seattle, Washington middle school teacher David Hunter did for his geography classes.

Mr. Hunter created his own curriculum (using National Geography Standards) that teaches the subject in the context of a ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE. Using textbooks, teaching plans and role playing, pulls his students into a dynamic scenario that teaches and entertains.

His Zombie-Based Learning got started on Kickstarter in June of last year, and got TWICE the funding he hoped for. His second Kickstarter campaign aims to raise funding for a series of his own graphic novels that will supplement the curriculum.

Check out this awesome video:



How amazing it would be to have a subject like geography taught in such an entertaining way. Hats off to you, Mr. Hunter, for finding a way to make students use their braaaaiinnssssss....

Aim high. Run fast.

Brett

B'hold Designs Store
B'hold Designs Website
SHOW YOUR LOVE AND SPORT THE 'B'

Get Your Vehicle Apocalypse Ready!

Need a bug out vehicle, but don't have the money for one of THESE, or even THIS? Then perhaps you should fix up your own vehicle. But what the heck do you use, and how do you go about it?

Enter the guys from Mighty Car Mods. They show how you can use crap from around your house to not only turn your car into something Mad Max would envy, but also arm it with weapons and supplies.

Enjoy.



Aim high. Run fast.

Brett

B'hold Designs Store
B'hold Designs Website
SHOW YOUR LOVE AND SPORT THE 'B'

Advertising of the Dead

Let's say you own your own business, and you're looking for fun ways to promote it in a way that's memorable and comical. What do you do? You gather up your drinkin' buddies, hire some pretty actresses, stock up on fake blood and you make a zombie commercial!

Check out this silly and fun commercial for Rocket Steel Buildings. Filming this must have been a blast.

Aim high. Run fast.

Brett

B'hold Designs Store
B'hold Designs Website

National Geographic Talks Zombies

Are you getting tired of being razzed for stocking up on TP and bottled water? Need an excuse for your neighbor that keeps asking why you have so many machetes?

By now, we're so saturated with the undead in our pop culture, that most people have become complacent. The idea of a full on zombie apocalypse is "impossible" and almost laughable.... almost.

Check out this video from National Geographic. It looks at the history of zombies, covers viral pandemics and disaster preparation, and even goes into how possible a full on zombie apocalypse just might be while interviewing many experts (including author and zombie expert Max Brooks)!

Aim high. Run fast.

Brett

B'hold Designs Store

B'hold Designs Website

MORE Zombie Parkour

You might remember back a few days when I posted an interesting video of a parkour enthusiast being chased by parkour zombies. I think we all know that if the undead could really run like that, we'd all be zombie chow in a matter of minutes.

Would something like that make an interesting movie? Most people I know don't like regular running zombies, ala "28 Days Later" (Personally, I don't mind them), so I can only imagine how they'd react to those with super-dexterity.

And with that, I give you "Zombie Parkour Movie" by LaFlairParkour. Running zombies confused and frustrated by spider-like humans... enjoy:



Aim high. Run fast.

Brett

B'hold Designs Store
B'hold Designs Website

One-Armed Bandit Zombies?

Vegas is about to get some zombies of their very own as Australian-based gaming manufacturer Aristocrat has just signed a cool agreement with AMC to create a slot machine based on their hit program, "The Walking Dead."

From Vegas Inc:

"Using high-definition video and sound, the slot will launch players into the post-apocalyptic world made famous in the show. Aristocrat plans to incorporate video clips and images from the show in the game.

Gamblers will have the same goal as the slot's zombie-killing characters: to escape. The only difference is that players will have a chance to walk away with money in their pockets."

I don't know if they make these things with pull arms anymore, but if they do, wouldn't it be cool if they made it look like a crossbow bolt?

Aim high. Run fast.

Brett

B'hold Designs Store
B'hold Designs Website

Prague Zombie Walk

It's always nice to meet a fellow zombie fan, and zombie walks are a great way to do that. In fact, if you attend one, it's very possible you'll meet someone with even more enthusiasm for the undead than you thought possible!

I've been able to attend a couple of zombie walks and they're a blast. I love watching people decked out with fake blood and peeling skin shuffling and moaning their way down the street as confused onlookers scratch their heads, point and stare.

If you've never attended a zombie walk, look around... chances are there's one going on near you as they are all over the freaking world these days.

Case in point, Prague... the capital of the Czech Republic.

Check it out:

Aim high. Run fast.

Brett

B'hold Designs Store

B'hold Designs Website