Movie Review: Scorn

Scorn tells the story of three people that has a passion of the film industry as they are all planning their next film. The film stars Lindsley Register (as Zoey), who is known as Laura on AMC’s The Walking Dead, Alexandar McPherson as Liam, and Daniel Ellis as Merrick. What happens when these three come together to make their film, you will find out now in my review of Scorn.

Zoey is the girlfriend of Liam, and they are coming back from the premiere party of Liam’s recent film as Zoey and Liam talked about the premiere and the fact that Liam was talking to one of the co-stars of his film, Olivia. They have an argument over that and his alcohol use since he was drinking at the party, and now their house. Then, here comes Merrick as he entered the house. Merrick wanted to cast Liam and Zoey as leads for a future film that he is producing. The key thing here during this sequence, is that Merrick was also at the premiere and he seen Liam not only talking to Olivia, but he seen them both go upstairs and away from the view. Scorn starts to pick up here when you Merrick placed the cocaine on the table and Zoey was really testing Liam here to see if he will do it after she did it. After they did that, they begin to talk about their love lives and their past. Also to note, Liam’s former lover was killed before he meet Zoey, but more of that soon. They started going over the scenes of his film. They talk about this while Liam is riding a bicycle around the living room.

Liam then received a phone call as he was told that his pilot has been green lit and the production will begin in Georgia soon. This was exciting news. Merrick then wanted both Zoey and Merrick to rehearse their scenes. One of those scenes that were rehearsed, had a version where Zoey and Liam had to do their lines and the same scene again, but with Zoey without any clothes on afterwards. It is at this point where I thought that Merrick wanted to plot to break them up. The next time they rehearsed that scene, it got intense as they were talking to eachother in character in a way that mirrored their current situation in their relationship. Also, bonus points for that glass breaking because I like the sound of glass breaking. Liam wanted to be with Olivia, and Zoey confronted him about it after Merrick told Zoey about Liam cheating on Zoey with Olivia. Merrick then decided to kiss Zoey and she pushed away. At this moment, I wanted Merrick out of the room and so did Liam as he yelled for Merrick to get out the house since he figured out that Merrick wanted to be with Zoey. Both Liam and Zoey talked about the scene that they rehearsed as they both felt that they were actually talking to eachother in that rehearsal and not their characters.

Liam told Zoey that he does not want to be with her anymore as he wants to be with Olivia for various reasons. Zoey did not want to break up with him. Then, blood comes out his mouth suddenly. We find out here that the drink that Liam had was meant for Olivia as it was spiked. Liam fell to the floor and Zoey tried to save him. It is revealed here, that Zoey also killed Liam’s former lover. Liam dies, and Zoey says that they both belong together as she use a knife on herself to commit suicide as the film ends.

Scorn not only showcases the struggles of creating your own show or movie ideas, it also brings awareness of how dark hollywood can get that meets beyond the eye. For an independent film, I thought the theme and tone was brought to light very well as there are positives and negatives of the industry. Lindsley Register’s potential is also really shown here as she made a believer out of me during the whole film. I also like the rest of the cast as well on the film and it also makes me wonder, what else happens in this indursty that is not shown to light. I enjoyed Scorn and this is a film that should not be missed. If you have a little over an hour to spare, check Scorn out on Amazon Prime.

Check out my interview with Lindsley Register and director Jonathan Kirk on this interview I had with the both of them below.

Follow me on Instagram and Twitter @julianexcalibur for more content. Contact me at julian@alternativemindz.com

How Does the Yu-Gi-Oh Kozmo Cards Archetype Connect With Star Wars and The Wizard of Oz

Since the mid 2000’s, different archetypes of the Yu-Gi-Oh card game has dominated the competitive scene. Before the recent change of the master rule, the “Burning Abyss” archetype has been the main choice of playstyle of players. The different archetypes of cards has different card effects and playstyles. The one archetype that has caught my interest in recent years is the “Kozmo” archetype. These cards focus on the use of their Field Spell card to take advantage of banished monsters. Their monsters are a mix of Psychic and Machine type monsters. What really caught my interest, is the meaning of the cards are they are a hybrid of Star Wars and The Wizard of Oz. Today, I will analyzie the connections of the Kozmo cards with Wizard of Oz and Star Wars.

Kozmo Dark Planet has the highest attack points for one reason. It is the Death Star in the Star Wars universe and it clearly showcases that due to it’s size and similar shape. From the Wizard of Oz, it is the Wicked Witch’s Castle. Kozmo Dark Eclipser is based off of the Star Destroyer from Star Wars, and the Black Bee from Oz. Kozmo Delta Shuttle is inspired by the Imperial Shutter from Star Wars, and the Wild Crow from Oz.

Kozmo Dark Destroyer is Darth Maul’s ship, the Sith Infiltrator. The shape of that ship is very similar to the actual size of the ship. From the Wizard of Oz universe, the Dark Destroyer is considered the Flying Broomstick. Over to the Kozmo DOG Fighter, It is based off the TIE fighters from Star Wars, and the Wolf from Oz. And finally from these three, the Kozmo Farmgirl takes inspiration from Dorothy as you can see from the way she is dressed. On the Star Wars side, it is debated on various fourms whether if she is either Luke Skywalker, Anakin Skywalker, or Mara Jade.

The next three cards are interesting itself. Kozmo Forerunner in the Wizard of Oz universe is the silver slippers. For those that do not know, the slippers were silver in the book. But on the film, it was red. More about this in a moment. On the Star Wars side, Forerunner is the Millennium Falcon. Kozmo Godwitch has a light sword and she is Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars universe. Godwitch is also Glinda the Good Witch on the Oz side. The trap card Kozmojo shows the force which is a feature in the Star Wars universe that has been a staple since the first film. Over at Oz, this trap card is considered magic in that universe.

Kozmo Landwalker is based on the All Terran Transport which was first seen on The Empire Strikes Back. On the Oz side, it is inspired by the Giant Spider on the book. The spell card Kozmo Lightsword is based on the lightsaber on Star Wars, and the magic wand on Oz. Kozmo Dark Lady is the Wicked Witch of the West on Oz, and Darth Vader on Star Wars. Also, her hand is the one on the Kozmojo trap card.

Kozmojo Wicked Witch is Darth Maul on the Star Wars universe as you can tell that her lightsword is nearly almost the same as Darth Maul’s lightsaber. She is also the Wicked Witch of the East on Oz. Kozmojo Scardey Lion is very similar to the Lion on Oz, and Chewbacca on Star Wars. And the Kozmo Sliprider is the ruby slippers on Oz, and the X-Wing on Star Wars. Notice who is the pilot on that ship.

These last set of cards are the most interesting and is closest to both universes. The Kozmo Soartroopers are a blend of the Winged Monkeys and Stormtroopers on Star Wars and Oz. The Tincan and Strawman are C-3PO and R2D2 from Star Wars, and The Scarecrow and Tin Woodman from Oz. Kozmotown, the card that aquires the most support of all of the cards on this list, is Emerald City from Oz, and Coruscant from Star Wars. And finally, Kozmourning is both the scene of the death of The Wicked Witch of the West from Oz, and the death of Darth Vader from Star Wars.

What are your thoughts about this unique archetype of Yu-Gi-Oh cards? Follow me on Instagram and Twitter @julianexcalibur for more content. Contact me at julian@alternativemindz.com

How Should The Walking Dead Celebrate Their 10th Anniversary

Photo Credit: @ConnectedVG

There is no secret now that season 10 finale of AMC’s The Walking Dead has been delayed until the fall due to the ongoing pandemic that halted the post production process. What also came with this is the second airdate delay of The Walking Dead: World Beyond as it was set to debut right after the season 10 finale and also at WonderCon 2020 which would have been the world premiere as well. The sixth season of Fear The Walking Dead stopped filming too as it was also affected. With these delays and pushbacks, it is a sad time for the entire The Walking Dead franchise. However, one idea that was brought to my attention was to have a special event for the franchise this fall.

Twitter user ConnectedVG came up with the idea for The Walking Dead universe to celebrate their ten year anniversary as a special event on the day that the first episode aired. This could be possible, but October 31st is on a Saturday this year so it could most likely air the weekend of New York Comic Con as it did it previous years. By that time, some restrictions should be eased which would give time for the studios to finish the post production.

This idea might also work due to Fear launching sometime in August, according to star Danay García. So if Fear premieres in mid to late August, then the mid-season finale will air before the season 10 finale of The Walking Dead. Then after that episode, World Beyond can make it’s long awaited debut. This also must mean that all three of these episodes should not be on AMC Premiere a few days prior to the airdate. Another idea that was brought to me is if they could also air all three of the episodes in one night in the movie theaters just like it did during the season 8 finale of The Walking Dead and the season 4 premiere of Fear The Walking Dead at the time.

Nicotero explained the post-production process to Entertainment Weekly: “You have to edit the episode, then you do sound effects, and then you do music, and then visual effects, and then colour timing to make sure all the colours in all the scenes match, and then you have to do a quality check to make sure nothing is messed up.” The post production studio of The Walking Dead is in Los Angeles and with the current lockdown, it is not possible to finish the post production since it takes an entire team to do this. Rotating the team would not be a good idea as everyone has to be there to finish the post production at the same time.

During my recent interview with star Melissa McBride, she had this to say about what can we excpect from the finale: “It’s going to be a really good finale and we are going to give everyone something really good to look forward to because, I know the finale is amazing. There was a lot of work done on that when we shot it last fall. But it will be something that people will remember and look forward to in the next season as well so I am grateful for the work that we have done.”

What do you think of this idea that can be possible? Follow me on Instagram and Twitter @julianexcalibur for more content. Contact me at julian@alternativemindz.com

Puzzles for the Pandemic & Actress and comedian lliza Shlesinger Partner To Help First Responders & WHO

Actress and comedian Iliza Shlesinger has partnered with Ad Magic‘s PuzzleForThePandemic.com to launch her own puzzle, with part of the proceeds going to help first responders & WHO during this pandemic.

Iliza Shlesinger currently has 5 Netflix specials available to stream. She starred opposite Mark Wahlberg in Spenser Confidential and she recently launched The Iliza Shlesinger Sketch Show, both of which can also be found on Netflix. To help those coping with sheltering in place, she and her husband, chef Noah Galuten, have created Don’t Panic Pantry, a daily cooking show broadcasting live from her home every day at 5pm PST.   

About Ad Magic:

Ever heard of Cards Against Humanity, Exploding Kittens, Bears vs Babies? Of course you have! The company that prints those ubiquitous card games is Ad Magic. During a time when many business are shuttering their doors, laying off staff and the future is uncertain, Ad Magic is thinking way outside of the gamebox and has pivoted to another incredibly popular past time during the quarantine: puzzles. But no ordinary puzzle — puzzles that can help in the COVID-19 fight.

Puzzles For The Pandemic:

Ad Magic has an innovative new puzzle line using playing cards instead of puzzle pieces. These Playing Card Puzzles can be made from any photo and come in both 54 card and 108 card sizes. The front is a picture puzzle while the back is a traditional deck of cards, offering double the fun. They can also create a customized 100-piece jigsaw puzzle. Anyone can send in a photo and have it made into a puzzle and deck of cards! You can see how it’s done with this Youtube video.

In addition, to help raise money for those fighting COVID-19 – frontline responders and the WHO – Ad Magic has partnered with UTA for PuzzlesforthePandemic.comCelebrities and influencers have their photo made into puzzles that their fans can buy for $20 – $25. A minimum of $5 and maximum of $10 per puzzle is donated to the charity of their choice.

Iliza’s Puzzle:“Spend hours gazing upon Tian Fu and me just as I spend hours staring at her!”

  • Iliza’s puzzle is entitled, “Unrequited Gaze,” a picture of her and her fur baby! 
  • This puzzle is available in: 54 card puzzle, 54 card puzzle with playing card pips, 108-card jumbo puzzle, and 100-piece jigsaw puzzle
  • $5-$10 from each sale of her puzzles will be donated to frontline responders and WHO