Z Nation, 2014-2018, one of the most interesting Series about the Zombie Outbreak in USA

Z Nation is an American horror television about the Zombie Apocalypse created by Karl Schaefer and Craig Engler, and was produced by The Asylum. The first season of 13 episodes premiered on September 12, 2014. Z Nation was filmed in the Spokane, Washington, area.

Trailer

Plot

Z Nation begins three years into a zombie apocalypse caused by a virus that has already killed most humans. In the days just before society fell apart, Alvin Bernard Murphy was one of three inmates at Portsmouth Naval Prison in Kittery, Maine, who were participants in a government-approved experiment. Each inmate was given a different test vaccine, however Murphy was the only one to survive the vaccine injection. 

After the Prison falls to the zombies, the head of the experiment and her staff evacuate and leave Murphy behind. As such he is bitten multiple times and is the only known survivor of a zombie bite who did not turn into a zombie. His blood contains antibodies that are humankind's last and best hope for a vaccine. However, he seems to be mutating into some form of hybrid between zombie and human—his skin is shedding and his body turning blue, and he seems to be able to control and even mesmerize certain types of zombies that he encounters; yet he has not turned into a full zombie and still maintains control of himself.

The series revolves around his travels with a small group of survivors being led through the apocalypse by Lieutenant Roberta Warren and Simon "Citizen Z" Cruller, an NSA hacker with nearly unlimited radio and computer access. The group must transport Murphy from New York to the world's last known functioning Centers for Disease Control research lab in California. However, Murphy harbours a dark secret about his condition that threatens them all.

Cast

Anna Marie Clausen as Amelia

Anna Marie does not have updated her Instagram Profile since 2017, so if the Series finished in 2018, this means that after 2017-2018 she was in the Series until she turned. 

Anna Marie has a mother and grandma in Denmark, maybe she was passing a time with her father and brother in the USA when the apocalypse started. She does not mention that she was a actress, she says that she is a Personal Trainer and Blogger. 

Amelia worked with her father to shut down the critical reactor in the Edgemont Nuclear Power Plant. She and her father saved the Westward-Bound Survivor Group from a bunch of radioactive zombies when they stumbled into the power plant. Amelia joined them when they tried to shut down the damaged reactor, which resulted in her fathers death.

She lead the heroes to meet Homer Stubbins and helped convince him to attempt to shut down the reactor. With the threat of imminent meltdown, and while Homer and a majority of the heroes tried to save the reactor, Amelia, Murphy and Warren got her single-engine plane flight worthy. They used Homer's supply of vodka as aviation fuel and Warren converted the engine to burn alcohol.

After taking off in the plane, the vodka proved to be unsuitable for the engine, causing them to crash around 5 minutes into flying. Amelia was pierced by a metal bar and died instantly attempting to fly Murphy out of the blast radius of the critical reactor due to a plane crash. She turned into a zombie. Murphy rushed to her but realized she had turned.

Murphy doesn't understand why but finds that Amelia imitates him. His motions of putting his hand to his own head triggers her to do the same as if it's a mirror affect. Murphy does try to give her Mercy with a rock, but finds it feels wrong. As he starts his hike back to the others, she follows him.

When they reach the others, Murphy prevents the gang, particularly 10K who is ready to shoot, from giving her mercy. He explains to them that she is docile and no threat to them. The group comments on how it is unjust that he hasn't given her mercy, but Murphy responds by saying might be time for a new kind of Mercy.

Kellita Smith as Roberta Warren.

Kellita Smith is alive, but her Instagram Profile is private.

Lt. Roberta Warren is a survivor of the zombie apocalypse. An ex-National Guard member activated out of Missouri, she is a member of the Westward-bound survivor group, and a former member of the Blue Sky Camp survivor group in New York. Like many other survivors of the zombie apocalypse, Warren lost nearly everything and everyone that mattered to her. She becomes the leader of the survivor group after the death of Garnett. In Season 4, she wakes up in Zona after being treated from being hit with a ricocheting bullet that passed through Murphy. After the chaos caused by the failing vaccine made from Murphy's blood among the Zona Citizens, she, along with Murphy, escapes and reunites with the group. In season 5, she becomes a talker after dying from blood loss after the drone she was trapped in crash-landed in the season 4 finale. However, unlike any of the talkers, she does not crave brains, presumably due to Murphy's blood in her system.

DJ Qualls as Citizen Z

DJ. Qualls is also alive with some Social Media Active.  

PFC Simon Cruller aka Citizen Z, a former hacker, was working at the NSA's Northern Light listening post in the Arctic Circle. After a doomed rescue mission flight out of Northern Light, he becomes the facilities' sole surviving employee and uses his high-tech equipment to assist the group in its journey to California. He also runs a radio broadcast for other survivors, informing people to take cover when there is a threat of inescapable disaster-level weather or zombie hordes. He was slowly going insane from loneliness, until he rescued a sled dog named Pup which became his companion for the rest of the season. In the Season 1 finale, Murphy triggered a security protocol which unleashed nuclear missiles targeted at every military base and laboratory in the country, including Camp Northern Light.

At the end of season 2, Citizen Z decides to leave Northern Light when he realizes that the post's computer systems and equipment have sustained too much damage for him to repair alone. He leaves on foot with Pup, pulling a dog sled, in sub-zero temperatures. Near death, he is rescued by Kaya, an Inuit girl, and her surviving family members. They return to Camp Northern Light for the remaining resources, and repair the equipment making it operational again. He and Kaya form a relationship, which results in her becoming pregnant. He leaves in a plane and meets the survivor group in person to inform them that Lucy had been kidnapped by The Man, but later returns. He joins the team in Newmerica in Season 5.

Keith Allan as Alvin Murphy

Alvin Bernard Murphy is a resentful and frail former convict who becomes the only known survivor of zombie bites after being part of a scientific experiment. The Westward-bound survivor group is tasked with transporting him to a government laboratory in California, as his apparent immunity is believed to be the sole solution to the ZN1 virus. Over time, Murphy's appearance changes, and he becomes part-zombie. He can communicate with zombies, develops feelings for them and can make them do his bidding. He also develops a special gift: after biting a person or exposing them to his saliva or blood, he can direct them using telepathy. In Season 3, after finding out the survivors at Zona want to use him only for themselves, he escapes after biting Dr. Merch and several military personnel, as well as 10K and decides to make the human race into zombie-human hybrids (known as the "Blends") which is under his control. In season 4, he is cured at Zona but loses his special abilities. He later regains his abilities when he was bitten by Lucy to save his life after being bitten by a zombie. In the series finale, he finally learns the cure for the zombie virus after eating Sun Mei's brain, but leaves it ambiguous if he'll use it for good or not.

Keith Allanduh is apparently alive with his Instagram profile updated.

Russell Hodgkinson as Steven "Doc" Beck

Apparently Doc is still alive in real life, he has active Instagram Profile. 

Doc was a wellness counsellor and recovering drug addict pre-apocalypse. Prior to becoming a counsellor, he served in the United States Navy and was stationed in the U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay. Although not an actual medical doctor, he becomes the group's de facto medic due to his medical knowledge, which he acquired from watching ER. With his limited knowledge, he is able to treat the injured members of the group and other survivors that they meet along the way. He is a former member of the Blue Sky Camp in New York, along with Warren, Addy, and Mack. He is often the group's life of the party with his seemingly never-ending humour and optimal attitude and has been known to partake in recreational drugs, mainly marijuana. He forms an attachment with 10k as a father figure, recounting his guilt over not being a supportive father over an unrecognized son that he had when he was 19. He is also the first among the Westward-bound survivor group to befriend Murphy. He aids Serena when she gives birth to Lucy in season 2. In Season 3, Doc revealed that he has a PhD in Clinical Psychology, and was able to help the surviving patients confined in a psychiatric hospital.

Anastasia Baranova as Addy Carver

Addison Grace "Addy" Carver is a former member of the Blue Sky camp in New York and is Mack's girlfriend prior to his death. She is the survivor group's communication specialist and uses her talents with radio equipment to contact Citizen Z. Broken by unresolved trauma, she is slowly being worn down by the apocalypse. At one point, she chooses to leave the group and join the Sisters of Mercy camp, but after the camp is destroyed, she reunites with Mack, who refused to leave her behind, and returns to the Westward-bound survivor group. Her weapon of choice against zombies is a customized metal bat with spikes known as the "Z-Whacker"; in season 3, her bat is upgraded by Sun Mei and her team to emit an electric charge similar to a taser. Between seasons 3 and 4, she loses her right eye after fighting The Man in the season 3 finale. It was later revealed that she became a Blend when Lucy bit her in order to save her life after falling from a cliff in the Zona base, thus sharing a telepathic bond with Lucy. She disappears early in season 4 but returns in season 5 to assist the team.

Addy Vanished, in one of the episodes she separated from the group, but she found her way home, she is alive and with Instagram Profile updated. 

Michael Waech as Mack Thompson (seasons 1–2)

Mack turned into Zombie, Addy was there and shot him, but his Instagram is like updated, however, I cannot confirm if it's really him or some AI behind. Maybe is really him. What do you think?

Mack was a charming all-American jock who had an eye for the ladies. A good shot and with a temper, Mack protected Addy no matter what. In Season 1, Mack and Addy displayed a serious relationship alongside the group. Mack commonly showed up chill and has a sharp eye for killing the zombies. Moments after Garnett’s death, His relationship with Addy started to get confusing as Addy later betrayed Mack to join the Sisters of Mercy.

In Season 2, Mack came off with a much more serious vibe, barely saying anything during the two episodes he was featured. He became silent though still followed orders. Before his death, he asks Addy to leave him as he did not want her to see him turn, possibly still caring about her despite breaking up.

Ramona Young as Kaya (season 3–5)

Kaya has Instagram profile updated. She is alive and kicking. 

Kaya is first encountered in the second episode of season 3, "A New Mission". Kaya is an Inuit girl living with her Uncle Koska and her Nana; they are the sole survivors of their village. She finds Citizen Z and Pup out in a blizzard, rescues them, and takes them to her home. She reveals to Citizen Z that she is a huge fan of his, telling him he needs to get healthy and start broadcasting again. They eventually form a relationship after they return to Camp Northern Light, and she becomes pregnant with their son, JZ. She becomes a part of the team in season 5.

Tara Holt as Lucy Murphy (season 4, guest seasons 2–3)

The daughter of Murphy and Serena. In season 2, she is a baby, but ages rapidly when she gets excited due to the virus she acquired from her father. In season 3, she ages from someone who looks 5 years old, to a preteen, to a teenager (and is thus portrayed by multiple actresses). In season 3, she looks like a young adult, and is portrayed by Tara Holt. She is kidnapped by The Man, who tries to bring her to Zona in her father's place, but this is impeded by Addy, with whom she forms a close bond, even referring to her as "Aunt Addy". She sacrifices her life to save her father from succumbing to the virus after being bitten.

Addy was Lucy best friend. 

Lucy and her mother, that turned after her birth. 

                                                        

Lucy and her father Murphy

Lucy and her adoptive parents that turned. 

Sydney Viengluang as Sun Mei (season 3–5)

Sydney also is alive and kicking with Instagram profile updated.

Sun Mei is first encountered in the second episode of season 3, "A New Mission". She is a Laotian virologist from Beijing, China, where 200,000 survived the zombie apocalypse by sealing themselves behind the walls of the Forbidden City. She is sent with a team and equipment from China to collect DNA samples from the American survivor group and Murphy in the hope of synthesizing a cure. She is the sole survivor of her team's mission and for now, has joined the survivor group. She eventually discovers the cure to the ZN1 virus which would revert the talkers, as well as the newly-turned zombies.

Worth all your attention, the Series is super interesting and entertainment. 

See you! 💕

Blame the Game (Game Night), 2024

Spieleabend is a 2024 German feature film directed by Marco Petry based on a screenplay by Claudius Pläging and starring Dennis Mojen and Janina Uhse. The comedy film was released on Netflix on July 12, 2024.

TRAILER

PLOT

Pia and Jan get to know each other in the park while walking their dogs. Pia is a photographer, Jan has a bicycle shop. The two become lovers. At a regular game night, Jan gets to know Pia's circle of friends. Pia's best friend is Karo, a designer by training, who runs a furniture mail order business and is married to the vocational school teacher Oliver. Sheila is a pharmacist, she has known Pia as well as Karo since kindergarten; she stalks her ex-girlfriend, while Sheila claims it's just a long relationship break. Long-term student Kurt is the brother of Karo.

The game night takes place in the villa of Karo and Oliver. Karo wants Pia to join her company as a designer, not least because she doesn't think Pia and Jan's business is lucrative. At the game night, Jan wants to make a good impression. As a gift, he brings Karo an airbag for cycling, but it immediately comes off and destroys Karo's hairstyle. To talk to his friend Alex on the phone, Jan looks for a quiet room, where he opens the window. Oliver's cockatoo, whom he calls Helmut Kohl, escapes. Jan asks Alex to recapture the escaped bird. In the process, Alex destroys Oliver's climbing frame in the garden. Oliver and Karo have an au pair in Gabriela, who takes care of her daughter Emma and prepares the food.

In the course of the evening, Pia's ex-boyfriend, the dentist Matthias, also appears. He tries to show Jan off repeatedly, and in passing he tells him about his marriage proposal to Pia. Jan didn't know anything about Matthias and his proposal, it had no meaning for Pia and she hadn't accepted it.

Jan has brought the game Who Would for the evening, in which questions are drawn from a pile and everyone has to write down the name of a person from the group. Oliver freaks out because he finds himself portrayed as a loser by the others. As a result, he disguises himself as the all-powerful elf king Ogandur. Karo thinks that he embarrasses her and himself in front of his friends. An argument ensues between the two, in which it turns out that the two do not have sex with each other and Karo has to take medication to function. Karo accuses Oliver of having an affair with Gabriela.

After Jan called Matthias a loudmouth, Matthias challenges Jan to a duel in table tennis. At Karo's suggestion, this takes place naked. The loser has to drink a bottle of chili sauce. Matthias states that he cannot tolerate spiciness. He is confident of victory, but loses the duel. After drinking the chili sauce, Jan hands Matthias a bottle of milk, but it is breast milk.

Finally, it comes to an argument between Jan and Pia. She feels like a trophy in the duel between Jan and Matthias. Jan, on the other hand, accuses her of not fitting into her world of the rich and intelligent. He also finds out that Matthias and Pia kissed, but according to Pia, before Jan and Pia were really together. Jan leaves the villa with Alex, but Alex has lost his key, so the two have to return. In the process, the two end up in a net trap set up for wild boars in the garden of neighbor Fieper.

Pia accuses Oliver of inviting Matthias and of only drawing those cards in Trivial Pursuit that Matthias was prepared for. Oliver wanted to help Matthias get together with Pia again. Matthias himself is drunk in his car in the direction of the Berlin Zoo, Oliver, Karo, Pia and Sheila follow him later.

Fieper frees Jan and Alex from the trap and gives them the cockatoo, which he has stunned with a shot. Jan brings Helmut Kohl back to the house, but in the meantime only Kurt is present. Jan, Alex and Kurt also go to the zoo. In the enclosure of a tiger they find Matthias' cell phone, Jan climbs in because Matthias is also suspected to be there. However, he later reappears outside the enclosure. Pia and Jan reconcile, as do Karo and Oliver. Oliver reveals to Karo that he had secretly taken dance lessons from Gabriela for the wedding anniversary. The next game night takes place in Jan's apartment and without Matthias.

Rating: 10 Stars

The Guilt Trip, 2012

 The Guilt Trip is a 2012 American road comedy film directed by Anne Fletcher from a screenplay written by Dan Fogelman, starring Barbra Streisand and Seth Rogen, who both also served as executive producers on the film.

TRAILER

PLOT

Andy Brewster is a UCLA-graduate organic chemist and inventor. He wants to get his environmentally friendly cleaning product, ScieoClean, in a major retail store. However his sales pitches fall on deaf ears.

He visits his mother, Joyce Brewster, in New Jersey before leaving on a cross-country trip to Las Vegas, lying that a pitch to K-Mart went well so she will not worry.

While there, she reveals that he was named after Andrew Margolis, a boy she fell in love with in Florida, who she hoped would object to her marriage with Andy's father. However, he did not, making her feel she had never mattered to him. After a little research, he finds Andrew Margolis is alive, unmarried and living in San Francisco. He invites his unknowing mother on the trip, saying he wants to spend some time with her.

The road trip quickly becomes hard for Andy as his mother meddles in his life. After their car breaks down in Tennessee, Joyce calls Andy's ex-girlfriend Jessica, whom she insists he should get back together with, to pick them up. At a pregnant and married Jessica's house, she reveals that Andy proposed to her before college, and she turned him down, shocking Joyce.

Andy is glum afterward, and Joyce apologizes for calling Jessica, which he half-heartedly accepts. In Texas, he meets with Costco executive Ryan McFee. Joyce stays at the meeting, criticizing the product's labeling and name along with Ryan until Andy snaps at him. At a motel that night, a depressed Andy begins drinking, and Joyce attempts to make up with him. He gets angry, only to have her snap back and leave for a bar. Later, Andy attempts to retrieve Joyce and gets in a fight with a bar patron over her, receiving a black eye in the process.

At a steak restaurant the next day, the two exchange apologies, and Andy reveals that he is failing at selling ScieoClean. Joyce enters a steak-eating challenge and is noticed by cowboy-businessman Ben Graw, who gives her tips to help her finish the challenge.

Afterwards, Ben reveals he does business in New Jersey and asks her to dinner. Joyce, who has not been in a relationship since Andy's dad died years before, balks at the offer, so Ben merely leaves his number and asks her to call if she reconsiders.

Andy and Joyce begin to genuinely enjoy each other's company after, taking time to visit the Grand Canyon (which Joyce has always wanted to see) and having other adventures.

In Las Vegas, Joyce has such a good time that she suggests Andy leave her while he visits San Francisco, forcing him to reveal that he chose the city so she could meet Andrew Margolis. Joyce is very distraught, having believed Andy solely invited her to spend time with her.

Andy makes his pitch at the Home Shopping Network but finds that his science-based pitch bores the executives. Seeing Joyce, he takes her advice by talking about family safety, and drinking a large amount of it to prove his product will not harm children. The CEO shows genuine interest in selling ScieoClean on the Network. Jubilant, Andy and Joyce decide to visit Andrew Margolis's house.

When they arrive, they meet Andrew's son, Andrew Margolis Jr., whom Andy mistook for the father. He reveals that his father died five years ago. Seeing Joyce's grief, he invites them inside. She asks if Andrew's father ever mentioned her, but he says he never did as he only confided personal information to their mother, who is in Florida.

Andrew then introduces his sister, who is also named Joyce. Joyce is overjoyed, believing that you name your children after someone you cherished and want to remember. This makes her believe that she mattered to Andrew.

Afterwards, they part ways at the San Francisco Airport: Andy to make his next sales pitch and Joyce back to New Jersey, where she arranges a date with Ben Graw. The two leave content and much closer than they had been.

Rating: 10 Stars

The King, 2019

The King is a 2019 epic historical drama film directed by David Michôd, based on several plays from William Shakespeare's Henriad. The screenplay was written by Michôd and Joel Edgerton, who both produced the film with Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, and Liz Watts. The King includes an ensemble cast led by Timothée Chalamet as the Prince of Wales and later King Henry V of England, alongside Edgerton, Sean Harris, Lily-Rose Depp, Robert Pattinson, and Ben Mendelsohn.

TRAILER

PLOT

King Henry IV of England has several sons, including the eldest, Henry, Prince of Wales ("Hal"), and Thomas. Hal, uninterested in succeeding his father, spends his days drinking, whoring, and jesting with his companion Falstaff in Eastcheap.

King Henry IV grows tired of Hal's debauchery and announces that Thomas will inherit the throne.

King Henry IV sends Thomas to subdue Hotspur's rebellion. However, Hal arrives and upstages Thomas by challenging Hotspur to single combat. Hal kills Hotspur, ending the battle without further conflict.

Thomas, feeling cheated of his glory, complains to King Henry IV. Shortly thereafter, Thomas dies while campaigning against the rebels in Wales. King Henry IV dies in his bed with Hal present. Hal is anointed as King Henry V and opts for peace and conciliation with his father's many adversaries, despite his actions being seen as weakness.

At King Henry V's coronation feast, envoys from the Dauphin of France present Hal with a tennis ball as an insulting coronation gift. However, King Henry V chooses to frame this as a positive reflection of his boyhood. His sister Philippa, now the Queen of Denmark, cautions her brother that nobles in any royal court have their own interests in mind and will never fully reveal their true intentions.

King Henry V interrogates a captured assassin who claims to have been sent by King Charles VI of France to kill him (King Henry V). French agents approach the English nobles Cambridge and Grey. The traitors plot against Hal and unsuccessfully attempt to win over the Chief Justice, Gascoigne. Gascoigne advises Hal that a show of strength is necessary to unite England, so Hal declares war on France and has Cambridge and Grey beheaded. He approaches Falstaff and appoints him as his chief military strategist, saying that Falstaff is the only man he truly trusts.

The English army sets sail for France. After completing the Siege of Harfleur, they receive taunting messages from the Dauphin. The English advance parties stumble upon a vast French army gathering to face them. Dorset advises Hal to retreat, but Falstaff proposes a false advance to induce the French into rushing forward into the muddy battlefield, where they will be weighed down by their heavy armor and horses. They will then be attacked by the English longbowmen and surrounded by a large, lightly armored flanking force hidden in the nearby woods.

Unable to dissuade Falstaff from leading the advance personally, Hal proposes to the Dauphin that they meet in single combat to decide the battle and minimize bloodshed. The Dauphin, seeing this as weakness, refuses. The Battle of Agincourt commences. Falstaff's plan works – the bulk of the French army charges to engage Falstaff's force and is soon mired in the mud. Hal leads the flanking attack, and the outnumbered but far more mobile English army overpowers the immobilized French, though Falstaff is killed. The Dauphin, seeing his men being driven back, reinvokes Hal's challenge but repeatedly slips and falls in the mud until Hal permits his soldiers to kill him. Hal orders all French prisoners executed for fear that they might regroup, despite Falstaff having previously warned him that such an action would be unchivalrous and unworthy of a king.

Hal reaches King Charles VI, who agrees to adopt him as his heir and offers him the hand of his daughter Catherine of Valois. Hal returns to England with his new wife for a celebratory triumph. In private, she challenges his reasons for invading France and denies the supposed French actions against Hal, suggesting the assassin was a plot from within his own court. Suspicious, Hal confronts Gascoigne, who confesses that he had staged the insult and acts of aggression, believing that his sole duty is to protect the king even if it means deceiving him. In a cold fury, Hal stabs the Chief Justice to death, and returns to Catherine, asking that she promise to always speak the truth to him, as clearly as possible.

Rating: 10 Stars