The end of a good film is always the start of an interesting conversation.

Where it goes after that is up to us.

Any era or genre, it's all accepted here. Let the Detour begin...

Friday, January 22, 2010

day 22 - Zombieland

OK film fans it's Friday Night, the most glorious night of the week. The work week has ended and the weekend is in its infancy. Since there are endless opportunities available in the night, we'll make this short and sweet.

Zombieland is one of the most recent additions to the genre of the undead and is quite clearly on the zombies are funny side of the fence. With a combination of comedic timing and good acting the main characters are not only funny but, unlike the cast of the horrible remakes of the 80's horror classics (The Fog, Friday the 13th, Prom Night, the list just goes on), we actually come to care about their survival. Our narrator for the film, Columbus (Jessie Eisenberg, if you don't know who he is, see Adventureland) is a survivor heading from college in Austin, Texas to his home in Columbus, hence the name, who meets Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson in Kingpin mode). Columbus has a series of rules created to keep him alive while Tallahassee knows how to "enjoy the little thing", i.e., he loves the creative process of taking out zombies. No sooner do they team up than they run across sisters Witchita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin), a pair who were already surviving as grifters before the apocalypse and thus are cagey beyond their years.

This is flat out a zombie crushing good time with just enough scares to keep you honest. And thanks to its short running time that clips along effortlessly (88 minutes with an Easter Egg at the end of the credits) it doesn't wear out its welcome. There's a hilarious cameo in the film, which if you haven't already heard about I won't divulge here. However, here's a hint, I've listed within this post a film in which the actor has another hilarious role. I have to say, I was surprised to find out how much I enjoyed this film. It's kind of a cross between the fun parts of Shaun of the Dead and the new Dawn of the Dead. Even more surprising is that Zombieland has become the highest grossing zombie movie of all time, not to mention the biggest opening for a film starring Woody Harrelson.

You are now released back into the wild, just make sure you employ Columbus' Rule #31: Check the Backseat.

1 comment:

  1. I want to see this movie! My husband saw it with his 18-year old nephew and they LOVED IT! For some unknown reason I skipped seeing it with them and now after reading your post (I was also I huge fan of Shaun of the Dead and Simon Pegg) I'm a pit miffed with myself for not seeing it on the big screen-come 'on netflix!

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