MOVIE REVIEW: ZOMBIELAND
Zombieland
Director: Ruben Fleischer
Screenplay: Rhett Reese
Paul Wernick
TRT: 82 Minutes (R) For zombie horror violence/gore and language
Cast
Woody Harrelson as Tallahassee
Jesse Eisenberg as Columbus
Emma Stone as Wichita
Abigail Breslin as Little Rock
Amber Heard as 406
Bill Murray as Himself
By Marcus Thorpe:
Zombies they are a movie-making staple: Around as long as I’ve been alive. They can be done great, they can be done terrible. In the new film Zombieland, you get what you would expect, flesh eating, blood, gore, and jump out of your seat surprises. You also get what you might not expect: Incredible humor, a smart script, fantastic characters, and solid acting. Add it all up and you have one heck of a good time!
The storyline focuses on a world that has truly gone to the Zombie’s. You wonder how many humans are actually left, as it turns out there are about 5. One of those is Columbus; he’s a nervous, awkward young man who is actually in Texas, but on his way to the Buckeye State. He lives by several rules that have kept him alive so far. His rules for surviving in Zombieland, first cardio, you can’t be out of shape if you want to outrun the undead. Two, you must double tap the zombie. No single shots, finish the job with a 2nd. And of course, never use a public restroom, something some of us have learned in the world where Zombie’s don’t exist! But Columbus can’t be alone on this journey, he finds an interesting co-pilot in Tallahassee, not Florida, but Woody Harrelson’s character. Tallahassee plays Oscar to Columbus’ Felix as this odd couple makes their way around a Zombie infested land. Their approach to Zombie’s though is about as different as their personalities. Columbus runs from the creatures, Tallahassee runs right to them. He has a hatred for the brainless flesh eaters, as he says “I’m in the Zombie butt-kickin’ business and business is good.
Along the way the 2 meet their female foils. Abigail Breslin trades in her cutesy curls for a shotgun as Little Rock. Emma Stone fires away with both barrels as the older sister. The 4 have tremendous chemistry. The snappy, witty lines come about as fast and furious as one of the Zombies chasing its prey! This movie flat out works because it’s smart from beginning to end.
The direction here is suburb. Fleischer uses great flashbacks to explain how we even got to a world where Zombie’s rule. In one scene we get to see how the nerdy, virgin Columbus almost gets the girl. It doesn’t go as he expected and he says “The first time I get a girl alone in my room, and she tries to eat me!“ CLASSIC! He uses Harrleson in the perfect way. Always looking to one up the previous Zombie kill asking “Zombie kill of the week?“ It is some of Harrelson’s finest work in years.
One of the best scenes comes from the search for a place to crash, the fantastic 4 end up in the home of an A-list actor. They quickly realize they are in the mansion of Bill Murray. As they eventually come across the funny man, it’s time to decide, is he human or zombie. One thing is for sure, the twists and turns, tip of the cap to Murray’s work and nostalgia of Ghostbusters will make you laugh out for 20 minutes straight!
The end of the film takes some predictable turns to a funhouse where the ladies believe is the only place that is Zombie-free, but the first 3/4’s of the movie is so good you almost don’t mind where it goes. Accompanied by a rockin’ soundtrack that made me want to run out and buy it, this movie seemed almost as fun to make as it was to watch. By the end of the snappy 82 minutes I felt like I had been treated to one of the riskiest, creative, killer movies I’ve seen all year. And one that I’m actually “dying” to go see again!
MT
Peacock Feathers (4 out of 5)
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What did you think of the review? Have you seen Zombieland for yourself? Leave your comments below!!
Posted by
on 10/09 at 04:14 AM
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Comments
I would turn myself into the crazy house the second I believed there were zombies walking the Earth.Bridges To Recovery
Posted by Bridges To Recovery on 02/27 at 10:33 AM-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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