Friday Top Five - Zombie Movies!

Last week, I counted down my Top Five Superhero Movies in honor of the very bland and disappointing (read: BAD) Man of Steel. This week, in honor of World War Z (which I'm super psyched about and hope it doesn't disappoint me), I'm counting down my Top Five Zombie Movies.

5. Planet Terror (2007, Robert Rodriguez)
Planet Terror was the first half of 2007's badass awesome Grindhouse (the second half was Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof, also great, in a different way). Technically, it is a zombie movie but I forgive you for forgetting that. You may have been distracted by Marley Shelton's needle wheeling nurse. Or Freddie Rodriguez's bad ass, kick ass character. Or, more likely, Rose McGowan's stripper turned one legged victim turned hero with a machine gun leg. Planet Terror is over the top, for sure, but all Rodriguez movies are and that's what makes them so damn fun.

4. Dawn of the Dead (2004, Zack Snyder)
I'm no fan of Zack Snyder's. To me, he is too manic, too style over substance, too visual without regard for plot. His other movies (including Watchmen, 300, Sucker Punch and last week's hot mess Man of Steel) have all disappointed me or angered me in various ways. But his remake of Dawn of the Dead is the best thing he's ever done. He manages to capture the intensity of a zombie attack and still make us care about these character stuck inside a mall fighting for their lives. It's the first time his style worked perfectly with the movie he was trying to make and Dawn of the Dead manages to be even better than the original, which doesn't happen very often. Perhaps it's that whole sequence with the pregnant lady turned zombie giving birth to a zombie baby that has something to do with it.

3. Zombieland (2009, Ruben Fleischer)
Zombieland proved you can make a funny zombie movie successfully (although I hear Amazon's attempt at making a TV version of this movie failed miserably). Perhaps it was the absolute perfect cast: ultimate badass Woody Harrelson paired with two of the hottest up and comers at the time: Emma Stone and Jesse Eisenberg. Or maybe it was the pitch perfect script that managed to mix laughs and wit with seering action and great zombie kills. Or it also could have been that extended Bill Murray cameo which would probably top the list if I made a best cameo Top Five list.

2. 28 Days Later (2002, Danny Boyle)
The Walking Dead sort of ripped off the beginning of this film: Cillian Murphy's character awakes in a hospital, seemingly alone, unaware that the end of the world has taken place while he lay inside. It's a great premise and Boyle at his absolute finest nails the empathy and emptiness of this post-zombie attack scene. I haven't seen this movie in quite a few years and it's not as fresh in my memory as I would like, but just making this list makes me want to Netflix it and relive how I felt while watching it the first time- which was utterly devastated. Plus, you can't top that heartbreaking ending.

1. Night of the Living Dead (1968, George Romero)
You just can't top the classic. Without Romero's quintessential iconic zombie movie, we would never have had any of these other zombie movies. As far as movie making is concerned, Romero invented zombies. He certainly changed the landscapes of horror movies in particular, and movies in general, when he released his black and white opus, with (GASP!) a black man as THE hero! That, along with just about everything else Romero did in this film, was utterly unheard of in 1968. This man is an icon of horror film for a reason.

Moonrise Kingdom (DVD)

Here's the thing I love most about Wes Anderson, and you can probably only say the following about a very small number of directors: when you are watching a Wes Anderson movie, you absolutely know you are watching a Wes Anderson movie from frame one. If you didn't know he directed the movie, you would most certainly realize it as soon as the movie starts.

Moonrise Kingdom is most certainly a Wes Anderson movie. Every single detail proves this, from the clothes to the set decoration to the dialogue - everything. And while it's not my personal favorite of his movies (that award goes to The Royal Tennenbaums, of course), I think it may be his best work to date. It's sweet and it's sad and it's just damn good.

The movie takes place in 1965 on a small East Coast island where a teenage khaki scout named Sam (Jared Gilman) falls in love with a book / binocular loving girl named Suzy (Kara Hayward) and they decide to run away together. With an impending hurricane headed their way, a bunch of people begin searching the island for them, including Suzy's lawyer parents with a troubled marriage (Frances McDormand and Bill Murray), the island cop (Bruce Willis), a hilariously serious Scout Master (Edward Norton) and a character aptly named Social Services (Tilda Swinton). Jason Schwartzman also shows up in the final act to help our young love runaways. What's so great about Moonrise Kingdom in this day and age of movies with complicated plots and confusing story lines is how unabashedly straight forward it is. It's a simple story told simply and that is what makes it so beautiful. There's this great overall sense of adventure and this celebration of young love. The film is so beautiful but it also makes you sad at the end, remembering better days.

The movie may be Wes Anderson's best but it's far from perfect. The adult characters have a certain lack of personality and aren't really fully developed although I like to think that's intentional. As a child, you don't fully understand the problems and concerns going on in adult lives, so perhaps this is a reflection of that feeling. Another small problem I had was the third act. The film meanders at a slow, sweet and enjoyable pace and then at the end, Anderson tries to fit in as much action as possible (in fact, all of the action).

But these two small problems don't take away from the fact that Moonrise Kingdom is a great movie, definitely one of the best of the year and probably Anderson's overall best. Anderson is known for being weird and pretentious but he keeps this movie quirky while managing to curb his more out there notions that maybe turn off mainstream audiences. The performances, especially by the young Gilman and Hayward, and Norton, who all but steals the show, are fabulous. The dialogue is fresh and sweet. Moonrise Kingdom happens to be a perfect inclusion in Anderson's resume.

Grade: B+

Top Ten List: Best Actors of the Decade

10. Michael Shannon in Bug (2007) - Shannon's work as a possibly mentally ill ex-soldier is so intense that it just sticks so firmly in my mind. This performance could be outlandish but he makes it real. His performance is fearless and his chemistry with Ashley Judd is out of this world.

09. Emile Hirsch in Into the Wild (2007) - Hirsch is funny, charming and a little cocky in this film as he builds his supertramp character who doesn't think he needs human contact for happiness. Still, it's his moments with other characters that are truly divine. Plus, his final few moments on screen are guaranteed to break your heart.

08. Bill Murray in Lost in Translation (2003) - This is Murray at his best. This is a completely different side to him which is impressive in itself. He captures this role with such precision that you believe it was tailer made just for him. His chemistry with Scarlett Johansson is surprisingly realistic and complex. And he has a good singing voice!

07. Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler (2008) - Everyone says he made a hell of a comeback, but for people who are real Rourke fans, they know he never really went anywhere (see also: Spun). The film is about a wrestler struggling with the fact that his career is just about done. He has burned every bridge in his personal life, his looks are fading, he's damaged himself pysically and emotionally for years and years. Rourke probably didn't have to look far for inspiration and it shows with this knock-out performance.

06. Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain (2005) - The Dark Knight was a showier role, sure, but at the end of the day, I truly believe Ledger will be remembered for his role as a cowboy in love in Brokeback Mountain. His performance was so simple and so understated that it just seemed so much more realistic. His Joker may be a hell of a lot more fun but it's so much harder to do a quiet, understated performance like he did in Brokeback Mountain.

05. Tom Wilkinson in In the Bedroom (2001) - The movie excellent but mostly it just reminds me of the astounding talents of Tom Wilkinson. He is so perfect as a grieving father and when he sets out to exact his revenge, he acts with intelligence and compassion.

04. Sean Penn in Mystic River (2003) - Penn never misses a beat as a man dealing with the worst possible thing a parent can face - the death of a child. Penn is left playing a complicated character - a grieving father but also a cold-blooded ex-con. He manages to make his performance so intense, so passionate, so realistic and so damn good.

03. Leonardo DiCaprio in The Departed (2006) - DiCaprio is an actor who keeps getting better. In The Departed, he manages to wear his emotions on his sleeve, playing such a vulnerable, terrified, yet tough character. The crazy paradoxes to his character are impressive and DiCaprio simply nails it. He embodies this modern day tragic hero with such grace and ease.

02. Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood (2007) - Make no mistake, There Will Be Blood is a movie made for Day-Lewis to do whatever the hell he wants. This is HIS show. His performance is such a powerhouse that it puts most other actors to shame. Then there's that final scene when director Paul Thomas Anderson really lets Day-Lewis off his leash, so to speak. Because, let's face it, he was a sweet little kitten up until that point.

01. Sean Penn in Milk (2008) - Sean Penn is known for his moody, intense work (see number 4) so it's refreshing to see him play someone like Harvey Milk, so carefree and emotionally open. He embodies Harvey Milk and literally becomes him. Penn even inhabits and exudes a sweetness (yes, sweetness... yes, Sean Penn). He plays Harvey to perfection and definitely deserved that second Oscar.