This Cinephile

Friday, June 21, 2013

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.

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Monday, June 10, 2013

Mini Reviews (I'm Back)

In case anyone actually reads this, I apologize for my recent absence but things have been sort of crazy at work. Right now, I am going to write a few mini reviews to get caught up on the things I've seen recently (two movies in theaters you might want to check out and two on DVD that you will probably want to avoid), but then I am going to get back to updating this blog more frequently. I also have a few ideas for new funs things to do (i.e. a weekly Friday Top Five list related to new releases or actor birthdays and maybe a Best Director tournament!). But for now, here are quick thoughts on four 2013 releases (from best to worst):

The Internship
Starring: Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson, Rose Byrne, Max Minghella
Plot: Two salesmen lose their jobs and decide that despite any skill whatsoever that they are going to get a job at Google. The movie follows a summer long internship program.
Thoughts: Despite being way too long and following all the rules of romantic comedy, The Internship manages to be cute, sweet and funny. The best part about it is, of course, Vaughn and Wilson and their perfect chemistry that also worked so well in Wedding Crashers. But the real star of the show is the Google campus which is fascinating and interesting in every sense of the word.
Grade: B-

Now You See Me
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Mark Ruffalo, Isla Fisher, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Dave Franco, Melanie Laurent
Plot: Four street magicians come together thanks to a mysterious but powerful benefactor to become the most successful magicians with a traveling show where they manage to do completely unbelievable tricks (such as stealing money from a Paris bank while in Vegas). The FBI is hot on their tail though.
Thoughts: Now You See Me benefits from having an almost unrelentless pace, which absolutely works in its favor because if you were given time to stop and think about the whole thing, you would realize how none of it (especially the far fetched, ridiculous ending) makes sense. Still, as far as fun, thoughtless entertainment goes, this is decent.
Grade: C+

Dark Skies
Starring: Keri Russell, J.K. Simmons
Plot: Aliens target a family and slowly drive them crazy.
Thoughts: Cliche, but also really terrible. Simmons is the only - THE ONLY - good thing about it and he's only in it for about 3 minutes.
Grade: D+

Stand Up Guys
Starring: Al Pacino, Christopher Walken, Alan Arkin
Plot: Val (Pacino) is newly released from prison but some powerful people are holding a 28 year grudge and send his bestie (Walken) to give him the night of his life and then kill him.
Thoughts: Remember when Pacino was one of the greatest actors of all time? That whole thing is pretty foggy to me. The more he makes crap like this, the easier it is to forget he was ever even in The Godfather. The end of this movie is actually pretty bad ass, but it's a shame you have to sit through an hour and a half of crap to get to 45 seconds of coolness. On the plus side? It's not as bad as Lords of Salem!
Grade: D-

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Friday, February 25, 2011

Oscar Predictions

The Oscars are Sunday so here are my predictions in the major categories...

BEST PICTURE
127 Hours
Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
The King's Speech
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter's Bone
Who WILL Win - Unforunately it looks like Sunday night is going to be all about THE KING'S SPEECH, a movie I dislike even more than Slumdog Millionaire when it won everything two years ago. How such a colassal bore of a movie is going to beat some of the better movies of the year is beyond me. I guess at the end of the day, the Academy really is a group of old fogies who are out of touch with society.
Who MIGHT Win - The Social Network is obviously a close second. In fact, it might even upset and if so the sounds you hear will be me shrieking with joy!
Who SHOULD Win - The Social Network. It was the best movie of the year, hands down. But also, I'd prefer just about anything winning over The King's Speech, including Inception, Black Swan, The Fighter and even 127 Hours.
Who was SNUBBED - Since animation has its own category, I'm not a big proponent of having animated films in Best Picture. Instead, how about including The Town? It was awesome. We could even kick The Major Bore / King's Speech out and include Blue Valentine instead. Now, that's a Best Picture group I could get behind.

BEST DIRECTOR
Darren Aronofsky - Black Swan
Joel and Ethan Coen - True Grit
David Fincher - The Social Network
Tom Hooper - The King's Speech
David O. Russell - The Fighter
Who WILL Win - I'm going with DAVID FINCHER. He's been making amazing movies for decades and I'm glad people are finally noticing. I have already accepted the fact that the film probably won't win Best Picture but I'm telling you right now, if Fincher loses I am going to flip my sh*t!!!
Who MIGHT Win - Honestly, if its the King's Speech sweep everyone is predicting than Hooper might just steal it from a much more deserving director.
Who SHOULD Win - Fincher, hands down. He can turn a movie about Facebook into a bad ass film and that's saying a lot!
Who was SNUBBED - Christopher Nolan!!!! This is two Oscars in a row for him being snubbed. First with The Dark Knight and now with Inception. I don't understand the hate for him, frankly. He rocks!

BEST ACTOR
Javier Bardem - Biutiful
Jeff Bridges - True Grit
Jesse Eisenberg - The Social Network
Colin Firth - The King's Speech
James Franco - 127 Hours
Who WILL Win - This is probably the only category that is one hundred percent in the bag. It's COLIN FIRTH all the way.
Who MIGHT Win - I honestly don't think any of these other guys have a chance.
Who SHOULD Win - My vote would go to either Eisenberg, who was truly impressive in a star making turn, or Franco, who completely carried a film the way only Tom Hanks could previously pull off.
Who was SNUBBED - I personally think the Academy tends to snub Leonardo DiCaprio quite a bit. He was snubbed for Titanic, Revolutionary Road, The Departed, and now Shutter Island AND Inception. He deserves an Oscar, so give one to him already!

BEST ACTRESS
Annette Bening - The Kids Are All Right
Nicole Kidman - Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence - Winter's Bone
Natalie Portman - Black Swan
Michelle Williams - Blue Valentine
Who WILL Win - I think this might be a close race also, but I think it's going to be NATALIE PORTMAN. She's won everything else and deserved to. Her performance is amazing and I don't feel like there has been a shift in her momentum.
Who MIGHT Win - There's a very good chance that Bening could upset. And the sad fact of the matter is that she doesn't deserve to win. People always talk about how she's been snubbed so many times, never winning. But every time she lost it was to someone who was better than her. If she wins this year it's just because people feel bad for her.
Who SHOULD Win - Portman, definately. Her performance was terrifyingly personal and dark and emotional and just perfect.
Who was SNUBBED - Julianne Moore, who I thought was the better half of the acting team in The Kids are All Right.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christian Bale - The Fighter
John Hawkes - Winter's Bone
Jeremy Renner - The Town
Mark Ruffalo - The Kids Are All Right
Geoffrey Rush - The King's Speech
Who WILL Win - This is another close race. There's a chance for a lot of upsets on Sunday. However, I'm going with CHRISTIAN BALE. I honestly don't know how anyone could watch his performance (the best or second best performance of the entire year) and not vote for him!
Who MIGHT Win - I feel like Geoffrey Rush is gaining traction. I do believe his performance in The King's Speech was the best thing about the boring ass movie, I don't think he was as good as Bale. In fact, I would prefer to see the categories switched a bit because I feel like Firth was often supporting Rush, not the other way around. Either way, Rush could be the huge upset of the night!
Who SHOULD Win - Hands down, Bale. All of these men gave fantastic performances this year and I can't really complain too much about this stellar category. It's just, Bale was better.
Who was SNUBBED - I personally would have switched out Mark Ruffalo in favor of Andrew Garfield's soulful performance in The Social Network, but that's just me.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams - The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter - The King's Speech
Melissa Leo - The Fighter
Hailee Steinfeld - True Grit
Jacki Weaver - Animal Kingdom
Who WILL Win - I would like to say that I predicted this category way before Roger Ebert and all those other critics jumped on my band wagon! I've been saying for months that the tables have turned, Melissa Leo is out and HAILEE STEINFELD is in!
Who MIGHT Win - This is really a category where anything could happen. Weaver gave the best (or second best) performance of the entire year - but did enough people see it? Carter could win on the tailcoats of the most beloved movie of the year - but she didn't have a whole lot to do! The Fithter ladies were both stellar - but could they split votes? Any of these women could win, realistically.
Who SHOULD Win - Weaver. Like I said, she and Christian Bale are duking it out in my head over who gave the better performance of the year. Weaver is quietly menacing, a sweet ole' grandmother who will unhinge her jaw and swallow you whole.
Who was SNUBBED - Since I was entirely unimpressed with Helena Bonham Carter, who I typically love, but who had very, very little to do in the King's Speech, I would probably switch her out in favor of any of the ladies from Black Swan - Mila Kunis, Barbara Hershey, even Winona Ryder.

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Thursday, January 06, 2011

Top Ten List: Best Actor 2010

10. Casey Affleck in The Killer Inside Me - I will fully admit that 2010 was not a strong year for lead male performances, in my opinion. If there are better performances out there, I didn't see them. That's why a performance from one of the worst films I saw this year manages to creep into my top ten. This movie is over dramatic and pretty awful but Affleck manages to be creepy and charming at the same time, delivering a slimy portrayal of an out of control man.

09. Ewan McGregor in The Ghost Writer - Again, in a better year, McGregor wouldn't get into my top ten, but this year he manages to do that. His performance as the titular ghost writer is very subtle and manages to uplift a film that might have been a whole lot of cliches had it been in lesser hands.

08. Jake Gyllenhaal in Love and Other Drugs - Gyllenhaal has been better (Brokeback Mountain, for example) but he is still stellar here as a playboy young man who flirts with every girl to get what he wants. Until, of course, he meets the one girl not influenced by his charming ways. Then he turns from cad into lovesick boyfriend with ease. He's very, very good, and very, very nude!

07. Kodi Smit-McPhee in Let Me In - In the remake that I thought was better than the original, Smit-McPhee stars as a bullied young boy who finds comfort in the friendship of his new mysterious neighbor who only comes out at night and never wears shoes. After last year's The Road and now this, Smit-McPhee is definitely someone to look out for in the future.

06. Michael Nyqvist in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - It's a tough job as an actor to have your character be accused of something in the very first scene but still manage to be likeable. That's the case here, when Nyqvist's character is convicted of slander and sentenced to prison within seconds. While his character is not buzzed about, he still demands the screen, becoming sympathetic although he does a lot of questionable things throughout the film. His subtlety, matched with the fierceness of Noomi Rapace's Lisbeth, is perfect.

05. Ben Affleck in The Town - A few years ago, Ben Affleck directed a movie called Gone Baby Gone. I remember saying then that Ben should quit acting and focus on directing since he is so much better at the latter. I take it back. Affleck is fantastic in The Town (it's also directed damn well, also). In a movie with powerhouse acting performances, Affleck manages to never let you forget that there was a time he was THE leading man in Hollywood. He seems to be more careful with the roles he chooses these days, and that means he's just getting better.

04. Mark Wahlberg in The Fighter - Although this is very much CHRISTIAN BALE'S MOVIE, Wahlberg manages to shine as well. I've never been a fan of his dramatic work. I think Wahlberg is a damn good comedic actor (see: I Heart Huckabees, i.e., the performance of his career), but he also proves me wrong here. His Micky Ward is so torn in his alliances, and you see that pain in his face at all times. He just wants to make it as a boxer and be loyal to his family and he plays that internal struggle so perfectly well.

03. Leonardo DiCaprio in Inception
02. Leonardo DiCaprio in Shutter Island - So, maybe not so much of a stretch. In one, he plays a U.S. Marshall with a dead wife who still haunts him. In the other, he plays a theif with a dead wife who still haunts him. But, come on, whether you still hold the whole "pretty boy / Titanic" thing against him or not, you have to admit that DiCaprio has been one of the best actors around for at least the last decade. This year, he gave us a sublime one-two punch of great performances, each nuanced and intense. You literally can't take your eyes off him when he's on screen, and, really, who would want to? He is long, long, long overdue for an Oscar!

01. Jesse Eisenberg in The Social Network - Is Mark Zuckerberg a huge asshole? Or is he just a geek-genius who is uncomfortable in social situations? Because of Eisenberg's complicated, perfect, mysterious performance, we really have no idea. Not only did Eisenberg give the second best performance of the entire year, but also he was involved with the best acting ensemble of the year (and every single one of them was under 30!!). I've been a fan of his since The Squid and the Whale, but all of his previous film work pales in comparison to what he does in this film. Maybe it's director David Fincher pulling the best out of him, or just that amazing script, but Eisenberg shines. He strips away his constant neurosis and adorableness and disappears into a cold, determined genius who will stop at nothing to create the defining creation of the 21st century. A perfect performance in a perfect film.

Tomorrow - Best films!

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Saturday, October 09, 2010

The Social Network

Or: Okay, Rooney Mara, I will allow you to play Lisbeth Salander in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
All the best picture of the year talk surrounding The Social Network is no joke. It just may be. It's fresh, relevant, fast-paced, witty, clever, funny and a damn good movie. When I first heard they were making a movie about facebook, I thought it was a stupid idea. Then that first trailer came out, you know, the ominous one with the acapella version of "Creep" playing? That got me interested. Then, of course, the buzz started. But The Social Network isn't just about facebook. It is, of course, a movie that defines a generation but it is also about a lot of topics that are much more simple: power, backstabbing, manipulation, betrayal.
The Social Network stars Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg, a brilliantly intellectual Harvard under grad who has absolutely no social skills whatsoever. It's a little ironic that someone who has no idea how to interact with people in real life created the most interactive social site of all time. In the beginning of the film, Mark gets dumped by his Boston University girlfriend Erica (Rooney Mara). And he gets dumped in a sort of spectacular fashion. After a back and forth that lasts nearly 10 minutes, Erica ends things by saying, "You're going to go through life thinking that girls don't like you because you're a geek. And I want you to know, from the bottom of my heart, that that won't be true. It'll be because you're an asshole." And so the relationship is over. Mark isn't so happy and he goes back to his dorm room and writes a lot of mean things about Erica and her bra size on livejournal. Then, while all the rest of Harvard is partying the night away, Mark and his geek friends create the precursor to facebook - facemash - in which they put pictures of two Harvard girls side by side and make guys pick who is hotter.
Mark and his friends crash the Harvard server and gain a lot of notoriety. A pair of super rich, rowing twins named Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss (both played by Armie Hammer) hire Mark to program a website for them. The idea the Winklevi, if you will, have is to create an elite Harvard dating site called Harvard connection. Mark takes the idea back to his one and only friend Eduardo (played to utter perfection by future Spiderman Andrew Garfield) and they use it as a basis for facebook.
So that's the basic story. But the filmmaking is so damn good that it turns a simple story of a nerd who created a website into a thrilling masterpiece of cinema. The story flips around from those days in 2003 and 2004 when facebook was created to two seperate lawsuits Mark is involved in, one involving Eduardo who was hardcore screwed and one involving the Winklevi, who are clearly not happy with Mark. The filmmaking is so damn perfect that it elevates an already incredible script into something you might want to call "perfection." Director David Fincher and writer Aaron Sorkin are at the top of their games and together, they are amazing.
The cast is nothing short of amazing either. Rooney Mara manages to break hearts and steal scenes with her limited screentime and it's refreshing to me. I've been underwhelmed by her previous work, but here, she proves to me that she is able to handle a bigger role (Lisbeth!). I am now truly excited to see what she brings to that role. Justin Timberlake shows up about halfway through the movie as Sean Parker, the founder of Napster, who all but seduces Zuckerberg into a world of beautiful women, hot night clubs and lots and lots of money. He's a sweet talking charmer who is also a paranoid liar, but Timberlake nails it. Armie Hammer plays the Winklevoss twins so perfectly. I know a lot of it is screen magic but he's better than he needs to be. I don't know how Fincher made him play twins but then again, this is a man who put Brad Pitt's face on a baby so I trust that he knows what he's doing. Jesse Eisenberg finally, finally, FINALLY got a role worthy of his talents. He's always been a wisecracking, indie fixture who was enjoyable to watch but here he becomes something so much more. He is perfection as the complicated Zuckerberg who seems like a total douche one minute and a misunderstood genius the next. But, I think, best in show has got to go to Andrew Garfield. I haven't been so impressed by a performance all year long. He's got the perfect amount of everything needed to pull off the role of the likeable best friend who gets royally screwed. Plus, he gets to deliver the movie's best line. "Lawyer up, asshole, cause I'm not coming for my 30 percent. I'm coming for everything."
All in all, The Social Network is the kind of highly entertaining, highly enjoyable masterpiece of a movie that only comes along once in a blue moon.
Grade: A

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Saturday, October 03, 2009

The Informant!, Pandorum, Whip It, Zombieland

The Informant - The problem with The Informant is NOT Matt Damon's stellar performance. In fact, it just may be the best performance of his career (or second to his subtlety in The Departed). Damon manages to portray the self-obsessed Whitacre with the right amounts of "Hey, I'm a jackass" and "I'm a martyr doing the right thing." No, the problem with The Informant is mostly it's glacial pace. The story is interesting, sure (a man makes $300,000 a year at a company but turns informant instead), and it's true. Still, it takes about 3/4 of the movie until the pace starts to pick up to an enjoyable level. Steven Soderbergh does a great job and The Informant sure is interesting if it's not successful and I'm not sure it is. Also, it's trying to do too many things at once. Is it a wacky, zany comedy? Well, it's not funny enough. Is it a corporate thriller about embezzlement? Well, it's not nearly exciting enough. Damon's performance is enough for me to recommend the film but I wouldn't say it's necessarily good, just average.
Grade: C

Pandorum - Let's get this out of the way - Ben Foster is incredible. Dennis Quaid is incredible. The twist at the end is pretty damn great (you can predict it, but it's still done well enough that I didn't even care). The critics bashed it. Sci-fi fans are heralding it as the best sci-fi movie in a long time. I fall somewhere in the middle. It's an exciting film and it's a little horrifying. Foster and Quaid wake up on a ship that seems abandoned. They are locked in a room on a space ship and they've been in hyper sleep way longer than they should. Foster tries to escape the room through the ventillation system while Quaid guides him. Foster finds help... and some major problems while Quaid meets another young member of the crew who is going off the deep end (played by Twilight hottie Cam Gigandet). My major problem with the film is the crappy camera work. I know it's supposed to be exciting but there's a fine line between hand held exciting camera work and not having any idea what the hell is happening to your characters. Also, at times, it's just a little gross for gross' sake. Being disgusting doesn't further the film in any way. Also, it seems a little convenient that a side effect of hyper sleep is temporary memory loss. However, Foster and Quaid's characters remember just enough when they need to. And while their characters are in different parts of the ship for most of the movie, it allows the screenwriter to fill a ridiculous amount of time with the two trying to contact each other via radio. Basically, the film has its problems but it's also good enough to merit a recommendation. Again, not good, merely average.
Grade: C

Whip It - Whip It is cute. Sometimes that's a good thing and sometimes, well, not so much. Drew Barrymore makes her directorial debut and any shortcomings this movie has aren't necessarily her fault. She does a pretty good job at directing. Sometimes, it's very basic. Nothing she's doing is groundbreaking. But there are some pretty great scenes, very well directed (especially the pool scene near the end... just beautiful). Whip It follows a reluctant beauty queen named Bliss (Ellen Page) who is basically only doing beauty pageants to appease her mom (the amazing / wonderful / fantastic / goddesss of the world Marcia Gay Harden). On a shopping trip to Austin, Bliss discovers a flyer for roller derby. She and best friend Pash (Alia Shawkat a.k.a. Maeby Funke from the greatest show ever to be on TV Arrested Development) go to the derby exhibition game and Bliss is impressed. Soon, she is lying about her age and trying out for the Hurl Scouts team. She changes her name to Babe Ruthless and joins the team alongside Maggie Mayhem (Kristen Wiig) and Smashely Simpson (Barrymore). There are a few things that endear this movie to me. 1. Har Mar Superstar has a little cameo. 2. Tilly and the Wall is on the soundtrack. 3. I was at some of the places they filmed in Austin. Then, of course, there is the predictibility. This script is paint-by-numbers, cliched and totally predictable. That makes parts of it boring. Then there is the cuteness factor. Some of the cute stuff is just that - cute. Some of it (like a showdown with rival Iron Maven (Juliette Lewis) that turns into a silly food fight) is just dumb. Also, Jimmy Fallon just needs to stop acting. He needs to stick to late night and he's not even good at that (just not as bad as acting). All in all, Whip It is a little too cutesy at times although Barrymore does a fine job presenting a kick ass girl power story. See it for the great cast and the cool soundtrack, just don't expect too much.
Grade: C+ (B- on a good day... if I'm feeling nice... which I'm not today).

Zombieland - Zombieland is excatly what it needed to be. I was expecting a ridiculous, off beat, fun horror flick and that's exactly what it is. There is no subtle build up to Zombieland. You are dropped right in (it's complete with flashy, great opening credits). First, you meet Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg who is like Michael Cera although maybe funnier?), a college kid who has a lot of ticks and fears and a lot of rules for surviving Zombieland. Always shoot the zombie twice to make sure it's dead, Beware of bathrooms, Always wear your seatbelt, etc. He is one of five (ha!) surviving humans in Zombieland. Along the way he meets Tallahassee, a totally bad ass Woody Harrelson who just seems to have been born for this role. He's hilarious and bad ass and just all kinds of perfect for this role. All he really wants to do is find a Twinkie and kick zombie ass. They team up and eventually meet Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin), a sister con-artist duo who dupe our heroes before eventually teaming up with them. Their plan is the head west to Pacific Playland, an amusement park outside of Los Angeles which they believe is zombie free. Along the way, they make a pit stop at a Beverly Hills home where there is the most perfect cameo in cameo history. I won't ruin it (although I'm sure you can find out) but it's pretty freaking great. Anyway, of course, they eventually get to their destination and guess what? There are TONS of zombies including a really freaky clown zombie. Overall, Zombieland is a whole lot of fun and that's all I really wanted out of it.
Grade: B

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