Warm Bodies

My problem with Warm Bodies is sort of cyclical. I had little interest in the film, originally. Then I recently read the book. I thought the book was cute, funny and charming so it made me sort of excited to see the movie. Once I saw the movie, I felt like I might have enjoyed it more had I not read the book. If you've read the book, and liked the book, the main problem with the movie is that they change a lot of stuff, unnecessarily. A possible bigger problem is that they also dumbed it and watered it down quite a bit, but more on that later.

The zombie rom-com stars Nicholas Hoult as a zombie named R. He lives in an airport and, while he enjoys collecting records and listening to music, he mostly stands around and groans a lot. While on a hunting expedition in the city, he meets, falls for, and kidnaps Julie (Teresa Palmer). He brings the pretty blonde back to his airplane home and holds her hostage although she eventually sort of begins to like the quirky zombie. After a while, however, she decides she needs to head back to her home - a walled in stadium which is run by her militant dad (John Malkovich!). While R lets her go at first, he begins to realize that their love, or whatever, is changing not only himself but the other undead, so he decides to go win her heart.

Warm Bodies the book was a pleasant surprise - funny, charming, sweet and completely satisfying. Warm Bodies the movie has a lot of the same charm but, having recently finished the book, all the pointless changes were completely distracting. And it was things that didn't even need to be changed! In the book, R wears a red tie but in the movie they change it to a red hoodie. In the book, R goes searching for Julie because he loves her. In the movie, it's because he needs to warn her she is in danger. In the book, R has a zombie wife and kids. In the movie, they don't exist. The changes they make are totally silly and don't save any time, really. A big change I wasn't fond of was how R gets into the stadium to begin with. It's much more satisfying in the book. More than that though, Warm Bodies the movie seemed sort of dumbed down so it appealed to a more general audience. I'm not saying the book is particularly brilliant or mind bending or anything, but I definitely felt like the movie more aimed itself at pleasing a certain young teenage demographic. A lot of the jokes felt almost too jokey, if that makes sense.

Still, Warm Bodies isn't without it's good points, the main one being the great cast. Nicholas Hoult is absolutely perfectly cast as the droll, intellectual, funny, sweet zombie R. He is great in the role and I think he's about to have a huge year. Teresa Palmer is great as well, although he role seems more interchangeable. Anyone could have played Julie, although I think Hoult is perfectly cast as R. Analeigh Tipton (who I think would make a perfect Andie if they and when they make the Gone Girl movie... someone better take note of this because it's gold, casting wise!) is a great scene stealer in the small role of Julie's best friend Nora. Dave Franco brings the adorable Franco brother charm to the role of Julie's recently departed boyfriend. But it's John Malkovich, of course, who all but steals the show. It's sometimes hard to tell if he's being campy or not but that sort of Malkovich blend of acting works perfectly in this movie.

Overall, Warm Bodies isn't going to change the world, and come summer time, most people will probably have forgotten about it altogether. Still, it's a cute and fun way to pass a few hours on a cold winter's day.

Grade: C

Top Ten List - Best Supporting Actor 2008

10. Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Stop Loss - The first good performance of the year, Gordon-Levitt plays the role of a man dealing with being back from war the way he plays every role - with unbridled passion and talent. To say he's one of the best actors under thirty is an understatement.

09. Aaron Eckhart in The Dark Knight - Eckhart may not give the best performance in the film (more on that later) but he does play the only character with any sort of arc and he plays it extremely well. He starts off as a stand up man full of principle and morality and ends up as a hateful villain.

08. John Malkovich in Burn After Reading - One image from 2008 that I will never forget? John Malkovich coming off a boat dressed in a bath robe holding an axe. His disgraced CIA agent is hilariously on edge. One of the many reasons I celebrate Malkovichmas.

07. Josh Brolin in Milk - Slowly unraveling. He's a coiled ball of nerves. He may not be my favorite of the supporting men of Milk but he is responsible for the single best scene of the movie - a drunken encounter with Harvey at a party. Brolin just keeps getting better.

06. James Franco in Milk - Is anyone sweeter than Franco in Milk? I don't think so. He stands by his man through much of the film and even after they break up, he's still there in spirit. Kudos for saying the line "if I hear about politics one more time tonight I'm going to stab you with a fork" and still managing to sound adorable.

05. Emile Hirsch in Milk - At the beginning, he's a tough talking kid. A queen if there ever was one who just wants to party. Near the middle, he's responsible for one of the most moving scenes as his Cleve Jones describes the unspeakable hatred he saw in Europe. Hirsch is moving and powerful.

04. Robert Downey Jr. in Tropic Thunder - What could have easily become an offensive off-putting performance was elevated to something that everyone could laugh at thanks to great writing... and Downey's fantastic performance. He manages to be hysterically funny while still raising poignant thoughts about racism and even method acting.

03. Michael Shannon in Revolutionary Road - I have been a fan of Leonardo DiCaprio's for my entire life / his entire career. There's never been a time when I thought he was out done by any other actor - even when going head to head with Jack Nicholson in The Departed. Still, there is a particular scene in Revolutionary Road where DiCaprio and Shannon get in a rather heated argument. During this scene, I thought to myself, "Man, Shannon is acting circles around Leo!" Shannon is out of control in this movie - a continuous explosion that just shakes everything to its core.

02. Michael Pitt in Funny Games - Imagine a killer being the most polite, kind, cutest boy you ever saw? It's terrifying, right? Pitt plays the young killer of Funny Games so straight and sweet that it makes it the most terrifying thing you've ever seen. All at once, he's frightening, hilarious, kind, chilling and fiercly intelligent.

01. Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight - Is there anything left to say about Ledger's outrageously perfect performance? I don't think there is. He really, really, really is as good as everyone says. Actually, he's probably better. With every viewing, his performance becomes more effective and more entrancing. The most perfect performance of the year. Hands down.

Tomorrow - Best Actress!

Mini Reviews...

Lakeview Terrace - Not exactly a bad movie, perse, just terribly trite and unoriginal. It's more a think piece about interracial relationships than a thriller about clashing neighbors. And, really, it just seems out of place in 2008. I mean, I know people are still prejudiced but do they really take it to this extreme? I find it hard to believe. It was probably the second most fun bad movie of the year (after Mamma Mia, of course). It was entertaining, if nothing else. And, you know, Patrick Wilson is so very nice to look at.
Grade: C-

My Best Friend's Girl - What the hell happened to Kate Hudson? I remember the days when she made good movies like 200 Cigarettes and Desert Blue and, you know, Almost Famous. Now she's trying too hard to be the romantic lead. She is charming as hell and it's hard not to like her but she's letting her talent go to waste with terrible scripts like this. I think there were about three times I laughed. Dane Cook is not funny. Jason Biggs is not... anything. Alec Baldwin was the saving grace of this disaster.
Grade: D+

Burn After Reading - Near the end of the film, J.K. Simmons tells a lackey, "Report back to me when this all makes sense." That's sort of how I felt as well. Lucky for the Coen Brothers (and their wonderfully outrageous cast), I like movies that are confusing and silly and often don't make much sense. John Malkovich is amazing in his role as a CIA agent who quits his job, writes his memoirs and has a sort of nervous breakdown. My favorite moment of the film is him walking off a boat wearing a robe and carrying an axe. John Malkovich is right up there with Eric Roberts as one of the coolest guys in the whole world. Brad Pitt is hilarious. I often dislike Pitt in films (because I dislike him in real life) but he was actually fun to watch here. George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, Frances McDormand (worst. hair. ever.) and Richard Jenkins round out a really great cast who made an enjoyable, funny, entertaining film.
Grade: B+

The Life Before Her Eyes - Melodramatic to say the least. Almost unbearable to watch.
Grade: D-

Snow Angels - What a beautifully tragic desperate and ultimately devastating film. Director David Gordon Green has sure shown his versatatily this year. First he makes this tragic depressing little film (which released in February) and then he follows it up with one of the funniest movies of the summer (Pineapple Express). I don't want to tell you too much plot because it's really worth watching. There are a lot of twists and a lot of really great linear storytelling. The cast is phenomenal. The ladies - Kate Beckinsale (she can act!), Olivia Thirlby and Amy Sedaris - are just fine but it's the men - Sam Rockwell and Michael Angarano - who steal the show. Rockwell will break your heart.
Grade: B+

Married Life - Not necessarily bad. Anything starring Patricia Clarkson is automatically "not bad" in my book. Still, it's boring as hell. I didn't care about any of these characters or any of the ways they slept with each other. If it wasn't for Patricia, I don't think I could have even finished it. Maybe it's my hatred for Rachel McAdams. Maybe it was the lousy script. Who knows.
Grade: D+