Posts Tagged ‘Zombieland’

2 items.

PANDORA’S BOX

by Tom on October 9th, 2009
24 votes, average: 7.96 out of 10
1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars6 Stars7 Stars8 Stars9 Stars10 Stars
PANDORA’S BOX

I know that I did a comic about Zombieland last Monday. But since I had an opportunity to actually see the film on Wednesday, I had to do another comic about it today.

Y'see, what's depicted in today's comic is based on real events. Allow me to explain.

I went to a 12:30 showing of Zombieland on Wednesday and I was the only guy in the theater except for one other dude that was sitting in front of me.

I'm not a big fan of zombie movies. I don't like gore and I don't like cheap "GOTCHA!" scare tactics. So I busted out my iPhone and started updating to my Twitter account to distract me from some of the carnage on screen and the anxiety that was building up inside of me as I waited for the next zombie attack.

This is not normally something I would do during a movie. But, like I said, I was having anxiety attacks and there was only one other guy in the theater with me.

If you take the long view, Zombieland isn't all that gory or scary. At least not after the first act. Once it gets it out of its system, the film makes room for more pop culture zingers and character development.

At any rate, something happens in the second act that I thought was AMAZING and I tweeted about it - generally lamenting that I wasn't watching the film with a larger audience because it would have been neat to see their reaction.

Checking my phone maybe 15 minutes later, I saw a bunch of reply tweets from people like Gordon McAlping Multiplex and Paul Southworth from Not Invented Here having a conniption fit because what I tweeted about was apparently spoiler material.

Now, in my defense, I had read a few reviews of Zombieland and was already aware of this spoiler, so I didn't think I had done anything wrong by mentioning it. But as more and more people began to reply with sarcastically toned "Thanks a lot, Tom!" tweets, I knew I had stepped in it.

I made reparations quickly. I deleted the offending tweet and asked forgiveness. Shortly thereafter, people started to pack away their torches and pitchforks.

Now, you know me... I'm not exactly the guy known for flinching when it comes to giving away spoilers. But I genuinely felt bad about this one because a.) the movie has been in theaters less than a week and b.) the event I got so excited about is so thoroughly awesome, I really, really, REALLY want people to check out Zombieland to experience it on their own.

Obviously, I won't go into any more details than that. So I STRONGLY encourage you to see Zombieland if you already haven't and - if you go - don't do what I do. Don't see it by yourself. Take a bunch of friends and see it with a large audience. Because I have a sneaking suspicion the movie will pay dividends if you do.

By the way, be sure to stay through the credits for an extra scene. You won't regret it.

So, as I have now deftly danced through my explanation of today's comic, I plan on using my faux pas as inspiration for a short storyline! As you can see, there is the tiny "To Be Continued..." disclaimer at the end of today's strip and I think you'll like where things are going.

I hope Gordon doesn't mind his unauthorized cameo, but I'm sure if you visit his excellent comic Multiplex, he will forgive me. Be sure to contribute to his fund raising efforts to put together the first print collection of Multiplex, too!

That's all I have for today. Be sure to check us out on Monday for the continuation of the story line!

Have a great weekend!

7 Comments

LANDED

by Tom on September 28th, 2009
30 votes, average: 7.17 out of 10
1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars6 Stars7 Stars8 Stars9 Stars10 Stars
LANDED

Credit where credit is due, it was my friend Lauren from Honey Bee Manor that made the observation about Jesse Eisenberg's proclivity to star in movies that end with "land" in a Twitter post a couple of months ago. I kept that in my Rolodex of ideas and I hope she doesn't mind me borrowing it. Maybe if all of you visit her blog, she won't be mad.

Of course, one look at Eisenberg's IMDB page and we can see he's starred in many movies besides Adventureland and Zombieland, it's kind of interesting that his most high-profile outings are so similarly titled.

I like Eisenberg. He seems like a sharp guy who has a little bit more going on under the surface than he lets on in a face-to-face conversation. So I think it's kind of interesting that he's adapted his East coast know-it-all persona to something like Zombieland - which, from the trailers, seems to be more about gallows humor than anything else.

For the record, I'm not a fan of zombie movies. Specifically, because I don't do well with gore. Probably the last zombie movie I watched (if you can call it that) was Planet Terror. And even though the violence and the raspberry glop they used as blood in that movie were so cartoonishly over the top, it still made me squeamish.

That said, I'm interested in seeing Zombieland primarily because the trailers make it look like a lot of fun. The zombies don't look particularly scary. Just kind of unfortunate. So instead of being scared out of my wits by a bunch of jump cuts and slow pans across zombies feasting on intestines, I can enjoy the vicarious thrill of putting a shotgun to the temple of the undead and get some video game jollies out of it.

More than anything, I'm impressed with the cast. Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin and Woody Harrelson are all smart actors. Harrelson is especially disarming when he plays up the Midwestern bumpkin he perfected on Cheers. And am I seeing this right? Is Bill Murray in the movie playing himself?

Oh, yeah. This is a must-see.

I hope I have time to get around to it this weekend. It looks like Cami and I are going to make time on Saturday to see Toy Story and Toy Story 2 in 3D as part of it's two week limited engagement starting this Friday. We're huge Pixar fans and I read some particularly positive reviews from a screening that took place last week. Apparently the 3D really does the films justice and there is some fun trivia and original content during the intermission.

Originally we had it in our head that this would be Henry's first movie. He was a little too young to watch Up when it was in theaters earlier this year. But since then, we've indoctrinated him into the world of Pixar by watching Finding Nemo, Cars and Toy Story at home. He has no problem sitting through any of the movies. They keep his attention throughout. Whether or not he would have the patience to sit through TWO movies back to back, with the 3D glasses on, in a new environment he's never been in before... well, that's something else entirely. We'll probably end up taking him to The Princess and The Frog later in the year and that will be his first movie.

I should mention that I had a chance to see a sneak preview of Whip It! over the weekend - the roller derby movie directed by Drew Barrymore. It comes out this weekend as well.

I liked the movie. Certainly Barrymore's trademark enthusiasm translates through her role as a director. I have a review rolling around in the back of my head that I might try to publish here on the site either tomorrow or Thursday. But if I don't I'm sure I will be talking about it tonight on The Triple Feature. So be sure to tune in live at 9PM CST over at TalkShoe for some meaty movie discussion!

Until then, tell me what you guys think about Zombieland. Do you think it looks more funny than scary? What do you think about the cast? Is it weird for Woody Harrelson to be running around with a couple of twenty-somethings and a tween? Are you planning on seeing Zombieland this weekend, or something else? Lots of good stuff coming out on Friday. Leave your comments below!

5 Comments