Zombieland

Killing zombies has never been so much fun!

Lover: Taken from IMDB
“The best zombie movie ever made!!! This movie was really great!!it has a lot of potential in it.I really enjoyed!!it isn't really for kids under probably 11 or 12 even though I'm 11 years old.it has a lot of cursing.this movie has a lot of humor.and all the actors are great.i think Tallahassee was really funny!!I liked Columbus's's rules and his humor about surviving.he was a good actor.my favorite actor was Wichita played by Emma stone.she was a really good actress in the movie!!!she was playing this hot girl that was not your regular stuck up bitch as Columbus said in the movie.she was different from other type of girls.she was really tricky and was really smart.her and her sister little rock played by Abagail Breslin were really tricky!!! I hope everyone enjoyed this movie.I was hoping this movie was going to make it into the top 250 movies with a 8.0 or higher.this movie was great and it deserves a 10!!!this movie was great and I hope everyone liked it as much as me!!!!!”

A review from a 11 year old for a 15 movie? Take from that what you will, they are right the film is great but the greatest zombie movie ever made? No.

Hater: Taken from IMDB
“Comparing to this thing all spaghetti zombie movies are real pieces of art. Their behavior is completely random: they steel cars when there are plenty of cars around, waste ammo for unknown reason and generally behave like they were 6 years old. This what Bill Murray presented was incredibly stupid: he tried to pretend to be a zombie in eyes of an armed man fur completely no reason. What is the most crazy is that one of the characters is traveling America looking for some kind of candy., two girls are going through half of continent to visit some adventure park and when they got there of course they have to ask for attention of all zombies around. I cannot understand how bunch or total idiots like this could be last survivals of zombie infested continent. Moreover this movie is not funny at all.”

I think this person actually thinks there may be a zombie apocalypse, it’s a comedy for crying out loud who cares about the parts that don’t make sense. If you want to see the undead rising taken seriously go and watch George Romero’s films.

What I thought:
How I didn’t read or hear anything about this film being compared to Shaun of the Dead I don’t know. It takes a zombie infestation and uses it for any possible laughs it can get; it also has friendship and love at the heart of it. Now that I have seen it however I can see why no one really did, Zombieland is a very different beast, and it’s an incredible visual treat like Shaun done Hollywood style. The opening credits are fantastic and one of the best I’ve seen, the slow-mo zombie kills and panic stricken America is just perfect. It sets you up for what is film makers having fun killing zombies, even to the point where they mention a zombie kill of the week or something like that.

It’s pure wish fulfilment for all men old enough to have a un healthy obsession with zombies, whether you poison was Romero’s classics or Capcom’s masterpiece Resident Evil, you’ll love this film. Where it departs from Shaun’s the most is that it doesn’t take itself as seriously, the characters aren’t as likeable and the situations not as believable. This makes it harder to route for them but at the very least you’ll love Jesse Eisenberg’s geek and narrator of our story with a Zombie survival like guide of rules to follow, just brilliantly written and performed. As for Woody Harrelson, well he’s a delight in this movie and convincing as a zombie killing bad ass.

It’s hard not to have read about this film and not hear about the ‘inspired’ cameo, for those who don’t know look away now. When our characters go to California they decide to spend the night in one of the stars homes, they pick Bill Murrays’ and his is brilliant, a self-parody that reminds you why you love the man so much! Zombieland is a visual treat and flesh bitingly funny, It’s Shaun of the Dead for those who like their laughs cheap.

My 500th post: The Social Netwrok

You like me, you really like me!

Lover: Taken from IMDB
“I have been a fan of David Fincher ever since I saw Se7en when I was 13. I saw all of his films the following week and not one of them disappointed me. That was back in 2003. I loved Zodiac and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button as well, but he really knocked it out of the park with this one. I was fortunate enough to see The Social Network at a screening on 9/16/10 for my college. Eisenberg, Hammer and Sorkin were there and did a Q and A after the film. It was a GREAT experience. All of them seemed excited about the film and rightfully so. The film brilliantly tells the story of college students who go through hell with each other over the credit for Facebook and the damage that comes to all of them because of it. The acting and dialogue were flawless. Eisenberg, Garfield and even Timberlake churn out performances that should get them serious attention come award time. Fincher's direction is also perfect. you can always tell a Fincher film when you see it because his visual style is so striking and The Social Network is no exception. When this is released, please go see it and watch a film that defines a generation and what the world has become.”

A good review, couldn’t agree more on acting and dialogue. I think that stylistically this is no where near as visually impressive as Finchers other films, but The Social Network is a power house of a movie and make no mistake.

Hater: Taken from IMDB
“The social network to me is just another proof of recent mass hysteria where we can't distinct good from bad. This cheap drama-soap dramatically rewrites the history and I guess that's what made me angry. This is too much of a recent history and they're using real names in a docudrama setting. To me, this is history manipulation and not dramatization of a real story! 1)How lame that the Napster founder is played by the girls idol Justin. 2)How lame that he's talking about social networking as if he discovered it! Geez! Facebook just added a few very smart add ons, the social networking is certainly not their idea! I'd rather see a movie about the guys who actually did come up with the social networking idea i.e. profiles not for dating, but for friends. 3)Facebook is based mostly on cheating, lying, copying and misleading (i.e. Did u forget that back in the days we all used to receive this "friends invitations to join facebook?" Do u remember that facebook once u joined misled u on entering Ur e-mail password and then hacked into Ur address book and sent ALL of them an invitation to join face-book without our permission??) This film is a horror film about how horribly well things work if Ur smart and unethical. As far as the film goes it technically work fine, it's interesting that Mark is somehow honest about himself not being such a nice person, but under my humble opinion this whole film is made to fill Mark's vanity issues and wanting to stay in history as the founder of social networking, which is simply a lie.”

I think this person’s problem is with facebook not this movie, so really this review is a bit defunct. Who cares if the writers have taken some liberties if it makes the films better, it’s been done countless times before!

What I thought:
I was as I think everyone was; a little dubious about this film, say it out loud “a movie about Facebook” it sounds terrible! This could not be further from the truth, The Social Network is actually more gripping than you would think. Put it into context, Mark Zuckerberg is ‘that’ friend, every group must have the person that says and does unbelievable things without really noticing they’ve done anything or hurt anyone. The only difference, Zuckerberg just happens to be the genius behind Facebook! So the usual friends falling out that happens to all of us and forgotten within month’s maybe weeks is escalated into a major law suit. Very much in the public eye this feud over the creative rights of Facebook put in stark reality the nature of Social Networking and just how important it has been.

Now it sounds riper for a film ah? David Fincher captures this and what I like most about it; he captures without his usual visual flairs. The Social Networks main feats are in its dialogue and cool as you like acting! The screenplay oozes with sharp tongued wit for almost all characters but Zuckerberg most of all, played by Jesse Eisenberg to perfection. The casting is perfect and that’s even with the left hook of casting Justin Timberlake who is unbelievably good in this! Andrew Garfield making you feel genuinely sorry for the guy who was gradually pushed out and the Winklevoss Twins played brilliantly and very funnily by Armie Hammer.

Back however to Eisenberg who’s performance as the founder of Facebook is utterly compelling, throwing off the Michael Cera comparisons to give us a character that before he knew it was caught in a whirlwind had last everyone he actually cared for. It’s important that you feel conflicted about him, some hate him and some will feel sorry for the guy, as in the end he was a young man who (with little help) came up with an idea that revolutionized the way we communicate.

The Social Network is everything you have heard, it is a landmark film in many ways and it is a film of our times. More importantly it’s actually just a really entertaining bit of cinema.

Adventureland

coming of age 80’s style

Lover: Taken from IMDB

“I love this movie. Truly love it. Being a fan of movie's like "Superbad" and "Knocked Up", I was really looking forward to seeing this, but it was a hell of a lot better than I expected. The Story-line is a great and the characters are fantastic, which nearly everybody can relate to. Kristen Stewart delivers a spectacular role as Em, and Jesse Eisenberg doesn't disappoint. The thing I like most about this movie is Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig. They play the characters of two people who have no expression, and get wound up easily( the scene with the baseball bat is one I will not forget!) There are so many quotes which will make you laugh by these two, my favourite being, 'Litterbug, in the clown mouth!.' Also, the soundtrack is brilliant with some great songs which i would recommend keeping an ear out for. For all ages, young and/or old, Adventureland will not disappoint! 10/10.”

Good review for a good movie.

Hater: Taken from IMDB

“This is one of the most boring, pointless movies I've ever wasted a night watching. There is little more to the plot than a dude working a crappy job and dealing with a crappy love life. If the filmmakers were attempting to illustrate what a pathetic and soulless decade the 1980's were, job well done, but my guess is they were simply trying to cash in on the success of better written quasi comedies such a Juno and the like. It's been a long time since I've wasted time on a movie that was so boring and pointless. It was billed as a comedy, and as far as laughs go this gets an F-. The acting is mediocre at best, which is really a waste considering the overall talent of the cast. There's not much hope for bringing to life a script that is truly a sh*t sandwich.”

Well everyone’s a critic…

What I thought:

Considering “coming of age, teen comedies etc etc” come out more often then they are really needed, Adventureland like Superbad or Juno before it is a breath of fresh air. It has a subtle approach to the issues you face growing up, meaning that the comedies not in your face, there’s no real gross out comedy or obvious and dumb toilet humour. Adventurland is just a sweet tale of two people working at a small theme park, a realistic blossoming romance which is heart warming to watch.

The characters are all recognizable and acted well, Jesse Eisenberg doing his best not to be Michael Cera, Kirsten Stewart trying to throw off those vampires and Ryan Reynolds playing against his typecast. All three actors owe the director and the script a lot, for giving them characters that are ever so slightly different from what they are known for. It’s just a lovely funny story, not side splittingly hilarious just funny and feel good.