I finally got around to seeing Zombieland last week and boy am I glad I did. But before I get to glory of the zombie flick, let's digress a bit and talk previews. Maybe it's the former marketing student in me, but I'm constantly fascinated by which previews are selected for a movie. Showing a preview of a new Judd Apatow flick before a Will Ferrell or Ben Stiller comedy? Makes sense. Preview for Inglorious Basterds before The Time Traveler's Wife? Not so much.
There was at least a consistent logic to the Zombieland previews: they all involved a supernatural element of sorts. There were previews for the new Twilight flick (vampires!), The Wolfman (werewolves!), Legion (killer angels!), Shutter Island (crazy people!) and 2012 (end of the world!). So on a certain level it makes sense. But it missed the key detail that this wasn't your average horror flick. This was a zombie comedy. Now, I haven't done a proper target market analysis in awhile, but I'm pretty confident that the people who go to an R-rated zombie comedy are not exactly lining up around the block to catch a glimpse of Robert Pattison and the Twilight gang.
But back to the movie. When I say "zombie comedy" I know what you are thinking: Shaun of the Dead. But Zombieland is a horse of a different color. Zombieland subtly poked fun at elements of the zombie genre, but it wasn't a full-on parody like Shaun of the Dead.
The cast of Zombieland is small (not counting the zombies, obvi): you have the sisterly combo of Emma Stone (aka the girl from the House Bunny) and Abigail Breslin (aka the girl from Little Miss Sunshine) and odd couple buddies Jesse Eisenberg (aka the guy from Adventureland) and Woody Harrelson (aka Woody freaking Harrelson). It's a love hate relationship between the pairs: at times they back stab each other, at times they team up to kick zombie ass, and at times they kiss. Along the way there is lots of action, lots of comedic moments, and lots and lots of zombies.
While the whole movie is enjoyable, one segment stands out. I won't ruin the details, but the scenes with Bill Murray are worth the price of admission in and of themselves.
Verdict: movie - four stars, scenes with Bill Murray - five stars
There was at least a consistent logic to the Zombieland previews: they all involved a supernatural element of sorts. There were previews for the new Twilight flick (vampires!), The Wolfman (werewolves!), Legion (killer angels!), Shutter Island (crazy people!) and 2012 (end of the world!). So on a certain level it makes sense. But it missed the key detail that this wasn't your average horror flick. This was a zombie comedy. Now, I haven't done a proper target market analysis in awhile, but I'm pretty confident that the people who go to an R-rated zombie comedy are not exactly lining up around the block to catch a glimpse of Robert Pattison and the Twilight gang.
But back to the movie. When I say "zombie comedy" I know what you are thinking: Shaun of the Dead. But Zombieland is a horse of a different color. Zombieland subtly poked fun at elements of the zombie genre, but it wasn't a full-on parody like Shaun of the Dead.
The cast of Zombieland is small (not counting the zombies, obvi): you have the sisterly combo of Emma Stone (aka the girl from the House Bunny) and Abigail Breslin (aka the girl from Little Miss Sunshine) and odd couple buddies Jesse Eisenberg (aka the guy from Adventureland) and Woody Harrelson (aka Woody freaking Harrelson). It's a love hate relationship between the pairs: at times they back stab each other, at times they team up to kick zombie ass, and at times they kiss. Along the way there is lots of action, lots of comedic moments, and lots and lots of zombies.
While the whole movie is enjoyable, one segment stands out. I won't ruin the details, but the scenes with Bill Murray are worth the price of admission in and of themselves.
Verdict: movie - four stars, scenes with Bill Murray - five stars
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