NOTE: I am thinking of starting a new occasional feature on LotusGeek, called "Belated Movie Reviews". Belated Movie Reviews are basically reviews of movies I see, eventually - given that I am an entrepreneur, father of five, grandfather of one, and owner of over 20 pets. So, I try to get to the movies, but it is rare that I do so on opening weekends. Therefore I'll review them when I see them, for those other busy people who don't have much time, and want to make sure that when they do spare the time and resources to go to a movie, it is worth it.

Incidentally, sometimes I don't see movies until they're out on DVD - and if that happens, I'll review the movie and the goodies on the DVD.

So, here we go - the first "Beleated Movie Review"! (BTW, if you can come up with a better name, and especially a graphic, I would be MOST appreciative!! **Rock

ZOMBIELAND
Before I dive into my impressions of ZOMBIELAND, I wanted to give you a bit of background about my movie tastes in general, and more specifically around horror/scary movies. First off, I am a movie buff - I am one of those types who collects movies (DVDs, and before that VHSes), and I definitely rewatch movies that I like. Currently I have over 700 DVDs, and counting.

Suffice it to say, movies are my "thang".

If you know Gab Davis, movies are to me what books are to her. Whenever I travel, I carry 4-10 DVDs with me, just for watching whenever I get the urge/opportunity.

But I digress.

One of my favorite genres of movies is the horror movie. I love stuff from old Vincent Price movies all the way through to the restarts of Romero's zombie movies (by him and others), and also the latest vampire craze - yes, I like them too, including Twilight (incidentally, I believe I may be the only 40+ yr old heterosexual, married male in GA that has actually read ALL of the Twilight books - and thought they were pretty good). Now, I used to be into slasher flicks (a subgenre of horror where multiple people, usually teens, are chased by some unkillable baddie, and are sliced and diced in a variety of ways), but not as much anymore. I still like them, but there are better horror movies out there. My three favorite types of horror movies are:

• traditional "monsters" - vampires, werewolves, you get the idea.
• zombies - these probably fall into the "traditional monsters" category as well, but they do seem to be a subgenre all their own; thanks George Romero and Tom Savini!
• occult/demon - usually someone is posessed, or having the antichrist, or something like that; think Omen, Rosemary's Baby, and the ultimate classic, The Exorcist

When it comes to horror movies, I look for inventiveness - whether that be plot innovations, kewl "kill shots", new horror concepts, and so on. A new twist on horror movies that has been building up lately is the horror/comedy movies. Now I'm not talking about really old or bad movies that are unintentionally funny; I mean clever movies that are intentionally mashing up comedy with horror while attempting to fully serve both. This is not as easy as it seems - comedy/horror can go horribly wrong very quickly if not done right.

Luckily we've had some really good ones lately - from From Dusk till Dawn, through Shaun of the Dead, up through the latest comedy/horror offering - ZOMBIELAND. And luckily, ZOMBIELAND doesn't disappoint - it is definitely in the same league as Shaun of the Dead, and I actually enjoyed it more than Shaun (yeah, that's right - I went there! I said it!).

The Setting
It's present day, and a plague of sorts has quickly turned America into "Zombieland". The plague was caused by a mutated version of the Mad Cow virus, and spread very quickly. There appear to be some people (very, very few) who are immune to the virus, unless the virus is placed directly in their bloodstream (like through a bite). In Texas there's a young guy, an uber nerd we know as "Columbus" (all of the characters go by their hometowns instead of their real names, in case you have to cap 'em later), played by Jesse Eisenberg. Before the outbreak he is a Mountain Dew Red gulping, WoW playing, paranoid shut-in. After the outbreak he survives, mainly because of his paranoia and complete lack of friends and family (from Columbus Ohio, living in Texas - no family nearby, and he's not close to them anyway). He quickly develops a series of "rules" to help people survive in Zombieland. The first few of these rules are explained at the beginning of the movie in a sort of montage', and begin with these first two:

• #1: Cardio - you need to be in shape to run from the zombies. The fatties were the first to go, so you need to keep your cardio up to survive
• #2: Double Tap - many, many people have thought they killed a zombie, only to get bitten when they go to inspect. Zombies can only be killed by a headshot, so unless you are double-damn sure you got a clean head shot the first shot, go ahead and give it a "double tap" - a second shot to the head

Now, the way the rules are displayed and continue to be exposed throughout the movies is hilarious, and amazingly innovative; in fact this is one of the best parts of the movie. The rules appear as metallic-looking words interspersed in the scene. They then fade, are knocked over, whatever to go away, but the funniest thing is that sometimes you'll see a rule pop up in the background, and you KNOW that this is what Columbus is thinking. It is hilarious, and is really fun.

As Columbus is moving about, he comes upon Tallahassee, played by the awesome Woody Harrelson. He OWNS this character, who is a Texas-style BAD ASS at killing zombies. Where Columbus views it as a necessary evil, Tallahassee loves killing them - and comes up with some fantastic (and funny) ways to do so. The interaction between Tallahassee and Columbus is reminiscent of the old "buddy movies" from years ago, but in a perverted, brilliant way.

While Tallahassee and Columbus are traveling, they come upon two others - a young woman (Witchita, played by Emma Stone) and her 13 yr old sister (Little Rock, played by a surprisingly effective Abigail Breslin). Now, I am not going to spoil it, but let's just say that the relationship between the guys and girls isn't exactly rosy to start. Based upon their interactions and traveling, hilarity ensues.

ZOMBIELAND is a great blending of snappy dialogue, great characterization, and some very inventive direction/photography. It doesn't shy away from the horror side, which some good ol' zombie blood and goop, impressive kills, and overall death and destruction; but what is clever is that it manages to make you laugh - hard - while viewing scenes that would otherwise give you nightmares. And to top all of this off, there is a brilliant extended cameo by a famous actor/comedian (sure, you can Google it, but don't - let it be a surprise, you'll enjoy it much more). This is the type of thing that makes ZOMBIELAND so successful - you are surprised quite often, and you can't wait to see what's going to happen next.

I think one of the best testaments to ZOMBIELAND comes from an interview I saw with Woody Harrelson. He said that this is the first movie he's ever done where he immediately asked the director and producers if there was going to be a sequel, and if so then to count him in, because that was the most fun he's ever had making a movie, ever.

I hope Woody gets his wish.

Rock