Zombieland

Directed by Ruben Fleischer

Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin.

Reviewed by Junior.

Doubling the genre of zombie parody films (held exclusively by Shaun of the Dead since 2004), Zombieland is a solid entry with a small, good cast. The film begins with one lone survivor, Columbus (Eisenberg), and his rules for survival, used repeatedly for humorous effect throughout, such as 1. Cardio, 2. Beware of Bathrooms, 3. Seatbelts, 4. Doubletap... all explained and proven very practical by our unlikely, somewhat nerdy protagonist.

Columbus soon hooks up with another survivor, Tallahassee (Harrelson), who revels in the chaos of Zombieland and has no such concerns for rules or other survivors in general. This diametrically opposed male duo soon meets up with two sisters, played by Stone and Breslin and our quartet, after initially clashing, set off on a road trip across a zombie-filled wasteland to California.

The film starts out with some very violent bits initially, which should be no surprise considering the genre, but soon settles into more of a lightweight buddy flick (x2) vibe. One can almost forget that the world has been overrun by the undead. Our heroes never seem to be in any real danger, which doesn't hurt the enjoyment of the film, but does give it a different flavor than you might expect. We learn the backstories of our motley group and they bond. I won't give away the very entertaining cameo appearance, all too short lived, when they arrive in Hollywood.

Of course, in the third act the movie does reach a slightly menacing crescendo, reaching a satisfying conclusion and setting up a sequel. Not, in my opinion, as funny, smart, or dark as Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland is nevertheless an entertaining romp with an appealing cast, solidly directed by first-timer Ruben Fleischer, at a perfect length of 88 minutes.

Story: 6

Acting: 7

Look: 7

Overall: 7

Burn After Reading

Directed and Written by Joel and Ethan Coen
Starring Brad Pitt, George Clooney, John Malkovich, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Richard Jenkins

Review by Junior.

Joel and Ethan Coen are amazingly talented filmmakers who produce different kinds of movies, seemingly picking projects based on whatever strikes their fancy, and they adapt their filmic style and tone to the subject. One consistent aspect of their disparate films is the frequent use of a few actors, in this case Coen faves George Clooney and Frances McDormand. (Of course you could be fooled by Clooney's presence--you might think you're watching a Steven Soderburgh movie.)

Although I am always aware of the Coen brother's talent, I don't always love their films. I love Blood Simple, Raising Arizona, Fargo, O Brother Where Art Thou?, and No Country For Old Men. Not so much Miller's Crossing, The Hudsucker Proxy and Intolerable Cruelty. I'm afraid Burn After Reading falls into the latter category. Good actors, interesting plot---eh.

Okay, the plot is about a couple of fitness club employees (Pitt and McDormand) who find a computer disc belonging to Malkovich which they believe contains top secret intelligence and their attempts at extorting money from someone (anyone!) in exchange for it. Meanwhile there is some bed-swapping among the characters, Clooney and Swinton included. All the characters are loopy or strange in some way, and the movie is sometimes funny, the plot is engaging...and there is the occasional shocking Coen brothers moment of violence.

The primary problem with the film is that none of the characters are really worth caring about. The most enjoyable, funniest and probably the nicest (if stupidest) character in the movie is Brad Pitt. Unfortunately, there is not enough of him. The rest of the characters are all silly, stupid, shallow, selfish or angry and amoral in their own ways, all flawed, and presented so evenly that the audience doesn't know who they are supposed to care about. Since none of the characters is especially sympathetic one ends up not caring about any of them.

So if we don't care about the characters, we are left with only the story to entertain us, and perhaps a devilish enjoyment of watching the plot machine, as it starts spinning, chew all these idiots up. Unfortunately, it's not enough. For a movie which depends so strongly on the plot the movie takes an odd sidestep at the end and does not directly show the culmination of the story. We are told what happened by a third party, which is kind of funny but ultimately unsatisfying.

Story---7, for quirky originality
Acting---7
Look---6
Overall---6.75