Not Quite For The Dead

MOVIE REVIEW: For those of you who think this is another zombie movie, think again! To those who say this movie is another comedy-horror, I say not quite!

Columbia Pictures' Zombieland does not take itself too seriously nor too lightly as a consistently hilarious comedy that happens to have, well, zombies in it. The movie involves four survivors named after their hometown (and accentuates their personality), Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), Wichita (Emma Stone), and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin), who go on a cross-country drive to California to find a mythical town that isn't populated by the diseased.

What is most genuinely impressive about the movie is writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick and director Ruben Fleischer's collaborative ability to maintain the humor as the result of the interaction between the characters and how each hopeless zombie falls trap into their creative ways of death instead of an inconvenient reason to justify a rather pointless moment. By doing so, you have an extremely entertaining movie that is so full of heart and wit that they make the graphic violence and occasional gore pale in comparison.

For example, Tallahassee's insane appetite for Twinkies as his reason to survive and Columbus's secret wish not to die a virgin are just too clever and funny of a character sub-plot to resist.

Zombieland is a well-paced, well-acted, and well-written film that may not carry the badge of a blockbuster hit but will surely use every single running minute to keep you glued to the screen. This one's got it all! Not bad for a $24,000 production.

If you can stomach the stoic violence and gore, Zombieland will be a perfect start of your October movie nights. I highly recommend and enjoyed this movie!

Zombieland (2009) (Columbus Pictures). MPAA rating: R for horror, gore, strong violence and language. Running Time: 1 hour, 22 minutes. Now Playing. U.S. Box Office Gross: $25 million (10/4/09). Currently at #1 in Box Office Sales (19/4/09).

COMEDY FACTOR: A-
SCARE FACTOR: C
FUN FACTOR: A
STORY: B
ORIGINALITY: B-
ACTING: B+
SCORE: C+
MUSIC: B
STUPID LEVEL: 3/10
VERDICT: Nothing but fun!