Zombies!

My recent obsession with the film 28 Days Later, coupled with my wife's discovery of an awesome blog over on Ravelry, has led us to question....are we prepared in the event of a zombie apocalypse?

Are you?

This is something that requires serious attention, I think. Sure, you may be prepared for a break in...or a flood...hell, even the possibility of a volcanic eruption might not rattle you in the slightest. But can anyone out there seriously tell me that they're ready for ZOMBIES???!!!

I didn't think so.

I'll be the first to (reluctantly) admit that my own house is far from zombie proof. The wall of big windows in the living room is just screaming for aggressive ghouls to come crashing through, and in the event of an overrun of hostile zombies we'd be forced to retreat to roof in order to keep ourselves safe. Luckily, however, the DW created stocked us up on emergency supplies a few years ago, and my extensive knowledge of zombies will of course prove to be a great benefit, and while we may possess only a modicum of firepower, we have plenty of improvisational weapons that have proven their worth against zombies in popular media.

There is no better weapon than being prepared, so while I zombie-proof my residence and you consider what needs to be done to better prepare yourself for a Romeroesque apocalypse, consider this resource to help get you pointed in the right direction: The National Center for Reanimation Prevention and Control (NCRPC).

This gold mine of information will make hardened zombie killers out of even the wimpiest citizens. Be prepared, citizens -- you never know when that rage virus will strike!

(Please note that my tongue is planted firmly in cheek here. Also be aware, however, that being prepared for a zombie invasion is, in many ways, like preparing for any major disaster, and it certainly never hurts to be prepared. The excellent book The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead, besides being a terribly fun read, also provides plenty of great real life tips on how to be prepared for any big emergency, whether that be a fallout, hostile takeover at the hands of Canadians, or the much more likely event of a zombie uprising).

Good zombie hunting!

Busy Times & Scary Trailers

Wow, been a while. I suck at blogging! :)

Well, it's been a busy month. My DS had his tonsils out (poor guy is on a largely liquid diet for another week or so), I've shifted locations here at work (window seat = Yay!; next to boss = BOO!), we finally got the dog spayed (she was thrilled, I assure you), and I helped my dear Mom move into her new house. (I didn't do much, to be honest, aside from eat those yummy Costco sandwiches and make pithy comments.) All this while my dearly beloved British overlord of a VP assigned me a very unenviable task during the one week I had little choice but to miss half of my days at work, which led to an extremely long Friday (when everyone else is normally gone) and a very tired late night Sunday as I finished everything up.

So. Fun.

But in the meantime, I've seen some more movies!

For reasons that aren't entirely clear to anyone (myself included), roughly once a year I get on a bizarre horror movie kick that lasts for about 2-3 weeks. (I do the same thing with rap music.) I've always been a fan of well made horror films, but the recent trend that Hollywood has taken with the production of "torture porn" (horror films that revolve around the sadistic mutilation and degradation of others; these victims are normally captives, and the perpetrator is generally not a supernatural entity, but rather just a weirdo) put me off just a bit. While "Saw" may be a fine movie, I'm fairly certain it didn't warrant 3 (soon 4) sequels. "Wolf Creek" could never have been made and I'd have been happy. The same goes for "Hostel" and its sequel, and even the remake of "The Hills Have Eyes".

Recently, however, I was lucky enough to discover a trio of excellent films that are all scary, well made, well acted, and that use as their staple villains three old favorites from back when horror stories were still in their infancy: vampires, werewolves, and zombies! Without going into detail, just check out the trailers below, and know that all three films are worth catching on Netflix (I've actually purchased 2 of the 3, as well, and I don't buy movies nearly as often as I used to).

While all of these films are unquestionably violent, they are all also genuinely scary, peopled with well-developed characters, and enjoyable to watch. My personal favorite of the three was "28 Days Later", which I've already watched twice and that bears images and scenes that have lingered long in my memory after viewing (so much so that the film is the second by Danny Boyle to make it onto my own personal "top 10" list, which just reached 11 films....time to shift something off, I guess...)

30 Days of Night (Vampires):


My thoughts: 3 out of 4 stars. Handsomely made, very scary film that manages to actually make vampires scary again. I've decided that I like Josh Hartnett as an actor, especially in these types of roles (he was also fun in "The Faculty"). "30 Days of Night" does a lot of things right, and even though it has its share of problems (there are plot holes the size of pot holes, and anyone who still believes that the light in Alaska works as depicted here and in films like "Insomnia" should probably have their head closely examined), the film is overall highly enjoyable, and a great Halloween treat.

28 Days Later (zombies):


My thoughts: 4 out of 4 stars. One of my new favorite films. Atmospheric, well acted (Cillian Murphy and Brendan Gleeson, especially, are awesome), directed and executed, and very, very frightening from start to finish. While not technically a "zombie" movie in the strictest sense of the word, I'm not really sure what else to classify it as...the one classification I have come up with, "A Post Apocalyptic Infected Ghouls on Speed Film", is just sort of a mouthful.

"28 Days Later" is a difficult movie to forget, and not an easy one to step away from once it has you in its hold. It's a rare horror film that is much more than the sum of its parts: at times exciting, at times touching, oft terrifying, and always engaging. All in a all it's a great film that just all around kicks arse. See it...now.

Dog Soldiers (werewolves):


My thoughts: 3 out of 4 stars. Great, gory fun. The direction is clunky at times, and there truly is nothing original going on here, but the movie is so well crafted that I found myself not worried about that in the least. The movie is also surprisingly funny, often at the most shocking of times...I think it's a British thing...

That's it for now -- take care!

Movie Reviews, Because.....Well, Because!

I don't normally review movies, but for no real valid reason I've been getting back into watching films again, so I thought I'd share my thoughts on some of the movies I've viewed recently (by choice or otherwise...)

Note: On the very rare occasion that I review a movie, I use a fairly standard best out of 4 star ratings (1 = sucks, 2 = average, 3 = good, 4 = perfect), with the option for using half-star ratings, as well. I tend to judge a movie based on a) how well it accomplishes what it sets out to accomplish, and b) how much I enjoyed it. That being said, there will be some films I give favorable reviews that many may consider to be "crap" movies, and there will be some popular films that I give poor ratings. Luckily for you, I don't see movies until they come out on DVD these days, so what I'm reviewing is going to be limited to what's been in our Netflixcue and what the family has recently acquired as gifts or purchases.

That being said, on to the reviews, presented here in alphabetical order:

"Death Sentence"
2007, Directed by James Wan, starring Kevin Bacon, Kelly Preston, Garrett Hedlund, Aisha Taylor & John Goodman
Rating: **1/2

While the box office and critical results have been dubious, I'm pleased to see that members of the so-called "splat pack" of up and coming horror directors are branching out and trying different things. Doomsday is at the top of my "want to see" list at the moment, and that films recent release inspired me to check out Death Sentence, James Wan's follow-up to his incredibly popular Saw. In Death Sentence, which is loosely based on a novel by Brian Garfield (author of Death Wish, an excellent 1972 film which has the unfortunate honor of being remade sometime next year), mild-mannered executive Nick Hume (Bacon) is pulled out of his seemingly idyllic life by the murder of his son at the hands of a ruthless street gang as part of an initiation ritual. When Nick realizes that the young killer is unlikely to get the punishment he deserves, Nick refuses to testify, thereby allowing the killer go free so that Nick can administer his own justice through murder. Unfortunately for Nick, this revenge killing only brings the attention of the gang's leader (Hedlund), who declares war on Nick's family. Much blood ensues.

I'll be the first to admit that there is little in the way of originality in Death Sentence: if you've even seen a revenge flick or vigilante film, you can most likely guess what's going to happen and when. The overall plot of the film is highly improbable, and the narrative flow is clunky and oft times unbelievable.

Now, that being said, you may wonder why I gave it an above-average rating.

First off, while the film's overall narrative arc is unrealistic, the reason this deficiency draws so much attention is because of how well the film's little moments work. The details in many scenes lend a sense of realism and credulity to the story, enough that I was taken in very early in the proceedings and found myself unable to stop watching even as the story grew somewhat preposterous. The montage of family home videos at the beginning of the film are a fine example: generally in films this device is excessively cheesy and ultimately unbelievable, but here the footage felt very real, and I think fulfilled its job in establishing a snapshot of the Hume family without drowning the audience in saccharine. Nick's hesitation prior to committing his first vigilante murder, and his subsequent reaction after the deed is done; his early hand-to-hand battles; his ineptitude in the art of purchasing and handling firearms....all of these moments are so well handled that they make the film enjoyable even when the plot takes a short walk off of the cliffs of reality. Much of the efficacy of these scenes is a result of Kevin Bacon's excellent performance and Wan's sure-handed direction.

From an action perspective, Death Sentence contains more than its share of well-staged sequences, particularly a chase scene that culminates in a struggle atop a parking garage and a a bloody shootout in an old hospital for the film's climax. Wan is very adept at crafting tension, and while his work does come across as somewhat derivative (the ending shootout, in particular, echoes the climax of Taxi Driver), it is efficiently staged. Horror fans expecting Wan's trademark extreme violence will likely be a bit disappointed, but the film is still heavy on the bloodshed, more so than typical action fare (though I do wish that directors would stop relying on CGI-enhanced gore effects...it just looks silly.)

What struck me most about Death Sentence -- and this is likely the ultimate source of the 2-and-a-half star rating -- is how perfectly Wan establishes and maintains the movie's grim tone, to the point where I wish he'd have helmed the recent Punisher film in lieu of Jonathan Hensleigh. Wan has a good understanding of what makes a revenge tale such as this work.


"Music & Lyrics"
2007, Directed by Marc Lawrence, starring Hugh Grant, Drew Barrymore, Brad
Garrett, Haley Bennett & Campbell Scott
Rating: ***

Ever since college, I've become something of a fan of romantic comedies. There are good ones and bad ones, naturally, and it can oft times be difficult to know until it's far too late. Good ones, for me, include Love Actually, While You Were Sleeping, 50 First Dates, The Wedding Singer, and the cream of the crop, When Harry Met Sally. The bad ones...well, suffice to say there are a lot. I'm happy to say, however, that Music & Lyrics falls into the category of "the good ones".

There isn't much new or original being presented here, but the story we're given works, primarily due to the chemistry, comedy and charisma of its two leads. Alex Fletcher (Grant) is a has-been pop icon of the 80s (the movie opens with a hilariously over-the-top music video from his heyday, which somehow manages to combine all of the tacky wonderfulness of every one of my favorite electro-pop 80s music stars into a 3 and a half minute package) who makes his living now living in the shadow of his former band mate, indulging his own whims and playing the carnival and fairs circuit, where his old fans (once teen aged, hormonally charged girls, now middle-aged, hormonally charged mothers and housewives) flock to see him. A chance for a return to stardom presents itself in the form of a Britney/Shakira-like po-star Cora Corman (Bennett), who would like to give him a comeback opportunity with a duet with her on her new album...if he can compose a song for her in just under a week. Despite the enthusiasm of his manager (Garrett, as funny as ever), Fletcher hasn't written any new material in over a decade, and he has no lyricist to work with. Luckily for him, aid comes in the unlikely form of his substitute plant lady, Sophie Fisher (Barrymore), who has a natural talent for poetry and lyrics. Much comedy and the inevitable love ensues.

What I liked most about Music & Lyrics, besides Grant's inimitable ability to deliver one liner after one liner with deadpan assurance, is the fact that the film never pushes the "cute" or "saccharine" aspects of the story too far, and instead lets the story unfold naturally. The inevitable complications that always arise in the third act of films such as this are not (surprisingly) the result of a mis-perception of an old flame that resurfaces for either of the leads, but instead a very natural (if somewhat quirky) conflict that arises over the fate of their joint artistic venture. Naturally, everything works out ok in the end (not to give anything away), and the movie leaves you with a nice, happy feeling, just as a film like this should.

If you're a fan of Hugh Grant movies, or Drew Barrymore movies, or just well-made romantic comedies, there's plenty to like here. (And if Hugh Grant's line about how his tight pants make him a more sensitive person doesn't force you to burst out laughing, there's probably something wrong with you....)


"Sunshine"
2007, Directed by Danny Boyd, starring Cillian Murphy, Chris Evans, Rose
Byrne, Cliff Curtis, Michelle Yeoh, Hiroyuki Sanada, Troy Garity & Benedict
Wong
Rating: ***1/2

I may be one of the only self-proclaimed "film geeks" to have never seen a film by Danny Boyle before now. I've read the reviews, certainly, and I was even moderately interested in watching Trainspotting after having read the book in college; additionally, being a zombie fan, 28 Days Later has been on my "gotta watch this" list for about 3 decades. But, for whatever reason, I've never actually had the opportunity to sit down and watch one of Boyle's films, and this one might have gotten skipped over, as well, as it not been for a) a great trailer (which caused it to get added to my Netflix cue), and b) a slip-up on my part that bumped Sunshine to the top of my Netflix cue. I'm happy for the mistake.

Sunshine is a stylish, atmospheric, and tense science fiction film that places a surprising amount of emphasis on the science aspect of things (which is a lot more than most sci-fi films made these days tend to do) and less on crafting a stereotypical Hollywood-style sci-fi film. That said, the final 1/2 hour of Sunshine does stray into more typical thriller territory (a fact that all but condemned the film in many critics eyes), but even with this shift in tone "Sunshine" is a thoroughly enjoying, at times nail-biting experience.

The film is set roughly 50 years in the future. Our sun is dying, so a last-ditch effort to rekindle the star is in order. The mission is undoubtedly suicide: the 8-person crew of the Icarus II must transport a massive explosive device close enough to the sun that it can essentially reignite the sun from within, which means almost certain doom for the cosmonauts involved. The real trouble begins when, at the advice of Capa (Murphy), the engineer who designed the bomb to be delivered to the sun, the Icarus II diverts its course to investigate a distress call. If Capa's hunch is correct, answering the distress call can reward the crew with something that might be vital to their mission; if he is wrong, he may doom their mission altogether.

One thing that struck me about Sunshine is the level of realism: everything about the ship, the crew, and the mission bears the sharp ring of truth. The tension in the film (at least until the last 1/2 hour) stems from the difficulty inherent in something as taken for granted (in sci films, at least) as changing course. Putting on a space suit to make repairs or board another vessel is no simple task, but a major, potentially deadly undertaking. And even the most noble-hearted people may act in unpredictable ways when placed in a situation where not only their own lives are in danger, but those of the entire world.

For a relatively low budget film, Sunshine's special effects are remarkable, and Boyle's direction is sure-handed and (with some exceptions) doesn't draw too much attention to itself, even when conjuring such memorable images as the brightness of the observation deck or a massive fire viewed through glass walls. The performances are all excellent: there are no action heroes here, but scientists, engineers and astronauts placed in a desperate situation. We get to know only as much about the characters as we need to know, which is another refreshing touch to the film: there are no unnecessary flashbacks or secrets from the past to muddle the screenplay, just a fairly straightforward and exciting tale about a small group of people determined to save their world.

Late film shift in tone notwithstanding, Sunshine left an indelible impression on me, such that it has joined the dubious but exclusive echelon of films that I count as my favorites.


That's it for now (phew). I'll review some more films soon, probably some horror films that I've acquired from Netflix (30 Days of Night and 28 Days Later are both on my immediate list).