film reviews

ZombieLand

It seems today that most people forget why we go to the movies. All everyone wants to see is the next big blockbuster and forget that bigger doesn’t always mean better. Then a movie comes out that reminds us that we are there to have fun and be entertained and it doesn’t have to cost 200 million dollars to make that happen. Zombieland is that movie, a movie that you will enjoy from the open credit scene till the last frame. Written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick and directed by Ruben Fleischer, Zombieland tells the story of a disease that has turned everyone into zombies except for a few lucky survivors. When the film begins and we meet Columbus played by Jessie Eisenberg (Adventurland) who is at a gas station telling us the story of what happened to the world and how a wuss like him has survived it so far. See he has a list of rules, things like Always buckle up, double tap, which basically means always shoot or hit twice, and Cardio. With these rules Columbus has found a way to survive, but without knowing if there is anyone else out there. Having decided to look for his family he starts the long walk home only to run into another Survivor named Tallahassee played perfectly by Woody Harrelson (No Country for Old Men) who is the opposite of Columbus in which he is a Zombie killing machine. Not wanting to get attached Tallahassee keeps the names to where they are from so that they don’t get to know one another to well. They start there journey together but all Tallahassee wants is a Twinkie, and he will do whatever it takes to get one. In their search they stop at a grocery store and meet Wichita played by Emma Stone (Superbad) and Little Rock played by Abigail Breslin( Little Miss Sunshine) who are sisters. The rest of the film the four of them take a trip to California to go to Pacific Play land so that Little Rock can remember what it is like to be a kid again. While on the way there are plenty of zombies killing with everything from a shotgun to a pair of hedge clippers. The thing that sets this apart from other zombie movies is that it never tried to be anything else but a fun movie. I went into this movie not really knowing what to expect and when the film was over I had so much fun that the first thing I thought was I would love to see that again. So go and see this film and be reminded why you enjoy going to the movies, and see that not all films will make you feel like the living dead.

Brian Taylor