Zombieland & Percy Jackson…
This was a great week! Two good movies to tell you about.
The first one was really a surprise. I hate zombies, zombie movies or anything having to do with frickin’ zombies. They’re just gross and not a lot of fun. Don’t get me wrong, I grew up loving horror movies, especially those of the Poe variety, but zombies were just never my cup of tea. Vampires… sure. Even Hellraiser. But Zombies? Feh.
However, I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed Zombieland. The black comedy is set around a twenty-something nerdy boy loser (Jesse Eisenberg), who finds his talent, which is of course, killing zombies.
The premise is that people ate mad cow disease burgers (think I had one of those last summer… argh) and started turning into zombies. Now, there are only a few people left who are still human. The rest are all trying to kill off the few, right?
But Eisenberg’s character, Columbus, has these rules of engagement that are just hilarious: #1 Cardio. You can’t run from zombies if you’re obese, and guess who the first dead people where? Bummer. #2 Beware of Bathrooms. That’s where the zombies have you at … shall we say… a disadvantage. There are actually 32 of these rules and one is better than the next for laughability.
And then, there’s Woody Harrelson. His character is Tallahassee and he’s a typical Florida redneck, and thank god for those in a zombie attack! No kidding. They have the trucks and the guns. Who’d you rather hang with? The Pope? Come on… Anyway, he’s just awesome and funny and really made this otherwise gross and sickening movie a scream. No fear. Laughter.
But for a movie that will keep you on the edge of your seat (somewhat) try Percy Jackson: The Lightning Theif. Wow. GREAT mythical beings in this one. Kudos to the people who created them, really. They’re really awesome.
The story surrounds Percy, who’s Poseidon’s son, but doesn’t know it until Zeus decides to blame him for “stealing his thunder”… literally. Of course, Percy didn’t take it. Didn’t even know it existed, but he can hold his breath underwater for 7 minutes and has no idea why.
Lots of cool Greek mythology interwoven into this story, though some of it is wrong. The whole Hades, Persephone, Demeter thing is totally bogus, but only a purist would recognize that. The film is just fun and worth seeing.
I give Zombieland 4 stars (coulda been 5, but lost a point for vomit) and Percy gets a 5. Kind of a kid pic, but oh well… aren’t we all still kids at heart?
