Zombieland

Right off the bat, This was a really fun as hell movie. It comes from director Ruben Fleischer, who I've never heard of before this film, yet from here on out, I'll keep my ears open for whatever his next project is. Zombieland has a fun and consistent energy that keeps it interesting up until closing. The film opens with a slow-motion credits montage, set to the tune of Metallica's "For Whom The Bell Tolls" showing various people in different situations as they encounter zombies, such as one particular one involving a man running out of a strip club (with wads of bills in his hand) with a zombie stripper on his tail. This was a great and funny montage that set the tone and pace of the entire film.

From there we follow Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) explaining 4 of his rules to zombie survival, and when they come into play at various times, with funny examples showing why they must be followed. Throughout the course of the film, the rules are referred to a number of times with some pretty funny timing and animation. Columbus is eventually picked up by zombie killing badass Tallahassee (Woody Harrellson) who pops in, irritated within seconds by Columbus and becomes even more irritated by his inability to find his long lost treat...Twinkies. Both come together for the hope of finding their respective cities. While raiding a grocery store, they run into the gorgeous Wichita (Emma Stone) and her little sister, Little Rock (Abigail Breslin) and more insanity ensues.

I haven't had this much of an enjoyable time watching a zombie movie since Shaun of The Dead. The film owes at a lot Zombie films and Teen drama-comedies of the past. The core of the cast all hold their own well, with no glaring weak spots. They do a solid effort, with Woody Harrellson being the best of the bunch, spouting off hilarious sentences while mowing more zombies down.

**MILD SPOILERS**

The film has a couple memorable scenes including my favorite, when the gang decide to visit the home of Tallahassee's favorite movie star, for shelter (and worshipping) reasons. I won't spoil who or what happens, but the results drew some of the biggest laugher and gasps from the audience.

**MILD SPOILER***

Some of the dialogue and exchanges, such as with Columbus and Tallahassee, is one of the biggest bright spots, as it keeps the film funny and moving a solid pace.

I'm sure by now you're thinking, is this movie really that perfect? Not at all. I had a couple of beefs with the film. Some of the story points, such as the love interest and the traits of the nerdy protagonist came off as generic. The film loses some steam in the climax, with some (dumb) choices made by the characters that had me saying "Wow, Seriously?" But overall, they didn't affect my enjoyment with the film too much. The majority of the time is spent traveling and watching these characters as they grow and mow down zombies. I found myself rooting and caring for these characters, trying to survive in a barren wasteland.

Horror fans will be pleased enough as they get a decent amount of gore courtesy of the zombies as they lunch on civilians and the characters, who come up with different methods of zombie killing. You definitely see blood, guts and green stuff and entering and exiting the mouths of these zombies. My 2 surprises are that there's actually very few true "scare" scenes and very little nudity in the film. But this is one that didn't need it either.

Zombieland was a great ride that is definitely one to be seen with a crowd or a group of friends. The crowd inside my theater dug the film, laughing and gasping at plenty of moments together. It was a fun time at the cinema and I encourage others to give this one a shot.