And we’re back! It’s been along layoff since James and I had a chance to sit down and record a new podcast, and thanks to the wonders of memory, in this episode you’ll hear exactly why this is so. We also talk briefly about the Oscars, more specifically on the In Memorium montage that honors those who have lost their life in the past year, and we note some of the most obvious snubs from this montage, including the man we devote this episode to, writer/director Dan O’Bannon.
O’Bannon isn’t a household name, but his contributions to the Alien franchise and zombie lore alone make him as influential as anyone you are likely to find working in genre films. But then, the Academy isn’t fond of genre films, so why should they be fond of Dan O’Bannon?
So in this episode James and I tackle five of his films as our own way of honoring a man who has made movie watching just so damn enjoyable for us over the years. You may not know who he is, but you’ll be hard pressed to avoid his influences in modern film. He was an incredible talent, and film making is a lesser medium with his loss, and a whole lot less fun. But hopefully you’ll take the time to try out some of his films and finally see just what you’ve been missing.
And now for the continuing adventures of Andrew and, well, me. This time Andrew and I try out pubcasting, which for the uninitiated is when you sit down in a bar and record a podcast. Our first victims/subjects are writer/director Pericles Lewnes and Executive Producer Ed Bishop who are responsible for Redneck Zombies, which as part of its 20th Anniversary is playing as part of the International Zombie Summit here at the Flyway Film Festival.
Just got back from a screening of Zombieland and I don’t have too much to say about it. It’s a solid zom-com thought it is far from the best. The film drags early on and takes its sweet time getting to its actual point but it does have its share of highlights.
First, the opening credit sequence is pretty solid. And by solid I mean really freaking good. It will easily rank as one of the better opening credit sequences of the year and that includes Watchmen. No matter how much I see it, slow-motion plus people running from zombies always seems to work, and Zombieland makes sure to show you things you’d never thought you’d see in a zombie film.
Second, while the film drags for much of its second of four acts it really picks up its game when it introduces an absolute monster of a cameo in the third act. Epic in both the scale of the person involved and what they bring to the film. The cameo elevates the entire film and even when it ends it has built up enough momentum to power the film through a solid 4th act. This performance alone begs the film to be rewatched, and possibly even owned. Its that freaking good.
Third, at around 80 minutes the film doesn’t overstay its welcome, which is good because it feels a hell of a lot longer then 80 minutes. The film has its fare share of pacing issues, but once it finally gets to the meat of its story the film doesn’t fail to produce an entertaining and funny film.
Fourth, the audience I saw this with sucked. Their are few things I hate more then people who try and laugh louder than everyone in the theatre and this screening was full of them. yes, we get it. You know this is a comedy so you want to make sure that everyone knows how funny you think it is. So funny, in fact, that you will laugh at things that are not even supposed to be funny. That way, every one in attendance will know that you, and only you, truly “get” this movie.
So to sum up, Zombieland is a solid and entertaining film that should please pretty much any fan of the genre, even when douchebags in the audience try and ruin the film for everyone but themselves.
Zombieland opens at any theatre worth a damn on Friday, October 2nd.
It has taken some time, but finally the Canadian Zombie but not Zombie film Pontypool will make its theatrical debut here in the Twin Cities at none other then the Oak Street Cinema as part of their Late Night Horror series. The film will play on September 24-26th at 9:30 pm each night.
Minnesota Film Arts is also promising that this will be the first in what they claim will be a weekly horror series. As much as I hope this is true, I’m sure most members of the Twin Cities film community knows better then to get their hopes up when it comes to the Oak Street, and I’m no different. But even though I am unconvinced at the idea of the Oak Street pulling off a horror series, I will still make sure to head over there to watch Pontypool in all its 35mm glory and I hope you do as well.
Of course, once you finally do watch the film be sure to check out my rather long winded essay on the film. It might actually make sense to you then.
When I started this column my main hope was to find interesting films that I had never seen before that I could review. I hoped that I would enjoy the majority of them, but I knew that in sampling such odd fare that it was inevitable that I would eventually encounter some duds. But I also held out hope, as naive as it probably was, that since I was watching primarily experimental films, that I would enjoy at least some aspect of these movies, no matter how terrible they might happen to be. I held out that hope until now. Until Mutant. I just wish this day had never come.
Two brothers, Josh and Mike (Wings Hauser and Lee Montgomery) from somewhere hip and cosmopolitan, are heading to a small southern getaway to engage in some much needed male bonding. It seems that have become estranged for some unexplained reason and this trip to a place that they hate, and hates them they back with equal fervor, will be the perfect place to solve all of their problems. That is, until the vampire acid zombies show up and ruin everything.
I’ve been trying to slog through Mutant for close to a month now. Considering I’ve watched any number of awful films in my day just what possibly could have made Mutant so difficult to sit through? The short answer is really rather simple. Everything. It is difficult to know just where to begin describing the failures of Mutant. It is the kind of colossal disaster that could destroy companies. Funny enough, Mutant did.
And we’re back! It’s been along layoff since James and I had a chance to sit down and record a new podcast, and thanks to the wonders of memory, in this episode you’ll hear exactly why this is so. We also talk briefly about the Oscars, more specifically on the In Memorium montage that honors those who have lost their life in the past year, and we note some of the most obvious snubs from this montage, including the man we devote this episode to, writer/director Dan O’Bannon.
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