Zombieland
DVD Reviews | Feb 2nd, 2010
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Abigail Breslin, Emma Stone
Written By: Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick
Directed By: Ruben Fleischer
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Buy on Amazon.com
One of the best & funniest movies of 2009 is now available on DVD and Blu-Ray from Sony Home Entertainment! Zombieland is both a funny road trip movie and a zombie comedy. It will provide just enough gore for horror fanatics as well. This is a movie you don’t want to miss!!
Zombieland is pretty much what you think is it. The whole planet has turned into zombies from some 21 Century plague that turns people into violent, aggressive, man eating zombies. We, the audience, are left to assume only a few people are left in the world, and one of them is narrating the movie. That’s Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), a nerdy anti-social who has a set of rules on how to live in a zombie world. While traveling on the highway, he comes across Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson). An ass-kicking, Twinkie-craving hillbilly, who’s just out for some zombie revenge! The two form an unlikely alliance until they meet their match with 2 sisters. There’s Wichita (Emma Stone) who’s around Columbus’ age and then there’s her little sister Little Rock (Abigail Breslin). They both agree to stick together and not get too attach, but that doesn’t go so well. The sisters tell the guys that they are headed to Pacific Playland, which is located in LA and it’s suppose to be zombie-free. You all know how that probably turns out.
When I first saw the trailer for Zombieland, I thought the movie might be okay. But then word of mouth spread and I just had to see the movie on opening weekend. Talk about an enjoyable movie experience! The cameo in the movie is worth the price of admission alone. I had tears from laughing so hard. I kind of heard who was in the movie, but didn’t know the extent of it. I think that’s the best way to go into this movie. Try to be spoiler free if you haven’t seen Zombieland yet. So don’t read most reviews or even Wikipedia if you want to go in spoil-free.
For some reason, I don’t really like zombies yet it seems that’s about the only horror movies I end up watching. I always have zombie nightmares, more than the average person. But I really loved this movie and plan on watching it many times. It can be gory, but in a cartoon way. Most of the blood splatters are CGI and zombies eating random bodies is about the extent of the gory stuff. The dialogue is so funny, especially between Jesse and Woody that the zombie stuff is secondary. I haven’t really liked Emma Stone that much, until this movie. She did a good job with the role, plus the eyeliner and black hair made her a lot more hotter for me. I always like Abigail as an actor, it’s weird to see her growing up so fast. I still remember when she was the cute little girl from Signs. But what really made this movie great was the chemistry between Woody and Jesse. Hearing those two talk to each other in a zombie world is just hilarious. You can tell they are just having a lot of fun on screen.
Zombieland felt like a video game, showing pop up graphics when one of Columbus’ rules was met. Things like “Cardio” or “Double Tap” when those things were being used. It was hilarious. I think every knew what kind of movie they were getting was during the excellent introduction. Metallica’s “For Whom The Bells Toll” was playing as you see various people getting killed by zombies in slow-mo. I think after you see the first 5 minutes, you just know what type of movie you’re going to get.
The extras include some featurettes, audio commentary, deleted scenes, and a few other things. The two featurettes were good but I felt they could have gone into the behind the scenes stuff more. There’s interviews and other scenes in there, but wish there was more. The deleted scenes were okay; one notable scene stood out.Wichita and Little Rock were talking about the guys, trying to figure out how they survived not being zombified. It’s just a funny scene of what they actually did for a living before the world turned to shit. The visual effects progression featurette was interesting because it showed you what was CG and what wasn’t. I really liked the graphics in this movie, because they weren’t really noticeable. For a low budget horror comedy, just the right amount of CGI was used and used fairly effectively.
What made Zombieland one of my favorite movies of the year last year was the cast, the script, the awesome soundtrack (which hasn’t officially been released), and the special effects; just everything about it really! I guess the only negative I would have against the movie is 88 minutes isn’t long enough. But I’m sure the sequel will come out in a few years and give us more of what we were craving at the end of the movie.Plus it will be in 3D! So nut up or shut up and go out and get this DVD..or Blu-Ray! Now where is my Twinkie?
Features:
– Deleted Scenes
– Commentary with Actors Woody Harrelson & Jesse Eisenberg, Director Ruben Fleischer, Writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick
– Go Behind-the-Scenes with In Search of Zombieland
– “Zombieland is Your Land” – The zombification of the United States
– Visual Effects Progression Scenes
– Theatrical Promo Trailers
Video:
Widescreen 2.40:1 Color (Anamorphic)
Audio:
ENGLISH: Dolby Digital 5.1 [CC]
ENGLISH: Dolby Digital Stereo [CC]
FRENCH: Dolby Digital Stereo
Subtitles:
English, French
Bottom Line: An enjoyable & hilarious movie experience!
Rating: NR
Running Time: 88 mins
Extras Rating:
Overall Rating:
