Writtenwyrdd

Zombieland and contest update

I saw Zombieland last night.  I was very disappointed with the exception of Woody Harrelson, who is so funny in his role as a zombie slayer that he stole the whole show from the wimpy lead character, the Goth girl and the kid.  [By the way, he and I are the same age, except I'm a week or so older.  It's weird when the actors you like a younger than you are; but for some reason it seems weird to think that guy from Cheers is my exact age!]

Anyhow, back to the movie:  The opening scenes are geared to gross you out, but if you can stomach that bit, it's far less gross as you go along.  However, the characters suffer from serious plot-hole-itis and either screenwriter or director idiocy.  Lack of intelligent actions on the parts of the characters put me right off, yet, unlike in the slasher movies where the idiot who goes into the unlit basement alone dies, these people drop their weapons, wander around the US of Zombieland without guns or other weapons--generally without having any troubles whatsoever, and this on-again-off-again danger makes zero sense and ticked me off.  Sorry, but leaving your car fifty yards from where you need to get out, or turning all the lights on anyplace pretty much guarantees zombies come running, yet they live!  And let's not forget the rampant character-as-puppet-itis!  The total lack of paranoia on the part of our twitchy main character once the opening is established was the worst offense, and the clumsy relationship development between Goth Girl and Paranoid Protagonist had me eyerolling like a thirteen year old. 

But the plot holes are what really bugged the crap out of me.  First thing I noticed was that our protagonist, in the opening scenes, is pumping gas!  Unrealistic! However many months it is after the zombie apocalypse and all the power still works, they can pump gas,  or (worst example) the entire amusement park turns on, including rides that conveniently stop and start for people to get on and off, and all the lights work.  Not one dead bulb to be seen.  It's like the entire worlds has been wrapped in cosmoline like a cache of WWII weaponry, ready to go.  (At least the WWII weaponry would be ready to go after a clean up.)  Oh, and the dropping of weaponry, or leaving it in the car?  Aaaaaaah!  These people act too stupid to survive.  (Woody's character does mention near the end that he figures luck is more important to survival than anything else.  And then he does a great big cowboy scene kicking zombie ass and taking names in the best scene of the movie.)  [Addendum:  Oh, and it just occurred to me:  They have blood and biomatter splattering all over the place, yet no one catches this plague, which is an infectious disease that's a derivative of BSE/mad cow?  No no no noooooo!]

Nope.  If you liked Zombieland, good for you.  But I found it insulted my intelligence with no cohesive story line or logic, and characters about whom I couldn't' give a crap.

Contest update.  So far, we have ten entries on the contest.  That's a decent amount of reading for the voters, lol.  And there are about five more folks who have mentioned they want to enter.  So I'm guessing that we will have at least fifteen when Halloween has come and gone.

District 9: Go see it!

I saw District 9 on Sunday.  I had seen the trailer previously but had forgotten what the movie was about except for having heard it was good but very dark.  Let me start by saying that this movie is very different from the blow 'em ups we often get in current sf movies.  Action without content or good writing is not what you get in District 9.  If you remember Enemy Mine, a movie where an alien and a human meet, hate and then find common ground, you have a hint.

However, this  movie is fascinating on several levels, and the alien v human aspect is not as milque toasty as in Enemy Mine.  D9 is gritty and very dark.  First, the film is shot in documentary style, which usually doesn't work for me (Blair Witch Project, anyone?  I loathed that movie), but here the 'interviews' pull you in and foreshadows the movie while giving a bit of set up and backstory...yet not too much.  Then there's the situation, which shows humanity being what we are when at our prejudiced worst as host to some alien refugees. (This was particularly parable-like considering that the movie was set and filmed in South Africa.)  Then there's the great special effects and, yes, the action. 

In any case, it would spoil the movie to know too much about the film before you see it.  But it's gripping.  I loved it. 

The only thing I didn't like was that the general who is essentially the bad guy in the fight scenes is a blonde germanic type.  A bit too Hitler-Youth-grown-up for me.  If he'd had dark hair and didn't seem so Teutonic it would have made me happier.  And the two baddies were both a bit flat for my taste.  But, hey, it's still a great movie.

Official trailer here.

Twilight the movie

With all the movie hate going around, I just have to chime in.  I didn't hate Twilight: the movie.  In fact, I liked it.  Sort of.  And here's why.  Because I was once a boy-obsessed little twit like Bella the Doormat.  I can't stand Bella's character, but, as a former tween girl myself, I can understand her.

It's in large part the book, verbatim.  And, think of it this way:  You are spared reading about Edward's smile or Bella's heartbeat like a gazillion times.

Overall, only a half dozen eye-rolling moments.  Really, it's a B- sort of movie.  Not as awful as many seem to think.  Even the book has a certain charm to it, if you don't mind being in the head of Bella The Doormat, whose immature obsession with Edward, her 'true love' goes from out of nowhere to over the top pretty fast.

Best scene in the movie?  The vampires playing baseball.  It was hilarious.  Oh wait...they probably didn't intend to make a funny there...

If you can waste your money on Saw IV or Gigli, you can probably stand to waste your money on something like Twilight. 

Hancock-- Go see it!

Just saying.  I really liked this.  Very fresh plot elements in that you do not expect the twists in the middle.  And Will Smith is delightful as the grimy, doesn't-want-to-be-redeemed John Hancock.  And the ending is quite nice, too.  Make sure you stay to watch the ending credits!

Steampunk and Art Noveau

I went and saw The Golden Compass last night (different from the book, but marvelous none the less) and now am doomed to Hell if I wasn't already.  Because my poor wee mind's religious convictions cannot possibly stand the corruption of Phillip Pullman's athiesm, lol.   Thumbs up on it, though.  It was a good adaptation even though there were a few changes needed to translate the book to the big screen.

Anyhow, sarcasm aside, I was reminded by the vast and gorgeous backdrops they used in this imaginary London of how frequently Art Noveau aesthetics are used in fantasy.  And steampunk, too.  In the movie, they have the sweeping, organic curvatures of Art Noveau, as well as the steampunk fascination for gadgetry.  Airships like zeppelins and hydrogen balloons floating ships.  Power sources that look like some form of plasma in nesting hoops that sweep around the blue-glowing core.  Curves on horseless carriages that are completely frivolous. 

I wonder why it works so well to have the fantastically be visually organic yet still using the mechanical aspects of the steampunk?  Because it does work.  The two combined are extremely pleasing, visually.  And you see the Art Noveau style sans steampunk in a lot of  movies, too, such as LOTR. 

I'd like to live in a world that allowed for architectural whimsy as in The Golden Compass.  Oddly enough, though, I have a difficult time envisioning this sort of thing in my own work.  Must be acculturation.  I mean, it's a constant uphill battle where I keep reminding myself these people live in rooms with no corners or the like.  Maybe I should draw a picture as a visual aid.