Zombieland

It was about 4:00pm that I got a worried text from my friend at The Chronical. "I just found out that we need to exchange the screening passes for actual tickets for this movie... I heard they start exchanging at four and usually run out (of tickets) by five". So I ran out the door of my mom's new age gift store and hopped into my white 1986 Camaro, and prayed that it wouldn't choose this day to finally roll over and die on me. It has been inches away from death since I made the long and exhausting journey up from Norco, California two months ago.

Being new to the city, and never having before been to The Megaplex @ Gateway, I drove past it about three times before I figured out how to get into the underground parking. It was 4:27, time was running out. After running through the maze of the subterranean parking garage, I escaped into the chilly courtyard in front of the theater. Renna (my friend at the Chrony) and Jordan were waiting for me in the foyer. I exchanged my pass for two tickets and selected my seats (at Megaplex theaters they have assigned seating). As the rest of her friends from Amtgard began to arrive, she put on my zombie make-up, and after a bit of worry about not having enough tickets, we got organized and were able to get seated and ready for the film.

A couple of the film's promoters were present, including their sponsor (a gun emporium whose name I can't remember) who gave a little zombie-pun-laced speech before it began. The movie begins with an introduction to the world, narrated by the film's not-quite-a-hero hero, played by Jesse Eisenberg. What follows is one of the most fun, exciting and satisfying zombie movies I've ever seen, and I make it a point to see 'em all.

One of the best things the movie has going for it (in addition to simple, straight forward dialogue, brutal action, and some of the best slapstick laughs in modern horror/com) is the soundtrack. Clever and never corny, the music in this movie had me cheering from the opening titles (featuring slo-mo zombie action set to Metallica's For Whom The Bell Tolls) to the end credits.

The cast is also amazingly inspired. For just having four characters in the main cast (all the others being either zombies or dead) this movie never feels as empty as the world its heroes are stranded in. Some lesser critics than myself may find the lack of character development disturbing. They are missing the point entirely. We never learn the whole backstory of these four people, and frankly given their situation, we really don't need to. They all act and react to things in their own funny, and sometimes heart-wrenching ways.

It all comes down to this. If you love the boom, you'll
love Zombieland.

D-Money out.