A Man and His Movies

By Sean Harris ’11
THE ROUNDUP

Welcome to Zombieland, a world where the living dead rule the planet and a handful of survivors are in search of a sanctuary–as well as some Twinkies.

Joining the ranks of horror comedies featuring most notably “Shawn of the Dead,” “Zombieland” does nothing revolutionary, yet still manages to produce brilliant moments that make the movie well worth your time.

The story is rather simplistic: Zombies have taken over the Earth and a motley crew of survivors band together to avoid becoming the undead’s next meal. These survivors have all made it through the apocalypse for different reasons.

The nerdy shut-in Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) has survived because of a series of rules he has created. The nearly psychotic Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) made it because he was born to kill zombies. The sisters Wichita (former Xavierite Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin) have survived due to their ability to con their way through life.

Harrelson steals nearly every scene he appears in by creating a larger than life personality that you can’t help but root for.

The rest of the cast does a good job as well; Eisenberg proves that he is not just a poor man’s Michael Cera (of “Superbad” fame).

Stone performs admirably in a role that was obviously just meant to be eye candy, hinting that there is some potential to her career.

Breslin, having already proved her worth in “Little Miss Sunshine,” also keeps up well with the rest of the cast.

The real stars of the movie, however, are the zombies.

Running at top speed (which seems to be the new standard for zombies), devouring everything in sight, they provide a real sense of danger for our heroes, especially in the third act.

Regrettably the film does have some glaring issues.

The story is so predictable that you could probably guess what will happen just by reading the synopsis. It doesn’t help that every time they try hinting at something deeper, the movie will direct our attention elsewhere.

Another issue is the action sequence in the third act. While it while it accomplishes its goal as a flashy action scene it makes little to no sense.

Despite those flaws, “Zombieland” can still provide some great scenes that will lead the audience to taking the film’s advice and just “enjoying the little things.”

I give “Zombieland” 3 out of 5 horseshoes.

Editor’s Note: “A Man and His Movies” will be a regular feature in The Roundup. You can reach reporter Sean Harris at roundup@brophyprep.org or post your comments below.