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Friday Night Knife Fights: SHAUN OF THE DEAD vs. ZOMBIELAND – PART 2 (OF 3)

Posted in 2013, All-Star Casts, Friday Night Knife Fights, Horror, Horror-Comedies, Spoofs, Zombie Movies with tags Emma Stone, horror spoofs, Michael Cera, nick frost, shaun of the dead, simon pegg, woody harrelson, zombieland, Zombies on April 19, 2013 by knifefighter

FRIDAY NIGHT KNIFE FIGHTS:
SHAUN OF THE DEAD (2004) vs. ZOMBIELAND (2009) – PART 2 (of 3)
With Michael Arruda, L. L. Soares, Daniel Keohane, Paul McMahon, Sheri Sebastian-Gabriel, and Colleen Wanglund

MICHAEL ARRUDA: Welcome back to Friday Night Knife Fights. Tonight it’s Part 2 of the great zombie comedy debate, as our panel of Cinema Knife Fighters takes on the daunting task of pitting SHAUN OF THE DEAD vs. ZOMBIELAND. Once again, L.L. Soares and I are joined by Dan Keohane, Paul McMahon, Sheri Sebastian-Gabriel, and Colleen Wanglund. Thanks all for being here, and thank you readers for joining us tonight.

Last Friday, in Part 1 of this debate, Rounds 1 and 2 went to SHAUN OF THE DEAD, which now leads ZOMBIELAND by a score of 2-0. This bout has a total of seven rounds, and by the end of those rounds, we hope to declare a winner and be able to choose which one of these zombie comedies is the better movie.

On to Round 3. Which movie treats the horror genre with more respect?

Okay, Paul, since we already know which movie you’ll be picking, since you’ve made it clear that you hate ZOMBIELAND, we’ll start with you.

MCMAHON: Definitely SHAUN OF THE DEAD.

ARRUDA: What a surprise!

MCMAHON: Aside from it being its own story, there were plenty of homages to George A. Romero’s DEAD movies. From ‘Foree Electronics’ to Ed’s line “We’re coming to get you, Barbara!,” to the argument between Tim and Ed about whether it’s okay to say the ‘Zed’ word.

Reuben Fleischer saw SHAUN OF THE DEAD and decided he could make a zombie comedy, too. That makes ZOMBIELAND nothing more than a SHAUN knock-off. A top-shelf knock-off, but still a knock-off. Fleischer’s movie rewards ignorance and stupidity, just like we do in this country these days.

ARRUDA: Ouch! No need to get political now.

MCMAHON: I think that inclusion was accidental rather than a considered, purposeful Romero-esque social commentary of our time.

By far, SHAUN OF THE DEAD is more respectful of the horror genre.

ARRUDA: Well, it’s more respectful of the Romero zombie movies, anyway.

SOARES: Let’s face it, Romero zombie movies – especially the first three – are the gold standard for zombie horror movies. So it’s pretty much the same thing.

MA: Dan, what about you?

KEOHANE: They’re both spoofs, of course, but—.

SOARES: Did you watch the movie this time, Dan? Do you know it has zombies in it?

KEOHANE (puts on his dark sunglasses): I see dead people.

Anyway, overall, I think SHAUN has a level up on the horror scale, since you have more of a threat to characters, more a sense of danger especially in the pub scene, than in the chaotic, silly world of ZOMBIELAND’s amusement park.

ARRUDA: Funny, though, when I re-watched ZOMBIELAND for purposes of this column, I found it less silly than I remembered it. I mean, it has its goofy bits of course, like the whole Twinkie thing, but I found it edgier than I remember.

SOARES: Dan, give those glasses to Michael. ZOMBIELAND, edgy? It’s about as edgy as a Twinkie!

(KEOHANE hands dark glasses to ARRUDA who promptly puts them away.)

SEBASTIAN-GABRIEL: Would you like the walking stick, too?

ARRUDA: No, I think I’m good. Actually, on second thought, I will take the walking stick. (SEBASTIAN-GABRIEL hands ARRUDA the walking stick.) This might come in handy later. (Waves it at SOARES.)

So, Sheri, what are your thoughts on which one is more respectful of the genre?

SEBASTIAN-GABRIEL: Both films do the horror genre proud, I think. They both poke just a bit of fun at the genre without showing any disrespect.

WANGLUND: Ditto.

SOARES: You two need to be more disagreeable.

Anyway, I don’t think either one is disrespectful. But I think it’s pretty obvious that SHAUN OF THE DEAD is the one that has more affection and respect for the genre.

ARRUDA: I think both films treat the genre with respect, and I don’t see either one as dissing horror films. But I give the edge to ZOMBIELAND because at times it worked more as a straight horror film. I empathized with the characters more in ZOMBIELAND, and I was concerned for their safety, even during the silly amusement part scene. I didn’t really feel this way watching SHAUN OF THE DEAD, because I was too busy laughing. I find this amusing because it’s the SHAUN OF THE DEAD characters who die, while the ZOMBIELAND characters survive. SHAUN did such a good job building its comedic world, I never took it seriously.

So, the Round 3 tallies are in, and SHAUN OF THE DEAD wins 3-1, with two abstentions.

Which means SHAUN wins Round 3.

Okay, after three rounds it’s SHAUN OF THE DEAD 3 and ZOMBIELAND 0 so far.

****

Nick Frost and Simon Pegg in SHAUN OF THE DEAD.

ARRUDA: On to Round 4.- Which movie has the better cast? I’ll answer this one first.

I prefer the ZOMBIELAND cast. I like the four principal leads, Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, and Abigail Breslin. This quartet is more effective than Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kate Ashfield and friends.

Plus ZOMBIELAND has Bill Murray playing himself in one of the movie’s goofier segments. Even though I agree with Paul that this sequence is overrated, it’s still fun to see Murray.

I like Simon Pegg A LOT in SHAUN as the normal guy caught up in the zombie apocalypse, but I like Jesse Eisenberg almost as much in the same type of role. But in addition to Eisenberg, ZOMBIELAND also has tough guy Woody Harrelson, tough babe Emma Stone, and Abigail Breslin. While I like the supporting cast of SHAUN, they’re not quite as good as the Fab Four from ZOMBIELAND.

SEBASTIAN-GABRIEL: I agree with Michael.

I like Simon Pegg and his gang, but you can’t beat Woody Harrelson’s Tallahassee for sheer bad-assery. Harrelson brings a touch of carefree sexiness to the film that SHAUN just doesn’t have. I can certainly appreciate that Shaun manages to overcome his hopelessness and pull himself out of his rut, but having two pathetic guys in one zombie battle is a little redundant.

MCMAHON: You’re both wrong.

Simon Pegg and crew had some difficult scenes, and they did a fantastic job nailing every emotion called for. The standoff between Shaun and David toward the end was particularly intense.

In ZOMBIELAND, the plot came to a halt for a spell while the characters revealed where they came from and what they’d been through. I saw Tallahassee’s big “reveal” coming a mile away… possibly because I’d recently watched the final M*A*S*H episode “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen,” which used the same narrative sleight of hand. While Harrelson did okay with the scene, it wasn’t enough to overshadow the acting in SHAUN OF THE DEAD.

SHAUN OF THE DEAD clearly has the better cast.

SOARES: I have to go with ZOMBIELAND for this one. While I liked Simon Pegg and Nick Frost in SHAUN, I can’t name anyone else who was in it. All the major characters in ZOMBIELAND are good and memorable, and work as an ensemble. So it’s ZOMBIELAND for me.

KEOHANE: Personally, I think they’re both top-notch. I became a Simon Pegg and Jessica Hynes fan because of SHAUN OF THE DEAD and later their brilliant SPACED television series (1999-2001).

I’ve always enjoyed Eisenberg and Harrelson (and more recently Emma Stone) in anything they’ve done, or at least anything of theirs I’ve seen. They may have sucked in something I simply haven’t watched yet.

I’m calling this one even.

WANGLUND: SHAUN OF THE DEAD was co-written by and stars Simon Pegg, a British actor who clearly brings his dry sense of humor to the film. Pegg plays a regular guy dealing with some typical issues that most people can relate to when the zombie outbreak occurs.

Most of the cast was unknown to American audiences, and I appreciated that because no one is safe.

ZOMBIELAND has a fairly well-known cast that portrays the characters almost to the extreme of their types. Woody Harrelson as Tallahassee takes pleasure in destroying zombies while Jesse Eisenberg is like a scared little boy who you have wonder how he has survived at all (I very much like his “rules”). Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin’s con-artist sisters are believable in terms of how you may have to survive, but I think the characters aren’t as relatable as they are in SHAUN OF THE DEAD. I did like the cameo appearance by Bill Murray which was funny and sad at the same time.

But overall I’m going with the cast of SHAUN OF THE DEAD.

ARRUDA: So, ZOMBIELAND wins Round 4 with a score of 3 -2 with one tie, which means after four rounds, our score is SHAUN OF THE DEAD 3 and ZOMBIELAND 1.

****

ARRUDA: On to Round 5. Which director does better job, Ruben Fleischer on ZOMBIELAND or Edgar Wright on SHAUN OF THE DEAD?

SOARES: I think they both do a fine job. I’ve liked other things Edgar Wright has done, and I noticed that one Simon Pegg/Nick Frost movie that Wright didn’t direct – PAUL (2011)– was painfully unfunny. So, because I just like Edgar Wright better overall as a director, I give the slight edge to him.

WANGLUND: Edgar Wright, who co-wrote and directed SHAUN OF THE DEAD does a great job keeping the pace of the comedy while still keeping the zombie threat very real and very scary. The end of the film is bittersweet as so many of Shaun’s friends and family do not survive, but life has been able to continue.

I think ZOMBIELAND director Reuben Fleischer did a good job balancing the comedy with the very real horror of a zombie apocalypse.

The directing was superb in both. Even Steven again.

ARRUDA: While I agree that both directors do a good job, I give the slight edge to Ruben Fleischer. I like the energy he brings to the pacing of ZOMBIELAND. Some scenes are downright frenetic. I also like the creative gimmick of the words superimposed on the screen where Eiesenberg’s Columbus lays out his rules to live by. Sure, this isn’t original, we’ve seen this type of thing before, but it still works here.

But Edgar Wright utilizes a lot of creative touches in SHAUN OF THE DEAD as well.

This one’s very close but I give the edge to Fleischer. Advantage, ZOMBIELAND.

MCMAHON: From the very first shots of SHAUN OF THE DEAD, you know Edgar Wright is bringing his A-game. A seemingly intimate conversation between Tim and Liz is revealed through camera angles to be happening at a table crowded with their friends. Also, I loved the pre-zombie and post-zombie mirroring of Shaun’s trip to the corner store for a Coke and a Cornetto.

ZOMBIELAND tried to copy the sense of fun by using title cards to keep track of Columbus’s rules for survival, and that was cute, but felt heavy handed to me. Almost like Ruben Fleischer wanted to be sure we knew he was making a comedy.

Winner: SHAUN OF THE DEAD.

SEBASTIAN-GABRIEL: I’m siding with Colleen on this one. Superb direction by both guys.

KEOHANE (feigning ignorance): Which movies are we discussing again? Seriously, this one’s too close to call.

SOARES: Yeah, I notice people are saying “both” to a lot of these questions. These two movies are just too close – they’re both decent comedies about zombies. It’s just not a very exciting contest to me, because there’s no real conflict here.

ARRUDA: I disagree. I’d much rather have a close contest like this than something like SHAUN OF THE DEAD vs. SCARY MOVIE 5. Where would the fun be in that? Competition is supposed to be evenly matched. Otherwise it’s not much of a contest.

All right, then, there you have it. Round 5 goes to SHAUN OF THE DEAD, with a score of 2-1 and 3 ties. Which means our tally after 5 rounds is SHAUN OF THE DEAD 4 and ZOMBIELAND 1. But ZOMBIELAND could still pull a surprise win out of its hat in PART 3.

That’s all the time we have for PART 2. Join us next Friday night for the final two rounds, the exciting conclusion to our debate of SHAUN OF THE DEAD vs. ZOMBIELAND. Don’t forget, ZOMBIELAND still has a chance.

So long for now!

—END PART 2—

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Friday Night Knife Fights: SHAUN OF THE DEAD vs. ZOMBIELAND – PART 1 (of 3)

Posted in 2013, Friday Night Knife Fights, Zombies with tags Emma Stone, nick frost, shaun of the dead, simon pegg, woody harrelson, zombieland on April 12, 2013 by knifefighter

FRIDAY NIGHT KNIFE FIGHTS: SHAUN OF THE DEAD (2004) vs. ZOMBIELAND (2009). – PART 1
With Michael Arruda, L. L. Soares, Daniel Keohane, Paul McMahon, Sheri Sebastian-Gabriel, and Colleen Wanglund

MICHAEL ARRUDA: Welcome to another edition of FRIDAY NIGHT KNIFE FIGHTS.

We have a great panel for you tonight, and the debate is: SHAUN OF THE DEAD vs. ZOMBIELAND.

Will this shape up to be a contest between British humor (SHAUN) and American humor (ZOMBIELAND)? A battle between fast and slow zombies? In your face laughter vs. subtle snickers? Let’s find out.

Joining L.L. Soares and I on our panel tonight are fellow Cinema Knife Fighters Dan Keohane, Paul McMahon, Sheri Sebastian-Gabriel, and Colleen Wanglund. Thank you all for taking part in today’s panel. Let’s get started.

L.L. SOARES: It’s your yacking that’s holding us up. Let’s go!

ARRUDA: Hey, I’m trying to do an intro. here!

Tonight’s contest consists of seven rounds of questions. Whichever movie wins the most rounds wins the match, and by our special “knock-out” rule, if one movie wins the final round by a unanimous vote, that movie scores a knockout and wins the match regardless of the previous score.

Okay, let’s get this mêlée started.

The first question tonight is which movie is flat out funnier? Which film did a better job making you laugh, where you laughed so hard you split a gut?

Colleen, we’ll start with you. Which movie do you find funnier, SHAUN OF THE DEAD or ZOMBIELAND?

COLLEEN WANGLUND: ZOMBIELAND (2009) and SHAUN OF THE DEAD (2004) are both very funny films.

SOARES: Did you bust a gut watching them?

WANGLUND: No. I can’t say that I did. But they’re both very funny, both fun to watch.

ARRUDA: So you think both are equally as funny?

WANGLUND: Yes.

SOARES: You’re not supposed to pick both. You’re supposed to pick one, but I’ll blame Michael for this, since once again, he’s picked two movies that are simply too close to call. This is going to be tough.

ARRUDA: It wouldn’t be fun if it were easy.

PAUL MCMAHON: It’s not tough for me. I hated ZOMBIELAND.

ARRUDA: You hated ZOMBIELAND?

SOARES: How can you hate ZOMBIELAND? That’s un-American!

MCMAHON: I’m as patriotic as the next guy, but I still hated ZOMBIELAND, in the way you hate a comedian who constantly repeats old material.

DAN KEOHANE: Oh, I didn’t hate ZOMBIELAND.

MCMAHON: I know, I know. I’m probably the only guy in the world who he hated it.

ARRUDA: I’m sure there are a few others.

KEOHANE: I agree with Colleen. They’re both funny, but in different ways.

When I first watched SHAUN OF THE DEAD I was laughing out loud—.

SOARES: Did you split a gut laughing?

KEOHANE (counts on his fingers): Three. Plus a few blood vessels.

But this side-splitting laughter didn’t happen until the latter half of the movie. It’s the kind of movie that creeps up on you, first making you realize things are off, then making you smile, then when you’re on board with the plot and overall feel of the film, you’re busting a gut. Or in my case, guts.

ARRUDA: Who knew laughter could be so brutal?

KEOHANE: However, as soon as ZOMBIELAND began I was laughing, and really never stopped. Granted, slapstick – and there’s a lot more slapstick in the traditional sense (relentless physical comedy) in ZOMBIELAND – garners more laughs on average I think.

Based on the number of laughs it gets, I’d go with ZOMBIELAND as the funnier movie.

SHERI SEBASTIAN-GABRIEL: I agree with Dan.

SOARES: There’s too much agreeing on this panel!

MCMAHON: I’ll change that as soon as I throw in my two cents.

SEBASTIAN-GABRIEL: I like both ZOMBIELAND and SHAUN OF THE DEAD, but there are more laugh-out-loud moments in ZOMBIELAND.

ARRUDA: My turn. I’m actually going to disagree with Dan and Sheri.

SOARES: Finally!

ARRUDA: I’m picking SHAUN OF THE DEAD as the funnier film. I think the jokes work better, and there’s something outlandish about British humor that just makes this one click.

While ZOMBIELAND does have some creative bits, the bulk of its humor is based on scenes of visceral zombie kills and the like. As Dan said, slapstick, and I love slapstick, but in ZOMBIELAND’s case, there’s really not enough of it.

Re-watching both these movies for purposes of this column, I found ZOMBIELAND less funny than I remember it being.

The laughs in SHAUN OF THE DEAD were the result of creative comic writing, while ZOMBIELAND relied on in-your-face sight gags that didn’t hold up as well on a second viewing. I found the comic style of SHAUN OF THE DEAD held up better.

Okay. So, Paul, you have more to say on this question? You’ve been drooling for a while now. Here’s your chance to answer.

SOARES: Here, have a napkin.

MCMAHON: I prefer to use the back of my hand.

SHAUN OF THE DEAD‘s humor came from the characters as they made efforts to better themselves. These were people who cared about real things and acted out of their own responsibilities toward their relationships with each other.

ZOMBIELAND was full of brainless asshats trying to find Twinkies and get laid. And don’t ‘But Bill Murray’ me. First off, I’ve never understood the pop-culture deification of the guy. I can’t see that he’s any funnier than any other comic actor of his time.

SOARES: Hey, I love Bill Murray!

MCMAHON: They sent the guy, dressed like a zombie and acting like a zombie, to surprise a nervous kid with a rifle. I don’t see what’s so funny about the scene at all.

ARRUDA: I kinda have to agree with you on that one. I’ve never found that scene funny.

MCMAHON: What did they think was going to happen? Dumb scene, dumb characters, dumb movie.

SHAUN OF THE DEAD is the funnier movie.

SOARES: I think that both movies are pretty good, and that they both have good casts and funny moments. But I’d have to give a slight edge to SHAUN OF THE DEAD, mainly because it’s a bit smarter and more aware of the history of zombie movies. There are references to George Romero movies that I thought were clever, and the script was just a tad better written.

I think it’s a close call, but I give this one to SHAUN.

ARRUDA: Okay, after one round, SHAUN OF THE DEAD jumps out to the early lead and leads ZOMBIELAND 1-0.

On to Round 2. Next question: Which movie has better zombies? Sheri?

SEBASTIAN-GABRIEL: The ZOMBIELAND zombies work best for me because they’re not the classic shuffling zombies. It makes things a little more challenging for Tallahassee and the crew.

ARRUDA: I agree. I liked the zombies better in ZOMBIELAND, too.

I liked how they moved faster and seemed vicious and ferocious, as opposed to the more traditional, slow-moving lumbering zombies found in SHAUN OF THE DEAD. I will add, however, that in both movies, the zombies look great.

SOARES: I would say they’re about equal. But if I had to choose, I’d give a slight edge to SHAUN, if only because it stuck more closely to Romero’s creations.

WANGLUND: I thought the special effects in both movies were equally well-done. I liked the zombies in both.

ARRUDA: You just won’t rock the boat today.

WANGLUND: Smooth sailing so far.

SOARES: Screw that! I want a tsunami!

WANGLUND: The Geisha of Gore doesn’t joke about tsunamis.

ARRUDA: Let’s move along before we all get seasick. Dan? How about you? Which movie’s zombies do you prefer?

KEOHANE: Since both films have the more traditional, lumbering zombies, there’s not a lot of comparison.

ARRUDA: Actually, the zombies in ZOMBIELAND move much faster than the traditional movie zombies.

SOARES: Weren’t you paying attention, Dan? We just said the zombies in ZOMBIELAND were quicker. Did you even watch the movie?

KEOHANE (feigns sheepish sadness and shame): I remember them being typical lumbering zombies. What can I say?

SOARES: Maybe you should look at the screen the next time you watch the movie!

ARRUDA: I’m sure in some scenes they moved like traditional zombies. Let’s cut Dan some slack.

SOARES: I’ll cut him a new pair of eyes.

ARRUDA: You were saying, Dan?

(SHERI hands DAN a pair of dark sunglasses, and COLLEEN hands him a walking stick.)

KEOHANE: Very funny.

As I was saying, SHAUN tends to poke less fun at the monsters than the human survivors, whereas it’s just the opposite in ZOMBIELAND, so in that regard, SHAUN’s zombies are a tad better.

The zombie clown from ZOMBIELAND.

MCMAHON: Eh hem. When is it my turn? Are you relegating the ZOMBIELAND hater to the back of the line?

SOARES: Shut your pie hole and go back to drooling!

ARRUDA: It’s just a coincidence that you’re last. Go ahead.

MCMAHON: Years after watching SHAUN I can remember the big zombie twins, the cashier girl, the one-armed-zombie, Tyres from Spaced, and the big black guy with the vinyl record sticking out of his head.

I remember seeing a clown crawling under a bathroom stall door in ZOMBIELAND, and I remember a generic zombie getting crushed by a piano, which struck me as stupid because that’s a one and done defense unless you’re holing up in a piano distribution warehouse.

SHAUN OF THE DEAD clearly has the better zombies.

ARRUDA: So, Round 2 goes to SHAUN OF THE DEAD which means after two rounds, the score is 2 to 0, in favor of SHAUN OF THE DEAD.

That’s all the time we have for PART 1. Join us next Friday night for PART 2, when the SHAUN OF THE DEAD vs. ZOMBIELAND debate continues.

Good night everybody!

—END PART 1—

ATTACK THE BLOCK (2011)

Posted in 2011, Aliens, Indie Horror, LL Soares Reviews, Monsters, Outer Space, Science Fiction with tags Aliens, Attack the Block, Jodie Whittaker, Joe Cornish, John Boyega, nick frost on December 20, 2011 by knifefighter

ATTACK THE BLOCK (2011)
Movie Review by L.L. Soares

There were a few movies that got a lot of buzz this year, despite very limited theatrical releases and pretty much going straight to DVD. These include STAKE LAND, YELLOWBRICKROAD (both of which will be reviewed here in the coming weeks), and ATTACK THE BLOCK.

Currently available on DVD and on cable OnDemand, ATTACK THE BLOCK has a simple enough premise: aliens come down to earth in meteorites one night and a handful of street kids have to save the world by taking them on. If only it was that easy.

When we first see the street gang (made up of teenagers in a London housing project), they’re mugging a nurse named Sam (Jodie Whittaker), who just wants to get back to her apartment in one piece. Soon after they rob her at knife-point, leader Moses (John Boyega) finds a toothy little alien in a car that has been struck by a meteor (which he then tries to rob). It bites him in the face, and he swears revenge. The kids chase the thing to a work shed where they bombard it with firecrackers and then stomp it to death.

They then carry the dead alien around town to show it off to their friends. This leads them to the penthouse apartment of Ron (Nick Frost from SHAUN OF THE DEAD, 2004), a pot dealer who works for the volatile gangsta, Hi-Hatz (Jumayn Hunter). Moses asks if they can keep the alien in the secret pot-growing room, since they’re sure someone will pay big money for it. Hi-Hatz agrees, but in return gives Moses some heroin to sell, telling him it’s time for him to step up to the next level.

That little alien wasn’t the only visitor to earth that night, however. More meteors fall to earth, and soon there are lots of great, big, furry monsters with glow-in-the-dark teeth that make the first alien look like a muppet—and they’re angry! The monsters infect the block, seeming to hone in on Moses and his gang for some reason. The kids try to stay alive by staying one step ahead of the beasties, as well as the police who are swarming the neighborhood.

At one point, Moses is grabbed by the cops and thrown in a police van, but the monsters make quick work of the lawmen before they can bring him in. At this point Moses and Sam (who was being driven around to ID the hoodlums) join forces and her nursing talents come in handy when one of the gang, Pest (Alex Esmail) get his leg all bit up.

The rest of the movie is pretty much a chase flick, as Moses and the kids run from monsters, cops, and then an angry Hi-Hatz who comes after them shooting his gun off when they accidentally drive the police van into his car.

Despite the fact that this was clearly a low-budget movie, it has pretty good production values, and the monsters aren’t half bad. They look like big, black furry bears with no eyes (one kid says they’re a cross between gorillas and wolves), and those glowing teeth are kind of a cool effect. Since the monsters are shown A LOT in this movie, especially toward the end, they could pretty much ruin the film if they looked too hokey. But these creatures look believable enough, even if the filmmakers clearly didn’t have a lot of cash to work with.

The acting is also very good, despite the lack of big name stars (except for Frost, who is mostly here for comic relief, along with a rich boy customer named Brewis, played by Luke Treadaway). Whittaker is very good as Sam the nurse, and the kids who play the gang are all pretty effective, especially Boyega as 15-year-old gang leader Moses (as the movie goes on, you’re surprised how young these kids are— or at least are supposed to be).

I have to admit, I started off rooting for the aliens, since I didn’t like the kids at all. But, as it went along, thanks to good writing and acting, I slowly warmed to the gang members, even the more annoying ones.

Also along for the ride are some teenage girls who are friends of Moses and the gang, led by a girl named Tia (Danielle Vitalis), as well as two 9-year-old wannabe gangsters named Probs (Sammy Williams) and Mayhem (Michael Ajao) who follow the gang around, and are good for some laughs.

This is a pretty impressive debut from director/writer, Joe Cornish, whose work before this was mostly for British television. He was also one of the screenwriters for the upcoming Steven Spielberg film, THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN.

The plot is kept pretty simple and straightforward throughout, which is a good thing, since it would have lost momentum if it got overly complicated. And, for the most part, it works. I can see why this one has been getting so much positive buzz.

I don’t think ATTACK THE BLOCK is one of the best movies I’ve seen this year, but it was definitely better than I expected, and deserves a rental.

I give it two and a half knives.

L.L. Soares gives ATTACK THE BLOCK ~ two and a half knives!

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PAUL

Posted in 2011, Aliens, Cinema Knife Fights, Comedies, Science Fiction with tags alien, Bill Hader, Greg Motolla, Justin Bateman, Kristen Wiig, nick frost, Paul, science fiction comedy, Seth Rogan, simon pegg on March 21, 2011 by knifefighter

CINEMA KNIFE FIGHT: PAUL
By L.L. Soares

Fade in

(We are outside of COMIC-CON in San Diego. An RV drives by and picks up three hitchhikers. A woman dressed as XENA, WARRIOR PRINCESS, a woman dressed in a metal bikini as PRINCESS LEIA from THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980) and a dwarf dressed as TWIKI from BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25^ST CENTURY (1979). The Winnebago is being driven by L.L. Soares)

LS: Once again, Michael Arruda failed to show up at the appointed spot. Looks like I’m going to have to do another solo review.

TWIKI: Where’s the Twinkies?

XENA: Yeah, we’re hungry.

LS: Look in the cabinets. I don’t know what kind of food is in there, but I’m sure there’s something.

I’m here this week to review the new movie PAUL. It also begins at the San Diego Comic-Con. We come upon science fiction writer Clive Gollings (Nick Frost) and comic book artist Graeme Willy (Simon Pegg), two best friends from England who have come to America for Comic-Con and then to drive cross-country, exploring various extraterrestrial tourist spots, like Area 51 and Roswell. It’s at one of these that they come across a big-headed alien named Paul, who sounds an awful lot like Seth Rogan!

PRINCESS LEIA: Where’s the Doritos?

LS: Princess Leia, did you gain some weight?

Well, Paul looks exactly like the big-headed, big-eyed aliens we’ve seen a hundred times. In fact, he has a reason for this. The government has been feeding his image into popular culture since the 1950s, to get us used to how he looks, in case more of his kind should ever come to earth. That way humans won’t be completely freaked out. It’s actually a clever explanation. However, almost everyone who seems to come upon Paul faints the first time they see him. So I guess he still freaks people out anyway.

As Clive and Graeme drive Paul to his destination (he’s escaped from a government facility and wants to get back with his peeps), they bond with the little guy, and learn about his super abilities which include healing and doing a kind of mind meld with his hand. Also along the way, they pick up various pursuers, including Agent Zoil (Jason Bateman), your typical “man in black” government guy who’s been on Paul’s trail since he escaped; Haggard and O’Reilly (Bill Hader and Joe Lo Truglio), two rookie agents (and idiots) who are helping Zoil but have no idea what he’s looking for, since they aren’t high up enough on the food chain to be told; Moses Buggs (John Carroll Lynch), a preacher who runs a trailer park the guys stayed at, who is after them because they took off with his daughter Ruth (Kristen Wiig – who seems to be in every single movie that comes out lately!); and “The Big Guy” (Sigourney Weaver) who is running the operation and who we only hear on Zoil’s radio for most of the movie, and who is Zoil’s boss. She’s the one who wants Paul captured or killed, and who is losing patience with her underlings who can’t seem to get the job done. I think it’s supposed to be a big surprise at the end when we finally see who “The Big Guy” is, but her voice is so unmistakable, I can’t imagine anyone is really surprised.

Oh yeah, and Seth Rogan does the voice of Paul the alien, who sounds like a stoner, of course.

TWIKI: I’m bored. I wanna do something.

LS: I’m reviewing a friggin movie. Can you go take a nap or something.

XENA: I wanna play strip poker!

LS: I have no idea why I picked you people up in the first place. I should just pull over and dump you out.

PRINCESS LEIA: You can’t do that. We’re in the middle of the desert.

LS: Yeah, yeah. Well, be quiet until I’m done.

Also, along the way, they pick up some friends including the previously mentioned Ruth Buggs, who is a sheltered girl who still lives with her Daddy. She has some kind of affliction of one of her eyes and wears glasses with one lens blackened out. After she sees Paul, the guys kidnap her, not knowing what else to do (Graeme has a crush on her). After an argument about evolution with Paul, the cute little guy does his mind meld thing on her, and she loosens up a bit, wanting to catch up on lost time and do some “cursing and fornicating.” Oh, and Paul heals her eye.

There’s also Blythe Danner as an old woman who had once been the little girl who pulled Paul out of his spaceship when he crash landed back in 1947, and he wants to make amends for crushing her dog, who, coincidentally, was also named Paul.

So throw all that in a blender and you’ve got the movie.

TWIKI: You got a blender around here?

XENA: I found some vodka.

LS: Oh well, back to the review. This one was written by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, who also happen to be the stars of the film. Imagine that! These two guys have also given us some great comedy films like SHAUN OF THE DEAD (2004) and HOT FUZZ (2007), both of which they wrote and starred in. Since I like those two movies so much, I had high hopes for PAUL.

And it was directed by Greg Mottola, who previous gave us a couple of movies in the Judd Apatow mold, SUPERBAD (2007) and ADVENTURELAND (2009). I was hoping this one was directed by Edgar Wright who directed SHAUN OF THE DEAD and HOT FUZZ, and who is a better director, but no such luck. Pegg and Frost decided to collaborate with another director this time around, and while I think Mottola is capable enough, he’s no Edgar Wright.

I also had high hopes because, even though Paul looked very cute in the movie trailers, the movie was also rated R, which meant it would have some kind of edge to it. Right? Well, there’s lots of swearing. Unfortunately, that’s not enough to give a movie a real edge.

I also expected lots of laughs, because Pegg and Frost are funny guys.

But, ultimately, I was kind of disappointed with PAUL. First because it wasn’t that funny. I laughed a few times, but no big belly laughs. And mainly because the movie is just too damn sweet.

There are going to be a lot of people who go see PAUL and who are going to love it. I mean, Paul the alien is so sweet he almost put me in a sugar coma. And Clive and Graeme are shy, awkward nerds who are in America for the first time and are just in awe of everything they come across. And, aw shucks, they’re both so damn sweet. And when they pick up Ruth, she’s s all flustered and spouting the gospel, and then, after Paul does the mind meld things, she’s relaxed and cool and starts swearing every other word. But it’s just so damn sweet.

I’m not a big fan of sweet.

TWIKI: I’ll say. There’s no candy in this damn Winnebago!

LS: Even the bad guys are incompetent and goofy and by the end, some of them come around to Paul’s way of thinking, and there’s a big, sweet happy ending. And by the time the credits were rolling at the end, I needed an insulin shot.

You see, Pegg and Frost’s previous movies were funny. They had an edge to them. They were cool. These guys are always likable and they’re just fine as the leads in a movie. But this time, they forgot to add some kind of edge. A cute alien who swears is still a cute alien. In fact, he might be even cuter saying naughty words.

So what we’ve got is a case of E.T. with f-bombs (god, I hate that phrase). And that’s not the movie I wanted to see. So I’m not going to praising this movie to the high heavens.

XENA: Come on. Paul was cute!

LS (groans): Why did I pick up you people anyway?

TWIKI: Because we were hitch-hiking and you’re a bad man?

LS: You wish!

(LS’s cell phone rings. It’s MICHAEL ARRUDA)

LS: Where were you? I waited half an hour.

MA: I’m sorry. I was at Comic-Con and there was a mint copy of SCOOBY DOO AND JUGHEAD #1. I’ve been searching for that comic book my whole life, and I was trying to talk the guy down. I completely lost track of time.

LS: Doesn’t matter, I almost done with my review anyway. Next time, be on time.

MA: Aren’t you going to ask if I got the comic book?

LS (hangs up on him): I didn’t need him to help review this one anyway. He probably would have liked it and given it four knives because everyone is so damned sweet and likable.

So I thought all of the actors were fine. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are believable as two nerds from England, and you like them right off the bat. Justin Bateman was okay as the man in black guy, although I didn’t think he brought all that much extra to the role. He was nowhere near as cool as the guy William Fitchner played in DRIVE ANGRY.

I actually like Kristin Wiig and Bill Hader a lot. They’re both from Saturday Night Live and they both seem to be directors’ favorites, because they keep popping up in movies. I think Wiig has been in like 20 movies this year already and it’s not even April yet.

But I don’t think I liked Seth Rogan as Paul. He was just too mellow, too laid back. I like Rogan, but I would have preferred a really mean, foul-mouthed alien instead. One who smoked cigars and drank and had sex. One who actually justified this movie’s R Rating. Someone like Charlie Sheen, maybe.

As for director Greg Motolla, he’s pulled this before. SUPERBAD was an edgy movie about kids, and it went all sweet and sentimental at the end, too. I still wish Edgar Wright had directed this one.

PAUL could have been so much funnier. It could have been a comedy classic. If only they hadn’t gone the cute and likable route. The safe route. Don’t stir things up at all, don’t take any risks of offending someone.

I give this movie two knives. It’s okay, but it’s nothing special. And it’s not that funny. But it’s probably worth a rental.

Have I mentioned before how much I hate having to give ratings to movies?

TWIKI: But people like it!

PRINCESS LEIA: Are we going to listen to you talk to yourself all day? I thought we were going to have some fun on this trip.

(LS turns the RV around in the middle of the street, with tires screeching)

XENA: Where are we going?

LS: Back to Comic-Con. All you three do is whine.

TWIKI: Can we at least stop and pick up a case of beer on the way? Xena drank the last one.

LS: NO!….er…well, maybe

(The girls cheer)

Fade out

LL Soares gives PAUL – two knives

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In the Spooklight: SHAUN OF THE DEAD

Posted in 2007, Horror-Comedies, In the Spooklight, Zombie Movies with tags edgar wright, horror comedy, in the spooklight, nick frost, shaun of the dead, simon pegg, Zombies on August 6, 2010 by knifefighter

I’ve discovered in recent years that I really like zombie comedies, based on my affection for ZOMBIELAND (2009) and SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD (2010). Of course, the movie that started this “era of good zombie feelings” was SHAUN OF THE DEAD (2004). This column on SHAUN first appeared in the HWA NEWSLETTER in August 2007. I’m also reminded of this movie today because its director, Edgar Wright, is at the helm of the upcoming SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD, due out on August 13.

—Michael Arruda, 8/6/10

IN THE SPOOKLIGHT: SHAUN OF THE DEAD
by Michael Arruda

SHAUN OF THE DEAD (2004) is so well-written and acted, so thoroughly engaging, it instantly joins the ranks of the best of the horror comedies, up there with ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN (1948) and YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (1974).

Yes, SHAUN OF THE DEAD is a horror comedy, a genre I usually frown upon. Strange, considering it’s a genre that’s supposed to make us laugh. Sad fact is it usually makes us sick, but not here. SHAUN OF THE DEAD is funny, very funny.

SHAUN OF THE DEAD is the story of Shaun (Simon Pegg) an average guy stuck in a rut. His life’s going nowhere. He lives with two roommates who don’t get along, including Ed (Nick Frost, in an uproarious performance) who sits around playing video games all day, and things just aren’t working out with his girlfriend Liz (Kate Ashfield). But Shaun is given the chance to redeem himself when the dead suddenly start coming to life again as zombies. As the world is turned upside down by the flesh-eating zombies, Shaun decides to take a stand and lead his girl and his friends to safety.

The zombies here are from the George Romero school of how to be a zombie— slow, lumbering creatures, as opposed to the swift, athletic variety from 28 DAYS LATER (2002). In spite of this similarity to Romero, and in spite of the film’s title, SHAUN OF THE DEAD isn’t a spoof of Romero’s DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978) or its 2004 remake. It really isn’t a spoof at all, which is one of the reasons it works so well. SHAUN OF THE DEAD is simply a very funny story that has zombies in it.

The film doesn’t skimp on the horror either. There are some genuine scary moments, as you would expect in a movie about flesh-eating zombies, as well as one complete gross-out scene, which, to be honest, I could have done without.

The screenplay by director Edgar Wright and lead actor Simon Pegg is sharp, refreshing, and nonstop hilarious. The characters are fleshed out (heh! heh!) and multidimensional, and director Wright keeps the pace quick and intense, in direct contrast to his slow-as-molasses zombies.

As Shaun, Simon Pegg creates a character you really root for. The role could have very easily turned into somebody unlikable, somebody we wouldn’t mind seeing eaten by zombies, but Pegg prevents this from happening. He’s natural, sympathetic, and most of all, funny. Kate Ashfield shines as Liz, Shaun’s girlfriend, and Nick Frost as Ed steals nearly every scene he’s in.

Horror and comedy together is not easy to pull off. In fact, in the history of film horror, horror comedies have failed far more often than they’ve succeeded. There are only a handful of genre films that have made their names as successful horror comedies, the two most famous, again, ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN and Mel Brooks’s YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN.

The comedy duo of Abbott and Costello made a bunch of horror comedies where they “met” other famous monsters, Mel Brooks made DRACULA, DEAD AND LOVING IT (1995), and there was George Hamilton’s LOVE AT FIRST BITE (1979) which was popular in its day, but none of these films are more than just okay. A host of others are awful.

It may not sound like much, since the competition is slim, but SHAUN OF THE DEAD, a comedy with as much bite as the work of Monty Python, is arguably one of the best horror comedies ever.

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