Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, Jesse Eisenberg and Abigail Breslin are back in fine form as our favorite zombie killers (Yes, I love Walking Dead, Shaun of the Dead, and even Night of the Living Dead, so no disrespect). This time our intrepid companions face some new versions of old threats. There are still the slow-moving, dumb zombies – the Homers. But there are mutated quicker and smarter zombies – the Hawkings and even worse, the Ninjas, nicknamed the T-800, who are smart and relentless. If that weren’t enough, Columbus (Eisenberg) has caused Wichita (Stone) to leave when he professes his love for her. Then Little Rock (Breslin) runs away with a peace-loving hippy named Berkley (Avan Jogia). This causes Wichita to come back and with Tallahassee (Harrelson) they drive off on an expedition that takes them from their comfy home in the White House to Graceland to the hippy paradise of Babylon. On their way, they meet some new characters. One is played by Zoey Deutch as Madison, the blonde (of course) dim bulb who has survived the apocalypse by living in a freezer. Rosario Dawson is Nevada, and runs the Hound Dog Hotel near Graceland which holds all the Elvis memorabilia from his old homestead. But Abuquerque and Flagstaff ( Luke Wilson and Michael Middleditch) earn a New Character award from me as two partners at the hotel who have an uncanny resemblance to Tallahassee and Columbus. And they haven’t even gotten to Babylon yet! Are you a little confused? Don’t worry. There is so much action, you just have to see it to get it. Once you get into the flow, it will all be clear. This movie is everything that made the first Zombieland so endearing. If you loved the first one, you will not be disappointed. Stay for one of the best post-credit scenes ever and you will be pleasantly surprised by a great cameo. Not only that, but there is a very short after all the credits scene that is just fun. Zombies might be gross, disgusting and undead, but Zombieland is anything but. A real treat!!
The Art of Self-Defense
This movie got fair reviews and features Jesse Eisenberg, so I thought, “Why not?” Eisenberg plays Casey, a very mild-mannered bookkeeper. He is afraid of other men, and is ridiculed and bullied. Eventually, he is brutally mugged. Terrified now of everything, he thinks about buying a gun, but ends up joining a karate studio hoping to learn some self-defense strategies and the courage to stand up for himself. As Jesse becomes more adept and confident, the movie becomes darker and darker. He is advanced to the next color belt, seemingly before he is ready, and then invited to attend surprisingly brutal night classes. The overall premise of the movie was quite interesting; but the plot development was slow, and it took soooooooo long to get to the real nub of what was going on. It became predictable, and I was able to guess the main plot twists, so I wasn’t surprised. A few of the supporting characters stand out, especially the enigmatic Sensei of the karate school played by Alessandro Nivola. I can’t recommend this one; however, you might like it if you love quirky movies. I usually do, but this one was just too slow for me.