Movie review: Zombieland

Once in a while, it’s refreshing to watch a movie that doesn’t require you to think. A movie that doesn’t try to deliver a “serious” agenda in the guise of light-hearted comedy or actionpacked violence. A movie that just aims to entertain you. A movie that doesn’t need two and a half hours to do so.

Zombieland is such a movie. The feature film debut by director Ruben Fleischer is delightfully brainless (no pun intended). I’m not a fan of zombies and zombie movies in any way, but this movie is so unlike most other zombie movies that hardcore fans of the genre probably won’t like it, for the same reasons they didn’t like Shaun of the Dead.

I like it. Mainly because the actual zombie action is kept to a relative minimum and at the same time so over the top that it doesn’t gross you out. Basically this is a road movie with zombies. In fact it’s Natural Lampoon’s Vacation with zombies – you’ll understand when you see the ending.

The focus is on what appears to be the last four non-infected people left in a post-apocalyptic world full of zombies: a neurotic geeky teenager on the way home to his family (Jesse Eisenberg), a – seemingly – bad-ass road warrior with a sweet tooth (Woody Harrelson), and two sisters determined to make it on their own (Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin). They team up because they have nothing better to do, kill some zombies (always double tap!) and have some fun adventures along the way – and that’s pretty much it. But boy are those adventures fun!

Harrelson carries the movie with a wonderfully laconic performance as the tough guy who becomes a sort of father figure for the group. The highlight of the movie, however, is the surprise cameo of the year – which I will just leave as a surprise, hoping you haven’t already had it spoiled by someone else. Absolutely hilarious. The final showdown is visually very enjoyable as well.

Zombieland may not be much in the way of a horror movie, and it may be a so-so comedy, but it’s pretty much the perfect combination of the two. To quote one of the important rules of zombie survival: Enjoy the little things. This movie is one of those little things. Just turn off your brain (again, no pun intended) for an hour and a half, sit back, and enjoy…

Zombieland (2009) Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin. Written by Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick. Directed by Ruben Fleischer. Rated R. 1 h 21 min.

Book review: Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett

Unseen Academicals is the 37th and latest installment in Terry Pratchett’s massively successful Discworld series. Having read all the previous books and watched them get better and better I naturally had great expectations of this book. Following the news of Sir Terry being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s I was also, unavoidably, afraid that this book might signal the beginning decline of the series. I’m glad to say that I was quickly proven wrong about the latter. The series is still going stronger than ever.

If you’re unfamiliar with Discworld, I have two things to say to you: 1) Don’t start here! Start from the beginning and read the books in the order they were published. 2) I’m so envious of all the wonderful experiences you have ahead of you. If you know the series already, read on!

Unseen Academicals centres on the game of football and its transformation from a type of primitive mass fight in the streets of Ankh-Morpork to the regulated and (relatively) civilised game that we Roundworlders know and love. Due to the discovery of an ancient and long forgotten statute, the wizards of Unseen University have to form a football team and play a game. When the city’s tyrant, the delightfully Machiavellian Lord Vetinari, intervenes the game is changed for ever.

The story is made up from three interlinked plot lines. One follows the wizards trying to create a new version of the game, all the while dealing with both internal faculty politics, city politics, and old colleagues-cum-competitors. Another plot line focuses on some of the “downstairs” staff at the university, how the game influences their lives and vice versa. The third plot line deals with a specific new character who rises to prominence as coach of the university football team. Suffice to say that this character belongs to a classic fantasy race, but one not previously dealt with by Pratchett.

As for weak points, this book, like all of Pratchett’s work, has precious few. If I have to point something out, it would be the romance in the second plot line. To me, male-female interaction has always been Pratchett’s Achilles’ heel as a writer. It seems to me he puts them in his books because they “ought to be there”. Then again, it might just be that I as a reader am bored by romances – or that the wizards were so well-written that the other characters paled in comparison. Either way, I found myself wanting to skip ahead to those parts of the story.

The strong points of Unseen Academicals are the same that make all the Discworld novels so great: Pratchett’s grasp of satire and his ability to use subtle yet dark comedy to comment on current events and issues fits perfectly into the British comedic tradition. To quote the author himself: “It [Discworld] is a world and a mirror of worlds”.

The social complexity has increased with each book and continues to do so: new characters are introduced, keeping the series fresh and interesting, while at the same time we see new sides of familiar characters: for instance, we get to see the Patrician drunk for the first time(!).

That, combined with the numerous allusions as well as literary and cultural references – of which I am sure I only caught a fraction the first time around – makes all the Discworld books ideally suited for second (and third, etc.) readings. Pratchett probably won’t be as prolific in the future as he used to be, but luckily we have all of his previous work to re-read. I for one look forward to picking up Unseen Academicals again and discovering even more delightful details while waiting for the next book…

Unseen Academicals (2009) by Terry Pratchett. 400 pp. hardcover. Listed for € 12.49 on play.com