A. Zombie Reviews . . . Warm Bodies

2a3a7e06a05b7b36e952013fdb5d70ba_MReviewer: A. Zombie

Rating: PG-13 (Zombie violence and some adult language)
Starring: Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer, John Malkovich, Rob Corddry

Another zombie film has hit the theaters, which means a day pass for yours truly to get out of the Zombie Survival Crew command center’s detention room for a couple hours. What is the latest zombie flick to hit the big screen? An adaptation of Isaac Marion’s novel Warm Bodies.

Boy meets girl. Boy eats girl’s boyfriend’s brain and absorbs his memories. Boy falls in love with girl and saves her from having her entrails spread over the ground. Girl begs her hard-ass father not to kill her undead love. Sounds romantic, huh? Not if you care about a little thing called necrophilia.

warm-bodies-poster06I had a hard time with the premise of Warm Bodies from the start. Not just because of my standing as one of the shambling undead. Zombies are, and have been for decades, soulless reanimated corpses who only want one thing—to feast on the flesh of the living. Going into the theater (hidden under a large Hello Kitty blanket), I knew I wasn’t the target audience for the film. The previews and trailers showed fresh-faced kids traversing the zombie apocalypse and surviving on the strength of their love. Call me jaded, but a gun goes a lot further to keep one safe from being eaten than doe-eyed heroic zombies.

The saving grace for the film is the smart, witty performance from Nicholas Hoult. He took what could have been dead (no pun intended) jokes and made them work with a well-timed glance or shrug. His counterpart, Teresa Palmer, started out the film strong-willed and capable of defending herself, however, as the movie progressed she became whiny, cried more than should be allowed in a zombie movie—even one billed as a teenage chick-flick—and could not keep up with the performance of her co-star. The production company did their best to make Palmer into a blonde Kristin Stewart—which is no surprise since the distributor for the film is responsible for releasing Twilight. Is it too much to ask for a young actress to thrive on her own merits? In a time when Hollywood is all about chasing trends and beating them over the head until their brains ooze across the floor . . . no. The film’s producers wanted a young woman with looks similar to someone who has been proven popular and shoved her in a role written to be dependent on a boy. And when things get too rough for her, she breaks down, cries, and then does some of the stupidest things ever witnessed in a post-apocalyptic film.

Congratulations, you replaced sparkly vampires with shambling corpses. Or did they?

The undead in Warm Bodies are vastly different from traditional zombies. The corpses, as they’re called, retain more of their humanity and are capable of minimal speech. They also move far too fluidly to be truly dead. The minimalistic effects makeup on the corpses made it difficult to tell who was dead and who was alive. I’m not saying they needed to have huge chunks of flesh falling off, but something more than pale skin and visible veins would have been nice. Again, the corpses were awfully similar to vampires.

Warm Bodies was fun to watch for the humor—most of it from R, the main corpse character. There are some cringe-worthy performances; a lot of repeated and unnecessary lines, and John Malkovich’s normal brilliance is buried under teen angst and daddy issues. As one of my undead companions said, it is a chick-flick worthy of a night-in with friends and your beverage of choice.

Overall, I’m going to give Warm Bodies three and a half gnawed-off fingers out of five. It had potential, but fell flat under the pressure to fit the current the teen movie trend of cute and heart-warming monsters instead of standing on its own merits.

I’d like to give a shout out to the Fresno Zombie Society for inviting me out to hang with them for the film’s screening. You guys sure know how to make sure a dead guy has a fun night out.


In the News: The Governor and Being Human

InTheNewsToday, we have The Walking Dead, Being Human, Warm Bodies, and World War Z for you, as well as natural disasters, databases to keep yourself updated and out of harm’s way, and a nationwide earthquake drill. Will you participate?

Top Stories

It’s the rise of The Governor in the land of the undead (via ToNight)

TWD-The GovernorThe third installment of the Emmy award-winning zombie fest series, The Walking Dead, features an |array of exciting and intriguing new characters. Among them is seasoned British actor David Morrissey as The Governor. Debashine Thangevelo found out how he feels about depicting the villainous comic book character…

I DON’T think David Morrissey imagined he would bag the role of The Governor – an immensely popular character with fans of The Walking Dead comic books – when he visited his friend in Los Angeles.

But that is exactly what came to pass.

Thespian Rob Corddry Shares Acting Tips With the Undead in Warm Bodies (via Dread Central)

2a3a7e06a05b7b36e952013fdb5d70ba_M

Having been a zombie for Romero, I can tell you first-hand that a lot goes into playing one of the undead. Oh, how I wish I would have had someone of the caliber of Warm Bodies‘ Rob Corddry to guide me through it all.

Starring Nicholas Hoult, Rob Corddry, Teresa Palmer, and John Malkovich, Warm Bodies follows an existentially tormented zombie named “R” (Hoult) who begins an unlikely friendship with the girlfriend of one of his victims (Palmer). It’s based on the book by Isaac Marion.

Disaster Central

mount-merapi-eruption-nov10-afp-lg

Part 2: “Tornado Chaser” Reed Timmer’s Terrifying Hotel Tales (via Hotel


Earthquake drill planned Feb. 7 across Central United States
(via Courier-Journal.com)Chatter)

Volcano Database (via Emergency Management)

Unrestricted access to the details of deadly eruptions (via Terra Daily)

The Dead, the Undead, and WWZ

Being Human: Meaghan Rath Talks Being Undead, Roommate Romance, Craving Brains, and More! (via Dread Central)

“Nobody is safe” on Walking Dead (via RTE)

World War Z Fan-Made Posters Will Put You In An Undead Mood (via Cinema Blend)

 


In the News: It’s an Undead Christmas

Top Story

Boy Scout delivers 800 toys to young tornado victims (via Pontiac Daily Leader)

There will be plenty of toys for tornado victims this Christmas thanks to the efforts of Boy Scout Joshua Henderson, 14, of Lincoln.

Henderson decided to help the child victims of the tornado by gathering 800 toys and transporting them 274 miles south to Harrisburg. The project will help him earn the rank of Eagle Scout, a goal he set for himself long ago.

 

The Undead

Kieran Strange Wishes Everyone A Merry Undead Christmas! (via Cashbox Canada)

With the highly scrutinized end of the Mayan calendar (December 21st, 2012) fast approaching and referred to humorously as the upcoming “zombie apocalypse” by young adults and teenagers worldwide, UK born and Vancouver based pop-rock artist, Kieran Strange has released “Merry Undead Christmas” a single and music video combo that is sure to deliver a few laughs this holiday season.

“I read a story where a gentleman actually spent his life savings building a huge ark to escape the Mayan end of the world,” said Strange. “There’s so much serious face when it comes to this subject, I couldn’t help doing something satirical.”

Five New ‘WARM BODIES’ Posters Provide Undead Puns (via I am Rogue)

Five fresh new character posters promoting Warm Bodies are making the rounds online thanks to Summit Entertainment today.

The posters feature Nicholas HoultTeresa Palmer, and Rob Corddryas characters living and undead, but more importantly, each contains a prominently placed pun, so this series of posters is also a pun run.

Disaster Preparedness

Local Police speak about disaster preparation (via WTHITV.com)

Emergency preparedness symposium focuses on exchange of ideas (via The Anniston Star)

 

 


In The News – Undead Documentaries and Zombies Looking for Love

Top Stories

Discovery Channel preps ‘Zombie Apocalypse’ documentary (via Mother Nature Network)

The best part? The hour-long special will feature interviews with people actually preparing for a real invasion of the undead.

While the amount of zombie-related media out there is approaching ad nauseam, this particular upcoming special from the Discovery Channel has all the makings of a must-watch.

Undead to take over Uptown as fundraiser for local charities (via WSOCTV)

The Charlotte Zombie Walk will again take to the streets for its sixth anniversary on Saturday. It will be its biggest and deadest event yet, according to organizers.

 

On the Screen

Warm Bodies Trailer Has A Zombie Craving Love, Not Brains (via Cinema Blend)

When it comes to zombie movies we know the drill: some terrible plague or catastrophic event has caused the dead to rise and crave the flesh of the living. Bonds of family and friendship mean nothing to these ambling undead cannibals. They are mindless, soulless and heartless. This is certainly the school of thought accepted by the remaining humans in Jonathan Levine’s Warm Bodies, but one brooding zombie boy might change their minds, and the world.

Check out the trailer:

Walking Dead Season 3 IronE Singleton Talked T-Dog’s Death Plus New Possible Spoilers (via Hollywood Hills)

Sneak Peek Episode 309 The Walking Dead: The Suicide King (via AMCtv)

Oh. My. God. I can’t wait until February!

Disaster Preparation

The Soldiers Grove Story: Lessons For Post-Sandy Sustainability (via Think Progress – part 1)

Changing The Paradigm Of Disaster Preparedness And Rebuilding Post-Sandy (via Think Progress – part 2)

Weather Patterns

Powerful typhoon blows toward southern Philippines; evacuations urged for vulnerable areas (via The Washington Post)

Strong quake rattles Vanuatu (via The Daily Star)

Hurricane Sandy’s $180 million federal tab tops cost of Irene (via The Washington Post)

Volcano activity of December 2, 2012 (via Earthquake Report)