World War Z Movie Review

  World War Z was based on the book World War Z by Max Brooks. When I first heard about a movie being made based on Max Brooks book World War Z, I couldn't have been more excited about zombie movie news. After some time passed I kept hearing about issues with them finding and keeping a director and I had started to worry about them actually getting the movie done. Once they were finally able to get all that sorted out they released a trailer for the film. I went from being excited to suddenly feeling like someone had screwed it up. Here is the trailer to the film so you have an idea as to what I'm about to refer to.


 
  Now that you've had a chance to see the trailer I'm going to talk a little about what worried me. If you read the book you'll notice that it's not following the book 100%. The book is a compilation of interviews with people after the actual epidemic. The movie takes place during it. I understood why they approached it that way for the idea of following one story instead of multiple stories. If the followed the book 100% it would have been setup like a documentary instead. The next and the biggest issue I had when I saw the trailer was that the zombies ran. I follow the George A. Romero thought process as to how zombies should walk. On top of that in the book World War Z, the zombies didn't run, they walked, and/or shambled, and staggered. So as you can see I was worried they were going to ruin something I genuinely enjoyed reading.

  Here is a little synopsis of World War Z  from IMDB.com before I give my review:  United Nations employee Gerry Lane traverses the world in a race against time to stop the Zombie pandemic that is toppling armies and governments, and threatening to destroy humanity itself.

  Now that I was finally able to see World War Z in theaters I can finally give my opinion of the movie as a whole. The actual story wasn't bad, it keep you engaged and at the edge of your seat. It also wasn't a bad approach to stick with one story line to follow that happened during the actual event as opposed to the book. At least I understand why it was approached that way. Ignoring the idea of the running zombie, the CG of the zombie hordes wasn't the worst I've seen, and they used it sparingly which helped to suspend your disbelief of it all. The actual "jump" moments were done pretty well also, I don't usually jump from one of the cheap scare but I did it a couple times in World War Z. Overall I have to give World War Z a 4
out of 5, I actually enjoyed watching it from beginning to the end, and I'll definitely be picking it up on blu-ray when it comes out.

My new loves

The Shadow (1994) Review

  This past weekend I had a chance to watch any random movie. It was brought to my attention that my wife to be had not seen The Shadow starring Alec Baldwin. So after finding this out it was necessary for us to watch it as soon as possible.

  The Shadow (1994) is based in 1930's New York City. It's about Lamont Cranston (Alec Baldwin) also known as The Shadow who is pitted against his arch nemesis Shiwan Khan (Jone Lone). Shiwan wants to take over the world, so he has an atomic bomb built to hold the city as ransom. The Shadow has the power to cloud the minds of men, which allows him to become invisible accept for his shadow.

  This is one of those fun 90's movies based on old pulp-fiction and radio drama series. This might be coming from nostalgia but The Shadow was one of my favorite characters Alec Baldwin has played. When I was a kid I used to beg my dad to rent it over and over again when it came out on video.

  The Shadow is pretty much a typical 90's comic book type movie. It's fun but you still run into some campy lines that seemed epic back then. Overall you have to go into watching The Shadow thinking you want to have fun with it. The closest to the modern day equivalent would probably be The Green Hornet starring Seth Rogen, if The Green Hornet took itself more seriously. I'm sure my score comes from nostalgia, but I give it a 4 out of 5.

Game of Thrones Seasons 1-3 (My Thoughts)

  This isn't really a review of Game of Thrones, it's more of a reflection, and maybe even a little warning to anyone who hasn't watched it yet. I recently finished watching the first three seasons of Game of Thrones. That is a show that I can't help but love and hate at the same time. It's actually caused me to start reading the books. It's one of those shows where you eventually become afraid to start rooting for any characters because you're afraid of what's going to happen to them in the next season.

  I've read a few reviews on Game of Thrones, and most people love it the same way I do, but there are those out there who seem to hate it with a passion. Those people I can't blame for not liking it, especially if their reasons are what I was talking about above, with the fear of what might happen to your favorite characters. It's a pretty rough show to watch, especially as you go through each season.

  When I first heard about Game of Thrones, I was warned ahead of time about how the books, and show are, so it was easier for me to get into the show. The show and books aren't for anyone who's into more traditional story telling. In my opinion I think it's worth checking out.