The Way, Way Back Trailer

thewaywayback

This movie looks pretty by the numbers but it has a couple of very important things going for it. Sam Rockwell is one of those things as he’s very generally amazing. Steve Carell, Tony Colette, Alison Janney, and Rob Corddry are another as that’s a pretty stellar supporting cast. I haven’t seen Liam James in much but this could be a good start for him.

The best thing about this though is that it’s written by Jim Rash and Nat Faxon who previously won an Oscar for penning The Descendants

Yeah, it seems like a pretty standard coming of age movie but given the people involved I’ll likely see it.

Rapturepalooza Red Band Trailer Looks Terrible

Rapturepalooza Ok this is bad.

There’s no other word for it. Oh, wait, there is: _god awful_. Ok that’s two words, sue me.

The basic set up of this film is that The Rapture has happened, Craig Robinson is the Anti-Christ, and Anna Kendrick is humanity’s best hope. That sounds like it could be amazing, but this trailer seems to indicate that the movie goes for every stupid joke it can and that none of them are funny.

And then Ken Jeong shows up at the end, clearly as God, which means we’ll have to put up with Ken Jeong being Ken Jeong. Which, in case you can’t tell, I’m tired of.

So basically, this movie sounds like it could have been amazing but looks like it’s going to be shite. Maybe it’s just a poorly made trailer though. Maybe.

Watch now and decide for yourself.

Review: Warm Bodies

Warm Bodies

It’s worth pointing out right now that I’ve liked all of Jonathan Levines movies (that I’ve seen). In particular he directed a movie in 2011 called _50/50_ starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen that went on to be one of my favourites of that year.

What I loved about that film was the relationship between the two main characters while Gordon-Levitts character dealt with cancer. How they interacted with and acted around each other felt very real and honest. Similarly in his previous film –_The Wackness_, a coming of age story set in 90s New York– the main character goes though everything you’d expect in a film like that but he manages to keep the whole thing feeling very grounded and real.

It’s fitting then how everything I loved about those two movies holds true in _Warm Bodies_, a film about a relationship between a girl and a zombie. Each of these films deals with relationships in awkward or extreme circumstances, after all.

Nicholas Hoult is “R”, a zombie literally shambling through life (or more specifically death) wishing that there was something more to do or be. Teresa Palmer is Julie, the daughter of the colonel who runs the city of survivors.

R and his best friend M, played by Rob Corddry, live at the airport. They shuffle around basically reenactign what little of human life they remember. Unlike most zombie stories they have basic motor skills and even the ability to somewhat communicate. R collects things when he’s out and about in the city and M signals to a barkeep that’s not there when he gets up from the stool he’s sitting on only to realize he doesn’t have to do that anymore. Both seem to realize that they’ve lost something in death and R wishes he still had the wherewithal to find it.

It’s one of their more wordy conversations that send them to the city where they cross paths with Julie and her group of volunteers out scrounging for supplies. In the melee the zombies kill everyone except Julie who R immediately falls in love with and saves and takes to the airplane he’s made his home in in order to keep her safe.

Throughout the second act we see Julie go from being scared to trying to figure out exactly what’s going on here and eventually developing a strong bond with R and slowly but surely restarting his heart and setting him on the path back to humanity before heading back to the city for the films third act where everything of course comes to a head.

Both Hoult and Corddry are great. It takes some skill to convey feeling in screen, it takes even more to convey _wanting_ to feel but not understanding how to do it or communicate it. Hoult shines in every scene he’s in with Julie in this regard, whether R the zombie struggling to make her feel comfortable or struggling just to tell her that he doesn’t want to hurt her.

Corddry supplies most of the laugh out loud moments in the film but not in the way you’d normally expect from him. Normally known for being bombastic and over the top he plays his part reservedly, by necessity, and he carries it off well. Comedians often turn out to be great dramatic actors and Corddry is certainly on his way to greater things that just being the funny sidekick. Palmer as well is in good form, in fact maybe the best I’ve seen her so far. Dave Franco has a supporting role as Julie’s boyfriend and while he’s not perfect you can see why he’s starting to gain traction like his brother James.

John Malkovich is Julie’s father the colonel. While he doesn’t get much screen time or development really he does well with what he’s given and he’s always nice to see on screen.

There’s a lot to like here. From the innocence of the relationship to the unconventional way the film deals with zombies. It’s not as funny as you’d expect but there are plenty of laughs to be had merely because of the circumstance.

Again, as strange as it is to say it, the film works because of the honest way the characters deal with the situations they are in. Sure, this story’s star crossed lovers are separated by life and death but it still manages to feel _real_ for lack of a better word. There’s plenty of opportunities where it could have gone slapstick and over the top but it never does.

It’s Romeo and Juliet but Romeo is a zombie and you should definitely check it out.

**Rating: 8/10
[rating=8]**