Warm Bodies

Zombie movies have been some of my favorite films. Oftentimes relentless gore and killing skirts the main plot. Warm Bodies took a different approach. It took the conventions of traditional zombie movies and made them funny and almost endearing. The premise surrounds a zombie, R (played by Nicholas Hoult of previous British "Skins" fame, among other films), who falls in love with a girl, Julie (played by Teresa Palmer). This causes...changes in him. And it's what makes this movie great!

Instead of focusing on the zombie apocalypse, Warm Bodies begins in post-apocaplypitic Los Angeles. By doing this, the film is able to blend quirky indie comedy and zombie movies. Hoult plays R as well as any oddball actor (i.e. Michael Cera or Jesse Eisenberg), but keeps a campy feel to his zombie body. And Palmer is a great love interest, figuring out R while trying to survive this terrifying new world.

While romantic comedies may not be suited for everyone, I think this one is. If not for everyone at least suited for those who are not fans of the genre. It was entertaining throughout. The biggest laughs coming from R's internal monologues and R's best friend and fellow zombie M (played by Rob Corddry, Jeff's lawyer nemesis on "Community").

There may be a few inconsistencies, but what romantic comedy doesn't have them these days. It was mostly small things, blood changing positions on character's faces between shots, characters changing positions without moving on screen. Other than that this idiosyncratic film blew me away. An outstanding film that I think was overlooked so far. Check it out at the budget theater!

9/10

Seven Psychopaths

From the director of In Bruges comes the tale of seven psychopaths fighting over a Shih Tzu. In the comedic vein of Quentin Tarantino and the Coen Brothers, Seven Psychopaths relies on the cringe/dark  side of humor for many of the biggest laughs. And it nails it! The writing is what makes this movie. It's a movie about a struggling writer (Colin Farrell) and his struggles to write his new screenplay entitled Seven Psychopaths. 

When watching this movie, or any movie for that matter, if it ends up involving a movie within a movie (show within a show works as well), be ready for meta jokes and intertextuality. With Seven Psychopaths this is done extremely well. So well that it's hard to even pick up on a lot of them. Obviously the main jokes come from the stories of different psychopaths, but it's done in a Quentin Tarantino-esque way that pulls us into the universe of these characters. The references then, do not detract from the film, but rather make it much more enjoyable.

With somewhat predictable turns the story is laid out for viewers during the one hour and fifty minute runtime, this movie is incredibly entertaining. And while the humor is dark, it allows us to unleash our inner psychopath, whether you think you have one or not. The darkness of the humor does not skimp on gore either. Whether it's body parts flying, gunshot wounds, or blood spatter, the laughs do not stop coming.

The acting on all accounts is good. All the stock characters (read psychopaths) are present, but never have they all been together in one movie. An alcoholic in denial, a mob boss, a man out for revenge, plus four more and you get an outstanding final project. Christopher Walken, Woody Harrelson, Tom Waits, and Sam Rockwell create incredible supporting characters to Colin Farrell's character. And the women, Olga Kurylenko and Abbie Cornish are great as well (despite their limited amount of screen time).

That being said, it's definitely more of a writer's movie. If you enjoy good writing you'll really love this movie. The way the plot keeps the screenplay in the movie central to the overall plot and continually references it makes this seemingly unbelievable story just a little more believable. The characters all have some traits that everybody can identify with.

Take the gore with the humor, release your inner psychopath, and sit back and enjoy this humorous take on a violent kidnapping plot. Make a night of it and watch In Bruges as well. You may be surprised with the things you find yourself laughing at.

8.5/10