Anyone seen Land of the Dead?

[SelzShoes]

I'm debating whether to wait for DVD or see it in the theater (only so I can say I saw 1 of the 'dead' movies in the theater).

[Calis]

Anxious to see this one as well, but have yet to be able to convince anyone else to go...bastards.

I've heard good things, if you liked the past ones you'll like this. It's getting pretty decent reviews.

It's got zombies, that's enough reason to catch it in the theatre.

[SelzShoes]

Originally Posted by Calis

Anxious to see this one as well, but have yet to be able to convince anyone else to go...bastards.

I've heard good things, if you liked the past ones you'll like this. It's getting pretty decent reviews.

It's got zombies, that's enough reason to catch it in the theatre.

Yeah, The Wife will go, but she hasn't seen ANY of the Romero's other 'dead' movies--and she has this "I have to see them in order" disorder. Normally I don't mind going to movies alone, but horror really should be shared.

[bbor]

Good flick....lotsa good death scenes....which i enjoy

[Wolfpack]

Originally Posted by bbor

Good flick....lotsa good death scenes....which i enjoy

Isn't this somewhat redundant, considering they're already dead?

[DeToxRox]

Really good movie. The Zombies are able to communicate amongst each other.

[CHEMICAL SOLDIER]

A friend of mine saw it and she said it sucked. I though will see it soon. Since I liked his last movie dawn of the dead I think this one will be just as enjoyable.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Three of my friends went. We're all big Romero fans and zombie movie fans in general. All three gave it a thumbs up. This is a good sign. I haven't had time to go yet, but I will.

[moriarty]

I would recommend Shaun of the Dead on DVD to hold you over. Not quite the same thing, but rather funny.

[bbor]

Originally Posted by Wolfpack

Isn't this somewhat redundant, considering they're already dead?

There are living people in the movie too eh.

[timmynausea]

I finally went to see this tonight. It was decent. There were some funny lines.

[Sun Tzu]

If you're a Romero fan, and a true Zombie movie fan I think you'll enjoy it. If you're a "new" Dawn of the Dead fan, then I think you're going to be let down.

I thought it was a great movie, and it had Romero written all over it (which makes sense...seeing as how he wrote and directed the film). There were a lot more explosives, a bit much for my taste in a Romero flick, but on a whole I thought it fit right in with the other three.

[Honolulu_Blue]

I finally saw this last night on DVD...

The film was very underwhelming on many levels.

I didn't really mind the characters that much to be honest. I liked Leguizamo. I thought Dennis Hopper was good (in a ridiculous role). I didn't even mind the bland lead guy. I actually thought he was fine. Boring, but fine in the role. Pilsbury was the bomb, yo.

I liked the action sence for the most part. The zombie feastings were all good.

The opening scene was pretty good. I liked the concept of a team of people who go out to scavange for supplies. That general setup made perfect sense. The humans have moved into well fortified, walled cities that are generally safe from the zombies. They need supplies, so they send out teams of well-armed people to go out and get them. Makes perfect sense. It seemed a logical progression of human society under those conditions.

The actual execution of that society, I thought, was silly and very heavy-handed. Yes. I get it. There is an elite upper class and put upon lower class. The rich and powerful keep the poor and weak happy with the opiate of the masses, zombie games and other shit. I understand the theme/social commentary. It was just so heavy handed in the movie that it fell flat and was punchless.

It starts with Dennis Hopper's character. He was completely over-the-top ridiculous. He didn't seem believable at all. Then there was the whole "rich people" area. Where they just hung out, shopped in the mall, ate lunch, wore business suits and dressed up nice. Again, I get the theme. They are just trying to live their lives the only way they knew how. Through repetition. Why dress in a suit? You aint got no fucking job. Because, it's what we did. Why go shopping in a mini-skirt? Because that's what we did. (Just like those poor zombies! I'll get to that nonsense in a second). That whole setting was over-the-top. ESPECIALLY during the zombie attack. I understand the city was caught unawares by the water-walking zombies, but there was freaking GUN FIRE. EXPLOSIONS. (Though, suprisingly, no alarms or horns or such). So, what happens when the zombies finally get done chowing through the huddled masses? Oh, that's right. It's time to catch the rich unawares. The people were still just mulling around in the mall, shopping, eating dinner, and such when the zombies finally showed up. Riiiiiiight....

Even before the zombies showed up the differences between the two areas was very odd. Also, what's up with all the talk of money? What the fuck will $5 million do for you John Leguizamo that say, "Dead Reckoning" wont? EXACTLY. Currency only has value because we say it does and everybody buys into it. In the midst of a zombie accopalypse? Who cares about money? It's guns, food, water, medicine. That's the real currency. Again, I it's a heavy-handed use of the class theme. Even Hopper was running around with bags full of money there at the end. STUPID.

The zombies. The not so subtle theme of "Oh, we'll be fucked if they even started to barely think" (which was said like 10 times) was lame. Zombies don't think. They are mindless eating machines. That's it. They act on instinct and instinct alone. If instinct or some distant memory brings them to a mall for some reason, fine. I'll buy that. They do NOT figure out how to shoot guns and shit by trying. This is not monkey see/monkey do. THEY ARE ZOMBIES.

The "thinking" thing aside, zombies certainly DO NOT HAVE FUCKING EMOTIONS. Zombies do NOT cry out in anguish when they see their zombie brethren getting hacked to pieces. They do not feel righteous outrage at the rich. They do not feel compassion for burning zombies and shoot them to end their suffering. NO. THEY CERTAINLY DO NOT. That whole sub-plot/theme or whatever was ridiculous and stupid. Each act of sentience and emotion was lamer than the last. No. me. gusta.

The end was equally stupid when Riley, who I am sure has seen plenty of good friends and such, get eaten or ripped apart by zombies or turned into them (INCLUDING HIS OWN FUCKING BROTHER), didn't let that woman take the shot and take them out. "They are just looking for a place to go." FUCK NO. They are looking for some more mother fucking food. And guess what? You're it. So is your half-burned, gun licking idiot firend. And your spunky, whore-with-a-heart-of-gold chick. And let's not forget your Irish rabble-rouser. He's just a piece of Irish beef with legs to those things. Compassion for the zombies. Ridiculous.

In the end, I understand that Romero likes to have social commentary in his zombie movies. I'm all for it. Be it race relations, McCarthyism, consumerism, the class struggle. That's fine. The themes/social commentary, however, need to be handled better than that. It was near perfect in "Night." It was pretty good in "Dawn", though some of the zombies walking around the mall like shoppers with that goofy music playing started to get a little heavy-handed. I'd have to re-watch "Day" to see what goes on there. But "Land" of the dead either had stupid themes (zombie learning/emotions) or the themes were handled so heavy-handed and over-the-top that they became almost a parody of what was trying to be accomplished.

It seems like Romero has lost his touch. I understand and caught the many layers of social commentary. However, if you need a zombie who is constantly bemoaning the death and torture of his zombie brothers and sisters, who kills a flaming zombie out of compassion to end his flaming-zombie suffering, and who (despite all of the evidence to the contrary in the form of hundreds to thousands of half-eaten corpses) is "just looking for a place to go" on the one hand. And a souless, corrupt, vile, evil, back-stabbing, lying, will shoot you in the back of the head in a second, person, on the other hand, to make your point... You've got a problem executing your social commentary. A big one.

I loved the original "Night". I even liked the re-make. I loved the original "Dawn" too, though even that one got a little heavy-handed at times with the zombies wandering around the mall like mindless shoppers to that goofy musc. I also liked "Day", though it's been a while since I've seen it. This one just sucked.

I wouldn't like it, but I could almost, ALMOST buy the zombie evolution thing if it had been happening gradually. I understand the movie takes place years after the initial outbreak, but it was said multiple times "If those zombies ever started thinking..." by people who had relatively frequent contact with the zombies. So, it was pretty clear, that up until that point the zombies were just like they've always been, mindless, horrific, flesh-eating machines. Then, all of a sudden, over the course of what? One? Two days? They go from that to too-wielding, gun firing, under-water walking, compassionate for one another, understanding that gasoline is flammable zombies? No. I don't think so. And even if the zombies could sort of "learn" in a very basic "monkey see"-"monkey do" sort of way, there is still no expalantion for the sudden wave of compassion they (or at least that one zombie) seemed to feel for one another. Zombies don't have emotions. Ever. BAH!

If you have to make your social commentary so heavy-handed and silly that it becomes parody, then I will gladly and happilly take a good, fun, terrifying zombie movie that lacks any real social-commentary, like the "Dawn of the Dead" re-make any day of the week over "commentary" laden crap like "Land".

[Kodos]

I enjoyed it. Good zombie movie.

[Raiders Army]

Even before the zombies showed up the differences between the two areas was very odd. Also, what's up with all the talk of money? What the fuck will $5 million do for you John Leguizamo that say, "Dead Reckoning" wont? EXACTLY. Currency only has value because we say it does and everybody buys into it. In the midst of a zombie accopalypse? Who cares about money? It's guns, food, water, medicine. That's the real currency. Again, I it's a heavy-handed use of the class theme. Even Hopper was running around with bags full of money there at the end. STUPID.

Guns, food, water, and medicine were traded via money. Everybody was buying into that.

The zombies. The not so subtle theme of "Oh, we'll be fucked if they even started to barely think" (which was said like 10 times) was lame. Zombies don't think. They are mindless eating machines. That's it. They act on instinct and instinct alone. If instinct or some distant memory brings them to a mall for some reason, fine. I'll buy that. They do NOT figure out how to shoot guns and shit by trying. This is not monkey see/monkey do. THEY ARE ZOMBIES.

The "thinking" thing aside, zombies certainly DO NOT HAVE FUCKING EMOTIONS. Zombies do NOT cry out in anguish when they see their zombie brethren getting hacked to pieces. They do not feel righteous outrage at the rich. They do not feel compassion for burning zombies and shoot them to end their suffering. NO. THEY CERTAINLY DO NOT. That whole sub-plot/theme or whatever was ridiculous and stupid. Each act of sentience and emotion was lamer than the last. No. me. gusta.

This is a little tongue in cheek, but I think that Romero can make the zombies do whatever he wants since there are no such things in real life.

The rest of your commentary is good and has quite a few merits, but I liked the movie.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by Raiders Army

Guns, food, water, and medicine were traded via money. Everybody was buying into that.
.

That just didn't make any sense to me. At all. I felt like it was a ham-fisted attempt to bolster his social commentary on the modern class system. The rich (Hopper) had the money and the poor (Leguizamo) were desparate to get it. It just didn't make any sense that people would buy into that. How could your whole existence continue to revolve around buying things in a post-apocalyptic era where they're not making more of the luxury goods that you buy and the scavenger teams are only supposed to go out for food and necessary supplies? Wouldn't a consumerist existence immediately seem hollow? Wouldn't reminders of your new reality be all around you? How long could it last? I didn't buy it.

OK Leguizamo, say Hopper gives you $1 million. Where exactly are you going to live now and what do you expect to be able to do with that green toilet paper? Hopper what good will your suitcase of green toilet paper do you at the next settlement in what was it Cleveland?

Originally Posted by Raiders Army

a little tongue in cheek, but I think that Romero can make the zombies do whatever he wants since there are no such things in real life.

The rest of your commentary is good and has quite a few merits, but I liked the movie.

Yeah, of course he can. He certainly did a lot with this in "Day of the Dead" with bud and all that. It just just jive with me at all. I don't like it.

A few more things. (I have no interest in actual work today)

The execution of the zombie attack I also thought was stupid. The zombies push their way into a secure area where they meet the city's
first line of defense, a watchtower and fence. The people in the watchtower are pretty safe up there, no real ladder up and you'd think
that they'd have lots of ammo. Really all you'd need would be a trusty
axe handle and you'd be fine. So do the guards sound the alarm? No,
they don't. You'd think they'd have a radio or at least a flare gun,
but whatever they have they don't use it. Instead they all climb down
the tower and make a run for it. And the zombies catch them. OK
zombies are slow so how is that even possible? And if the zombies are
all over down there why would you go down and commit suicide? That was ridiculous.

When the zombies catch the rich people in their mall that was also
ridiculous. Even assuming that the rich keep eating while there's chaos
outside, the zombies show up at the mall doors and spend some time
thumping on them until the smart zombie busts the doors with a
jackhammer. Any sane person would use all that time to get up to their
condos or whatever and call out the guards. Then the zombies bust in,
giving you plenty of additional notice to run away. Yet somehow the
zombies catch and massacre a whole bunch of people eating lunch! Even
though those people try to run away once the zombies actually reach
them. OK, again people zombies are slow. If you run away from them
they cannot catch up to you. Even a brisk walk should do it. It was so bogus that the zombies caught anyone in that mall. Just unconvincing.

And the zombie with his head on partially-detached spine like a snake, that didn't work for me either. OK your spine didn't just get longer when you became a zombie. Also spines don't have muscles so how is your head whipping around like that? Romero used to do so much better.

[Raiders Army]

You have several really good points. Nothing there I can argue against.

Anyhow, check out the comic book "The Walking Dead". It takes its cues from Romero and although it blatantly rips him off in several ways (or provides a homage depending on how you look at it), it's quite good.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by Raiders Army

You have several really good points. Nothing there I can argue against.

Anyhow, check out the comic book "The Walking Dead". It takes its cues from Romero and although it blatantly rips him off in several ways (or provides a homage depending on how you look at it), it's quite good.

I love "The Walking Dead." I don't buy individual issues, but just what for the trade paperbacks to come out. I think I have the first four. It's good stuff. This reminds me that I should see if the fifth tpb is out.

I love zombie movies, stories, comics, etc.

I just love the zombies.

[Kodos]

I guess my standard for zombie movies is low. To me it comes down to "Was it fun to watch?" Yes. Was it silly and unbelievable? Yes.

[Subby]

What is considered to be the best zombie movie ever?

[WSUCougar]

Two points:

(1) HB, you are dangerously close to getting your title changed to "Zombie Boy"

(2) I love how HB gives his empassioned zombie dissertation, and then Kodos posts "I enjoyed it. Good zombie movie." Epic.

[jbmagic]

Have you guys seen the new Return Living of the Dead on sci fi? They came out like in 2005-2006

Return of the Living Dead: Rave from the Grave
Return of the Living Dead: Necropolis

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by Subby

What is considered to be the best zombie movie ever?

I would probably say that the original "Dawn of The Dead" is probably considered the best by most.

Personally, I think the "Dawn of the Dead" re-make is the best zombie movie ever. It lacks social commentary of any kind really, but it was a blast. Intense. Good action. Decent enough characters. Good stuff.

[M GO BLUE!!!]

SPOILER AHEAD:

The dead come to life in the film. There is gore. Good zombie film!

[Wolfpack]

I was in a bookstore recently and I noticed there was a new book out called "World War Z". Apparently from what I gathered skimming it, it's an after-the-fact account of describing a global war between humans and the undead in which the humans won, but wound up severely reduced in numbers. Apparently the zombie plague started with some freak case in China and spread from there.

Anyone else heard about this book?

[Cuckoo]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

I would probably say that the original "Dawn of The Dead" is probably considered the best by most.

Personally, I think the "Dawn of the Dead" re-make is the best zombie movie ever. It lacks social commentary of any kind really, but it was a blast. Intense. Good action. Decent enough characters. Good stuff.

Love this thread - some great points above HB.

And I agree with you on the "Dawn of the Dead" remake. I'm a big fan of the original black-and-white "Night of the Living Dead" and the original "Dawn of the Dead" (not as much with "Day of the Dead"). But the remake was just really well-made, one of my favorites of all time.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by WSUCougar

Two points:

(1) HB, you are dangerously close to getting your title changed to "Zombie Boy"

(2) I love how HB gives his empassioned zombie dissertation, and then Kodos posts "I enjoyed it. Good zombie movie." Epic.

Heh! I love the zombies.

Sad as it is, back in college my friends and I used to hangout and discuss zombie survival plans over beers.

Well, different folks have different passions. I love talking about and dissecting films, zombie films in particular.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by Wolfpack

I was in a bookstore recently and I noticed there was a new book out called "World War Z". Apparently from what I gathered skimming it, it's an after-the-fact account of describing a global war between humans and the undead in which the humans won, but wound up severely reduced in numbers. Apparently the zombie plague started with some freak case in China and spread from there.

Anyone else heard about this book?

I have heard about it. I saw it at the local "Barnes & Noble" but didn't pick it up for some reason. I forget why now...

[Raiders Army]

Originally Posted by Wolfpack

I was in a bookstore recently and I noticed there was a new book out called "World War Z". Apparently from what I gathered skimming it, it's an after-the-fact account of describing a global war between humans and the undead in which the humans won, but wound up severely reduced in numbers. Apparently the zombie plague started with some freak case in China and spread from there.

Anyone else heard about this book?

Thanks for the info. I'll pick it up this weekend if it's at our local B&N. If not, I'll order it. I'm always in the mood for a good undead story (not necessarily zombie).

[Raiders Army]

Picked up World War Z. I read the first two interviews and it looks pretty interesting so far. Even the book jacket claims that this story is real. Heh heh. Has anyone read Max Brooks' other book, The Zombie Survival Guide?

Anyhow, it's an interesting gimmick. Sort of like how there are gimmick movies like Memento, etc. that tell the story in a different manner that is somewhat unique.