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Warm Bodies a departure from the established mythology
Movie Reviews
By Lynne Martin
Warm Bodies (2013) starring Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer, and John Malkovich is a movie definitely aimed at the teen angst crowd. Broken hearts all over the world will rejoice as young girls can now dream of turning an ‘undesirable’ into the love of their life. So much for yearning for the captain of the football team, you can now set your sights on the decaying masses stumbling out of the shadows.
In this apocalyptic romance, the world is suddenly turned upside down as flesh-eating zombies begin taking over the earth. Only a small community of survivors holed up in a walled fortress are left to carry on the human race. After one zombie with a few lingering strands of consciousness saves a human girl from being eaten, the two find themselves inexplicably drawn to each other as his shriveled heart begins to slowly regenerate with each passing hour.
Although this film has been compared to the Twilight Saga and Romeo & Juliet, I don’t see the slightest resemblance. Warm Bodies is nothing more than a tongue-in-cheek story of budding romance. One set-up filmed from a balcony does not make a film Shakespearean. This movie does remind me of the ‘remake the outcast’ comedies so popular in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s as both characters take turns struggling to fit into each other’s worlds.
This might actually be the one movie your teenage daughter is willing to risk being seen in public with you to watch…so take advantage and buy the tickets now. You’ll at least enjoy the retro soundtrack.
Warm Bodies is a definite departure from the established mythology of The Walking Dead television series. Directed by Jonathan Levin, this screenplay was adapted from the novel written by Isaac Marion.
PG-13, 98 mins, Comedy, Horror, Romance, *** 3 stars out of 5.
Parental Guidance serves as a ‘nodder’
There are many powerful adjectives I usually draw from when writing movie reviews. In this case, light hearted and cute were the two that instantly popped into my head when describing Parental Guidance (2013) starring Billy Crystal, Bette Midler, and Marisa Tomei. This movie is what I affectionately like to call a ‘nodder’, since dozing off for a few minutes here and there will have little or no effect on your ability to follow this plotline.
Grandma and grandpa, armed with their old-school ways of parenting, are asked to babysit for a couple of days while their daughter and her husband fly off on a quick work-related holiday. Within hours, we realize that today’s style of parenting is not going to mix well with the grandparent’s tried and true methods, the latest developments in computer software being just one of the obstacles in their ever widening gap of communication.
A few scenes will make you smile, (i.e. Crystal stabbing away at the phone in an attempt to transfer an incoming call to speaker reminded me of my own parents). Unfortunately, most of the jokes are very predictable and you can hear the lines ringing in your ears long before they’ve been delivered. This movie is not offensive or thought provoking. You won’t lie awake at night pondering the subplots. Parental Guidance is just lighthearted PG entertainment when you’re looking for a little diversion from the daily grind.
This film reminds families that there is no solid line when it comes to who’s right and who’s wrong. Both ends will have to bend a little to reach each other.
Directed by Andy Fickman, PG, 105 mins, Comedy. *** 3 stars out of 5.
Lynne Martin is an avid movie collector and a staunch supporter of sexual education. She currently resides in Alberta, Canada with her husband and their large extended family. For a complete list of her reviews and other works, or to leave a comment, please go to: www.lynnemartinbooks.com.
