The Battery, Pride & Prejudice & Zombies and Goal Of The Dead
A zombie triple:
THE BATTERY:
This is one of the best zombie films I have seen in ages - and for most of the film there are hardly any zombies in it. Set after the world has fallen to zombies, two friends (from the same baseball team) are surviving as best they can on the rural back roads and countryside. One of them loves and is quite suited to the outdoor life, the other hates it and wants nothing more than a return to some of the creature comforts he knew from before the apocalypse. The dynamic of this friendship and the tensions which pull it in contrasting directions are what power this story. The performances are note perfect. There is humour, drama and now and again - zombies! As more than just a footnote - as it greatly enhanced my enjoyment of the film the music is brilliant and really highlights the moods and settings of the film. There are some brilliant song choices but also the score is perfectly atmospheric. (The last time a film's score, rather than soundtrack, got under my skin this much was Ry Cooder's score for 'Paris Texas'). As far as zombie films go, this is a 'must see!'
PRIDE & PREJUDICE & ZOMBIES:
I read the book that this movie is based on when it first came out and think much the same of the film as I did of the book - it is a fantastic concept and it kind of proves that just about anything can be improved by the addition of proper zombies, but it would have worked just as well as a short. The opening monologue (possibly the most recognisable piece of Jane Austen's writing), the "It is a truth universally acknowledged" speech is adapted to fit a world where zombies are a very real problem and that pretty much sets the tone for everything that follows. The film (and book) take the very famous Jane Austen story, hit most of the major plot points (the romance of two people who very much get off on the wrong foot, the importance of finding a good match for marriage, etc) and just nudge the setting into a world where zombies are a very real problem. I am not a fan of Jane Austen but the idea is quite a clever one and the execution of it (book and film) is very good - but I think a ten minute version (or short story) would have had a similar effect in terms of this being a 'zombie story' without it having to be quite as dragged out as a full on Jane Austen story.
How much you enjoy this film may well depend more on how much you like Jane Austen than it does on how much you like zombies. (Presumably if you don't like zombies at all you wont bother with this at all). I would have been equally satisfied with a much shorter, punchier version - but that would have been a zombie movie with a Jane Austen theme. This movie tries and I think succeeds in balancing the zombie elements with the Austen elements more or less equally. So, like I said it may well depend on how much you like Austen.
GOAL OF THE DEAD:
A zombie football movie? Based on my experience with 'Shanghai Soccer' I had high hopes for this movie. They were not completely dashed but they were complicated by the edition of the film which I ended up watching (a French film where there was no option for either an English dub or even English subtitles). I stuck with the film anyway on the assumption that the plot would not be that complicated (it wasn't) and with my painfully limited French I would muddle along. There were some good gags but a surprising amount of dialogue where there didn't seem to be much humour, much football or even many zombies. The major story point seemed to be about one of the footballers who moved from his local small town team to a major league team with big money involved. This was regarded as a total betrayal by the small town fans. With so little football and so few jokes or zombies this seemed quite a stretch for the two hours of the film's duration. There were good moments but a lot of it seemed quite dull. Maybe if I get to see the film in a language I can follow I will get more out of it but it was a little disappointing. It seems bonkers to not have English subtitles (at least) given that the film is being sold in the UK with an English title but this is where we are.
THE BATTERY:
This is one of the best zombie films I have seen in ages - and for most of the film there are hardly any zombies in it. Set after the world has fallen to zombies, two friends (from the same baseball team) are surviving as best they can on the rural back roads and countryside. One of them loves and is quite suited to the outdoor life, the other hates it and wants nothing more than a return to some of the creature comforts he knew from before the apocalypse. The dynamic of this friendship and the tensions which pull it in contrasting directions are what power this story. The performances are note perfect. There is humour, drama and now and again - zombies! As more than just a footnote - as it greatly enhanced my enjoyment of the film the music is brilliant and really highlights the moods and settings of the film. There are some brilliant song choices but also the score is perfectly atmospheric. (The last time a film's score, rather than soundtrack, got under my skin this much was Ry Cooder's score for 'Paris Texas'). As far as zombie films go, this is a 'must see!'
PRIDE & PREJUDICE & ZOMBIES:
I read the book that this movie is based on when it first came out and think much the same of the film as I did of the book - it is a fantastic concept and it kind of proves that just about anything can be improved by the addition of proper zombies, but it would have worked just as well as a short. The opening monologue (possibly the most recognisable piece of Jane Austen's writing), the "It is a truth universally acknowledged" speech is adapted to fit a world where zombies are a very real problem and that pretty much sets the tone for everything that follows. The film (and book) take the very famous Jane Austen story, hit most of the major plot points (the romance of two people who very much get off on the wrong foot, the importance of finding a good match for marriage, etc) and just nudge the setting into a world where zombies are a very real problem. I am not a fan of Jane Austen but the idea is quite a clever one and the execution of it (book and film) is very good - but I think a ten minute version (or short story) would have had a similar effect in terms of this being a 'zombie story' without it having to be quite as dragged out as a full on Jane Austen story.
How much you enjoy this film may well depend more on how much you like Jane Austen than it does on how much you like zombies. (Presumably if you don't like zombies at all you wont bother with this at all). I would have been equally satisfied with a much shorter, punchier version - but that would have been a zombie movie with a Jane Austen theme. This movie tries and I think succeeds in balancing the zombie elements with the Austen elements more or less equally. So, like I said it may well depend on how much you like Austen.
GOAL OF THE DEAD:
A zombie football movie? Based on my experience with 'Shanghai Soccer' I had high hopes for this movie. They were not completely dashed but they were complicated by the edition of the film which I ended up watching (a French film where there was no option for either an English dub or even English subtitles). I stuck with the film anyway on the assumption that the plot would not be that complicated (it wasn't) and with my painfully limited French I would muddle along. There were some good gags but a surprising amount of dialogue where there didn't seem to be much humour, much football or even many zombies. The major story point seemed to be about one of the footballers who moved from his local small town team to a major league team with big money involved. This was regarded as a total betrayal by the small town fans. With so little football and so few jokes or zombies this seemed quite a stretch for the two hours of the film's duration. There were good moments but a lot of it seemed quite dull. Maybe if I get to see the film in a language I can follow I will get more out of it but it was a little disappointing. It seems bonkers to not have English subtitles (at least) given that the film is being sold in the UK with an English title but this is where we are.