Contour At The Movies

Overall Impression – Gotta be my favorite zombie movie ever.  Probably one of my favorite MOVIES ever.

THE FOUR QUESTIONS

Who’s your main character? – Columbus.

What’s he trying to accomplish? – Professional: survive the zombie armageddon.  Personal: win Wichita.  Private: fix his ’survival rules’ – stop avoiding attachment, learn to enjoy the little things, and (occasionally) be the hero.

Who’s trying to stop him? – The zombies, but also Wichita and her sister.

What happens if he fails? – They’ll all die.

THE FOUR ARCHETYPES

Orphan – Columbus is one of the most ‘orphaned’ characters I’ve seen.  He’s one of the few surviving humans.  He’s separated from his family.  He’s never had a girlfriend.  He avoided people even before they were zombies.   He even says, “We are all orphans in Zombieland”.  Columbus meets Tallahassee, and they team up, refusing to use their real names to avoid attachment.  They meet Wichita and her younger sister, who con the guys, steal Tallahassee’s ride and abandon them.

Wanderer – Columbus and Tallahassee go searching for a new vehicle, discover some weapons, and find Wichita and her sister again… only to be taken hostage once more.  They learn that the girls are headed to a zombie-free amusement park.  Columbus learns that his parents are dead, and feels lost as a result.  However, as the group travels, Columbus and Wichita bond, and he realizes he has something worth living for.

Warrior – Columbus decides to stick with the group and tries in earnest to win Wichita.  They drive into Hollywood and party in Bill Murray’s mansion, and Columbus puts the “moves” on Wichita.  However, in the end the ‘no attachment’ rule wins out and Wichita and her sister ditch the guys once more, heading to the amusement park alone.  Columbus decides to man up and pursue Wichita, and he and Tallahassee race to the amusement park – which has become overrun with zombies.

Martyr – Columbus faces down his greatest fear – a clown zombie – and is willing to die to save Wichita and her sister from the zombie-infested amusement park.

AND, IN THE END…

I have to agree with Roger Ebert’s take on zombies: they’re hilarious, and ZOMBIELAND makes the most of that.  Boasting some extremely memorable characters, this was total anarchic, ridiculous fun from start to finish.  Please run out and see this movie before it leaves theaters.  If nothing else, see it for what’s probably the most hilarious cameo to come along in a while.

Much like in TITANIC or PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN, it’s somewhat up for debate as to who the main character is: Columbus or Tallahassee?  There are some tests to help determine this:

1 – At the end of the movie, it’s the hero versus the villain over stakes.  Very close, but I’d go with Columbus. He clashes most directly with the zombies over the stakes characters (Wichita and Little Rock).

2 – The hero changes the most from the start to the finish.  I’m still undecided on this one.  Perhaps Tallahassee, by a hair.

3 – The hero is like the villain, but with a moral centre.  Definitely Tallahassee.  Zombies destroy without reason, love blood and guts, and have one-track minds (brains!).  What’s Tallahassee like?  He destroys without reason, loves blood and guts, and has a one-track mind (twinkies!).  The only difference between the two, apart from a pulse, is that Tallahassee has a moral centre.

4 – The hero drives the action.  Again very close, but I’d say Columbus makes most of the decisions.  (Notably, to save the girls from the amusement park).

5 - The hero is willing to sacrifice the most in Act 3. Tallahassee has something of a death-wish, and killing zombies is what he lives for.  Columbus on the other hand hates danger, and has to face his worst nightmare – the clown zombie.  I’d say Columbus.

In my book, Columbus emerges as the main character, but that doesn’t mean that Tallahassee’s character isn’t developed enough that he couldn’t be.  Clearly this test is somewhat subjective, but it’s always interesting to see who people peg as the main character in movies such as PIRATES, LETHAL WEAPON, RUSH HOUR, TITANIC, etc.  What’s your take?

- Dan Pilditch

• This one's making the rounds. Never underestimate the power of a good story! http://bit.ly/4anqY7 #

J. J. Abrams speaks about writing, Star Wars, Macs, and his fascination with mystery at TED.

- Dan Pilditch

Overall Impression – While it doesn’t really tread any new territory, Pandorum boasts some genuinely creepy moments.

THE FOUR QUESTIONS

Who’s your main character? – Bower.

What’s he trying to accomplish? – Professional: reactivate the ship’s power core so they can reach a new Earth.  Personal: find his wife. Private: fend off the effects of ‘pandorum’ and accept that they’re all that’s left of humanity.

Who’s trying to stop him? – The mutants, and to an extent, Payton.

What happens if he fails? – Everybody on the ship will die, as will the human race’s last chance for survival.

THE FOUR ARCHETYPES

Orphan – Bower awakens on a derelict ship adrift in deep space.  He brings another survivor out of hyper-sleep, (Payton) and they soon realize that they’re completely cut off from Earth, with no idea where they are or what happened to the ship.  They soon learn that if they don’t reactivate the ship’s power core, they’ll never reach the planet Titan.

Wanderer – Bower and Payton make a plan: Bower will move through the ship whilst Payton directs him to the core from a control room.  Whilst exploring the ship, Bower tries to figure out what happened, picks up an anti-riot gun, meets a couple of vicious survivors (Nadia and Manh), and soon learns that the ship is infested by terrifying humanoid mutants.

Warrior – Bower convinces Nadia and Manh to help him, and as a team they evade and fend off the mutants whilst heading for the core.  The stakes are upped as Bower realizes that the ship is essentially an ark, and that the future of Earth’s legacy is in his hands.  When they discover that Payton is behind everything, Bower must stop him in order to find a way off the ship.  All the while, Bower must combat the effects of ‘pandorum’.

Martyr – Bower is willing to crawl across a sea of mutants in order to reach the core, and is later again willing to sacrifice himself to stop Payton.

AND, IN THE END…

Why do architects of the future love designing terrifying space ships?  How about some carpet?  Even the odd recliner?  Obviously, the setting might be a little less scary if you took that approach, but isn’t that preferable to a setting that’s obviously trying to be scary?  In my mind it is.  In fact, it might’ve been creepier if Pandorum had been set on a plush ship that had decayed over the 900-odd years it was adrift.  Or not.  Anybody got any thoughts on this?  I personally find it hard to ignore a set that draws attention to itself in such a way, and so i start thinking of it as a set.  One horror flick’s setting that totally sucked me in was The Descent.  A cave’s a cave, and caves are creepy.  It’s hard for me to find holes in that.

ANYWAY.  There was a lot I loved about Pandorum.  I jumped, a lot, and the atmosphere was great at evoking panic and claustrophobia.  Even more noteworthy was the general feeling of abandon, for which the ORPHAN element is largely to thank.  Actually, this is one of the most extreme cases of movie orphaning that I’ve come across.  They’re adrift in deep space.  They’re the last of humanity (their home, Earth, has been destroyed).  They’re confused, and lost on a huge ship.  Bower has lost his wife.  The list goes on, and this orphan thread is continued and amplified throughout the duration of the film, which only makes Bower’s goals harder to achieve.  Pandorum might not be in theaters for very long, but I think it’s worth checking out to see that dynamic in action.

- Dan Pilditch

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Check out this trailer from the upcoming ‘2012′ disaster movie.

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=59650