Warm Bodies (B or 3/4 stars)
In the mood for a zombie-themed romantic comedy with dashes of gore, cheese & parody? I offer you 'Warm Bodies' (directed by Jonathan Levine). The film opens with R (Nicholas Hoult, of About a Boy), a slacker zombie who spends his days shuffling around the post-apocalyptic ruins of an American city & thinking about the meaningless life he now has (can't talk, only eats humans, no memories ... sad times). Speaking of memories, the only ones that his decreptd brain can absorb are those of the brains he's munching on from one of his victims. Yum.
Now you may be thinking, why is America in ruins & why are there zombies? Well, it seems that sometimes in the near-future, a virus split the populace into 3 types: 1) humans; who only want to kill zombies, 2) zombies; who want to be human & have self-loathing about being zombies, and 3) "boneys" (zombies who have devolved into skeletal creatures who look to prey on anything). Humorously so, R offers voiceover that is filled with off-the-cuff, satirical observations about his lot in life. Meanwhile, a Big Brother-like militia run by a man played by John Malkovich controls the remains of the city. And his newest recruit happens to be his rebellious daughter, Julie (Teresa Palmer); she scouts zombie territory to retrieve any medical supplies she can find. During a grisly human/zombie encounter, R chows down on the brain of Julie's boyfriend, Perry (Dave Franco, James' brother). So it's not exactly love at 1st sight btwn. R and Julie.
But something clicks in R. He brings Julie to safety. He grows to love her; and Somehow, this somehow kick-starts R's transformation back to something resembling a living human being - his heart even begins to beat; he starts speaking full words, etc.. Thus commences some awkward flirting, growing understanding of one another, and a star-crossed romance that leads not only to a fairly big confrontation btwn. "boneys" and humans with the regular zombies having to choose sides.
Despite their obvious differences, R & Julie make for a very nice couple. He's a great listener, she's very intelligent/has a lot on her mind. I love how Nicholas Hoult transitioned from lurching zombie into a socially awkward guy who slowly realizes that love can possibly cure him. I love the little bit btwn. him & Julie when she keeps telling him not to shrug and be decisive about things. And I also liked Teresa Palmer for the 1st time (after a string of bland performances in no-one-cares teen flicks). The Australian actress proves here that she's more than just a pretty Kristen Stewart-like face. She has some feistiness & comic timing. And I believed her character arc in starting to fall for ... blasphemy ... a zombie. One of the main reasons this film works is because of Hoult, her, & their sweet, easy chemistry.
A lot of horror movie fans may not be wild about the fact that zombies are romanticized, here; like a zombie chick flick. You know, Twilight kind of defanged vampires. And now, they may be thinking, "Really? PG-13 zombies, too? Who's going to be neutered next? Jack the Ripper?". But then, I think it's kind of nice to put a goofy spin on the typically suspenseful, gory zombie genre and find a way to make them relatable, misunderstood, or open for change. This movie achieves that pretty well. 'Warm Bodies' plays around with quite a few zombie film (Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland) & romance (Romeo & Juliet) tropes. Some of the material is humorous. Some of the material falls flat. Some of it is charming. Some of it is strained.
But overall, I just simply ... liked it. I liked what I watched. Some interesting directorial/script choices are made. The major (and even minor) characters have a decency & dignity about them that really makes you hope that everything will work out in the end. There are nice displays of heroics in the script. And while I can't say that this film aims for depth, I did like that it says something about what makes life worth living.
Now you may be thinking, why is America in ruins & why are there zombies? Well, it seems that sometimes in the near-future, a virus split the populace into 3 types: 1) humans; who only want to kill zombies, 2) zombies; who want to be human & have self-loathing about being zombies, and 3) "boneys" (zombies who have devolved into skeletal creatures who look to prey on anything). Humorously so, R offers voiceover that is filled with off-the-cuff, satirical observations about his lot in life. Meanwhile, a Big Brother-like militia run by a man played by John Malkovich controls the remains of the city. And his newest recruit happens to be his rebellious daughter, Julie (Teresa Palmer); she scouts zombie territory to retrieve any medical supplies she can find. During a grisly human/zombie encounter, R chows down on the brain of Julie's boyfriend, Perry (Dave Franco, James' brother). So it's not exactly love at 1st sight btwn. R and Julie.
But something clicks in R. He brings Julie to safety. He grows to love her; and Somehow, this somehow kick-starts R's transformation back to something resembling a living human being - his heart even begins to beat; he starts speaking full words, etc.. Thus commences some awkward flirting, growing understanding of one another, and a star-crossed romance that leads not only to a fairly big confrontation btwn. "boneys" and humans with the regular zombies having to choose sides.
Despite their obvious differences, R & Julie make for a very nice couple. He's a great listener, she's very intelligent/has a lot on her mind. I love how Nicholas Hoult transitioned from lurching zombie into a socially awkward guy who slowly realizes that love can possibly cure him. I love the little bit btwn. him & Julie when she keeps telling him not to shrug and be decisive about things. And I also liked Teresa Palmer for the 1st time (after a string of bland performances in no-one-cares teen flicks). The Australian actress proves here that she's more than just a pretty Kristen Stewart-like face. She has some feistiness & comic timing. And I believed her character arc in starting to fall for ... blasphemy ... a zombie. One of the main reasons this film works is because of Hoult, her, & their sweet, easy chemistry.
A lot of horror movie fans may not be wild about the fact that zombies are romanticized, here; like a zombie chick flick. You know, Twilight kind of defanged vampires. And now, they may be thinking, "Really? PG-13 zombies, too? Who's going to be neutered next? Jack the Ripper?". But then, I think it's kind of nice to put a goofy spin on the typically suspenseful, gory zombie genre and find a way to make them relatable, misunderstood, or open for change. This movie achieves that pretty well. 'Warm Bodies' plays around with quite a few zombie film (Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland) & romance (Romeo & Juliet) tropes. Some of the material is humorous. Some of the material falls flat. Some of it is charming. Some of it is strained.
But overall, I just simply ... liked it. I liked what I watched. Some interesting directorial/script choices are made. The major (and even minor) characters have a decency & dignity about them that really makes you hope that everything will work out in the end. There are nice displays of heroics in the script. And while I can't say that this film aims for depth, I did like that it says something about what makes life worth living.