Cold Heart and 'Warm Bodies'

S ometimes a classic story takes on a different form.  In the case of "Warm Bodies" that story may be familiar, however, in the case of life in a post-apocalyptic nightmare of zombie hoards, which form comes in the form of a wishful dream.  A fun, shambling foray into the romantic comedy genre with a side of horror, "Warm Bodies" stars Nicholas Hoult ("X-Men: First Class," "Clash of the Titans," "A Single Man") and Teresa Palmer ("I Am Number Four," "The Sorcerer's Apprentice") as a cute mismatched couple on a journey of discovery.  "Warm Bodies" is rated PG-13 for some of the violence. 

It doesn't take long to realize that you are watching the most recent adaptation of Shakespeare's adaptation of the 1562 Arthur Brooke's Italian tragedy "The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet."  An older version of the story comes from Ovid's "Metamorphoses," called "Pyramus and Thisbe." Our story's protagonist, is named 'R' because he can't remember his real name, other than it may have started with an 'R.' He spends his days shuffling around an airport terminal.  R, unlike other zombies tends to be introspective wonders why he doesn't seem to be like any 'normal' zombies.  Why he has flashes of thoughts, almost memories, while he ponders the mysteries of life, somewhat odd for a zombie, don't you think?  R is a hoarder, a collector, and he appreciates music.  'Warm Bodies' is based on Isaac Marion's book of the same name and explores the world of zombies as more of a metaphor of the dull grind of everyday life that we find ourselves trapped in.  A world where we, as humans, live day to day without any real friends, any real thought of what is happening around us.  However, occasionally that one special person appears in our lives and things change. 

Enter Julie (Teresa Palmer).  Julie lives with her father, Grigio, played by John Malkovich.  Grigio is the leader of a walled fortress near the center of town.  Malkovich plays the father and leader as sort of a gray character, not sure, where he stands in this film other than a minor antagonist.  Julie and her boyfriend, Perry (Dave Franco - James’s younger brother), along with a small group of armed scavengers are raiding a pharmacy for medical supplies when R and his group of shamblers smell human flesh and attack the pharmacy.  During the melee of humans against the shambling corpses most of the group is killed except for Julie, her friend, Nora (Analeigh Tipton), and of course Perry.  At this point, I have to mention that "Warm Bodies" main flaw is a lot of exposition, rather than action.  For the first 20 minutes of the film is almost total voice over by R.  I guess, that can't be helped, because eh, R is dead.  Throughout the film, R interjects humor as we hear his thoughts like when he is munching on Perry's corpse he takes a moment to think about how nice Perry's gold watch is.  Or when R and his zombie 'friend,' M (Rob Corddry - 'Hot Tub Time Machine,' 'What Happens in Vegas')  try to have a conversation that consists mostly of grunts and groans while the two try to express their feelings for each other.  Another road bump that 'Warm Bodies' runs into is that in some cases the pacing is a bit slow.  Either because director/screenplay writer, Jonathan Levine (50/50), and editor Nancy Richardson ("Twilight," "The Vow," "Red Riding Hood") were trying to take their time to develop the character of R and Julie, as people (zombie) meant to be together, or perhaps, zombies just don't move that fast. 

Like the Shakespearian story, R and Julie come to terms with their differences and although he is dead, R does his best to come off slick in front of Julie despite his handicap.  The audience witnesses what we as young adults in love go through.  It is about half way through the second act that the pacing picks up.  What I liked about this film is the sense of hope that the film gives the audience in its schmaltzy kind of way.  'Warm Bodies' also brings to mind another concept that I like is that in the acceptance of diverse states of being or just differences in people.  What I didn't care too much for was the amount of exposition along with the concepts that by eating someone’s brains you get their memories.  I thought that this one concept I thought was just too farfetched.  In this case, R's feelings for Julie are not only due to a physical attraction for her, but mostly by the fact that he ate her boyfriend's brains.  In spite of my minor objections, 'Warm Bodies' is just a fun film to take your older kids to, or a great date movie. 

Movie Data

Genre: Comedy, Horror. Romance

Year:  2013

Staring: Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer, Analeigh Tipton, Rob Corddry, Dave Franco, John Malkovich

Director: Jonathan Levine

Producer(s): David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman, Bruna Papandrea

Writer: Jonathan Levine, Isaac Marion (novel) 

Rating: PG-13

Running Time: 98 minutes

Release Date: 2/1/2013

Jonah Hex, a Review of a Comic Book Trying to Change History

"War and Me Took Together Real Well" -- Jonah Hex

I probably will be joining the ranks of movie reviewers not praising the film Jonah Hex. I watched Jonah Hex over its opening weekend with a decent crowd of folks. However, what I found did not live up to the DC comic, as I know it, nor the trailers as portrayed the film. Jonah Hex stars Josh Brolin (No Country for Old Men) and Megan Fox (Jennifer's Body) as Lilah, two losers in the post-Civil War era.
Told in comic book recreations inter cut with action footage, Jonah is a soldier in the Confederate Army. The film depicts the raids on civilians that Hex's commander, Col. Quentin Turnbull (Malkovich) ordered and carried out by his son Jeb and Hex. The battle scenes ensue to the soundtrack of Steven Foster's Civil War ditties in the background. Not wanting to continue the slaughter, Jonah Hex turns traitor and betrays his best friend Jeb, shooting him. In retaliation, Turnbull captures Hex and forces Jonah to watch his family burn to death as his Irish henchmen sets the family's cabin on fire. Left to die suspended on the cross, The Crow Indians (his wife's tribe), nurse Jonah back to health and although he is mortal, he can to talk to the dead. In the meantime, his arch-nemesis, Quentin Turnbull has apparently died in a fire and about 10 years go by. There you go.... Back-story done.

The time is 1876, and Grant (Aidan Quinn) is in his last year of office. News of Turnbull being alive and Grant, the President, with perhaps the most corrupt administrators around, tells his Army staff officer that the only man for the job is Jonah Hex. Hex who is now a bounty hunter, and who shifts from one side of the law to the other. Most popular lawmen of the time had criminal records. President Grant has a lot to fear from Turnbull; as it was under Grant's orders that the Union Army turned to the tactic of total war. Total war is a concept of eliminating your enemies, including civilians and civilian's homes. General Grant ordered General Sherman to march to the sea and he burned a trail all the way to Atlanta. So, if Turnbull has a grudge, it is a sizeable grudge. Like the Will Smith film The Wild Wild West, also set in the same era of Grant's presidency, a Jules Verne-ish weapon of mass destruction is about to let loose on Washington D.C. Jonah and his prostitute friend Lilah, a nickname for Tallulah and Hex must stop Turnbull and his men. Jonah gets his ass kicked throughout this film, which makes him human and not a superhero-playing cowboy. However, due to being between the living and the dead, like the Crow (pun intended) Jonah can talk to the dead, if he can extract enough information before he microwaves them.

The unfortunate situation for Brolin in his characterization of Jonah Hex is the makeup effects on the right side of his face. Turnbull branded him there, however, in trying to remove the QT brand, Hex made it worse by opening a hole in the side of his mouth. A whole, which also limits Brolin's ability to speak, enunciate, and emote effectively, leaving his character somewhat flat and stiff. Megan Fox, on the other hand, just oozes sex appeal. That's it, just oozes sex appeal. Without the charm Jodie Foster had in 1994's Maverick with Mel Gibson, Fox plays it totally for the sex. John Malkovich does well as the evil Colonel Turnbull; however, I had seen Malkovich, turn up the evilness before, and wish he had done here. The Neveldine & Taylor (Gamer & Crank) story and the screenplay are straightforward and to be honest, considering the material; I would have liked to see Neveldine & Taylor direct this film. My apologies to director Jimmy Hayward of Toy Story 2 fame, however, I hear Buzz, Woody, and Horton calling you home. What I did like about Jonah Hex was the music. Composer Marco Beltrami did a fantastic job interweaving Stephan Foster scores with the hard and driving guitars of Mastodon. Mastodon and Beltrami provided just the right touch to move the film along. The film is not boring as the pacing keeps the story moving, quickly toward the end. At the end, you say to yourself, "Gee, I should have just waited and rented the DVD."

Movie Data

Genre: Action, Drama, Fantasy, Thriller, Western

Year:  2010

Staring: Josh Brolin, John Malkovich, Megan Fox, Michael Fassbender, Will Arnett

Director: Jimmy Hayward

Producer(s): Akiva Goldsman, Andrew Lazar

Writer: Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor, William Farmer

Rating: PG-13

Running Time: 81 minutes

Release Date: 6/18/2010

Originally published on 6/25/2010 with Yahoo Voices