Forty Year Old Psychotic Zombie

Another week, another selection of films. It's always been a part of my weekly routine to watch as many new films as I possibly can in just 7 days. Sometimes the week is filled with an eclectic mix of intelligent and clever cinema and other times it is pure awful film generated to satisfy the mass population. This week was a mix of both. I started by watching This is 40 and Warm Bodies before ending my week with Hitchcock. So here is my opinion of the current box office smashes.

This is 40 was another pathetic comedy. It's so frustrating to me that producers and directors are spouting out the same generic formula packed with as many clichés and famous actors as they can get. Leslie Mann seems to fill the role of the same mid-life crisis wife and mother who we see in every single mass produced film. But of course everything works out in the end despite her character and her husbands being completely incompatible in my eyes. Paul Rudd introduced another stereotypical moment for Hollywood films, the 'smoke weed, get high' montage. Obviously weed distribution and subsequently its popularity has grown over the last decade alone but is it really necessary to show every 40-something adult smoking it in an attempt to be 'fun again'. I did enjoy their children though. They were blunt and hilarious and reminded me a lot of the children in the popular British TV show Outnumbered. The teenage daughter's obsession with Lost was a fun side plot that felt totally appropriate considering the current obsession with 'shipping' and 'fan-girling' over every show and every singer. I found her breakdown in the closet near the beginning particularly hilarious. Lena Dunham! One of my newest obsessions despite her poor choice in body art, features very briefly in this film. But my final thoughts on the film is that it is another mediocre film produced purely for profit. Are any comedy films made to satisfy more than the producers wallet these days?

Second in my week of new films was the current box office hit, Warm Bodies. You know, that film that takes Twilight a little step further and explores the romance from the 'monsters' point of view. Nicholas Hoult plays a zombie looking for something more. The casting of this film was spectacularly on point. I can think of no one better to play an awkward bumbling zombie than Hoult who happens to be lanky and awkward himself. It was like he was built for the role. I mentioned in a previous post that I'm very particular about the execution of voice overs. I found the one in this film to be very satirical and at some points unnecessary. However, enough of the voice over was funny enough for me to consider it relevant to the development of the story. Overall the film had a cute humour to it opposed to the typical Hollywood humour like in This is 40. The lead actress, Teresa Palmer, does emote more than Kristen Stewart which was a pleasant surprise but unfortunately the idea and expression of 'teenage angst' was never too far from her face. But my favourite part about the film was part of the writing. I LOVE when zombie films, television shows or literature feature different variations of the zombie. The skeletons vs the corpses was a great idea that I feel propelled the story past the same old boring comedy horror.

Thankfully, my week ended on an ultimate high with the Oscar nominated, Hitchcock. With a strange narrated beginning and end which was incredibly unexpected the film had me hooked from the start.The title sequence itself was striking and set the tone for a beautiful film. As a fan of the directorial process I found it really interesting seeing a, slightly fictionalised, version of the famous director work his magic. I found Helen Mirren to be cheeky and fabulous as ever! Wonderfully headstrong and calm even when she is playing a relatively controlling character, it is difficult not to love and praise her. She always chooses the perfect role that showcases just how brilliant she really is. Now, I am the first to admit that Scarlett Johansson's figure is absolutely stunning and possibly the epitome of female perfection. But there is something about her face, her voice and her overall presence that just pisses me off. Am I the only one that was frustrated by her painfully awful Dolce and Gabbana advert? My favourite scene in the film comes just at the end when an audience is watching Psycho for the first time. There is something strangely poetic and sweet about Alfred dancing to the shrieking sounds of the shower scene in the lobby. There was an overall elegance and sweetness to the film that makes me wonder why it was not nominated for best picture. Although I have yet to see it, I don't think Lincoln belongs in that category and should have been replaced by Hitchcock. Before the closing titles there are a few short sentences detailing the rest of Hitchcock's career after Psycho and the fact that Hitchcock never won an Oscar. Now after seeing this film and reading into more of Alfred Hitchcock's work I feel like this should be corrected.

So my week wasn't great, in relation to movies, and I still have 5 films in the best picture category to watch before the 24th of this month. Hopefully, I'll get this done before the ceremony but if I don't I'm sure I will watch them sooner rather than later. But for now I'm going to continue to watch whatever comes my way.