Perhaps I'm just weird about certain things but I don't like movies about illusionists. Thing that annoys me about them is that they can make things as crazy as they want, without having to explain anything. And yes, this movie also features all sort of implausible magic tricks in it. It feels like cheating! It should be a law, that when you decide to do a movie about illusionists, you are only allowed to use actual magic tricks and no 'movie magic'.
But besides all of that, this movie has plenty of other problems in it as well. The premise actually still sounded kind of nice and promising to me but I was absolutely annoyed and disappointed by the way certain things played out.
It believes that keep pulling rabbits out of the hat and stack surprise upon surprise, equals being a clever and surprising movie. But more often than not, things just don't add up too well. It's a typical example of a movie that thinks it's being more clever than it in fact truly is. As a matter of fact, the movie is a very lazily written one in some regards. It mostly relies on coincidences and other conveniences for its story. When looking back at this movie, you have to agree on it that certain things just don't make any sense or add up too well, no matter whether you liked the overall movie or not.
And it still is a very easy movie to like. I mean, sure, it's an entertaining one to watch. It has a constant fast pace and some fine actors, that help to keep you interested in the movie, all throughout. It's not the fun heist movie I expected it to be but it certainly is not without its entertainment.
Thing that still at the same time annoys me about its pace is that it's trying to go to fast at times. Sometimes the camera literally can't stand still and it keeps swirling all over the place, even when not an awful lot is happening. No, I'm not talking about shaky cam but swirly cam...shaky cam's lesser known but far more annoying cousin!
Guess you could say that the foremost thing this movie has going for it, is its cast. Not all characters are equally likable but the actors playing them still give a fine performance. I particularly liked Mark Ruffalo and Woody Harrelson in this movie.
Really, calling this movie a terrible one would be crazy in my opinion. It actually, despite everything, still succeeds to bring some entertainment, some good snappy type of dialog and fine performances by its cast. I just wasn't too fond of its story however and the way certain things played out.
It's probably still true lots of people are somewhat reluctant to go
and see this movie. A horror-comedy-romance with a bunch of teenage
characters (OK, OK, they are maybe in the twenties but you know what I
mean) in it? This should set off a couple of alarm-bells, at least with
certain demographics. But the movie in fact is a surprisingly good and
watchable one, for basically everybody out there! There is something to
enjoy for everyone in this.
I believe the key to why this movie works out is because it's not
necessarily focusing on being a horror-comedy or a romantic one, purely
aimed toward young teenagers but it's way more focuses on simply being
a good movie instead. It's not like the horror, comedy or romance ever
takes the upper-hand and it's more focused on bringing the different
genre elements together and to let it all work out effectively as a
whole.
It's also why this movie is perfectly watchable, for just about
everybody. There is some cute romance to enjoy for those looking for
it, which mostly likable will be teenage girls, or persons looking to
go on a date. But really everything else, such as its horror and
comedy, is something that could be enjoyed by just about everybody and
also makes this movie a worthwhile experience, even while you
beforehand still might think this movie won't be for you.
It's also true the movie works out due to its originality. OK, the
movie itself might be kind of simple and straightforward with its story
but it of course still features an original main concept, in which a
living girl and a zombie boy start to fall in love and start to look at
each other's worlds differently. It's kind of like a modern Romeo &
Juliet (sometimes not even subtle), with a special twist to it.
But yes, at the same time its simplicity is also what's still keeping
the movie somewhat down. Even though the movie is an original one, it
still progresses in a very predictable way and its cute and effective
all but it's also still lacking any true surprises in it.
It still felt like it was missing something. Perhaps it was a villain
that was more present throughout the entire movie and was a more evil
one, perhaps some more zombie action, or perhaps just a better conflict
and resolution of it. But whatever it was, it felt like the movie could
had done more with its concept at times. Of course it's not like the
movie is a bad one but it still had far more potential in it, in my
opinion.
But really, this remains one fine and surprisingly watchable movie, that
basically everyone should be able to enjoy and appreciate, on different
levels.
After a zombie becomes involved with the girlfriend of one of his victims, their romance sets in motion a sequence of events that might transform the entire lifeless world. From: IMDb.com
Directed by: Jonathan Levine
Starring: Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer, John Malkovich and others
After a zombie becomes involved with the girlfriend of one of his victims, their romance sets in motion a sequence of events that might transform the entire lifeless world. From: IMDb.com
Directed by: Jonathan Levine
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, Scarlett Johansson and others
