Review: World War Z

Starring: Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos
Director: Marc Forster
Maturity Rating: PG-13 (Theatrical), 18+ (Netflix)
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Theatrical Release: 2013
Runtime: approx. 116 minutes

Set in the present day (well, the movie was released in 2013), Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) and family are stuck in a very bad traffic jam and things start to go very wrong. Everyone eventually panics and we see our first zombies, straight into the action. As a former United Nations investigator, Gerry has a quick wit so it is not surprising that the Lane family manage to survive the night by taking refuge in another family’s apartment. With his connection, he manages to secure a helicopter evacuation the next day. The family in the apartment and their son, Tommy, decide to stay while the Lanes move to the rooftop for the evacuation. As the zombies invade the apartment complex, Tommy manages to escape with the Lane family onto a supercarrier.

Gerry is given a choice. Either aid a virologist to find a cure by locating patient zero or get moved out of the supercarrier. With little choice, Gerry travels to South Korea where things once again go awry. The film follows Gerry’s globe-trotting adventures, one tense moment after another. Will he eventually find a way to help make the vaccine or is it going to be the end of the world?

Brad Pitt holds his own in this movie and pulls the right punches at the right time. Whether or not if you are a fan of the main protagonist or the zombie genre, the movie is worth watching. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the other characters because the focus is on Pitt moving from one place after another so there is little room for the others to shine.

The movie does not have as much blood and violence as some zombie movies of recent times but this is where it works best. Rather than just mindless zombie culling gore, a better plot balanced with enough action steer the movie in the right direction.

The other zombie movie that I have watched and reviewed is the Korean Train to Busan reviewed here.

Review: Gone Girl

People love thrillers, especially those with so many twists and turns that by the end of the movie (or book), the good guy could well be the bad guy that is the good guy who becomes the baddest but ultimately the good guy that is bad and this goes on and on until the end is reached (and the most loved of the crop is where the ending is open for another sequel). The more twists the better. Gone Girl is one such movie but thankfully, the twists are well controlled and not as mindlessly overdone as some movies.

Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike play the estranged couple Nick and Amy Dunne. Apparently, one morning after a walk by the beach, Nick goes home and finds evidence that Amy was attacked and she is nowhere to be found. So he goes to report to the police. The narration by Amy and back flashes in the early part of the movie reveals how their marriage had degraded over the years. Slowly, but surely, all the evidence points to Nick but is he guilty? If he is, what has he done to her?

While Rosamund Pike fits well into Amy’s role, I think anyone can become Nick if Ben Affleck’s acting is the threshold. Pike can express warmth and frost quite well but Affleck is just frustrated all the way.

I have a major gripe - I don’t understand why the movie is mostly in the dark. It could do with brighter scenes. Probably it’s just me but I always dislike movies with too many dark scenes. Instead of setting the mood, it becomes too straining. At least this one is not an action movie or else it’s difficult to distinguish who is fighting with whom.

The movie has just the right pace and is supported by a rather intelligent plot. These alone make the movie watchable although the nude scenes will limit it to a more mature audience.

1Q84 Omnibus - All the way through

I reached midway after a month plus of reading this really thick collection of all three novels by Haruki Murakami. You can read my thoughts here. The story revolves around two main characters, Aomame and Tengo. The plot is set in the midst of mystical Little People and a cult. Somehow, it all happens in a world with two moons. Murakami never fails to remind his readers of this and many other details. On the plus side, it’s impossible to forget all the important parts so there is no need to backtrack (I love this because I’m always forgetful of who does what). On the other hand, the book gets swelled up to more than one thousand three hundred pages. I can’t be sure which is thicker, this omnibus or a brick.

Halfway through, the readers are exposed to a romance that spans decades and there is a possible resolution but everyone worth his/her salt would know this is going to drag on till the end.

As the story progresses, Murakami introduces what appears to be an antagonist in the form of an investigator in book two and then increased his presence to the alternating chapters between Aomame and Tengo in book three. As he brings the excitement up a notch at the end of book two, Murakami does his repetitive, mundane thing again to slow the pace.

Despite all these, 1Q84 is a unique story where Murakami’s characters weave mystical plots out of thin air (pun intended). The world is strange but at the same time, projects the kind of realism that we could relate to.

I also love how Murakami adds a subplot about a desperate and irritating NHK fee collector. He manages to inject some humour into this at the beginning of the final book in a rather smart way... and then turned the whole thing into something creepy. A nice touch.

At the end of the day, it takes quite a bit of perseverance to appreciate this book. If you are looking for something unusual with some romance, mystery, and mysticism all mixed in, this could be the book for you... provided you have the time and patience to go through a thousand and three hundred plus pages.

Caution! Not for those looking for fast-paced action and kids should stay away because of some intimate scenes.