Zombies, More Zombies, Dinosaurs and... Killer Clowns...
I actually managed a fairly productive day, yesterday, but the downside was that I had no time for reading; just staring at the TBR pile on the rocking chair. Oh well… Maybe today will turn out better, we’ll see.
In the meantime, lets take a look at some of the movies that I’ve watched over the last few days. Not a bad selection this time (not great though…) but there is one movie that stands out above the rest...
‘Apocalypse Z: New World’ (2026)
In the aftermath of the virus, safe havens exist but supplies are running low and must be replenished. An expedition strikes out, from the Canary Islands, to establish a supply base in Madrid but… The infected hold the city and some of the living have their own ulterior motives for making the trip…
I watched ‘Apocalypse Z: The Beginning of the End’ a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it, although I apparently never got round to writing about it here. Oh well… :o)
Watching ‘New World’ was a bit of a no-brainer then but unfortunately, it was a bit of a no-brainer watching it, if you know what I mean.
‘New World’ definitely looks the part but runs into an immediate problem common to a lot of ‘post apocalyptic’ zombie movies. Once you only have survivors left, any zombie film has to work pretty hard to avoid becoming another ‘ennui of the zombie apocalypse’ movie. ‘Just surviving’ only gets a film so far and despite some interesting political commentary, ‘New World’ doesn’t do a lot else other than ‘just survive’. Your mileage will vary but I needed a little more from ‘New World’ and didn’t get it.
‘The End of Oak Street’ (2026)
A cosmic event transports the Platt family, and their surrounding neighbourhood, back into prehistoric times. Can they survive a familiar yet suddenly dangerous environment? Will they find a way back to their time? And, will they find the family dog first…?
‘The End of Oak Street’ knows exactly what it is and makes no apologies for it; just getting on with the business of being a big, dumb dinosaur movie that is touching/tense at all the right moments but, more importantly, is a lot of fun at the same time. Any film where Ewan McGregor knocks out a dinosaur, with a sledge hammer, gets my vote right away, I don’t ask for a lot ;o)
‘31’ (2016)
Five carnival workers are kidnapped and forced to participate in a hellish contest of wits and blades. All they need to do is stay alive for twelve hours but the murderous clowns, chasing them, will not make it easy for them. Quite the opposite in fact…
Erm… ‘31’ isn’t bad if you’re after an hour and three quarters worth of blood and bad language but I’ll be honest… The next time I fancy watching innocent victims being chased by sadistic killers, the Arnold Schwarzenegger ‘Running Man’ does it a hell of a lot better just by including an actual storyline instead of just seeing how gratuitous it can be. ‘31’ is pretty gratuitous, it just doesn’t feel like there’s a lot of point to it. Richard Brake and Malcolm McDowell are worth watching though.
‘Return of the Living Dead 3’ (1993)
Curt’s girlfriend is dead but luckily for Curt, his father is heading up a military project looking into weaponizing zombies. And there’s a lot of Trioxin on hand for a lonely guy looking to bring his dead girlfriend back to life. What could possibly go wrong…?
At this point, I’m kind of half and half about whether I watch the remaining ‘Living Dead’ movies. The first one is great, the second isn’t bad but the third…? By the time the third movie rolls up, there is nowhere left for it to go except follow the ‘outbreak’ path again. And while that wouldn’t be so bad if the humour, of the first two, was there… Well, it isn’t. Not for me anyway. I’ll be honest, I’ll probably just stick with the first two movies now (took a short paragraph for me to make my mind up!)
In the meantime, lets take a look at some of the movies that I’ve watched over the last few days. Not a bad selection this time (not great though…) but there is one movie that stands out above the rest...
‘Apocalypse Z: New World’ (2026)
In the aftermath of the virus, safe havens exist but supplies are running low and must be replenished. An expedition strikes out, from the Canary Islands, to establish a supply base in Madrid but… The infected hold the city and some of the living have their own ulterior motives for making the trip…
I watched ‘Apocalypse Z: The Beginning of the End’ a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it, although I apparently never got round to writing about it here. Oh well… :o)
Watching ‘New World’ was a bit of a no-brainer then but unfortunately, it was a bit of a no-brainer watching it, if you know what I mean.
‘New World’ definitely looks the part but runs into an immediate problem common to a lot of ‘post apocalyptic’ zombie movies. Once you only have survivors left, any zombie film has to work pretty hard to avoid becoming another ‘ennui of the zombie apocalypse’ movie. ‘Just surviving’ only gets a film so far and despite some interesting political commentary, ‘New World’ doesn’t do a lot else other than ‘just survive’. Your mileage will vary but I needed a little more from ‘New World’ and didn’t get it.
‘The End of Oak Street’ (2026)
A cosmic event transports the Platt family, and their surrounding neighbourhood, back into prehistoric times. Can they survive a familiar yet suddenly dangerous environment? Will they find a way back to their time? And, will they find the family dog first…?
‘The End of Oak Street’ knows exactly what it is and makes no apologies for it; just getting on with the business of being a big, dumb dinosaur movie that is touching/tense at all the right moments but, more importantly, is a lot of fun at the same time. Any film where Ewan McGregor knocks out a dinosaur, with a sledge hammer, gets my vote right away, I don’t ask for a lot ;o)
‘31’ (2016)
Five carnival workers are kidnapped and forced to participate in a hellish contest of wits and blades. All they need to do is stay alive for twelve hours but the murderous clowns, chasing them, will not make it easy for them. Quite the opposite in fact…
Erm… ‘31’ isn’t bad if you’re after an hour and three quarters worth of blood and bad language but I’ll be honest… The next time I fancy watching innocent victims being chased by sadistic killers, the Arnold Schwarzenegger ‘Running Man’ does it a hell of a lot better just by including an actual storyline instead of just seeing how gratuitous it can be. ‘31’ is pretty gratuitous, it just doesn’t feel like there’s a lot of point to it. Richard Brake and Malcolm McDowell are worth watching though.
‘Return of the Living Dead 3’ (1993)
Curt’s girlfriend is dead but luckily for Curt, his father is heading up a military project looking into weaponizing zombies. And there’s a lot of Trioxin on hand for a lonely guy looking to bring his dead girlfriend back to life. What could possibly go wrong…?
At this point, I’m kind of half and half about whether I watch the remaining ‘Living Dead’ movies. The first one is great, the second isn’t bad but the third…? By the time the third movie rolls up, there is nowhere left for it to go except follow the ‘outbreak’ path again. And while that wouldn’t be so bad if the humour, of the first two, was there… Well, it isn’t. Not for me anyway. I’ll be honest, I’ll probably just stick with the first two movies now (took a short paragraph for me to make my mind up!)
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