Seven Psychopaths

It wasn't easy to buy the ticket for this one. To be honest, it didn't seem very funny, and, with it's ensemble cast, not having that funny of a trailer seems like a death sentence in my mind. However, I really enjoyed writer/director Martin McDonagh's previous feature In Bruges. Seven Psychopaths tells the story of Marty, a Hollywood screenwriter played by Colin Farrell, who is trying to write a screenplay based on a title he has already sold. He reluctantly turns to his friend, Billy, played by Sam Rockwell, for help with the script, and gets caught up in Billy's criminal enterprise of stealing peoples dogs, and then returning them for the reward. When Billy steals the wrong dog, though, Billy, his business partner Hans (Christopher Walken), and Marty get on the wrong side of the dogs owner, Charlie, played by Woody Harrelson.

While Psychopaths doesn't live up to its predecessor, it still has its funny moments. I think part of my problem with it is that it is very self aware when it comes to the writing process, and tries to be clever about it, but just ends up being obvious.

Zombieland

The zombie comedy has had mixed results over the last few decades, starting with Return of the Living Dead and coming all the way through this years Zombieland. The thing about zombie's is, they're almost endlessly fascinating, and since they're great straight men, their's always humor to be found somewhere.

Zombieland's primary protagonist is Columbus (played by Jesse Eisenberg). When we meet Columbus, he is on the run, somewhere in Texas, trying to get back home to Columbus, Ohio (hence the name). After wrecking his car, he sets out on foot, and meets Tallahassee, a redneck with a penchant for zombie killing and painting Dale Earnhardt's number on the side of every car he drives. They decide to keep each other company, at least for a little while. When they stop at a grocery store to try and find some Twinkie's (Tallahasse's odd obsession), they meet two sisters, Wichita and Little Rock, and promptly get their car and gear stolen by the two girls. After catching up with them later, they fight a little, but eventually come to the agreement that they can do more together than apart, and decide to head for Pacific Playland, supposedly the last zombie free place in America.

This film is fun to its core. It's just a good old fashioned action comedy that uses the zombie genre as a back drop. While I found Shaun of the Dead to be a lot funnier, Zombieland's cast, including a surprise appearance by one of the greatest comedian's of our time, is just amazing. Harrelson was born to play Tallahassee, and Eisenberg is a perfect foil to him. Emma Stone's Wichita is a bit of a bad ass, for her age, and makes me think that she could take on some serious action roles in the future.