A double feature with zombies…Say no more!!!

I love going to special events, so when I found out my local AMC Theater was showing the Zombieland Double Feature I booked my ticket! It was a good time in the theater, and everyone in attendance got a cool Zombieland lanyard that has some of the Rules of Survival stated on it. Good stuff. I’m a big fan of the zombie genre. Have been for a while. My earliest experience was watching Night Of The Living Dead (1990) on TNT’s MonsterVision over and over. That movie use to creep me out but I loved it! Over time I learned about the zombie movies that came before the remake. Gotta love George Romero for starting zombie madness. Last year Fathom Events showed the original Night Of The Living Dead (1968) in select theaters for its 50th anniversary, and one of my local Regal Theaters showed it. Let me tell you how much of a good time it was. It’s 9:30 at night and I was the only one there watching in one of the smaller theaters in the back. That gave the vibe an extra layer of creepy. Ooohh it was fun!! It was nice to be able to revisit Zombieland back in the theater. It had been a few years since I watched the original, but I was planning on pulling out my copy for a revisit before I went to see Double Tap. Many moons ago I was in a theater in Delaware watching Zombieland when it was first released. The script was fun and the zany humor lands well. Jesse Eisenberg as “Columbus” does a great job portraying the reluctant “hero”, and his list of Rules of Survival were a memorable aspect that carries over into the sequel. I like Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin as sisters “Wichita” and “Little Rock”. The way they are introduced always makes me laugh. Tag teaming hustlers running schemes! My favorite character was “Tallahassee”, played by Woody Harrelson. Seeing Woody unhinged in a zombie apocalyptic world was hilarious. Throughout the zombie genre you always have people that like killing zombies. Not just shooting them in the head either. Tallahassee is one of those people. He likes to get innovative with it. You don’t feel bad because he is killing the undead, but it makes you wonder just how crazy this guy is. I mean who likes Twinkies that much?? The antics throughout the film were slapstick, which made for humorous moments at the various locations visited. Thee most memorable part of Zombieland is the meta scene where the crew meets Bill Murray. I remember the audience at the theater cracking up when I first saw it, and some people chuckled at the Double Feature. That entire interaction is a classic moment in cinema!

Zombieland: Double Tap was a good time as well. The director and production team from the original all returned, along with the 4 main cast members. The opening scene made me chuckle out loud. The sequel uses the same formula as the first, with some additional cast members (heeeyyy Rosario Dawson) added to the narrative, but the movie doesn’t hit any groundbreaking territory. Our original cast has set up shop at the abandoned White House, but cabin fever is starting to set in, and the ones closest to you have a way of irking your nerves. It’s that family theme that Columbus often touched on in the first movie. The biggest change in character was Breslin’s “Little Rock”, due to the actual time gap between the films. Breslin was 14 in real life when she was in Zombieland, and 22 when she filmed Double Tap. Little Rock is a kid in Zombieland, but a teenager in Double Tap, so the ole “teenage quest for independence” has a part in the story. The Rules of Survival come up again, so you get to see an expansion on that running joke. I have to give this movie extra kudos for having a reference to one of my favorite films. 3 hand claps for that piece of writing.  Overall Double Tap is a good time, so if you liked the original then this should put a smile on your face. You probably won’t be blown away though, so a matinee or discount day is a good call. If you do go see this, stick around until the credits are over.

Check out my video review here: https://www.facebook.com/MoviesWithMigs/videos/1110213235840803/

CHEERS!
Migs Rodriguez