By Montreal Spencer/south news editor
The No. 1 movie last week was Zombieland, grossing more than $24 million and rightfully so.
In 2012, after a human eats a bad hamburger, mad cow disease transforms into mad human disease, which transforms into mad zombie disease.
Jesse Eisenberg, who played in Adventureland earlier this year, stars as a University of Texas college student named Columbus.
Moviegoers should not worry. Adventureland and Zombieland have no relation.
The first scene is action-packed and hilarious and lets the audience members know what kind of ride they are in for.
Columbus is killing zombies in Garland, Texas. In the movie, Columbus jokes that the audience will look at the scene and say, “Wow, that’s terrible, look what happened to Garland. But that’s how it always looked.”
He narrates throughout the entire movie and explains several rules to live by in Zombieland, such as fasten your seat belts, avoid bathrooms and don’t be a hero.
After killing a few zombies, Columbus meets Woody Harrelson’s character, Tallahassee, who enjoys killing zombies as much as Brad Pitt’s character in Inglourious Basterds enjoyed killing Nazis.
He’s a real tough guy who kills at will and does not want any attachment to anyone. Tallahassee decides to not use real names and to call each other by the destinations they intend to go.
Columbus is on his way to see if his parents are still alive in Ohio, and Tallahassee is on a journey looking for his one weakness, Twinkies.
Side note: Some theaters were giving away free Twinkies and Sno Balls during showings of Zombieland.
Columbus and Tallahassee team up for what is supposed to be a brief trip consisting of Columbus getting dropped off in Ohio. But on the way, they stop at a grocery store to search for Twinkies and run into Wichita, played by Emma Stone.
She has a problem with her sister, Little Rock, played by Abigail Breslin, and she needs help from the guys, who in turn jump at the chance to save a damsel in distress.
When they do help, the unexpected happens causing more obstacles for the pair to conquer. Eventually, everyone teams up to kill zombies and go to their destinations.
Bill Murray makes a comical cameo that puts the icing on the cake.
The movie is filled with all the good stuff, including bloody gore and dumb, vulgar comedy. It’s a perfect Halloween movie, date movie or no-occasion movie.
Zombieland is one of the best, if not the best, zombie movies made this century, if not ever.
Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick did an excellent job writing, and Ruben Fleisher did a great job directing. The audience will want a Zombieland 2.
