The Host by Stephenie Meyer

Title: The Host

Author: Stephenie Meyer

Publisher: Back Bay Books 2008

Genre: Paranormal

Pages: 620

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Paranormal -- Aliens; TBR Pile; Book to Movie; Bingo -- 3 rereads

Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that take over the minds of human hosts while leaving their bodies intact. Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, didn't expect to find its former tenant refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.

As Melanie fills Wanderer's thoughts with visions of Jared, a human who still lives in hiding, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she's never met. Reluctant allies, Wanderer and Melanie set off to search for the man they both love.

A reread for me.  With the release of the movie this year, I wanted to reread the book and do a bit of comparison.  I remember that I enjoyed The Host more than the Twilight series, but I wanted to see if my memories lived up.  They do live up to my memories.  I really enjoyed this book.  The story of the aliens taking over Earth through body snatching isn't anything new.  But Melanie/Wanderer's story of understanding and identity is nice and unique.  I loved following their slow realization that neither of them are the enemy.  And watching the love triangle (or is it a square?) develop did not annoy me like in the Twilight series.  This one felt genuine.  I loved rereading this book.  And I'll even admit to ugly crying in parts.

Movie:

Overall, I quite enjoyed this adaptation. I'll admit that the voiceovers for Melanie and Wanderer's internal conversations were awkward, but the movie kept them to a minimum.  The actors actually portray their characters well.  The movie spent a lot of time following the searcher, but it added to the heightened fear of capture.  My favorite character was Jeb played by William Hurt.  He captured that exact mix of crazy and genius that I loved from the book.  I went into the viewing thinking I would hate the movie, but it turns out that I really enjoyed it.

Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond

Title: Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies

Author: Jared Diamond

Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company 2005

Genre: Nonfiction - Science

Pages: 494

Rating: 4/5 stars; documentary 4/5

Reading Challenges:  Nerdy -- Anthropology; New Authors; TBR Pile; Book to Movie

How I Got It: I own it!

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, Guns, Germs, and Steel is a brilliant work answering the question of why the peoples of certain continents succeeded in invading other continents and conquering or displacing their peoples. This edition includes a new chapter on Japan and all-new illustrations drawn from the television series. Until around 11,000 BC, all peoples were still Stone Age hunter/gatherers. At that point, a great divide occurred in the rates that human societies evolved. In Eurasia, parts of the Americas, and Africa, farming became the prevailing mode of existence when indigenous wild plants and animals were domesticated by prehistoric planters and herders. As Jared Diamond vividly reveals, the very people who gained a head start in producing food would collide with preliterate cultures, shaping the modern world through conquest, displacement, and genocide.The paths that lead from scattered centers of food to broad bands of settlement had a great deal to do with climate and geography. But how did differences in societies arise? Why weren't native Australians, Americans, or Africans the ones to colonize Europe? Diamond dismantles pernicious racial theories tracing societal differences to biological differences. He assembles convincing evidence linking germs to domestication of animals, germs that Eurasians then spread in epidemic proportions in their voyages of discovery. In its sweep, Guns, Germs and Steel encompasses the rise of agriculture, technology, writing, government, and religion, providing a unifying theory of human history as intriguing as the histories of dinosaurs and glaciers.

Book: I finally got around to a book that's been sitting on my shelf for at least three years.  I was craving something more academic, some good nonfiction, and I found it.  I warn you that Diamond's book is fairly dense.  Every chapter is packed with tons of information.  I appreciate this approach.  Throughout the book, the ready can tell that Diamond did his research.  This isn't a fluffy nonfiction book; it's a book for historians and anthropologists.  And it's a very far reaching book.  Diamond takes us from prehistory to modern times in only 500 pages.  Diamond's premise is so simple and yet so complex.  We get a breakdown of each factor leading civilizations to progress.  I definitely recommend for fans of anthropology and well researched historical tomes.

Documentary: While the documentary does a good job summarizing all of Diamond's research, at times the intercuts between the information from the book and Diamond's time in Papua New Guinea were tiring.  I wished the documentary took a more straight forward approach to the information presented in the book.  Still, a good three part documentary covering most of the information presented in the book.

The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill by Mark Bittner

Title: The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill

Author: Mark Bittner

Publisher:  Three Rivers Press 2004

Genre: Nonfiction memoir

Pages: 288

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: T4MC -- Adjective in Title; Genre -- Nonfiction; New Author; Book to Movie

How I Got It: Loan from a friend

In this appealing, heartfelt account of one man's attempt to bond with wildlife, the author tells how he made friends with a flock of birds and in the process found meaning in his own life. In the early 1990s, Bittner, a 42-year-old who was still living like a "dharma bum," discovered that there were wild parrots in the trees and on the power lines near the house he was caretaking on San Francisco's Telegraph Hill. Having nothing else to do, he decided to feed the birds on his fire escape and occupy his time by observing them. Soon they appeared every day, noisily demanding seeds, and for the next few years, he devoted most of his time to the wily and comical birds, which turned out to be cherry-headed and blue-crowned conures-escapees that originally had been caught in South America-and their progeny. Crowds gathered outside his house to see him with the parrots perched on his arms and head taking seeds from his hands, and he became famous as "the birdman of Telegraph Hill." Because he found that each bird had its own personality, he named them according to their individual characteristics, and in this charming record of their activities, they seem almost human. At a time when he lived like a hermit, the birds brought him joy and became his only friends. It's a bittersweet story-that is, until a documentary filmmaker shows up at his doorstep.

One of those books that had caught my eye at some point, but I never actively sought it out.  A friend noticed it on my Goodreads To Read shelf and lent it to me.  The book started off slow for me.  I was not really enjoying learning about Bittner's early life or search for meaning.  I was on the verge of giving up on the book, but I stuck it out a bit longer.  He hadn't even encountered the parrots yet.  I had to at least read until then.  Once he encountered the flock, my interest in reading the book spiked.  I found myself fascinated by the different bird personalities.  I wanted to figure out the meaning behind their behaviors just like Bittner.  I found myself growing attached to various members of the flock.  Eventually my heart broke when some died.  I felt joy with their triumphs.  I was scared when hawks were spotted.  I was pulled in the world of this anomaly.  I loved the entire middle section of the book.  As the end neared, my interest waned with the reintroduction of Bittner's philosophy and general life beyond the birds.  I finished, but my disinterest in those sections knocked the book down a star.  Still, a wondrous read.  Next time I venture into the city, I'll sure be on the lookout for the parrots.

Movie:

Pretty much the book.  But we get to see beautiful moving images of the parrots.  The one thing the books had lacked: color photographs.  Watching the movie I finally got to see what they actually looked like.  Very enjoyable film, but probably not necessary to watch the film and read the book.  One would have been sufficient.

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

Title: The Color Purple

Author: Alice Walker

Publisher: Harcourt Books 1982

Genre: Classics

Pages: 288

Rating:  3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: T4MC -- Published in birth year; Classics -- African American experience; Women Authors; Mount TBR; Books to Movie

How I Got It: I own it

Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Color Purple is a tale of personal empowerment which opens with a protagonist Celie who is at the bottom of America's social caste. A poor, black, ugly and uneducated female in the America's Jim Crow South in the first half of the 20th century, she is the victim of constant rape, violence and misogynistic verbal abuse. Celie cannot conceive of an escape from her present condition, and so she learns to be passive and unemotional. But The Color Purple eventually demonstrates how Celie learns to fight back and how she discovers her true sexuality and her unique voice. By the end of the novel, Celie is an empowered, financially-independent entrepreneur/landowner, one who speaks her mind and realizes the desirability of black femaleness while creating a safe space for herself and those she loves.

One of those "been on my list forever" books.  I finally picked it up even after being cautioned by many people that this book is very difficult to read.  They were right.  It was very difficult to read through Celie's struggles.  It was difficult to keep my emotions in check.  It was difficult to not hate many of the characters.  So, was it worth reading?  I have mixed feelings about this.  While I loved Walker's focus on themes and issues, I did not love the style.  I was very distracted by the style and language used (misspelling, bad word choices).  Because of all my distractions, I don't think I fully connected to the novel.  Interesting book, but it's not going to appear on any of my best of lists.

Movie:

The movie is even more difficult to get through than the book.  I had to force myself to watch until the end.  The themes are so serious, I can't say that I loved the movie.  In that way, I put this into the same category as Schindler's List.  I feel like I've added to my experiences by watching, but it's not something I would rush out and see again.  My only big critictism of the movie is it's elimination of all lesbianism.  The part of the storyline seemed extremely important to Celie's growth.

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Title: Never Let Me Go

Author: Kazuo Ishiguro

Publisher: Vintage International 2005

Genre: Dystopian fiction

Pages: 288

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: T4MC -- Child on cover; Dystopian; Monthly - June; TBR Pile; Book to Movie

How I Got It: I own it

From the Booker Prize-winning author of The Remains of the Day comes a devastating new novel of innocence, knowledge, and loss. As children Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy were students at Hailsham, an exclusive boarding school secluded in the English countryside. It was a place of mercurial cliques and mysterious rules where teachers were constantly reminding their charges of how special they were.

Now, years later, Kathy is a young woman. Ruth and Tommy have reentered her life. And for the first time she is beginning to look back at their shared past and understand just what it is that makes them special–and how that gift will shape the rest of their time together. Suspenseful, moving, beautifully atmospheric, Never Let Me Go is another classic by the author of The Remains of the Day.

I so wanted to like this novel.  I heard amazing things about the story and the style and the entire concept.  However, I did not enjoy the book.  My biggest complaint is with the style.  The book is narrated by Kathy who is 31-years-old.  A lot of the story is told by her relating a story from her childhood.  I felt that Kathy was relating this stories as if she was 13.  I just didn't buy the fact that she was an adult.  Maybe this was intentional.  Given who Kathy is and how the story progresses, it could have been done on purpose.  But I felt myself being constantly distracted by the sentence construction and word choices.  I just couldn't actually get behind the story.  As to the plot and characters, I have mixed feelings.  I liked Kathy and Tommy, but loathed Ruth.  Ruth is meant to be a sticky character, but I wanted to punch her every time she appeared.  Also, I figured out the big plot reveal about 30 pages in (way before the author says anything).  It seemed obvious and not really that exciting.  I've seen other books and movies do the idea justice.  This just wasn't one of them.  Although a highly recommended book, it just wasn't for me.  On the next selection...

Movie:

Since, I didn't love the novel, I didn't think I would like the movie.  And I was correct.  I felt that the movie didn't even get into the relationship between the three leads.  We seen to get an abridged version of the plot.  Things happen but we don't know why or the motivation behind the characters.  As such, I liked the movie less than the book.  It just didn't do anything for me.

Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

Title: Warm Bodies

Author: Isaac Marion

Publisher: Atria 2011

Genre: Zombies

Pages: 240

Rating: 4/5 stars  Movie: 4/5

Reading Challenges: T4MC - M Author; Paranormal - Zombies; Library; Book to Movie; 52 Books - W24

How I Got It: Library loan

R is having a no-life crisis—he is a zombie. He has no memories, no identity, and no pulse, but he is a little different from his fellow Dead. He may occasionally eat people, but he’d rather be riding abandoned airport escalators, listening to Sinatra in the cozy 747 he calls home, or collecting souvenirs from the ruins of civilization.

And then he meets a girl.

First as his captive, then his reluctant house guest, Julie is a blast of living color in R’s gray landscape, and something inside him begins to bloom. He doesn’t want to eat this girl—although she looks delicious—he wants to protect her. But their unlikely bond will cause ripples they can’t imagine, and their hopeless world won’t change without a fight.

Been meaning to pick this one up for awhile.  I finally snapped it up from the library and was pleasantly surprised.  I expected a fairly standard YA novel.  I expected sappy characters and ridiculous inner monologues.  Instead, I got a great quirky zombie novel.  Everything about the characters and storyline felt new and shiny.  Even the take on zombie lore was new.  I loved the dichotomy between the fleshies and the boneys.   I loved R and Julie and Nora and even M.  I read this book in one day sitting by the pool and it was a lovely afternoon.  Definitely a recommend.

Movie:

Usually I hate voice overs in movies, but for reason this one just works.  Right away, the movie dove right into the book with minor changes.  To be fair, there are changes, but they are small ones for the most part.  We lose some of the conversations and actions of M and the other zombies at the airport.  We also lose the piece with R's wife and children.  The big omission that I wished to see was more of the boneys.  I wanted to visualize the "church" and see the boneys with their Polaroids.  I wanted to witness the wedding.  But overall, I still really enjoyed the movies.

The Postman by David Brin

Title: The Postman

Author: David Brin

Publisher: Bantam Books 1985

Genre: Scifi - Post-Apocalyptic

Pages: 428

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Dystopian; New Author; ebook; 52 Books - W22

How I Got It: iPad read

He was a survivor--a wanderer who traded tales for food and shelter in the dark and savage aftermath of a devastating war.  Fate touches him one chill winter's day when he borrows the jacket of a long-dead postal worker to protect himself from the cold.  The old, worn uniform still has power as a symbol of hope, and with it he begins to weave his greatest tale, of a nation on the road to recovery.

Another science fiction book J has been bugging me to read for the past few years.  I went into it skeptical, but was hooked after Gordon's first encounter on the mountain.  I immediately latched onto this reluctant hero, the pretend postman, who eventually becomes something much more than a man.  I loved the discussions of society and civilization.  I loved seeing the different sides argue about which way was right. I even liked the gender arguments (although I must say Brin paints feminism in a very specific manner that I personally disagree with).  The characters are intriguing.  The action sequences kept me on the edge of my seat.  And by the end, I was rooting for the band of misfits to beat to the survivalists and remake a nation.

Emma by Jane Austen

Title: Emma

Author: Jane Austen

Pages: 446

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: T4MC - A author; Classics - Reread; Monthly - April;  Books to Movies; Bingo - 4 rereads

How I Got It: Own It!

Book: Every time I read Emma, I like it more and more.  I remember the first time I read the novel, I hated Emma.  I thought she was selfish and immature.  And she is, but that's only at the beginning.  In the novel, we see a great growth arc.  Emma starts to realize her faults and tries to change them.  I just love the entire story.  And this novel has some great side characters.  I loathe Mr. and Mrs. Elton. but that's okay, I'm supposed to.  I laugh at Miss Bates and Mr. Woodhouse.  I adore Mr. Knightley.  And I might say, that I partially loathe Miss Fairfax and Frank Churchill.  In all the characters, we get a great rounded out cast.  At this point, I think Emma is my third favorite Austen.

Gwyneth Paltrow version 1996:

This movie version has some great qualities.  The side character actors pull off their scenes well.  Alan Cummings is gorgeous as Mr. Elton.  I really love Jeremy Northam as Mr. Knightley.  My favorite scene of his is when he chastises Emma for her treatment of Miss Bates.  Spot on! While I love these characters, I'm not a huge fan of Gwyneth Paltrow as Emma.  She's too old acting.  She comes off as mean instead of just insensitive.  And the archery scene irks me way too much. I just can't get completely behind this one.

2009 Miniseries:

I love this version.  Romola Garai has that childlike countenance that makes me believe her as a young slightly naive lady.  Michael Gambon is great as Mr. Woodhouse.  He delivers those great unintentionally funny lines with ease.  Although, if I'm not looking at the screen, my mind always got to Dumbledore.  Tamsin Grieg is a great chatty Miss Bates.  I just want to invite her to my house for tea.  But the prize goes to Johnny Lee Miller as Mr. Knightley.  Almost every line has a tinge of sarcasm.  I definitely fall for him in the first scenes.  This version does a great job with the book's content.  It doesn't deviate too much and hits all the good scenes.  This is my favorite movie version.

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Title: The Secret Garden

Author: Frances Hodgson Burnett

Published: 1911

Genre: Children's Classics

Pages: 220

Rating:  5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Classics - Children's; Monthly Key Word - April, Garden; Book to Movie; Book Bingo - 3 Rereads

How I Got It: I own it

Mistress Mary is quite contrary until she helps her garden grow. Along the way, she manages to cure her sickly cousin Colin, who is every bit as imperious as she. These two are sullen little peas in a pod, closed up in a gloomy old manor on the Yorkshire moors of England, until a locked-up garden captures their imaginations and puts the blush of a wild rose in their cheeks; "It was the sweetest, most mysterious-looking place any one could imagine. The high walls which shut it in were covered with the leafless stems of roses which were so thick, that they matted together.... 'No wonder it is still,' Mary whispered. 'I am the first person who has spoken here for ten years.'" As new life sprouts from the earth, Mary and Colin's sour natures begin to sweeten.

My childhood favorite.  I actually still have my original copy with any inscription from my Grandma "Christmas 1991."  So I got my copy for Christmas at 9 years old.  I don't remember reading this book before then, but it could have happened.  I just remember coming back to this book through the years and somehow I held on to that particular copy all these years.  I think I related to Mary as a child.  I was an only child.  I was often left to my own devices.  I would have loved a huge manor house to explore and gardens to frolic in.  The entire story has an element of Magic that I gravitated toward as a child.  Unlike many childhood books, this volume lives up to my memories of it.  Reading it was a nice reminder of my childhood pursuits.  I could get a nicer copy of the book, but mine holds such memories, I think I will keep it.

Movie: 1987 Hallmark Hall of Fame 

This is the movie from my childhood.  I remember going to my Grandma's and watching and rewatching the VHS tape until it was worn out.  Since that time, I have watched other versions, but they never seem to capture my attention.  Maybe it's the nostalgia factor.  Whatever the reason, I love the scenery in this one.  The moors are just gorgeous.  I loved how the secret garden slowly comes alive throughout the film.  While I know they changed the ages of Colin and Dickon and tacked on the ending, I still like how the actors portrayed the characters, especially Mary.  Mary is a spoiled brat, she should be like that at the beginning and only slowly does she change.  The change is evident in this version.  Overall, I really love this movie.

P.S. I Love You by Cecelia Ahern

Title: P.S. I Love You

Author: Cecelia Ahern

Publisher: Hyperion 2004

Genre: Romance

Pages: 470

Rating:  4/5 stars  Movie: 4/5

Reading Challenges: SubGenre - Romance, Contemporary; New Author; Eclectic - Movie; 52 Books - W15

How I Got It: I own it!

Holly couldn't live without her husband Gerry, until the day she had to. They were the kind of young couple who could finish each other's sentences. When Gerry succumbs to a terminal illness and dies, 30-year-old Holly is set adrift, unable to pick up the pieces. But with the help of a series of letters her husband left her before he died and a little nudging from an eccentric assortment of family and friends, she learns to laugh, overcome her fears, and discover a world she never knew existed.

This is a typical chick lit type of book, but it has the advantage of including a not annoying protagonist.  I really like Holly.  She felt real to me.  She's not some stereotype.  She has her faults, but shows great growth throughout the book.  The side characters are interesting as well.  I loved Ciara and Declan as the "crazy siblings."  There's a great rounding out of people in this novel.  Overall, I really enjoyed Holly's journey back to life.  I am also glad that it didn't have the fairy tale ending.

Movie:

The movies keeps fairly faithful to the book.  We still see Holly's journey back to life.  The details sometime get changed, but I'm okay with that.  The changes make sense for a movie version of the story.  I usually don't like Hillary Swank, but in this movie she's okay.  I really liked the rest of the actors.  They fit the parts fairly well.  I enjoyed the movie, it just wasn't absolutely amazing.  Overall, a good adaptation of the novel.

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

Title: Stardust

Author: Neil Gaiman

Publisher: HarperCollins 1997

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 250

Rating:  4/5 stars  Movie:   5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Neil Gaiman; ebook; Blogger Recommendations; Book to Movie

How I Got It: iPad read

Among the wondrous, beautiful, and strange literary offspring conceived by Sandman creator, multi-award winner, and #1 New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman, his magical 1997 fantasy novel, Stardust, remains a top favorite. An enchanting adult fairy tale about a young man who travels beyond the boundaries of his small village to find a fallen star and win the heart of the woman he loves—the basis for the hit motion picture starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Sienna Miller, Claire Danes, and Robert DeNiro.

One of those "I saw the movie before reading the book" books...  Even with loving the movie, I really enjoyed the book.  I don't think it's Gaiman's best offering, but it's a nice little action adventure love story.  At many times, I wanted to slap Tristran, but maybe that's just me.  The book has a great fantastical world in Faerie.  Loved the setting, even if some of the characters annoyed me.

Movie Review:

Don't get me wrong, I love Gaiman's writing, but the movie version is just amazing and gorgeous.  The sets are to die for.  The actors are way too gorgeous.  I even liked the changes they made to the storyline.  Somehow the changes don't make me cringe.  They make the story different, but a good different.  I am such a fan of this movie.

Music Monday -- "Across the Universe"

Something a bit different for Music Monday today.  Instead of a single song or a group of songs for 101 Faves, I decide to feature the music of Across the Universe.  If you've never seen it, Across the Universe is a movie musical based on the music of The Beatles.  I love these covers so much.  In fact, I think the cover of "I've Just Seen a Face" is better than the original.  Here are some of my favorites from the movie.

I've Just Seen a Face:

With a Little Help from My Friends:

Hey Jude:

Happiness is a Warm Gun:

Revolution:

Blackbird:

Across the Universe:

The Movie Trailer for you viewing pleasure:

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Title: Coraline

Author: Neil Gaiman

Publisher: HarperCollins 2003

Genre: Children's Fantasy

Pages: 211

Rating:  5/5 stars  Movie: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Neil Gaiman; Ebook; Books to Movie; Book Bingo -- 2 Rereads

How I Got It: I own it

"Coraline discovered the door a little while after they moved into the house. . . ."

When Coraline steps through a door to find another house strangely similar to her own (only better), things seem marvelous.

But there's another mother there, and another father, and they want her to stay and be their little girl. They want to change her and never let her go.

Coraline will have to fight with all her wit and courage if she is to save herself and return to her ordinary life.

I love this book so much.  We have a great heroine, a scary villan, quirky side characters, and a great plot.  I love how grounded Coraline is.  Sure, she has dreams and fantasies, but when it counts, Coraline fights for her family.  She doesn't have an annoying bit to her.  I want to be Coraline... And the Other Mother is downright scary, even on the page. I shudder every time she talks.  But the best character of the entire book has to be the cat (he doesn't have a name because cat's know who they are).  He reminds me of the Cheshire Cat from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.  We never know if he's trying to help Coraline or just helping himself.  There's this ambiguous quality to him.  I look at him as a survivalist who happens to give Coraline some good advice about the other world. Such a great character!  The world and storyline are both fantastic.  I could clearly see the house and the grounds.  I could see and feel the dark tunnel between the house and the world of the Other Mother.  I could hear the rat's singing.  Awesome little bedtime story, if you like them kinda scary and definitely quirky.

Movie:

Overall, I think the movie did a good job translating Gaiman's story.  The visuals are stunning.  I loved seeing the contrast between the slightly drab real world and the bright and colorful world of the Other Mother.  The voices match exactly what I heard in my head.  My only issue: the inclusion of Wybie.  I didn't need him.  He didn't add anything to the story.  I would have preferred to stay focused on Coraline vs. the Other Mother.

ZaC #11: Shaun of the Dead

Title: Shaun of the Dead

Year Released/Rating: 2004 R

Starring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kate Ashfield

Directed By: Edgar Wright

Written By: Simon Pegg, Edgar Wright

Genre: Horror

Star Rating:  5/5 stars

Where I Got It: We own it

Trivia:

• The phrase "fried gold" originated behind the scenes of Simon Pegg, Jessica Hynes andEdgar Wright's sitcom Spaced and was mentioned several times on the DVD commentaries for that series. It makes several fan-pleasing appearances in the film.
• When Shaun, Liz, David, Dianne, Barbara and Ed run into the alternative 'gang' as they make their way to the Winchester, there are quite a few comedy partnerships brought together again. Simon Pegg and Jessica Hynes - Tim and Daisy from Spaced. Lucy Davis and Martin Freeman - Dawn and Tim from The Office. Dylan Moran and Tamsin Greig - Bernard and Fran from Black Books. Julia Deakin and Nick Frost are, of course, in Spaced too, as Marsha and Mike respectively.
• Shaun (Simon Pegg) complains that Ed (Nick Frost) isn't his boyfriend, then says, "Thanks, babe." In season one of Spaced, a conversation begins in a similar manner between the two actors ("All right, babe?"). This was, however, a total mistake. The writers used the same joke again, forgetting they had used it in Spaced.
• When Shaun and the group are running out of Liz's flat they are all carrying weapons of some kind, but only Shaun actually hits any zombies. This was because only the cricket bat that Shaun was carrying was a padded fake, all the other items were real and would have hurt the extras playing zombies if they had been hit with them.
• According to writer-director Edgar Wright in the DVD commentary, when Ed attempts to cheer Shaun up at the Winchester with plans of binge drinking, he is actually summarizing the events of the next day (Z-day) entirely in drinking references. "Bloody Mary" - Checkout Girl, "Bite at the king's head" - Phillip, "Couple" - David and Di, "Little Princess" - Liz, "Stagger back" - impersonate zombies, "Bar For Shots" - firing rifle.
• Just when Shaun is exiting the Indian-run deli, which is tuned to a radio station playing songs from Indian movies, the song stops and a newscaster begins speaking in Hindi. The content of the news, when translated in English, is, "People are waking up from their graves."
• Shaun walks past a road sign for Weston Park which is a street in Crouch End, London, the same locale as Spaced and where Simon Pegg now lives.
• Shaun tells Liz that he's going to take her to "the place that does all the fish". When he opens the phone book you can see that the restaurant is literally called 'The Place That Does All the Fish'.
• When asked by an interviewer why they chose to have slow moving zombies instead of running zombies, Simon Pegg simply replied, "Because death is not an energy drink."

Summary: A man decides to turn his moribund life around by winning back his ex-girlfriend, reconciling his relationship with his mother, and dealing with an entire community that has returned from the dead to eat the living.

Review: 

One of my absolute favorite movies.  I love every minute of Shaun of the Dead: the great on liners, the visuals, the references to other tv show stars, the homages to other zombie movies.  It never fails.  Every time I watch, I laugh my ass off and see something that I missed before.  All of the inside jokes between Frost and Pegg make the movie even more fun.  And can I just say that Bill Nighy as a zombie is just genius.

Best Bits (so many best bits!): 

• Dianne: SHAUN!  [Dianne throws a dart and misses]  Shaun: NO!  [Dianne throws another dart and hits the zombie]  Shaun: YES, yes, in the head!  [Dianne throws a third dart and hits Shaun in the head on accident]  Shaun: AHHHHHHHHH!
• [Shaun hits the zombie pub owner with the butt of the rifle]  Ed: Why didn't you just shoot him, man?  Shaun: Ed, for the last time...  [Shaun squeezes the trigger of the gun, and it actually fires!]  Ed: [gleefully] I fucking knew it!
• Shaun: [about Ed] He's not my boyfriend!  Ed: [handing beer to Shaun] It might be a bit warm, the cooler's off.  Shaun: Thanks, babe.  [winks]
• Ed: Who died and made you fucking king of the zombies?
• Ed: We're coming to get you, Barbara!
• [Shaun tries to get out of Philip's Jaguar]  Shaun: Philip, have you still got the child-locks on?  Philip: Safety first, Shaun.
• [describing the zombies]  Dianne: Just look at the face: it's vacant, with a hint of sadness. Like a drunk who's lost a bet.
• [a jukebox begins playing Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now" while the zombie pub owner attacks the group]  Shaun: Who the hell put this on?  Ed: It's on random.  Liz: For fuck's sake!
• [Shaun has just fought a zombie unassisted]  Shaun: [sarcastically] Feel free to step in any time!  Ed: You did all right.  David: I didn't want to cramp your style.
• Shaun: David, kill the Queen!  David: What?  Shaun: The jukebox!
• Shaun: As Bertrand Russell once said, "The only thing that will redeem mankind is cooperation." I think we can all appreciate the relevance of that now.  Liz: Was that on a beer mat?  Shaun: Yeah, it was Guinness Extra Cold.  Liz: I won't say anything.  Shaun: Thanks.
• [David discovers that the zombies have somehow made it into the bar. Shaun, Ed and Liz are still beating the barman]  Shaun: Why is Queen still playing?  David: Ah, we have a situation here.  Shaun: I KNOW!
• Ed: [Directing Shaun on where to shoot] There!  Shaun: Where?  Ed: Three o'clock!  Dianne: Oh! Over there again. Quarter to twelve.  Shaun: What?  David: Eleven forty-five! Shaun: Keep it simple!  Ed: Top left!

ZaC #10: 28 Weeks Later

Title: 28 Weeks Later

Year Released/Rating: 2007 R

Starring: Jeremy Renner, Rose Byrne, Robert Carlyle

Directed By: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo

Written By: Rowan Joffe, Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, Enrique Lopez Lavigne, Jesus Olmo

Genre: Horror

Star Rating:  4/5 stars

Where I Got It: I own it

Trivia:

• Most of the filming of the US Army Camp took place during the weekend of 21st/22nd October 2006 in the courtyard outside the Citypoint Building, Ropemaker Street, London EC2. A large number of tents with US flags, cast in military dress and vehicles were in place. Additionally access to the sub-floor car park area appears to have been given to shoot an underground scene.
• Robert Carlyle had turned down the Christopher Eccleston part in 28 Days Later....
• The boy who arrives at the cottage at the beginning of the film claims to be from Sandford. Sandford is the name of the 'fake' village that was used by British police to practice emergency preparedness drills. It's also the fictitious locale for the action comedy Hot Fuzz.
• Danny Boyle couldn't direct the sequel because of his commitments to Sunshine. Cillian Murphy and Naomie Harris couldn't come back for the sequel either because of other commitments.
• The three survivors want to get from Regent's Park to Wembley, but their chosen route clearly takes them by Parliament Square, Whitehall and Charing Cross, which is in the opposite direction. They should be driving through St John's Wood.

Summary: Six months after the rage virus was inflicted on the population of Great Britain, the US Army helps to secure a small area of London for the survivors to repopulate and start again. But not everything goes to plan.

Review: 

In some ways this is scarier than the first movie.  I love this idea that everyone believes the infection has gone, except of course it hasn't.  And i love the idea that someone could be immune from the symptoms, but be a carrier at the same time.  It makes sense.  This is a virus we're dealing with.  The movie definitely has lots of gore and lots of scary gotcha moments.  You are on the edge of your seat the entire movie.  I love it!

Best Bits: 

• Doyle: Did I hear that code red or am I losing my shit?
• Scarlet: It all makes sense. They're executing code red. Step 1: Kill the infected. Step 2: Containment. If containment fails, then Step 3: Extermination.
• Doyle: I got some strays.  Flynn: Dogs?  Doyle: No, puppies.
• Andy: I saw Dad.  Tammy: Dad? Where?  Andy: Tam, he's one of them.
• Scarlet: Who are you?  Doyle: Sergeant Doyle, Delta Rooftop Unit.  Scarlet: Why aren't you at your post?  Doyle: Why aren't you?
• [last lines]  French radio voice: We need your help.

ZaC #9: 28 Days Later

Title: 28 Days Later

Year Released/Rating: 2002 R

Starring: Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Christopher Eccleston

Directed By: Danny Boyle

Written By: Alex Garland

Genre: Horror

Star Rating:  5/5 stars

Where I Got It: I own it

Trivia:

• For the London scenes, police would close the roads at 4am, and filming would begin immediately. After 1 hour, the police would reopen the roads. The producers correctly predicted that asking drivers (including clubbers headed home) to either wait for up to an hour or find another route might make some of them angry. They got several extremely attractive young women (including Danny Boyle's daughter) to make the necessary requests, and the drivers responded quite amicably to them.
• The hospital in the film is a real day hospital, open only during the week. The trust managers of the hospital hire out the building to filmmakers for weekends, and the productions pay the hospital directly, meaning the money from filming goes directly to the hospital's trust fund.
• Christopher Eccleston and the other soldiers in the film did a three-day training program with real soldiers to help them learn how to carry themselves believably.
• Jim, Selena, Mark, Frank, and Hannah's surnames are never revealed during the film or in the end credits. Likewise, Jim's parents names are never revealed.
• The 'design' for the symptoms of Rage was based on Ebola, which is communicable in all primates (including humans), and is transmitted through the blood. Ebola is a hemorrhagic fever which leads to a rash, red eyes and both internal and external bleeding. Indeed, in 28 Days Later: The Aftermath (a graphic novel set between 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later, it is explained that the Ebola virus was being used by the scientists as a carrier for the inhibitor which mutated into Rage.
• The film was shot almost entirely in sequence; only pickups and a few reshoots were shot out of sequence.

Summary: Four weeks after a mysterious, incurable virus spreads throughout the UK, a handful of survivors try to find sanctuary.

Review: 

I'm watching this pair of movies with the understanding that the infected are really zombies.  It's a bit more complicated than that, but I prefer to think of the movies as an offshoot of the zombie genre.  That being said, I really do enjoy these movies.  We have tons of gore, but some really great characters.  Jim and Selena are perfection.  And Major West is a great villan.  He appears as salvation and then things turn south.  The movie has some great gotcha moments.  But the scariest sequence is in the tunnel.  Creeps me out!  I like that we get an ambiguous but possibly happy ending.  It's a different sort of tale.  Definitely one to watch.

Best Bits: 

• [Hannah hits Jim over the head with a bottle]  Selena: Hannah, it's OK. He's not infected.  Hannah: But I thought he was biting you.  Jim: Kissing. I was kissing her. Are you stoned?  Selena: It's a long story.
• Jim: And then I wake up today in hospital. I wake up, and I'm... I'm hallucinating or I'm...  Mark: What's your name?  Jim: Jim.  Mark: I'm Mark. This is Selena. OK, Jim. I've got some bad news.
• Jim: World's worst place to get a flat, huh?  Frank: Agreed. I think we better do this quick?
• Mark: A man walks into a bar with a giraffe. They both get pissed. The giraffe falls over. The man goes to leave and the bartender says, "Oi. You can't leave that lyin' there." And the man says, "No. It's not a lion. It's a giraffe."  [Jim doesn't respond]  Mark: Completely humorless.
• Jim: Oh, great. Valium. Not only will we be able to go to sleep, if we get attacked in the middle of the night, we won't even care.
• [finding a crate of fresh apples in a pile of rotting produce]  Frank: Mmmmmm... Irradiated!

ZaC #8: Resident Evil Retribution

Title: Resident Evil: Retribution

Year Released/Rating: 2012 R

Starring: Milla Jovovich, Sienna Guillory, Michelle Rodriguez

Directed By: Paul W.S. Anderson

Written By: Paul W.S. Anderson

Genre: Horror

Star Rating: 4/5 stars

Where I Got It: Redbox

Trivia:

• The first movie of the series not to feature undead dogs.
• The character Becky was not originally to be hearing-impaired, but after an outstanding audition, the role was given to Aryana Engineer.
• This is the first time in Resident Evil history that Jill and Leon have ever met.

Summary: Alice fights alongside a resistance movement in the continuing battle against the Umbrella Corporation and the undead.

Review: 

It took me awhile to get into the movie.  I was a little lost on the concept, and then I get it: they have to escape the Umbrella facility.  So, it's more like a video game, reminds me of the first movie.  We have a contained area with an objective.  I appreciated the concept, if not the execution.  It was a little weak on the characters, but we did get to see some familiar (if not dead) faces.  I think this one was an improvement on the last movie.  Although I really would have liked to see what happened to the Redfields...

Best Bits: 

• Becky: I met your sister.  Rain: What?  Becky: She's not very nice.
• Luther West: [In a Rolls Royce] Sweet ride.  Alice: Well, this is Moscow. Heard gunfire. Thought you might need some help.
• Alice: There's a child here.  Rain: Your problem, not ours.  Alice: All heart. You haven't changed a bit.  Rain: I don't know you lady.
• The Red Queen: Don't listen to the traitor Wesker. I am in control now. Project Alice, Ada Wong, stay where you are.  Alice: [to Ada] Let's move.  The Red Queen: Project Alice, you're all going to die down here.  Alice: I've heard that before.
• Becky: [looks at a track of Alice clones] Mommy, who are they? Mommy, is that you? You're my mommy, aren't you?  Alice: I am now.

ZaC #7: Resident Evil Afterlife

Title: Resident Evil: Afterlife

Year Released/Rating: 2010 R

Starring: Milla Jovovich, Ali Larter, Wentworth Miller

Directed By: Paul W.S. Anderson

Written By: Paul W.S. Anderson

Genre: Horror

Star Rating:  3/5 stars

Where I Got It: Library Loan

Trivia:

• Claire Redfield wears a red vest, her primary outfit from her game appearances.
• Wentworth Miller jokingly admits he was nervous about his character Chris Redfield being similar to his Prison Break character Michael Scoffield: in both cases, he is in a prison and his first lines are "I know a way out of here".
• The opening scene in the movie is quite symbolic - all people are wearing umbrellas in the rain except the zombie girl. "Umbrella" is also the name of the corporation who is responsible for the creation and spread of the T-Virus, on which the main plot of the Resident Evil series is based.
• The scarab device that are strapped to the survivors and the giant zombie Axeman are lifted from the video game Resident Evil 5.
• The ship Arcadia was actually shot moored on the docks in Toronto. The docks were then all stripped out digitally.

Summary: While still out to destroy the evil Umbrella Corporation, Alice joins a group of survivors who want to relocate to the mysterious but supposedly unharmed safe haven known only as Arcadia.

Review: 

I love the first 30 minutes and the last 20 minutes of the movie.  Other than that, this movie kind of blows.  The entire middle section at the prison is not very exciting and kind of silly.  But I still love Milla as Alice.  And it's nice to re-meet Claire and meet Chris Redfield.  Plus you get the nice reveal at the end of the movie aboard Arcadia.  Not a great movie, but I'll take it.

Best Bits: 

• Alice: Hey, boys. Is that anyway to treat a lady?
• Albert Wesker: Well isn't this one big family reunion? Chris and Claire Redfield, you've really become quite an inconvenience for me.  Alice: I told you I'd be bringing a few friends.  Albert Wesker: [removes sunglasses] You should have brought more.
• Alice: Day 6, 1800 hours, Los Angeles. No signs of life, not even the undead. They must have burned with the city. But what about the rest?
• Alice: Umbrella.  Claire Redfield: Of course. I remember them coming for us.  Alice: This whole thing, Arcadia, was a lie.  Claire Redfield: No, it's worse than that. It's a trap.

ZaC #6: Resident Evil Extinction

Title: Resident Evil: Extinction

Year Released/Rating: 2007 R

Starring: Milla Jovovich, Ali Larter, Oded Fehr

Directed By: Russell Mulcahy

Written By: Paul W.S. Anderson

Genre: Horror

Star Rating: 4/5 stars

Where I Got It: I own it

Trivia:

• Alice's new costume was designed by Milla Jovovich's clothing line, Jovovich-Hawk.
• The film was originally intended to be filmed in the Australian Outback but was changed to Mexico.
• The accompanying music for the first theatrical trailer is The Crystal Method's "I Know It's You". Milla Jovovich provides the vocals/wailing for the song, which was released three years earlier.
• Claire Redfield's role in the movie is different than in the games. She leads a convoy of survivors across the dead desert, but in the games, she on a mission to find her lost brother Chris Redfield.
• Temperatures would often be excess of 130 degrees on the Mexican locations. Various members of the crew frequently would have to be treated for dehydration.
• A conscious decision was made early on to make this the bloodiest of the Resident Evil films.

Summary: Survivors of the Raccoon City catastrophe travel across the Nevada desert, hoping to make it to Alaska. Alice joins the caravan and their fight against the evil Umbrella Corp.

Review: 

And this marks the decline of the Resident Evil movies.  I liked this one, but it's definitely not a favorite.  The movie is a bit too much on the gore side and not enough on the scary side.  Although I do like the character of Dr. Isaacs.  He is clearly a fun baddie who definitely gets what's coming to him in the end.  And the bit with the crows is just too silly to be scary.  Undead crows?  How did the crows survive when none of the other wildlife did.  And if they did survive, how did they reproduce to last this long?  I was had a few issues here.  But in the end, I love Alice and will keep watching these movies.

Best Bits: 

• L.J.: [referring to the lack of cigarettes and marijuana] It really is the end of the world.
• White Queen: And Alice? Good Luck.
• Chase: Climb the Eiffel Tower with a high-powered rifle. A few years ago, that would've caused a stir. Well... Let the good times roll!
• [last lines]  Alice: You won't have to wait that long, boys. Because I'm coming for you. And I'm gonna be bringing a few of my friends.
• White Queen: I'm sorry I didn't mean to startle you, I am the artificial intelligence which...  Alice: Yeah I know what you are, I knew your sister, she was a homicidal bitch.  White Queen: My sister computer was merely following the most logical path of preservation of human life.  Alice: Yeah kill a few save a lot.

ZaC #5: Resident Evil Apocalypse

Title: Resident Evil: Apocalypse

Year Released/Rating: 2004 R

Starring: Milla Jovovich, Sienna Guillory, Oded Fehr

Directed By: Alexander Witt

Written By: Paul W.S. Anderson

Genre: Horror

Star Rating: 5/5 stars

Where I Got It: I own t!

Trivia:

• According to the writer/producer commentary, Paul W.S. Anderson mentions that the character of Dr. Isaacs (Iain Glen) is a homage to actor Jason Isaacs, who made an uncredited cameo as Dr. Birkin and the film's narrator during the opening credits of the first film.
• The character of Dr. Ashford is named after the Ashford family of the Resident Evil game series. However, unlike the sympathetic film character, the Ashfords of the games were villains.
• The first sequence showing Alice waking up in the hospital through to her cocking a shotgun outside, consists entirely of footage shot for the first film.
• The weather map at the beginning clearly shows Raccoon City as being approximately where Philadelphia is in Pennsylvania. Other real-life towns such as Selinsgrove, Hazelton and Pottsville, all appear in their correct geographic locations.
• The city standing in as Racoon City at the beginning (right after the weather news) is of course Toronto. The famous CN tower is just to the left outside the frame. You can barely see its shadow. Most exterior shots were made in and around the city.
• Oded Fehr had little difficulty in playing a character so familiar with handling guns - he was trained in the Israeli army.

Summary: Alice awakes in Raccoon City, only to find it has become infested with zombies and monsters. With the help of Jill Valentine and Carlos Olivera, Alice must find a way out of the city before it is destroyed by a nuclear missile.

Review: 

Not quite as good as the first one, but I still really enjoyed this movie.  Thankfully we get the introduction of a few new characters, specifically Jill Valentine (straight out of the video games). I only wish the dogs were the in the movie more.  They were always a bitch to kill in the video games.  We should have more of those moments.  Oh well.  Still a great afternoon viewing.

Best Bits: 

• Alice: My name is Alice and I remember everything.
• Carlos Olivera: [throws a knife which hits an enemy guard getting up behind Alice] You missed one.
• [L.J. walks into a building and is surrounded by 12 S.T.A.R.S. members]   L.J.: Shit! Maybe I was safer outside. Get them guns out of my damn face.   [a S.T.A.R.S. officer hands him a shotgun]   L.J.: Motherfucker, please. Look.  [opens up his jacket revealing two gold guns] L.J.: My shit is custom.
• Major Cain: [to Alice] You're not mutation, you are evolution.
• Angie Ashford: Are you all right?   Dr. Isaacs: [a moment later] Program Alice activated.   Jill Valentine: What did they do to you?