Ebola Precipitates the Zombie Apocalypse

It's as predictable as a Hollywood blockbuster.  Ebola reportedly created the first two recorded zombies.

Two Ebola patients, who died of the virus in separate communities in Nimba County have reportedly resurrected in the county. The victims, both females, believed to be in their 60s and 40s respectively, died of the Ebola virus recently in Hope Village Community and the Catholic Community in Ganta, Nimba. 

But to the amazement of residents and onlookers on Monday, the deceased reportedly regained life in total disbelief. The New Dawn Nimba County correspondent said the late Dorris Quoi of Hope Village Community and the second victim only identified as Ma Kebeh, said to be in her late 60s, were about to be taken for burial when they resurrected. 

I hope you have your supplies of water, food, first aid stuff, guns, ammo and melee weapons ready, because all your World War Z (the book, not the movie) fantasies are about to come true.

Coincidentally (or not), the latest season of The Walking Dead starts on 12 October.

"Zero Dark Thirty" Trailer

From Katherine Bigelow, director of The Hurt Locker:



I'm glad Hollywood is finally making movies that portray the US military in a good light again, as opposed to anti-military garbage like "Redacted" and "Stop Loss", but if this is as unrealisticly bad as "The Hurt Locker", I'm going to puke.

Trailer: October Baby

Film review by Ed Morrissey:

October Baby tells the story of a young college student, Hannah (Rachel Hendrix), who has had numerous health issues in childhood but emerged as a generally healthy young adult when supported with proper medical care — at least until she collapses during a school play.  The subsequent medical tests, and the reading of her private journal by her parents, lead to a clash in which she discovers for the first time that she was adopted, and that she survived an abortion at 24 weeks.  Shocked, angry, and lost, Hannah joins her childhood confidante Jason (Jason Burkey) on a quest to find her true identity and some real meaning to her life. 

Read the whole review at the link above.

I don't normally go for dramas, but considering that this movie deals with two subjects very close to Aimee and my hearts - adoption and everyone's right to live - I look forward to watching this one.

"Haywire" Review

In a follow-up to my previous post on this movie (sort of), here's the first review of "Haywire" I've come across.

Mallory is not a simple ass-kicking alpha female though, a common archetype that is so often just a male stereotype in the skin of a female action hero, and there are crucial moments when her fragility and emotional range is evident. She is hurt at times, both emotionally and physically, revealing a more complex and truer depth to her character. Haywire is not a heavy-handed essay piece though, it’s a super slick action movie which is just thankfully as intelligently thought out as it is entertaining.

The review is very positive and, surprisingly, even speaks well of Gina Carano's acting.  I hope it's true, that this is a good movie and it succeeds at the box office - mostly because I enjoy good action flicks, but also because I hope this reverses the anorexic action heroine trend.

Here's another trailer.

Prometheus

If this looks a lot like Alien to you, that's because Ridley Scott directed Alien and now Prometheus.  Alien is one of my all time favorites, and a classic of both the sci-fi and horror genres, so I'm looking forward to this one.  Ridley Scott also directed Blade Runner, which is also a classic, but is so weird I couldn't get into it the one time I watched it.  Maybe I should try watching it again.  I've found that as I get older and my tastes change I see all kinds of things in a different light.

The Hobbit Trailer

Are you as excited as I am?  Probably not; I'm kind of a nerd.

Anorexic Action Heroines

I recently ran across a movie trailer that highlighted a trend: actresses so skinny a light breeze could knock them over playing tough chicks who beat 200lb men into pulp.  Fictional stories always require the willing suspension of disbelief, but when they ask too much suspension of disbelief from the audience, it ruins the story.  Is it too much to ask that the actresses who play ass-kicking roles actually look like they might be capable of kicking ass?  That brings me to the trailer of "Haywire".



If the lead actress, Gina Carano, looks like she can kick ass, that's because she has.  Ms Carano is a professional fighter with a 12-1-1 record in kick boxing and a 7-1 record in MMA.  She's (wo)man handled almost all her opponents.

I don't know if Ms Carano can act, and that brings up one problem.  It's much easier to take a good actor and teach him/her a few MMA moves than to take a good MMA fighter and teach him/her how to act.  Still, is it too much to ask that the actresses playing these roles take their skinny butts to a gym, lift something heavier than 5lb once in while, and give up their vegan diets for a few months so they actually look like they could perform those moves in real life?

A few actresses have.  Demi Moore did for GI Jane, which sucked.


Linda Hamilton did for Terminator II, which rocked.

But for the most part, studios give us Angelina Jolie (Tomb Raider, Salt)...

Mila Jojovich (Resident Evil, Ultra Violet)...

Scarlett Johansson (Iron Man II, The Avengers)...

and Anne Hathaway (The Dark Knight Rises)...

all of whom seem to need a steak ASAP, and exemplify "skinny fat"; people who are thin, but flabby and devoid of muscle.  They're all nice to look at, but none of them can play an ass kicking role convincingly.  On top of that, Mila Jojovich and Scarlett Johansson aren't even good actresses, so that excuse doesn't fly (Anne Hathaway is alright as long as she doesn't try to speak with a British accent).

Now, compare those frail waifs with a genuine ass kicker like Gina Carano.  I'll be the first to point out that fitness is all about what you can do, not how you look, but movies are all about image, and the women producers typically hire to play action heroines portray an image of frailty, weakness and hunger.

So, why do producers insist on hiring such women?  Movies are big business, so I suspect that producers think audiences don't want to see fit women on film, and if audiences stay away they loose millions.  But, who do they think is repulsed by fit women?  Linda Hamilton certainly didn't keep men from watching Terminator II.  GI Jane bombed, but it was a crappy movie (57% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes).

I don't think producers are afraid of losing men with fit female leads.  Every single time, without fail, I've talked to a woman about lifting weights, each of them always game me the same response; "Eew, I don't want to get bulky".  Considering that, I think producers are afraid to lose the women in the audience.  Am I wrong?  I hope so.  I hope women aren't still stuck in the mentality that weakness is feminine and strength isn't.  What do you say?

UPDATE: I should have added Zoe Saldana to the list.  She looks like she couldn't beat up a third grader, much less the 200lb trained killers she dispatches with ease in "Colombiana" and "The Losers".

Act of Valor: Trailer 3

The acting will probably be terrible - the main characters are played by actual SEALs, not professional actors - but I'm still looking forward to this!  Besides, not every movie needs to be "Citizen Kane", and this looks exciting.  Only one problem: I'm afraid they put all the best scenes in the trailer.