Zombieland

Rating: R

Movie Release Date: October 2, 2009

DVD Release Date: TBD

Plot 411: When the world is taken over by zombies, there are certain rules you develop to keep yourself alive. However, sometimes those rules are made to be broken and you cross your fingers hoping to survive it all.

Review: In this hilarious horror comedy, mad cow disease has turned humans into zombies and the population is dwindling away as people get killed and eaten. Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) is making his way home from college to see if his parents are still alive. He is a loner who has developed a list of rules that keeps him relatively safe from zombies. On the way home he meets Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), a guy who is seeking the world's last Twinkie because he believes you have to enjoy the little things. The two join up because in every horror film there's safety in numbers. Along the way, they meet two sisters Witchita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin) who are headed to California to reclaim a piece of their childhood. The girls are crafty and swipe Tallahassee's ride. This links their futures together and lots of zombie killings ensue. I laughed my butt off at the ridiculousness of this film and all the blood and gore. It's just a good old fashioned slasher film with a decent dose of humor. I found Harrelson to be both a sympathetic character and a deranged lunatic. He played both very well. Stone was just as enjoyable as she was in The House Bunny. I guess she has some sort of charisma going on. Breslin seems to be taking a step away from kid flicks and into the tween/teen arena. Eisenberg continues to be a lovable dork, for which he seems to have a knack.

Watch It: With a bunch of your guy friends and a cooler full of cold ones.

Skip It: If you're disgusted by excessive blood splatter and dangling entrails give you the willies.

Adventureland

Rating: R

Movie Release Date: April 3, 2009

DVD Release Date: August 25, 2009

Plot 411: A Columbia-bound master's student must work his first summer job at a local theme park for money.

Review: When James (Jesse Eisenberg) finds out his parents can't support his post-graduation trip through Europe or his college education, he must take a summer job in order to go to Columbia in the fall. The only job he's offered is at a local amusement park running the game booths. This, in and of itself, is almost hell on earth but the people he meets there impact him more than he expects. Em (Kristen Stewart), another college student home for the summer, befriends the newbie James and he soon falls for her. Em is a troubled chick with a very unstable home life that affects how she interacts with the world. Combined with James' awkward nature, they make for an interesting couple. Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig and Ryan Reynolds also add some humor and irony to the mix. I wouldn't call this an outright comedy as it is pretty heavy at times. However, the humor is dry and sarcastic, which I love. The plot seems more like a biography than scripted. It's fully imbedded in the '80s and actually avoids being completely cheesy. It's a coming of age story that portrays a main character that is an Everyman.

Watch It: For Stewart's brooding emo-ness that isn't as annoying as her Twilight character Bella.

Skip It: If you're expecting a repeat of Superbad, despite being directed by the same guy - Greg Mattola.