• GENRE: Zombie “Comedy”/Horror
• ACTORS: Morgan Williams, Ashleigh Southam, Robert Faith, Emily Paddon-Brown, Mark Hadlow
• RATING: UK-15[1. Apparently equivalent to about PG-13, or a mild R, but the movie is official “NR” in the USA]
• PARENTAL NOTE: Not intended for children. Bad language. Violence. Zombie killings galore.
• INTENDED AUDIENCE: This movie is intended for fans of the genre, and may not be appreciated by others.[1. As noted elsewhere in this review, this particular film may not be enjoyed by fans of the genre either.]
• GENERAL PLOT: (No spoilers) Three certifiable knuckleheads and a scientist chick they pick up in a zombie infested church are racing against the clock (and a bad zombie bite) to save the world.
• REVIEW: Calling this film a “B” Movie would be giving it the benefit of the doubt by a letter grade or two. Generally zombie movies try to be scary, with a bit of humor; or funny, with a bit of zombie mayhem. This movie isn’t really that scary. Neither is it very funny. The zombie style isn’t consistent either. Some of them look like regular humans, but for a bit of eye makeup. Another zombie looks like he’s wearing a rotten pig head mask. Some zombies are fast, some are slow. Some are good with objects; others are grunting piles of flesh. But after a bit of reflection, I realize maybe my problem is that I don’t appreciate good old fashioned New Zealand zombie comedy/horror when I see it. In fact, I can see a bit of the same style of humor as in another New Zealand zombie movie–Black Sheep (2006) UR. In summary, I’ll admit I’ve seen a lot, lot worse zombie movies. Last of the Living is watchable–for fans of the genre–in all categories: acting, plot[2. Such as it is. As always, a “plot” is optional in the traditional zombie genre], production values, etc.
• RECOMMENDATION:[2. If you wonder why zombie themes and horror films have space on a Christian website like K_Line Christian Online, please see my blog post on point] This is a zombie “comedy”/horror movie. Many people will be highly offended by every movie in this genre because of the graphic violence, gore, language and other questionable elements. However, if you are a fan of this genre–I give Last of the Living a lukewarm recommendation.
• RATING (out of 5 stars): ★★★★★

FOOTNOTES:

• GENRE: Action
• ACTORS: Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, Mark Strong, Eddie Marsan, Kelly Reilly, Hans Matheson, William Hope, William Houston, Geraldine James



• RATING: PG-13
• PARENTAL NOTE: Not intended for younger children. There may be some profanity, but it is not prevalent. Some questionable situations and references to magic and the occult. There is almost (but not quite) brief nudity in a couple of scenes.[1. One of which is shown at the end of the video clip in the full blOg entry.] Lots of violence, but not explicit nor gory. I don’t think watching this movie would harm older teenagers.
• INTENDED AUDIENCE: This movie should have a broad appeal for viewers of an appropriate age.
• GENERAL PLOT: (No spoilers) If you’ve read the Sherlock Holmes books by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859 – 1930), or seen other Sherlock Holmes movies, it’s best to pretend you haven’t. This movie is only loosely related to the book. I’ve always thought the detective, Holmes, was a more “dark” character in the books, than in earlier movies. He’s portrayed by Robert Downey Jr. as plenty “dark” in this film. Although there is reference to magic and the occult, I wouldn’t say that dark themes dominate the movie. Perhaps only dim themes, or grey themes. There are lots of twists and turns in the plot, but you never get the feeling that there is going to be any big surprise. There isn’t. After all, Sherlock Holmes always evades the criminals and solves the crime. That ingredient in books and previous movies has never changed.




• REVIEW: I liked the movie. Lots of action, though much of it is pretty implausible. The scenery was great too. I wasn’t alive in 19th century England[1. My children would dispute this point], so I can’t say for sure–but I really felt like I was there. This was a dark, rainy, dirty, earthy, disorganized 19th century England too. Lots of dirt. In fact, if I had to sum up the mood of the film one word, that word would be “filth.”
• RECOMMENDATION: This is an action movie. It is not a film about cute puppies, so don’t be offended when it turns out there are hangings, fights, shooting, explosions, and even a few killings. For all these reasons, I found this version of Sherlock Holmes to be quite enjoyable. Definitely worth watching.
• RATING (out of 5 stars): ★★★★★

FOOTNOTES:

• GENRE: Action / Science Fiction
• ACTORS: Ewan McGregor, Scarlett Johansson, Djimon Hounsou, Steve Buscemi, Sean Bean, Michael Clarke Duncan, Ethan Phillips, Brian Stepanek, Noa Tishby, Siobhan Flynn
• RATING: PG-13
• PARENTAL NOTE: Not suitable for children. Lots of violence. Killing and mayhem aplenty, though not really explicit “gore.” The chase scene shows a lot of “bad” guys being killed, and implies collateral deaths by bystanders.
• INTENDED AUDIENCE: This movie is suitable for adults, though it may not be appreciated by those who are not fans of the genre.
• GENERAL PLOT: (No spoilers) Futuristic look at a colony living underground in a contaminated world. They are waiting for a chance to win a lottery to go to “the Island”–the last unpolluted place left above ground, on Earth
• REVIEW: As one expects from a science fiction and/or action film, it turns out that the situation was not actually as originally believed by the main characters. Though I can’t call this a “wholesome” or especially “thought provoking” movie, the film did score a couple of important points:
  (1) Humans SHOULD NOT take human life[1. Exodus 20:13 ];
  (2) Only God CAN create human life[1. Not stated in as many words. However, the main evil character is referred to as “playing God” in a negative sense]; and
  (3) Matters of life and death are best left to God.[2. Perhaps I’m too optimistic, but to me, this idea is implied.]

Note: Click on the screen after the video loads if you need to go to the YouTube website for a bigger picture.

• RECOMMENDATION: This is an action movie. Many people will be highly offended by every movie in this genre because of the violence, and other questionable elements. There may have been some bad language, but it was not prevalent. I don’t count curse words when I watch a movie. Aside from the moral message, the main draws to this movie were (not necessarily in the order of importance) the big chase scene and Scarlett Johansson. I believe a lot of people[4. Men.] would be very forgiving of shortcomings in plot, acting and execution, so long as Scarlett Johansson’s image fills the screen so much of this movie. Speaking of the plot and the acting–they were OK for a major motion picture. No one is going to mistake this film for the best movie ever made, but I felt somewhat satisfied by the experience of watching it.
• RATING (out of 5 stars): ★★★★★

NOTES: