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ZOMBIE MOVIE REVIEW: Last of the Living (2008)

The movie reviewed here is definitely NOT for children, and probably not for most other people either. Made in New Zealand.

GENRE: Zombie “Comedy”/Horror
ACTORS: Morgan Williams, Ashleigh Southam, Robert Faith, Emily Paddon-Brown, Mark Hadlow
RATING: UK-15¹
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.²
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.

Apparently equivalent to about PG-13, or a mild R, but the movie is official “NR” in the USA ↩
As noted elsewhere in this review, this particular film may not be enjoyed by fans of the genre either. ↩

ACTORS: Rachel McAdams, Eric Bana, Arliss Howard, Ron Livingston, Stephen Tobolowsky, Jane McLean, Brooklynn Proulx, Alex Ferris, Michelle Nolden, Tatum McCann, Hailey McCann
RATING: PG-13
PARENTAL NOTE: Not intended for young children. Brief nudity. Implied pre-marital sex. Although in a time traveling movie, it’s hard to say whether something technically happened before or after the characters were married. Some violence, but nothing extreme.
INTENDED AUDIENCE: This movie has romance, which could please fans of that genre. It has science fiction, which could please those fans. Or it could be just enough of each element to alienate everyone.
GENERAL PLOT: (No spoilers) A man travels through time, meeting his wife and his daughter along the way. You get one guess as to whether things will end well in this story line.

Not suitable for children.

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

Sherlock Holmes

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 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.