Rule 32: Enjoy the little things in life.

Quick question for you, what would you do if you were in the following scenario: Necromancers are raining down chaos and destruction and other generally bad things down upon Chicago, there’s hordes of zombies filling the streets, the good guys are on the verge of defeat, and there’s a good chance one of the previously mentioned necromancers is liable to attain dark god-hood before the night’s up. Personally, I’d probably scream like a little girl and run away flailing my hands in the air like a twilight fan at a midnight showing. But then again, I’m not Harry Dresden. Though I wish I was.

Harry Dresden

This is the exact scenario Harry Dresden, hero of the Dresden Files find himself in in Book 7, Dead Beat. Necromancers on the rise, hordes of zombies, chances of survival slimming. No problem. Harry finds himself needing to cross Chicago to rendezvous with his allies, but there are hordes of zombies between him and them. Inside of Chicago’s Field Museum, he looks for something he can use, anything that can aid him in the fight at hand. He looks around for a bit, then he sees it. Specifically, he  sees this:

For those of you who don’t recognize this fine piece of ancient history, her name is Sue. She’s the most complete Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton found to date. And those are her actual bones, not replicas. She’s on display prominently in the Field Museum. With more than a bit of magic, Harry brings her back to life. Now, something important to note: in Dresden’s world, when bringing things back to life, the older the better. Why, you ask? Because the older something is, the more magic you can put into it, consequently making it more powerful. Now, note that Sue is approximately 65 million years old. Yeah, this is gonna be awesome.

So Harry brings Sue back to life. What happens next is exactly what you think. Angry, magic-filled, ancient, ginormous, T-Rex VS a few paltry zombies. Yes. Zombicide ensues. And it is awesome and glorious. Sheer carnage. One of the most awesome things I’ve read recently.

This is why you should read The Dresden Files.

theindiegeek on: Zombieland

Crazy badasses, amusement parks, guts ‘n gore everywhere and a ton of shotgun shells.  Just another day in Zombieland, right?

Recently my friend and I had the opportunity to see Zombieland.  And then we went and saw it again the day after.  And that probably won’t be the last time we see it.  So yeah, it was good. Quite good.  But why?  My initial impression upon view the trailer months ago (when me and the same friend saw District 9) was “maybe”.  Then I promptly forgot about the movie in the sweetness that was District 9.  Come early October and Zombieland came out (in theatres, not out of the closet).  I began to hear good things about it.  Surprisingly good things.  Then my younger sister saw it and loved it.  I knew then it was my duty as a geek to go see it.  I coerced my friend into going with me, as I hate going to theatres alone.  Watching movies alone is what netflix is for.  Guess what? Lo and behold, people were right for once, it did rock!

Plot: Pretty standard for your typical zombie movie.  Here are X number of people (in this case four), and here are millions of zombies.  Guess who wins?!?  Really, with zombie stories, there’s really only two stories: survivors running away from zombies, or survivors trying to kill all zombies.  But that’s ok.  That’s what we’ve come to expect and it makes those movies accessible.  It does have its own fun though, (look out for Columbus’ rules for staying alive in Zombieland).  It’s worth reiterating that this is a horror-comedy, with an emphasis on the comedy, similar to Shaun of the Dead.

Characters: Fairly standard, yet well done.  The four main characters each follow a familiar stereotype, but they play ‘em very well.  While I won’t say they break the mode of the roles they’re in, they definitely have fun and add enough personality to make them memorable.  There’s Tallahassee (the badass, played by Woody Harrelson), Columbus (the nerd, played by Jesse Eisenberg), Wichita (the hot girl, played by the lovely Emma Stone), and last but not least, Little Rock (the little girl played by Abigail Breslin).  The onscreen chemistry between the four of them is a pleasure to watch, and is well done.  Also, the cameo midway through is quite awesome.

Action: Yes, please.  Other gamers I have talked to have compared Zombieland to Dead Rising and Left 4 Dead.  Both very appropriate, given the amount of creative zombie kills (a favorite involves a piano and a nun) and gunplay (Tallahassee, I’m looking at you).  This, and the humor, is where the movie shines.  It is a very fast paced movie with gratuitous action and zombie kills.  And the locales give opportunity for fun.  From a grocery store to abandoned highways, to the showdown at the amusement park, it’s awesome.  The highlight of the movie.

So what makes Zombieland so great?  For me, it’s a bigger-than-the-sum-of-its-pieces thing.  Oh, and it’s frickin’ hilarious and action packed.  It could have been another run of the mill zombie movie, but the cast and crew really pulled their weight and ended up with a movie that is all around awesome.  The characters were very enjoyable to watch, the humor was great,and of course, the action was fantastic.  Highly worth watching,  for fans of both the horror and comedy genres.  Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get to the theatre.

–theindiegeek

Bonus! Which Zombieland Character are you?

In the movie, all of Tallahassee’s cars have the number 3 painted on them.  Naturally, this led me to believe he was Player 3.  If he is Player three, the rest of the characters have to be either 1,2 or 4.  Columbus is the first character you meet, so he has to be Player 1.  That leaves 2 and 4 for Wichita and Little Rock.  Being the older sister, Wichita would naturally be Player 2, and Little Rock would be 4.  Now take the player you usually are in Left 4 Dead (or Borderlands, or whatever less awesome shooter you play), and that’s who you’d be in Zombieland!

Player 1: Columbus (the nerd)

Player 2: Wichita (the hot girl)

Player 3: Tallahassee (the badass)

Player 4: Little Rock (the little girl)

I ended up as Columbus, which is an accurate fit, I would think.