Posts tagged Emma Stone
Paper Man
Dec 5th
I found “Paper Man” in a metal bin at the back of Shopper’s Drug Mart. I hadn’t heard much of the 2009 flick, but remembered seeing stills of Ryan Reynolds in a superhero costume and horrible, bleached hair way back when. I decided to buy the DVD, on discount, at the store. It had a great cast, boasting the likes of Reynolds, Jeff Daniels, Emma Stone, Kieran Culkin and Lisa Kudrow; and, based on the DVD’s description, it had an interesting plot. Plus, it was cheap (bonus!)
The story follows Richard (Daniels), a writer who moves to a beach house to work on his next novel. His wife, Claire (Kudrow), is a doctor in the city who only visits Richard on weekends, which makes the writer quite isolated. To battle his loneliness, Richard still talks to his childhood imaginary friend, Captain Excellent (Reynolds); but eventually finds real friendship in a 17-year-old named Abby (Stone), who he hires as a weekly babysitter (despite having no children to watch.)
“Paper Man” is so excellent, I urge you to watch. It is creative, unique, surprising and boasts an amazingly talented cast. Despite the cast containing comedic talent, “Paper Man” is not really a comedy, which is probably why it wasn’t well-received with critics. It could pass as a dark comedy, but I would consider it more of a quirky drama. Regardless of genre, this indie film is a new favourite of mine.
Zombieland
Jun 20th
Rent It!
Director: Ruben Fleischer.
Stars: Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin. It also features a hilarious Bill Murray cameo.
About: Yes, this is a zombie movie, but don’t rule out “Zombieland” as a weekly rental if you don’t like zombie flicks- it appeals to a much wider audience than zombie fans. Personally, I’m not a fan of blood and gore, so I usually ignore films featuring the (un)dead, but-as I have an attraction toward Woody Harrelson-I decided to rent “Zombieland.” And while the film does feature Harrelson’s flexing arm muscles (*swoon), it offers a lot more than that to viewers and is guaranteed to get you on the edge of your seat.
“Zombieland” is set in a post-apocalyptic America in a world known to college student “Columbus” (Eisenberg) as “Zombieland.” En route to Columbus, Ohio to see if his family members are still alive, “Columbus” meets “Tallahassee” (Harrelson) on a deserted highway. They decide to travel together, making stops at grocery and convenience stores along the way in search of Twinkies, which are “Tallahassee”‘s obsession. On one of their Twinkies stops, the duo encounter two sisters, “Wichita” (Stone) and “Little Rock” (Breslin), who steal their weapons. Throughout the film the men run into the two girls, who-eventually-join their team fighting off zombies.
For those unaccustomed to zombie flicks, the blood gushing from the zombies mouths is a little stomach turning, but stick with it- “Zombieland” is well worth the watch. In the film’s opening, I was taken aback and unsure how I would get through the film, but I got used to the violence and gore, and-soon enough-I found myself rooting for the main characters. “Zombieland” is a fun watch and you’ll find yourself cheering out loud, as I did, yelling, “he’s riding a roller coaster AND killing zombies!”
Rent if you like: Superbad, Adventureland, Shawn of the Dead or have a strange attraction toward Woody Harrelson.