Premium Rush

      When I was in high school I was big into the skateboarding scene.  Yes, I owned a skateboard and knew how to ride.  One of my favorite movies was a skateboarding movie called Gleaming the Cube (1989) starring a very young Christian Slater (Kuffs, Untamed Heart, Murder In The First, Bed of Roses). I have been a fan of Christian Slater ever sense, and I still love Gleaming the Cube.  It is a very fun, cool skateboarding movie.  You may ask, “Why am I talking about this old movie?” Well, that would be because I just watched Premium Rush (2012). It was a lot like Gleaming the Cube but with bikes instead of skateboards.

       Premium Rush takes place on the streets of Manhattan, mostly from the eyes of a bike messenger.  I was captivated from the opening scene! Joseph Gordon-Levitt (10 Things I Hate About You, Inception, 50/50, The Dark Knight Rises), whom I just adore, plays Wilee. Wilee is a bike messenger who lives life a little dangerously, or so his friends say. He has taken the breaks and the gears off his bike. The opening scene is him flying through the air and landing in the road after being hit by a taxi. The clock then counts back a few hours to show us how he got there.  I think the whole movie takes place in a matter of 3-4 hours. It is very fast paced and entertaining but also has a good story line with well developed characters.

      David Koepp (Stir of Echoes, Secret Window, Mission: Impossible, Carlito’s Way) wrote and directed Premium Rush.  I love his style! At times we would see the streets from Wilee’s point of view.  We would see his various options and the out come of going each way, then he would choose a path.  It was a very cool idea and it worked really well.  There is so much I liked about this movie! The soundtrack is great, the acting is wonderful, the cinematography (the art or science of motion-picture photography) is incredible and there is a plot and a story line. It’s more then just a great action flick. Every thing I loved about Gleaming the Cube back in ‘89.

      Here’s a little trivia for you. Watch the end credits. While filming, Joseph crashed into a taxi. He shattered the rear windshield and cut up his arm pretty good. He needed 31 stitches. I knew the blood in that scene looked more realistic then usual.

Warm Bodies

      With the move and the other things going on in my life right now I have felt a little like a zombie lately, just going through the motions.  I am trying to get back into a routine and back to living.  It seems only appropriate that my first blog after a long break should be about a zombie coming back to life.  Nicholas Hoult (About A Boy, X-Men First Class, Clash Of The Titans) is simply adorable as R, he goes by R because he can’t remember his name but he knows it started with an “R”. The zombie with a conscience. “They’ll eat anything with a heartbeat. I mean, I will too, but at least I’m conflicted about it”. R has some very funny, quotable lines.

      Warm Bodies (2013) is a very cute, fun and charming twist to the typical Romeo and Juliet story.  That’s really what it is. I mean, he goes by R, her name is Julie. Julie is engaged to Perry and R’s best friend goes by M.  Julie’s best friend is Nora and she just happens to be a nurse. There is even a balcony scene, one of my favorite scenes by the way. 

      The makeup in this movie is so well done. I really enjoyed watching R slowly become more human and watching the way his face changes. It is so subtle and barely noticeable. He just all of a sudden looks…..better, livelier.  I loved the voice over. It was a fun way to let us into R’s quirky thoughts. He narrates through the entire movie but in a fun way, not annoying at all.

      Isaac Marion wrote the novel on which Warm Bodies is based. He also worked on the screenplay with the director, Jonathan Levine (50/50, The Wackness, All the Boys Love Mandy Lane) He is a fairly new director who hasn’t done much but I liked his style and what he did with this movie.

      When it comes to this movie you get exactly what you expect. It is a Horror, Comedy, Romance zombie movie with a little something for everyone. Just a fun entertaining story, it doesn’t pretend to be anything more then that. A zombie love story, and why not in this day of paranormal romances?