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Just when you thought all the blood had been drained from the zombie genre along comes "Zombieland."
Director Ruben Fleischer considers it "Midnight Run" with zombies and it's closer to "Shaun of the Dead" than "Dawn of the Dead," but there's an undertow about living in social isolation and the peril and pleasure of friendships and makeshift families.
It's not for anyone with a queasy stomach, but it has bite, humor, social commentary and the unlikely but synergistic pairing of Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg as two of the last survivors in America or what has become Zombieland.
The improbable traveling companions come upon a young woman (Emma Stone) and her 12-year-old sister (Abigail Breslin), who act as friends and foes as they look for a safe haven, a place where the tween once was happy and ... Twinkies. Harrelson's character is jonesing for a Twinkie and not just any Hostess snack food will do.
The writing is witty -- taking full advantage of a celebrity in a small role and dropping in current references such as "Facebook status updates" -- the comic chemistry strong and the pacing brisk.
The extras include deleted scenes, commentary and two behind-the-scenes featurettes.
-- Post-Gazette
For a movie about a passionate adventuress, "Amelia" is conventional and oddly tame.
It also suffers from the "Valkyrie" syndrome: We know, sadly, how this is going to turn out. Earhart's silver-and-orange Lockheed L-10 Electra plane disappeared over the Western Pacific after she and navigator Fred Noonan logged 22,000 miles of flying.
"Amelia," directed by Mira Nair, opens on June 1, 1937, the day Earhart (Hilary Swank) takes off from Miami on an around-the-world flight. It quickly spins back to 1928 New York when Earhart meets master promoter, publisher and future husband George P. Putnam (Richard Gere). He is recruiting a woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean as a back-seat passenger and to pen a book about the landmark experience. But Earhart wants to literally and figuratively be in the pilot's seat.
Two-time Oscar winner Swank was born to play Amelia. Although she doesn't have the same gap between her front teeth, the actress shares the long-legged, slender build and short haircut, although it's more flattering and glamorous on her. She also gives her voice a soft, Midwestern accent, befitting Earhart's Kansas roots.
To be sure, some of the flying sequences are beautiful and the story dramatizes how a series of small decisions or mistakes could have led to the plane ditching in the ocean rather than making a planned refueling stop on tiny Howland Island.
In the end, "Amelia" cannot maintain airspeed because it's too preoccupied with romanticizing an icon and a marriage instead of giving us a flesh-and-blood woman going against society's headwinds.
The extras include deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes footage, Fox Movie Channel specials and more.
-- Post-Gazette
Living in Pittsburgh, people might not be quick to root for a Cleveland Cavalier.
"More Than a Game" will help.
The documentary takes us just a few years into the past, to the high school days of Akron native LeBron James. But he's just one of the crew in this fascinating tale about the Fab Five of Saint Vincent-Saint Mary who found themselves underdogs even with the future King.
Unlike many of the dominant national teams, the Akron school didn't recruit players from around the country. It just went with five friends from the neighborhood, who had been jelling together since middle school.
"More Than a Game" isn't flush with Hollywood drama. There are no vicious fights or drive-by shootings. The worst thing that happens is that the coach leaves for a better job and LeBron misses a game or two because of a sponsorship scandal.
Instead, we follow these interesting characters such as Dru Joyce III, a point guard with more heart than size, and Romeo Travis, a tough customer who struggles to bond with the other players. We also see how Joyce's father, who replaced the coach, got the team to excel with a quiet style and an emphasis on core values.
OK, it does get more exciting when LeBron fever hits the cover of Sports Illustrated and people start scalping tickets for $300 to see a high school player. And the footage is cool, from LeBron slamming dunks in middle school to willing his team to a mythical national championship.
If this is finally the year of the Cavaliers, "More Than a Game" is the must-see backstory.
-- Scott Mervis
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