Enjoyable Things: Zombieland Review

Throughout Zombieland, we are repeatedly told that there are rules to surviving in a world overrun by the undead. Of all of them, the final rule, No. 32: Enjoy The Little Things, is without a doubt the most important one. This light-hearted moral is emblematic of Zombieland since that is exactly what the film asks, nay demands of its audience.

Zombieland comes in the midst of a proliferation of zombies in mass culture, and yet manages to separate itself from the horde, er, crowd. Unlike almost every other zombie narrative out there, Zombieland features characters that take as much pleasure in dispatching the undead as we do in watching them do it. This slight change to the formula dramatically alters the atmosphere of the film, and more importantly its relation to all other zombie films.

Bon Iver's Final Live Show (For Now)

Phew, is it ever a busy time. Canadian Thanksgiving has come and gone and now it's time to really get into the swing of October.

I keep wanting to write but it's hard to find the time when I'm not working or resting. I have a few posts in the works right now, including a review of "Zombieland" (it was stupid good). Hopefully I'll be able to get at least one of them up in the next few days.

Right now, though, I want to share some music that I found online that I think is pretty awesome.

I'm a recent but big fan of Bon Iver, and so it was with a heavy heart that I read he was going on hiatus for the foreseeable future. I was only converted in March and so I narrowly missed seeing him during his world tour in support of his debut LP, For Emma, Forever Ago and the Blood Bank EP. His most recent show at the Riverside Theater in Milwaukee on October 11, 2009 is apparently his last for a while, and so I'm SOL for the time being.

But despite that minor setback there is a positive spin on this story. That final show was evidently recorded and has been posted online over on the 88Nine Radio Milwaukee: Live & In Studio blog. It's available to be downloaded in its entirety (I'm listening to it right now, it's fantastic) and I'm also embedding a streaming player below.

I strongly recommend giving the show a listen, even if you aren't a Bon Iver fan. He's a fantastic musician and it really comes through in his live show, as evidenced by this fantastic recording.

Listen Now:

Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla: A CGI Sign of the Times

The other night I rented Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla, which was a very interesting and surprising experience.

I'm going to start off with a bit of a geek history lesson to give some context to my story. For those of you who are not "in the know" (ie: most people), there were two distinct sets of Godzilla films. First there was the original classic, "Gojira" (1954), which started the whole phenomenon. It was followed by "Godzilla Rais Again" (1955) and then a number of sequels known as the Showa series, concluding with "Terror of Mechagodzilla" (1975).

There was was then a ten year break before the aptly titled "The Return of Godzilla" (1985). This film ignored every sequel to the original "Gojira," and set itself up as a direct follow-up to the events of the first film. This began the Heisei series of Godzilla films, which saw re-imaginings of many of the classic Godzilla villains, including Mechagodzilla in "Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II" (1993). The main difference between the two series was the attitude towards the monsters. In the Showa series they were treated as forces of nature, not evil beings, and Godzilla became something of a hero. In the Heisei series, on the other hand, Godzilla and his friends (or kaiju, aka monsters, your geek word of the day) were more often seen merely as hazards to human life.

Now, as far as I knew that was where the complexities of the Godzilla canon ended. Ignoring the American remake, as all good 'zilla fans do, there were simply the two series of Godzilla continuities. So, when I rented "Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla" I figured I was going to watch one of the three movies from the Showa and Heisei series in which the mechanical monster appeared.

How wrong I was.

A great step for cycling in Toronto

There are now "sharrows" on Bloor St. E, between Yonge and Church. This news seemed worth another post, even just for the link

And the bike debate rages on... (links)

Terence Corcoran is an idiot

Christopher Bird is not

Complete Streets are the way to go

Torontoist.com get all credit for this post, I'm just sharing