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Some More SHAUN OF THE DEAD Reviews!!
Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...
This picture’s opening in the UK today, and if you’re wondering why we’ve printed so much enthusiastic coverage of the film in the last week, it’s because we all took a look at it together, and the picture just blew us away. It’s sort of amazing how much fun it is. Even people who don’t normally write reviews for us found themselves motivated to write in. Check this out...
Hey Harry and Mori,
As you know I've never written a review for your website. At most, I've journeyed with my hetero life partner Quint on our many misadventures in geekdom taking a few photographs along the way. BUT... the Kraken has been released this one time to write about a movie that I had the privilege of experiencing last week SHAUN OF THE DEAD.
This could be a fairly short review because basically all I need to say is I FUCKING LOVE THIS MOVIE! But, I figure this will not be adequate for most people.
I had heard about the director's (Edgar Wright) UK produced television show SPACED from my friends that were nuts for the show, but had never seen an episode myself. So, I didn't know what to expect when I was told about this movie. I had seen the trailer and thought it looked promising and got a bit of geek wood when I heard the song from the original Romero Dawn of the Dead playing at the tail end of the clip. I still didn't know what to expect though. I was a fan of UK humor (Red Dwarf and such) when I was a kid watching PBS, but had not had much exposure to modern television from across the pond in quite sometime.
Last Thursday before the screening I got to meet the director Edgar for the first time and got to hang out a little with him and the gang before the film. He's a funny guy and a true geek, so I knew this was a good sign. He spoke with the words of a man that was in LOVE with geek horror flicks and directors. We spoke of the greatness of Landis using counter score with the music in American Werewolf In London. Quint and Edgar debated over Argento and Fulci and we all geeked over great 80's horror fare like The Stuff and Terrorvision. In short, I knew this guy was about to take me to a place I've been longing for since the 80's (and no, I don't mean to the make out spot on Mount Hump). He was going to bring back the charismatic characters, humor, gore and heart to a genre that has been sorely missed for over a decade.
Edgar popped in the soundtrack to the film as we drove to the Alamo for the screening. Even without seeing the movie I was already digging the selections. Hell, any soundtrack that has Goblin, old video game Zombie music, and Dawn of the Dead (78) music remixed on it has to be great!
Well, we got to the Alamo and the movie started! HOLY SHIT! I was in heaven during every second of this movie. Every character, every plot point, every special effect was perfect. This movie was shot beautifully which wasn't a surprise to Moriarty because he told me afterward that the TV show SPACED was shot very cinematically. The first big special effect shot from a zombie got cheers from the crowd (think Kill Bill anime head-wound style) and we knew that this movie wasn't going to be pulling any punches in the gore department. But before all that, Edgar and Simon Pegg (writer/lead actor) did a great job making us want to hang out with the characters. These guys are geeks, but not the stuck up geeks portrayed in so many movies now. These are the geeks with heart, the geeks that bond over what they love with other geeks in a family type way. They watch Star Wars and reminisce about the film like a family would over old home videos. You don't see a Zombie in this movie for the first 30 minutes and you don't care! You're loving the characters too much... but when the zombies do start to appear in very subtle ways,... it gives you the "OOOOOooooooo" vibe and you're ready for the shit to start, but you're also afraid for your main characters by this point.
Now, when the Zombie carnage ramps up, it's great. But not in the fast action, blow 'em away kinda cool. But in the Dawn of the Dead (78), Night of the Creeps, Resident Evil 2 (video game) kinda way. Slow moving, but scary because of their numbers... the "always afraid of the bite coming from behind any corner" way. You don't want to see your guys get bitten, and that is where the fear comes from.
But in between encounters with zombies, there is laughter, there are tears (MAJOR tears) and there is romance. All of it perfectly balanced and at no time is there an "eye roller" in this film. I think the best part of this film is the "buddy picture" aspect to it. This would be the zombie movie that Chris Farley and David Spade would have made in the States if Chris were still with us, but instead we have the equal if not better geek substitute of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost (as ED). The minute you hear "player two has entered the game" you're going to buy this friendship hook, line and sinker. This movie, I think, is ultimately about these guys. What would be the first thing you would do if there was an outbreak of zombies??? You would get your closest friends and loved ones under one roof wouldn't you? Well, this is what Shaun does... but unfortunately for Shaun they keep slipping though his fingers one by one by one. Each loss is heart wrenching because THESE PEOPLE ARE NOW YOUR FRIENDS TOO! You see these guys fighting to keep each other alive and it's heartwarming beyond anything you've seen in a movie since David and Meatloaf.
There is not one shallowly written character in this movie and I think that is an act of pure genius.
Even the zombies are well written! I went to see Dawn of the Dead 2004 with a friend of mine that said it best when he mentioned how none of the zombies in that film were individuals. None of them had any character at all to them. But much like the Romero original, Shaun of the Dead has all sorts of great undead folk. You have twin zombies, singing zombies, soccer kid zombies, and a convenience store zombie right down to him holding out his hand for his 15 pence!
After the film my friends and I, and even my wife who hardly ever remembers a line from a film (even right after seeing the movie) were quoting the shit out of it. Every scene in this flick is a instant classic. The subtleties are what kill me. Shaun slipping in the convenience store, and the zombie "make out" scene, and the scene where the actress tries to give zombie acting lessons to the group of survivors was a crack up... "observe the face, see the sadness, it's like a drunk who's lost a pet". Not since Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness has there been this much geek quote fodder! "Sneaky Monkey (a favorite of my wife's), We're going to the Winchester, Don't say the Zed word" on and on it goes (much like this review) and those are not even the best ones (don't want to ruin it for you).
The music in this film, my God, was excellent! Edgar said a reviewer in the U.K. said this movie has the best use of a Queen song since Flash Gordon, and whoever that guy was is fucking brilliant because he is dead on right! Edgar left us a copy of the soundtrack which my wife and I have been listening to non-stop since last week. Every song is enjoyable and a few of them are down right fan-fucking-tastic. The songs, interlaced with quotes from the film, really make you want to see the movie again and again just because you want to experience how they were used so perfectly. This is very much an interactive score!
I can't say enough about this movie so I better stop now or I will be here all day writing a love letter to this film and the people that made it. All I can say is that it is very difficult for me to call a movie perfect. I love movies, I love most movies, but even the movies that I go ape shit for, I can always find those one or two nitpicks that I didn't care for. I don't think I've seen a "perfect" movie since I was very young. But I have to give this movie the gold, it's PERFECT. At least for me, folks. My favorite horror film of all time is American Werewolf in London, but now it has to share that title equally with Shaun of the Dead.
Also, for you Zombie killing fans, check out the Shaun of the Dead website for a sweet online Zombie carnage game!
From your friendly neighborhood sea monster,
-Kraken
Now, here is a review from my lovely wife, Princess Andromeda...
Hey Guys,
I don't see reviews from women very often, so maybe this will be a way all the geeks out there can get their girls to go to the movie with them. I've never written one before, so I'm trying to be very careful about spoilers. I hope you like it....
"Shaun of the Dead" is my favorite movie of the year so far. So you know where I'm coming from, I am a self-proclaimed fledgling geek. I love all types of movies, but horror will always have a special place in my heart. I was exposed to this genre very late in life when I met my husband Kraken and I cannot thank him enough for opening my eyes to this wonderful world.
I saw "Shaun" the other day having not seen any "Spaced" episodes (I have remedied that since then). I was shocked. I really enjoyed the original "Dawn of the Dead" and was disappointed in the recent remake (not as a zombie movie, but as a remake of a movie I really liked before). This movie totally made up for the bad movies I've been seeing lately. The comedic timing was perfect - I rarely laugh above a chuckle when I see movies, but I was gut-laughing with this. The characters and their relationships were believable and I genuinely cared about these people. Even if I didn't necessarily like them, I cared enough about them as a fellow human being for them not to be eaten alive because we spent enough time with them to see them as real people. I can honestly say I cried once and got teary eyed a few times during the movie because these relationships felt real to me. The scares made me jump. The FX were great. The soundtrack is phenomenal. I really can't say enough good things about this movie. Simon Pegg is absolutely amazing and don't even get me started on the lovable Nick Frost. And they're surrounded by an incredible supporting cast. I'm one of those people that can't remember quotes from a movie just hours after seeing them - they just don't stick with me. I've now been quoting this movie non-stop for about a week now. I enjoyed it that much. For those of you in the UK - enjoy the hell out of this movie (and enjoy the fact that we yanks are pulling our hair out in anticipation of this being released) - you have a great team there. Now - GO SEE THIS MOVIE!!!
Yours truly,
The sea monster luv'in Princess Andromeda! And another...
Hello Harry, long time reader first time reviewer. It may be too late but I wanted to share my thoughts on this great film.
I haven't laughed out loud at a film in a while. Okay that's a lie I laughed out loud once at the Crotch Rot line in Jersey Girl at the SXSW screening but that was one time, other laughs were more subdued ha ha's.
After getting a call from a friend of mine who was invited by Harry I was a little skeptical as he tends to hype things up just a bit more than he should. He also said that this probably won't be released in America and it may be my only chance to see it. I wasn't sure of the validity of that statement so I sat down and watched the trailer and then joined the crew and we made our way to the Alamo Lake Creek.
Now I'm not a big horror film geek and I thought this may come across with cheesy make-up, bad acting, and simply be a weak Dawn of the Dead parody. I was WRONG. Before the film the Director Edgar Wright said that the film is a love letter to George Romero. He was RIGHT. This film has so much energy and had me laughing constantly. It was shot extremely well with nice long steadicam shots that take you through his moment in time at the start of his day and then again later when things are starting to go to hell. Very well done. The acting is stellar and the deadpan delivery of Shaun's loser friend about an answering machine message is hilarious.
It's great to watch Shaun's character notice that something is amiss and can't quite figure out what's going on. Everyone but Shaun is either completely ignorant to the pending zombie crises or they have already been bitten. This is isn't the case with Shaun, he's completely wrapped up in girl trouble and problems at home and red ink on his shirt that it takes a back seat to the attack until the utmost breaking point.
On a final note Edgar has discovered the British version of John Cusak. If you see the film you will know what I mean. Again I am not a huge zombie/horror geek but I can say that this a damn good film and everyone should go see it. It's not just a film for geeks. If you want to laugh and be taken for a ride then GO SEE THIS FILM if you have the chance. It's REALLY GOOD I promise. Oh and the soundtrack kicks much ass.
That's it from me.
-Jimmy JamAll of you in the UK who get a chance to check it out this weekend, use this Talk Back to let us know what you think. I’ll bet you anything we’re about to see the birth of a cult. Long live Shaun and Ed!!
"Moriarty" out.
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I'd rather see this than any of the "blockbusters" coming to the states this summer. Guess I'll have to break out the Spaced dvds again to console myself. I was with the 1st reviewer up until "This would be the zombie movie that Chris Farley and David Spade would have made in the States if Chris were still with us". That's sounds scary as hell too,but not in a good way.
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The reviews above are spot on - this movie is superb. Funny, scary, occaisionally heartbreaking, stomach-churning gore and more geek references than you can shake a severed leg at! What more can you ask for?
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... and you like Spaced, then try Black Books (another current British sitcom). This season (3rd) isn't so good, but the 1st and 2nd ones you'll love. Simon Pegg has a cameo in it. And the main guy, Dylan Moran, has a cameo in SOTD.
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We can say confidently that Mr Dylan Moran has more than just a mere cameo in the movie. He is one of the main bunch, and our chief memory of him was standing at the craft service table with him as we noticed the food wasn't that terrific.
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I was lucky enough to see this movie back on tuesday at a special screening zombie trilogy in London (Braindead, Nigh of the Living Dead, and finally Shaun of the Dead). Shaun was introduced by Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright and they were really funny guys, especially in the Q&A afterwards. Man, you have to see this film if you haven't already. The acting is spot on, with really funny lines and great camaradery between the characters that you can tell exists offscreen as well. It never sinks to Hot Shots! style cheap visual gags as all recent spoof films seem to do. In fact, it is really a movie in its own right, not a spoof genre. There are good references to films like Evil Dead (e.g. there's a character mentioned in passing called Ash, there's better ones too but I can't think offhand), but they're subtle and you don't need to get them to find the film funny. Overall, great stuff and ha ha ha to anyone who can't see it because they are a) too young or b) American.
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Maybe I was expecting too much, but I have to say I was kinda disappointed. I really felt the movie lost its way by the last third. Fun, but not a patch on Spaced.
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Being a Projectionist I saw SotD a couple of days ago and I LOVED IT. Although I never thought I wouldn't as I love Wrights visceral Direction and Pegg's comedic delivery is second only to Steve Coogan in terms of UK Comedians. The Cast all do some great work (and Dylan Moran is more than a cameo, Leviathus, he's an actual "main" character.) Jessica Stevenson's pseudo-cameo is great. Her character is so pivotal I see it as a nice acknowledgement from the lads (that in a way, she's helped them get SotD made, through her work in Spaced being so fucking good.) Nick Frost as Ed did a tremendous job too, not at all like Mike from Spaced (which was a slight worry of mine) and he produced for me, my favourite quotable line: "Alright.... Gay." (Correct me if i'm wrong, i've only seen it once so far.) Congratulations to everone involved. Let's keep this sort of quality up. Here's to the future of British cinema!
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I was looking forward to seeing Shaun as I am always up for supporting quality movies. F everyone that gets to see a movie like this before me. At least I get to see Chappelle in person next month. On a side note, who wants a body massage?
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Its bloody excellent!
Very well made, very funny and tongue in cheek without taking the piss out of the origins of the genre.
It deserves to be very succesful, although I do worry about whether the majority of americans will 'get' it?
Nice to see another well made british movie taking on the americans! -
FRankBlack: i hope that is some type reference (that i am unaware of) about the spelling of SHAUN cause it can be spelt both ways. I'm not gonna call you a moron just in case. and i know there were rumours you were into (field) hockey players.
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Looking forward to this even more now that I know Dylan Moran has a bigger part. Why isn't he in the trailer? Or have I completely missed it? :)
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Oh, and you can spell it Sion too..
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Just got back from the cinema. I absolutely loved it. Hysterically funny. Brilliant, brilliant stuff. The ending kicks ass too!
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Saw it this afternoon, in a packed cinema in 'not so sunny' Leeds. Most fun I've had at the movies in quite some time. This one deserves to be a huge hit. Some great jokes, top notch gore (the girl in the garden falling backwards onto the pole - ouch! and the bullet through the eye - double ouch!) and yeah, for once some real characters that you give a shit about. There's even time for a bit of a sniffle when one of them 'buys the farm' and has to be dealt with (so to speak) - heartbreaking! Nick Frost as Ed is funny as fuck! He's the perfect mate / slob! I would quite happily spend an evening down the pub him ("Can I get any of you c**ts a drink?") As for all those whining about the Dawn Of The Dead remake / reimagining / whatever - get over it!!! If you didn't like it, then go see this instead and lighten up for chrissakes!
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Having never been a huge fan of horror i was sceptical to how Shaun of the Dead would be. But i can say hand on heart i loved this film, the characters are lovable the story funny as hell and yet i almost felt a lump in my throat toward the end. FUCK all those crap Hugh Grant flicks this is the true humour of Britain i just hope you guys Stateside get a chance to see it soon.
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Great film, great characters, great lines and the best use of the word "mutherfucker" in cinema history.
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This movie is brilliant. Everyone must watch this ASAP.
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Saw 'Dawn of the....' last week and this thoroughly destroys it and leaves no remains or tasty entrails..... Fantastic comedy, very moving in places and WAS NOT LONG ENOUGH!!! Oh and If anyone ever has the oppurtunity to see 'Dafs' David (Dylan Moran) in doing his stand up comedy (or indeed his own fine Tv show Black Books) please sell your testicles to attend..possibly the funniest man from-Ireland-who-sounds-Drunk-24-hours-a-day in the world today!!
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For once i can hype a film made in the UK without feeling forced to do so by my British pride alone! Shaun of the Dead is a new bench mark in UK horror and genuinely funny. The script is excellent and manages to juggle both comedy and horror without diluting either. The film succeeds in making you genuinely love the characters and to not see them as just zombie fodder.
I actually got choked up at one point and will be seeing this again before it leaves the theatre..... Go watch! -
im bored of herin about that fucki ndawn remake its a grt 90 mins of pointless fun, a zombie film it fuckin aint tho running hissing screaming zombies i mean wot the fuck. If u want class try 2 see Shaun of the dead best zombie movie since the 79 version of dawn funny gory tragic looks fantasic and the comedy timing is amazing it is 1 of the best homages 2 romero there cud ever b. From the grt slow start the the slow rising of the undead on the streets is just grt 2 behold. I laughed my arse off, the dawn remake wud make fuckin nothing if this came out with it in the states.
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What with Shaun, 28 Days Later, Dog Soldiers and the upcoming Dog Soldiers sequel...
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SUCK! Maybe not as bad as the totally hyped piece of shit, "Cabin Fever", that this lame site drooled over for weeks before its rancid swill of movie-making horror was unleashed on the swindled masses... Maybe not that bad... But I'm guessing it will be pretty close. Monty Python/Hammer this won't be.
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Worst werewolf movie EVER! And that includes ALL "The Howling" sequels. Chew on that, Britania.
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ok ... I'm being a bit harsh ... it was ok, and by ok I mean UNDEAD looked fantastic for a movie made with peanuts .. and apart from some decent zombie gore, it was pretty fucken average. Harry thought it was the 2nd coming of zombie christ, but then we all know harrys track record for absolutly LOVING (insert any michael bay SHITfest here) average movies. I had more fun with "house of the dead" than I did with UNDEAD. Atleast that movie didnt have a bunch of characters you wanted to violently sodomise with a rusty metal pipe (TM chud.com). For me ... I still havent seen a zombie movie better than RESIDENT EVIL 1 in the last 5 years, tho I've yet to see the dawn of the dead remake and shaun of the dead. I hope this site isnt making 'shaun' to be better than it actually is, like it did for "Undead". I really do hope ...
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Saw it here in the U.K. last night ,after the crushing dissapointment that was Dawn of the dead remake(crap)Shaun was everthing i hoped it would be.Im allready a fan of the series SPACED so i knew the sort of humour to expect.The only thing im afraid of is that Dawn will make way more money at the box office,because Shaun is very British and sometimes the humour dont really work outside these shores.Anyway an instant classic in my mind ,just go see it as soon as you can.
mike -
Another British comedy recomendation-JAM from Chris Morris.
And BIG TRAIN. -
Saw it yesterday, an absolute peach of a movie.
However I dont think this will really work across the pond, its far too British.
That said, my god I nearly died at several points. Annoyingly I was the only person to laugh at the 28 Days Later gag.
Can't believe they made this as good a s they did, almost makes we wish I'd signed up to be an extra on this when Harry posted a link a year and odds ago.
gay.... -
Well I am off to see it tonight just hope it is as good as everyone says it is.
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Black Books, Brass Eye, Father Ted, The Day Today, Alan Partridge, Spaced, The League of Gentlemen, Big Train. The days when we feared that British comedy was falling behind US stuff are long over. The Simpsons has become gutless corporate hogwash, laden with pointless cameos (Steve Buscemi anyone?) and product plugs. No satire at all after FOUR years of Bush. The problem with most US comedies is that they invariably become soap operas, before you can blink, the laughs are gone and it's all 'who's marrying whom?'
Heh Heh, I said 'whom'. -
I'm quite fond of 'Malcom in the Middle' but it's so HARMLESS and apolitical. There's more to comedy than fun, you know, just like there's more to cinema than entertainment.
And stop assuming that every anglophone that's not American is a Brit. There are millions who are neither. -
Shaun Of The Dead. Awesome film. I can't think of a bad thing to say about it. Not one bit of this film was weak or anything. 5/5 100% I was worried I went into seeing it with too high an expectation level but boy was it a fantastic movie! I was the only one in the cinema who laughed at the Deer Hunter reference and was quite proud of it for some bizaare reason. This is how you do a zombie movie. This is how you are funny without resorting to offensive jokes that are there just to be offensive. This is how you bring an entire audience together to rejoice in the experience of cinema. Brilliant just brilliant.
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Yup. these reviews are spot on. a great movie. Those people who say there is NOTHING wrong with it are nearly right, if it wasnt for Dylan Moran. Yes he has more than a cameo and is one of the main characters, but for all intents and purposes his character is very much the straight man, which to me is like holding a guitar solo evening and having Eric Clapton and Carlos Santana just handing out the programmes and ice cream. Moran is just the funniest thing around and i urge you all to get hold of a copy of black books as soon as you can.
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Interesting that so many reviwers mentioned this was the first time they felt compelled to write something, since I feel much the same way. I'm a UK resident, which usually means unlucky when it comes to movie release dates, but we've scored with this.
Simon Pegg is regarded very highly in the UK since he's been involved in quite a bit of the best tv comedy of recent years. Pretty much all the best stuff, besides The Office, in fact (incidentally, both Tim and Dawn from The Office feature in this movie, too). I did wonder, however, how well his talent and writing style, and that of Edgar Wright, would transfer to the big screen.
Shouldn't have worried. What struck me coming out of the cinema was that, for only the second time this year (along with Lost in Translation), I felt I'd really got my money's worth. Shaun actually is perfect. It's hysterically funny, with laugh-out-loud moments like the zombie acting class or the sly little references (my personal fave is when Shaun gets back on his feet in the pub with a martial-artsy flick of his legs and 'woosh' sound), and funny-surreal stuff like the choreographed beating of a zombie with pool cues to Queen's Don't Stop Me Now. But this was to be expected. What really surprised me is that it's genuinely moving in places. These aren't stock comedy characters lined up for the biting, they're people, and you care about them and their relationships. The scares are perfectly timed, finally confirming (as if it was necessary) that real chills work best alongside laughs, because you're never sure which is coming next.
But what I loved most was the sheer truth of it. If this was to happen in the UK tomorrow, people WOULD behave this way. If 28 Days Later was the documentary version of what would happen, Shaun of the Dead is a wry, satirical look at the things we build our life around - our loved ones, the local pub, mobile phones, video games, a cup of tea to make it all better - and how ingrained these things are, even in catastrophe. All those aspects of our lives that are already zombie-esque are exposed.
So, funny, scary, sad, exhilirating (the action scenes are fantastic) AND meaningful? Absolutely. It'll be a crime if this doesn't get a decent international release. For once, I just feel genuinely lucky to live where I do. -
My favourite film of the year so far, can't wait for it to come out on dvd, though I might have to go and see it again!
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Just came out of the cinema, I have to say it is the best horror movie since American Werewolf in London. It is nice to see a British movie aimed at the public instead of those awful Lottery funded arthouse movies, three men and a sheep go to see.
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I knew a guy who spelled it Sjon.
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After reading all the fabulous reviews both here and in UK mags, I was really scared that I would end up disappointed. I was so glad to find out that it was everything the reviews said it was! I absolutely loved it!!! The lines are very memorable, and I know I'll be using the "I'm sorry..." line everytime I let one rip this week ;)
I was so happy to see so many familiar faces in this movie. Especially Dylan Moran who stars in this fantastic British sitcom called Black Books (for those of you in the US who may not have had a chance to watch this, I urge you to get your hands on a dvd or something).
I now find myself totally regretting not approaching Simon Pegg at the SFX after awards party last year!! Dang it all!! -
Alanmaccyd, your review was spot on. And Sepulchrave (ah, Gormenghast reference...), please don't forget Little Britain off that list of brilliant British comedy. In fact... all lovers of comedy should go straight to http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/comedy/littlebritain.shtml and just listen to an original radio episode. Starring Matt Lucas, who was at the back of Jessica Stevenson's group of six in "Shaun", if you look very closely.
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GO SEE THIS MOVIE, it's 1 of the funniest things i have seen since......well it is the funniest thing i ever seen. If you know spaced you can see how pegg has followed the same style of the series with the constant references many which Yanks won't understand (league of gentleman, office, the zombie with the cycling outfit on). If you americans never get to see it well unlucky you've missed a classic.
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because I have been avoiding it, parhaps unwarrantably, due to its unfortunate stylistic and tonal resemblance (what a wanker) to my beloved League of Gentlemen. That may seen unfair, but that's me.
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It's getting annoying
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Just thought I'd chime in with a bit more of a grounded POV, as the "Spaced" community is typical of geekdom with no shades of grey.
Yes, you will laugh your tits off at the Spaced-isms ("Christ, he's got an arm off!") but Simon Pegg's stab at serious acting can get hammy (ie any time he starts crying), and really, it is just a feature-length episode of Spaced.
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I took my 15 year-old son to see SOTD on Sunday. We are both fans of Spaced and Black Books, so are in tune with that comedic 'vibe'.
Basically, the first half of the movie is everything secribed above - very, very funny and well-acted. The cameos were an unexpected treat (and the 2 groups greeting each other was my favourite scene in the film).
However, the story and script start wearing out their welcome as we get into the second half. The cinema I saw this in (pretty full) was much less noisy laughter-wise, in the final 40 minutes than they were the first half.
It became tedious, predictable and very average, turning what could have been an eternal cult classic into a so-so movie.
As one Talkbacker writes above, this is more of a TV show than a full-blown theatrical movie. Fine for a night on DVD in with a takeaway and a couple of mates, but a little too ambitious to call it a 'theatrical event'
Oh, and for the guy who posted that this film was 'perfect'... get a life (and go see some more movies).
In summary, I'd say that the typical episode of Spaced was more consistent than SOTD.
Disappointing -
WAY overhyped. It's decent though. But it doesn't have loads of memorable lines, it doesn't have the multitude of clever one liners these people talk about, it's just a solid, fun little film, with some funny moments.
People here in the U.K. seem to see it and immediatly jump into cocky "aren't we brilliant" bragging. 28 days later was also decent, but WAY WAY overhyped. Dog Soldiers...was a steaming pile of turd. In conclusion, I wouldn't get too excited about this film and you might be pleasantly surprised when you go see it. Over-hypers really can ruin films for you by getting your hopes too high. -
and I don't mean that in a patronising way (really) I have heard alot about this and apparently it's thick with pop-cultural inter-references that are meaningless, not only to Americans, but to anyone who hasn't been paying attention to British alternatice comedy over the last six years. The problem with alot of the opinions around here is that people seem to be equating profitablity with quality. The more a movie makes, the broader its appeal, the broader its appeal, the more people see it, the more people see it, the more wankers and dead-heads see it. Hence what everyone likes is usually a pile of pants. Small weirdness is the lifebood of human culture. No wonder people hate globalisation, multinational corporations and cultuarl homogeneity. Do I win the spelling bee?
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which was the biggest independent movie of all time masquerading as a studio behemoth. No stars, no big name director, foreign crew. The exception that proves the rule.
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