Pondering: World War Z

I was soooo out voted on this one- usual scenario- kids home from college, day over the mountains in Durango to hit a good place to eat  and see a movie. This time it was 4th of July and the movie, that everyone else wanted to see was WORLD WAR Z. Me, the mom, usually does not "do" horror movies- but alas, we got our tickets early, stood in a long line and actually got pretty decent seats- better coordinated then at Christmas seeing SKYLARK.
Everybody knows what I usually think of this kind of movies, so when the light went up, the four people beside me- all leaned in to see my look of disgust and got a lot of "Well I'm sure mom didn't like..." or "What does mom think about that..." all the way to the car and at the restaurant.
Having a reputation to uphold and not want to open the flood gates to most of the bad movies in this genre, I kept my look stern and my mouth shut. But since no one in my family reads my blog ( test, test)...
I got to say, WORLD WAR Z was a pretty good movie!
First because , well...Brad Pitt is in it...

 

There are some actors for me, that could just sit in the cockpit of a jet, or a submarine or the belly of a bomber and wave for two hours and I would be happy, Brad Pitt is one of them.
In Radio Science- yes there is such a thing- certain songs are called "sticky", that people might claim they do not like but never change the channel when one is playing, believe it or not Celine Dion songs- in movies, Brad Pitt for me is "sticky"- if he is in something, I will go watch it, apparently even when it has zombies.
What was really surprising about this "walking dead" movie is that it really had a lot of heart. How could it not with "dewy eyed" Pitt as a loving dad, just trying to raise his kids and forget his previous life as a "bad ass save the world kind of guy," but alas to save his family- or in story writing jargon- he is invested- he also has to save the rest of the world too! Apparently real motivation counts- Hollywood!

 

Amazingly, WORLD WAR Z was actually not as disturbing to me as some other recent offerings like..

my FAST AND FURIOUS review

 

Where I got sick to my stomach watching car after car being smashed on the interstate with no remorse for the people inside. Apparently callousness is part of being cool, these days.
In WORLD WAR Z, much is put towards the human condition. FAST AND FURIOUS was more like pantheistic gods battle against themselves with little regard for the underlings beneath them.
In WORLD WAR Z, there is actually realistic consequences to actions, Pitt declaring in such a crisis, "you don't move, you die." And many people, as in real life, chose poorly. Nicely,  there are many reactions, all of them human, to dealing with such a world wide pandemic, highlighted in the film.
Actually read once that there are zombie classes in college to study how a pandemic would take over the world.
Nicely as well, many realistic hurdles are thrown up making it difficult for Pitt to-  not save the world, that will come in the next offering of his now franchise, but to survive and keep his family safe, their time as the family of "essential personal" on a military ship not secured and dependent on Pitt's own survival- many hurtles like wounds not instantly healing and logistics getting in the way, keep the action at a high point.
Another thing that made WORLD WAR Z bearable to watch- where I was dreading whole movie of scenes like this...

 

was how it was filmed- the zombie hordes felt more like one  whole mass instead of singular zombies constantly startling you. Only a few zombies are signaled out and these have been people first and there is an emotional attachment. There is not a lot of gore, or blood, or disgusting body parts being hurdled in WORLD WAR Z, there is just a lot at stake and one can not help but imagine "what if I was there?"
Seeing WORLD WAR Z and FAST AND FURIOUS so close together, it made me realize how a movie can certainly be written towards either compassion or callousness no matter what it's story content. Never really thought about how a zombie movie could really show humanity under such a microscope, but why wouldn't it- because it is in times of crisis, we show our best humanity.

For another zombie movie that has some heart check out...

Great PBS series: Secrets of the Manor House

 

You might like PBS's new offering SECRETS OF THE MANOR HOUSE, which explores the titillating  histories of some of England's most grand houses, like Highclere Castle above,  while the cameras snoop through the great halls, opulent bedrooms and sitting rooms and checks out their downstairs realities, made so real in shows like...

DOWNTOWN ABBEY

 

 

Or THE TUDORS...

 

set around Henry the VIII castle - what saved half the Tudor style Hampton Court from being updated- lack of money, lucky us!

 

 

Care to guess what offering centers around SECRETS OF THE MANOR HOUSE's next featured family home?

 

Chatsworth

 

That's right, Pride and Prejudice...

 

 

Do you remember the checkerboard black and white tiled entry hall or the white sculpture gallery?

Well Chatsworth might have been Mr. Darby's ancestral home in one Keira Knightley film, but in real life it was the home of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire...

 

 

and there was no Mr. Darcy there, watch the dark truth about Devonshire's on SECRETS OF THE MANOR HOUSE, airing July 14th... 

Watch Secrets of Chatsworth - Preview on PBS. See more from PBS.

And watch other full episodes at pbs.org including Princess Diana's family home, Althrop- hosted by the Earl himself- who I think had some "final approval" of content, but still interesting.

Review: The Lone Ranger

"This movie is really funny!"
"Best we have seen in a long time!"
Was the consensus walking out of the theater. I know, very counter to all the reviews the film has been receiving.
Maybe it was because we watched THE LONE RANGER in Durango, Colorado, the epicenter of the location shoots for the film, a friend who worked at the Strator Hotel had tales of Johnny Depp being in character when he returned to the hotel in the evening, with or without the bird, I do not know.
Or, maybe the fact that a year ago I had been working at the Steaming Bean Coffee shop over there and watched with amusement "pretty people" get their bios in order before joining the lines up at the college for The Lone Ranger extra cast call for "plump" one legged prostitutes,  a few sets of midget twins and skinny old Indians.
Like everyone else, over the last couple of months, the Lone Ranger trailers have built my anticipation for the declared summer blockbuster...

But like other's in the Four Corners, where Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Arizona come together at right angles and one can step from state to state at the monument, it was awfully fun to spot all the scenery in our backyard  that Walt Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Films filmed. All, I might add- far, far from the state  the legend was suppose to be based in. But that's okay- up here we are use to making up for things Texas lacks, like surreal scenery...

I drive by these red rock formations near Shiprock, New Mexico out in the Navajo Reservation on my way down to Albuquerque, here in the snow...

or where the Lone Ranger wakes up to a vertigo inducing scenery...

its out at Dead Horse Point, near Moab, Utah and there is an observation deck looking down at the Colorado river, about here...

 

There are many trains in THE LONE RANGER...

 

Our two local trains-  the Durango & Silverton...

 

here after the annual "Polar Express" trip complete with Santa and singing chefs,

and the Cumbres & Toltec, which we happened to see on our way home from Taos this weekend, going over Cumbres Pass...

are all dressed up in 1800's style.

We even were here, not that long ago....

in Creede, Colorado, for a friend's wedding, and took a drive right past where they filmed next to the head waters of the Rio Grande River and stayed in the motel where the crew stayed while filming, the management saying everyone was real nice and respectful...

I know the movie has gotten a lot of criticism - that Depp's portrayal of Tonto was just Captain Jack Sparrow in face paint. Yes, on occasion there was flashbacks of "Pirates"- but it was still a fun ride.

Armie Hammer, most know as Prince Charming in MIRROR, MIRROR with Julia Roberts...

the perfect straight man for Depp's comedics...

 

And a rare treat was being in a theater with Natives from both Utes and Navajos in the audience, probably some related to or friends of the extras that portrayed the Comanches...

 

 

There was much laughter, applauding and whispering, when nearby locals were recognized, but the biggest cheer in the theater was the last scene, when Silver, the Lone Rancher's horse rear ups into the iconic pose....

 

Well in the long shot, you can see the Sleeping Ute Mountain in the distance, which I could see out my window, if not for the pinon trees and the haze from the wildfires we have right now in SW Colorado, here is view of the mountain range in the winter, that the legend says will one day wake up from his nap and stomp out all the Whites in the valley...