Diary of the Dead
Most of the horror movies I really want to see (Teeth being the most recent example) don't play in a theatre anywhere near me. And I didn't think George Romero's Diary of the Dead would be playing anywhere closer than a five-hour drive...but, joy of joys, it was playing at the Universal Citywalk, an hour and a half away.
In addition to the drive, the Universal Citywalk (basically, restaurants, shops, and a movie theatre sandwiched between the two Universal Studios theme parks) charges $11 for parking. And the movie tickets were $7.25 for a matinee. Worst of all, because we got there early, I was forced to look around in Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville for a while, a place that used to be kind of cool when there were only a couple of them but now has all the street cred of a Hot Topic store.
Diary of the Dead itself? Thoroughly mediocre.
It's a pseudo-documentary like The Blair Witch Project or Cloverfield, but is never remotely convincing in that regard, thanks to bad acting and worse dialogue. It has some suspenseful moments, but the social commentary--always part of Romero's work--is in your face, all over the map, and never really successfully hits any of its targets.
It's worth seeing, but not if you have to drive 90 minutes each way and pay $11 for parking.
In addition to the drive, the Universal Citywalk (basically, restaurants, shops, and a movie theatre sandwiched between the two Universal Studios theme parks) charges $11 for parking. And the movie tickets were $7.25 for a matinee. Worst of all, because we got there early, I was forced to look around in Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville for a while, a place that used to be kind of cool when there were only a couple of them but now has all the street cred of a Hot Topic store.
Diary of the Dead itself? Thoroughly mediocre.
It's a pseudo-documentary like The Blair Witch Project or Cloverfield, but is never remotely convincing in that regard, thanks to bad acting and worse dialogue. It has some suspenseful moments, but the social commentary--always part of Romero's work--is in your face, all over the map, and never really successfully hits any of its targets.
It's worth seeing, but not if you have to drive 90 minutes each way and pay $11 for parking.
posted by Jeff Strand at 4:33 PM
1 Comments:
Dag nab it! I had high hopes for this one. This may have to be a wait and see DVD rental.
-Erik
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