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Laughter Zombie movies, anyone?

Discussion in 'Community Off Topic' started by njoy, Feb 20, 2014.

  1. njoy

    njoy aka Bugsy

    A post on the General Discussion forum prompted this:

    I like zombie movies. Have you seen one called Pontypool? -- it's indie and hilarious. Maybe I'll post it on the new Laughter sub forum. Good score at:
    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1226681/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
    Gore warning, though.
     
  2. Forest

    Forest Beloved Grand Eagle

    Okay, so having checked out a review, it honestly doesn't look like it is meant to be funny. Is it a very bad sign that you're saying it's hilarious?

    .... does the fact that it takes place in rural Canada draw you to it?
     
  3. njoy

    njoy aka Bugsy

    No accounting for tastes, Forest. Actually, I happened to watch it a second time just a couple of days ago and it was even funnier than I remembered.

    ... no, the fact that it takes place in rural Canada didn't draw me to it. The only other Canadian shows I've ever liked, in my life, were Trailer Park Boys and (short-lived, sadly) Alice in Wonderland which was about the Canadian justice system. I like the occasional Brit-com -- Yes, Minister was amazing. And Seinfeld was an American favorite. The last funny movie I really, really, really liked was Foul Play with a very young Goldie Hawn and Chevy Chase. Sustaining comedy throughout a movie isn't easy.

    It's true that most of the shows I think are hilarious don't get the best reviews. So, here, hate on this.

    Nice snail, Forest o_O

    Later: Proof it's a comedy, so there:http://www.metacritic.com/movie/pontypool
     
    Last edited: Feb 21, 2014
  4. yb44

    yb44 Beloved Grand Eagle

    Here's one that's meant to be funny, Forest:



    Look away if you are squeamish...
     
  5. Forest

    Forest Beloved Grand Eagle

    I'm totally loving the snail. Probably the cutest snail I have seen in my life.

    I'm also totally digging Ponty Pool. Stephen McHattie is really terrific and I enjoyed watching the tension between him and his producer. I thought both actors did a great job. (You'd never hear someone say something like that about most mainstream horror movies, I bet.) It was hard to pull myself away, but I need to do some work!

    Speaking of Trailer Park Boys, I bet you'd like the UK version of Shameless. The US version might be good, too, but Netflix doesn't offer it streaming, so I just watch the UK version (yay Netflix!).
     
  6. Becca

    Becca Well known member

    I'm not really a Zombie movie person. Not sure if it's a gore thing (I do watch The Following...) or what. I just can't get into it. There's that TV show The Walking Dead that folks say is amazing...but I see pictures and get freaked out! I did see a hysterical movie called Warm Bodies somewhat recently, within the last year or so? It was kinda a Zombie romantic comedy. Or something like that. Here's the trailer:

     
  7. Walt Oleksy (RIP 2021)

    Walt Oleksy (RIP 2021) Beloved Grand Eagle

    I just can't appreciate zombie or vampire movies.
    I used to like to be scared by the old ones when I was a teenager,
    but the emphasis today on the number of those kind of movies is strange to me.

    And paranormal movies. I like some fantasy, but there is so much of it in movies and on tv today.
     
  8. njoy

    njoy aka Bugsy

    Oh, for crying out loud, Pontypool is meant to be funny! What's wrong with you people? It's not, it can't be -- omg --- the beginning of some kind of epidemic?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
     
    Last edited: Feb 21, 2014
  9. Forest

    Forest Beloved Grand Eagle

  10. njoy

    njoy aka Bugsy

    I hate being scared, Walt. Funny zombie movies don't seem scary. Creepy and gross, yes. Scary no. Great genre.
     
  11. LindaRK

    LindaRK Well known member

    I don't ever recall seeing any kind of zombie movie. As of late, it's probably a choice I made not to because this stuff freaks me out so much. I've been getting alot of tv time lately because I've been sick and mistakenly flipped to the Chiller channel ..... big mistake. Thanks anxiety stayed with me for awhile and I hardly watched any of it! I used to love this stuff!
     
  12. njoy

    njoy aka Bugsy

    Hi, LindaRk - I thought I would react badly/hate them, too, but my son insisted I watch Shaun of the Dead (2004) and I was hooked. He knows me! When I was a teenager I'm told I used to let out piercing screams in horror shows. I have no memory at all of ever doing this. Haven't been to one in many, many years.

    Welcome to the forum, Linda! I hope you are finding it a fun (and useful) place. Is your illness tms-related, do you think?

    Oh, I just read your bio. The answer is yes. Well, it's good that you know. You are in the right place, for sure.
     
  13. LindaRK

    LindaRK Well known member

    I was like that, too. Growing up, I would watch these scary movies ..... I would close the drapes and curl up on the sofa, securely wrapped in a security blanket. Yikes! No wonder I had nightmares! LOL! Thanks for the welcome!
     
  14. Forest

    Forest Beloved Grand Eagle

    Well, I watched Pontypool last night and I guess I see more of what you mean about it being funny from the second half. I still see it as a psychological thriller that had a little fun at the end, but I'm not one to always pick up on subtle humor.

    @Steve Ozanich turned me on to a film called the Lost Skeleton of Cadavra:
    It was pretty clear it was a spoof, but I didn't quite "get" the humor until Jen, my girlfriend joined me. Somehow her laughter made the film much funnier. So perhaps I just need Jen to watch Pontypool with me. I tried to get her to, but she said no because it's a zombie movie. Now we may never know, even thought it might have made a significant contribution to the field of science.

    Anyhoo, regarding Pontypool, I found the following interview of the director:
     
  15. Forest

    Forest Beloved Grand Eagle

  16. Ellen

    Ellen Beloved Grand Eagle

    OK, so I did my TMS homework last night and watched Pontypool. I thought it was humorous, and saw it as a satire on the effects of Talk Radio. But I must be seeing everything through a TMS lense these days, because I also saw it as a metaphor for the contagion theory of TMS. You hear other people's maladies and you get them, until you change your understanding. So, yes, Pontypool is a movie about TMS. :D
     
    Forest likes this.
  17. Forest

    Forest Beloved Grand Eagle

    I love it! I know exactly what you meme!
     
    Ellen likes this.
  18. njoy

    njoy aka Bugsy

    Forest said, "Well, I watched Pontypool last night and I guess I see more of what you mean about it being funny from the second half. I still see it as a psychological thriller that had a little fun at the end, but I'm not one to always pick up on subtle humor."

    My advice is watch it again, sometime. I got way more of the humor the second time around. I love that Pontypool is an actual town. Never heard of it. What a place for a zombie attack to break out. Maybe Jen could shut her eyes and listen to loud music during the nasty bits? That's what I do (on earphones, of course) when my near and dear have "no taste".

    Good videos. Thanks. The director (Tony Burgess) of Pontypool was also the author of the book the movie was based on. It got good reviews at the time but doesn't sound funny on the face of it. Maybe it is. Or at least wry. It's on Kindle.

    Ellen, that's so interesting: "So, yes, Pontypool is a movie about TMS." I'll bet there are lots of movies about TMS once you start looking for them. That would make a good thread on General Discussion or somewhere.

    LindaRK, a lot of my recovery from TMS has involved not challenging myself with things that will, for sure, give me nightmares. My young niece went to bed excited about the Easter Bunny coming with a basket of candy eggs. Then, she was up half the night because she saw a giant rabbit glaring at her through her bedroom window!
     
    Last edited: Feb 22, 2014

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