Look at the title, what does it say? Yes, this is a themed rant! look at the title again, what is the theme? Revival!

I’ve been neglectful, I’m sorry. But I’m going to make it up to you, starting with this. The theme is revival because we’re here to revive the blog, so all of the films here will have that element to them. What element, you say? Revival! Pay attention.

Let’s start with Warm Bodies. (Spoilers, I guess)

Ah yes, this film. The film that is to zombie movies what Twilight is to vampire movies.

So here’s the thing, I Love zombie films. They give me a tingly feeling inside. So, naturally, a part of me hates this film. And that part of me hates the film for the same reason it hates World War Z: This isn’t how zombies work! They don’t sense terminal illness, and thus avoid people, and they don’t come back to life through the power of love. And why did only one zombie need to be loved for all of the zombies to come back to life? Is the power of love contagious? And why is the power of love not then strong enough to reach the bonies? Is it a metaphor ? The power of love isn’t strong enough to reach the power of … boning?

Anyway, so that’s the zombie lover side of me. However, I am a complex being so I actually have more than one side to me. I have at least two or three sides. The rest of me acknowledges that this is a stupid zombie film, but it’s actually a pretty decent film if you ignore that it’s stupid. It has some pretty good jokes, the characters are … two dimensional, but relatable. It’s a not-so-subtle Romeo and Juliet story with guns and gore, so I’m pretty on board with that. This is a very watchable film, but don’t expect anything special. Love it for what it is and then discard it to the bottom of your DVD pile.

Next up is a different kind of Revival. A modern revival of a relatively old film: a remake. Specifically, A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

There are times in your life when you are given a choice. A choice to do what is right or do what is cool. As a film buff, this is one of those times for me. See, film often goes like this: Original good, Remake bad. That’s just standard, and if you don’t like the original cult classics then you’re a poser or an uneducated moron and blah blah. But here’s the thing: I don’t care. I didn’t grow up with these film and I didn’t like the original Nightmare on elm street and I haven’t watched any other than the first and the remake. They made 9 of them. There is such a thing as too many. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the original, I can see that it is good but I just don’t personally like it. While I’m at it, I don’t like Friday The 13th either, it was super boring. I love Halloween though and have seen all of those, and yes, there are too many Halloween films too. I’m not biased against old film, I love old films, I’m biased against bad film and/or films that don’t age well. Nightmare on Elm Street did not age well. All you diehard fans can love it all you want, I just don’t.

The remake though, I loved it. I watched it during my transition between being scared by everything and never being scared by anything ever again, and it did scare me the first two or three times I watched it, and now It’s a really fun film to watch. Obviously, the originality of the story plays a huge part in my liking of it, and I do agree that the story in the original was indeed better, as it always is. But the remake looks and feels better in a way that it really matters. Some films can Be remade with better effects but it doesn’t matter because everything else sucks, but Nightmare on Elm Street was remade with solid effects and solid everything else.

Last on this list we have a a film all about the Revival of love and adventure: Cloudburst.

Cloudburst if about an elderly couple, one of whom is blind and gets sent to a nursing home by her granddaughter. Her partner comes to take her away from there and they embark on a journey to Canada to finally get married.

This is one of the sweetest film I have every witnessed. It’s emotional, exciting and hilarious. I could easily write a full review on this film but I found it to be too perfect for this list. If you’re looking for a great blend of laughing, crying and awh-ing then Cloudburst is for you. If you don’t trust me on this, then check out the trailer. I don’t often recommend trailers because they usually  give far too much away, but I have previewed the trailer for Cloudburst just for you and I deem it safe to watch.

So that’s it for this list, I will see you again soon with more random ramblings that nobody cares about. Unless you do care, in which case thank you.

– Magpie