Netflix New Releases
[Moozik: Nine Inch Nails - Down In It]
I've been a Netflix customer for a while now and about the only thing I've really found myself grumbling about is how long you have to wait for new releases. I understand why new releases take a while and for the most part I'm patient. In fact I really don't even pay attention to the availability anymore, I just add them to my queue and forget about them.
With that in mind I was very surprised to get home from work yesterday to find a copy of I Am Legend in the mail. Surprised because it only came out on DVD yesterday in fact. So I temporarily take back any grumbling towards Netflix new releases I may have previously done ;-)
The movie itself was good. Well, except for the last 20 mins or so. I thought Will Smith did a good job in his portrayal of Robert Neville [1] and I must commend them for making the bond between Robert and his dog seem believable. I've heard that the book is far better (aren't they always?) so must make a point of reading that.
[1] So that makes two movies I've seen him in that didn't make me want to slap him - the other being The Pursuit of Happyness.
It was a good movie, but I was really, really, really disappointed with the ending.
I felt like there was a lot more to explore.
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For example, when he captured the female zombie and the male zombie stuck his head out of the building to the point of getting burned by the sun, I thought there was an implied relationship between the female and the male. Neville wrote the male zombie's behavior off as evidence that the zombies had lost the notion of self-preservation. I think it was evidence that the zombies were learning to do more besides sleep/kill/eat.
Also, at the end, when the zombies swarm Neville's house, the male zombie who is slamming himself into the plexiglass barrier... is that the same male zombie who stuck his head out into the sun? (I think so, but I'd have to sit through it again to find out.)
Also, how the hell do zombie people domesticate zombie dogs?
Yes, I know they aren't really 'zombies', but come on... they're basically zombies. :P
First of all... yes, the book is SO much better. The title of the work "I Am Legend" actually makes SENSE in the book.
As for the zombie... did you watch the alternate ending of the movie on the DVD? I thought they kind of explained it there. In any event, I preferred the alternate ending over the theatrical version... though it still pales in comparison to the book.
The Pursuit of Happiness was a bit shmaltzy
Brian... I totally got the impression that there was a relationship between the stick-head-out-and-burn zombie and captured-zombie. I assumed that was why burn-zombie wanted revenge against Neville. And yes, I thought that burn-zombie and plexi-smash-zombie were one and the same ;-)
Dave... You're kidding me right, there's an alternate ending? Ugh, and I mailed the effing DVD back today. BOLLOCKS! Will have to re-acquire DVD.
Sizzle... I dunno, I kind of liked The Pursuit of Happiness even if it was shmaltzy.