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Betrayal
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Play It As It Lays
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The Outfit
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Alex in Wonderland
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The Legend of Lylah Clare
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In The Cool of the Day
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That Cold Day in the Park
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The Fox
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Thumb Trippin'
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At Long Last Love
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Mike's Murder
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Run of the Arrow
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House of Secrets
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Five Gates to Hell
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A Thousand Clowns
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You're a Big Boy Now
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I Never Sang for My Father
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Sometimes a Great Notion
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Marriage of a Young Stockbroker
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'Doc'
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The Last Movie
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Love and Pain and the Whole Damn Thing
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Man on a Swing
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Open Season
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Looking for Mr. Goodbar
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Players
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Rich Kids
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When You Comin' Back Red Ryder?
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Simon
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God's Angry Man
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Twice Upon a Time
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Trouble in Mind
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When the Wind Blows
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Housekeeping
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The Glass Menagerie
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Patty Hearst
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Running on Empty
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Drowning by Numbers
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Haunted Summer
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The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years
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Old Times
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Prospero's Books
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City of Hope
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King of the Hill
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Dadetown
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SubUrbia
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Upcoming

July 30

Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore

Charlie St. Cloud

The Concert

Dinner for Shmucks

The Dry Land

The Extra Man

Get Low

Helen

Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel

Smash His Camera

What's the Matter with Kansas?

Who Killed Nancy

Zombie Wig Blender

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I haven't time to review Ruben Fleischer's Zombieland (opening tomorrow), but it's better than Dennis Harvey's Variety review indicated. I was basically pleased, amused and never bored for the first 45 or 50 minutes, and then came the Bill Murray Beverly Hills mansion sequence and I was flat-out blown away. For this sequence alone the movie must be seen, although generally speaking it's an engaging zombie comedy with dabs of a marginal Wes Anderson attitude-personality. All to the good. I'll amplify later today.

Call From Zurich<< previous | next >>Lying Around?

Posted by Jeffrey Wells on October 1, 2009 at 5:13 AM

comment #1

Erik Childress says ...

TAKE DOWN THAT SPOILER BEFORE YOU RUIN THE SURPRISE FOR EVERYONE!!!

Posted by Erik Childress at October 1, 2009 5:32 AM

comment #2

Josh Massey says ...

I'd be curious to know if Murray is in Zombieland only because he happened to be filming a movie in Atlanta at the same time.

Posted by Josh Massey at October 1, 2009 5:36 AM

comment #3

Josh Massey says ...

Yeah, either way, I'm glad to know Murray is in it. I would have hated to be surprised by that. (Nah, I get it. I mean, the movie is almost out. Everybody should have seen it by now).

Posted by Josh Massey at October 1, 2009 5:40 AM

comment #4

Erik Childress says ...

As I wrote in my review, Josh

"Again - DO NOT GO TO IMDB.COM - and anyone who dares spoils it should be treated just like one of the film's zombies even if they don't have a brain."

Posted by Erik Childress at October 1, 2009 5:47 AM

comment #5

mitchtaylor says ...

Fuck fuck fuck fuck.

Posted by mitchtaylor at October 1, 2009 6:02 AM

comment #6

Rich S. says ...

To be fair, Roger Ebert goes even farther than Jeffrey in his review. Doesn't make the spoiler right, but more widely-read outlets than Jeffrey are also doing it.

I had deliberately avoided reviews of this film because I'd heard there was a major surprise in it. I had heard rumors of Murray's involvement, but not how he was involved. Ebert totally blows that out of the water.

Posted by Rich S. at October 1, 2009 6:21 AM

comment #7

Ryansi51 says ...

Seriously, that's a spoiler, that Bill Murray is in it?? only makes me want to watch it more.

y'all are a bunch of crybabies.

Posted by Ryansi51 at October 1, 2009 6:24 AM

comment #8

snoop says ...

The thought that anyone who frequents movie sites in any fashion could have been surprised by this cameo to begin with is just silly. They've been pulicizing his cameo for months.

Murray's appearance will be a surprise for most general movie fans who only hear about movies through TV commercials and subway ads, but that's certainly not Jeff's audience.

Knowing about the cameo doesn't make the scene any less great (we're not talking aobut the sixth sense ending here). I've known for months, but I still loved the sequence.To me the big spoiler isn't that he's in it, but that he....

(poiler alert for anyone who didn't pick up on it in Jeff's post)

...plays himself (which everyone seems to be spoiling when all they should be saying is Bill Murray shows up and steals the film).

Posted by snoop at October 1, 2009 6:49 AM

comment #9

actionman says ...

the yummy amber heard is in this movie

Posted by actionman at October 1, 2009 6:53 AM

comment #10

Josh Massey says ...

Murray should have played Ernie McCracken again.

Posted by Josh Massey at October 1, 2009 6:55 AM

comment #11

MikeSchaeferSF says ...

Never mind the spoiler, Ebert actually writes: "who would have guessed such a funny movie as "Zombieland" could be made around zombies?" Er, he never saw Shaun of the Dead?

Posted by MikeSchaeferSF at October 1, 2009 7:16 AM

comment #12

actionman says ...

shaun of the dead was only a'ight

Posted by actionman at October 1, 2009 7:26 AM

comment #13

Rich S. says ...

Josh,

Never thought of that. If Murray played McCracken, then Harrelson could have played Tallahassee with a metal hook and rubber hand.

Posted by Rich S. at October 1, 2009 7:50 AM

comment #14

bildeaux says ...

At the Q&A the director said they had someone else to play that cameo but it fell through and Woody called up his friend Bill and he said he would do it. Pretty cool. I think I remember that right.

Posted by bildeaux at October 1, 2009 7:58 AM

comment #15

bildeaux says ...

Oh, yeah, stick around after the credits for even more cameo goodness.

Posted by bildeaux at October 1, 2009 7:59 AM

comment #16

Kristopher Tapley says ...

Thanks a lot fucker.

Posted by Kristopher Tapley at October 1, 2009 9:09 AM

comment #17

DeeZee says ...

I'll probably catch it, but I really wanna give that re-mastered version of Rashomon @ the Nuart a whirl, too, especially since I never seen it the first time.

But, anyway, if Murray can do Zombieland, what's been holdin' his arse up for Ghostbusters 3 all these years....?

Posted by DeeZee at October 1, 2009 9:17 AM

comment #18

actionman says ...

money and desire, probably...

Posted by actionman at October 1, 2009 9:30 AM

comment #19

goony says ...

http://www.media-party.com/mp/2009/09/movie-review-zombieland.html

Posted by goony at October 1, 2009 9:37 AM

comment #20

mtgilchrist says ...

seriously you should take that down, jeff. i fucking love the movie and the sequence in question but i haven't told anybody because it's just amazing, and really should be able to be enjoyed without it being spoiled.

Posted by mtgilchrist at October 1, 2009 9:59 AM

comment #21

JD says ...

The idiotic spoiler Jeff includes above really is the best part of the movie... precisely because it's a surprise. By revealing it here Jeff, you are preventing your readers from having the experience you had. Very egotistical, arrogant move. You'd rather appear to be in-the-know and above-it-all than respect your loyal readers. Lame.

Posted by JD at October 1, 2009 10:02 AM

comment #22

Ghost072 says ...

Wait a minute...The Sixth Sense has a surprise ending? You fucker!

Posted by Ghost072 at October 1, 2009 10:21 AM

comment #23

dangovich says ...

Come on people. Once you find out Bill Murray's in the movie, isn't it pretty obvious?

Posted by dangovich at October 1, 2009 10:23 AM

comment #24

mtgilchrist says ...

no, dangovich.

Posted by mtgilchrist at October 1, 2009 10:37 AM

comment #25

YND says ...

@Snoop -- I'm on movie sites pretty much all day every day and hadn't run across anything more specific than the fact the ZOMBIELAND *had* a cameo.

I've never whined about spoilers on here before, but I do wish I'd been able to see the movie this weekend without knowing about this ahead of time.

Jeff, did you know about Murray's involvement before you saw it? Or was the surprise part of the fun?

Posted by YND at October 1, 2009 10:53 AM

comment #26

bildeaux says ...

The surprise is part of the fun, but I knew going in as well and it is still a great couple of scenes.

He also hasn't spoiled all of the surprise either.

Posted by bildeaux at October 1, 2009 11:41 AM

comment #27

Rich S. says ...

I don't think the spoiler is necessarily knowing Murray is in it, but rather his role. As such, stay completely away from Ebert's review.

Posted by Rich S. at October 1, 2009 11:43 AM

comment #28

Billy Pilgrim says ...

Crap, I knew there was a surprise cameo, but I have been able to avoid it thus far. I didn't think Zombieland would hit Jeff's radar, so I thought I would be safe here.

I'm a pretty avid horror fan, and even a couple of podcasts I listen to did not reveal who the cameo was.

Oh well, I'm still looking forward to seeing it!

Posted by Billy Pilgrim at October 1, 2009 12:22 PM

comment #29

SnarfTheFierce says ...

Typical Jeff. I'd wager it was a purposeful shot at the many, many people who dared take a moral stance opposite his regarding Polanski. Note how he has yet to take it down, many hours and irate posts later.

I was--still am--looking forward to Zombieland, and, like most reasonable people, love both Bill Murray and the well-executed surprise cameo. Jeff, of course, loves petty vendettas and self-righteousness.

Posted by SnarfTheFierce at October 1, 2009 12:28 PM

comment #30

DeeZee says ...

Snarf: I'm guessing Jeff thought that no one watches these flicks for the stories, so spoilers wouldn't mean anything.

Posted by DeeZee at October 1, 2009 12:42 PM

comment #31

Gordon27 says ...

"The thought that anyone who frequents movie sites in any fashion could have been surprised by this cameo to begin with is just silly. They've been pulicizing his cameo for months. "

If Jeff didn't have a history of deliberately, smugly spoiling genuinely great surprises in films (and even TV, but not as much) over the last several years, you might have a point. But he does, and this is just another example of it.

Posted by Gordon27 at October 1, 2009 3:08 PM

comment #32

Deathtongue_Groupie says ...

How hard is it for some you to understand that not everyone wants to know every damn plot point of a movie before spending $12 to see it?

A good cameo by it's very fucking definition is a surprise.

Jeff's had some shit-head spoilers up before, usually about films long out on DVD, but this one takes the cake. Is it any wonder he got his ass tossed out of his sublet for more less prick moves like this one?

Yet another classic Jeff Wells fuck you and kiss my ass moment on HE. And in the next year he will be bitching about some junket or screening he wasn't invited to by Sony, wondering why.

Then again, once you start making excuses for child rape...

Posted by Deathtongue_Groupie at October 1, 2009 5:15 PM

comment #33

EnglishBob says ...

Now the I already know Murray has a cameo in this, could someone please tell me why it's "obvious?" I feel like I'm missing some movie connection here...

Posted by EnglishBob at October 1, 2009 5:21 PM

comment #34

EnglishBob says ...

the=that

Posted by EnglishBob at October 1, 2009 5:22 PM

comment #35

LYT says ...

EnglishBob, I think the "obvious" comment refers to the fact that if you know Murray is in the movie, you can deduce that he is the surprise celebrity cameo mentioned in reviews.

Posted by LYT at October 1, 2009 5:28 PM

comment #36

LexG says ...

AMBER HEARD = One of the hottest women ever, maybe fourth on my list now after Fox, K-Stew and Jessica Biel.

Also, hasn't this cameo been spoiled elsewhere a trillion times over? Seems like I heard about it months ago, and not here.

Posted by LexG at October 1, 2009 5:53 PM

comment #37

mtgilchrist says ...

the solution to this was probably somebody who has wells' private email sending him a private note about it. once wells does something here, if you question it too much, or too many people agree on an opposing viewpoint, he'll just dig his heels in and not change or concede that the original thought/ post/ decision might have been inappropriate, thoughtless, insensitive, or even reflective of the nuances of what he actually thinks. ironically, i suspect wells is significantly more sensitive, considerate, or even just receptive than the posts on his site would seem to suggest, but i guess when you're a webmaster with a loyal readership, there's a greater currency in sticking to your guns and being an authoritative voice than being one that could be considered wishy-washy.

Posted by mtgilchrist at October 1, 2009 7:19 PM

comment #38

EnglishBob says ...

LYT,

Thanks; that makes sense.

Posted by EnglishBob at October 1, 2009 7:27 PM

comment #39

Polanski Raped A Child says ...

God damn it, Jeff! Every other critic I've read left it at "surprise celebrity cameo!"

But you have to spoil who it is on your front page, listing the actors name in BOLD!

FUCK. YOU.

Posted by Polanski Raped A Child at October 2, 2009 4:26 AM

comment #40

Floyd Thursby says ...

Meanwhile, Wells' dear friend Dargis hates the movie.

Posted by Floyd Thursby at October 2, 2009 8:09 AM

comment #41

Doug says ...

Jeff, you've done it again.
If you can't help yourself from giving away secrets, at least put SPOILER in bold print, and the secret in regular print. You've got to give people a choice or we'll all have to read your site as an archive.

Posted by Doug at October 4, 2009 6:38 PM

comment #42

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