I caught up to World War Z (2013) last night, courtesy of Netflix. It features this neat quote, delivered by a young scientist, which is the crux of the film: “Mother Nature is a serial killer. No one's better. More creative. Like all serial killers, she can't help the urge to want to get caught. But what good are all those brilliant crimes if no one takes the credit? So she leaves crumbs…” Brad Pitt stars as a former U.N. investigator brought out of retirement to find the crumbs. I’ve been avoiding movies and TV shows on the mafia, serial killers, vampires and zombies the past few years. There are too many of them. WWZ had such good word of mouth and a few good reviews that I decided to give it a shot. I’m glad I did. It’s fast moving, exciting, chock full of great effects, a good, if familiar, story, and it comes in under two hours. Does it bring anything new to the genre? Not much, but it is wise in that it minimizes gore. It is more sci-fi than horror. Most of the cast was unfamiliar to me. David Morse appears briefly in the type of off-beat role he has come to master. Matthew Fox is also on hand, and I’m embarrassed to say I didn’t recognize him as a grimy soldier. The flick was produced on a budget of 190 million and earned 200 million in the U.S. alone. It was director Marc Foster’s eleventh work. His track record is impressive: Monster’s Ball (2001) and The Kite Runner (2007) are other highlights. He also did Quantum of Solace (2008), which I didn’t like and now wonder if I should revisit. On a scale of five, I rate World War Z, F for fun. If it has broader meaning, it escapes me. The 877 users who reviewed it at IMDb forge to a consensus of 7.1 of ten. The film is adapted from the novel by Max Brooks.
Here are appropriate words from Lennon/McCartney for me today:
“Give me your answer, fill in a form
Mine for evermore
Will you still need me, will you still feed me,
When I'm sixty-four.”
I had a nice birthday at the floating book shop, despite not selling one book in Russia for a change. The second best possibility occurred -- I sold a copy of Beautiful Experiment by my literary angel, Victoria/January Valentine. I hope it brightens her day. She is going through a brutal family medical issue. A young woman purchased three works by black authors and a Hebrew alphabet guide for kids. And Steve, the poet laureate of Sheepshead Bay, bought a 12 disc audio of Tony Blair's memoir. Thanks, folks. And also to Sue-Ellen, who provided some entertainment. I heard a female yelling at someone to "Move your car!" I took a gander and she looked at me as if to say: Do you believe this guy? I assume his English was faulty or he didn't believe she'd get her tiny Smart car into the space. It fit like a foot in a shoe. I later gave her a round of applause and she bowed. I doubt she yells at her students at Kingsborough CC like that.
Vic's 4th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/bszwlxh
Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic's Website: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic's Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic's Horror Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3
Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp
Vic’s Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx
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