Which Came First?

Doppelganger movies are one thing, but when a B movie turns into a big number 1 hit television series, that’s something else altogether. Just last year I became a HUGE fan of  The Walking Dead on AMC. Not since The Wire has a series captured my interest and the cast, my heart. I’m not sure if it’s because of the plot, the characters or the fact that it’s filmed in Georgia. Actually, I know the latter has a lot to do with it, but I don’t want to seem biased.

Now imagine my absolute excitement when I came across my new favorite movie. It was released in 2002 in the UK. I don’t think it was a big hit here in the US, but it is the cinematic cousin to The Walking Dead.

I was just sitting at home one Friday night, minding my own business. Not feeling like going out, not wanting to talk, noticing that nothing exciting was on TV to watch. So I go to my handy dandy On Demand selections (thanks to Xfinity) and a quick view of their free movie listings guided me to a little something called 28 Days Later. I read a brief description that noted the movie was about a man who wakes up in a hospital in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. BAM! Why, that sounds like my most favoritest cable series since The Wire!

The Walking Dead has my mind engrossed in the what-could-be world of zombieism and I LOVE IT. So when I watched 28, I immediately noticed the similarities between the movie and the series. Most notable are:
• Man wakes up in Hospital during the middle of a zombie apocalypse.
• Strangers rescue him and tell him what’s going on
• Serena has machete that she uses to slay the zombies and does not hesitate to kill a friend who may be infected
• They meet a father and daughter, daughter wears baseball cap all the time
• They follow a recording that declares safety, and have to go through a tunnel to get there – there is a big blockade in the tunnel that slows them down
• Views of the empty highway
• Horses running within a fence
• The "Who have you killed" questions.

 I’m not sure which came first, the movie, the comics or the series, but I love them all. I would recommend the movie to anyone who loves the series. You may notice even more similarities than I did. So Let’s Discuss!

DoppelMovies

I love to hate doppelganger movies, “doppelmovies” – two or more different movies that have the same plot, theme, and feel, but different actors and settings. . .supposedly. Essentially the movies are the same, but different.

Pacific Rim was a pretty good futuristic sci-fi movie that could have you on the edge of your seat. Atlantic Rim wasn’t as popular in the theaters, if it was ever in theaters to begin with. The plot was the same, there was action, hope for the heroes, but something was missing. Could it have been the cast? All I know is that the sound could have gone out while I was watching Pacific Rim, but as long as I could see Idris Elba, it was a good movie to me. Atlantic Rim didn’t have any big draw stars to speak of. Certainly no one as charismatic and just all around sexy as Idris. But honestly, star ranking shouldn’t matter if a movie is well written and directed. I can’t put my finger on what went wrong on the Atlantic side, but maybe they should have left the West coast alone.

Another mirrored movie duo that aroused my interest was Antz vs. A Bugs Life. These were released back in the day and occurred among the Dreamworks vs. Disney era, when they seemed to be at war with each other. Thankfully, they overcame their differences and have each cranked out some great movies since then.

Dark City is a movie I just happened upon one night. And all the while I was watching it, I kept thinking, “This is kind of like The Matrix.” The darkness of Dark City was due to the sun being blocked out by the aliens who wanted to take over the world. The darkness in The Matrix was due to civilization being forced to live underground by the aliens who wanted to take over the world. The star character in Dark City, John Murdock, couldn’t remember his name. The main character in The Matrix, Neo, hated to be called by his real world name, Mr. Anderson. Oh yeah, one definite stand out in similarities is that in both movies, all the aliens look exactly alike. Maybe that’s how it is in real life. I wouldn’t know. I have as of yet to meet any outer-spacians. But I hope that they would be more creative than to have their entire species look the same. How boring would that be? Very.

Anyway, you would think that with all this technology, with all the wonderful WRITING TALENT available in this country alone, SOMEONE could come up with something new and exciting. I happen to have new and fresh ideas just in case anyone is interested (insert shameless self plug here). But until I’m discovered, I guess we all will just have to keep sitting through rehashed, revisited, sequelized movies.

Don't Hate Ender's Game

During a book club meeting in 2013, we were introduced to Ender’s Game. At the time, the movie was about six months from coming to theaters. After review and critique, we found that while both were intriguing and entertaining, but as often is the case, the book was better than the movie. Maybe because it allows for each person to use their own imagination and make the read their own. Or maybe movies just leave out too many details. Who would ever think that a young, supposedly inept and frail man child such as Ender Wiggins would ever be chosen to be on a team training for the biggest battle of mankind. Go figure. I was excited about it because I always root for the underdog. The story line is engaging and encouraging because Ender represents the insecure kid in all of us. We all have potential to do whatever our heart desires, to live out our wildest dreams. But outside forces, self doubt and unfortunate circumstances get in the way. Once we start to believe in ourselves, that we can do anything, then we CAN do anything, just like Ender. Thank you Ender. This was a case where we didn’t hate the player, or the game.