World War Z – I’m guessing “Z” stands for the Zombies – won’t be shown in Muslim countries any time soon. Anything positive about the Jews saving the world – gets banned. We hear a lot about Islamphobia but what we never hear about is the Muslim World’s Judeophobia. And Muslims eerily resemble the fictional Zombies the world is fighting against in this movie.

Joss Whedon is best known for his Buffyverse series that is really very good. This is an original take on the greatest writer who ever lived and most modern adaptations of Shakespeare leaves much to be desired. Whedon has surprised us here and his use of black and white photography is unusual – few films are ever made that way anymore.

Sofia Coppola is deservedly following in her famed father’s footsteps as a director. Our elites are spoiled, self-centered and keeping up with each other so the “The Bing Ring” is a marvelous expose of them. It reminds me of Fellini – “La Dolce Vita” comes to mind and between decadent Rome of the 1960s and the trashier America of the 21st Century, some things have simply gotten worse. Making a comedy about it was a smart move on her part.

NormanF on June 21, 2013 at 6:53 pm

Take a look at the series, “It Takes A Thief,” the reality show where a group of reformed thieves break into the target’s house effortlessly, then rework the security for them to make their house not worth the trouble any more.

Essentially, security on a house with no one present only creates a delay and a warning. If you’re in and out in ten minutes, the police won’t catch you in the act and it’s just a question as to if you were caught on camera or caught selling the stuff for cash.

I notice that Brad Pitt’s wearing the THOR hairstyle.

luagha on June 21, 2013 at 7:13 pm

Not that he’s the only person making this argument, but linguist John McWhorter has argued that anglophones understand Shakespeare less than our counterparts abroad because we bizarrely insist on subjecting ourselves to an obsolete dialect opaquely related to our own at the expense of comprehension. I’m wondering how well Whedon’s MAAN will do overseas as a result.

Robert on June 21, 2013 at 7:38 pm

Debbie, I did see WORLD WAR Z before your review came out. I do agree with you that this is an ok zombie apocalypse flick. However reading the book, when I compare them both, the movie is not good at all. I must admit in the scene of Israel where Israeli soldiers allowing all refugees including Muslims in to get away from the zombie plague was an eye opener because being Hollywood, I was expecting the Israelis acting as modern day Nazis toward the refugees including at the muslims. Like I said the movie is not bad as a stand alone but if you have read the book, you might be disappointed how the movie has taken extreme liberties from the book.

Mario on June 21, 2013 at 7:45 pm

Speaking of Israel, one of the stars of The Bling Ring is named Israel Broussard. I believe he comes from a religious Christian family, and that’s why he received that name. Cool name!

dee on June 21, 2013 at 8:58 pm

As for Monster’s University- As a Pixar movie, it’s pretty tepid. Still a good movie for the kids, but more of Pixar’s B game. While Monsters Inc set the bar high, this film didn’t succeed nearly as well as Toy Story 3. Aside from a few twists, the plot is pretty predictable and ho-hum; it borrows a bit from Revenge of the Nerds. While I normally love the shorts, The Blue Umbrella wasn’t a strong choice- Presto, One Man Band, and Day & Night were all heads and shoulders above this. One of Pixar’s bottom 4, which places it still amongst Disney’s top third.

Robert on June 22, 2013 at 12:03 am

If we Israelies knew of a zombie attack coming and told the world no one would listen anyways. I avoid any movie foreign or domestic that shows us any slight against us even if there is an Israeli hero as well. Facing Zombies is preferable over Palestinians any day – the Zombies you shoot on sight; The Pals will stab you in the back eventually.

fred on June 22, 2013 at 2:27 am

When I first heard the name ‘Bling Ring’ I just dismissed this film as lightweight, but when I hear that Sofia Coppola is the director, I realize what a mistake that is. In theme it sounds similar to her ‘Somewhere’, on the vapidity of the Hollywood celeb life. The emptiness of alienating modern life is a consistent theme in her films. And Bling Ring appears to continue in that tradition.

I had no idea that World War Z was so Israel centric or featured Israel at all. I’m like uh wow I guess. Since I haven’t seen the film, I have no idea whether the zombie motif and subtext here is anti or pro Israel or both. However it is worth remarking that one of the figurative meanings of ‘zombies’ is humanity as mindless automatons, non-thinking thugs, and dangerous ones at that. The surely unprecedented popularity of zombie films, books and art in our day and age may reflect on an unconscious recognition that we are living in the age of the zombie – mindless thuggery evinced most obviously but by no means exclusively with the Obama cult.

Now if this film portrayed the president and the White House as a zombie house of horrors that would be telling it as it is. And we do have dangerous zombies in Israel already, Shimon Peres is just one of them, the rest staff Ha’Aretz and the faculties of our universities, NGOs and ‘intellectual’ culture. That is they are liberal Jews (and not just in Israel of course). I have several zombies unfortunately in my family tree. Yes in Israel.

I’m curious though if one could perceive the zombies threatening Israel as representing Muslim fanatics? I mean why choose Israel as the epicenter here, I mean that can’t be meaningless given how charged the topic of Israel is whatever one’s political beliefs… Or do the zombies signify something else, other than Muslim fanatics that is? It would be worth looking into the political beliefs of the author of the book… Well what do I discover in a minute via google! The author of the book (of which I know less than nothing) is Max Brooks, the son of Mel Brooks, one of America’s most well-known Jewish comedians (and a Jewish comedian in the best sense of the word). His mother is the actress Anne Bancroft, not Jewish btw. So technically Brooks is not Jewish (according to Jewish law), and yet he is half-Jewish in a sense.

Of course this tells us nothing, when it comes to anti-Israelism, Jewish writers and filmmakers and artists are among the worst offenders (including half-Jewish characters). Yet Jewish writers and half-Jewish writers are of course also often enough the biggest defenders of Israel and anti-dhimmis. What kind is Max Brooks? I don’t really know Mel Brooks’s politics, but they may be more sensible than standard Hollywood Jewish Leftism. Brooks fought at Normandy you know, with the US army.

Anyway my interest in the film is piqued. Normally I cannot stand all this vampire and zombie stuff, although there are exceptions to both.

Larry in Tel Aviv on June 22, 2013 at 4:02 am

I saw “World War Z” and liked it. I’m usually no particular fan of zombie movies (unless they involve some twist in the plot, as “Warm Bodies” did). This one was pretty entertaining, though. First of all, the zombies were genuinely scary to me. They ran VERY fast, and in coordinated throngs. Also, the zombies contorted their bodies in extreme ways. Finally, they shrieked out unearthly sounds. These were like no zombies I’d ever seen or heard.

There was no gore in the film: that was a plus.

The production values were fantastic. 200 million was invested in this film, and it shows.

One part of the story that was slightly humorous was that these zombies were attracted to noise rather than smell as they usually are. If you wanted to slip by them, all you needed to do was to be quiet. Unfortunately, there’s a bumbler in every group, and this always alerts the zombies.

Max Brooks’s original novel (upon which this film was based) was admired for its global perspective. He tries to give an answer to this question: “If a catastrophic epidemic broke out (of any kind, zombie or otherwise), which countries would fare best?” Brooks speculates that countries which put a premium on freedom (like the U.S.) would do the worst, but that N. Korea, because it’s totalitarian, would do best, because they could mobilize and quarantine the masses without difficulty (and part of the movie does take place in Korea, just as in the book). Israel, Brooks speculates, would do pretty well also because they’ve built a huge wall and could keep outsiders from contaminating the group inside. However, the producers decided to show Israel in a positive light rather than controversial one, so they have the country allowing Arabs in during the crisis.

Burke on June 22, 2013 at 9:32 am

The best zombie/vampire movie I’ve seen, maybe ever, is The Revenant. It’s insane, grotesque, funny, outrageous, absurd, etc., etc., etc.

Muslims are the real zombie apocalypse. I think maybe at some deep level, which Hollywood became unaware of decades ago, the zombie movies are trying to tell us as much.

Pray Hard on June 22, 2013 at 12:06 pm

If I really wanted to be critical of “World War Z,” I would say something about the fact that the hero of the film, played by perfect Brad Pitt, is a U.N. worker. Debbie pointed this out also (as usual, noting the way seemingly trivial incidents and details have larger significance).

There are a lot of resemblances of this film to Steven Soderbergh’s fairly recent “Contagion.” “Contagion” is another film, like this one, that on the surface appears innocent enough, which is odd because Soderbergh is one of the most ideological of hardcore leftists in Hollywood. Manhola Dargis over at the NY Times pointed out something about “Contagion,” though, that I noticed myself: It’s an “advertisement for big government” (all the heroes and helpers in “Contagion” are over at Atlanta’s CDC, while the villain is a self-promoting and unregulated entrepreneur working off the Internet). All that is likewise true with this film, in regard to WHO (which is showcased in big letters even more noticeably than the product placement Pepsi drinks), the U.N., and government in general. Apparently, big government is only evil and corrupt when it involves our Defense Department.

Crusading liberal journalists and caring social workers will always be standard heroes in Hollywood movies, but maybe now world government workers will start being used more as acceptable replacements.

Burke on June 22, 2013 at 12:18 pm

Your take on the “The Bling Ring” and rating takes me from maybe seeing to definitely seeing it.

Jackie101 on June 22, 2013 at 12:52 pm

As an avid fan of World War Z, I’ll point out that the “Israel allowing the Palestinians in” is taken from the book. In fact, Israel allowed pretty much anyone in who could make it in time, Arab or Jew. The premise was that Israel realized it was going to be facing a zombie apocalypse, it would need all the warm bodies it could get.

Note also in the book Israel *did* warn the US. The warnings were ignored by the US government because it didn’t tally up with what the CIA was seeing (and the CIA failed to put the pieces together). They imply this in the movie (the speech about the “tenth man having a duty to disagree”–one of my favorite speeches in the movie, because it’s accurate), but never come out and say it.

All in all, I think Debbie called it. It’s a fun movie, but it’s not five stars. It is nice seeing Israeli soldiers being depicted as heroic and smart–I think not seeing the Heyl Ha’avir working over the zombie hordes was from a lack of CGI money, not any political reason. Note that, aside from a blink-and-you-miss-it shot of A-10s, the USAF doesn’t make an appearance either (and when it does, it’s using *Russian* equipment!).

sentinel28a on June 23, 2013 at 3:49 pm

OK, I watched WW Zerostan courtesy of my allahu akbar Saudi “friends”.

No, no sorry. Human nature is not nescessarily antithetical to stupidity or weakness simply by being virtue of being human nature.
A Trojan horse remains a Trojan horse remains a trojan horse no matter how many sentimental Hollywood BS coats of paint you give it.

Funny how the one Jewish person Matt Damon – sorry Brad Pitt with better hair saves for his 911 rewrite is the one person who could have destroyed the world if he wasn’t the hero he always tried so hard not to be.

Then what what do we get for the grand finale. The ultimate liberal dream. He’ll infect the host by making himself invisible to the host.
How do you do that?
Use your imagination it’s easy if you try.
Just pretend to be an innocuous version of the host and infiltrate.
You lose libtards.
Only Hollywood could produce a movie this stupid.
And by the way isn’t there anything better than the Zombie genre to infect a whole new generation of movie going popcorn retards with the “imaginative” liberal mindset?
Guess not.

5* betrayed and violated Gaddafis 🙂 5* George Clooneys 😉 5* Jon (who’s laughing now dipshit?) Liebowitzs 😉

Oh, sorry did I forget to kiss your Hollywood ass?

migraine boy on June 23, 2013 at 6:46 pm

*simply by being virtue of human nature*

I don’t care about the rest of this garbage because a Shakespearean play in a contemporary setting no matter how true to the original dialogue is the ultimate contemporary cliché for retards who need a crash course in what Shakespeare is supposed to mean to contemporary retards.

migraine boy on June 23, 2013 at 6:55 pm

Retards

migraine boy on June 23, 2013 at 6:57 pm

Hasn’t it struck everyone that the Zombies are a metaphor for Muslims – once you’re infected you become a rabid dog, infecting others and destroying civilization.

george on June 24, 2013 at 7:47 am

I watched “Monster University.” I liked it. I hope you review it soon. You’d like it.

Ghostwriter on June 24, 2013 at 3:13 pm

wow deb, 3 positive reviews, is that a record?

Dave on June 25, 2013 at 8:19 pm

Re: “Much Ado About Nothing”:

Why would black-and-white film and archaic dialogue make it difficult to work out who is whom? Unless you watched the film blindfolded…

Black-and-white cinematography doesn’t necessarily denote the director going for an “old” feel to the film. Black-and-white can be used to express many other things (moodiness, a dream-like state, etc). Let’s not forget that they didn’t even HAVE photography back in the time if The Bard. Now, a film such as “The Artist” set in the 1920s using B&W photography? That’s different.

Re: “The Bling Ring”:

I’m no advocate of a certain overexposed hotel heiress (I can’t even bring myself to type her name), but what you’re forgetting is just that–she is an HEIRESS. Her family acquired wealth the old-fashioned capitalist way, remember? It’s HER family’s money, THEY can do with it as they please. If they want to let her visit extravagant parties, make porno videos, and basically do bugger all…well, is that your business?

Debbie, if YOUR parents, grandparents, et al made a mint in the hotel racket, and you grew up living a fairytale princess life, I bet you wouldn’t complain, either.

I never thought I’d see the day when Debbie would read like such an ardent socialist. Celebrities with too much money…gee, I bet that REALLY upsets your capitalist-individualist mindset. Nevermind that it’s people like yourself who purchase the products that these overpaid celebs shill, thus keeping them in business. Ever stayed at the Hilton, Debbie? You’re part of the problem.

Mark on July 24, 2013 at 9:38 am