Zombie Discrimination

I FINALLY GOT TO SEE WORLD WAR Z!

I don't think I've been this excited about a movie release in years. I'm not even sure what I could compare it to. Zombies + Brad Pitt = are you freaking kidding me? Thankfully, the movie delivered just what it promised, and was amazing.

I just want to take a minute to address the zombie discrimination I've been witnessing. Many of the die-hard zombie fans have been against this movie from the start, as they say zombies are "supposed to be" painfully slow moving. While I consider myself a ginormous fan of all undead things animated, I was very open to the idea of them being raging fast. Anyone who has read The Day Zombies Ruined My Perfectly Boring Life knows I'm not a purist. We've been given these amazing minds that are capable of creating different things. Why not use them?

Then again, I've always been a fan of non-traditional ideas when dealing with fantasy—zombies who can actually heal themselves with love, angels who don't have wings and can just move really fast, vampires who can walk in the daylight with a special ring, vampires who sparkle in the sunlight—okay wait, that one was taking it a bit too far even for me. But I think if we're dealing with creatures that don't actually exist, it's okay to go beyond the usual stereotypes. Plus the idea of zombies coming at you in a dead run makes the idea all the more frightening.

I'm not going to delve into the scientific reasons on why I think this could actually happen as (a) I find science painfully boring, and (b) science and I really don't get along so I couldn't do it even if I tried, but check out this article on Cracked.com to see why they think raging zombies are possible.

The only issue I had with the crazy-fast zombies in World War Z was the crazy-fast camera work that went along with them. While I get that the idea is to get you right in there so you're able to physically experience the anxiety of having a deadly human in your face, there were times I couldn't see anything. At all. And I think that's when the cinematic experience goes too far (think Cloverfield). Maybe one or two of these scenes would've done the trick without losing site of the leading man, and requiring a heaping dose of Dramamine.

Don't get me wrong—I'm not arguing that my side is right, and the purist are wrong. As I've said many times before, I'm glad there are people with different preferences, and think this world would be an extremely boring place if we were all the same. Bottom line, World War Z was extremely satisfying for this non-traditional, walking corpse fan.  Check out my full review of the movie on Two Chicks Blogging.

Why 'The Purge' is Disturbing on So Many Levels

Last week I got the chance to see the creeptastic thriller/horror flick, The Purge. And I can't understand why the reviews coming out for it are so bad. While it's a bit unconventional as far as horror movies go, it was original, and definitely did its job of freaking me out. There were major twists, and the ending was unexpected. The acting was top notch, especially from Rhys Wakefield who played the creepy AF stranger (pictured left).

The concept of a future in which crime (including murder) in the US is legal, however, was so disturbing that I left the movie thinking I hope like hell we're not that stupid as a nation to actually do something like this one day. The thought behind this purge is that it will allow people to rid themselves of hatred and violence, therefore creating a lower crime rate. I've also seen theories that suggest this purge also rids itself of the lower class, as they're too poor to afford a proper security system.

One of the most unsettling things about this flick was the way in which nearly everyone seemed okay with this purge, and even embraced it. The parents explain to their children why it's good for our country the way you would expect them to be explaining where babies came from. The daughter and her boyfriend see the neighbor sharpening a machete and say, "Looks like he's preparing for the the purge." The bitchy neighbor lady stops by with cookies, and says she won't be having a purge party this year as it becomes too much of a hassle. There are broadcasts on the TV in which a woman's voice pleasantly reminds the viewers why the purge is good.

As you can expect, this movie is filled with violence. At one point it reminded me of Helter Skelter and the Charles Manson family. There's a disconcerting scene in which the dad has the mom help to torture a person, and another troubling scene in which you see a parent pushed to their limit when their children are threatened. The family's morals are stretched to the limit, and even broken. This was literally me throughout the entire film:

Yet despite all of this, I enjoyed it. Really, it was just an adult's version of The Hunger Games. Does liking it make me crazy, or just extremely twisted? Has society pushed us so far that it takes extremely disturbing ideas to entertain us? I know this isn't true of everyone, as many people I've talked to said they will not be seeing this movie. But there are still a lot of us out there who really enjoy that kind of thing. And once again, it leaves me concerned for the future generations. What will come next?

Check out my full review of The Purge on Two Chicks and a Blog.

The Indie Bookshelf: Cheating Death by Jen Naumann

The Indie Bookshelf: Cheating Death by Jen Naumann: 4 Star Review by Laura Wilson

Celebrate the Small Things - June 7th

Happy Friday! Once again I'm going to list off the things I had to celebrate this week per the fabulous VikLit's Celebrate the Small Things blog hop. If you'd like to remind yourself of all the things life has to offer, sign up for the hop below.

Today I'm celebrating a very BIG thing, and that is my son's 11th birthday! Hard to believe that much time has passed already. Before I know it he's going to be taller than me with a deep voice and a gaggle of girls knocking on our door.

Career-wise, I'm celebrating the fact that I'm halfway done with the edits of the re-write on my first novel What I've Done! I have an amazing editor with the best ideas, and together we're making this story even better than before. Stay tuned for an updated release date.

I'm also celebrating the fact that I added nearly 10,000 words to my zombie sequel this week after signing up for JuNoWriMo. I knew it would be the motivation I needed to get past a major case of writer's block as the very first time I signed up for NaNoWriMo, I finished the first draft of What I've Done.

Hopefully by this time next week I'll be celebrating the fact that summer has finally arrived, my friends and family are all healthy, and we're done planting crops for the season. Keep your fingers crossed.

Fighting the Summer Blues

"What's this?" you ask. "But Jen, it's June! You should be enjoying the sunshine and time at the lake!"

Yeah, I'm well aware of that. I'm also sitting in a dark, rather depressing room at 2:30 on a Tuesday afternoon watching the rain pour down my windows. I don't ever remember it being so cold this late into the year (today's high is a whopping 60, although when I ran this morning it felt more like 40 with the wind chill).

This year we've only gone on one motorcycle (two days ago), and it chilled me to the bone so badly that I shivered under a pile of blankets for hours afterward. My husband has not been able to finish planting his corn, and he hasn't even started on beans (it's normal to be completely finished by the end of May). We don't have our boats out of storage, and most of our neighbors don't even have their docks out. I have yet to sit around a campfire and roast marshmallows with my kids. It's a travesty.

Welcome to Minnesota.

I'm looking for something to inspire me, something to lift my spirits. Normally I can count on riding the jet ski or the Harley to get inspiration, but both those options are out. The pile of books I have to read for my summer challenge are not beckoning to me, and the characters in my work in progress have lost their usual witty banter.

I don't think I've ever had to deal with a summertime depression before. Watching the feed from locals on my Facebook page, I don't think I'm the only one. If you have a suggestion on a favorite movie, book, YouTube video, or any other indoor activity that either inspires you or brings a smile to your face, feel free to share. Please.

Meanwhile, I'm going to go prod the characters in my zombie sequel, and see if I can get them to maybe give me a smile, or crack at least one joke.