Dawn of the Dead's Recent Activity - Spout

Film:Dawn of the Dead

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 06:45:22 GMT

Title: Dawn of the Dead
Year: 2003
Director: Zack Snyder
Plot: The feature-film debut of director Zack Snyder, Dawn of the Dead is a modern retelling of George Romero's 1979 horror classic, which was actually the second film in a trilogy that began with Night of the Living Dead and concluded with Day of the Dead. Sarah Polley and Ving Rhames star as two of the last remaining people on an earth that has been ravaged by flesh-eating zombies. After escaping to a shopping mall with a handful of other survivors, they decide that they only way to truly elude the approaching throng of undead is to somehow make their way to an island that is supposedly zombie-free. Jake Weber and Mekhi Phifer also star. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
Times Tagged: 35
Number of Lists: 83
Number of blog posts: 8
Number of discussion threads: 9
SpoutRating: 3

Spout Post: Weekly Theme for July 6: The Song...

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 05:59:50 GMT

Post By: leeroy711
Post To: Weekly Theme
Post Date: 7/7/2009 1:59:50 AM
Body: This week I'd just like to talk about your favorite use of any particular song in a film.. Here's a couple of my faves.. The first is the opening scene to Lock, Stock and Two Smokin' Barrels.. The Song is "Hundred Mile High City" by Ocean Colour Scene... ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ I also really loved hearing Jim Carrol's "People Who Died" at the end of Zach Snyder's Dawn of the Dead remake. I could probably come up with a dozen more from people like Tarentino and Wes but I'm a bit short on time at the moment so I'll chime in again a bit later. Let's here from the rest of you...

Spout Post: Very violent, but certainly not for everybody

Fri, 08 May 2009 04:33:08 GMT

Post By: The_MOW
Post To: The_MOW Blog
Post Date: 5/8/2009 12:33:08 AM
Body: A group of people from various walks of life are trapped in a huge shopping mall as a strange, unknown (and unexplained in the movie) virus turns all outside the mall into the walking dead -- or zombies. This movie is one of the most graphic, violent movies I have seen in areal long time. They show you just about everything when it comes to the destruction of the zombies. It is not for the weak of heart. The special effects, and make-up effects are incredible. I have a feeling that when it first came out, it made a good chunk of the audience squirm in their theater seats. They spent a lot of money on the special effects and make-up, and that's a good thing for a movie of this kind. You can pretty much tell who will make it to the closing credits at the end of the movie because those people have the most development. Some have very little development, and are killed early on, while others make it to about three-quarters of the way through. Another thing that this movie does well is the action. When the zombies attack, there is no time for the characters they are after or the audience to breathe. A good chunk of the movie takes place in the shopping mall, with the zombies trying to break in to get to the main cast, so there isn't action every five minutes. The development of the main cast was pretty good. It wasn't perfect, but you understood each character's motives as the movie went on. One of the things I didn't like was the "Andy" (Bruce Bohne) character. He spent most of the movie on the roof of a building near the shopping mall, and communicated with the main cast through a magic marker board. If you ask me, this character was not needed, as he did nothing for the movie. As for the soundtrack, it's all modern music with instrumental pieces used to enhance the scare factor, sometimes in a really good way. If you have a weak stomach, don't see this movie. And do not let young kids see this one. The violence factor is extreme and the imagery is even more graphic.

Spout Post: 10 Craziest Shopping Scenes

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 22:01:30 GMT

Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 11/26/2008 5:01:30 PM
Body: Black Friday is a scary time for shoppers in any given year. The crowds, the lines, the difficulty finding parking — all these and more are common annoyances on the day after Thanksgiving, as millions upon millions of Americans begin the Christmas season by making a run for the shopping malls and department stores in hopes of finding the best bargains. This year, of course, the economic downturn will make the day even worse than usual. The stores may be desperately holding the biggest sales we’ll ever witness, but lowest prices aren’t quite low enough for those who are broke or bankrupt. So, you may stay home this Friday. Perhaps you’ll at least make some minor online purchases, because you’re a patriotic, consuming American and it’s kind of like an unofficial holiday in our capitalist democracy. But don’t not go out to the mall simply because of the craziness potentially happening on its many floors of fashion and furnishings. You mustn’t be frightened of the crowds. Just recall any or all of the following ten movie scenes and by comparison you’ll think your Black Friday errands are like a stroll in the park. 10. Arnold Schwarzenegger vs. Sinbad in Jingle All the Way (1996) Maybe in the past there were physical fights for Cabbage Patch Kids or Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, but in the age of the Internet, there are easier ways of tracking down hot items on your kid’s wish list. So, while this sequence depicting two fathers’ desperate attempts to locate a Turbo Man toy is ridiculously exaggerated and despicably malicious for its time, it’s now even farther from likelihood and even less possible to sympathize with or relate to. 9. Beethoven shops for keyboards, Genghis Khan tries out baseball bats and other historical figures experience 1980s mall culture in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1988) Obviously you don’t think you’ll be running into such oldies as Abraham Lincoln, Joan of Arc or Billy the Kid, but there could be some relatively ancient folks out and about Friday. And they may not be familiar with such newfangled presents as iPods and Blu-ray. But give the Grannies a break, because they haven’t yet mastered Amazon.com and its not like they’re causing too much ruckus. Unlike Joan and Genghis. 8. Madison learns English at Bloomingdales in Splash (1984) Maybe it is plausible for a mermaid to pick up the local language by watching a few hours of television. How are we to prove otherwise? But wouldn’t she have some kind of an accent if she were used to communicating with high-pitched shrieks? Whatever, it’s obviously not the movie for such questions regarding believabilty. Here’s the more important thing to consider: of all the yelling and screaming going on at the shops this Friday, nothing will be as bad as Madison’s pronunciation of her real name. Also, I bet modern TV screens aren’t as easily shattered. 7. Neo-Nazi salesman at the Army Surplus store in Falling Down (1993) It’s true that many salespersons and cashiers are slow, rude, incompetent or all of the above. But thank goodness there aren’t actually a lot of sexist, homophobic neo-Nazis helping you as you buy shoes. As much as you think you’ve experienced the worst employee ever hired by a retail chain, chances are it wasn’t as much of an inconvenience as it was for William Foster (Michael Douglas) to have to deal with this “sick asshole.” 6. Technicolor fashion show in The Women (1939) This scene is so unnecessary to the film’s plot that it was easily removed for some modern screenings. Mostly it seems just to serve as a showcase for costume designer Adrian, whose fashions are displayed in Technicolor, while the rest of the film is presented in black and white. For the film’s characters to wear any of those outfits, they would have appeared too bold and sexy for their time (it would be like in Pleasantville). Imagine shopping in a store where the clothes aren’t even in the same color spectrum as the world you live in? Okay, in some stores it does seem like that’s the case, but nowhere near as bad as this. 5. Bizarre fashion show in True Stories (1986) And despite its dismissal of physics, the parade in The Women is nowhere near as bad as the fashion show in this bizarre film from Talking Heads frontman David Byrne. There’s not even anything that can be said for this scene other than that we should all be thankful the kids aren’t wearing anything quite so ridiculous. Even some of the stuff at Hot Topic seems more normal in comparison. 4. After hours shopping spree in Modern Times (1936) One great fantasy for all good, consumerist Americans is the empty-store scenario. Whether it’s the end of the world (a la Night of the Comet and 28 Days Later) or simply after hours (Mannequin; El Crimen Ferpecto), the dream is somewhat the same: free reign on all the goods in the store, from food to fashion to roller skates. And for a poor little gamin in Modern Times, it’s like a heavenly shopping spree, even if none of the items are to leave the department store when the fun is over. However, as much as you might hope you had the stores all to yourself on Friday, be thankful that you’re obeying the rules and laws and therefore won’t be arrested when the shopping’s done. 3. Mall car chase in The Blues Brothers (1980) Good thing there’s a quick shot of a Toys “R” Us customer asking a cashier for a Miss Piggy doll or this scene wouldn’t really have anything to do with shopping. It would just simply be a chaotic car chase through a shopping mall. Of course, the destruction could still read as a destroying of the idea of capitalism, just as a similar reading is made about the mall fight in Jackie Chan’s Police Story, as well as any other such mall-set action scene, of which there seemed to be plenty in the materialistic 1980s. As fun as it seems, and as frustrated you might get on Friday, please don’t drive your car into any stores. 2. Zombies go shopping in Dawn of the Dead (1978) This movie is not just some horror flick about people trapped in a mall, threatened by a terrorizing enemy. That’s Chopping Mall. Or the Dawn of the Dead remake. No, this is a satire of consumerism, and all those zombies are representative of the folks you’ll be encountering on Black Friday. But at least they won’t try and eat you. Probably. 1. Richard Pryor is reduced to property in The Toy (1982) Kids are really spoiled these days, even more than they were twenty-six years ago, but no matter how hard it is to imagine what to get the boy who has everything, don’t even think of asking an African-American man if you can buy him for your son. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog

Spout Post: Comic-Con 2008: Watchmen dir. Zack Snyder Attempts to Assuage My Fear that the Movie Will Suck

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 22:00:26 GMT

Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 7/26/2008 6:00:26 PM
Body: When the trailer for Watchmen hit the web a few weeks ago, I was as pumped as anyone. I’ve always been a fan of comics, but when I finished reading Alan Moore’s opus for the first time, I closed the back cover, starred into space, and solemnly said, “This changes everything.” Seriously, it’s that good. And the trailer looks good, it appears to be a faithful adaptation of the source material. The key word here is appears. The visuals are stunning, some sites even took the time to do shot by shot comparisons with the book. But I’m not worried at all about that, I’m more concerned with how the film will be edited. Like most comics/graphic novels, Watchmen is practically a story board waiting to be transformed into a film. But what made the book so revolutionary was not the art, it was the story, and the way the story was told. Watchmen is a dense web of complicated interconnected stories. Multiple generations of characters deal with epic personal, philosophical, and political struggles, all woven into one masterwork. Watchmen, the book, excels at the graphic novel version of cross-cutting. Several pages contain nine panels that are set up like a checkerboard, alternating between two separate stories that intimately inform one another, albeit across expanses of space and time. On the one hand, this seems like source material for a final-scene-of-The Godfather level of powerhouse editing. But on the other hand, it could just be a huge mess. After the jump, Snyder says why he feels up to the challenge… I asked director Zack Snyder to talk about the differences between adapting a work like 300, whose achievement is primarily visual, with Watchmen and its emphasis on narrative. He said, ”I feel like for me, movies are about perspective and point of view. When we did 300 I was trying to get at Frank [Miller]’s point of view, like what does he think, how does he feel?” He went on to say, “I love this idea of self awareness, you know, that all my movies have. I think there are some people that take 300 super heart attack serious … If you’ve seen Dawn of the Dead, and once you see Watchmen, I think if you go back and look at 300 it will change your point of view on that movie … I love 300, and it’s exactly the movie I wanted to make, but when people see it without understanding me, they feel like it’s purely visual. Which, you know, makes sense, but I feel like what I try to do is get at Frank, you know, get at what makes Frank tick, and what he’s about. And I think that was also true of Dawn of the Dead, for whatever reason, I’m a fan of George [Romero]’s and I wanted the movie to be a love letter to him more than a remake of his movie. So when we came to do Watchmen it was that same experience again. I was trying to figure out, what is it about Alan [Moore]’s work, what is it about this work that is individual. What is that perspective, what is that point of view?” I’m assuming what Snyder is talking about is the way Watchmen critiques the tropes of super hero mythology. Earlier in the same press conference he talked about how the world is finally ready for the film because so many other comic book films have been so successful, thereby building a set of assumptions about super heros that can now be critiqued. That’s great. But what still worries me is that the real key to Alan Moore’s “point of view” is that he’s just a freaking incredible story teller. And, as reported earlier, Moore has absolutely nothing to do with this film. I wish Zack Snyder the best of luck in editing the film, he’s going to need it. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog

Spout Post: Re:Who's your favorite horror movie character??

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 04:37:54 GMT

Post By: divinemsjunebug
Post To: HORROR MOVIES 101
Post Date: 6/5/2008 12:37:54 AM
Body: THAT's where I've seen her from, I thought she looked so familiar but I couldn't place her. [quote user="Risselada"] [quote user="divinemsjunebug"]I liked the girl too, she was just plane, matter of fact, etc. Yes, once the monsters dialog started, I was pretty hooked. I will have to check out more of his movies. [/quote] The actress is Sarah Polly. I bet you at least recognize her from the Dawn of the Dead remake. [/quote]

Spout Post: Re:Who's your favorite horror movie character??

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 17:49:02 GMT

Post By: Risselada
Post To: HORROR MOVIES 101
Post Date: 6/4/2008 1:49:02 PM
Body: [quote user="divinemsjunebug"]I liked the girl too, she was just plane, matter of fact, etc. Yes, once the monsters dialog started, I was pretty hooked. I will have to check out more of his movies. [/quote] The actress is Sarah Polly. I bet you at least recognize her from the Dawn of the Dead remake.

Spout Post: Great Expectations

Wed, 21 May 2008 03:18:05 GMT

Post By: Tenenbaums
Post To: Tenenbaums Blog
Post Date: 5/20/2008 11:18:05 PM
Body: For more than a year, I've done my best to avoid seeing "300." From the first time I saw its TV spot, Zach Snyder's movie gave me unavoidable unappealing vibes. They were the same vibes I get after seeing spliced highlights of a Jet Li or Jason Statham movie...or "War," the Li-Statham movie. The guaranteed superfluous action and skimpy screenplay would probably be fun, but with so many other titles available, such releases fall into oblivion, possibly to be passed over in the grocery store bargain bin 6 years down the road. I love graphic novels and I love graphic novels by "300" creator Frank Miller + their adapted films ("Sin City"), so what was it that convinced me to see this loud, dumb, overhyped movie? A graphic novel. Alan Moore's "Watchmen" is a towering achievement in the illustrated genre. The story of retired superheroes lured back into caped action is the most layered graphic novel I've experienced, and though I prefer Art Spiegelman's "Maus," Moore's work takes spandex to unprecedented levels of success. For his next film, Snyder is adapting "Watchmen." IMDB has a few pictures from the set, including the inspired casting of costumed Patrick Wilson ("Little Children"), Billy Crudup ("Almost Famous"), and Jackie Earle Haley ("Little Children"), and the sets are perfect comic-art hyperboles of city scenes. The material is there and the look is appealing, but what about the director? Though I've never seen it, Quentin Tarantino said that the first 20 minutes of Snyder's 2004 "Dawn of the Dead" remake was the best piece of filmmaking that year. Then in Spring 2007, the blue-screen-friendly "300" was a surprise commercial and quasi-critical hit. Make that a strong emphasis on the "quasi." The Miller-ized version of the Spartan warriors who refused to concede to Xerxes' Persian army owes too much of its feel to "Gladiator," yet has little of the Oscar winner's charm. Even the most intimate landscapes are overly computerized and the painful dialogue turns "Are you not entertained?" moments into B-movie messes. Though the fight scenes feature the most intriguing slow-mo outside of a slam-dunk contest, Snyder's movie opens itself to the kind of parody employed by "Meet The Spartans," becoming an unintentional comedy in itself. Fortunately, early signs of "Watchmen" appear bereft of such testosterone schlock, and with the expectations of filming a beloved work of literature, Snyder can hopefully put his "300" riches aside in the name of quality directing. If not, the graphic novel community will burn him.

Spout Post: Re:Top 31 Horror films of the past 31 years on The Naked Lunch Radio Show

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 19:34:19 GMT

Post By: Puhnner
Post To: HORROR MOVIES 101
Post Date: 2/11/2008 2:34:19 PM
Body: Here is my list, although it is a bit different in that the list allows only one Film from each of the 31 years, which believe me, limits the choices; for instance 1986: The FlyFrom BeyondHenry: Portrait of a Serial KillerThe HitcherInvaders from MarsManhunterNomadsVamp1987 is just as hardI am working on another one, which is just my 31 favorites regardless of how many a year. These choices listed, fit my definition of horror. They are horrifying and extremely unsettling, but may not be, in the strictest sense, horror. but well, here it is. Oh, I also did not not include the Alien films which although 'monster goes boo!', even though I love every one of them, fall somewhere in the realm of Science Fiction to me...enough gibberish, here it is:By the way, I want 'Mommie Dearest' to be No. 1, but that is another story.Years 1976 through 2007 ( the Spout year listings are a bit different than Wikipedia's which I used ) 31. 1984 A Nightmare on Elm Street 30. 1994 Natural Born Killers 29. 2004 Dawn of the Dead 28. 2003 Texas Chainsaw Massacre 27. 2005 Sin City 26. 1993 Army of Darkness 25. 1998 Fallen 24. 1983 Videodrome 23. 2006 Fido 22. 1996 The Frighteners 21. 2007 Zodiac 20. 2000 Crimson Rivers 19. 2001 Frailty 18. 2002 28 Days Later 17. 1990 Jacob’s Ladder 16. 1988 The Vanishing 15. 1995 Se7en 14. 1989 Shocker 13. 1976 The Tenant 12. 1977 Rabid 11. 1987 Hellraiser 10. 1985 Re-Animator 9. 1981 The Howling 8. 1979 Nosferatu 7. 1978 Halloween 6. 1986 The Hitcher 5. 1991 The Silence of the Lambs 4. 1982 The Thing 3. 1992 Twin Peaks Fire Walk with Me 2. 1997 Lost Highway 1. 1999 Audition

Spout Post: People Pulling Together Amidst Conflict

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 19:51:50 GMT

Post By: dan1loka
Post To: dan1loka Blog
Post Date: 1/11/2008 2:51:50 PM
Body: I thought that it was a compelling story of totally unrelated people working together for a common purpose - survival. A sad note is when the pregnant woman got infected and turned into a zombie as well as her child and then her husband got killed as well. Special effects were great. The ending was totally miserable for the participants who thought that they were escaping to freedom, but instead found that the infection had spread, including to their bait box on the boat. Ugh. The part about the sporting goods store guy looking over old movies of his wife and child was especially sad considering that they probably had gotten infected and came after him, whereupon he killed them. The remorse and grief with which he was stricken must have been unbearable. Yes, this is a fiction movie just the same. I felt empathy with the characters who would normally have gone about their regular business.

Spout Post: Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:'Tis the season...

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 23:29:33 GMT

Post By: Dr_Gor
Post To: HORROR MOVIES 101
Post Date: 10/29/2007 7:29:33 PM
Body: I find it quite fascinating that Return Of The Living Dead made it onto three of the lists above! (including my own!) What, exactly, is it about this movie that makes it so compelling? It is, obviously, more comedy than horror... in fact it is a parody of all the zombie movies to come before. It is (loosely) based on the NOTLD mythology, but quite ground-breaking in some respects. The fast-moving, agile zombies (WAY before 28 Days Later!) and the zombies ability to speak! ("BRAINS!") I've always had a bit of a problem with that last one because I know that you need to have at least three functional organs (4 counting a funtional mouth) to accomplish this including lungs, vocal-chords and a tongue... somebody correct me if I'm wrong... but most of the zombies I have ever seen, in THIS movie in particular, were obviously missing some, or all, of those particular organs. I don't know... if I had been in a more serious horror mood when I made my list, I could easily have replaced this movie with Frankenstein or The Haunting or The Legend Of Hell House or Halloween ... I guess it is because Return... is so much darn FUN! Any Monty Python fans here? You might know what I'm talking about... Some movies are just fun to watch! < GOR >

Spout Tag:awesome

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 22:23:33 GMT

awesome
Number of films tagged: 187

Number of people who tagged: 158

Number of times used: 291

Spout Tag:horror

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 16:38:30 GMT

horror
Number of films tagged: 260

Number of people who tagged: 110

Number of times used: 346

Spout Tag:violence

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 12:34:09 GMT

violence
Number of films tagged: 952

Number of people who tagged: 82

Number of times used: 240

Spout Tag:remake

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 22:39:44 GMT

remake
Number of films tagged: 156

Number of people who tagged: 71

Number of times used: 204

Spout Tag:zombie

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:55:30 GMT

zombie
Number of films tagged: 449

Number of people who tagged: 65

Number of times used: 152

Spout Tag:gore

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 09:53:52 GMT

gore
Number of films tagged: 246

Number of people who tagged: 50

Number of times used: 136

Spout Tag:Zombies

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:55:30 GMT

Zombies
Number of films tagged: 44

Number of people who tagged: 46

Number of times used: 68

Spout Tag:pregnancy

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 05:22:12 GMT

pregnancy
Number of films tagged: 1306

Number of people who tagged: 44

Number of times used: 110

Spout Tag:nudity

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 23:36:31 GMT

nudity
Number of films tagged: 297

Number of people who tagged: 31

Number of times used: 99

Spout Tag:apocalypse

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 22:49:32 GMT

apocalypse
Number of films tagged: 116

Number of people who tagged: 16

Number of times used: 18

Spout Tag:fast

Fri, 20 Feb 2009 19:29:48 GMT

fast
Number of films tagged: 32

Number of people who tagged: 15

Number of times used: 35

Spout Tag:mall

Fri, 15 May 2009 13:02:12 GMT

mall
Number of films tagged: 62

Number of people who tagged: 14

Number of times used: 21

Spout Tag:plague

Mon, 25 May 2009 13:41:41 GMT

plague
Number of films tagged: 197

Number of people who tagged: 13

Number of times used: 16

Spout Tag:nurse

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 13:02:59 GMT

nurse
Number of films tagged: 217

Number of people who tagged: 12

Number of times used: 19

Spout Tag:3

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 19:30:55 GMT

3
Number of films tagged: 10

Number of people who tagged: 10

Number of times used: 12