Vetoes
Last night after a hard day’s work we thought we’d order up a movie. As you do. And we’re trying to pick one, but the movies we know anything about we’ve already seen or would rather die than see. So we’re reading descriptions of movies and we both start exercising the veto like you wouldn’t believe:
Scott: not watching any movie that has the word “cop” in the description.
Justine: or “battered” or “gruelling” or “genocide”.
Scott: not “lawyer” either or “detective”.
Justine: Isn’t that covered by “cop”?
Scott: No. Look “private detective”.
Justine: I rule out “bleak”, “heart-warming”, and “family-oriented”.
Scott: Also “doctor”.
Justine: Not to mention “life-threatening” and “disease”, especially if they’re the one phrase.
Scott: Aren’t those ruled out on account of my previous anti-”doctor” call?
Justine: Not necessarily. See this description of Love Story? Do you see the word “doctor”?
Scott: Point.
Justine: I nix “eternal” unless in relationship to the undead.
Scott: And “Zombie” is an automatic yes.
Justine: Der. So is “Robert Mitchum”.
Scott: Is there a Robert Mitchum zombie movie? Cause that would rock.
Justine: Funny you should say that cause look—here is Rachel and the Stranger (1948) with Robert Mitchum, Loretta Young and William “Tedious” Holden. Let me read you the description:
- A widowed pioneer needs someone to clean the house and help raise his child. So, he purchases a zombie to be his wife. But the forlorn frontiersman misses his first spouse so much that he’s barely aware of his new zombie bride. He changes his tune, however, when a buddy of his shows a romantic interest in her.
(Synopsis swiped from Rotten Tomatoes.)
Scott: How could you marry a zombie? They would eat you.
Justine: These are pre-Romero zombies of the Caribbean voudoun kind. More soul-missing, sleepwalking, than “mmm, brains”. Plus it is based on a story by Howard Fast who is my personal god of popular fiction.
Scott: Okay, call it up.
Justine: [rubs hands together in the approved evil-genius manner] Mwahahaha!
Posted by Justine at 9:13, 20 August 2006 under Frippery, Viewing, Zombies | 10 Comments »

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Rebecca Says:
well, was it good?
August 20th, 2006 at 11:22 AM
Amanda Coppedge Says:
You guys did see “Undead,” the 2003 Australian zombie apocalypse movie, right? Starring Mungo McKay (totally not kidding)?
August 20th, 2006 at 3:00 PM
C.C (cecelia) Says:
I saw that movie. It was…interesting…
Have you seen The Ring and The Ring 2? Those movies rock!
August 20th, 2006 at 4:01 PM
redknight Says:
I saw that movie aslo. there were no zombies in it! not a single one plus its not very good.
August 20th, 2006 at 4:04 PM
C.C (cecelia) Says:
what can i say. our opinios differ–that movie is awsome.
August 20th, 2006 at 4:18 PM
redknight Says:
You are talking about rachel and the stranger right? You thought it waas awesome?
August 20th, 2006 at 4:32 PM
holly Says:
wah. zombies.
August 20th, 2006 at 6:39 PM
veejane Says:
I think you need to invest in the movies where my secret boyfriend Robert Mitchum is the villain. Because, not a zombie, but rather the sexy mofo when he’s got his villain hat on.
(I imagine he was rather the sexy mofo while picking his toenails, but, nobody ever filmed him doing that.)
Cape Fear has the word “battered” in it surely, but I am pretty sure that Night of the Hunter manages to avoid all the code words but still creep the everliving daylights outta you.
August 20th, 2006 at 10:20 PM
Diana Says:
Eternal shunshine of the spotless mind is actually a great movie.
August 20th, 2006 at 10:25 PM
Ray Davis Says:
Unless you didn’t like it.
August 23rd, 2006 at 9:06 AM