MOVIE: Easy A (trailer)

When I was in elementary school, my mother the high school English teacher, would have my brother and I help her grade her students' exams. (Don't panic, ex-students; it was just the multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, true/false, type answers.) By the time I had actually reached high school we were pretty well versed in the world of American and British literature. Or, at least the answers.

That being said, we also got to screen movie versions of these classic works as they came out. The trailer for Easy A excites me for a couple reasons. First, is that it has been awhile since anyone has remade Nathaniel Hawthorne's famous The Scarlet Letter into a film (the last major production was 1995's film staring Demi Moore and Gary Oldman). Secondly, I have never known of an updated, modern-day telling of the story.

Countless other classic novels have been redone to fit the present language and/or trends - Clueless (Emma), 10 Things I Hate About
You (Taming of the Shrew), and Bridget Jones's Diary (Pride & Prejudice) to name a few - so why not The Scarlet Letter? Emma Stone stars in Easy A as Olive Penderghast, a high schooler who sees her life as resembling Hawthorne's heroine, Hester Prynne. Stone has personality to boot, as evidenced by this trailer and her performance in the previously ZONINO!ed film Zombieland. The film also stars Stanley Tucci, Lisa Kudrow, Thomas Haden Church, Patricia Clarkson, and the hilarious Amanda Bynes.

The only thing that could make this movie have more promise is if "potential" were also spelled with an "A." Can't wait to check it out when it debuts in September of this year!

Sergio del Limonar

MOVIE: Zombieland

Regrettably, the first zombie movie I ever saw was 2004's British comedy, Shaun of the Dead. Since then I've seen parts of other's in the same genre sans the comedy aspect. I prefer to laugh while I'm being occasionally startled.

Zombieland is the American answer to "Shaun" and I enjoyed every gratuitously violent minute. Other than a great concept and script, you have Woody Harrelson and Abigail Breslin in the same movie; if that doesn't scream "movie worth checking out" I don't know what does!

Anyone who likes horror/zombie flicks will love this movie. Also, if you're any kind of film buff, there is a cornucopia of movie references in both dialogue and action. See if you can spot shout-outs to Babe, Caddyshack, Ghostbusters, Deliverance, and many more! Just another added bonus to seeing this great comedy!

Buzzy