enjoy the small things

I love living in Boston. I have had the opportunity to do the most amazing things in the past year, simply by virtue of residing in this great city. Yesterday, that meant getting a great new haircut for only $5 from the beauty school downtown. Tonight, that meant getting a free pass to an advance screening of the new zombie comedy "Zombieland."

This afternoon I was at an event called CollegeFest with Christina and Adrienne collecting free stuff from random vendors. One of the booths had posters for the movie, and a giand cardboard clown head. We threw a ball through the clown's mouth, and the prize was a free pass to the advance screening tonight at the downtown movie theater. Needless to say, we were pretty stoked.

In the end, five of us went to the show. We were a bit concerned about getting in, since these events almost always have more passes than seats in order to ensure a full house, but we were early enough to not have any problem getting in, though we did grab the last five seats together in the whole place, other than the very front rows.

Even just being there was quite the experience. Most of the people in the crowd had come in zombie makeup, some with very extravagant costumes as well. And two rows behind us, there was a zombie band, playing their ukulele and melodica to entertain us all as we waited.

I'd just like to say here that when Bostonians do something, they never do it by half measures. These people go all-out for every occasion. And apparently the zombie sub-culture across the nation is the same way. The crowd had a few more regular folks like us than it might have because of the passes being given out at CollegeFest, but they were still a rowdy force to be reckoned with. I've never seen so much fake blood in one place before. Granted, I've never been to a zombie walk, so that's probably why.

And the coolest part of the night? After the movie two of the stars, Woody Harelson and Jesse Eisenberg came out to do a Q&A! So very cool. Best question: what would you do if there was a real zombie apocalypse? "Make a sequel."

As for the movie itself, it was pretty entertaining. It earned the "R" rating for language and the most realistic and disgusting gore I've seen in a zombie flick. So don't see it if you don't like zombie movies or have trouble seeing gore. Although, the worst visuals are right at the beginning, and then it focuses on the actual story. Yes, this is a zombie flick with some semblance of plot. If you liked "Shaun of the Dead" and don't have a weak stomach, you'll probably like "Zombieland." Do see it if you enjoy dark comedy. There's also a lot of lighter comedy, and one phenomenal cameo that I absolutely will not give away. Some moments were even heartwarming. I loved Jesse Eisenberg as the narrator, and the animated text visuals of his zombie survival rules. Also, whoever thought of putting zombies and amusement parks together is an absolute genius.

If I say any more I stand the risk of ruining the experience for any of my readers who want to see "Zombieland" when it comes out next weekend. So I'll end this post with just one more thought: I love living in a place where this sort of event happens all the time, and every so often even happens to me.

-Kim