GO (1999)

"You're going to die."

GO must be one of the most 90's movies of all-time.  The clothes, the music, the hair, the attitude.  Everything about this movie screams "Nineties as fuck!!!".  GO tells three different versions (and the consequences) of a drug deal gone bad and the people involved.  Without going into all the details: some dudes come into a grocery story to set up a drug deal.  Their normal supplier is off partying in Vegas so another cashier, looking for a quick buck, sets up the buy, but it doesn't go as smoothly as she expected.

The basic story idea is pretty basic, but what makes GO so much fun (and such a joy to revisit over and over) is the characters.  There's quite a few main characters (like a dozen) and everyone of them is unique and interesting.  That's no small feat, since I can't even tell you how many horrible films I've sat through that didn't even have one interesting character!

Fast pace, smart script, young Katie Holmes, young Sarah Polley, young Timothy Olyphant, fun 90's music, lots of quotable lines, tantra sex and "...the Family fucking Circus, bottom right-hand corner, just waiting to suck."

I love this movie.  Highly recommended.

DAWN OF THE DEAD (2004)

"When there's no more room in Hell, the dead will walk the Earth."

I'm usually not a fan of remakes, especially when it comes to films that I hold dear, but this DAWN OF THE DEAD remake was pretty good. I saw it opening weekend in the theater and I really enjoyed it. The weird frame rate shit during the action scenes can straight fuck itself, but other than that the story is far enough removed from the original, while at the same time staying respectful enough of the original, that it doesn't really even seem like a remake.

The film opens with a nurse, Sarah Polley, leaving work at a hospital and going home. Everything is nice and peaceful, but, when she wakes in the morning, the entire world is caught in the middle of a zombie outbreak! Yikes. After an very exciting encounter with some zombies in her house (that scene might actually be the highlight of the movie), Sarah manages to escape and with some other survivors make their way to a shopping mall. They hold up there and wait for a rescue...that never comes. They soon realize they're fucked.  What should they do next?

Outside of the mall location and a few cameos from the original, the 2004 DOTD pretty much has no connection to the 1978 DOTD. Which is a good thing, since you really can't get better than perfection. Fast zombies, fast pace, loads of violence, good character development with actors talented enough to pull it off, nice unique look to it and a soundtrack with everything from Disturbed to Bobby McFerrin.  Also, the opening credits featuring "The Man Comes Around" by Johnny Cash, sets the mood perfectly.

Out of all the bigger name horror remakes from the early 2000's (TCM, F13, ANOES), DAWN OF THE DEAD is the only one that I would like to see a sequel to  Maybe on a cruise ship?  Zombies on a cruise ship. That would be awesome!!! And in the final scene, when the humans have finally killed all the zombies, a giant zombie tentacle wraps around the ship and breaks the ship in half.

Original - Dawn of the Dead (1978)