There’s no subtle build up to the action. The movie begins with Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) enumerating his rules for surviving Zombieland.

I have the Zombieland rules below for your reference:

1. Cardio
2. Double Tap
3. Beware of Bathrooms
4. Seatbelts
5. No Attachments
6. The “Skillet”
7. Travel Light
8. Get a Kick Ass Partner
9. With your Bare Hands
10. Don’t Swing Low
11. Use Your Foot
12. Bounty Paper Towels
13. Shake it Off
14. Always Carry a Change of Underwear
15. Bowling Ball
16. Opportunity Knocks
17. Don’t Be a Hero (later changed to Be a Hero)
18. Limber Up
19. Break it Up
20. It’s a Marathon, Not a Sprint. Unless it’s a Sprint, Then Sprint
21. Avoid Strip Clubs
22. When in Doubt Know your Way Out
23. Ziplock
24. Use Your Thumbs
25. Shoot First
26. A Little Sunscreen Never Hurt Anybody
27. Incoming!
28. Double-Knot your Shoes
29. The Buddy System
30. Pack your Stain Stick
31. Check the Back Seat
32. Enjoy the Little Things
33. Swiss Army Knife

Columbus is a student from the University of Texas who is trying to go back to hometown Columbus, hoping that his parents are still alive. Along the way he met Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin). They all agreed that it’s best for them to travel together.

Woody Harrelson was born for the role. His comedic timing is perfect and each of his one-liners was funny. And his love for Twinkies is contagious. I swear I craved for Twinkies after watching this movie. If you were in any way offended by Tallahassee then Zombieland is just not for you.

Zombieland is not a romantic comedy but it got that part covered with the Columbus and Wichita love line. Although not much time was spent on the romance, their chemistry was enough to make their love-hate relationship work on the screen.

Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson): Goddamn it, Bill fucking Murray! I had to get that out. I don’t mean to gush. This is so surreal. I mean, you probably get this all the time. Maybe not lately, but I’m such a huge fan of yours. You know, I swear, I’ve seen every one of your movies a million times. I even loved your dramatic roles and just everything. Six people left in the world and one of them is Bill fucking Murray. I know that’s not your middle name. I’ve been watching you since I was like… Since I could masturbate. I mean, not that they’re connected.

The best thing about Zombieland is Bill Murray. He is one of the highlights of the movie where he played himself. Tallahassee and Murray reenacting a scene from Ghostbusters had me laughing out loud. Bad news is that he didn’t live long enough because Columbus accidentally shot him with a shotgun. Anyway he deserves the best cameo award of all time if ever such award does exist.

Zombieland is a simple road trip story with zombies. It provides lots of good laughs, good actions scenes, and plenty of zombies. The story is predictable but you don’t watch a zombie movie for its plot anyway. Watch this at least once a year.

Don’t be misled by the title of the movie. The Education of Charlie Banks is not the education of Charlie Banks, played by Jesse Eisenberg. He’s already showing signs of maturity and intelligence right from the beginning of the film. It’s actually the education of Mick (Jason Ritter), Charlie’s childhood friend with a questionable character. Let’s just say that Mick would not be winning any Mr. Congeniality awards ever.

Mick shows up in Charlie’s dorm and mooches his way back into his life. He managed to get close with Charlie’s college friends and flirts with Charlie’s crush, Mary (Eva Amurri). It looks like the bully hasn’t changed his ways.

From the looks of things, Mick got his education in the end. He finally learned to show mercy and spared Charlie’s life. Some say Jason Ritter was weak in this movie but I beg to disagree. He managed to portray the bully role just right. A little more and it’ll be over acting already.

Fred Durst’s The Education of Charlie Banks is a good movie. It was well-written and its cast played their parts well. Fred Durst should do more films. I usually don’t like coming-of-age dramas but this one is a must-see.