#69 – The Muppet Movie

(1979) Rated G

Genre: Puppet musical road trip

Trend: Roughly maintaining its position

The plot:

A frog chases rainbows to make movie gold

A bear ducks thrown fruit from bad jokes he has told

Together they travel America’s roads

Pursued by a doctor who eats legs of toads

Soon, dogs, pigs, “whatevers” are quick to join hands

While singing and swinging to Doctor Teeth’s band

One last obstacle stands between their dreams:

The horrid Doc Hopper, whose frog-eating schemes

Are foiled by courage (and insta-growth pills)

The Muppets then head to the Hollywood hills

But what plot to give to their first feature flick?

Begin with a banjoist frog in a crick,

Then introduce friends of all species and shapes,

Depicting their songs, romances, and escapes!

So why is it on my list?

The songs are ridiculously catchy. My favorite is the wistful “Rainbow Connection,” but “Movin’ Right Along” will burrow into your subconscious and take up residence like some obstinate gopher. Fortunately, they are all very witty and full of fun, as befitting of the Muppets.

The humor. It’s a fast-paced road trip starring frog and bear puppets. I smell a recipe for shenanigans!

It reminds us that life is like a movie. Write your own ending. Keep believing, keep pretending.

In conclusion: You should know by now if you’re a Muppet fan or not. Still, if you’ve only seen the recent movies (without Jim Henson’s direction), then give their very first film a try to see what made them popular in the first place.

#70 - Zombieland

(2009) Rated R

Genre: Snarky zombie post-apocalypse

Trend: Slightly dropping on the list

The plot:

Through tainted meat, Mad Cow Disease

Turned clowns and humans to zombies

Yet Facebook’s founder made it out

Obeying rules like some Boy Scout

He meets a tough guy with a scheme

To take one taste of Twinkie cream

Odd couple? Yes! But soon, there’s four

Two sisters with slick tricks in store

This boy-meets-girl-meets-walking dead

Her pretty face snares curly head

A quad squad forms and makes its base

In William Murray’s ritzy place

I’ll tell no spoilers (lips are sealed)

Just know this: he regrets Garfield

Pacific Playland’s where the flick

Ends up; now watch it – quick, quick, quick!

So why is it on my list?

A fresh take on a tried genre. Many zombie apocalypse movies follow the same formula laid out by the original Night of the Living Dead. Undead roam, everybody dies. This movie manages to make the end of the world look so humorous and adventurous, that you’ll wish it happened to you!

It gets funnier on rewatch. Some movies are good but too exhausting to watch over and over again. Then, there are those gems whose lines get better (and more quotable!) each time. This is one of the latter.

It makes you want even more. Now, I hear that a sequel is in the works. Will it rock or suck? Who can say? But I know that Zombieland, with its incomplete list of survival rules, allusions to other survivors, and open world of endlessly entertaining possibilities, definitely whets the appetite of the imagination.

In conclusion: If you’ve ever enjoyed a zombie thriller, check out this zombie rib-tickler. But if blood and gore isn’t your cup of tea, skip the opening credits – the rest of the film is much tamer.