Yeah I loved the Bill Murray bits in Zombieland.
Cool to see two off my all time favorites of all favorite fabulous time, back to back. American Beauty and Princess Mononoke
Princess Mononoke is, in a word, ‘perfection’. There’s not a missed beat, not a flaw in the theme or the narrative. Director Hayao Miyazaki delivers his message (about ecological destruction) but I never felt like he was hammering me over the head with it. I loved the ambiguity: Lady Eboshi isn't cut and dried villainy, she does good for her people. On the other hand, nature can be volatile and dangerous (I laughed when the wolf grabs the Prince's head and starts shaking it – these aint Disney’s happy, helpful singing animals); we are given many shades of gray. The ending is epic, truly breathtaking. Not just great animation but one of Japans greatest cinematic efforts.
Oh, and I like those forest ghost baby things, cute and freaky.
American Beauty just spoke to me - I'm a weird artist type, so I get the floating bag thing. And I get Lester -- I like his character trajectory and how eventually he takes his eyes off himself. At the point where he's about to have what he's desired - he finally sees her for what she is. Just a kid, not a goddess, not a thing to take. It wakes him up and finally comes out of himself and sees the big picture. I know our beloved Mike Nelson has stated his disdain for the flick, and I get that the elements of farce are troublesome for some folks, but it's meaningful to me.