20th Anniversary TLDR: Shaun of the Dead (2004)
Dogs can't look up.
Plot: Shaun lives a supremely uneventful life, which revolves around his girlfriend, his mother, and, above all, his local pub. This gentle routine is threatened when the dead return to life and make strenuous attempts to snack on ordinary Londoners.
Direction & Screenplay: Unfortunately, I just never like Edgar Wright movies as much as I want to. I always like them fine, but I'm not a die-hard like so many and I seem to enjoy him more as a film fan and advocate than as a filmmaker. My favorite is probably...his Sparks documentary. This probably stems from the fact that I obsessively watched Spaced, the show he made with Jessica Stevenson and forever collaborator Simon Pegg, as a boy and I just wanted everything they do to be Spaced. This film, which Wright and Pegg co-write, is really fun, but it isn't Spaced.
Performances: Favorite Simon Pegg performance? Shaun of the Dead. Favorite Nick Frost performance? Fighting with my Family. Favorite Lucy Davis performance? Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Favorite Bill Nighy performance? Love Actually. Favorite Martin Freeman performance? Definitely not Love Actually.
Best Moment: The "Don't Stop Me Now" fight sequence because it's the only time Queen is played in the movie...
Fun Fact: Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin appears as both himself and as a zombie in the film. Longtime friends with Simon Pegg, they both serve as godfathers to each other's daughters. Huh!
Actual Accolade This Received: Won the 2004 Bram Stoker Award for Best Screenplay. Well, actually, it tied with...Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
Everything is too long! Is it too long? 99 minutes? Surely this could've made 90.
Rating: You forget what a small movie this is!
Credit: Plot synopsis from Letterboxd via TMDb.