Maggie DVD Digital

I have to admit that I was really blown away by this movie. I expected the normal zombie-flick, and was only cautiously hopeful because of the positive reviews. If you're looking for a gore-fest, this ISN'T it, although it DOES have some violence. Rather, "Maggie" is the story of a farming family struggling to adapt to major societal and partially ecological change (and actually they seem to be doing pretty well, all things considered). At the same time, their young-adult daughter is facing a gradual but inexorable fate as her body begins to succumb, while she is still completely sentient, to the zombie-virus. I've never been a huge Schwarzenegger fan, but I thought that he really brought his character to life in this film. The sight of the tears running down the father's lined face was very touching, and his reaction to the officers coming to take her was completely realistic. The young actress also gave, I felt, a very sympathetic performance of a young woman trying to "act normal" around her friends and younger half-siblings while struggling emotionally with the revulsion she feels toward the grotesque signs of her own mortality, and the fear of what might happen to her before she finally "turns." At the same time, her father and others in the area are struggling morally and emotionally with how to treat, and ultimately what to do with, their infected relatives who pose a deadly threat to the entire community. In the movie, there simply are no good options. While the movie doesn't address some of the extreme moral dilemmas that appear in The Walking Dead, it DOES carry a much deeper message than your average zombie-apocalypse flick and would be a good spring-board for a discussion with older teens. While some of the recent apocalypse movies seem to gloss over the real emotional consequences of death (in a pandemic or natural disaster), or present the characters as too numb to care, "Maggie" deals with this topic tenderly, personally, and with anguish over the loss of a family member and friend. And, while the 1970s movie "Sunshine" also deals with a real young woman (a mother) facing death from cancer, I think teens might be able to sympathize more with, and be threatened less by, fictional Maggie and her "it's not real so it's not as frightening" metaphorical zombie-virus. Read more

Okay, so let's get the down side out of the way... It's been done. It's been done to death. If this movie came out 10 years ago, it would be groundbreaking. But post-apocalyptic Gothic Americana zombie stories are everywhere. Seriously, I didn't realize that Robert Kirkman & Max Brooks were actually rabbits that were breeding an ocean of Alden Bells and Carrie Ryans... So. The director. I think he took every tired trend that he could find, and over-stated them to exhaustion. (Yes, he "pumped them up.") So you know how all apocalyptic movies use a low-key color pallet? Well this has the super duper washed-out film filter from steroid hell. The farm house, simple folk, country trend that has been done to death? Well let's just take a moment to ponder the irony that every old, dead and dusty trend has been pulled out of the grave for a zombie movie, right? And the brooding. This director broods. He's a brooder. And he draws it out to get every single brood nuance. I mean okay, maybe the director doubts the intelligence of an audience that is watching a 2015 zombie movie staring Ahnold, but seriously! I really do get the whole broody point! So the movie starts of with tender sorrow, and that carries through the whole thing. The pace does not really change. At all. And there is absolutely nothing surprising about the story. And the story isn't horrible. It talks about what you would do to be with someone you love that is dying. How their remaining minutes become so precious, how you hyper-focus on them, and you horde them for yourself. What risks are you willing to take to do that? The movie ponders about a father that can not give those moments up to anybody else. He knows what he must do. He is very aware of the risks if he does not do the responsible thing. He sees the results blatantly in his face. He says that when the time comes- really comes- that he will be able to do it. But who is he really trying to convince? And okay- here's the weird, and lovely part about this movie. Arnold can act. No- don't stop reading. I'm serious. He's good! Really, very good in this movie! For all the follies that this director brought- he also brought something right out of "da tehminatah". And? Abigail Breslin? She did really good too! They are saying goodbye through the entire movie. Everything could be their last moment. (Oh, no- it's months and weeks away, they say. We can worry about it later. We have time for that later.) It is turmoil and torture and it is just behind their eyes. So much anguish that is delivered sweetly, all folded within a subtle underlay. It is worth a rental just for that. Read more

Wow, did not expect this. I thought this would have some typical zombie shooting and apocalyptic end of the world feel, but boy was I wrong. No spoilers, just to set the premise. It seems like the world is starting to cope with the virus but there are still plenty of infected. Maggie, Arnold's daughter is one of them. The film has a slower pace, but is definitely a masterpiece. A different, humanistic view on a zombie virus like event. More of a Arnold's parental denial of his daughter's terminal illness that could harm others. The suspense is not knowing when Maggie would "turn", but she brings out the vulnerability of herself as a beautiful young lady coping with turning into a danger for her family. The wife of the infected family scene and the maggie with her friends scene really hits home and shows humanity at it's worst and finest. Fox scene hits home. Like I said, no spoilers, so I'll stop right here. Please see the movie. All actors are on point. Slower pace, so don't expect a lot of action. But very heavy on the emotions, especially if you have a family or if you ever had somebody very sick that you loved. Thanks Read more