September 18, 2013 THE VILLADOM TIMES I & III • Page 23 ‘World War Z’ epidemic is baffling, terrifying by Dennis Seuling “World War Z” (Paramount) is easily the costliest zombie flick ever made. Not only does it feature amazing visual effects, it also offers a genuine movie star. That star is Brad Pitt, who was drawn to the project because of his kids’ fascination with zombies. He decided to pull out all the stops, get a huge budget, and make the zombie movie to end all zombie movies. The problem is, apparently no one clued Pitt in on what gives zombie pictures their appeal: the zombies, their voracious appetite for human flesh, and lots of blood and gore. Because of its PG-13 rating, “World War Z” is fairly tame, though visually striking. The script is reminiscent of “Contagion” in its cutting from one international location to another, as U.N. investigator Gerry Lane (Pitt) attempts to discover the cause of the zombie epidemic and find a cure before the entire world is devoured. Call this the thinking person’s zombie film. It has a deliberate pace, doles out exposition that sounds scientifi- cally logical, and is well acted throughout. But the viewer still waits impatiently for the zombie scenes. Director Marc Forster packs a wallop in the movie’s climax, partic- ularly in a scene in which zombies climb over each other, forming a huge pileup in order to breach a high wall. The Blu-ray/DVD combo pack contains featurettes on the movie’s origins, the place of zombies in literature and film, detailed analyses of specific action scenes, and a look at the scope of the film’s production. “Two Men in Manhattan” (Cohen Media Group) is Jean-Pierre Melville’s 1959 film noir about a U.N. delegate who has disappeared into thin air. Muckraking reporter U.N. investigator Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) and family attempt to escape ravaging zombie hordes in ‘World War Z.’ Moreau (Melville) joins forces with seedy, hard-drinking photographer Pierre (Pierre Grasset) on an assignment to find him. Their sole lead is a picture of three women. The movie poses a moral dilemma as the investiga- tion uncovers evidence that can either be suppressed to preserve the missing man’s reputation or be used to sen- sationalize their findings to make a fortune from their exclusive. Revered by both critics and filmmakers, Melville was called “the coolest, most stylish auteur of his time” by action director John Woo. Quentin Tarentino’s take: “Jean-Pierre Melville is to the crime film what Sergio Leone is to the Western.” With its smoky jazz score and exquisite black-and-white cinematography that hand- somely captures the city’s gritty streets at night, this is a French director’s homage to both New York City and American film noir. Blu-ray extras include a conversation between film critics who discuss the director and his impact on the French New Wave, and a new essay by a Melville scholar. The film is in French with English subtitles. “The Bates Motel: Season One” (Universal) is a pre- quel to Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 masterpiece of terror, “Psycho.” “The Bates Motel” features the odd relationship between 17-year-old Norman Bates (Freddie Highmore) and his mother (Vera Farmiga). The series is set in con- temporary times, which initially might strike viewers as odd, since a teenage Norman should be placed around 1950. However, the show is so well scripted and so well acted that the viewer soon accepts the time shift. Farmiga, who has distinguished herself in numerous feature films, explores several facets of a woman trying to make a new life as proprietor of a motel, a mother whose experience with men is affecting her impressionable son, (continued on Crossword page)