pastoral pleasures

Happy Furry Friday!
Portrait of one of the twin lambs
Originally uploaded by Cryptia.

The movie is essentially a silly, grisly elaboration of a simple idea: What if sheep started running amok, feasting on human flesh and turning their victims into huge ovine zombies?

From A.O. Scott's review of Black Sheep in today's New York Times.

I've developed a fondness for zombies ever since accidentally channel surfing to a cable broadcast of Shaun of the Dead. It's not so much the creatures -- it's the anxiety and actions that they stir up in those around them -- the I DON'T WANT TO BE A ZOMBIE impulse that leads to kerosene soaked barricades and mad-dashes across zombie infested spaces.

Because, really, who does? The thought crosses my mind every morning when I slog into work.

Black Sheep opens in the U.S. today. If you go that way you might want to follow up with Netflix chaser: classic Night of the Living Dead on DVD. Interracial zombie slaying, way back when. And if I'm remembering right, they light the night scene with strobes, rather than shooting in filtered daylight (but it's been awhile -- I may be remembering wrong).

Or, if your tastes tend to a different kind of pastoral, a fresh (and French) Lady Chatterley also opens stateside today. Good reviews so far: not as earnest as the book (it's based on earlier iteration), with all the dirty bits left in.

Welcome to the weekend.