The Last Girl : Celle qui a tous les dons

Certainly not your typical cliched zombie flick, it pulls no punches, is well acted and tells a well paced story with a good premise. Thoughtful portrayal of humanity. A movie with well thought-out ideas and integrity. The first 20 minutes is absolutely compelling, the rest ... not exactly a feel-good movie, but unflinchingly remaining true to its foundational ideas. Strong characters, superb music and great potrayal of overgrown post-apocalypyse city.

As a prolific reviewer, you tend to often discuss a film in terms of traditional arcs, and riffs off those same arcs.

Which is why it is always a treat when a film comes along that throws the script template out the window and forges its own path.

This is such a film. It reminded me of THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN 1957, the first legitimate A-list sci-fi that, like this film, started off in what seemed a traditional manner -- and then went down a plot superhiway that no one had ever seen before.

It is not a perfect film. It has some flaws. For example, the first 30 minutes are better (more impact, more empathy, more entertaining) than the last 60 minutes. Which is not to suggest that the last hour is bad, merely that the first half-hour is drop-dead stunning and unforgettable.

And the director often seems confused about who the real star is? Ditto for the PR dept of the studio. If you check the IMDb reference, you will see that the young girl so brilliantly played by Sennia Nanua is given billing lower down on the cast list. That's an error. Sennia IS the film -- she practically picks it up and carries it to the finish line. The scenes without her are weak, the scenes with her are wonderful.

Nice iteration of a "really smart" zombie film. Recommended.

... from the U. K., directed by Colm McCarthy. After an alien fungus has decimated the Earth's population, transforming anyone not an infant into a mindless zombie-like creature with a taste for human flesh, a contingent of British soldiers and scientists are hard at work trying to find a cure. Their hope lies with a group of children, all of whom were infected as infants, and who have grown up without the usual zombie-like symptoms. They appear and act normally, but they still can be overcome by a taste for living flesh that turns them violently animalistic. When the base falls to overwhelming numbers of the infected, a small group consisting of the most accomplished girl from the ranks of the children (Sennia Nanua), a sympathetic teacher (Gemma Arterton), a gruff sergeant (Paddy Considine), a new recruit soldier (Fisayo Akinade), and the coldly calculating head scientist (Glenn Close) head into the ruins of London to search and rescue.

I'm always surprised when filmmakers can find something new to do with a zombie movie, and they've done it again here. Newcomer Nanua is terrific as the precocious infected girl who is happy to be in the outside world for the first time, little realizing the destruction all around her. Arterton, Considine and Close are all fine, as expected. I know most viewers are burned out on zombie flicks (and TV series), but this one is worth a look.

This movie is best going into with as little fore knowledge as possible, because when someone tells you the genre of this movie, your preconceptions will almost certainly skew your expectations and experience.

This is not a typical movie in its genre. It's a lot smarter and more thought provoking. While there are thrills, and lots of suspense, it's done in a much better way that is of service to the characters and the story, creating a slow build of dread rather than cheap jump scares.

A very good movie with excellent acting and casting. Sennia Nanua, who plays Melanie also did a phenomenal job, Gemma Arterton was solid as the protective and caring teacher Helen Justineau. Glenn Close was also good as the Doctor prepared to do almost anything to find a cure for the disease.

The whole cast did a very good job and the music complimented rather than overpowered the movie.

Worth seeing and I have watched it more than once.

I'm really aggravated by people who think this was a "boring zombie movie" that "wasn't scary." Look... the movie is called THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS. It's a movie about a girl... who happens to be a zombie... and her desire to come to terms with who she is, and her right to live in spite of it. NO it's not full of scares and gory zombie kills... that's not what it's about. If you can appreciate a good story about a little girl who happens to be a zombie then you'll see the beauty in this film. There still GREAT zombie action though... It was very well done, had an excellent cast, and Sennia Nanua shined.

Full commentary WITH spoilers on YouTube/Twitter @moviebuffchick1

https://youtu.be/wwm1nWFOwBI