Every five years, the government grants schools with new, updated computers right out of their pockets. And we don’t even have to pay a single dime, through a process called “Refresh”. Because of constant advances in computers and technology, the “new” computer has  quickly turned into the gray-haired “last year” computer. For the purpose of keeping school computers up to date, Refresh was established. So, every five years, schools are granted with a new batch of updated computers tied with bows, well, for MTHS at least.

This year will be MTHS’s first Refresh, courtesy of federal money. All of our old, rusty, slow computers will be replaced with newer ones, with more RAM (Random Access Memory), allowing for faster responses. Our current computers have 15” monitors, 512 megabytes of RAM and an older version of Microsoft. The new computers we will be getting will consist of 17” monitors, 2 gigabytes of RAM, Microsoft 2007 and will have a different operating system, Vista or Windows 7.

Because of strict federal regulations regarding computers, the school is not allowed to sell or give away the old computers. Therefore, we will use our old computers for lab dissections and for models for the Computer Science classes. The mouses and other appliances will be kept as spares in storage. Thinking about the new computers makes you wish it was already December, doesn’t it?

The film centers around the story of Columbus, an anti-social and neurotic college kid trying to survive the zombie apocalypse. He eventually teams up with Tallahassee, a gun totting zombie slayer whose epic quest revolves around searching for some of the world’s last Twinkies, and a pair of sisters who want to fight their way to an abandoned amusement park.

As outrageous as the plot may seem, Zombieland does an incredible job of keeping it all together and making the story both believable and enjoyable. The film mixes both comedy and melodrama, as there are scenes where characters compare the loss of loved ones, and then the same characters run around on comical zombie murdering rampages – and there are plenty of those. Zombieland does not disappoint with the action, for it is filled from start to finish with excessive violence and over-the-top deaths. The movie has some of the most elaborate and original kills I have ever seen in a zombie film, with techniques ranging from dropping pianos to eccentric uses of carnival rides as death traps.

This brings up the topic of gore. I will flat out state that this film is not for the squeamish. Columbus and friends fight the ‘wettest’ zombies I have ever seen before, as virtually every imaginable fluid seems to drain from the films countless undead. As a nice change of pace, Zombieland is filled with running gags and motif that set it apart from other films of the genre. Such examples could be the zombie kill of the week highlights and Columbus’ dead-pan humor narration. Personally, my favorite motif of the film is the use of Columbus’ set of zombie survival rules. Through the film, every time a rule is acted out or set in motion, the rule will appear on the screen and remind the audience of its importance.

Zombieland is one of those blunt films that doesn’t take itself too seriously or try to be something it’s not. Zombieland tries to be nothing more than a gory, fresh new comedy, and for that it is a must see.