PRIDE + PREJUDICE + ZOMBIES (***1/2)

(2016) May as well get this out first: I actually kind of liked this movie.  Having not read the book, or even seen any of the filmed versions of Jane Austen's classic ... either because of (or in spite of) that point, I simply watched this film seeking to be entertained with the insanity of it all - and yep, I was.  In this version, the five Bennet sisters are mercilessly trained zombie hunters, protecting home and loved ones from a growing zombie population that slowly seems to be taking over England.  When Elizabeth Bennet (Lily James) meets intrepid zombie hunter Mr. Darcy (Sam Riley), the attraction is mutual even as she loathes him for his petulance and seeming lack of heart, while he sees her initially as a boastful female pretending to be tough but in need of protecting.  But even as Mrs Bennet is determined to marry off her daughters to wealthy and entitled men like Darcy, the more pressing problem of the growing hoard or the undead will force everyone involved toward a final, grisly battle.  Fun, goofy, and never taking itself seriously, while not the prefect film I think this will grow to become one of  my "guilty pleasures" I visit again and again. (rated PG-13)