Zombieland (15)

Ruben Fleischer (80 mins), starring Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin

A zombie comedy funnier than Shaun of the Dead? They said it couldn't be done, but here it is.

Zombieland hits the ground running – the planet is already overrun by the bloodshot-eyed flesh-munchers – as a young survivor (Jesse Eisenberg, playing another of his virginal loners) hooks up with a rifle-toting redneck (Woody Harrelson) on a road trip across a shattered, contagion-ridden US.

On the way they run into a couple of sisters (Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin) whose con-artistry gives the narrative its unexpected tweaks, though not as unexpected as the cameo by a Star Name, living in the kind of splendid isolation you imagine he'd enjoy even if the world wasn't on the verge of a zombie wipeout. It's not just that the screenwriters (Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick) keep up a steady patter of good gags; it's the oddball tone, the wicked irreverence, and the excellent playing by Eisenberg and co that make the time just fly. And that cameo is a doozy.