The Night Before

Who knew that Kanye West's "Runaway" is actually the perfect Christmas song? Well in a scene straight out of Big, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen and Anthony Mackie prove just that. It's actually a scene that sets the fun tone for the remainder of the film. And it doesn't diminish for the entire length of the film.

On Christmas Eve 2001, Ethan (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) buries his parents after they were killed in a hit and run. His friends Isaac (Seth Rogen) and Chris (Anthony Mackie) decide to get him drunk and help him focus on the present. This is a tradition that they have kept ever since. Fast forward fourteen years and they have all changed. Ethan is a struggling musician with commitment issues, Isaac is about to have his first child with his wife Betsy (Jillian Bell) and Chris is now a famous football player. Because of all the changes that have happened, the guys decide that this will be the last night in which they do this.

What I love about this movie is that the plot motivation is very simple. The three guys are trying to get to the holy grail of Christmas parties: the Nutcracker Ball. That's the ultimate goal of the movie, but the journey along the way is the fun part. Ethan is trying to get back with his girlfriend Diana (Lizzy Kaplan), Chris is trying to get some weed for his football teammates, but is thwarted by the Christmas Grinch (Ilana Glazer) and Isaac just trips out on every drug under the sun while he tries to recover his phone from Diana's friend Sarah (Mindy Kaling). Tying them all together is the mysterious drug dealer Mr Green (Michael Shannon).

Mr Green acts as the emotional core of this movie, but he is also one of the many references to other classic Christmas movies. He is the substitute of the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future which he delivers through three different strains of weed. Ilana Glazer's character references The Grinch, Die Hard and Home Alone. The large majority of jokes in this film go towards Isaac's confusion about Christianity as he is Jewish, but there are some like Sarah's overt sexuality and James Franco's ambiguous sexuality (he plays himself) and confusion over his dick pics.

Not all the performances in this film are really worthy. Seth Rogen is adept at playing his character by now, as are Lizzy Caplan and Mindy Kaling. I feel as though both Anthony Mackie and JGL dropped the ball, as they both felt quite hollow to me, which is disappointing for leading actors. It was great to watch the serious dramatic actor Michael Shannon have fun in this movie, although he doesn't drop his seriousness at all, instead bringing the film a touch of class. It's great to see Tracy Morgan back in action as Santa and cameos by Randall Park, James Franco and Miley Cyrus lift the fun.

Seth Rogen keeps up his annual comedy releases with The Night Before and doesn't disappoint. Like I said with Love The Coopers, this is a great movie for those who love Christmas, although a lot more silly, less depressing and a lot less traditional.

Palo Alto

High school is a terribly boring time in a young person's life. Or that's what Gia Coppola wants you to think in her debut as a director. That doesn't mean that Palo Alto is at all a boring movie. Coppola perfectly captures all that James Franco wanted to say in his collection of short stories.

Eschewing any real plot line, the film follows the lives of four teenagers living in Palo Alto, a town in California; Teddy (Jack Kilmer), April (Emma Roberts), Fred (Nat Wolff) and Emily (Zoe Levin). Each of these teens know each other through school and the various parties they attend. They all have their own issues, whether it be self-esteem or addiction or both.

All of the performances by the main actors are amazing. Emma Roberts and Zoe Levin both play shy girls who come out of their shells only when certain people are around. Nat Wolff's unhinged Fred is played with such a ferocity and intensity I almost forgot that the character wasn't really. This is Jack Kilmer's first role and his talent is immediately apparent. The brooding character Teddy had something extra than in the book and I put that down to his first class performances.

James Franco and Val Kilmer also appear in minor roles. Franco (who wrote the book that the film is based on) plays the predatory(?) Mr B. and is passable in a role he created, although I guess he probably knows about the characters more than anyone. Val Kilmer is limited to only two scenes, but he made me laugh both times.

I am only just a tiny bit jealous of Gia Coppola (or any of the Coppola kids) for that matter. Not only does she have the benefit of her grandfather being one of the most well-known directors in Hollywood, but she is extremely talented when it comes to filmmaking too, although I guess when you grow up on your family's film sets something must have sunk in.

Verdict: Coppola makes a film that exceeds past the source material which it is based. She perfectly captures what it feels like to be a teenager of the current generation and is helped along by a superb young cast.

This Is The End

I'm going to come straight out and say that this is probably one of the funniest movies I've seen this year. I was going into it thinking that the reunions of Freaks and Geeks and Superbad had joined for a massive after party, but I was wrong.

Jay (Jay Baruchel) is visiting Seth (Seth Rogen) from Canada. After a day of playing video games and smoking weed, Seth suggests that they go to a party that James (James Franco) is putting on. At the party, Jay becomes gradually disconnected with the partygoers and leaves to buy cigarettes. He is joined by Seth. At the shop that they go to, people at the shop are sucked up by blue beams of light. This is the beginning of the apocalypse foretold in the Bible. What follows is the rest of the predictions made in the Bible.

The rest of the group who survive the initial trouble include Craig (Craig Robinson), Jonah (Jonah Hill) and Danny (Danny McBride). This group all have an amazing chemistry and even though I know that they were all playing fictionalised versions of themselves, it was really hard to tell where the characters and real people separated. There are also an huge number of cameos, including a hilarious scene with Channing Tatum and the Backstreet Boys performing their seminal classic (Backstreet's Back, in case you need a reminder).

I was also surprised by the special effects in this movie. There seems to be a large amount of practical effects, instead of the usual reliance on CGI. I was especially impressed with the hell beasts that are featured toward the end. They are all clay stop motion figures that were inserted into the film. Very cool.

Verdict: One of the funniest movies I've seen in a long long time. The only thing that might usurp this title is the upcoming comedy The Way Way Back. One quick reminder that it probably is one of the grossest gross-out comedies in a while, but it has a strangely uplifting message.

Spring Breakers

Movies set during spring break tend to portray it as one massive party, where people make mistakes that ultimately get resolved. But Harmony Korine's Spring Breakers shows that when things go wrong, they stay wrong.

The story follows four college girls who dream of going on a spring break trip to Florida, but can't raise the funds. Three of the girls, Candy (Vanessa Hudgens), Brit (Ashley Benson) and Cotty (Rachel Korine), decide to rob a fast food joint to get the money. They come back to Faith (Selena Gomez) and take off to Florida.

Once there, the girls start partying like crazy. But after one party, they end up getting arrested on drug charges. They soon get bailed out by local gangster and celebrity, Alien (James Franco). He takes them in and offers to help them out if they need money. Faith feels threatened by him and decides to go back home.

The others stay and start doing robberies with Alien and it's only when Cotty gets shot do things start to get shaky. Cotty decides to go home as well. Candy, Brit and Alien start to develop a relationship and Alien confesses that he is feeling threatened by his former best friend and he decides to take him out, despite the fact that he is scared. Brit and Candy promise to help, no matter what. This leads to the final confrontation.

Harmony Korine has really created a movie that captures the recklessness and impulsivity of youth. These girls get caught up in a lifestyle that, while highly dangerous, is highly addictive. It's only when getting shot or landing in prison, do these girls see the reality behind the glamour.

It is also edited in a really interesting way. There is never a scene that is presented in a standard way. The characters start talking, but are intercut with flashbacks or scenes yet to come. There all also shots throughout the movie of a beach party that none of the main characters ever attend and it has no bearing on the plot.

All the actors in this film are superb. James Franco is totally unrecognisable as Alien and I couldn't help feeling like there was a homage to the film Alien, with his metallic teeth. I didn't feel like I could make a connection to any of the girls, because there was nothing in the way of character development on their part.

I also felt like there were a lot of subtle references to Scarface, mainly in the behaviour of Alien, who acts like he's a big shot before his fall.

Verdict: An enjoyable movie to watch, but it left me feeling hollow inside after watching it. The style of editing may catch some people off guard.

Oz: The Great and Powerful

Since Judy Garland first explored the land of Oz in 1939, there have been many sequels and various different interpretations of the original. Sometimes ranging from the straightforward (Return to Oz, it is very dark though) to the wacky (Zardoz, Tin Man, The Wiz, the list is endless). Most of these films and  stage performances take place after the events of the original film, in which Dorothy or some other young girl is swept off to the land of Oz.

But Sam Raimi (of Spiderman and Evil Dead fame) has created a story which I have always wondered about. It is that of the titular wizard. Oscar Diggs (James Franco), or Oz, as is his stage name, is working for a traveling circus in Kansas with his assistant Frank (Zach Braff). One stormy afternoon after a show, Oz is confronted by the circus' strongman and escapes via a hot air balloon. However, this balloon proceeds straight into a tornado that transports him to the land of Oz (like there's any other way to get there).

Once there he meets Theodora (Mila Kunis), a witch who lives in the Emerald City with her sister, Evanora (Rachel Weisz). They inform him of the prophecy laid down by the previous ruler, that a wizard would come to claim the throne and defeat the Wicked Witch. Evanora convinces Oz to go and defeat the Wicked Witch and also tells Theodora that Oz has left her for Glinda (Michelle Williams), who we find out is the Good Witch. 

Once Oz discovers that Glinda is a good witch, whose father was murdered by Evanora, she convinces him to help defeat the real threat to the land. Meanwhile, Evanora has given Theodora an enchanted apple that will take away the pain of Oz leaving her. This also transforms her into the Wicked Witch of the West that we all know and love.

Oz must create an army that he will lead to the Emerald City. He does this with the help of his friends Finley (Zach Braff again), a not so scary flying monkey, and China Girl (Joey King), whose story arc is amazingly touching. He also has help from the people of Oz, namely farmers, tinkers and everyone's favourite Munchkins (who are only permitted half a song). They all then march on the Emerald City for the final confrontation with the evil sisters.

It is worth mentioning that the first 15-20 minutes of the film is black and white and is not widescreen. This is a great callback to the original film and, like that one, once the land of Oz is reached, colour and widescreen are restored. There are a number of other references to the original film, such as a cowardly lion and many scarecrows. I was waiting for the trifecta of a Tin Man, but alas there was none.

Also, like in the original film, many of the character's introduced to us in Oz have counterparts in Kansas. Finley is Oz's assistant Frank and China Girl is a wheelchair bound girl who comes to watch Oz's magic show.

One terrifying aspect of this film is the monkeys, as no trip to Oz is complete without them. If you were scared by the flying monkeys of the original, or even the nightmare inducing wheelers from Return to Oz (really horrifying stuff), there is no respite in this movie. Here, they are baboons with giant bat wings and are just plain terrifying.

Verdict: A proper return to Oz, with all the elements of the original film (minus the singing).

This post originally appeared on Mosca Media.