The World's End

The comedy team that began with the TV show Spaced, have finally finished their Blood and Ice Cream trilogy with The World's End. I hope that this will not be the last time that Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Edgar Wright team up, because they make such good comedies.

In The World's End, perennial loser Gary King (Pegg), is wanting to reunite his old group of friends from high school to complete a pub crawl that they failed to complete in 1990. He rousts up his friends, including his former best friend, Andy (Frost), and drives them to their hometown of Newton Haven to commence a night of drunken debauchery. The only problem is that they are all in their 40s and have lost the drive to get belligerently drunk.

Once they get back to their hometown, they realise that not is all as it seems. They slowly find out that all the people in their hometown have been replaced by robots. They continue on their crawl and try to get to the bottom of the mystery.

This film is a really fitting end to the trilogy (the other two being Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz). The film did give a feeling that it was slightly similar to the British indie comedy Frequently Asked Questions about Time Travel, but I suppose that only stems from the fact that they both take place in pubs. Pegg and Frost have a great chemistry that has been built up of over a decade of working together. King is character that you almost feel sorry for, even during his most cringeworthy moments. You also feel sorry for Andy being dragged along on his exploits.

The rest of the cast are also fantastic performers. Martin Freeman (The "British" Office), Eddie Marsan (Sherlock Holmes) and Paddy Considine (The Bourne Ultimatum) play the rest of the crew that are conned into coming along. My only gripe with the movie is that these characters are not fleshed out a bit more and given some more interesting backstories. Rosamund Pike (Jack Reacher) also makes an appearance and shows that she has great comedic timing.

For the fans of the other two movies, all the recurring jokes are there, including fence jumping, Bill Nighy and Cornettos. It would be interesting to see how this movie would work as a drinking game, drinking whenever they do in the movie. But I'm not advising it, I think any normal person would die from that amount of alcohol. Also I don't think they'd let you drink in a movie theatre. Unless you're in Amsterdam.

Verdict: A great comedy for all to see, but fans of the trio will feel vindicated. Pegg, Frost and Wright are hilarious.

Review submissions

Don't agree with my opinions on a movie? Want to tell everyone about a movie that you really like? Well I am giving you guys the opportunity to submit your own reviews.

All you have to do is email jacksreviewsubmit@gmail.com with your review and name. You will get full credit for the review. It can be a review of a new release, a classic movie review or your own top ten list.

Also this is not me saying that I am going to stop writing reviews, because that would mean me stopping watching movies altogether and that's never going to happen.

Cheers,

Jack

The Wolverine

Man, Wolverine is so cool. He has like claws and regeneration and mutton chops. What I would do for a pair of those. This Japanese-set, Australian-filmed action movie is unlike any of the X-Men movies that have come before, apart from the fact that Logan is once again the central character (when you look back at it, the only time he wasn't a main character was when Professor X and Magneto were recruiting the initial team in the 60s).

So, this film starts when Logan (Hugh Jackman) is a POW in Nagasaki, prior to the US dropping the bombs that ended the war in 1945. This scene is pretty full on, as we get a ground view of an atomic bomb detonating. Something that no one lives to tell anybody about. Except for Logan and Yashida (Ken Yamamura).

In the present day, Logan is living as a homeless man in the mountains of Canada with his only friend being a bear. He is tracked down by Yukio (Rila Fukushima), a mysterious Japanese woman, who says that her master wants to thank him for saving his life all those years ago. Yashida (Haruhiko Yamanouchi) is now an old man dying from cancer (probably from the radiation caused by the bomb). He offers Logan a way out of his immortality, which he rejects. This film deals with Logan's internal struggle with his mutation.

This movie is really cool in the fact that it's not like the other superhero movies we've seen recently. Although it does revolve around his mutation, it's not the focus of the movie. It's more of just an action movie, where the tough main character has claws. Speaking of his claws, I've only recently been wondering about the blood on his claws and if he wipes them off before retracting them, because that is a really weird hygiene problem.

I don't really need to say whether Jackman is good as Wolverine, because he's played the character in six movies. The only other character that he should be able to slip into with the same amount of ease is Peter Allen.

The real rising star of this film is Rila Fukushima. The 170 cm model is really graceful in her action scenes and has real talent when it comes to acting. Although she has only previously been in a short film and handful of music videos, I can see her having a real future in the industry.

The only other white actor in this film is Svetlana Khodchenkova (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy). She plays Viper, although her character is very different from in the comics. Her character isn't explored too much and I wanted to know more about her background or her in general.

Verdict: A really fun movie that doesn't need background knowledge of the character or any of the previous films. Although it does call back to the comics, especially his use of 'bub'.

My Top Ten

In celebration of getting 1,000 views of my blog, I thought I would tell everyone what my Top Ten films are (just so you can get an idea of what I like in a film). So here they are, in no particular order:

1. Ferris Bueller's Day Off: I first saw this movie when I was ten years old and thought that that was how all teenagers acted. From that moment on I tried to live my life by Ferris' philosophy on life; that if you don't stop and appreciate life, you might miss it.

2. Mallrats: If I tried to live my life like Ferris Bueller, I more than likely ended up living it like Brody Bruce in Kevin Smith's sophomore flick. It is about two guys who spend their day in a local mall trying to get over their girlfriend woes. It has a great early Ben Affleck performance and the debut of Jason Lee.

3. Fight Club: The first time I saw anything to do with this film was when my sister got the VHS back in the day. The only part I saw was a making of segment when that showed the plane crash and final scene. I was so scared of these scenes that I refused to watch the film for years. When I finally saw it, the film changed my outlook on life and David Fincher became my favourite director.

4. Cape Fear (1991): Martin Scorsese's remake of the 1962 cult film terrified me when I first saw it a couple of months ago. Robert De Niro's portrayal of psychopath Max Cady has inspired many satires and parodies since, the most popular being the shot for shot remake in an episode of The Simpsons.

5. Slacker: Richard Linklater's independent classic is a great directorial debut for a filmmaker. Made for only $30 000, the film drifts in and out of the lives of the youth of Dallas, Texas. With no real plot or characters, it is quite an innovative film. This film has inspired many a young filmmaker to enter the industry.

6. Layer Cake: This classy British flick from the producer of Guy Ritchie's London gangster flicks is what I see as a more realistic approach to films about high end drug dealers. At the very least it takes itself seriously and the characters are believable.

7. Scarface: When I first saw this movie, it was the point that I realised that I wanted to be in the film industry. I became entranced with the story of Tony Montana his rise through the Miami underworld. I discovered that you could tell stories that entertained people, whilst still having roots in real life.

8. Requiem for a Dream: When I tell people that this film is on my top ten, most of the time they seem a bit disgusted. It is a very hardcore film about varying forms of drug addiction, mainly heroin. But my love of this film comes mainly from the technical aspects rather than the story, which is still very good. The movie uses a technique called hip-hop montages, which cuts together short two second clips that are used to emote a certain feeling from the audience.

9. Drive: Nicolas Winding Refn's tale of the Driver is an amazing film that has a fantastic 80s vibe, whilst being set in the present day with modern music. The lack of dialogue means that Ryan Gosling works even harder to display his emotions. Bryan Cranston plays an amazing character halfway between Walter White and Hal from Malcolm in the Middle.

10. Pulp Fiction: This modern classic from Quentin Tarantino draws me in every time I watch the film. It is such a triumph of non-linear storytelling and completely captures the vibe of the time in which it's set. The characters are part of popular culture and is insanely quotable. I think that without this film, people would not be impersonating Christopher Walken or his infamous watch speech.

These are my top ten films and my thoughts on them. Hopefully you can see from my list, how I look at movies I watch today. I might start doing more lists like this in the future.

Classic Movie Review: Thursday (1998)

Thursday came in a post-Pulp Fiction era. What may seem like a movie that is just a Tarantino rip-off is actually a lot more ambitious.

Save for an opening scene, the entire film does indeed take place on a Thursday. Drug dealer-turned-architect Casey (Thomas Jane) is trying to adjust to suburban life, when Nick (Aaron Eckhart), Casey's old partner, shows up on his doorstep. Throughout the course of the day, we find out that Nick has stolen a large amount of money and drugs from various people and is tying up loose ends. Meanwhile, Casey is in his house trying to deal with all the people who are after Nick.

The idea of having this film be set during one-day is a really cool idea for a low-budget crime drama. It adds a tension to the film because you can tell that the day is drawing to a close toward the end of the film.

Thomas Jane has always been an enigma to me. He is a critically-acclaimed actor, known for his dramatic roles, yet he is never afraid to poke fun at himself or bow down to fans, as we saw with his short film Dirty Laundry (where he reprised the role of the Punisher). He is really believable as a guy who left his old life behind him and just doesn't want to get dragged back into that world.

I've only ever been a fan of Aaron Eckhart when he's been in lower budget or independent films (Meet Bill, Thank You for Smoking), so he didn't disappoint me in this film. You don't see much of his character, but when you do, you want to know more about this homicidal maniac.

Verdict: A really cool crime movie, where it is more about the consequences of living a life of crime and how you can never really leave. A must watch for anyone who is starting of in the industry and wants to see how a good story can be told with not that much.

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.

The Heat

Much in the style of the buddy cop movies of the late 70s and early 80s, The Heat offers a refreshing and interesting look at the genre albeit in a hilarious gender reversal.

Special Agent Sarah Ashburn (Sandra Bullock) is a super successful member of the New York office of the FBI. When an opening for a senior level position is opened, she naturally goes for it. Her boss, Hale (Demian Bichir) will give her the position if she goes to Boston to solve a set of grisly murders in the criminal underworld, all involved in the drug trade. There, she teams up with local detective Shannon Mullins (Melissa McCarthy), a tough cop who has her own style of cleaning up the streets.

This film really works and is really funny. Good buddy cop movies are really hard to pull off (Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot, anyone), but Paul Feig has a comic sensibility that is perfect and I really feel as though he has found a muse in McCarthy (Bridesmaids).

Sandra Bullock has never really appealed to me as a comedienne (although I know she can make fun of herself, having personally received the Golden Raspberry for All About Steve), but she can really hold her own and has a great chemistry with McCarthy.

McCarthy is just hilarious playing this tough cop who will do anything to bring down the bad guys, including playing Russian roulette with a man's balls. Her tough exterior is brought down in her relationship with her drug dealing brother, whom she wants to rehabilitate. The rest of her family is a fantastic caricature of a Boston family unit, complete with everyone dropping their r's.

There is also a ton of great cameos from a range of comedic actors, including Tony Hale (Arrested Development), Kaitlin Olson (It's Always Sunny) and Thomas F. Wilson (Freaks and Geeks, Back to the Future).

Verdict: A hilarious twist on the buddy cop genre with plenty of laughs, but also has a sensitive side to it.