It is the End

It's the end of summer and the end of Summer movie season. This year was a disappointment to say the least. I would usually be at the cinemas at least once a week during summer, this year I've gone only a handful of times. From bad marketing to terrible reviews (and I don't just mean critics) the line up this year was lackluster. Early in the season we had Iron Man 3 (Review Here), Star Trek (Review Here) and Man of Steel (Review Here), all films that did well in the box-office, though the latter was not loved by critics. I enjoyed each of these films and it got me excited for the rest of the season. But then there came Pacific Rim (Review Here), a highly anticipated film that had none of del Toro's previous cinematic charm. The summer started with a bang and fizzled out before we even had a chance to realize it was upon us.

And here we find ourselves at the end. So it's only fitting that I finish my summer reviews with two films about the end: This is the End (Dir. Evan Goldberg, Seth Rogen) and The World's End (Dir. Edgar Wright).

This is the End is a comedy starring the familiar faces of Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, James Franco, Craig Robinson, Jonah Hill and Danny McBride, to name a few. The synopsis is simple enough: the world has come to an end, most of humanity has been taken up to the sky and a group of humans still remain, fighting to survive and figure out what happened. Where it gets interesting is that each of the actors keeps their name and their public persona. They play hyperbolic versions of themselves, the them they assume we the public think they are.

The film has some hilarious moments. The scenes at James Franco's party are ridiculous in a good way. There are so many famous faces doing all the sorts of things you think would happen at a James Franco party, and more than a few that will surprise you. The relationship between the group of survivors is both endearing and highly dysfunctional. Danny McBride's character is a wonderful antagonist and provides some great opportunities for the other actors to play against him. Those familiar with the actors' previous work will enjoy the many digs made at past projects, as well as some nostalgia.

My critique of the film would be that it's a bit too long near the end. Not too much so that it takes away from the film, but enough that when you finish watching it you realize it could easily have been 20 minutes shorter. I also would have liked more female representation in the film. Previews made it seem that Emma Watson would have a larger role, unfortunately hers is short albeit sweet and sassy.

Overall I recommend this film for the ridiculous factor. It's full of crude jokes and likes to takes things too far at times, but the relationship between the characters ties the film together making it an enjoyable watch.

The World's End is the third film from the Edgar Wright/Simon Pegg duo who brought you Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. The film stars Simon Pegg as Gary King, a drug addict who hasn't been able to let go of his high school glory, nor his desire to finish the epic pub crawl he and a group of friends attempted in their hometown twenty years earlier. Using charm and manipulation he manages to bring them all back together for one more try. Nick Frost, Martin Freeman, Eddie Marsan and Paddy Considine star as Gary's former friends who don't like him very much anymore. As the pub crawl goes on, they begin to realize that something is wrong with the town, and they are forced to fight for their survival while trying to get to the final pub, The World's End.

I had expected to enjoy this film more than This is the End having seen and loved Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. Unfortunately this film tried too hard to bring the humour from the previous films to the extent that it just recycled all the old jokes. Pegg's Gary was an unlikeable character who didn't really have much of an arc. The relationship between the five main characters lacked any charisma so that by the time they get to liking each other again it was too late. Rosemund Pike's Sam Chamberlain provided the one and only female of the group. She got to hold her own in a bar fight but, like Emma Watson in This is the End, seemed like an add-on character. There were some funny moments but all in all it felt like a movie we'd seen before with nothing new added.

I have to add here that the film got a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes so I am officially throwing my hands up and surrendering to the summer. When Man of Steel gets at 56% rating and this film a 90% I know for sure that the world has completely lost it.

Goodbye summer films, I wish I could say it's been fun...

Films You Should Be Watching On Pay Per View

Tonight my husband and I decided to make some pizza, pour some vodka sodas and watch pay per view. Two excellent films later I thought it was worth giving them a shout out on my blog.

Drive

I know there has been a lot of hype about this movie. It came out just as my husband and I made our big move across the Pacific so we didn't get to catch it at the cinema. I really loved this film and here's why.

1. Editing
I could go on and on about how spectacular the vision of this film was. The way they shot it and then arranged the shots was nothing short of brilliant in my eyes. The shots toyed with the timeline giving you moments that were conflicting in all the right ways. This film relies heavily on visual as it is very sparse on dialogue. The shots tell the story and they do so in a beautiful way. If you're interested in film editing then I recommend that you check this film out. You could turn the sound off and watch it and still catch all the emotion.

2. Soundtrack
The music in this film is so great, like a flashback to the '90s. I loved the mix of genre. In some scenes there was upbeat, fast-paced techno pop and in others there were slow, melodic, haunting tunes. This combined with editing and the use of slow motion married sound and image in a perfect and surprising combination.

3. The Dialogue
Or more importantly, the lack there of. At one point I turned to my husband and commented on how the sparse dialogue rendered the film more realistic. In life there are so many moments of silence where all the words are played out in our thoughts and eyes. In most films directors fear the silence and fill it with nonsense. This film did not. It not only allowed silence, it reveled in it. I felt myself captivated by the story because I was able to follow it without being force fed the constant thoughts of characters.

4. Ryan Gosling
This was a spectacular performance by Gosling. To be a truly great actor you have to be able to tell the story, the emotion through your eyes. If you can show me rather than tell me then I know you can act. It was about 20 minutes into the film that I realised he'd hardly spoken. I was able to get the essence of the film purely through the emotion he projected through his eyes. When he does speak however, you listen, his words are few but they hold a certain power.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. It was refreshing to be able to watch a film and make sense of it on my own without all the words. There are some pretty epic car chase scenes too.

50/50

My husband and I saw this at the cinema and loved it so much we thought we'd re-watch it. It's a simply but beautifully told story of a 27 year old who has just found out he has a tumor with a name no one can pronounce and a 50% chance of survival.

There are a couple of scenes that I wanted to mention. The first is the one where Adam (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) finds out about the cancer from his detached doctor who seems more interested in his conversation with his tape recorder. When I was 18 I had a tumor removed and I will never forget what it was like sitting on the other side of that desk as the doctor explained things to me that were beyond my knowledge. All the words were lost on me except for when she mentioned that it could be cancer. That word hits you like a knife through the heart. Luckily for me my tumor was benign, but I really loved this scene because it was so true to what I remember of that traumatizing experience.

The other scene I have to mention is the one where Adam's best friend Kyle (Seth Rogen) confronts Adam's girlfriend Rachael (Bryce Dallas Howard). This was one of those scenes where you really want a character to do something and they follow through. I wont say anything in detail because I don't want to ruin it for you but when you see the film you'll know what I mean.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt did a wonderful job as Adam, carrying the weight of the burden he carries with grace and a dawning understanding. You would think that a film about such a serious and life altering topic would be heavy, but the film does a great job of showing humor in even the worst moments. The characters are lovable and the relationships between them authentic. I really enjoyed the connection between Adam and his sweet therapist Katherine (Anna Kendrick).

So that's how I spent my Sunday night. What about you? Seen any good films lately?