Paul

Directed by: Greg Mottola
Released: UK 14 Feb 2011, USA 18 Mar 2011
Starring: Nick Frost, Simon Pegg, Kristen Wiig, Jason Bateman, Sigourney Weaver, Blythe Danner, Bll Hader, Jane Lynch, Seth Rogen



IMDB Link

He said:

If I am completely honest I was a bit apprehensive when I saw the first trailer for Paul. As much as I have enjoyed Frost and Pegg onscreen in the past (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) I had assumed that the films were as good as they were because of Edgar Wright calling the shots behind the scenes. Luckily the boys found themselves in capable hands of writer-turned-director Greg Mottola (who directed Superbad and wrote and directed Adventureland)

Paul plays towards its target demographic (14-31 year old males) with its penis jokes and toilet humor without any apologies. The film was co written by Pegg and Frost and is in no uncertain terms an often brilliant lampooning of pop culture from the last thirty years, including Mac and Me which I thoroughly enjoyed as a child but doesn't get nearly as much mention in pop culture as E.T.

Funny side note: (I embarrassed my wife and her parents when I stood up during a climactic scene and shouted along with a character a line that I had been holding my breath in hopes they would take the obviously well laid bait, and then applauded them for doing so.) I am not one that normally encourages outbursts in the cinema, but I am only human.

That isn't to say that this is a geek film, Helen's parents both enjoyed it as much as I did. The story is well written and the pace is spot on. While this film isn't solely a parody there are a lot of winks and nods at other well known alien encounter films from start to finish. I enjoyed this film and give it {{{4.5 out of 5}}}

She said:

If you haven't guessed it by now James and I are kind of nerdy. And with the masses of pop culture references and sci-fi pastiche in Paul nerds are exactly the people who this film is aimed at. I particularly enjoyed a voice cameo by Steven Spielberg and the very fact that Sigourney Weaver is in the film at all makes me happy.

As usual Pegg and Frost's hilarious bromance chemistry won the audience over. While I didn't enjoy this film as much as Shaun of the Dead I did enjoy it much more than Hot Fuzz. Unlike James I wasn't worried about the lack of Edgar Wright but I was concerned about Seth Rogen playing Paul (probably because the last thing I saw him in was The Green Hornet and... oh God the memories, cry). However his voice acting worked really well and funnily enough I found Paul a rather believable creature.

I would recommend this film to anyone who enjoys really nerdy, laugh out loud funny comedies. It helps if you have a love of pop culture so you can pick up the references but even without this the story is great. As James said the plot is well paced and keeps your attention well. I give this film {{{4 out of 5}}}

They Said: A perfect celebration of alien sci-fi pop culture with moments that will make you cringe and moments that will make you double up with laughter. We give this film {{{8.5 out of 10}}}

The Green Hornet

Directed by: Michael Gondry

UK / US Release date: Jan 14 2011

Starring: Seth Rogen, Jay Chou, Tom Wilkinson, Christoph Waltz, Edward James Olmos, Cameron Diaz

IMDB Page

He said:

There are so many things that I could say about this film, but seeing as not one of those things would be constructive I will limit my bitter diatribe to this: Simply put The Green Hornet is a waste of time. The source material provided ample opportunity to produce a different type of hero film. Sadly those opportunities were overlooked and out right ignored in exchange for cheap visuals a very few good practical effects and a stumbling and often seemingly directionless plot.

This is not a comic book film adaptation, The Green Hornet like The Shadow , The Phantom and The Rocketeer before it were originally radio serials long before they were adapted to comics, and at the time were fantastic for their era. It wasn't until Van Williams and Bruce Lee portrayed the duo that our parents generation was introduced to them again.

One of the few nods worth mentioning in the film was a sketch of Bruce Lee in Kato's sketch book. If I am honest I am remiss to slam this film as much as I would have had I wrote this review directly after I left the cinema. It is obvious that Seth Rogen (who lost thirty pounds to portray Britt Reid and also co-wrote the film) really loved this character and attempted to do it's story justice, the sad truth is that he failed. I give this film {{{0.5 out of 5}}}

She said:

I knew this film was going to be awful as soon as I saw the trailer; an incompetently written piece of film puff trying to cash in on the current boom of superhero movies. This film fails to create any kind of affinity with the superhero loving crowd because there is simply no integrity or moral standing to The Green Hornet. This film is crass, offensive and to be honest down-right boring.

Forgetting about the terrible acting for a moment, the script itself was completely dire. There was no pacing (I thought it was going to end a long time before it did... but then again maybe that was wishful thinking) and the overarching story was obviously first draft nonsense. A rewrite or twelve at least may have giving someone on the production team a chance to realise that the film made no kind of ethical sense. And don't get me started on the distastefulness of Diaz's role and how she is treated.

The effects were alright but nothing to write home about. The 3D presentation with no 2D option just showed how desperate the filmmakers were to reel in some kind of return on this pitiful excuse for a film. I give this film {{{0.5 out of 5}}}

They said: Save yourself. Don't see it. If you are stuck on a plane and it is the only film available we suggest you have the nearest obese passenger smother you until you lose consciousness. We give this film {{{1 out of 10}}}

QUESTION FOR THE COMMENTS: WHAT IS THE WORST FILM YOU HAVE EVER SEEN?