This Is The End

COMEDY/HORROR

Last Ditch Efforts

8.25 out of 10 | DVD or RENTAL

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Rated: R  Crude and sexual content, brief graphic nudity, drug use, pervasive language and some violence
Release Date: June 12, 2013
Runtime: 1 hour 47 minutes

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Director: Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg
Writers: Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, based on the short film Jay and Seth vs. the Apocalypse by Jason Stone
Cast: Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Craig Robinson, Danny McBride, Michael Cera, Emma Watson, Rihanna

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SYNOPSIS:  While attending a party at James Franco's house, Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel and many other celebrities are faced with the apocalypse.

REVIEW: Seth Rogen is an actor (The Guilt Trip), a writer (The Watch), and now a director! The Canadian-born star brings his unique bong-y perspective from Vancouver, British Columbia, and teams with long-time collaborating writer Evan Goldberg to adapt the Jason Stone short film that Seth and Jay Baruchel Jason and Seth created in 2007.

Seth Rogen (Green Hornet) waits at LAX for his Canadian childhood pal Jay Baruchel (She's Out of my League) to deplane. After Jay arrives they go back to Seth's house and party up with weed, alcohol, and 3D television and video games. When Seth asks Jay to accompany him to James Franco's housewarming, Jay hesitantly goes. After joining the party and meeting up with Franco (147 Hours), Jonah Hill (Moneyball), Craig Robinson (Peeples), Emma Watson (The Perks of Being a Wallflower), Kevin Hart (Think Like a Man), and others, Jay tires of the LA scene and wants to go back to Seth's place. When he and Seth go to a convenience store for more smokes, an earthquake rocks the neighborhood and people are transported Into the sky via blue lights. With the neighborhood – Seth and Jay decide to get back to Franco's house to wait out the coming apocalypse.

What happens when a bunch of actors get together for a housewarming party and end up having to face down the end of the world? When it comes to Rogen, Franco, Baruchel, Robinson, and Hill, they wait out the End of Days with beer, weed, some water, and no idea as to what to do next. Watching these guys muddle their way through the Rapture is like watching a bunch of five-year-olds fight over the last cookie on the plate. Ludicrous, unbelievable, and over-the-top, This Is The End is a hilarious look at how these these weed-toting, liquor-consuming, fun-loving friends could possibly survive.

There's three things that are clever about this movie. The first is that every character that these guys play are themselves… or are the caricatures of what we expect these actors to be in their personal lives. The second is that I never would have expected a film from these guys in the way that they laid it out. Even though Rogen and Franco and crew have come up with some strange tales, This Is The End takes the prize. And lastly Rogan and his crew made a funny movie and seemed to have a great time doing it.

Besides the main cast, there are plenty of other cameo appearances from their acting friends. From Mindy Kaling (The 40-Year-old Virgin) to Emma Watson, to Michael Cera (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World), and others, each brings their familiar pattern to what we expect from them while pulling back the curtain on the more hidden and explicit parts of their lives.

Starting off like a scene from Less Than Zero, This Is The End quickly turns into an all-out hilarious supernatural, and out-of-this-world, post-apocalyptic nightmare. There are plenty of laughs to be had, from Jonah Hill playing around with a prop gun, to a standoff between James Franco and Danny McBride over Franco's porn magazines, to a discussion as to how six survivors should deal with Emma Watson without being 'rape-y'. There's pretty decent special effects - way beyond anything that the boys have done while making Pineapple Express, Super Bad for some of their other efforts.

This juvenile, vulgar comedy is not for everyone. But if you love Seth Rogen's and his buddies' work on film before now, this film will be a raunchy, fun, entertaining delight.

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The Guilt Trip

Miles To Go

★ ★ ★ 1/2 out of 5 buckets | Matinee or DVD

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Rated: PG-13 - Language and some risque material.

Release Date: December 19, 2012

Runtime: 1 hour 36 minutes

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Director: Anne Fletcher
Writers: Dan Fogelman
Cast:  Seth Rogen, Barbra Streisand, Brent Cullen, Colin Hanks, Yvonne Strahovski, Adam Scott

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SYNOPSIS: An organic chemist takes his mother on a country wide road trip while he tries to sell his invention.

REVIEW: Anne Fletcher, director The Proposal and 27 Dresses, returns to the helmer's chair to tell the tale of a mother and son on a long road trip. Based on a screenplay from Dan Fogelman (Crazy, Stupid, Love and Tangled) with elements from his own relationship with his mother, Fletcher takes an established genre staple and makes it into something new.

Organic chemist Andy Brewster (Seth Rogen, For a Good Time, Call...) flies to New Jersey to visit with his mother Joyce (Barbra Streisand, Little Fockers) before planning to left on a road trip across the country to shop his new invention, a household cleaner safer than the major brands and created with wholly organic ingredients. When his mother tells Andy a story that affected both of their lives, Andy takes it upon himself to invite Joyce along on the trip. Once on the road, the differences between them grow as Joyce tries to offer her advice on his love life and how he should pitch the invention that he took five years to develop.

The Guilt Trip is a love letter of sorts between Dan Fogelman and his mother. He did, in fact, take a road with his mother. The story that she told her son, while not exact to the screenplay, is an element that ties mother and son together. One of the scenes that Barbra Streisand undertakes that is a direct true event from Fogelman's mother. It involves a steak, a stage, and a sixty minute countdown. Sometimes the exaggeration of true events are better than anything that we can type up from our imagination.

Seth Rogen plays a more dour character than we are used to seeing from him. He tries to be the happy-go-lucky type, but years of research for his invention has left him on the verge of being penniless, perpetually alone, and dependent on the success of his product. Barbra Streisand, as the mother, embodies the spirit of a loving Jewish mother. Joyce shows her son affection with food, repeated voicemail calls, and prying questions about Andy's lack of a girlfriend. Both Rogen and Streisand show great chemistry onscreen, brought out by methods that only hundreds of fictional movie miles can produce.

Dozens of buddy road trip have made their way to the big screen - from Due Date to Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, from Thelma and Louise to Kalifornia, buddy road trip films are abundant. But The Guilt Trip treads into a little bit new territory by pairing up a mother and her son in a coast-to-coast road trip. The sophomoric humor is reduced in favor of the uncomfortable quirks of two generations of family. Both make the best of the situation with only the best of intentions toward each other, but each has their own regrets keeping them from living complete lives.

The Guilt Trip takes a trip from New Jersey to San Francisco, taking a few funny and unexpected turns along the way. The ending has a bit of a surprise while being true to the expectations of the journey. Cute and entertaining, this movie keeps rolling along at a steady clip, not even slowing down for foul weather.

The Guilt Trip is a great movie to take your own mother to. It will entertain both parents and their grown children. If a cute comedy is what you are looking for, this film may be the one to get yourself in gear for.

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50/50

Best Odds

Director: Jonathan Levine

Writers: Will Reiser
Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick, Bryce Dallas Howard, Anjelica Huston, Serge Houde

SYNOPSIS: When 27-year-old Adam learns that he has cancer, he and his friend Kyle struggle to come to terms and to deal with Adam's disease.

REVIEW: Jonathan Levine, director of the Sundance Film Festival Audience Award winner and Grand Jury Prize nominee The Wackness, takes a script from relative newcomer writer Will Reiser of the real life story of a 27-year-old diagnosed with cancer and his journey his life takes after hearing the news.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Inception, 500 Days of Summer, The Lookout) takes on the role of Adam Lerner, a young man with his whole life ahead of him whose life is thrown into disarray after being diagnosed with cancer. Adam attempts to comes to grips with the disease and its effect on his future, enduring the aid of his best friend Kyle (Seth Rogen - Knocked Up, The Green Hornet) and a young therapist Katherine McKay (Anna Kendrick - Up in the Air, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) who Adam believes knows less about life and his situation than he does. From Adam's father Richard (Serge Houde) battling Alzheimers, to Adam's mother Diane (Anjelica Huston) dealing with a spouse she cannot talk to and a son who does not want to talk to her, to Adam's artist girlfriend Rachael (Bryce Dallas Howard) suffering with a man she may not care for, everyone around Adam is affected by his affliction.

50/50 is a funny and dramatic look at a man's battles with his family and friends, and the betrayal of his body at such an early age. Rachael feels trapped with responsibility, Katherine finds herself inadequate with her novice advice, and Kyle sees Adam's cancer as an opportunity to pick up girls. The decision to shave his own head with Kyle's suspect hair clippers manages to capture both humor and humanity, while a marijuana sharing discussion with stage 4 cancer pal Mitch's (Matt Frewer) home leads to a tender moment between him and is wife. Alan (Philip Baker Hall) joins Mitch as fellow chemotherapy recliner rider.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt proves again that he's got the right stuff. Stoic and serious in Inception, quirky and smart in 500 Days of Summer, and venturing into action suspense territory in the upcoming bicycle messenger thriller Premium Rush, Gordon-Levitt has come a long way from NBCs Third Rock From The Sun. Seth Rogen brings his typical goofy, slacker charm to the role of Kyle, just dampening the performance down enough to fit the tone of the film. Anna Kendrick as therapist Katherine brings intimacy and care to her new patient with every calculated, learned touch, knowing that a pat on the arm should work according to her studies.

In 50/50, the dramatic pace builds slowly, even though the diagnosis is quickly learned. The laughter comes from the situations that Kyle managed to talk Adam into. As the situation becomes more serious and dire, the laughs come more easily, serving as a catharsis for the uncertainties Adam faces. In the case of this movie the odds are that you will find a good balance of fun and drama, probably 50/50.


WORTH: Matinee or DVD

Kung Fu Panda 2 (3D)

Even More Awesomer!

Director: Jennifer Yuh

Writers: Jonathan Aibel, Glenn Berger

Stars: Jack Black, Angelica Jolie, Jackie Chan, Dustin Hoffman, Gary Oldman, Seth Rogen, Lucy Lui, David Cross

SYNOPSIS: As the Dragon Warrior, Po the Panda, along with the Furious Five, fights injustice. Now, Shen and a deadly weapon to end kung fu threaten Po and all of China.

A fuzzy, over-sized, squishy black-and-white panda with the power of kung fu returns in this sequel to the widely successful Kung Fu Panda. With over $630 million in worldwide box office (www.boxofficemojo.com), Kung Fu Panda 2 was a karate chop lock. And loaded with big voice talent and a bigger, more action-packed story line, Kung Fu Panda 2 pleases like a one-two punch.

Director Jennifer Yuh, no stranger to animation, gets promoted from being in charge of the story in the original Kung Fu Panda to being in charge of everything for the sequel. Po (Jack Black), Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Shifu (Dustin Hoffman), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Viper (Lucy Lui), Crane (David Cross) and Mr. Ping (James Hong) return for more high kicking hi-jinks. Well, everyone but Mr. Ping - he is a simple noodle-making goose, you know. Joining the cast is the peacock weaponer Shen (Gary Oldman) out to conquer China and destroy a soothsayer prophecy that a Black-and-white kung fu master would destroy him. Rounding out the cast are Shen's wolf pack soldiers and the other kung fu masters Po idolizes.

Kung Fu Panda 2 brings a fast and furious action sequel to the masses. Sometimes the fighting sequences were so fast and so furious that the fists and the fury could barely be contained and seen onscreen. Layer on top of great fights a heartfelt story of an adopted Panda (wait, Mr. Ping wasn't his father?) looking for inner peace and for the secrets of his origins, great comic moments, and a finish worthy of Karate Kid 2 - yes, I recognized the parallels, Dreamworks! - and you have another animation enjoyable for both kids and their parents.

Gary Oldman's Shen is more formidable an opponent for Po and the Furious Five than Tai Lung was for the first film. Power hungry and looking toward total domination, he holds the key to Po's beginnings. Even though Po is now the Dragon Warrior, his focus needs more focus as he is distracted by visions of his past every time he encounters his peacock enemy.

The colors are deep, rich and vibrant. The story is accessible and legendary. You will laugh, you should cry a little, and you will come out of the theater with a smile and the impulse to show off your kung fu skills. Black Black has another hit on his hands. The real mystery is what a fuzzy, out of shape Dragon Warrior panda will have in store for us the next time!

WORTH: Matinee and DVD

Paul

A Cute Encounter Of The Third Kind

Director: Greg Mottola

Writer: Nick Frost, Simon Pegg

Stars: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Jason Bateman, Bill Hader, John Carroll Lynch

RANT: Movie-going with my housemate. Always a roll of the dice if she is going to like the movies she says she wants to go to. I was lucky this time, although she is not the reviewer here. Another interesting development... I purchased a soda and, halfway through the movie, my housemate stuck her hand in the cup to get some ice. Instead of ice, she pulled out the nozzle from the soda fountain. What a crazy day!

SYNOPSIS: Two Londoners make a trip of a lifetime, starting with the San Diego Com-Con and planning a trip to tourist alien hot spots across the American West. Their plans go out the window when they "encounter" a true alien, Paul.

Director Greg Mottola strays from raunchy and stoic comedy to beam in on an action/comedy/adventure/buddy/road-trip flick starring a wide-eyed extra-terrestrial named Paul. Gathering all of his acting pals from Arrested Development (Jason Bateman), Adventureland (Kristin Wiig, Bill Hader), the writers of Paul (Simon Pegg, Nick Frost) and Superbad (Seth Rogen).

Following Graeme Willy (Pegg) and Clive Gollings (Frost) on their American holiday from their starting point at the San Diego Comic Com with plans to visit alien hot spots across the west, they unwittingly have a close encounter with Paul, an alien on the run from the government after working with them for 60 years. When Paul pleads for help, Graeme and Clive roll the dice and strike out on an adventure they never expected. In their travels, they find the government, hill-billies and a bible-thumping shotgun-toting father all chasing after them and their RV.

Seth Rogen, voicing Paul, uses his distinct frat boy, man-child with a heart of gold style to perfection. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost look like they had come directly from Shaun of the Dead (minus Nick being a video game playing zombie), still best of friends. Kristin Wiig brings her kooky, sometimes distracting, characters from SNL and rolled them into Bible devotee Ruth Buggs.

Paul is a quick-paced road trip, complete with car chases, big guns and bigger government-issued sun glasses. Not only does Mottola take us into the Comic Com, he pays homage to a slew of comic, sci-fi and pop culture films throughout Graeme and Clive's adventures. Paul is a high-flying saucer ride - witty, funny and tender. Just be advised, Paul seems like it was made for kids, but it is rated-R for a foul-mouthed reason.

Worth: Matinee or DVD

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Green Hornet

Feel The Sting

[Seth Rogen, Jay Chou, Cameron Diaz, Tom Wilkinson, Christoph Waltz]

image from filmofilia.com

RANT: Went to the theater with my housemate today. Big problem... the first two rows behind the rail were reserved! Apparently, they do not let you know that when you arrive at the box office. Problem was, the film was PG-13 and not truly suitable for the young party goers. Oh well, I guess the parents know what's best.

SYNOPSIS: After the death of his newspaper mogul father, playboy Britt Reid decides to change the direction of his life by helping people as a costumed, masked avenger.

Get ready to hear the trumpets. Michel Gondry directs a story from Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg based on The Green Hornet radio series and the 1966-1967 TV series by George W. Trendle. The Green Hornet and Kato, characters made famous on the small screen by Van Williams and the legendary Bruce Lee, get their big screen treatment at long last.

Many were unsure, me included, that Seth Rogen was the man for the job to fill Britt Reid's shoes - let alone fill the Green Hornet's mask. But what we get from Seth's is a Britt Reid who is a wannabe masked adventurer with all of the enthusiasm and none of the fighting skills. It is refreshing, like Kick Ass before it, that the hero be just the regular guy without any cosmic rays or radioactive spiders - just the desire to help people. Thank the gods Britt has a martial arts mechanical genius, Kato (Jay Chou) to watch his back and keep him outfitted with all sorts of vehicles and gadgets. And since neither Britt nor Kato have a clue how to be the heroes they need to be to take down the kingpins of Los Angeles crime, Britt, as the new owner and editor of his father's paper, has to enlist a criminologist secretary Lenore Case (Cameron Diaz) to give them some much needed advice - Lenore not suspecting that she is really helping the Green Hornet.

Of course, it is code that every great hero needs a great villain. And in this case, we are fortunate enough to have Inglourious Basterds own Christoph Waltz as Los Angeles crime boss, Chudnofsky. In a great opening scene with Mr. Clear (James Franco) as an up-and-comer crystal-meth dealer and night club owner, Chudnofsky shows great concern and worry from Mr. Clear's comments that Chudnofsky was not modern or scary enough to be the big boss. It is not a Col. Hans Landa caliber performance, but above par, nonetheless.

The movie has chemistry, action and laughs. Seth Rogen takes on Britt Reid with childlike vigor and eagerness to get out and fight crime. And Jay Chou would make Bruce Lee proud with his turn as Kato. The Black Beauty is a crazy, cool car with its missiles and hood machine guns and chases through downtown. Plus we get some funny moments with the introductions of the Green Hornet's gas gun. The trend to use 3D technology results in adequate effects, but the film would be fine without it. As with any Seth Rogen film, I make sure that I have an over sized bucket of popcorn and a kidney-busting soda, looking to escape the early afternoon reality. But I was pleasantly surprised with the flick - getting my fill of action and amusement.

Worth: Matinee or DVD

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