2013: The Year in Film: "This Is The End" Review.

You may have (and probably should just go ahead and do it if you haven't) forgotten about all of the hoopla surrounding the supposed "apocalypse" that was all over the internet last year. Well, it spawned a pair of comedies from some of the funniest people in Hollywood - "This Is The End" from the people who brought you Superbad and "The World's End" from the people who brought you Shawn of the Dead. This one had the benefit of coming out first and featuring a large number of extremely funny and well-known comedic actors from the Judd Apatow orbit. Featuring actors playing ridiculous versions of themselves, this flick focuses on a funny group of friends as they deal with a world-ending calamity.

Old friends Seth Rogen and Jay Baruchel (most recognizable for me from "Tropic Thunder" though he also played Danger in "Million Dollar Baby") have a pot and video game filled reunion weekend in LA planned. Jay, who doesn't like LA, begrudgingly agrees to accompany Seth to a celebrity-filled party at James Franco's house. (Among the celebs in attendance: Jonah Hill, Franco, Craig Robinson, Emma Watson, Michael Cera, Rihanna, and more) After what appears to be an earthquake hits LA, a small group boards themselves up in Franco's mansion to await what they think will be inevitable rescue. They soon discover that the calamity that has befallen LA may be much more than a simple earthquake and seek to survive and keep their sanity among the madness.

The Good: this flick at once features some very funny people who clearly get along quite well sharing whip smart barbs over preposterous and often terrifying situations. There is enough reality in their performances and interactions to really give the film a fun and intimate feel. Don't get me wrong, it never really feels like a documentary, but there's enough of a personal vibe that you really get a glimpse at what hanging out with this group might be like. Much of the film is obviously improvised, and the cast has hilarious interactions with one another based on real or fictionalized relationships. The cast is put through some preposterous and occasionally gruesome situations, but the script and cast is quick-witted and smart enough to find the humor in just about every situation. I found Jonah Hill, James Franco and the entire early party scene to be especially funny, and this group of people has a way to write real-feeling dialogue that you just don't find all that often. [See: Superbad] In addition, some of the more horror-y elements, while always remaining funny on some level, can result in some legitimate low-level scares. This apocalypse feels legitimate, and it's never completely laughed off.



The Bad: it drags a bit in the middle section, and doesn't become clear where exactly the film is going immediately leading up to the sprint to the close. If anything, the film could have benefited from pushing the actual event back a little and letting the party scene breathe more. Many of the film's funniest scenes happen in quick succession by using the available star power, and a movie could have been made from the party alone. In addition, there's a rather abrupt turn from one character in particular that feels unearned. Minutes prior the whole group was hanging out as friends and shortly thereafter one is trying to murder the others? It doesn't feel legitimate and feels a lot more like a device to push the plot along.

In all, this is an extremely enjoyable movie with a lot of solid laughs. There are hilarious sight gags and characterizations that take the interactions between these well-known and well liked actors to ridiculous places. Well worth seeing in the theater for the laughs alone. Ultimately, this one isn't as funny as Superbad (though very few comedies are) but it definitely works on a Pineapple Express (which is heavily referenced throughout) level. A solid time at the movies.

7.5/10

2011: The Year in Film: "50/50" Review

So I don't know if there's any legitimacy to this theory of mine or not, but I just came up with it tonight, so hear me out. My theory, simply, is that there are two kinds of narratives. There are "stories", i.e., things that actually happened or feel like they did, and there are "tales", i.e., something more based in allegory, metaphor, legend, archetype or the like. And one's not necessarily better than the other.. each narrative technique has a time and a place, and each can be damn effective when done well. This flick is a "story", plain and simple. TV producer and friend to Seth Rogen Will Reiser wrote the screenplay based on his own experience with rare spinal cancer and this flick has the feel of authenticity to it. Not the sort of authenticity where it's like "this is what cancer is like"... rather, the sort of authenticity where you know this is what HIS cancer WAS like. And there's something powerful about that. Is it THE definitive film on grief and illness and coping? Absolutely not.. but what it is is a very human and intimate look into the mind, experience, reactions and emotions of one very small group of people. So based on that, on with the review.

So Adam is a young man in Seattle Washington, all is seemingly well with his world. He's got a beautiful girlfriend who's keeping stuff at his place.. he has an entertaining friend, an interesting job, etc., etc. Lingering back pain drives him to the Dr., where an MRI reveals a large mass that turns out to be a malignant tumor. World. Rocked. Needless to say, the diagnosis of a rare and serious form of cancer turns his world upside down. He undergoes chemotherapy, sees a therapist at the hospital, and struggles to deal with the seriousness of what the diagnosis actually means.

This is an odd little film. It feels like an indie movie + Seth Rogen and Bryce Dallas Howard, but it's not. It's sad and melancholy and sweet and funny and depressing and uplifting in turns. I laughed out loud more than once and teared up more than once.. not your everyday combination. This is an intimate film.. 90% of which takes place either in a hospital or either Adam or Kyle (Rogen's) places and has about 8 characters that actually matter.

As a quick aside, I don't quite know what to make of Joseph Gordon-Levitt as an actor. He clearly displays fine range and can be very, very good in spots. He has a great screen presence and more than adequate emotional range. At the same time, however, and I don't know if this is due to his choice of roles or what, but he's always playing these melancholy, excessively quirky straight laced indie dudes. Is that him in real life? Even in Inception he played a sort of frumpy straight-laced grump. There's no real difference so to speak of between his character here and his character in "500 Days of Summer".

With that being said, this is a film that will succeed or fail based entirely on the strength of its cast. Joseph Gordon Levitt is very good approaching perfect in this role. He basically effortless displays the emotional and physical roller coaster that is dealing with a life-threatening illness. There are two scenes in particular, the night before and day of a major operation, that are poignant, touching, raw and powerful. I can take or leave Seth Rogen most of the time.. but his schtick works in this one. He's the jokester, gross pig of a best friend who also has an underlying sensitivity and humanity to him.. and it works, very well. Bryce Dallas Howard plays Rachael, Adam's girlfriend who turns out to be unable to handle the intensity of the whole cancer thing. She's an awful person and reminds me of certain characters from my past. You know, selfish and emotionally stunted and needy. That being said, she's extremely beautiful. Stunning even. Anna Kendrick plays Katherine, Adam's young therapist at the hospital, who is sweet and awkward and utterly believable. Phillip Baker Hall plays a patient at Adam's chemotherapy sessions who develops a bond and is very warm and believable as an elderly cancer patient. Angelica Houston plays Adam's mother.. and does a lot more with her role than she by rights should. She comes off as convincing and loving and completely authentic.


This is a very good film. It's genuinely touching while also quite funny. The direction is understated and the actors are given plenty of room with which to work. You really get the impression that these are people with a wide range of emotions and motivations rather than a stock set of characteristics that are generally written into comedies of all stripes. As I mentioned above.. I laughed, I teared up, I cared. I'm about 99% sure that's exactly what this flick set out to do.

8/10.