Movie Review: Fantastic Four

Courtesy of Marve/20th Century Fox

Story points and plot is divulged below...read at your own peril.

The Marvel universe has been taken in a lot of good directions over the past 15 or so years.   The X-Men franchise - though had some middling along the way - has overall been very strong thanks to some great directing work. The Avengers (including Hulk and Iron Man movies) has also had some issues but again the strength is still there making the franchise a billion dollar entity.

All of this was possible because Marvel stepped up and basically created their own production house - not satisfied with letting others take the lead on their own characters.   Which is what makes this film so surprisingly bad.

Actually, let me take that back...it's not bad; it's worse than bad - it's boring.

Fantastic Four is a reboot to the previously failed franchise staring Ioan Gruffudd (King Arthur), Michael Chiklis (The Shield) and Jessica Alba (Sin City) which held true to the original story of how the team got their powers. The first movie wasn't bad, a typical Origin Story to introduce an audience not all that familiar with superhero movies back in 2005.   Where the train went off the tracks was in the second film when they decided to follow the Silver Surfer/Galactus storyline (an utterly famous arc in the comics which has spawned hundreds of stories since) but apparently deciding that a giant pink and purple humanoid with amazing powers and gadgets they made Galactus some kind of cloud creature with tentacles...yeah.

So, is the new Fantastic Four worse than tentacle monster Galactus? Sadly, yes.

The film dives into the childhood of Reed Richards and Ben Grimm where, in fifth grade, the two collaborate on an amazing device that can transport matter into another dimension.   Fast Forward seven years (so that makes Reed like...17?) and one of the top minds in the world is trolling high school science fairs looking for talent? Yeup.

Courtesy of Marve/20th Century Fox

Richards gets brought on board at the Baxter institute where Franklin Storm (Sue and Johnny's father) runs a prestigious (although apparently secretly funded) institute for gifted youngsters.

Oh, and Von Doom is there.

Richards and the team, along with Doom who is apparently a badass with a past (that isn't gone into other than in random asides) and whom is in love with Sue (gotta keep that part of the continuity, right?) work to complete a large-scale version of Reed's original machine to travel to this new universe.

After testing it and confirming it works the team gets benched in lieu of professionals (a novel concept) but the boys get drunk and decide to use the device themselves.   Predictably that endeavor goes awry leaving Doom presumed dead in the other universe and the other three transformed. The trip back causes some sort of disruption field which affects Sue as she's wildly and RANDOMLY TYPING A MILE A MINUTE ON A KEYBOARD because we all know that the faster and more random you type into a scientific computer the more likely you are to be successful at what you're trying to do. Not blaming Mara for bad acting necessarily...though she seemed to do kind of the same thing in House of Cards a couple times...

So now they've got powers and are going to team up to save the world, right?!?!? Wrong.

Courtesy of Marve/20th Century Fox

To apparently create heightened and never actually fulfilled drama to this story Richards runs away from the complex the team is being held at. He disappears, naked, from a hidden and totally off-the-grid military installation in the middle of winter...just, why?

The story skips ahead a year. They've all gotten better control of their powers and a new device is ready to transport a team back to the other universe...where Doom is alive and has been busy cultivating world-altering powers!

In the end the movie culminates in an all-to-short fight between the Four and Doom where predictably and incredibly easily they are victorious. The world is saved!

I was genuinely excited for this reboot. The FF are one of my favorite teams as they are origin of my favorite Marvel character the Silver Surfer who has played a prominent role in their universe of the decades of comics. It seems really unlikely the studio will green-light a sequel given how much this movie has been panned; which is unfortunate. And if Twitter is to be believed even the Director thinks the final product is shite...intimating that there were outside influences at work that destroyed his better vision.

Courtesy of Marve/20th Century Fox

The cast had promise but the story was flawed. Buried in the minutia of character development. Why does there need to be a origin story movie for all superhero characters? Where is that written?   Jedi have the Force - it's explained (albeit briefly) and then it's understood and accepted. There's no damned origin movie explaining how Jedi's got their powers or why. Just make a movie that's entertaining and shows the characters in their element. If people don't understand why so and so has these powers and what's his name has those powers they can FUCKING GOOGLE IT.

It just feels that these movies more often than not fail due to the hindrance of having to spend screen time devoted to explaining things that don't really need explaining. Just tell us a fun, entertaining, action laden story!

Sadly FF is a big pass.   Don't waste your money. If you want to see it, wait for streaming of DVD.   The graphics and fight scenes don't even require the big screen like most action movies do - there's not enough of them to warrant it.

Tb

Movie Review - Jurassic World

Courtesy of Universal

There are some movies out there that have you leaving the theatre scratching you head asking "What the hell did I just watch?" - I'm looking at you Mulholland Drive.  And then there are movies that have amazing twist endings like Fight Club or to a lesser extend Identity.

Jurassic World (the fourth installment of the Steven Spielberg Jurassic Park series) is neither of these kinds of movies.  It's a straight forward action movie and if you go into it assuming anything else you're setting yourself up to be disappointed.

There aren't twists (unless you somehow assumed the rugged guy and the uptight girl weren't going to kiss) though there are interesting ways that the story diverts from the norm along the way.

The premise of the movie is that on the same island as the original Jurassic Park - Isla Nublar -the park has been realized and opened as Jurassic World.  It's not 20 years since the tragedy of Hammond's original park and the world has accepted Dinosaurs in all their majesty as nothing more exotic than African White Rhinos or some other creature they'd probably never see in person.  They have a baby dinosaur petting zoo/riding park...yeah.

Courtesy of Universal

So, even though the park has run smoothly for years - even with Raptors and a T-Rex - it's about time for that all to change.

Claire (played by the stunning Bryce Dallas Howard) is an uptight control freak genius who runs the day-to-day at the park.  A lot has been made of her "lack of feminism" as a female lead character.  I saw it more as a caricature of that kind of woman than as an advertisement for that sort of person to truly exist.  She's a damsel...but not really.  She reacts the way, I imagine, anyone who isn't insane or an idiot of some kind would if confronted by a ten-ton monster dinosaur who's trying to eat you.

Courtesy of Universal

Courtesy of Universal

Owen (played by the blue-eyed dreamboat Chris Pratt) is the prototypical Han Solo rip-off, right down to the scene with him bemoaning his failed date with Clair whilst absentmindedly working on his motorcycle (which he uses to lead a pack of Raptors, by the way).  All you needed was talk of hydro-spanners and failed hyperspace jumps and it would have been Star Wars.  He doesn't react the way a person should when confronted by a ten-ton monster dinosaur...but earlier in the movie he is clearly established as INSANE when he jumps into the Raptor paddock to save a fellow crew member.

Courtesy of Universal

The story centers around a new dinosaur which was genetically engineered from a secret concoction of other dinosaur and assorted species (secret until the plot warranted it's inclusion) escaping from it's paddock and running wild across the island killing anything it comes in contact with.

Oh, did I forget that the main characters of the movie are Claire's two nephews?  Well...they kinda forgot to include a plot point in the beginning of the movie explaining anything about why the kids were coming to the island.  And throughout the movie they keep putting the boys in peril but failed to create an appropriate bond between the boys and the audience to establish why I would care that they, instead of an extra in the background, are picked up and carried away by a Pterosaur.

Courtesy of Universal

At it's core this movie is about badass dinosaurs getting into some serious showdowns and there are plenty of great action scenes.  It had me thinking about the failed Alien vs. Predator movies or Predators where the story spent way too much time on the human characters and not enough time with the Aliens and Predators kicking ass.  Jurassic World should have been 105 minutes of dinosaurs rampaging and fighting to the death.  The human element should have been merely fodder to help the audience understand the size and scope of the dinosaurs might.

That is a movie I would have enjoyed.

Jurassic World isn't bad, it's a fun and entertaining action movie.  I think the choice to bring on an art house director showed in how they tried to add a greater level of drama to the movie but unlike the original Jurassic Park they failed to do so.  When you sat in that theatre and saw the T-Rex pushing that car further into the mud you were worried about little Timmy and when Ellie was running from the Raptors in the bunker you were FREAKING OUT.  Jurassic World had no moments like that, at least not for me.  It could be that I'm older now and more jaded to films...but, nah, it's the director's fault.

This is a movie worth seeing and worth seeing on the big screen to fully appreciate he sheer size and awesomeness of the creatures.  But go to a matinee and save yourself a few bucks.

Tb

Avengers: Age of Ultron Review

Courtesy of Marvel Studios

Marvel Studios has once again set the standard by which all other movie Universes will be measured against.  They've spent the last ten years building franchises from the ground up (Iron Man, Thor, The Avengers) all leading towards movies as-yet unreleased that may simply destroy the world with their awesome.

The Avengers: Age of Ultron movie brought us one step closer to the Infinity War movie Marvel Studios has been lording over our heads for years.  Like a kid who knows what he's getting for Christmas in June and can't touch it till that fateful day; Infinity War will be the culmination of events the Marvel Universe has been setting in motion for a long, long time.

But, let's focus on the present.

Courtesy of Marvel Studios

Avengers: Age of Ultron has a basic theme - we must protect the whole world.  Tony Stark, still dealing with the mental demons of the battle of New York, develops the framework of the Ultron program.  The Ultron program is meant to be a fully function A.I. designed to protect the world from threats too big for the Avengers alone to battle.

But, as we've seen with countless other A.I. movies and books humanity is judged to be an unworthy inhabitant of Earth; a cancer necessary to be eradicated.

Moving past the cultural undertones of this film and looking at just the fun parts, and there are plenty, we see that the witty banter is at a heightened level.  Whedon pulled no punches even making fun of Captain America's age with a joke about foul language,  There was the on-point humor of Tony Stark making us all remember why he's the most fun to hate hero we have in Marvel.

The new characters introduced: Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver (though he was already introduced in X-Men Days of Future Past - different actor) and though their history is different than that in the comics it is necessary to ensure a separation from the X-Men universe and the Avengers universe.  In the comics Magneto is their father.  We are also introduced to one of the most powerful, and completely undervalued characters, Vision (Paul Bettany).

In a year that promises to be epic in terms of monster hit movies (Jurassic World, Star Wars), Age of Ultron set a proper tone and a high standard by showing that on-screen chemistry and comedic timing can make a huge difference in the quality of a film.  I hope Snyder and Singer can pull of the same with 2016's next big comic movie installments.

Courtesy of Marvel Studios

One of the complaints about the first Avengers movie was that the only action came at the end and though it was outstanding the sequence was stunted.  Age of Ultron should leave no one wanting for action and the scenes we've come to expect from big-budget action movies.  The final chapter of the film is both stirring and moving.  Your heart will break and immediately be mended only to break again.

Marvel Studios has this franchise headed in the right direction and by using it as the sun in their universe of movies all other films are enhanced by its over-arching story line.

This is a can't miss in the theatres and should be seen multiple times to catch all the nuance of story playing out in each scene.  Enjoy!

This is your bin fodder movie review guru signing off!

Courtesy of Marvel Studios

Star Wars The Force Awakens First Official Trailer

Back in November of last year Lucasfilm/Disney released the first teaser trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens (SWVII) to rave reviews and mass speculation.  Who was this prominently featured storm trooper?  Why was that girl riding a Popsicle?  Wait, did that lightsaber have hilt blades?

Now the first official full-length trailer has been released and my first reaction is "JJ Abrams has restored all the faith that Lucas had, sadly, pissed away.  This film will be outstanding."

There isn't going to be any JarJar's in The Force Awakens.  It looks like the dark, gritty space-drama Ep II should have been.  

I don't want to go frame by frame and talk about the trailer.  Mostly because I think that's boring but also because if you want to do that there are plenty of other options out there.  Instead I want to hit on the high points, questions raised and speculate on what this all could mean.

From the beginning: we are once again on Tatooine (presumably - though there are other sand-planets in the Star Wars Universe, it seems most likely that they would return to their roots).  The opening scene shows a speeder in the background racing across the landscape with a downed X-Wing in the foreground and a crashed Imperial Class Star Destroyer half buried in the sand.  

Now, we all know that the story is meant to take place several decades after the end of Jedi - in keeping with actual time-space continuum logic to explain the main characters ages - and it seems evident that even though the Emperor and Vader fell at the battle of Endor the Empire still holds sway in the Universe.  It also makes sense that, if this is Tatooine we are seeing, that battles would have raged here.  Tatooine is a planet in the outer-rim section of space.  If the Empire, spread to the winds after Endor, would regroup in areas further from the Capital and harder to maintain control for the fledgling republic.  (hard to confirm Coruscant became the Republic's capital since all canon was vacated from reality last year - but for the sake of argument we will assume).

We then experience a voice over from Mark Hammel (as Luke) giving the same speech he said to Leia on Endor about the force being strong in his family.  Curiously it refers to his father in the present tense and not the past...foreshadowing???  Probably not, seems really REALLY stupid to "resurrect" Vader; can't see that happening.  Most likely just a choice in language with no specific purpose or value.  Part of this sequence shows what appears to be Luke handing a lightsaber to Leia.  In the books Leia was never able to achieve significant Jedi powers and handling a lightsaber, though not impossible even for a Jedi with limited powers, seems like an interesting choice for the direction of the film.

It's after the voice-over sequence that the trailer really takes off.  Lots of fast-cut scenes showing X-wings in formation flying low over a body of water, A dark Jedi wielding a lightsaber in battle.  Ranks of Storm Troopers on an ice planet standing before a raised stage with a leader that can't quite be made out clearly.  The tie-fighters present on the ice planet have white wings (instead of the traditional dark gray metal color) presumably to blend in better with the surroundings.  Space flight scenes.  A badass Storm Trooper in chrome armor.  And of course a scene of the Millennium Falcon flying through a crashed spaceship on Tatooine, presumably the same ship we see earlier in the clip, being chased by a TIE Fighter.  

The trailer ends on a scene showing Han Solo and Chewbacca on the deck of the Millennium Falcon in such a way as to lead the viewer to believe that this scene is reflective of the first time they've been on the ship in some time.  They are both brandishing weapons which leads one to wonder what they were expecting to find OR what they had to do to get on board in the first place.

The trailer is everything you'd expect it to be.  I imagine this feeling is similar to what people felt when seeing the first trailer for The Empire Strikes Back in theaters back in 1982.  The pure joy of anticipation is never stronger than at this moment.  

If you haven't seen it, or just want to watch it a few dozen more times, check it out below!

Tb

Bin Fodder Move Review: Furious Seven

Courtesy of Universal

It would be my guess that the writers/producers/directors of the Fast and Furious series sat around in pre-production meetings saying something to the affect of: "People just want to watch fast cars, hot women and shit blowing up" and they're not wrong about that.  The F&F series has been wildly successful warranting a now seventh installment (putting it up there with the likes of the X-Men series).  

Unfortunately, this kind of thinking tends to lead to situations where the story and plot line of a movie is so convoluted that you're left wondering why they even felt the need to pretend to build it in.  But the fast cars, hot girls and shit blowing up distract most people from this fact.

This is not to say that the movies have not been enjoyable, even for someone like me who doesn't get a chub over cars.  I think they're neat and they definitely look cooler in these movies than I would ever expect them to be in real life.  But, in reality, it's the core cast and the ideals that this movie presents: family and loyalty, that grounds this movie in reality against all odds.

There is an added level of sentimentality with this installment as it was Paul Walker's last - he'd been with the franchise since its inception as a mainstay character.  If you didn't know, he died last year in a car accident.  Not giving anything away, but there's a really nice montage with a voice over from Vin Diesel to wrap up the movie; pulls on the heart strings.

Realizing that when watching a movie of this type you have to through you concepts of what could actually happen in reality versus fantasy right out the window; but there was one moment involving The Rock Dwayne Johnson where I said. "This is a bridge too far!".  The guy runs an ambulance off a bridge to destroy a flying vehicle which is trying to destroy one of the cars...like...seriously?

Courtesy of Universal

That being said the movie is very entertaining.  It has the requisite T&A show along the way and even some surprise guest stars.  The cars look cool, run fast and are very furious.  If you've like the other movies in this series I would definitely recommend viewing.  If you've never seen an F&F movie before this is not the place to start - there's a lot of story which hinges on your knowledge of things that have happened previously (including who characters are, why Letty can't remember anything, who Shaw was, who Mia is, who Han was, etc.).  

However, if you'd like to join the fun and watch the previous installments - this is the commonly held belief of the appropriate order at this point: The Fast and the Furious, Fast &Furious, Fast Five, Fast and Furious 6, The Fast & the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Furious 7.  The second movie: 2 Fast 2 Furious doesn't involve the main crew and can be ignored.

Happy Rides!

Tb

Movie Review - Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

A long time ago, in a place called 1968 there was a revolutionary movie called Planet of the Apes staring Moses (I mean: noted gun-nut Charlton Heston) wherein the world had long ago plunged into a technological darkness and apes had taken over as the dominant intelligence on planet Earth.  Heston, an astronaut returning from a mission, lands on what he thinks is some other planet where evolution went horribly wrong...and in a stunning display of terrible acting (shirtless on a beach no less) he views a partially destroyed Statue of Liberty and realizes it was Earth all along.  This "epic" scene has been mockingly used many, many times since then.

The failed 2001 relaunch of the franchise had a similarly idiotic scene at the end - this time with the Lincoln Memorial being replaced by an ape Lincoln (like they'd still have had an ape Lincoln...) statue.  This movie was much more militaristic; showing apes as ruthless aggressors bent on the destruction of all humanity. 

Luckily, a decade later, Twentieth Century Fox revitalized the story with better acting (yes, I know it's James Franco) and better CGI work.  With forethought for a franchise they built the first movie as exactly that; a first movie.  Caesar is an ape exposed to experimental drugs meant to cure Alzheimer's but in him the affects were amazing and he became hyper intelligent for an ape; capable of understanding and solving complex problems.

Jump ahead ten years (in the POTA universe) and the Apes; with guidance from the mighty Caesar have made a community in the vast forests outside San Francisco.  Caesar has sired several offspring; the oldest and strongest - Blue Eyes - he is grooming to eventually take his place.  Teaching him to use his intelligence as a guide to being a good, kind leader.

The opening sequence of the movie shows the apes in a massive pack hunt of elk - it's amazing watching the coordination and sequences rendered of the apes swinging through the tees.  If you've watched any of the previews you have probably seen the bear attack...yeah, it's awesome.

In Dawn humanity is on its last legs in San Francisco.  They've cobbled together a meager civilization at the heart of the city but have no power source and are running low on fuel. Their solution: restart a hydro-electric dam and bring power back to the city.  Thus enter the plot.

The movie is decently well written - with few plot issues.  There are a few "too convenient" situations but they are mostly believable given the characters and situations involved.  An excellent scene occurs when Koba (one of Caesar's most trusted advisers and human-hater) "plays ape" to seem non-threatening to some humans he happens upon at a weapons depot.  Little do they know...

The ape society is built on classes with Caesar at the top as the smartest and the strongest.  But unlike most animal class systems there is no battles for supremacy because the teachings of Caesar are that "ape not kill ape".  This mantra works...right up until the point that one of the ape's decides Caesar likes humans too much and is weak because of it.

Often times with movies that should focus on non-human characters (like Alien vs. Predator) the human characters always seem to take over and overshadow/drown out they main characters.  But Dawn did a good job representing both equally and well.  Time was spent with just the apes; of them having conversations and discussing serious topics.

There are a few scenes that are very impactful; like when Caesar and the entire ape society show up at the doorstep of the human refugee camp as a show of strength with a warning not to venture into their woods before.  When Caesar speaks - the reaction of the humans in the crowd is outstanding.  And, as you've no doubt seen in the previews - seeing an ape on horseback shooting an automatic rifle is pretty amazing.

As a second installment in the movie franchise Dawn is excellent.  It's not just a plot piece, moving us to the next film - it does so much more than that.  The struggle for the planet is real and Caesar realizes this at the end.  Humanity will not be coming back - now is the time for the ape to rule; and he will lead his people to victory.

I, for one, can't wait to see where the next movie takes us.  Hail Caesar.

Thanks for reading!

Tim  

Godzilla Movie Review

**Mild Spoilers – Nothing Direct**

The King of the Monsters – that is what they once called him.  There was a time in past when Godzilla was more of a spoof character (not specifically talking about the 1998 American version, but that’s certainly part of the consideration).  As with any movie franchise at a certain point the developers run out of ways to make good films and they just start making things people will hopefully shell out money to see.

This revamp of the Godzilla character, directed by Gareth Edwards (Monsters) who makes his blockbuster movie debut with this film comes out swinging for the fences. 

The writer, Max Borenstein is a relative unknown with no major motion picture experience; which unfortunately shows in the human character development. 

Courtesy of Warner Brothers

Let’s start with the bad, since there isn’t much and there’s no terrible.  I am of the camp who thinks that monster movies should focus on the monsters; especially in a Godzilla movie where you can have epic battles and don’t need an intricate character-driven script to tell an amazing story.  “Godzilla fights a Monster in downtown San Francisco for an hour” – Best. Pitch. Ever.

The problem with Godzilla from a human character standpoint is Borenstein tries to make us care – I’m assuming with the hope that the audience will then care more that these people are in danger.  They even tried to establish the fatality element with killing a “main” character early on.   But in reality, American movies have a track-record of not letting focal characters die so even when they are in “danger” they’re really not. 

I never once care about the humans in this movie; the acting isn’t bad, it’s not the actors fault – I wasn’t compelled by the nature of their story to become invested.  Other than Ken Watanabe’s character, who has maybe all of 20, introspective and impactful lines.  Now; on to the good stuff.

GODZILLA IS A BADASS.

Courtesy of Warner Brothers

Taking inspiration from some of the cheesier Japanese movies in the past Godzilla is the good guy – even though the United States military may have alternate ideas about that.  The scene where you first see him brings back so many memories of all the previous incarnations and his feet (which are the first part you see) look somewhat funny because they are so thick and stumpy, but when you see him in all his glory it is a sight to behold.

In the story, Godzilla is basically a bully – like the Earth is his playground and if you think you’re badass enough to play here we’re going to rumble and I will probably breathe fire in your face.  Watanabe’s character is who first realizes that Godzilla isn’t part of the problem but is their only chance at a solution, he has a great line where an Admiral asks his advice for solving the problem with the creatures rampaging though the Western United States and he just says, “let them fight”. 

The overarching story involving the creatures is solid – I don’t want to give anything away but it makes sense from a natural order perspective.  Special effects are masterful and though you are left wishing the fight scenes between Godzilla and his opponent were even longer there is still plenty of destruction for the rampaging glutton inside you.  To that point, there’s even a scene where an entire skyscraper falls on top of Godzilla…seriously.

The film’s been out in the US for about 36 or so hours and if you haven’t seen it yet, get off your ass and go to the earliest show you can today.  I went to a theatre that is notoriously dead (as it is in a mall that barely even exists anymore) and it was still a relatively full seating. 

As with any action-laden movie viewing thus on the big-screen is a must, but when you see Godzilla fill the screen and roar, don’t be surprised if your pants feel funny.

Movie Review - This is the End

If you were a rich, young, Hollywood celebrity who came from nothing but were now famous what would you do?  Probably something close to what Seth Rogen did with This is the End.  Get a pack of your friends together and make a comedy about the end of the world wrought with giant demon penises, sink-hole humor and lots and lots (and seriously…lots) of drugs.

This is the End is one of those movies where people play themselves (like Being John Malkovich) but instead of being a weird introspective movie about a portal into the body of a movie star, this flick has always-awesome Emma Watson wielding an axe and stealing all the booze the fellas have.

Rogen brought in some heavy hitters for this movie: Jay Baruchel, James Franco, Craig Robinson, Jonah Hill, Danny McBride round out the main cast with appearances from the aforementioned Emma Watson, Jason Segel, Mindy Kaling, Paul Rudd, Aziz Ansari and Michael Cera. 

We are left to wonder at the closeness to reality in which these characters play themselves in This is the End.  Franco exhibits a serious man-crush on Rogen, Hill and Baruchel HATE each other, Robbins is constantly wearing a towel that says simply: Mr. Robinson, as if people didn’t know who he was.

Michael Cera plays a drug addict psychopath who slaps Rhianna in the ass, blows a handful of coke in the face of Christopher Mintz-Plasse and gets a tag-team style blowjob in the bathroom Baruchel was attempting to use in Franco’s house.

The movie goes from “over-the-top Hollywood party” movie to full-on craziness when the rapture hits and hundreds of people are sucked into the sky on beams of blue light.  The “good” people are taken from Earth, leaving the terran planet to the heathens.  Of course everyone at the party remains.

Eventually the main cast is stranded in Franco’s house with limited supplies and no hope of rescue because the world has gone to hell in a hand basket.  They battle demons, themselves, Emma Watson and hell hounds before they eventually make a run for Franco’s Prius, which of course is almost immediately totaled by cannibals. 

The culmination of all that is funny and wrong with this movie is when Rogen and Baruchel are running from the cannibals and they encounter none other than the devil himself.  He is in the form of a giant, horned, fire breathing monster with a proportionally giant swinging dong.  In true kid-like humor this is the focal point of the entire scene, but not directly…you just can’t miss it because it…keeps…swinging…like the pendulum on the world clock.

Often-times comedies that try to go “too big” fall flat, but some do not – Tropic Thunder comes to mind – and This is the End manages to go big but stay small in the humor department while maintaining a level of serious discourse about how relationships are strained and tested in life-threatening situations.

Overall I would give This is the End a thumbs up.  You should check it out!

Tb