This Is The End (2013)

4/5

This Is The End is a raunchy, vulgar, hilarious comedy written and directed by Seth Rogen. It is entirely his show, and he delivers the most over-the-top laughs you can imagine by going way farther than you'd expect. The plot follows two friends (Jay Baruchel and Seth Rogen) at James Franco's housewarming party when the apocalypse suddenly strikes. Our unfortunate protagonists are not taken up to heaven in the Rapture. Instead, they must fight hunger, distrust, and well-endowed demons in order to survive.

What makes it more clever than just an average comedy is that all the actors play quasi-real versions of themselves. They look the same and have the same name, but they don't behave the same way they do in real life. The best example is Michael Cera, in the most widely-divergent role of his entire career, playing himself. Even without that twist, it was still a lot of fun seeing a bunch of familiar faces in small cameos.

The cinematic properties are passable but forgettable. And nobody expects to be impressed by those things when they enter a theater to see a Seth Rogen film. Instead, the film stands on its humor, and Rogen is able to deliver side-splitting laughs. His timing is impeccable, whether we are simply witnessing bickering friends or being horrified by extravagant gross-outs and extreme sight gags. (I honestly cannot wrap my head around any reason for there to be so many demon penises on screen in any movie ever.) There were times when I finished laughing and realized I had not inhaled for the previous 30 seconds. Yes, my respiratory rate was literally 2 breaths per minute. This is an amazing movie that I highly recommend for anyone who is a fan of Seth Rogen.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1245492/

She's Out Of My League (2010)

4/5

She's Out Of My League is a male-oriented romantic comedy about an average-looking guy named Kirk (Baruchel) who gets asked out by a "hard 10" named Molly (Eve). The plot is fairly simplistic and follows the basic formula of all romantic comedies: guy meets girl, guy and girl disagree about something that is usually fixed in a day, guy and girl make up and live happily ever after. But throughout the movie we get the sense that something is amiss; why is a 10 hitting on a 5? The answer is pretty obvious and fairly benign, so don't go into the movie expecting some surprise ending where all secrets are revealed. In fact, the plot itself is the least interesting part about this movie. The most interesting part about this movie, on the other hand, is something you'll find out in the next paragraph.

As in all good movies, the characters are the heart of the film. They sparkle with familiarity and honesty; they are unique without feeling written. They are acted well, which helps elevate them off the printed page. The jokes are strong as well, especially when emotions or tensions bubble up and eliminate their inhibitions. We see what really makes these people tick and what fools they make of themselves when they lose their cool. And when they do, it's pretty cool to find out that there are real human beings beneath the fictional characters. Taken as a whole, She's Out Of My League isn't the most original movie, but cliches are repeated for a reason. They work. And so they do in this movie as well, which I highly recommend for a good laugh.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0815236/

How To Train Your Dragon (2010)

4/5

How To Train Your Dragon by DreamWorks is a phenomenal animated film on the same level as most Pixar movies. The plot follows the young Viking Hiccup (Baruchel) and his great warrior father Stoick (Butler) on an island plagued by dragon attacks. Hiccup isn't like the other Vikings--he's scrawny and uses his brain to invent weapons instead of wielding giant hammers and axes--and his father lets him know how disappointed he is in him because of it. Wanting to kill a dragon and prove to his father that he's a manly Viking, he tests out a new weapon on an elusive dragon species called the Night Fury. He strikes the dragon down, injuring the tail so that he can no longer escape. He has the opportunity to kill the dragon but discovers that he can't. He sees the dragons with the same fear that he felt and realizes that they're just like him, instead of the evil creatures he's been taught must be killed on sight. But that is just the beginning of this epic tale.

This movie is an exhilarating and memorable ride. Despite a few bad puns, the writing is exceptional. I was a huge fan of the repetition of certain phrases that, when placed in different contexts, showed new meaning. I liked the play on words with the concept of "dragon training," and how it did a complete reversal from what it was in the beginning of the movie. To me, the writers clearly treated this film with care, intellect, and a faith and respect in their audience that is a rarity in "kids" movies these days. That kind of attention to detail was present in their incredible graphics as well, even though I didn't see it in 3D (I think they give me more headaches than they're worth). Without going for the cuteness of Pixar or the realism of Beowulf, they managed a charismatic and charming style that feels appropriate for the subject matter and wholly original.

There were a few things I didn't like about the movie, however. First, Baruchel's voicing of Hiccup was irritating. By about 10 minutes in, I just got annoyed at his whiny, monotonous tenor and wished he was played by anybody else, even Michael Cera. Second, the fight and reunion with his father felt written and didn't quite ring true, although it nonetheless contained some tearjerking ability. Third, there were some aspects of the plot I didn't (and still don't) get, but they're relatively minor and don't really hinder your enjoyment of the film. This movie goes wholly recommended by me, because it has just about everything you could ask for in a film, including the all-important entertainment value.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0892769/

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (2008)

3/5

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist is just about as quirky indie as you can get. It stars Michael Cera as awkward Nick, the only straight guy in the gay punk band The Jerkoffs, and Kat Dennings as rich girl Norah, the daughter of famed music producer Ira Silverberg. Nick recently broke up with his girlfriend of 6 months Tris (who has also been cheating on him for 6 months) and is taking it pretty hard. He makes her mix tapes, which she just throws away, only to be picked up and adored by Norah. They meet at one of his band's concerts and Norah asks him to pretend to be her boyfriend for five minutes. And so begins the night. And just like every teen romantic comedy, they fall in love, fall out of love, and both eventually redeem themselves and partner up again.

Aside from the eclectic, interesting music, nothing really stood out in terms of technical skills. The editing and cinematography were only okay. The plot progression was predictable, the dialogue was filled with the requisite awkward humor Cera often--or always--produces, and the characters were written with just enough oddball characteristics to make you think they might be real. It's the typical indie movie you expect to see based on the trailer, and nothing about Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist really makes it stand out from that genre. Still, it's an entertaining film without much distinctly wrong with it, so go check it out if you think you're gonna like it. You probably will.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0981227/