The World's End

Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Martin Freeman, Rosamund Pike

Directed by Edgar Wright

Rating: B

The comedic duo Pegg and Frost continue their community themed films in this pub-crawl, apocalyptic fest. 

As in "Shaun of the Dead", "Hot Fuzz" and now "The World's End", the main characters end up in a village where it's "them" against the community. Be it elderly people, or as the villains are called in the newest movie "the network", the recurring theme is a utopian community. The town has finally rid the wrongdoers and almost everyone is peaceful. The wrong are put right and there are no worries, until Pegg and Frost come along.

"The World's End" is another buddy movie with Gary King (Pegg) and Andy Knightley (Frost) who start the film at odd ends but by the end have patched up their best friendship. Gary is facing his mid-life crisis in rehab when he realizes his life never got better after one legendary night. His solution? Call up the gang to finish the golden mile pub crawl in their hometown. It takes some convincing for his grown up friends with wives and successful jobs to join him when they all hold grudges against Gary.

After the first of twelve pubs, the gang runs into mayhem in the bathroom when they discover the townspeople aren't human. They bleed blue ink when Gary pops the head off of a robot (which they insist they are not). Using Gary's own logic, it would only make sense for the group to march on to the last pub, The World's End. They just have to make it to the end without tipping off the townspeople they know their secret.

The movie sticks to the same humor as in "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz", so past fans shouldn't be disappointed in the latest product of Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg. Lines are sprinkled with pop culture references like Legoland, and Starbucks. The film also makes a statement on franchising and updating the old with the new. Their old town has modern art, the pubs look more like family restaurants, and crime has gone down.

Overall, "The World's End" does not disappoint and for those looking for a good British comedy, this is the one to spend a movie ticket on.

The Adventures of Tintin

Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis, Daniel Craig, Nick Frost, Simon Pegg

Directed by Stephen Spielberg

Rating: B+

Tintin (Bell) is a reporter with quite the talent for investigating. Rackham (Craig) is on the hunt for buried treasure and takes Captain Haddock (Serkis) as hostage. Haddock's ancestor is responsible for the buried treasure and has given clues as to where it is. Tintin helps Haddock escape and they both travel around the globe with Rackham not far behind.

The Adventures of Tintin is a fun movie to watch. Not only that but there are so many reasons to go see it! First of all, read the cast list. Tintin has an impressive list of celebrity voices. Second, Stephen Spielberg is the director. Just look at how many great movies he's directed and been involved with: E.T., Jaws, Jurassic Park, Super 8. Third, the animation in Tintin is incredible. It is styled so realistically that audience members aren't sitting in there seats watching pure animation (like Shrek). Instead, viewers almost forget that it isn't real people doing the stunts but characters. That is one of the best parts of animation; you can get away with more crazy stunts than you can in real life. For example, in one scene Tintin is flying a plane that runs out of gas. Captain Haddock then gets out of the plane, sits in front of the windshield and burps into the engine. That can't happen in real life.

Many people might misjudge The Adventures of Tintin because they have never heard of it before. On the contrary, many people in French speaking countries (or grew up around French people) will have heard of it. Tintin was a comic book created by Herge in 1929. In fact, Spielberg even premiered The Adventures of Tintin in French speaking countries a few days before its release in the United States.

Don't let the theatrical trailer fool you. The Adventures of Tintin is definitely worth seeing and is fun for all ages.

Paul

Seth Rogan, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kristen Wiig, Jason Bateman

Directed by Greg Mottola

Rating: 3 stars

Graeme Willy (Simon Pegg) and Clive Gollings (Nick Frost) are two British comic-book nerds trekking across America. They stop along at Comic Con in Los Angeles, California, and are crossing Nevada when a speeding car goes off the road in front of them. As they find, Paul is an alien on the run from an FBI agent (Jason Bateman) who want to "terminate" him. Paul has been in America for a number of years, a captive by the FBI, giving information and treated as a prisoner. Graeme and Clive must help Paul escape the FBI so he can go "home".

Paul was an entertaining movie that appeals mostly to sci-fi fans. There was lots of references to alien movies like "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", "Predator", and "ET" with an edition of a cameo from Steven Spielberg. Paul (as in the movie, not the alien) didn't live up to it's hype though. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost make an excellent team and are enjoyable to watch in films (like Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz) but this film in particular was just average. I think what made it a "three star" movie was the whole Kristen Wiig spiel. Sure, it's cute that a comic-book nerd gets together with an "odd" girl but I think Wiig's lines should have been re-written or cut out entirely. The ending wrapped together nicely and was not a disappointment. Paul is worth watching, don't get me wrong on that. I would recommend Paul to those who like sci-fi comedies or any movies starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. Other then that, watch and enjoy!

Hot Fuzz

Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Jim Broadbent

Directed by Edgar Wright

Rating: 5 stars

"For the greater good."

Sergeant Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg) is an excellent cop. In fact, he's so good at his job that he makes everyone else on his team look bad. Angel gets transferred from the hectic London life where crime happens every day to the quiet country side of Sandford. While everyone in town accepts what is going on (like under-age drinking), Angel makes arrests anyway. His fellow partner, Danny Butterman (Nick Frost) is fascinated by Angel's active past in the police force. When the murder of two actors occurs, Angel becomes suspicious and starts his own task to find the culprit. With the help of Danny, they try and solve the mystery of the multiple murders in Sandford. However, a surprise ending as to who is killing these people bring a funny and satisfying ending.

I would rate this movie five stars. It's clever and hilarious. Simon Pegg does an excellent job in this movie and Nick Frost is hilarious as his partner. I loved this movie the first time I saw it. The ending was funny, finding out that there was more than one killer and that it turned out to be the Neighborhood Association. Edgard Wright drops subtle hints in the movie, such as when Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are in their cop car, people watching and Simon Pegg takes a notice to a man with a long coat on. He notices someone else too and the scene goes a little like this: Simon Pegg: "Ask yourself, why has he got his hat pulled down like that?" Nick Frost answers, "He's .... ugly." Simon Pegg adds, "Or he doesn't want you to see his face." Nick Frost persists, "'Cause he's .... ugly."

Just a warning, there's lots of cursing in this movie. As you tend to find in quite a few British films, the "F-bomb" is used quite a bit. If cursing in a movie doesn't bother you, then I would recommend watching this one. This movie is funny throughout the two hours and keeps you laughing at short jokes and pranks. If you liked this movie, you might enjoy Shaun of the Dead which has Simon Pegg and Nick Frost working side by side as well.