Playing Catch Up: Mini-Reviews for Blue Jasmine, Don Jon, The World's End and World War Z

BLUE JASMINE
I confess, I've never really understood the appeal of Woody Allen. I enjoyed Annie Hall, but I only got about halfway through Manhattan before deciding I'd rather do anything else. I did get a chance to see Midnight in Paris a couple years back, but found it underwhelming and dull. I had a similar reaction to Allen's latest Blue Jasmine, which is only a marginal improvement. Sure, Cate Blanchett gives a great performance, but she's about the only great thing in this movie. The scattershot plot is frustrating and unsatisfying and the characters come across as shallow and pompous. Allen keeps the viewer at arm's length with his pretentious sensibilities and annoying self-aware dialogue. I'm so busy being frustrated with his inane attempts to come across as 'intelligent' that I can't even bother to invest in this sorry excuse for storytelling.

FINAL RATING: 2/5

DON JON
Is there anything Joseph Gordon-Levitt can't do? His feature film debut as a writer/director is bursting with creativity and boundless energy. Don Jon is funny, sweet and features great performances from an excellent cast. It's not without its fair amount of flaws, though. It feels as if it was two acts of a story in desperate need of a strong third act and its final thirty minutes feel a bit uncharacteristic considering everything that precedes it. Regardless, the film is a modest success and Mr. Gordon-Levitt shows great promise as a writer and director. Count me in for his next feature.

FINAL RATING: 3.5/5

THE WORLD'S END
The World's End is, if nothing else, a whole lot of fun. Sure, it's missing the manic energy and zaniness of its superior predecessors Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, but this final entry of the superb Wright/Pegg/Frost Cornetto Trilogy is still a worthwhile trip to the movies. It takes quite a bit of its precious time getting warmed up in the first act, but once it gets going, the laughs and excitement rarely let up. One of the best trilogies around!

FINAL RATING: 4/5

WORLD WAR Z
WWZ could go down in history as the blandest zombie movie ever made. Actually, calling it a movie is giving it way too much credit; it's barely even that. The whole enterprise gives the impression that someone had a half-assed idea for an identityless, boring zombie movie and Brad Pitt, desperately wanting to star in an adaptation of the worldwide bestseller World War Z, snagged the screenplay and plastered the novel's title all over it in the hopes that it might make a buck or two. It looks like the plan worked, but any smidgen of creativity ends there. I haven't had a chance to read the book yet, but I can only presume you're better off checking that out or watching The Walking Dead than you are wasting your money on this nonsense.

FINAL RATING: 1.5/5


 

Gravity, a stunning and emotional masterpiece

I wanted to start this review with something cliched along the lines of, "I have seen the future of cinema and it is Gravity," but that term 'future of cinema' is tossed around so casually, it feels as if it's lost much of its significance. Besides, simply referring to Gravity as 'the future of cinema' does it a bit of an injustice, like it's an achievement that could possibly be repeated in a future age. This is a once-in-a-lifetime moviegoing experience and I don't think the 'future of cinema' will spawn many movies quite like it. I wish I could adequately describe in words just how captivating, thrilling and genuinely moving this latest masterpiece from Alfonso Cuaron is, but I find myself incapable of doing so. Besides, a picture says a thousand words and Gravity is chock-full-o' some of the best you'll ever see on a movie screen, so I'll just let the film itself do the talking.

The main plot of Gravity is about as straightforward as they come: Two astronauts (George Clooney and Sandra Bullock) get stranded in outer space after satellite debris disables their ship. Over the course of 91 minutes, we pay witness to their desperate attempts to survive and get back to earth in one piece. The simplicity of the story is refreshing in the wake of so many convoluted plotlines that big budget fare seem to demand these days. Alfonso Cuaron and his son Jonas have crafted a screenplay that trims anything extraneous, focusing on the primary journeys of these characters and their struggles. This is a survival story pure and simple and while the images that Cuaron, his cinematographer Emmanuel "Chivo" Lubezki and the visual effects team have crafted are thrilling and groundbreaking in every which way, a large amount of Gravity's beauty is due in no small part to its intimate look at the nature of humanity and our will to survive.

Sandra Bullock may deserve all the mockery this side of the Mississippi in regards to the Oscar she was awarded for her obnoxious performance in The Blind Side, but her performance as astronaut Ryan Stone in Gravity is no laughing matter. She gives would could arguably be the finest performance of her career and one of the best of 2013. Watching her struggles and her pain as she fights for her life is just as mesmerizing as the visuals on display. Likewise, George Clooney is fantastic, bringing all his trademark charm and humor to his performance as veteran astronaut Matt Kowalski.

Gravity has no precedent. It's been compared to Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, but the comparison kind of ends with the fact that they both take place in outer space. I assure you, you've never seen anything like this before and unless you actually decide to take a trip to outer space in the near future, I sincerely doubt anything will come close to the experience of watching this film. Cuaron crafts images so spectacular they'll bring tears to your eyes and with Bullock's performance providing an emotional anchor for the visual splendor and endless thrills, you'll find both your brain and your heart totally engaged and overwhelmed. This is visual storytelling at its finest and it not only belongs near the top of any list of 2013's best films, it belongs amongst the ranks of the greatest films ever made. Let's keep our fingers crossed that Cuaron doesn't opt to wait another seven years before releasing his next feature.

CONCLUSION: A glorious cinematic achievement in every sense of the word, Gravity is an experience like no other. You aren't just watching these astronauts in space; you're right there with them, participating in their struggles. See it. See it on the biggest IMAX screen you can find. See it in 3D. Whatever you do, just SEE IT. This is a game-changer in every conceivable fashion.

FINAL RATING: 5/5

The Spectacular Now - Not Spectacular, but Solid

Does anyone else feel like this summer has been dominated by the coming-of-age genre? Seriously, people complain about the superheroes taking over, but I'm pretty sure we've had just as many coming-of-age tales as comic book flicks in 2013. First you've got Mud, which is easily one of the best films of the year; there's also The Way Way Back, which isn't quite as amazing, but still heartwarming and showcases a knockout performance from Sam Rockwell. You've also got The Kings of Summer, which I still haven't seen, but hear good things about. I should probably get on that.

Finally, we have The Spectacular Now, the latest release in this overflowing category. I'm a fan of the genre though, so I'm not complaining. At its best, these kinds of stories remind us of the bittersweetness of being young and uncertain. At its worst, the genre is middling, hazy, nostalgia-fueled reminiscing that can be both obnoxious and sappy - A deadly combination. The Spectacular Now falls firmly in the middle of these two extremes, leaning more towards the good side. It's neither a revelation as some reviews might lead you to believe, nor is it a schlock-filled failure. Not even close. It's touching and heartbreaking - a tale of romance and the effect it can have on young people finding their way through the treacherous, winding roads of life. It also throws in an examination of alcoholism for good measure, which causes the story to lose focus, dimming its overall effectiveness. But even with this sudden turn, The Spectacular Now is largely successful thanks to its honest look at teenage love and the superb performances of its two main leads.

The story follows Sutter Keely (Miles Teller), a high school senior who's as charismatic as he is self-obsessed. He and his girlfriend Cassidy (Brie Larson) are super popular and dominate every social gathering they attend. Things take a turn for the worse when Cassidy dumps him after an unfortunate misunderstanding. He presumes they'll get back together like they always do, but this time she's firm in her resolve and ends up dating someone else. After discovering this, Sutter proceeds to get drunk and pass out on someone's lawn. This random lawn belongs to one of his classmates Aimme Finnecky (Shailene Woodley), an adorable girl-next-door type who loves reading sci-fi and manga who hasn't had a boyfriend in all her life. Sutter takes to her immediately and the two strike up a friendship that eventually leads to romance. Of course, things grow more and more complicated as graduation looms on the horizon and Sutter shows no signs of pursuing anything remotely resembling a future outside of his hometown. He also manages to sneak conversations with his ex into his daily routine, not-so-subtly attempting to win her back. He tries to brush off his relationship with Aimme as a passing thing (His friend keeps labeling it as a rebound which, initially, seems to be the case), but as their relationship continues to grow and Aimee's affection for Sutter deepens, things become more complicated.

For much of its running time, The Spectacular Now is pretty darn spectacular. James Ponsoldt's direction is on point and unobtrusive. The screenplay, written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber of 500 Days of Summer fame, is earnest, funny and totally genuine. These two guys are becoming quite a force to be reckoned with in the writing world. (Not too shabby for a pair that broke into Hollywood by penning the screenplay for The Pink Panther 2 starring Steve Martin) Of course, the natural dialogue would be nothing if the two leads weren't capable of delivering strong performances, but, thankfully, both Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley are revelations. The supporting cast, featuring the likes of Jennifer Jason Leigh, Kyle Chandler, and Brie Larson, is also strong, but this is the Teller/Woodley show and they are easily two of the finest young actors I've ever seen.

Teller has the more difficult challenge of making a slightly unlikable protagonist on the verge of flat-out alcoholism charming and relatable. His performance is a success in every way, reminiscent of a young John Cusack. It's not too hard to understand why everyone would find Sutter to be such an awesome guy. Woodley brings her a-game as sweetheart Aimme and it's heartwrenching to watch her fall for someone like Sutter, knowing full well what kind of guy he is. Their chemistry is natural and flawless. It's so refreshing to see two such well-drawn characters played so well by two talented actors in a genre so often plagued with insincerity. The development of Sutter and Aimme's friendship and eventual romance feels real and it's so fascinating to watch that when the plot suddenly takes a jarring sharp turn into contrived melodrama focusing on Sutter's alcoholism, it very nearly derails the whole experience. Thankfully, the performances, dialogue and direction are strong enough to keep things on track even as The Spectacular Now stumbles across the finish line.

CONCLUSION: The Spectacular Now may not be the rousing success I was hoping for, but it's a strong effort from Ponsoldt and gets by on some excellent writing and wonderful performances from Teller and Woodley. If the plot had kept its focus on their relationship, it would have been a strong effort. As is, it's still worth seeing and one of the better coming-of-age tales to be released this year.

FINAL RATING: 3.5/5

Apparently, Wolverine's Healing Factor Can't Save Him from Sucking

Oh boy, here we go.

It is taking every bit of writing commitment I have to compose a review for The Wolverine, because, quite frankly, it's so unbelievably dull and idiotic I can barely muster the energy to write about it. It's not even particularly awful; it's just boring and unfailingly stupid. The characters aren't compelling and the plot is nothing more than an excuse for uninspired action sequences. For most of its running time, I was longing for the sweet release of sleep so I wouldn't have to put up with it any longer. At certain points, I actually wished I was watching X-Men Origins: Wolverine for the sheer laugh factor it elicits. This is pretty insane, considering that under normal circumstances, I would NEVER elect to watch that travesty. And sure, when it comes down to it, The Wolverine doesn't reach X-Men Origins levels of awfulness. It's not even as terrible as X-Men: The Last Stand, but it's only a marginal improvement over those two and being the best of the worst is nothing to be proud of.

So, what exactly is The Wolverine about? Apparently, Wolverine saved a Japanese soldier's life during World War II and now that soldier wants to repay Wolverine by scooping up the mutant's infamous healing factor in order to save his own life. In exchange, Wolverine will get the mortality he's always longed for and a chance to die and be reunited with his one true love Jean Grey. (Who appears in various dream sequences throughout the movie) Through some convoluted plot developments, Wolverine ends up becoming a bodyguard for this guy's granddaughter and gets involved in some sort of scheme to...I don't know...take over the world or something. Along the way, our hero engages in some PG-13 slashing, which equates to shaky-cam action sequences shot in close up. He also gets to sit around and stare at the vastly uninteresting supporting characters who seem to desire nothing more than to deliver exposition and backstories in the most mundane way possible. Seriously, I can't even count how many times a character would say, "I remember when..." and go off recounting some overlong, dreadfully dull story about their past while Wolverine looked on, listening intently, as my eyes glazed over.

Oh, and in some odd attempt to fabricate suspense, the screenwriters see fit to rob Wolverine of his regenerative powers for most of the film's running time. This isn't so much an exciting story development as an excuse to shoot slow-motion close-ups of Hugh Jackman looking constipated while the bad guys beat away at him with baseball bats. Poor Jackman performs admirably in the role that made him a star back in 2000's vastly superior X-Men, (God I miss Bryan Singer...) but he just doesn't have a story or much of a character arc to work with. I suppose it's too much to ask to actually care about the people occupying your standard summer blockbuster, but it sure would have made this slog a bit more enjoyable to watch.

Director James Manigold also does the best with the nonsensical screenplay he's given. I'll give him credit for trying to avoid standard superhero film pratfalls and turning up the exotic factor by filming in Tokyo and other exciting locations. At times, it feels more like You Only Live Twice than a comic book inspired flick. That's both a good and bad thing. Manigold also manages to craft The Wolverine's one exciting action sequence - A fight atop a speeding bullet train. The only thrills the movie has are to be found in this scene, which takes place early in the film, leaving you with another hour and a half of non-stop boringness.

But maybe the issue isn't really Manigold's direction or the lackluster screenwriting. Maybe the real problem is that Wolverine just isn't a very interesting character. Yeah, okay, I get it - He looks cool on the comic book page and, let's face it, who doesn't love the concept of a total badass who goes into berserker rages and slices up his enemies with metal claws that extend from his knuckles? But beyond these ideas, Wolverine just doesn't work well as a story-driving device. He's most effective in a team environment, working with other characters who have ideals that stand in stark contrast with his own. This allows for actual genuine character conflict, something that is sorely missing here. On his own, Wolverine is just a guy who doesn't go much deeper than his growling, slicing and dicing and re-healing just to do it all over again. What little character development he has comes from a mysterious past that haunts every moment of his waking life, but I can only take so much of a guy running around saying, "Who am I???"; "What have they done to me?" before I begin to desire an adamantium bullet to the brain.

Look at the six X-Men movies that have been made. Out of all these, only one has not focused on Wolverine as the central character. (The refreshing, if not entirely successful, X-Men First Class) Whatever slimmer of character development existed within him has been exhausted twenty times over. Give me a pulpit and I'll preach it loud and clear: We don't need anymore Wolverine-centric entries in this series. There are far more interesting characters to dissect in this canon; let's get on with it.

It's disappointing that the X-Men franchise is now nothing more than another money-grubbing series with nothing to prove. Under Bryan Singer's guiding hand, these movies paved the way for the whole superhero genre to make a huge comeback and, more importantly, his heroes had heart to match their astonishing abilities. I can only hope Singer's return to the series with Days of Future Past will bring the franchise back to its former glory. For now, we'll have to suffer through this nonsense.

CONCLUSION: The Wolverine, with its total lack of engaging story or interesting characters, is a lackluster mess of a flick. It's not only one of the worst films in the X-Men movie series, it's one of the lamest movies of 2013.

FINAL RATING: 2/5

The Way Way Back is Way Way Charming

If you were to go down a checklist of all the standard characteristics of a coming-of-age story, you'd discover that nearly every single one applies to The Way Way Back. It adheres to a rigid formula and manages to hit just about every one of the genre's obligatory story beats before it reaches its conclusion. You've got your main protagonist: the awkward teenage boy searching for his identity; you've got the mean 'stepfather' who tries to bully him into submission; you've got the cute girl next door who said protagonist pines over and who, for some explicable reason, seems to take a liking to him; you've got the zany, outgoing friend who helps him overcome his awkwardness and the summer job they work at together, which will contribute to the main character building his confidence. The list goes on and on and on. And yet, almost despite itself, The Way Way Back succeeds at overcoming its more generic tendencies and ends up being a rather poignant little tale thanks to its first-rate performances and some solid writing/direction.

The story involves a 14-year-old social outcast named Duncan (Liam James) who is stuck with his mom (Toni Collette), her overbearing bully of a boyfriend Trent (Steve Carell) and Trent's daughter (Zoe Levin) at a beach house for a summer excursion. The excursion is mainly an excuse for Trent to meet up with some old buddies and get drunk and high on a regular basis. Duncan's mom reluctantly joins him for these activities, leaving Duncan to fend for himself. Seeing as how he doesn't have much of a place amongst the group (A fact he is reminded of constantly by everyone around him), he spends most of his time alone listening to music and belting out REO Speedwagon tunes like it's nobody's business. The closest thing he has to a friend is his next door neighbor's very pretty daughter Susanna (AnnaSophia Robb), but his attempts to converse with her are more embarrassing than anything else. After he finds a bicycle in the garage and takes an extended ride, he stumbles upon a water park and its goofy, fun-loving manager Owen (Sam Rockwell) befriends him, offering a job at the park and helping Duncan discover his self-confidence in the process.

The Way Way Back starts off rather awkwardly, taking far too much of its time setting up the situations and characters before the plot actually progresses. But, not unlike Duncan himself, it overcomes its initial gawkiness and manages to come into its own. The script, penned by Nat Faxon and Jim Rash and directed by the pair as well, is simple and entertaining even as it's plagued with the more common pratfalls that regularly infest this genre. It's unfortunate that Faxon and Rash all-too-often resort to contrived sequences in order to elicit an emotional response from the audience. (Typically right as whatever song is playing over the soundtrack reaches its most celebratory point) They are both clearly very invested in the material, so one wishes they had spent some more time developing its story structure. Regardless, its heartwarming nature and excellent cast help it get over these little bumps in the road.

The performances are especially to thank for The Way Way Back's overall success. Liam James does a superb job playing the troubled teen Duncan. On paper, the character is practically a blank slate, doing little to make him appealing in any way, but James' sincere performance makes him empathetic and even charming. Carell is surprisingly good at playing the total jackass that is Duncan's mom's boyfriend Trent; AnnaSophia Robb is delightful as Duncan's crush and she's super cute to boot. Everyone plays their parts with great gusto, but the real standout is Sam Rockwell as Duncan's friend Owen. Sure, it's easy for Rockwell to be the standout seeing as how his character is the most inherently energetic of the bunch, spouting hysterical one-liners as if it's a regular pastime. But Rockwell keeps his performance grounded and makes the character totally believable with a passionate, thoughtful performance.

Jim Rash has stated that The Way Way Back is very autobiographical and it's clearly a passion project of his. It may not reach the heights it so frequently aims for, but its heart is in the right place and it has enough going for it to make it an endearing moviegoing experience. Your life might not be changed, but you'll certainly walk out of the theater with a smile on your face.

CONCLUSION: The Way Way Back doesn't revolutionize the coming-of-age genre due to its over reliance on familiar story beats and characterizations, but thanks to a decent script and some excellent performances, from Sam Rockwell in particular, it manages to charm its way out of its conventions.

FINAL RATING: 3.5/5

Pacific Rim is Monster Mashing Mayhem at its finest!!

May I ask a personal query? How badly do you want to see building-sized robots beat the living crap out of even bigger monsters? If the mere notion of this is enough to send you into fits of nerd-fueled frenzy, then Pacific Rim will be a filmgoing experience sent straight from the heavens. If you're seeking anything more than that, you may want to sit this one out. I wouldn't recommend it though because despite its generally shallow story and characterizations, Pacific Rim is a visual marvel and an absolute blast at the movies. IMAX 3D was practically invented for this kind of madness.

So what's the movie about, you ask? (If you're actually asking, that is) If you haven't already gathered from the previews, mankind is facing its biggest (Pun intended) threat yet: The Kaiju, ginormous, ferocious beasts who have broken into our world using a dimensional rift in the Pacific Ocean. The sole purpose of these monsters is to ensure the total annihilation of mankind. In order to combat this colossal threat, humanity has united to create gargantuan, humanoid fighting machines known as Jaegers. Two pilots connect via a neural link, a process known as 'The Drift', in order to control these giant metal contraptions and perform all kinds of cool wrestling moves. The stronger the bond between pilots, the better they'll do in battle. The Jaeger program is the only thing standing between the Kaiju and the obliteration of the human species and our last hope.

If the bare bones plot description I've offered you seems like nothing more than an excuse to get giant robots and monsters bashing the crap out of each other in $200 million form, then you wouldn't be too far off. Pacific Rim's storyline is about as rudimentary as you can get and its characters can't quite transcend their generic stereotypes to become anything particularly memorable. But, good Lord, those robot/monster showdowns are insane! As Charlie Day's character Dr. Newt Geiszler would say, 'It's pretty cool.' It certainly doesn't hurt when you have a visionary director like Guillermo del Toro at the helm. del Toro is a spectacular filmmaker and one of my personal all-time favorites. He's the kind of director who can go from making low-budget, critically acclaimed fare such as Cronos, The Devil's Backbone, or Pan's Labyrinth to the fanboy pleasing splendor of Blade II and the vastly underappreciated Hellboy films.

Regardless of what the subject matter may be, del Toro instills each and every one of his films with an extraordinary amount of passion, making exactly the kind of movie he wants to make, critics be damned. There's something incredibly admirable about his total lack of ego and love for whatever subject matter he takes on. His full devotion to making the biggest, baddest Robots vs. Monsters movie, embracing the story's simplicity with zeal, is both the movie's greatest strength and its greatness weakness. Even with its flaws though, the visuals are stunning beyond all reason (The colorful Hong Kong footage is particularly impressive) and the epic battles deliver in spades. It's exactly what I was hoping the original Transformers movie would be before the reality of Michael Bay's travesty brought my expectations crashing down. del Toro fills each and every frame with childlike joy and ensures that we are consistently captivated by all the spectacular visuals without totally losing focus on the humanity at the heart of the thing. Mr. Beaks of Ain't It Cool News described it best:

"Bay's the kind of hyperactive brat who'd come to your house and break all of your toys; del Toro is the good-hearted dreamer with boundless imagination who'd spin out some crazily expansive narrative incorporating every action figure at your disposal, no matter how disparate. You have fun with del Toro; you get grounded because of Bay."

This is the primary reason why del Toro's Pacific Rim succeeds where Bay's Transformers franchise has failed. It also might have something to do with the fact that del Toro is actually talented. That certainly helps a bit.

But enough Bay bashing. On to the rest of the review!

The cast does well with the limited amount of material they have to work with. Charlie Hunnam as Jaeger pilot Raleigh Becket makes for a fitting lead hero (As do his abs) and Rinko Kikuchi is adorably badass as Mako Mori, a Japanese girl with a tragic past and excellent fighting skills. You've got Idris Elba giving a spirited performance as Becket's commanding officer Stacker Pentecost and Charlie Day to offer some levity as a zany Kaiju-obsessed scientist. Even del Toro regular Ron Perlman makes an appearance as a shady black market operator who specializes in selling Kaiju organs and body parts. (And, let's be honest, what's not to love about Ron Perlman?) With such an outstanding cast, it really is a shame that del Toro and co-writer Travis Beachem couldn't have invested the amount of time they spent designing the monsters and robots into developing a more involving story or more interesting characters. Still, there's something resembling an emotional core here and the characters are likable enough to keep you interested in what's going on even if you aren't totally invested.

So, sure, Pacific Rim might not live up to the loftiest of expectations and with del Toro at the helm it's a bit natural to be disappointed by that. But, despite this, it succeeds as wildly entertaining blockbuster escapism and in the wake of Man of Steel's slightly exhausting self-seriousness, a big summer movie that isn't ashamed of its roots is wholly refreshing. Pacific Rim knows just how goofy it is and it's proud of it. del Toro has designed this picture to appeal first and foremost to the twelve-year-old soul buried deep beneath our cynical adult outlooks and that is something to be applauded.

CONCLUSION: Pacific Rim won't wow anyone with its simple story or hackneyed characterizations, but it's got enough rock 'em sock 'em robots and monster mashing action to ensure you'll walk away feeling satisfied.

FINAL RATING: 4/5

This is the End is nonstop madness in the best way possible

Oh goodness, I've been slacking again. This much-delayed review is long overdue, but I wanted to get it out of the way before Pacific Rim rears its glorious, monster-bashing head. Enjoy!!

I'll keep this short and sweet: I will be truly shocked if we see a comedy this year that's more hysterical, outrageous, or insane than This is the End. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, and Nick Frost's alien invasion sure-to-be-masterpiece The World's End and I'm sure Anchorman 2 will provide us with some end-of-the-year laughs; but honestly, I don't think anything could measure up to Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's take on horror/comedy. Seriously. This movie is so funny that my body hurt from laughing so hard. I'm already a fan of the Apatow crew, but this is above and beyond anything I could have possibly imagined. (And yes, I know Judd Apatow wasn't actually involved, but practically everyone in this cast has been educated in his comedy school for gifted youngsters)

The plot is simple enough. Jay Baruchel is visiting his good buddy Seth Rogen in Los Angeles, hoping for some quality bro-time. (Yes, the actors are playing themselves. I'm sure you knew this already) Much to Jay's dismay, Seth decides the two should attend a raucous house party at James Franco's new pad. Jay isn't a huge fan of Franco, nor the crowd he runs with. Nevertheless, he obliges Seth's request and they head over. The next fifteen minutes or so features one of the most absurd celebrity parties that has ever graced the silver screen. I won't reveal all the cameos or what makes them so funny, but I will mention that the standout is probably Michael Cera who spends most of his time blowing cocaine in people's faces and getting all sorts of inappropriate favors from babes in guest bathrooms.

Before long, strange events start to occur: People get sucked into the sky by bright beams of light; huge sinkholes leading straight into the depths of hell appear all over the city; monsters begin prowling the streets, picking off people left and right. The survivors - Jay & Seth joined by James Franco, Craig Robinson, Jonah Hill, and Danny McBride - hole up in Franco's concrete fortress and non-stop hilarity and madness ensues as they face the coming apocalypse.

I would be doing you a disservice if I were to attempt to lay out all the jokes and surprises that await you in This is the End. Simply know this:

You will laugh your ass off.

The cast lends themselves to all manner of embarrassing acts and self-deprecation. The chemistry everyone has with each other is flawless and the improvisational tirades they frequently go on are consistently gut-busting. There are plenty of cameos from people you'd expect to be in this movie and plenty from those you couldn't possibly imagine. Whatever you do, don't let ANYONE ruin these surprises for you. No matter what!!

Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg have crafted plenty of screenplays, but as far as I'm aware this is the first time they've actually directed one. I would never have guessed. They have such a natural sense of pace and timing and expertly balance comedy and scares to create a unique and endlessly enjoyable moviegoing experience. I can only hope they continue to challenge themselves with such inspired material. Sure, it may be a vanity project and an excuse to get all their friends together to act like idiots, but if every vanity project was this entertaining, I wouldn't say no to seeing a few more.

CONCLUSION: If you are a fan of comedy in any form, you can't afford to miss this one. Do yourself a favor and rush to the nearest theater with a large group of friends and get ready to laugh forever and ever and ever. Amen.

FINAL RATING: 4.5/5