The Worlds End

Nine years ago, the now acclaimed director Edgar Wright began his comedy renaissance bursting onto the scene with the first in the now completed ‘Cornetto trilogy’. Setting a benchmark for both British and general cinematic comedies, his newest release, ‘the worlds end’ hopes to finish his acclaimed trilogy with style and grant the director inevitable prestige. Whilst it may have been six years since ‘the worlds end’ predecessor ‘Hot Fuzz’ hit cinemas, little has been altered considering the style and comedy prowess of Edgar Wright, putting his right hand men and comedy duo, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost to great use in a film which concludes the trilogy with heart.

 Using intelligent humour and broadcasting a believable yet simultaneously entertaining backstory, the later storyline of otherwise ridiculous occurrences slots neatly in place with the films nutty persona, rarely seeming out of place. Protagonist Gary King (Simon Pegg) is living in the past, with memories of a failed pub crawl with his past friends especially lingering on his mind he decides to ‘get the old team back together’ and finish what they started, only to find themselves fighting for their lives within a town in which they don’t quite recall.

 With much to live up to with two previous films of fantastic quality, it’s no big surprise to say that the worlds end perhaps doesn’t reach the intelligent grounds of ‘Shaun of the dead’ neither does it reach the comedy genius of ‘Hot Fuzz’. Instead ‘the worlds end’ chooses to take the sentimental route following the story of a young group of friends who’ve grown older and changed their ways, being all too apt within the final instalment of the trilogy this also speaks praises for the trilogy on the whole, each displaying a unique and excellently displayed trait. With this however it also manages to simultaneously and effortlessly hold the traits of its predecessors being hugely and most importantly intelligently funny all within a narrative which for the most part retains its ingenious brilliance.

 Taking a while to find its feet and choosing a wild route in the closing minutes the narrative is slightly inconsistent being sturdy and hugely impressive in the middle but weathered at the ends. While we wait at the beginning for characters to be developed upon and plot strands to be thickened the comedy remains light resulting in short chortles from the audience with some jokes inevitably falling flat, proving to be the calm before the comedic storm. With aid from an excellent supporting cast, the band of five friends on show showcase the very best of British comedy and acting with ‘Martin Freeman, Paddy Considine and Eddie Marsan’ all giving terrific performances to give the narrative long distance legs and a renewable source of comedy as the actors form effortlessly as a band of regular friends as their off screen chemistry becomes transparent.

 In amongst an industry of constant profit driven franchise releases it’s extremely refreshing to witness a trilogy linked only by their uses of ‘cornettos’  achieve so much whilst boasting so much originality. Proving to be one of the best directors currently in the industry, Edgar Wright has once again provided a film with heart, laughs and bags of originality.

8/10- Something for everyone, intelligent jokes, a heart-warming story, and gratuitous comic violence.

Calum Russell  

Pacific Rim

Big budget, bright lights, loud noises and heavy does of CGI, the summer blockbuster has become a staple of the the cinematic year hoping to thrill its dozens of enthusiastic spectators. Entertainment is key due to blockbusters' infamous focus on action over story and for Guillermo del Toro's new colossus film, Pacific Rim, this couldn't be more relevant. Boasting huge man-made machines battling giant monsters it's no surprise that it's being compared to the 'transformers' franchise and whilst it may not be as monotonously dull it shows to be just as narratively poor.

 Of course the plot isn't the primary point of appeal in the film with the glaring titan brawls taking pride of place, however without a sufficient and engaging enough story proceeding the action then it becomes useless, watching epic fights of man vs. beast may be momentarily entertaining however it's ultimately pointless. It's around the year 2020 and a hole at the bottom of the pacific ocean has been ripped open allowing hellish beasts called 'kaijus' to cause mass destruction on earth, after military tactics prove ineffective the world is forced to retaliate by constructing towering controllable machines, or 'jaegers', to fight them. Following a harrowing experience whilst controlling the 'jaeger', pilot 'Raleigh Becket' (Charlie Hunnam) leaves the programme only to be re-assessed years later as he returns through the persuasive voice of superior officer  Stacker Pentecost (Idris Elba). With a plan to kill the monsters off once an for all it falls to 'Raleigh' to execute the mission.

Whilst the plot may not be diverse or hugely engaging the action certainly makes up for lost time being bold and hugely entertaining with the weapons and abilities of the 'jaegers' appearing nonsensically out of nowhere to sarcastic chuckles and enthusiastic 'woops' as a 'kaiju' comes crashing to the ground. Living up to its epic blockbuster status the action sequences are huge amounts of fun due to the fact that the film knows how ridiculous it truly is. With this however comes the lack of attention towards the story and characters, focusing too heavily on the high budget action instead. Surrounding our protagonist throughout the story are a plethora of exaggerated , stereotypical characters with poorly developed backgrounds and did very little to contribute anything towards the film aside from the occasional cliched 'one-liner'. Hindering any chance of character enthusiasm are the relatively average performances of the cast with protagonist Charlie Hunnam looking hugely bored throughout supplying a lack-luster performance. Exceptions appear in the forms of both Idris Elba who clearly enjoys playing his exuberant character and also Charlie Day who provides some fitting comedy in amongst violent scenes as a bumbling government scientist.

 Achieving in its primary purpose tho entertain, Pacific Rim does little else to thrill its audience being sluggish and hugely predictable for the most part. Being overly excessive in its action scenes the film forgets about its other necessary elements crucial to make the film mesh. If your're able to ignore a frustrating screenplay, a lot of fun is to be found within Pacific Rim however its difficult to neglect even when confronted with a monstrous brawl.

6/10- Lazy writing makes this film more dumb than fun.

Calum Russell

A Field In England

 Famous for defying genre and narrative conventions, British director Ben Wheatley is quickly becoming a cinematic phenomenon exciting audiences with his gritty and highly realistic approach to filmmaking. Following from the success of last year’s dark rom/com ‘Sightseers’, Wheatley has taken on a far more ambitious project in ‘A field in England’, surrounding the story of a group of deserters in the civil war as they are captured by an estranged alchemist searching for treasure.  Being released on multi-platforms on the same day (5^th July), ‘a field in England’ is an extremely audacious project, supplying a narrative which is highly extravagant and certainly not for everyone.

Containing perhaps some of the lesser known thespians that the UK has to offer, they ultimately prove to be crucial giving believable, meaty performances to a narrative which is relatively bare.  Following their capture, Whitehead(Reece Shearsmith) as well as his band of fellow deserters are forced to search for some buried treasure by alchemist O’Neil (Michael Smiley) all whilst under the influence of unwittingly consumed ‘magic mushrooms’, unsurprisingly madness then ensues. The film works on a basic level giving a plot which is undeniably thin, made interesting only through its fantastic cinematography and occasional moments of quotable dialogue. Shot in distinct black and white this choice of monochrome colours immediately transports you to the time of the English civil war and does an excellent job in encapsulating the setting and macabre themes. Breath-taking at times the cinematography is truly stunning, supplying frequent artistic stills as well as notable moments of mesmerising absurdity.

Whilst this style and cinematic grace coagulates perfectly with the terrific acting performances, the narrative ultimately proves to be too thin with the film filling it’s time with egotistical moments of nonsensical images and overlong scenes of a ‘bad trip’.  The overall pretentious nature of this film frustratingly looms over its 90 minute running time allowing the film few moments to legitimately express some genuine scenes of character chemistry or simple normal occurrences.

To create such a film is no doubt congratulatory as certainly very few Directors could replicate the bizarre and highly psychedelic piece that Wheatley has created.  ‘A field in England’ benefits greatly from its intelligent release schedule allowing great choice to audiences for a film which will no doubt be highly opinionated. With a tight script that morphs today’s dialect with the pasts seamlessly through fantastic acting performances across the board, it was a shame to see the plot enter into a nosedive being filmed terrifically yet showing scenes of no real value and very little payoff.

7/10- A highly psychological and convoluted ride with few twists and turns but plenty of mushrooms.

Calum Russell

This Is The End

 Famous for his foul-mouthed and crude 'stoner' comedies, lead actor Seth Rogen is back with his latest attempt to put his competition to shame with lavish 'dick' jokes and inappropriate humour. Helmed usually by fan favourite director, Judd Apatow, Evan Goldberg instead takes the driving seat, quite noticeably too brandishing humour similar to that of his past written 'Pineapple Express' being constantly 'in your face' but always hilarious.

Written in a unique style, this is the end sees the famous comedy actors (Seth Rogen, Danny McBride, James Franco, to name just a few) playing caricatured versions of themselves in the setting of the 'end of the world'. Reluctantly following Seth to James Franco’s house warming party the story largely follows Jay Baruchel and his relationship with Seth Rogen, ultimately proving to be an oddly touching one amidst crude comedy that screams otherwise. Immediately the film is entertaining as we witness a plethora of our favourite comedians act as themselves interacting seamlessly with those around them. Ignoring the main six actors in the majority of the film, actors such as Jason Segal, Kevin Heart and Michael Cera are all invited with Cera being the most notable comedian being a total exaggerated version of his persona fuelling the first act with hilarious moments sparking from his persona which would've quickly gotten old if he hadn't been killed off in the opening minutes. This cannot be said however for every surprise actor with Paul Rudd appearing at one point reminding the audience of his excellent acting skill and comedic timing using his short allotted time perfectly, it was a shame to see him and a few others mysteriously disappear when they could've been utilised more effectively. Almost Instantly the cast is whittled down to just six, including the protagonists, the host- James Franco as well as Jonah Hill, Danny McBride and Craig Robinson after a rather thrilling and almost slightly disturbing 'apocalypse' sequence of death and destruction made counteractively hilarious through the reactions of the cast wisely chosen, all sharing excellent off screen chemistry that evidently translates in front of the camera.

 Hiding inside the house for many days the film never fails to entertain consistently finding something new to do despite the inability to go outdoors, springing up new surprises and events that swing the film in new directions. With toilet humour that is particular to only certain comedy tastes, not everyone will find this crude and rather masculine film for them, containing consistently immature scenes of an almost worrying amount of ‘dick jokes’ entwined however with occasional moments of intelligent comedy whereby none of the good jokes are in the trailer. Many humorous moments emerge from contextual references to past films of the cast being often admirable accepting which films were good and which were obvious failures, these are used sparingly however as to not discriminate audience members of little contextual knowledge.

With certain comedies it's crucial to know as little as possible prior to viewing so as not to spoil certain moments of hilarity and this is certainly the case in ‘this is the end’. The story could've been tighter in certain places, especially towards the end with its lacklustre finale however this is not the point of focus in the film. The films primary principle is of course to make the audience laugh and it achieves this heroically.

8/10- A whole lot of fun with the best cinematic comedians.

Calum Russell