Paul

Wow. I think this is longest for me to ever get a post up. I apologise, but I will give you two very legitimate reasons for this. 1) My Xbox360 is evil. It's taken over my life this week with it's, and 'Assassin's Creed:Brotherhood's complete and utter awesomeness. I've never had time fly past me like this before, I'm sure it's some kind of evil Xbox/Microsoft/Ubisoft plot. And 2) as anyone who's read my blog with a modicum of regularity in the past two months will attest, I've been pretty psyched to see 'Paul'. Well, that might be a bit of an understatment. Anyways, now that I've seen it I wanted to let it soak in, writing various versions of the review in my head, trying to make it come off as non-nerdy as possible, however, I think I've come to the conclusion that that's just not going to be possible, so here we go!

Let me start by asking, do you like aliens? And no, not the stupid aliens that are always attacking the States for no good reason, but more benevolent aliens that pop-up in pop culture, like J'onn J'onzz, E.T. or Marvin the Martian. [I told you this was going to be nerdy!] Do you think a road trip to the alien hotspots across the US would be a fun way to spend your summer AFTER attending the San Diego Comic Con? If you answered yes to either of these questions, then you'd probably like this movie. Actually, even if you said no to the latter, you'd probably still like it.

If you hadn't guessed, that's the basic premise of 'Paul'. Two British geeks, Graeme [Pegg] and Clive [Frost] fly to San Diego to attend the annual Comic Convention there, and then set out to visit sites such as Roswell, Area 51, and the Black Mailbox, only to have their road trip derailed when they pick up an intergalactic hitchhiker. I have to admit watching them do all kinds of fun things at SDCC made me even more excited for my trip there this summer [like that's possible!] with my awesome friend Craig. If we have even an eighth of the fun they have it will RULE!

Moving on, the most fun part of this movie for me was Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. They are pretty much the perfect on-screen duo, they've done TV and movies together across the pond since 1998 and have a remarkable chemistry. I would compare them to Laurel and Hardy, but I'm really not that familiar with their work...Their movies 'Shaun of the Dead' and 'Hot Fuzz' are in my top 10...well, at the very least top 25. [actually, that's a list I should maybe actually make sometime; note to self]. And while they are both amazing, Pegg's always been a little bit more the star, however, in 'Paul' Nick Frost gets to take a bit more of the screen, well, at least sharing it equally with Pegg. I don't know exactly what it is about the pair of them that just works, even when they're killing zombies, or stopping rogue townies they seem like the type of guys you could go down to pub and have a beer with and discuss the merits of original 'Star Trek' versus 'The Next Generation.' Mmmm...I think I might have just figured out why I like them so much. However, I think it quite possibly is an accurate guess since they wrote the movie. While it's not from 'actual' events, but there is a lot of love for the nerds that love them, and the nerds they obviously are themselves. One other thing in regards to the script, I was impressed at how few English references were put in, however, seeing as it's the first [of many, I hope!] movie they've made in the Hollywood studio system I guess I shouldn't be that surprised.

While I renewed my geeky love for Pegg and Frost, I do have to admit that they were slightly over-shadowed by Seth Rogen's awesomeness as the title character, Paul. Paul's been on Earth for years, sharing his knowledge and advising the government. Since being stuck here he's developed a penchant for government grade marijuana and practical jokes. Rogen couldn't have been more perfect for the voice of Paul. His comic timing and caustic delivery are absolutely perfect, and hilarious. He brings Paul to life in a way that kind of makes you wish you could have an alien for a friend, even if that friend is pretty rude and takes his pants off in public way more often than you care for.

The supporting cast in this movie were also all wonderful, most notably, Kristen Wiig, who is finally shedding her 'of SNL'-ness. I wouldn't be surprised if she left the show to pursue big screen stuff soon. She is one funny lady. She starts of as the worst kind of American: [in my eyes at least] the religious fundamentalist. But after a life altering encounter, or, well, literally a smack on the head, from Paul, her eyes are opened to all kinds of new things. The funniest part of her transformation is her attempts at cursing, it's all wrong, and because of that, all kinds of right for the flick. Also, the always amazing Jane Lynch makes a quick cameo, as you may have guessed, she was indeed hilarious.

A couple other little fun things that were great in the movie. Steven Spielberg makes an audio cameo as himself, getting advice on an alien movie from Paul, I wonder which movie that could be...? An alien that needs to get back to his home planet, sounds vaguely familar...Also, Agent Mulder from the 'X-Files' was his idea too. Apparently this was all a plot from the government who have been leaking images of Paul for years, so that when the aliens finally do come to meet the humans, we'll be desensitized and not freak out. Although if Graeme and Clive's reactions are any indication, it isn't working. Also, for the nerds in the audience this movie is also an ongoing showcase of awesome geek chic, in the form of Graeme's fantastic t-shirts. My favourite is his 'Empire Strikes Back' tee.

The best part of the movie is that it doesn't try to be anything more than a buddy comedy, which is actually perfectly summed up by Paul near the end of the movie. As he's saying his goodbyes to his new friends he says "Well, it's safe to say we've all learned something from this, be yourself, speak from your heart, some sh*t like that, I don't know." Aaah, I love a movie that doesn't try too hard! Needless to say all my anticipation was rewarded, I wholeheartedly enjoyed 'Paul' and now I guess I just have to wait for when Pegg and Frost reunite with their 'Hot Fuzz'/'Shaun of the Dead' director for when they finally do their take on apocalypse movies. But with the upswing in popularity for these guys in the US that might be a lot longer than I want to wait...sigh.

That's all for this week, sorry it took so long, again, I blame Microsoft and Ubisoft! I promise I won't be so late for this coming Monday's post, now if I only knew what I was going to see...