Sci-Fi films, for the most part, are a great source of entertainment. Surprisingly so when the filmmakers decide to wink at their audience, from tipping their hats to recognizable pop culture icons to downright direct quotes from film classics.
As it turns out, a considerable contingent of film fans also happen to swear by the not inconsiderable talents of British wits Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, eagerly checking out each new film they decide to come up with. What better way to please both sides, then, by introducing their next comedy, a hilariously addictive and entertaining flick that plays like a love letter to sci-fi films and TV fans alike?
I speak of their latest, Paul, a gag-filled quote-a-thon which seems custom-designed for those of us who can proudly attest to know most of this film's more obscure throwaway lines.
Paul (4 out of 5)
In what pretty much works out to be a road movie/alien adventure hybrid project, Mr. Pegg and Mr. Frost play Graeme and Clive, a pair of happy-go-lucky Brit sci-philes on a journey to the States, with the intent of attending Comic-Con in San Diego, followed by an RV journey down the Western seaboard, visiting famous landmarks, such as Area 51, Vasquez Rocks (site of the Gorn/Kirk fight in the classic Star Trek episode "Arena", and so on.
During their journey, Graeme and Clive come across a fugitive alien being (who looks like the Grays we've seen pics of for 50 years now) calling himself Paul (voiced by Seth Rogen) who loves to smoke up, make crass jokes and eat junk food. In other words, not your average visitor from another world.
Paul explains how he got stranded on Earth several decades back, the government having kept him as a "guest" (cue sarcastic quotation marks) of Area 51 for the last half century, learning all they can in order to improve human technology, not to mention a few ideas about a Fox show called "The X-Files".
As Paul explains his need to return to his people, Graeme must decide whether to help shelter and protect this fugitive being from a trio of Men in Black (Jason Bateman, Bill Hader, Jo Lo Truglio), a naive and sheltered religious zealot (Kristen Wiig) and every other potential threat as this unlikely group of travelers attempt to make their way to a rendez-vous point back home to the stars...
A few notes to keep track of as you prepare to watch this film: As best I could manage, despite the film's roughly 104 or so minutes of running time, I was able to identify at least three dozen recognizable quotes from other sci-fi staples, ranging from both Star Wars and Star Trek franchises, from Alien to Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and so many others.
Not that I'm saying a collection of easy one-liners make a worthwhile movie. All the same, I must hand it to Pegg and Frost, their imaginative skills at scripting this cinematic romp made this a much more enjoyable film than I ever thought possible.
Look for Warrant Officer Ellen Ripley herself, Sigourney Weaver, as a top-level operative determined to find Paul and capture him. Folks, I can't tell you in words how much fun this film is. Go and decide for yourselves.
Mars Needs Moms (3.5 out of 5)
Based on the children's novel by Berkeley Breathed (the same brilliant man who brought you Bill and Opus and the rest of the classic Bloom County daily strip), this predictable yet pleasantly manipulative CGI/Mo-Cap adventure tale follows the story of Milo (voiced by Seth Robert Dusky but physically captured by Seth Green), a young American kid who travels to Mars in order to save his mom from a gynocentric race of Martian militants looking to extract mothering skills from unwitting human moms.
Most of the visuals in this film are a sight to see, all the same this film suffers from the same "dead-eye syndrome" issue seen in previous motion capture films, like The Polar Express and Final Fantasy. This bothers me, considering Robert Zemeckis (a producer on this Disney product) seemed to have figured out a solution to that technical glitch in A Christmas Carol. I wonder if one movie beat the other to a release date. Curiouser and curiouser...
Super (3 out of 5)
I'd go as far as to call this the indie answer to Matthew Vaughn's Kick Ass. Super follows the story of down-on-his luck Frank D'Arbo (The Office's Rainn Wilson), a simple short-order cook who one day decides to don a red costume and fight crime (albeit sans powers or any skill whatsoever) as The Crimson Bolt, when his wife (Liv Tyler) moves out to stay with a sleazy drug dealer (Kevin Bacon, a real treat here.)
With the help of an overeager comic book store employee (Ellen Page), Crimson Bolt must try and save his wife from evil, all the while breaking a few criminals' bones along the way. A facile, slow-paced action comedy which comes as a refreshing take on crime-fighting. Some scenes might disturb young 'uns, so ensure your kids are allowed to watch R-rated level stuff.
Your Highness (1 out of 5)
The inevitable dud of the week. Natalie Portman must have really been hurting for cash when agreeing to star in this snoozer of a medieval stoner comedy about a prince (James Franco, another Oscar contender wasted here) who ventures out to save his kidnapped love, with the help of his good-for-nothing brother (Eastbound and Down's Danny McBride).
Why do I get the feeling this stinker was gathering dust on a shelf somewhere until Portman went on to win Best Actress a mere six months back? For shame....
Also on Blu-Ray This Week
The sole title worthy of mention in the catalogue section this week is the high definition release of Disney's 1981 animated film The Fox and the Hound, paired here with its terrible direct-to-video 2006 sequel.
The original film does show how the Disney machine was slowly losing steam after decades of success (several animators would jump ship and go independent a few years later), yet the basic staples of morality still hold strong with this one, most notably the ability for different species/races/breeds to get along despite social pressures.
Copper (voice of Mickey Rooney) and Tod (voice of former Disney contract actor Kurt Russell) develop a long lasting friendship despite one supposedly be hunting the other. Do yourself a favor and skip the sequel altogether, unless you have several kids and need a 90-minute breather. If so, might I suggest reading a book in a different room?
Dominic Messier - Dominic Messier is a Toronto-based Film & TV writer, Sci-Fi TV and Film Dramas Topic Editor, and creator of PopCultureLandscape.com
