Throwback Thursday Review: 'The World's End'

Sorry for the delay on this review as it was originally supposed to be uploaded in the Fall along with about seven other Throwback Thursday Reviews... Since January and February are a bit barren for major motion picture releases, I've decided to just review most of those films in that timeframe. You can expect most to go online on a particular Thursday, but some will crop up randomly as I view them. Anyways, this week I'm reviewing The World's End. As explained previously, it doesn't really tie into anything this week, but my original intention was to review Edgar Wright's entire filmography last year. Posts you should look forward to in the next four weeks include my Star Wars Speculation spoiler review of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Throwback Thursday Reviews of The Shining, the 1990 It miniseries, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, and Blade, reviews of new releases 12 Strong, Maze Runner: The Death Cure, Winchester, Peter Rabbit, The 15: 17 To Paris, Early Man, and Black Panther, and two posts regarding the upcoming Oscar nominations (this will make more sense Monday). Some 2017 films I missed out on that I'll probably be reviewing fairly soon are Phantom Thread, Mudbound, Colossal, The Lost City of Z, and The Florida Project.

'The World's End' Review

The World's End follows five friends as they're reunited by the immature adult Gary King to partake in the legendary Golden Mile and drink their way through 12 pubs in their hometown, Newton Haven. At the end lies The World's End, and King's willing to do whatever it takes to reach the final destination... Even if that means fighting an android army!

The World's End is the third and final installment in Edgar Wright's Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy, an anthology series of parody films including Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. Each entry in the trilogy is directed by Wright, written by Wright and Simon Pegg, produced by Nira Park, and stars Pegg and Nick Frost. There's virtually no connective tissue between the three films aside from the aforementioned talent and the prominent inclusion of Cornetto ice-cream, so you really don't NEED to see one film in order to watch the others. At this point, Pegg and Frost had taken on zombies and a psychotic neighborhood watch alliance... so what was next? Android aliens, of course!

Wright and Pegg have a great deal of fun with the politically correct nature of naming these extra terrestrials. You can't call them robots because robot means "slave," so the friends draw a blank... And naturally, that's what they come to be known as... blanks! Of course, the humor is overtly British and totally in keeping with Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz's comedic sensibilities. Edgar Wright is easily one of the most distinct directors working today, and he once again manages to put a unique spin on a familiar premise as he'd already given audiences a zom-rom-com (zombie-romantic-comedy) and an ode to buddy cop comedies. The World's End is a story about middle aged men going on a pub-crawl during an alien invasion. Sound crazy? It sure is, but that's not necessarily to the film's detriment. 

In fact, the insanity makes things far more interesting. The action is considerably choreographed, well-captured by Bill Pope, and efficiently edited by Paul Machliss, enabling the film to move at a brisk pace. My main issue is that despite all the sharp humor and silly sequences to be found in The World's End, the film never quite grabbed my attention like the other Cornetto entries. The World's End is not an average ending so much as it's less inspired. On the whole, the story's a bit derivative of Wright's other work and seems to be made for the sake of ending the trilogy. 

Leading the flick, Simon Pegg lets loose as the absurdly irresponsible adult Gary King in stark contrast to his straight man archetype from Hot Fuzz. Since the character isn't written to be particularly likable, it's Pegg's responsibility to wield his natural charisma and ensure audiences can get onboard with King's juvenile behavior, and he nails it!

Pegg is given a slight boost from a strong supporting cast featuring the likes of Nick Frost, Martin Freeman, Paddy Considine, Eddie Marsan, and Rosamund Pike in roles of varying size and substance. Frost plays it straight as the emboldened Andy Knightley, unlike either of his previous Cornetto roles, and while it works in the confines of the story, his serious character tends to fade into the surroundings on occasion. This is really more of a shame because I enjoy the eccentric nature of his other characters. Freeman, Considine, and Marsan are quite enjoyable in their respective roles and Pike elevates what could have simply been a lazy love interest. Pierce Brosnan and David Bradley each also imbue enough intrigue to their stock characters that you'll be hard-pressed to forget them when all is said-and-done.

After an enlightening abduction, The World's End proved to still be my least favourite of the Three Flavors Cornetto trilogy and Edgar Wright's filmography. I'm not sure that The World's End was the necessary or ideal end to Wright's diverse Cornetto trilogy, but it's sure to offer a good time regardless of if the world's ending or not.  

Film Assessment: B

Throwback Thursday Review: 'Jack Reacher'

This week I'm reviewing Jack Reacher as my Throwback Thursday Review to tie in with the release of it's sequel Jack Reacher: Never Go Back and next week I will resume my Harry Potter series with my thoughts on Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince to be followed up by Thor the subsequent week. Reviews you can expect in the meantime include Jack Reacher: Never Go Back and Keeping Up With the Joneses. At this point I haven't decided if I will be watching Inferno considering that I had no idea it was part of an existing franchise I haven't seen and therefore didn't fit in the earlier films into my Throwback Thursday schedule.

 'Jack Reacher' Review

Jack Reacher shadows ex-military investigator Jack Reacher as he must help solve a case involving five deaths or an innocent man may stand trial for murder he claims he didn't commit. Jack Reacher was based off the Lee Child's ninth novel in the book series One Shot and it certainly delivers in the action department as you can expect from a Tom Cruise-led action flick.

Jack Reacher marked the first of what became a regular team-up between writer-director Christopher McQuarrie and Cruise that thankfully has brought us Live. Die. Repeat. and Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation, two terrific action films. McQuarrie's execution, both in direction and his screenplay, is precise, to the point, and fairly well done across the board. McQuarrie cleverly keeps the story personal, ensuring to never raise the stakes too unbelievably high and still maintain an air of realism. I will say the twists were minimal, somewhat predictable, and the villain was one-note, but McQuarrie sure knows how to direct an action scene; including an insane car chase, some visceral hand-to hand combat scenes, and the occasional shoot-out.

The cast is composed of a number of name talent actors and while they do a fine job, they're serviceable at best. Tom Cruise is as charming as ever in the role of Reacher, pulling off the action man swagger only he can. Rosamund Pike fairs well as damsel-in distress lawyer Helen Rodin while David Oyelowo makes for the standard cop.

Jai Courtney plays an precise marksman and formidable physical presence opposite Cruise but has little development for his character whatsoever, and Werner Herzog is as creepy as it gets in his minimal screen time as "The Zec," and Robert Duvall's Cash is a welcome presence.

When it comes down to it, Jack Reacher is what we've come to expect from modern action thrillers and that's precisely it's problem. My biggest qualm with Jack Reacher is that it feels as though it's merely going through the motions, never standing apart from other franchises in the crowded action genre. It's not so much that Jack Reacher is bad, so much as that it's a generic action film. While the stakes and scope in Jack Reacher feel incredibly small, the action sequences are so well executed that it's worth watching at least once and makes for a passable action movie.

Film Assessment: B-

Throwback Thursday Review: 'Gone Girl'

This review's a little delayed because I wanted to publish my Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children review first, a film I only just watched last evening. I chose Gone Girl to be this week's Throwback Thursday review for a few reasons. One, this week's major release is The Girl on the Train which is also a book adapted into film revolving around the mysterious disappearance of a man's wife with high profile acting talent. Two, it stars Ben Affleck and the next major release he's headlining is The Accountant that will come out next week and I already reserved that Throwback Thursday slot for my Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix  review so it just seemed perfect for this week. If all goes according to plan my review of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children will have just went up and other reviews you can expect in the coming weeks include my thoughts on The Girl on the Train, The Birth of a Nation, The Accountant, Keeping Up With The Joneses, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, and Throwback Thursday reviews of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Jack Reacher.

'Gone Girl' Review

Nominated For: Best Supporting Actress; Rosamund Pike.

Gone Girl is David Fincher's film adaptation of Gillian Flynn's bestselling novel involving the sudden and mysterious disappearance of wife Amy Dunne and the shocking revelations surrounding her dissipation. I won't go further because the film's twists and turns are much more satisfying if you go in with a blank slate. 

Director David Fincher injects an agonizing sensation of worry throughout the film to naw at the viewer, subvert expectations, and slowly reveal a greater scheme at play. The cinematography in combination with the desaturated color palette and the unsettling harmonic score composed by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross set the stage perfectly for Fincher's suspenseful thrill ride. 

Gone Girl's greatest asset however is its insanely phenomenal screenplay. Maybe the reason that the screenplay is so great is that author Gillian Flynn transcribed it and there was nothing lost in translation considering he knows every nook and cranny of the world and characters he created. Flynn makes engaging spectacle out of ordinary dialogue, bizarre circumstances, and a fascinating narrative, interweaving plot threads all throughout to expertly craft a thrilling character drama. This would all be for naught though if it weren't for the exceptional ensemble. 

Ben Affleck turns in another delightful performance as Nick Dunne, communicating Nick's sensibilities, thoughts and feelings to great effect. 

Rosamund Pike stands apart from the bunch though, making an eerie elaborate presence of Amy that won't be forgotten. Other performances to note consisted of Neil Patrick Harris' unnerving Desi Collings, a former flame of Amy's, Carrie Coon's sardonic Margo Dunne, Nick's sister, and Tyler Perry's stately lawyer Tanner Bolt. 

Gone Girl is most certainly another fantastic film from David Fincher that's not only well-directed, but well-written, well-acted, and well-executed in all other departments. Gone Girl disturbing in all the right ways, with a thing or two to say in it's dissection of troubled marriages.

Film Assessment: A-