Movies I have seen lately

[kenjari]

I'm way behind on writing about movies I have recently watched.

Gunless
This was a fun Netflix discovery, which we watched on the recommendation of some friends. It's an amusing subversion/parody of classic westerns that starts out in typical fashion with Sean, a gravely injured outlaw gunfighter, staggering into a remote town in the Canadian Rockies. Sean takes offense to the town blacksmith corralling and re-shoeing his horse, and challenges him to a duel. However, the blacksmith does not have a proper handgun, so Sean sets out to find and then repair a suitable weapon so that he can have his duel. Along the way, Sean gets to know the genuinely kind and decent townspeople, starts a sweet, understated romance, and eventually has his showdown,albeit not the one he was expecting. It's a cute and funny movie, but very light. It's a pleasant diversion and nothing more.

The World's End
This is the final installment of the Cornetto Trilogy that started off with Shaun of the Dead and continued with Hot Fuzz. This time, Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, and Nick Frost send up the sci-fi apocalypse scenario and the Judd Apatow style man-child story in one fell swoop. In a complete departure from his role in the previous two movies, Simon Pegg plays Gary King, the gothy devil-may-care party boy leader of a group of young men (Peter, Oliver, Stephen, and Andy) who graduated from high school in the 1990s. Although he has not seen any of his mates in about 20 years, Gary, who hasn't changed much if at all, decides to round up the gang for a reunion in which he plans to finally complete their exhaustive pub crawl of all twelve bars in their hometown of Newton Haven. When Gary's four former friends all reluctantly agree, they return to their hometown and meet up with Oliver's sister Sam only to slowly realize that something has gone terribly wrong. They soon discover that alien invaders have been replacing the residents of Newton Haven with robot versions in order to effect a stealthy takeover of earth. The action and comedy intensifies as the group attempts to escape the town and warn the rest of the world, but the film never loses its focus or its heart.
I really loved this movie. It was fabulously entertaining and clever while still being intelligent and heartfelt. The World's End has a lot of really perceptive things to say about growing up and finding out that home is no longer what you remember it to be, reconciling your past, and, well, the end of the world. I love that Gary's Peter Pan state is not idealized, and the other guys' stable, mature lives are not ridiculed or denigrated. In fact, it's much the opposite - it's Gary who has missed out on something by never growing beyond his teenage self. Yet he is not a loser to dismiss, either - he is someone you care about. It's rare to see such an effective mixture of funny and thoughtful, and that combination is what makes this film work so well.

Comments

[sovay]

In fact, it's much the opposite - it's Gary who has missed out on something by never growing beyond his teenage self. Yet he is not a loser to dismiss, either - he is someone you care about. It's rare to see such an effective mixture of funny and thoughtful, and that combination is what makes this film work so well.

Yes. Right through the ending. I was really impressed.

[songfta.livejournal.com]

I saw The World's End as part of a marathon screening of all three "Cornetto Trilogy" films. It's the most impressive of the three, for sure, and so well executed. The story has depth and heart, and never loses focus along the way. One of my faves of the past few years, without a doubt.