***

Paul Review

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As big a fan as I am of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, it should come as no surprise that I was eagerly looking forward to Paul.  Simon Pegg and Nick Frost together again was all I needed to hear.  I was aware director Edgar Wright was not a part of the movie, but that was only a slight deterrent.  After watching Paul I think I have a better idea of how important he is to this team’s success.  With Edgar Wright, they made two outstanding movies, without him, they made a fairly good movie.  Paul is not bad, but it does not come anywhere near the quality of Shaun of the Dead or Hot Fuzz.

Comparing Paul to Pegg and Frost’s previous movies is both easy and apt.  As with those, Paul is a parody that also works as a fine example of the movie type being parodied.  Shaun of the Dead works as both a comedy and a zombie movie; the same is true for Hot Fuzz, albeit with buddy cop action movies.  Paul is both a humorous send up of Sci-Fi movies, especially the works of Spielberg, as well as a good Sci-Fi movie in its own right.  Somehow, the movie does not come together as well as the other two.

The biggest failing is on the comedy side.  For a comedy, Paul is surprisingly short on laughs.   The alien story works well.  Paul, voiced by Seth Rogan, is a foul-mouthed E.T.  Graeme and Clive (Pegg and Frost), two British science fiction nerds, are just the sort who would help him try to escape from his captors.  Their attempts to evade capture work.  But the jokes often fall flat.  They try to do pot jokes, but they do not work.  They try gratuitous cursing and I expected better.  The only jokes that really work are the references to other sci-fi movies.  They are incredibly frequent, but still weaved into the movie mostly seamlessly.  Paul requests Reece’s Pieces during a gas stop and it took me a few moments to realize it was an E.T. reference.  If you have never seen E.T., it won’t seem out of place, just the alien asking for candy.  (Though if you haven’t seen E.T I suggest you remedy that.)  These references are more likely to get a small chuckle than a big laugh, but they go a long way in keeping this movie amusing.  While it never rises to any real hilarity, Paul is genially humorous throughout.

One thing the movie does well is its treatment of the nerds and of the old sci-fi movies.  While the main characters are frequently referred to as nerds and do exhibit some the standard nerd behavior, they are much more likeable characters than the usual movie nerds are.  They treat the characters’ nerdiness not as something to be embarrassed by but as a simple description.  The sci-fi references, as mentioned earlier, are also respectful.  Often parodies treat the works they are mocking with sheer contempt.  Paul’s treatment of old sci-fi movies, though, borders on reverent.  The jokes are never at their expense.  Paul is not about mocking old sci-fi, it is about celebrating it.  That is where the movie really shines.

Paul is not a masterpiece.  It is not a classic.  It is simply a mostly enjoyable comedy.  Coming from whom it does, this is something of a let down.  It is a comedy that is not particularly funny, but it is intelligent and well made enough that it remains generally enjoyable throughout.  Your enjoyment may be dependant on how well you know 1970’s and 80’s science fiction movies, but those who have fond memories of Star Wars, E.T. and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, among others, will be amused throughout.  Paul is a worthy addition to the Pegg and Frost oeuvre, if a lesser one.

I Must Break You

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Rocky 4

This weekend I started what I hope will become a 4th of July tradition.  I watched Rocky 4, which is of course the one where Rocky wins the Cold War by beating a giant Russian.  It is one of the most American movies of all time and the last true Rocky movie.  Not that Rocky Balboa was bad, but it came out so far after that it feels more like strange coda than part of the series.  Rocky 5 never happened.  Nevertheless, Rocky 4 should have probably been the last movie in the series.  There was nowhere to go but down.  Even Rocky cannot top winning the Cold War.

Rocky 4 is smarter than most people give it credit.  Not that it that smart, or subtle at all, but there is more there than blind patriotism and propaganda.  It is about growing old and how to face that.  There is no one who grows old faster or more publicly than professional athletes do.  All sports fans have seen a favorite player hang on past their prime, winced at the struggles of those who used to be great.  For some, like Bret Favre, while their skills have obviously diminished there are still enough flashes and moments of the player, we used to know and love to make us believe that he still has something left.  Too often, it is just gone and is painful for both players and spectators.  Rocky and now friend Apollo Creed are both dealing with this.  Apollo cannot let go, despite the advice of all those close to him.  Rocky, not quite as old as Apollo, still has something left, but he can see the writing on the wall.  Due to his inability to accept the changes that time has, wrought Apollo pays the ultimate price.  There is also Rocky’s guilt because he did not throw in the towel.  Like Rocky told Mickey in the first movie, Apollo told him not to throw the towel and Rocky let it go.  He did what he would have wanted Creed to do foe him in the same situation, but he say why people do throw in the towel.

On top of the aging issue is the comparison of the USA and USSR.  Apollo is part of America.  He is loud, boisterous and arrogant.  He is also capable and honest, but even the honesty hurts the loud and arrogant part.  Drago is stoic and cold.  He is also just as selfish as Creed.  In their fight, he doesn’t care that it is an exhibition or that he is clearly the better fighter he still is relentless.  Because a resounding victory is helps him and his groups agenda, sportsmanship be damned.  The biggest contrast is in Rocky and Drago’s pre-fight training methods.  Drago has a committee that cares nothing for him and with the most advanced technology available.  Rocky has a few close friends and uses simple training methods.  While Rocky 4 is about as fair as a mid-80ies movie can be, they show the American methods to be better than the Russian ones. Like what actually happened, America wins in the end.

However, while there is this veneer of real issues, Rocky 4 is still a 90-minute movie with about 35 minutes of music montages.  It is still a movie that has Rocky win the Cold War by punching out a giant Russian.  It is not as good as the first two Rockys, but it is possibly the most entertaining movie in the series for repeated viewings.  In the end, Drago turns on his uncaring trainers and the crowd turns on him.  Rocky draws strength from his friends and from the crowd.  Because everybody loves Rocky.

***

Just short: Robin Hood

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Robin Hood, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett, is nearly a great movie.  Scott and Crowe came close to recapturing the magic that made Gladiator so great.  Unfortunately some tonal inconsistencies mar this epic just enough to make it slightly disappointing.  Most of the Robin Hood is similar in tone to Gladiator, somber and serious with majesty and grandeur, but it also has some moments that come off as goofy.  The movie is humorous in between the serious parts, which is not a problem on its own, but it does not in smoothly with the rest of the film.

One thing I liked about the film is the portrayal of Robin and his merry men.  In the few scenes in which they act as a team are truly delightful.  Robin, Little John, Will Scarlett and Allan A’Dayle go about their wayfaring exuberantly and it makes for some enjoyable scenes.  Too bad such scenes were few and far between.  Blanchett as Maid Marian was also very good, as was Friar Tuck.  Easily the best parts of the film were the parts that focused on the traditional Robin Hood myths.

Then there were the historical parts, which were not quite as good.  Kings Richard and John were great.  Richard the Lionheart was well loved, but he did not actually care too much about governing his kingdom.  And John was all hubris and arrogance he meant well, but he was not actually that good at being king.  He was the King who ended up signing the Magna Carta, so having that be Robin’s focus rather than having him playing a waiting game while they hoped for Richard’s return from the Crusades was an  interesting change.  But there were also some quite strange things.  Like Robin being a commoner who assumed the name of a dead noble.  That itself is an interesting twist, but the fact that the father of the noble he impersonates just happened to know his real father strain credulity.  That his real father just happened to be an integral part of the group that wrote the first attempt at a Magna Carta is unbelievable.  The whole real father reveals were just confounding and disappointing.  As was how people suddenly knew was an imposter at the end.  The were also other strange bits, most notably Marian leading an army of orphans into the battle at the end.

Robin Hood is and enjoyable movie, but the little things that do not quite match the tone of the rest keep it from being great.  A possible sequel, as the ending suggests and practically begs for would probably improve upon this one, with Robin and his merry men hopefully acting as outlaws more than in this film.  But Robin Hood, in the end, is an almost great movie.