The Worlds End is a Hilarious Conclusion to the Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy

The World's End

Directed by Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz)

Written by Edgar Wright, and Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz)

Starring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Martin Freeman, Paddy Considine, and Eddie Marsan

The Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy also known as the Blood and Ice Cream trilogy comes from the team of Edgar Wright (director/writer) and Simon Pegg (writer/star), with Pegg teaming up with Nick Frost on screen in every film.  The series gets its name from the Cornetto ice cream flavors and even every film pays homage to the different colors with a carefully placed wrapper in each film that is part of the series.  Shaun of the Dead pays homage to the read flavor to go along with the horror genre.  Hot Fuzz pays tribute to the original flavor which was blue, thus representing the cop theme.  The World's End uses the green mint flavor to pay homage to alien/science fiction films.  Together these three films are some of the funniest spoofs on the genre films with which people have come to love.

As stated above 'End' takes on the science fiction genre tackling the concept of an Earthly invasion, but in reality the film centers around a group of five's nostalgic trip back home to try and accomplish a drinking feat they failed as young adults.  Gary King (Pegg) was the ring leader of this group who attempted to tackle the Golden Mile with 12 different bars, and a pint for each bar, sounds easy, but distractions prevented King and his comrades Oliver (Freeman), Steven (Considine), Peter (Marsan), and Andy (Frost) from achieving their goal.  Gary has not moved on from his booze filled, drug ridden world, but his friends have 20 years later.  Gary works to get the gang back together again, and achieve the goal they were never able to accomplish.

Edgar Wright may be one of my favorite director's working; he has created a science which has brought about the success of the Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy.  Wright's direction always brings about the best in ensemble, touching on the humor, and the intricacies of the action, like the fight sequences within this film.  Wright and Pegg have a great rapport and have created one of the funniest series ever which have brought about some of the funniest moments in film, but also take a sharp look at the genre films, and a not formulaic, but not so formulaic way.  At the moment Wright is attached to the next Avenger series film Ant-Man, and he and Pegg would be the perfect duo to tackle this off beat egotistical super hero.

While Wright and Pegg get most of the credit, deservedly so, this ensemble elevated the material to incredibly humorous levels.  Nick Frost is beyond under rated and within every film of the series he grows more and more creating some of the funniest characters, and this adventure is no different.   Martin Freeman and Paddy Considine who were part of Hot Fuzz also are truly hilarious within this film.  This is a great ensemble, and an excellent film to make you belly laugh, and put you in a good mood.

JJ Abrams knows the Star Trek World well, Going where men have Gone Before, but Creates an Incredible Journey

Star Trek Into Darkness (3 1/2 out of 5 Stars)

Directed by JJ Abrams (Super 8, Star Trek)

Written by: Robert Orci (Mission Impossible III), Alex Kurtzman (Star Trek), Damon Lindelof (Prometheus)

Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, and Benedict Cumberbatch

I was never a fan of Star Trek growing up, I was raised on Star Wars by my father.  Star Trek (the original series) was a little ahead of my dad, so he did not grow up on it.  My grandfather used to watch Next Generation and all the other modern versions, and i would watch sometimes with him.  When the reboot was announced with JJ Abrams attached I was beyond thrilled.  Abrams, and Joss Whedon are the modern day champions within this genre, and they do things right.  They get great actors, they put their heart into the film, and know how to satisfy the fans.  This film continues this legacy.

Into Darkness starts with the Starship Enterprise doing what they do best exploring planets, but mainly helping  prevent a volcano from destroying a "primitive" civilization.  Their mission is suppose to go undetected, but they Starship Enterprise is seen, and this calls into question Kirks leadership.  As all of this is going on someone who works within the Star Fleet has a young daughter dying; he is visited by a mysterious man (Cumberbatch) who give the girl his blood in order to help her live.  This comes with a price, and John Harrison (Cumberbatch) sets in a motion a plan to take down the Star Fleet.

I was intentionally vague about the plot, for this film, because for me half the fun within seeing this particular film is the way the screenplay sets things in motion.  While the script is not as good as the first film there are some fun twists and turns throughout the film, which make this story worth watching.  One of the interesting elements is the role in which Star Fleet is compared to the armed services, and not always in a good way.  There is an interesting underlying tone, about this higher power having control, and setting things in motion to create a war which is not needed.  There are many present day parallells to that, and while some will bemoan this, Simon Pegg's Scottie helps laughingly balance the heavy nature rounding out the the tone of that story element.

Cumberbatch and his character's story arc is central to what drives the latest Star Trek film.  I am not giving away spoiler, because if you look up on imdb.com he is listed as playing Khan.  Khan is known as the greatest villain to Star Command; he is not only dangerous, but almost unbeatable.  In this story Khan is out to enact his revenge, and the lines of right and wrong become blurred.  Who is good vs. who is bad, is Kirk and his team fighting on the right side, or are they headed in a direction from their own people which could get them into hot water with the Klingons.  The concepts of terrorism foreign and domestic run through this film, and the screenwriters do a good job of never letting the message overwhelm the fun within the script. 

Abrams not only knows this world, but he has made it an action packed adventure.  One of the signature aspects to Abrams direction is the lack of steady camera work, which makes you feel like you are part of the action.  This was used much more in Cloverfield, and Super 8.  While Abrams did not direct Cloverfield, this lack of steady camera work made me feel nauseous, when Abrams was at the helm in both this film and Super 8, the technique worked.  While there are times when the camera work becomes a bit much, I liked feeling a part of film, and it sucked me into the action of the film.  Abrams motto with this film was go big or go home, and he did with incredible visual effects, and some action sequences like a massive erupting volcano, which set this film apart.

The other thing which makes this a great film, is the cast, Abrams has some of the best casting directors, and his actors he uses in this film flesh out the Enterprise in ways the original cast not have the opportunity.  The best of the regular cast is Zachary Quinto who steals the show from Chris Pine.  Spock was always a beloved character, and Quinto is fantastic within the role; he is both hilarious and captures the Vulcanisms. Chris Pine is actually the weak link of this cast; he is an attractive guy, but one of the most wooden actors.  Cumberbatch is new to the franchise; he takes on a classic role and is a tour de force; he is such a brilliant actor, and I love the way he makes you love and hate him in the same moments.

So how does this compare to the first film?  I think it matches, but does not equal the reboot.  The film is funny, has great action sequences, a solid plot, and continues to work with the great characters.  The first in this series just launched something so brilliant, and was one of the best films of 2009. Into Darkness is a film that will not disappoint, because it is good, and also proves that there are so many stories to be told. This film is great, it's fun, and entertaining, but does not advance anything it merely adds a great next chapter within the franchise, which is not a bad thing.

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol is a fun filled Action Adventure Ride

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (3 1/2 out of 5 Stars)

Directed by Brad Bird (The Iron Giant,The Incredibles, Ratatouille)

Written by Josh Applebaum and Andre Nemec

Starring: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton, and Simon Pegg

I have a confession to make.  I went to see Ghost Protocol in IMAX to see the The Dark Knight Rises prologue. Whew!  Now that the weight is lifted off my shoulders I can say, aren't film franchises supposed to get stale once you get to the fourth film?  While I still think the third Mission Impossible film is the best this film is just as good!  When I saw the preview for this I thought this franchise is going to get stale.  J.J. Abrams directed and produced the third film, and just helped produce this film.  This man has the golden touch, and he has made the third and fourth films better than the first two films-this is rare!

Ghost Protocol starts with another mission gone wrong and a cameo from none other than, Josh Holloway an alum from Abrams TV series Lost.  After the mission fails Jane (Paula Patton) and Benji (Simon Pegg) go to break Ethan (Tom Cruise) out of a Russian prison, cue the theme song.  Ethan and his team have to infiltrate the Kremlin, but this fails too when Kurt Hendricks sets off a massive explosion and frames Ethan. Brandt (Jeremy Renner) and the Secretary of Defense (a Tom Wilkinson cameo) tell Ethan IMF is shut down and team has to carry out their mission, hence the term Ghost Protocol.

This film is just plain entertaining.  There are the typical beautiful location shots in countries like Russia, India, and Dubai.  The action is off the wall!  Watching this film in IMAX was worth it.  The scene where Cruise scales the building is one of the coolest actions scenes I have in a long time.  Brad Bird has done mostly animated family films, but transitions nicely into live action films.  Bird is a great auteur, and like with his other films provides an incredible experience for the audience.  Simon Pegg was a standout for me as well; he is hilarious and make this movie well rounded.

While my intention were to just watch the prologue of The Dark Knight Rises, I was pleasantly surprised by this film.  Going to a movie should be an enjoyable experience, and this film provides nothing short of that.  Make sure you get a true IMAX experience and see this film.