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This Is The End: Would Work Much Better as an SNL Stint

Posted on December 13, 2013 Written by ripitup

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This Is The End cast
This Is The End survivors. Image via ign.com.

 I wasn’t sure about This Is The End. I wanted to see it, because the idea is really cool, and some of my favorite humor has been about celebrities making fun of themselves in TV shows or on live stints. For instance:

Gerard Butler and Saturday Night Live

Writing Humor That Cracks You Up 1: Poking Fun at Oneself Unashamedly (includes Kevin Bacon, Dermot Mulroney and more.)

I didn’t want to see This Is The End because I wasn’t sure I’d be laughing that much at Seth Rogen. I have nothing against the guy, but I’ve liked him a lot more in drama. Same goes for Jonah Hill. Or if he’s doing comedy, I want Channing Tatum and a Johnny Depp cameo, aka 21 Jump Street.

And apparently, I like Jay Baruchel a lot more when he comes with Nicolas Cage, Alfred Molina and Teresa Palmer, aka The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. It might be mindless entertainment, but it is very entertaining, and sometimes that’s enough.

Now, I have a soft spot for James Franco because of Freaks and Geeks, as well as Tristan & Isolde. But his character wasn’t any more entertaining than Rogen’s. And maybe a little less annoying than Hill’s.

Also, there’s the chance the humor could/would overuse jokes about weed, guys being around other guys and then sum. Too bad I was more right about my reservations than my enthusiasm.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying I hated the movie. I just hated some parts of it (especially if it included Michael Cera. How was that supposed to be funny other than his death scene? That was enjoyable.)

I laughed a bit, but I was more disappointed. I had to fast-forward quite a bit.

On the plus side, writing a review is easy because I don’t have to remember character names. Everyone plays themselves.

Let’s go over the good and the bad.

The Good (Also The Funny & Fun):

–       Two guys (Rogen and Baruchel) having weedy bromance moments and the background music is Backstreet Boys. That’s hilariously weird. And 90s.

–       Seth Rogen being greeted by reporters at the airport and is told he always plays himself.

–       Seth being on a cleanse which includes smoking, weed and hamburgers.

–       Also him thinking gluten is the mother of evil, and not knowing what it actually is.

–       Seth Rogen and Jay Baruchel finding themselves in the middle of Armageddon, and screaming like crazy, trying to survive until they head back to Franco’s.

–       James Franco and party folk not having a clue the word outside is falling apart and not believing Baruchel, and Rogen selling out Baruchel to maintain believability.

–       Emma Watson surviving and thinking they are in a zombie apocalypse.

–       Remaining guys shooting a sequel to the Pineapple Express at home and watching it for fun.

–       The ending with the Backstreet Boys cameo. Considering where and when Baruchel makes a wish, it’s too ridiculous not to be hilarious.

*

The Bad:

– Danny McBride: his fictional Danny takes obnoxious to a new level, and I think a character wouldn’t be that obnoxious/selfish/stupid in real world. Or people would have killed him. Seriously.

– The repetitive, unfunny jokes.

-Getting high in the middle of world ending. Yeah, sure, do that. Get extra hungry and thirsty and risk sickness. That’s cool.

– The dialogue in general.

-The Channing Tatum cameo. You want to use Tatum for comedy? Great. Have him scream his head off in a shrill voice when he is faced with real danger. Don’t make him McBride’s bitch. Literally.

*

I have nothing against well-done, R-rated comedies. And I don’t mind political incorrectness. Or actors playing similar characters, if those characters are likeable and plots of the movies vary enough. Some of my favorite comedies of all time are Old  School, Wedding Crashers and The Hangover (the first one). But not all absurd comedies click with you (like The Hangover sequel).

I think the movie would have worked a lot better if it ran for 5-10 minutes instead of 107 minutes.

Hey, all reviews and criticisms are obviously objective. However sometimes the “average” views and ratings baffle you. Like when this gets a 7.0 on IMDB. I’d have been OK with a 4 or 5. If I had seen it at the theater though, I’d have rated much lower (than 5).

*

So have you seen it? What did you think?

 

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: backstreet boys, backstreet boys this is the end, channing tatum, danny mcbride, emma watson, James Franco, james franco this is the end, Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill, michael cera, Seth Rogen, seth rogen this is the end, this is the end, this is the end cast, this is the end movie, this is the end movie review

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice starring Nicholas Cage, Monica Belluci, Jay Baruchel and Teresa Palmer

Posted on July 23, 2010 Written by ripitup

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The Sorcerer's Apprentice movie poster, starring Nicholas Cage
The Sorcerer's Apprentice starring Nicholas Cage, Jay Baruchel, Alfred Molina, Monica Belluci and Teresa Palmer. Directed by Jon Turteltaub. Image via disnology.com

Balthazar Blake (Nicholas Cage), Veronica (Monica Belluci) and Horvath (Alfred Molina) are sorcerer apprentices to Merlin. They are all very powerful and are supposed to use magic for humanity. When Horvath makes a deal with the evil sorcerer Morgana (Alice Krige), steals a powerful magic and attacks them,  Veronica imprisons Morgana in herself ;and herself in a “grimhold” to save Balthazar and the world. Before Merlin dies, he tells Balthazar that he needs to find ther “premerlinian” (I have no idea how to spell that!!)- a sorcerer so powerful that he will be able to destroy Morgana.  So Baltahazar searches for this special person for over a thousand years, with no avail.

Come 2000 and by coincidence, the child he is looking for walks into Balthazar’s shop. His name is David Strutter, he is 10 and he is in love with his classmate Becky. Just when Balthazar gives him his special ring and tries to explain his purpose, David accidentally sets Horvath free. This ends in Balthazar imprisoning himself and Horvath in a grimhold and David running away.

Come 2010,David (Jay Baruchel) is a total physics nerd, working on a Tesla related thesis. When he runs into Becky (Teresa Palmer) at the university, he can’t believe his luck. But just when he believes he has a shot with her, Balthazar and Horvath reappear. Balthazar starts training David and involuntarily lets him date as well. In the meantime, Horvath is trying to find himself other sorcerers who can help him with his mission.

Of course Horvath can’t be trusted, Balthazar has a hard time convincing David he is the one and we find about the real reason why Horvath betrayed them.

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is an absolute summer fun. This summer gave us totally entertaining action/adventure films with romantic subplots on the side and really good jokes. After Iron Man 2, Prince of Persia The Sands of Time and Knight and Day, we get another fun movie that totally entertains. I couldn’t have cared less if Inception topped this one at the box office.  The script is really well-balanced, Nicholas Cage is totally lovely and funny as Balthazar, Alfred Molina makes a fine villain (Chocolat, Spider Man 2) and Monica Belluci is gorgeous as always.

I really liked Jay Baruchel and Teresa Palmer’s performances as well. The comic timing, action sequences with magic , special affects and chemistry between the cast complement each other perfectly. I laughed a lot and had a great time. This movie is directed by Jon Turteltaub, and I have always loved his directing, regardless of the genre. He has also directed the National Treasure films starring Nicholas Cage, While You Were Sleeping and Phenomenon.

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is a Jerry Bruckheimer production. It was written by Lawrence Konner, Mark Rosenthal, Matt Lopez, Doug Miro and Carlo Bernhard.




But of course keep in mind I love the combination of action/comedy/romance and I am not that into magic.I don’t likethe Harry Potter series. But I am a fan of Cage and Molina and they deliver, big time.

Trailer 1

[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VZllR44gdA[/pro-player]

Trailer 2

[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7ZL3XjwL0E[/pro-player]

8/10. Perfect escapism!

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: action, adventure, Alfred Molina, comedy, fantasy, Jay Baruchel, Jon Turteltaub, merlin, monica belluci, movies, Nicholas Cage, nicolas cage, romance, Teresa Palmer, The Sorcerer's Apprentice

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