Movie #157 Paul *2011*

Simon Pegg - Graeme Willy
Nick Frost - Clive Gollings
Seth Rogan - Paul

Kristen Wiig - Ruth Buggs
Greg Mottola (Director)

Paul is the story of a mild mannered alien and the nerds that befriend him.  I suppose I should say that Paul is the story of a poorly mannered, foul mouthed alien.  The story revolves around the geeks attempts to get Paul to a meet-up location, and of course all the colorful character they meet along the way.

I enjoyed Paul a fair amount.  It is very referential to other sci-fi films.  Fans of films like Star Wars, the Alien films, Predator, Close Encounters, E.T., The X Files and the like should enjoy the all the homages.  The problem is that you had to catch the references in order to get to many of the jokes.  And it is a very jokey film.  I caught most of them I think, but there were times where the pacing was so that I knew that I had just missed something.

Frost and Pegg are the stars of the films Shaun of the Dead (Movie #43) and Hot Fuzz.  Both of those films make references to all sorts of other films, but catching these cues are not critical to the overall plot or enjoyment of the film.

Kristen Wiig may have been the best part of the movie.  She plays a trailer park dweller / Bible thumper that get taken hostage by the crew.  She abandons her religious way and joins the dark side.  She begins swearing after having lived a life without even hearing curse words.  It is not the most original gag, but her enthusiasm and delivery makes it sound fresh and funny.

I love Jason Bateman, but he is not given anything to do here.  He is a government agent that is tracking Paul.  Totally wasted.  The foul mouthed alien has a few funny stints, bout over all the film fell flat.  The story slugs along stopping only to set up the next bit of shtick.

I did laugh (though be it mindlessly) enough to slightly recommend the film.  Even though everyone involved has produced better work.  I give Paul ★★★.  Check out the Trailer Park to see for yourself.

Movie #73 Leaves of Grass

Never had a chance.

I had my first Red Box experience last week.  My vivacious girlfriend is a frequenter to the Red Box.  She had a coupon for $1 off.  She took me to the nearest machine and we rented the 2010 film Leaves of Grass.  This movie has Ed Norton in duel roles.  He plays twin brothers who were both child prodigies.  One went on to leave his Oklahoma roots behind him and become a professor of ancient philosophy.  The other stayed home and uses his gift to grow and harvest the county's best marijuana. 

The hillbilly / troublesome twin deceives the other in order to get him home with questionable motives.  He needs an alibi while he goes up north to handle a situation gone awry with a Jewish mob boss.  While in OK the teacher twin falls for a local school teacher played lifelessly by Keri Russel.  Susan Sarandon plays the boys hippie mother in a totally forgotten side plot.

Ed Norton is good as both brothers.  The production managed to pull off a difficult task in using 1 actor for two roles without it looking corney.

Tim Blake Nelson wrote and directed this small film that never really got much of a distribution.  Over all I enjoyed this film.  It is clear to me that Mr Nelson took a lot away from his experience with working with the Coens.  It is crisp, smart and fun to watch.  I think after he gets a few more films under his belt he could really find a define a real style.   

I will give Leaves of Grass a 3/5 stars.  If you have a free couple of hours and a Red Box coupon I'd say give it a shot.  Check out the Trailer Park to see for yourself.