The World's End (2013)

Being a huge fan of Edgar Wright's work, going so far as to call "Shawn of the Dead" one of my favorite comedies ever, it goes without saying that "The World's End" was up very high on my list of Most Anticipated films of 2013. Like I do with most movies that I'm really looking forward to, I purposefully kept myself somewhat in the dark about it, going so far as to not even watch the trailer for it. And for some reason it didn't play in front of any film I've seen this year. So I went into "The World's End" with basically a clean slate, only expecting quality based on past experience and the cast.

Thankfully what I ended up getting was, as expected, a very well made film that was exciting, stylish, mysterious, funny and surprisingly heartfelt all at once. And while this was only to be expected since that list of attributes could be slapped on the box of every movie Edgar Wright ever made, it still is worth repeating because it just goes to show how impressive of a filmmaker this guy is. I'll say this right now: There are few directors out there whose works are more consistently entertaining than Edgar Wright. When this guy makes a movie, it's to your benefit to pay attention.

"The World's End" follows the adventures of five friends from school who once had a legendary night of pub crawling in their younger days. Twenty years later the de facto leader of the group, Gary (Simon Pegg), who is now a high functioning alcoholic, attempts to get the group back together to relive that night, which in his mind was the greatest moment of his frankly pathetic life. The rest of the group aren't really into it, having moved on and realized that Gary is a titanic schmuck some time ago, but eventually they all cave in and agree.

Oh yeah. Who wouldn't follow this guy?

Past that point is gets a little weird. Once the pub crawl begins, it becomes clear the town and people in it are a bit different since they were last living there. At first they chalk up to them being older, but pretty soon it starts going an "Invasion of the Bodies Snatchers" route, and things get officially, as the English would put it, cocked up. This leads to an escalation of sci-fi craziness that would seem bizarrely out of place had it not been written in such an effective and exciting manner.

The cast is pitch-perfect and made up of some of the funniest people I can think of. Of course Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are two of my Funniest People In The World in No Particular Order, but Martin Freeman does his best revival of his turn as Watson in "Sherlock" to play the uppity one to hysterical effect as well. What's amazing about Simon Pegg though is how much of a pathetic scumbag he's playing in this, but still manages to be somewhat charming and loveable, and you actually want to see him succeed. I suppose that's just called "acting talent."

The script, penned by Pegg and Wright, is full of the usual rapid fire, too-smart-for-most-American-audiences cleverness that is predominant throughout the Blood and Ice Cream Trilogy of this, "Shawn of The Dead" and "Hot Fuzz," but whereas those films hit the ground running at a thousand miles an hour, "The World's End" takes it's time and is a bit slower paced with both story and jokes. The laughs aren't as densely packed as the other films, which gives it a sense of maturity the others lacked but at tradeoff of not being as memorable or endlessly quotable. That's not to say it isn't funny, which it very much is, but it's not nearly as goofy as the rest of the trilogy.

"Reservoir Dogs" would have been far less tragic (and more drunk) if it had been these guys. About the same amount of profanity, though.

All of Edgar Wright's films have recurring themes, among the most common of them being growing up, whatever that means. And finding out what becoming "an adult" is all about and what it means to each individual person is at the forefront of the story of "The World's End." Ultimately it's about Gary making amends for his past transgressions (kind of) and coming to terms with himself and realizing what it takes for him to be happy while embracing his faults. And ultimately he saves the world by doing so (kind of). And thanks in no small part to some surprisingly powerhouse acting on the parts of both Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, it winds up being a rather moving story.

While it may not reach the levels of side-splitting hilarity as the rest of Edgar Wright's filmography, "The World's End" is a worthy final entry in the Wright/Pegg trilogy. It's always nice to know that no matter how many wretched, unfunny comedies are spewed out en masse from Hollywood, there's at least a few people left who still get it. You just have to go to England to find them.

Check out the trailer. I chose the one that DIDN'T give too much away.

THE BOTTOM LINE - "The World's End" is a delightful romp of drunkenness that is charming in the way that only Edgar Wright and his cast of regulars can manage to be. Despite being more leisurely in pace than "Shawn of The Dead" or "Hot Fuzz," it's the most touching and visually impressive entry in the series. And while it's not as jammed to the brim with gags both overt and subtle as the others, it's still very, very funny. You gotta check this one out.

Kill List (2011)

This is the first entry in my IFC Midnight Weekend Trilogy. For the next three days, I'll be watching three films from one of my favorite film distributors, Independent Film Channel, or IFC. Specifically, I'll be looking at my favorite label of theirs, IFC Midnight, which is their "genre channel," if you will. Basically, IFC Midnight is what they label films of theirs that are weird, creepy, scary or generally just kind of whacked out. It's no surprise then that I generally really like most anything they release with that label on it. If anything, I know I'm going to watch something unique, and they haven't let me down yet.

So join me on this rousing adventure as I reflect on the first film in my IFC Midnight Trilogy: "Kill List!"

This is a movie that's difficult to classify, although one could take the easy way out and just call it a "dark drama." I guess that would be fairly accurate, although that's not really the feeling that you get while watching it. The word "drama" just doesn't have the right gravity for a movie like "Kill List," although "weird" and "bleak" and "violent" would be good descriptors for it.

SOON.

What's notable about it is that even though it is a crime drama for a good portion of the film, there was still a weird sense of what I can only call spookiness hanging over "Kill List." I'm not sure if it was the fact that I was expecting creepy stuff to start happening because it's an IFC Midnight movie, although they may have been a factor. And to be sure, even though there are little hints of it throughout, by the end the creepiness does make itself known in an ending that is possibly one of the craziest, turn the movie on its head, whiplash inducing change of tone endings I've ever seen.

"Kill List" is a movie about Jay, a hitman who, after a botched job in Kiev, is reluctant to take another assignment. We never see or are told about what happened in Kiev, but it obviously was bad enough to make a seasoned pro want to quit. After not working for 8 months, Jay is offered another job by his friend and fellow assassin, Gal. In an effort to support his family, he reluctantly takes it. The job is to kill three people, a priest, a librarian, and a rich man.

Jay, played in a masterful performance by Neil Maskell, finds out quick enough that there is far more to the job than they initially anticipated. The men they are sent to kill all seem to know something that Jay and Gal don't, and the further into the mess they get, the more nefarious things they uncover, which usually ends with Jay going off the deep end in a rage of horrendous violence, which is in contrast to Gal's more deliberate, methodical ways. As the film progresses, this gets worse and worse until it's all Gal can do to contain Jay's psychopathic outbursts.

And then, we come to the last job. The last act of this movie is, in a word, crazy. I'm reluctant to give anything away, but suffice to say that it definitely takes on the tone of a horror film in the last 20 minutes. And it's such a shock when it happens that it seems like we've wandered onto the set of an entirely different film. At the same time, it does fit with the creepy vibe the movie had been giving off, almost as if we can finally put a reason to why the movie has been doing that the whole time.

The end of the film is most definitely one of those "make or break it" moments for the audience. It would not be a stretch at all to imagine someone complaining that the end came right the hell out of nowhere, didn't make any sense, was confusing, and was just insane, for lack of a better word. And in some ways they would be correct. This is a crazy ending that "Kill List" has, and it is abrupt, and it does make you scratch your head and say "What the crap is going on?" This is all true.

As weird as it is to say, yeah, it's kind of like that.

But that's why I loved it. Here's the thing: the end of "Kill List" is nuts, but it does make sense when you think about it. Because that's the key, you just have to let it sink in for a bit. Now, is every question answered? Oh good lord, no. There are more open ended questions at the end of this movie than there are homophobes in the GOP, but that doesn't mean it's not a good ending. Maybe we don't need to know everything about everything. "Kill List" gives us just enough hints that we are able to draw our own conclusions about the "why" of the film.

Although the ending was by far the most attention grabbing part of the film, due to its insanity, I found the rest of "Kill List" to be an intensely absorbing film. There's a fantastic sense of tension going on throughout, like a rubber band being pulled tighter and tighter, and you're just waiting for it to snap at any moment. Once the killings start happening it only gets more intense, because the violence in "Kill List" is pretty brutal, and any time they're on the job it's only a matter of time before some more is thrown your way, and the anticipation leading up to it is pretty nail-biting. It actually reminds me of a Tarantino film in that way, although Tarantino's violence tends to be more sudden. "Kill List" is a bit more drawn out, but they are both equally effective. It's also reminded me of "Drive" in that regard as well, now that I think of it.

Did I mention it's kind of violent? *Urrp* Oh god...that hammer...

The cast also deserves another call out, because they were all very good. I mentioned Neil Maskell before, but MyAnna Buring, who was in "The Descent" is also outstanding. However, Michael Smiley was the standout for me as Gal, and wound up being my favorite character. He has this great Irish swagger to him which endears him to the audience, although once again, it's strange to be drawn to people who are killing other people for a living. Ironically Smiley was also in "Burke & Hare," which had protagonists with similar occupations, and like that movie, killing isn't a pleasure for them, it's a job. I'm not sure which mindset would be worse, honestly.

There isn't too much more to say about "Kill List" other than that. If you want an intense movie with some hard hitting violence and a completely insane ending, you could do far worse than this one.

But watch it with subtitles on. Unless you happen to be from the region of the UK they are from and can understand what in the crap they are saying. I never thought the Irishman would be the guy who was easiest to understand.

THE BOTTOM LINE -  I enjoyed "Kill List" a good amount, and would recommended it to anyone looking for a good, dark thriller. It's got that distinct IFC Midnight flavor that reeks of creepy. Once again, their track record is intact with me. Recommended.