Funny People

George Simmons was prepared to die, but then a funny thing happened.

So reads the tagline to Funny People. Only things is, the film is actually at its funniest and most enjoyable while George Simmons still thinks he is going to die. Then comes the long boring bit of him visiting his ex and her kids and then her husband shows up unexpectedly. Yes, it gets really awkward, which could work well in a comedy but here just gives Eric Bana opportunity to pull strange faces (as if his starter kit face weren't strange enough).

Up until that part the film was really great, aside from the drift into potty humor (courtesy of Seth Rogan's character). What came as a surprise to me that I did not absolutely hate Adam Sandler in this. See, when he is not the one actually responsible for a story and only acts in a film, said film can be enjoyable.

Now, if only we could keep him from orchestrating his dreadful brand of humor....

Anyway, overall just okay thanks to the slow second half.

6/10

The Wolf of Wall Street

Well, this was surprising.

I did not actually want to see The Wolf of Wall Street. Then a couple of friends suggested to go see it together and I ended up actually sort of enjoying it.

Granted, it is long. And I mean very, very long. Too long even. Seriously, how many scenes of gang banging hookers and doing endless lines of cocaine does it take to get the message across? Two? Three? Surely not as many as there were, some even in slo-mo. Two hours should have been more than enough to tell this particular story.

Aside from the sheer endlessness of the film, there were moments of greatness and absolute hilarity.

The highlight of it all, which made me laugh so hard I was in stitches, was the main character making his way from a pay phone inside the lobby of a country club to his car parked outside. There are other laughs and chuckles along the way, but this one definitely takes the cake.

Ultimately, this was better than I expected.

7/10

This Is the End

Jay Baruchel flies to LA to hang out with his old friend Seth Rogan. After an evening of weed, munchies and video games, Rogan drags Baruchel to a party at James Franco's house. Baruchel is reluctant to go because he is not into the LA scene and doesn't like Jonah Hill, who is at the party, as well. And so, apparently, is everybody else - Craig Robertson, Mindy Kaling, Rihanna, Christohper Mintz-Plasse, David Krumholtz, Michael Cera, Aziz Ansari and - unbeknownst to the host - Danny McBride.

Baruchel, upset with Rogan because he did not stay by his side at Franco's place, gets his friend to go to a nearby convenience store. While the two are in there, the apocalypse kicks off. They rush back to the party but nobody inside has noticed anything awkward happening at all. As they try to piece together what the two are on about, the earth shakes so fiercely that even the party guests notice this time. They storm outside and stare at the staring Hollywood hills when a sinkhole opens up in the front yard, swallowing most of the onlookers.

Baruchel, Rogen, Franco, Robinson, and Hill make it back to the relative safety of the house, where they board up, check up on the limited food and drink supply and spend an uneasy night. When they get up the next morning, Danny McBride, who has spent the night in the bathtub and has no idea what is happening, has used up most of the supplies making breakfast. So, things do not look rosy for our survivors.

As they cannot leave the house they pass the time doing drugs and making cheap sequels to their previous films. Then suddenly, Emma Watson breaks her way into the house. At first, everything is rosy until Watson goes to rest in Franco's room and they guys outside discuss the weirdness of the situation and making sure that they would not come across as 'rapey' with only one woman in the house. Watson only catches part of the conversation, mostly the word rape and gets out of Dodge, keeping everyone in check with an ax.

When water dwindles, they try to get more either from the basement or a neighbor's house, which requires them to leave the building in ones and twos. They start to get attacked by a demon, possibly the devil himself (you know, this being the apocalypse and all), who also has sex with Jonah Hill, who for the remainder of his life in the film is possessed.

What follows is deaths, mayhem, the expulsion of Danny McBride, ascensions to heaven,  and the Backstreet Boys.

6/10