Paul (2011)

Need a good spoof of Spielberg sci-fi movies like Close Encounters, Star Wars, and ET?  This movie was as much fun as Fan Boys.  So if you enjoyed that one, you will most likely "get" this one too.  The fun part is recognizing all the connections.  If you miss them, the story is more or less just average.

Simone Pegg and Nick Frost are goofy comedy geniuses.  Either that or they are the UK's version of Jack Black.  I prefer the first observation.

The other fun surprises here are the great performances from some very familiar faces like Jane Lynch, Jason Bateman, Sigourney Weaver, and Seth Rogen.  These are not the only ones of course.  The entire cast was clearly having a good time.

Don't watch this movie with high sci-fi expectations.  Instead, have a bunch of popcorn and your sense of humor completely intact.  And I do recommend the unrated version for the out of control language and "alien behavior".

Hot Fuzz (2007)

The creative team who brought you Shaun of the Dead are back, without their zombies. What they did bring was twisted respect for Dirty Harry movies. What did that translate into? According to their own claim in the special features, a whole new genre of cop movies. Did they succeed? You decide.

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as more or less complete opposite police officers in a small English village outside London. They come up against a very unusual set events, all while trying to figure out what kind of cops, and men, they really are.

Along the way, with the help of some extreme harsh editing (I used to call this MTV editing), the boys learn all sorts of things in some very funny, very graphic, ways. While this movie is very different from Shaun, the sense of humor and fun is clearly the same.

Watch this movie with someone who is obsessed with cop-buddy movies.

Run Fatboy Run

Simon Pegg and company do a passable job of bringing this story to screen. Hank Azaria is the token yank and as such is pretty much as unlikeable as possible. In fact few characters here, if any, are a pleasure to watch.

Another sad thing is that script and this cast should have been capable of many more laughs. It seemed sad to me that the first good belly laugh came 35 minutes into the film. After that, there were a few, but up to that point not many. Director David Schwimmer should have taken the horse by reigns and make this movie less predictable and more funny.

Maybe my expectations were too high for this one? I was thinking up in the stratosphere nearer "Sean of the Dead" not down in the stale basement with the likes of "Nacho Libre".

If you must, watch this movie with someone who does not run for pleasure.

Shaun of the Dead

"You've got red on ya". We've all had days like this I'm sure. Nothing seems to go right, despite our best efforts. Old friends make it tough stay close to them. And everyone around us is irritatingly... dead.

While it may be possible to get too much of a good thing, this movie is most likely not it, just yet. Spin-offs and sequels will probably hit that particular low mark.

Simon Pegg (Band of Brothers, Hott Fuzz, and soon to be the new Scotty in Star Trek) appears to be the front man for a goofy group of pun-loving film makers, who are fascinated with zombies. Why? Who knows. But at least in the case of this movie, I'm glad they got it right at least one.

According to my youngest daughter, she has never seen me laugh so hard at a movie. What does that say about me or the movie? Not sure. It could be I had a low comedy threshold that day, or maybe, just maybe this movie is very very funny. I like British pub humor, and this movie is choker block full mate.

Shaun's video game obsessed chum in this story is played by Nick Frost (Kinky Boots and Hott Fuzz). We've all had friends like this, more or less. So, we can understand how poor Shaun feels, and why he keeps him around.

The supporting cast is brilliant. The soundtrack is spot on, and the sight and timing gags a perfect. This might be a dumb story well told, but it still goes on my list of movies worth a watch again, or for the first time if you have not seen it yet.

Watch it with someone who likes puns and ironic humor.