Film Review: 50/50

'Cancer comedy' doesn't exactly sound like the most hilarious thing you'll ever see. Indeed, just how do you make a comedy about cancer? Such is the volatility surrounding such a premise that it's no wonder no one else has dared attempt such a thing. The answer then is that if you're going to do so, you had better bloody well hope you get it right. Fortunately 50/50 manages this in spades, aided undoubtedly by screenwriter Will Reiser, his own struggle with the disease upon which the film's events are based.

When responsible, risk-averse Adam (Gordon-Levitt) is diagnosed with a rare form of cancer that has a survival rate of fifty-percent, those closest to him rally round to offer their support. Where his girlfriend Rachel (Howard) vows to stay by his side, Adam's estranged mother (Huston) struggles to come to terms with his illness while rambunctious friend Kyle (Rogen) focuses on getting him sympathy lays.

While the premise might at first sound alarming, if not 'offensive', making light of social taboos need not be cruelly motivated merely to obtain laughs out of serious issues. Certainly this is most definitely not the case here. Despite its bromantic inclination, 50/50 thankfully remains witty without ever forsaking its incredibly touching sentiments. Naturally there is a tricky tonal balance to obtain, and verily half the time you won't know whether you should be laughing or not. However, in order for it to strike such a poise it must remain upbeat in order to resonate with its audience. Consequently 50/50 perhaps might not be as daring as it first appears. Indeed it sonorously shies away in some instances, being just a little bit too careful in the sense that it seems torn between pandering to the viewer and trying to convey something insightful. However such criticism would be nitpicking given the difficulty of the subject material and the inevitability of offending at least someone's sensibilities.

But 50/50 is more than just a comedy. It is as much an exploration of Adam's struggle with cancer as it is an exposition on the effects such a diagnoses has on friends and family. This will evoke an emotional response from its audience, particularly when you realise that Adam doesn't have a plethora of people around to get him through. But it is those who are there which count, and this is most evident in the third act. Often an area where films are weakest, here the seriousness of Adam's condition is palpable, signalled by a shift down in gears from sitcom to drama. Such is the incredible tenderness with which the situation is handled that you'd be dumbfounded to come across anyone that was actually offended by this film.

This is helped along by its characters, most which have an inexpungible saccharine quality. Gordon-Levitt's softly spoken, self-effacing Adam oozes an unimpeachable pathos as we journey with him through the five stages of grief and his showdown with the disease. Along the way he meets a couple of elderly, pot-using cancer patients played veraciously by Philip Baker Hall and Matt Frewer, as well as a trainee psychologist Katherine (Kendrick) who is charmingly out of her depth given Adam is only her third ever patient. Admittedly the development of Adam and Katherine's relationship may seem a little 'cutout', but it is still handled with a geniality that makes this forgivable. You also might be hard pressed to fathom the ignominious behaviour of Adam's girlfriend, indeed hoping that if 50/50 is based on Reiser's own experience that she's entirely fictional. Likewise, Adam's nagging mother may seem a little disingenuous at first but she gives a capacious emotional pay-off by the end. While Rogen shows nothing new from his previous outings as an irrepressible hairy slob, he is nonetheless likeable and provides the film with its main comic impetus. What separates Rogen's familiar nuances here however is the context as he attempts to make sense of the fact that his best mate might die. There's more to Kyle than just partying and getting laid, a depth allured to that gives this otherwise recognisable character a genuine redeeming quality.

50/50 is one of the most touching films I've seen all year, boundlessly emotional and with plenty of heart. It works both as a classic Rogen-Apatow comedy as well as a sombre tale of one man's battle with cancer. Just how funny can you get without trivialising something as serious as cancer I hear you ask? Perhaps Will Reiser is one of the few who might know, seemingly taken by the old adage that 'laughter is the best medicine'. While there is mirth and tears in equal measure, the success rate in its precarious balance between humour and inquisition of such a pernicious illness is greater than 50/50.

Film Review: The Green Hornet

On paper this film shouldn't fail. It's got Seth Rogen, Cameron Diaz, Tom Wilkinson, Edward James Olmos and Christoph Waltz. Indeed, the very name Seth Rogen would ordinarily create a buzz of excitement. Unfortunately while The Green Hornet isn't an abject failure, it is however a disappointment and an example of spurned talent.

Britt Reid (Rogen) is your quintessential example of directionless youth. When his stern father (Wilkinson) suffers an unexpected death, the bored billionaire playboy teams up with servant Kato (Chou) - also a gadget maker extraordinaire and martial artist expert - to take on crime using the unique guise of pretending to be criminals themselves.

Interestingly while sharing many similarities to the background of one Bruce Wayne, the Green Hornet actually predates Batman. It even had its own TV show in the sixties featuring Van Williams as the Hornet and one Bruce Lee as Kato. While Rogen doesn't quite drag this into the same farcical realms of his other works (Pineapple Express, Superbad), his role as a screenwriter can definitely be detected as he injects his effusive humour on proceedings. Ostensibly, the teaming of Rogen and director Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) would constitute some sort of a dream team. Unfortunately Gondry's attempts to influence events doesn't quite sit in the action genre where the story feels a little higgledy-piggledy. Indeed, there's a lot going on in The Green Hornet, maybe too much. While it is energetic, the numerous different genres of comic book, buddy-up, action, romance etc just seem a little all over the place, none of which fully hold the audience's attention.

Rogen's Britt Reid is a bit like Bruce Wayne would be if he were to act like Russell Brand's Arthur. He barely displays any redeeming features and doesn't really grow all that much as a character. He is selfish to the point where even his motivations to fight crime come from alcohol-infused boredom, atypical to the sort of alturism or even vengeful dispositions of your typical comic book hero. On the one hand it's what makes The Green Hornet different, yet it still doesn't make the character particularly likeable. This is where his sidekick Kato steals the show with an aura of quiet confidence. The Taiwanese popstar, Chou, is probably the most appealing part of this film - a proverbial swiss army knife with unrivalled mechanical and martial arts skill. You wonder what the hell he's been doing serving as one of Reid's servants. However, despite his appeal Chou is scarcely intelligible to the point where subtitles might have been helpful. Unfortunately many parts with potential, such as Christoph Waltz's villain Chudnofsky, are relegated to a curiosity. His gimmick is that despite being the baddest mutha in all LA, no one finds him scary. So affected is he by this that the otherwise ruthless villain experiences a midlife crisis and embarks on a quest to reinvent himself in order to gain the respect he feels he deserves. While the idea could have worked the part is poorly written, much like Cameron Diaz's secretary Lenore Case and Olmos' Chief Editor Mike Axford at Britt's paper, The Daily Sentinel.

Overall The Green Hornet isn't 'that bad', but it doesn't glue together very well either. While reasonably endearing, it is also flawed in the sense that is feels a tad overdrawn and represents a bit of a wasted opportunity as some big talent feels completely underwritten. It's lengthy and convoluted screenplay unfortunately serves to erase the good work it does in other places. If only The Green Hornet chopped a few needless moments here, a few there, and honed its focus, it could have had much more sting. As it stands there are a lot of good points interspersed throughout which save this from pure direness thus it would be unfair to call The Green Hornet a complete disaster.

Film Review: Kung Fu Panda 2

The first Kung Fu Panda was a whimsical and effervescent affair, grossly underrated yet still managing to sing to the tune of some $600million. Of course, this prompted DreamWorks to produce a sequel. While Kung Fu Panda 2 is most certainly bigger than the first, it does not necessarily mean it is better. There's always a risk when you endeavour to expand a franchise. On the one hand you could be incredibly successful like with Pixar's Toy Story series. On the other, you could run it into the ground, a bit like another DreamWork's production, Shrek. Certainly, sometimes there is a case to be made that maybe some things should just be left well enough alone.

Po (Black) and the gang are back, this time facing a far bigger threat in the form of psychotic albino peacock, Shen (Oldman). Destined to fulfil an ancient prophecy whilst struggling to find his own inner peace, Po must first find himself before he can think about stopping Shen's ambitions to eradicate Kung Fu and take over all of China.

At its core the moral in Kung Fu Panda 2 is the same old; 'believe in yourself' with a dollop of 'what matters is who you are now, not where you came from'. This is essentially the root of Po's identity crisis, who has a goose for a father, and would certainly have appealed to Angela Jolie and her plethora of adopted kids. However if you've ever watched other DreamWorks productions such as Madagascar and Megamind you'll recognise that this is a story in exactly the same mould. In fact, Kung Fu Panda 2 is actually somewhat disconcerting for a children's film. It contains some remarkably morose material including themes of genocide and vengeance which might understandably be upsetting for kids. Likewise, having a psychologically disturbed panda as your film's hero is hardly the most inspiring comic material.

Po, like with Jack Black in general, is also looking tiresome. If you've seen the over-eager clumsiness once - which was the first film's strength - you probably won't want to see it again. While there is an attempt to add a depth to Po as he looks for inner peace, its execution is somewhat tepid, doing more to mimic the movie's already confusing screenplay. The overall effect of this is a strangely disjointed film with some questionable time lapses used to try and have it all make sense. Likewise, the Furious Five - Tigress (Jolie), Monkey (Chan), Viper (Liu), Crane (Cross) and Mantis (Rogen) - do more to crowd the picture rather than rouse proceedings, scarcely making the same indelible impression they did in the first film. What worked there - contrasting Po's idiot bravado against the humble aplomb of his team - seems kind of worn this time round. The best Kung Fu Panda 2 has to offer comes in the shape of two new characters. Michelle Yeoh's soothsaying sheep which provides the most laughs but, as with most children's films of this nature, the villain steals the show. Gary Oldman's peacock, Shen, is an ineffable villain with an evil rasp that will make your toes curl. He displays a similar appeal to another delightfully feathered foe, Rio's Nigel, voiced by Jermaine Clement. Like Rio, Kung Fu Panda 2 only ever seems to come alive when the big bad bird is around.

Ultimately the voice cast assembled is excellent but horribly underused. Lucy Liu and Jean Claude Van Damme for example couldn't have had more than five lines between them. The best thing about Kung Fu Panda 2 are its stunning visuals, a love letter to Chinese artistic styles in a world created out of lollipops and gumdrops. However, the film's capital, its charm and humour, are not nearly as present as in the first which makes for a superlatively bland experience. Still, at least we're finally given an answer as to why Po's dad is a goose. Expect DreamWorks to capitalise with a Kung Fu Panda 3.

Film Review: Paul

For some inexplicable reason, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are deemed by many as some of the funniest muthafuckers this country has produced in the last ten years. This is in large part based on the successes of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. This then prompted many to revisit one of Pegg's first forays into comedy, the cult sitcom, Spaced. Bandwagon jumpers started calling the series "ahead of its time", as if to somehow justify its omittance from the comedy hall of fame. Let's be frank though, Spaced, Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz are boring, drab and meandering works of beige. The jokes aren't particularly sharp or laugh out loud, hitting one with a muted, dull thud. On that note then, one, or rather I, might expect Paul to be much of the same tedious shit.

Graeme (Pegg) and Clive (Frost) are two British geeks living the dream. On holiday in America for the annual Comic-Con event, the two have plans to take a road trip to see where the whole alien mythology began - Area 51, Nevada. While driving one night, the duo make first contact with a crass, four-foot alien named Paul (Rogen). Discovering Paul is on the run from the authorities, Graeme and Clive agree to help the little fella get home, all the while pursued by bumbling government agents.

Paul marks the first time that Pegg and Frost have actually written a script together, and it shines through that the two real-life best buds had a lot of fun with it. Essentially, this is a road-movie with a sci-fi twist. Pegg's previous efforts in Shaun and Fuzz were co-written with Edgar Wright, who also directed both, and it is immediately evident that there is a marked difference in tone between those and Paul. And it's for the better. Paul is immediately more engaging, almost having an airier, lighter feel about it. Yes, critics might say this is more commercialized, but it is also more charming and delectable than its predecessors.

As you would expect, the homages to geekdom come thick and fast, with references to Aliens, Star Wars and just about any other sci-fi franchise you can think of. There's even a cameo from Sigourney Weaver. Unfortunately, the film misses a trick by failing to humiliate the entire lore and conventions surrounding such nerdy pursuits. It is disappointing that Pegg and Frost shied away from this, probably out of fear that they would offend their core audience. As such, the film descends into shock-value comedy, running with one particularly tiresome gag which alludes to Graeme and Clive being gay. But Paul has a saving Grace, and that is, well, Paul - a potty-mouthed, pot-smoking little grey alien donning a pair of cargos. Paul injects an energy otherwise lacking, acting as a catalyst which allows all the other characters to develop and play off. Indeed, it was this energy which was so sorely missing in both Shaun and Fuzz.

I'm sure, out there, some pompous, self-important, pseudo-intellectual who "adores" the "genius" of Pegg's earlier works will lambast Paul for being "too crude" and "shallow". But nothing could be further from the truth. Paul is accessible, emanating a genuine radiance of warmth not present in Shaun or Fuzz. Yes, it's a nerdy tribute to geeks the world over, but it's also funny and full of heart. Definitely Pegg and Frost's finest work to date.