Arriving in Los Angeles to chill out and try to re-establish
his long friendship with Seth Rogen, Jay Buruchel’s weekend takes a turn when
he’s coerced into accompanying Seth to a housewarming party at James Franco’s
where a plethora of other celebrities that Seth is friends with and Jay isn’t
will be in attendance. Already feeling like a fish out of water amidst Seth’s
new circle of friends, the weekend suddenly takes a real turn for the worst
when the Apocalypse hits L.A. and Jay finds himself barricaded in Franco’s
house with Seth, James, Craig Robinson, Danny McBride, and Jonah Hill all of
whom have mixed ideas of what’s going on and what they should do based on the
movies they’ve seen.
Hahaha this movie is great! You know what it is? It’s all
these celebrities of status completely deglamorising the Hollywood sheen and
proving that they’re no better than the rest of us. Written and directed by
Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, This Is the
End is the result of movie-lovers with money, names, and prowess letting
themselves run rampant, throwing anything into the mixture to see what will
happen. Many boundaries are crossed and many perceptions of people and
celebrities are shattered irrevocably all amidst the only genre that can allow
for such journeys and shenanigans: the apocalypse.
Arriving in Los Angeles to
chill out and try to re-establish his long friendship with Seth Rogen, Jay
Buruchel’s weekend takes a turn when he’s coerced into accompanying Seth to a
housewarming party at James Franco’s where a plethora of other celebrities that
Seth is friends with and Jay isn’t will be in attendance. Already feeling like
a fish out of water amidst Seth’s new circle of friends, the weekend suddenly
takes a real turn for the worst when the Apocalypse hits L.A. and Jay finds
himself barricaded in Franco’s house with Seth, James, Craig Robinson, Danny
McBride, and Jonah Hill all of whom have mixed ideas of what’s going on and
what they should do based on the movies they’ve seen.
Rather then talk about
the music, the performances, the story, and all the other stuff I generally
discuss when reviewing movies I’d like to just give everyone a taste of the
kind of stuff you can expect from this movie: the effects of the apocalypse so
to speak. Emma Watson’s British pixie/Hermione persona is pulled apart and she
becomes an axe-wielding looter never missing a moment to say “fuck”. Michael
Cera spends his minutes of fame off his face yet somehow still retaining that
vibe of adorkable that he’s got.
What’s particularly intriguing about this
movie is the fact that it doesn’t lead you anywhere. Everything suddenly
happens and you’re left spending the rest of the movie wondering where on earth
it’s going to end up. There’s a weird and rollicking fusion of genres here
including religious inspired horror, hints of science fiction, gore and sex
comedy, and then the weaker but still apparent bromance story that gets buried
beneath the flames, fire, and brimstone.
The ending sits in the company of the
cheesy and ridiculous endings of Blades of Glory and Boytown, whilst at
the same time being the most fantastically fucking awesome ending that is just
so perfect and in keeping with the rest of the film.
Starring Seth Rogen, Jay
Baruchel, James Franco, Craig Robinson, Jonah Hill, Danny McBride, Rihanna,
David Krumholtz, Channing Tatum, Michael Cera, and Emma Watson, This Is the End is a fantastically
fucking stupid but equally hilarious and awesome movie that, in all honesty,
will probably only appeal to those who follow and appreciate this brand of
humour. This movie definitely isn’t for everyone.
Filled with gore, action,
explosions, wreckage, cannibalism, friendship, redemption, and comedy it’s a
rollercoaster ride from go to whoa and an unbelievable one at that, but at the
same time it’s a clever and slightly warped statement on modern movie culture
and audiences. Although a greater portion of an audience probably will not
revere this flick, I found some great stuff in it and enjoyed it.
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