The loss of Edgar Wright is palatable and quite apparent right from the beginning of the film.  Now I’m not saying that Pegg of Frost are not capable of writing and making a good film, but I get the sense that above all else, Wright is an excellent editor for the team.  My biggest flaw with Paul is that the actors just don’t seem to know when to end a joke or when certain dialogue isn’t working.  Various points of the film become less that acceptable simply because the dynamic is not there and the film either drags or loses my interest.  The hardest part for me was caring long enough for some of the payout of the ending, but even then I was let down.

The concept is not bad, alien that is not your stereotypical alien is discovered as he is escaping from the military by two alien/comic book nerds.  Hilarity ensues, or is supposed to ensue, as the group evades the authorities in an attempt to save Paul.  While the spin certainly keeps you involved (although it is safe to say that same spin made A.L.F. successful), the plot meanders so that the actors can demonstrate their humor rather than move along the narrative.  This only works when dealing with Ruth Buggs (Kristen Wiig), but even that aspect feels like a one trick pony.  We get her naivety but after awhile it does become grating.  Various other ensemble actors interject their own attempts at humor but most of those attempts fall off the radar.  Did I ever mention how much I can’t stand Seth Rogen (who voices Paul)?  Even when he does voice over work I find myself wishing he had something else to do aside from films.  (Don’t get me started on The Green Hornet.)

Overall this feels like a stop gap until the next great Wright-Pegg-Frost film and it serves its purpose by at once giving us a taste of the potential humor and being just bad enough to make us want that collaboration more.  This comes to light when you get to the end of Paul.  We get a typical Hollywood happy ending that feels more like the film giving up than important.  Did I cry?  Um, yes but only because I was sad that the film was simply not up to par.  Hopefully Paul will simply be one of those films that gets placed into the timeline of a career rather than the end.  I want more Pegg and Frost, but next time make sure the film also includes Wright.

Kung Fu Panda is about a panda bear, Po, who inadvertently becomes what he dreams of becoming, the Dragon Warrior.  We follow him from his father’s noodle shop (somehow his father is a bird) to the Dragon Warrior naming ceremony where the Furious Five are vying for the crown.  After a fireworks mishap, Po lands in the middle of the ceremony and hence, becomes the Dragon Warrior.  The rest of the film is about Po’s acceptance of the title, Shifu and the rest of the Furious Five’s acceptance of Po, and the villain Tai Lung.  Ultimately, Po finds the hero inside to become the true Dragon Warrior.

I was excited and worried about seeing Kung Fu Panda.  When my daughter and I went to see Horton Hear a Who, we saw the trailer and were instantly wowed.  Then every other marketing outlet had something Kung Fu Panda related.  As the hype grew I was getting all giddy waiting until we could go and see it, but then it hit me.  How many times does a film actually live up to the hype?  In this case, it does.  Living up to the hype was vital for me because I did not want my daughter to leave the theater with a bad experience.  Here we had Happy Meal toys and Lunchables with Po all over them, imagine the disappointment if the film sucked.  Thankfully, it is now in her top three films of all time (yes all time is short to a four year old but none the less), only behind both High School Musicals.  So what makes this film wonderful?

The number one reason this film works is because of the voice acting.  I don’t know how many times I’ve been put off by the actors behind the voices, and with Jack Black being the lead, I hoped we got the reserved actor rather than the off kilter one.  As Po, Black brought out the sensitive humorous side in the character.  We had the charming jokes and the tenderness with only limited Jack Black flair.  Check out the title of the post to see the most Jack Black thing about the character.  It was great being able to see beyond Black and see Po.  Even the other voice actors worked.  I loved Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) and Oogway the turtle (Randall Duk Kim).  They gave their respective characters the needed wisdom while still getting a few laughs.  The biggest surprise came from Crane (David Cross), who carried most of the conversation of the Furious Five.  He was aloof yet caring.  The rest of the cast was decent, but perhaps faded a bit due to the lack of dialogue; which may have been for the better.  Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Mantis (Seth Rogan), Viper (Lucy Liu), and Monkey (Jackie Chan) fit their roles fine, but were relegated to back seat status.  Since I can’t stand Seth Rogan, this worked out well.  Even Tai Lung (Ian McShane) and Commander Vachir (Michael Clarke Duncan) where perfect for their roles.  McShane gave the villain the needed growl while Duncan just made sense as the head rhinoceros guard.  You could really tell that the actors believed in the film and gave each character the needed personality without overwhelming the character.

The second reason this film is wonderful is the animation.  Pixar is known for its computer graphics, but DreamWorks took it one step further with an amazing animated style.  Even from the opening dream sequence that looks like Samurai Jack, you knew that time was put into the animation.  Not too mention seeing Tai Lung’s fur move with the breeze.  These may be minor things, but these minor things brought out a tremendous amount of emotion.  It just worked, plain and simple.

I did have some reservations, mainly that it was rated PG.  Since my daughter is only four, I did consider skipping this because of the rating.  I am so glad I didn’t since the rating was mainly for animated violence.  Duh, it’s a film about Kung Fu.  So how bad was it?  No worse than any other kids show, in fact perhaps better since it was timed perfectly and fit the story.  The fight scenes were never bloody or overdone, in fact many cut away before any major violence happened.  This was no worse than watching professionals spar.

So how about my developing film critic?  She love this film.  She connected with the relationship between Po and Shifu, she was appropriately scared and understanding of Tai Lung, and even had a girl to like in Tigress.  She goes around the house showing us her Kung Fu (limited to Hiyaa! and a front kick) and sleeps with her stuffed Po as a protector against bad dreams.  There may not have been songs to sing like in High School Musical, but she found that sometimes a good story is all you need.  It was also nice to see her become interested in Chinese culture.  It may not be much, but the film allowed her to venture away from her own cultural background.

Kung Fu Panda is an awesome film that will no doubt be repeatedly viewed in my home once it hits DVD.  As a kids film, it has everything you could want including interest for adults.  There may not be the adult humor of a Shrek, but who needs it when the story is so good.  See this film, buy this film, and get ready for a sequel!

From what I heard, Knocked Up was the next killer comedy. Wait, I’ve heard that before when Napoleon Dynamite came out. Yeah, I’m still waiting for that to be funny. You know it seems that every once in awhile a comedy comes out that is billed as the funniest thing yet while still remaining slightly out of the mainstream. Give it a week and the hype machine is in full effect. The hipsters love the film because they found it first, but everyone buys into it because they think they are cool for doing what the hipsters do. Here’s an idea, don’t just love a film because it has mildly successful unknown writers and stars. So Freaks and Geeks lasted for a season and then got canned, get over it. somehow out of this people have come to worship Judd Apatow. Now before you go off in a tizzy, I’m not saying Apatow is a bad writer; in fact this film is better than many other films. However, my enjoyment comes from the ability to watch this with my wife. It may be just the combination of a mildly funny romantic comedy and a mildly humorous frat boy film. Thank god Dan Cook isn’t starring.

So here’s the story. Alison Scott (Katherine Heigl) is behind the scenes worker for E! when she is given the chance to work in front of the camera. To celebrate, here and her sister Debbie (Leslie Mann) go out for a night on the town. There she meets Ben Stone (Seth Rogan), a lovable pot smoking joke Mr. Skin ripoff website creator and general slacker. In a scene straight from Shakespeare, they get drunk and have sex. Alison becomes pregnant and the two try to become a family, eventually falling in, out, and in love. Wait a second, I’ve seen that formula before. Oh right, every romantic comedy has it. In a parallel narrative, we discover that Debbie and her husband Pete (Paul Rudd) are also experiencing bad times. What puts this movie beyond just a romantic comedy is the interaction between Ben and his hapless band of pot and porntrepreneurs. They provide the gross-outs.

You know, the more I write this the less I’m finding I like the film. I thought the acting was bit off. Seth Rogan was difficult to buy as a love interest no matter how much you drink. Besides that, he goes into this mumble speak every once in awhile which makes him difficult to understand. Not that Katherine Heigl is much better. She is gorgeous and believable, however I just cannot make a connection with her character. Because of these two actors, I left with a who cares attitude. I though the much better connection was made between Leslie Mann and Paul Rudd. Imagine the film if they had a bigger role? Well, it may not have made the film much better but it would be worth a shot. The best acting came from Ryan Seacrest in his little outburst. That made me laugh!

Overall, Knocked Up is an anomaly in terms of its genre and its success. It tries to be different for the sake of being different. Is there potential? Absolutely, Apatow does have a knack for comedy; it just needs to be developed. I’d like to think that this is just practice for the great comedies to follow. So here’s my recommendation. Watch the film if your looking for a good date movie but do not expect too much. You will laugh but your butt will get sore as the film drags on, which makes it great for a date because you can find something else to do once the film reaches its formulaic end.