Movies Of Jolly Old England!
When British comedy makes its way to the theaters, I cannot resist its call, wot wot.
Hot Fuzz
This movie comes from the creators of Shaun Of The Dead, perhaps the most unusual zombie-themed movie of all time. You know it's got to be something unusual when one of my movie-watching compadres, an avowed hater of all things zombiriffic, admits that she enjoyed that movie. Anyway, I'm not here to review Shaun Of The Dead, because that's so three years ago. I am here to say that if you liked that movie, you're going to like this one too. (Although if you haven't seen Shaun Of The Dead, go do so. It's funny.)
This movie is a police drama buddy movie. It's like Lethal Weapon. Only not even close. And with less drama. Maybe replace all the drama with "ludicrous hilarity". Ludicrous is a good word to use in conjunction with this film. Every single scene is completely off the wall. Rationality takes a back seat to whackjob. In some ways it's like a gigantic Monty Python sketch- simple real-world situations, like being a police officer in a village, become completely different with the addition of, say, a WWII sea mine, or a renegade swan.
The plot: Cops buddy up and solve murder mystery. It is like Lethal Weapon in that, at least.
The pros: Well, for me, I like British humour. Yes, with a u. That's cuz it's British, wot wot. I also like absurd random comedy. This movie has both. And it is good. Everything that happens is somehow expected, and yet not entirely in the way you'd imagine. Timothy Dalton is sinister... which is really what he does best. Why he was James Bond is anyone's call... but that's irrelevant. The ongoing parody of cop movies, especially Point Break and Bad Boys II, makes the comedy even more profound, even as you see what's going to happen before it does. Cameo by Bill Nighy, just for kicks.
The cons: I guess if you don't like comedies, especially British ones, you probably won't enjoy this. The movie does start a bit slow- it's still funny even in the beginning, but it's not until the last third of the film that the laughs really kick in, and the ludicrous nature of the plot becomes outrageously funny. On that note, if you like your comedy a bit less ludicrous, this is not for you; Ludacris himself would have a tough time here. Surprisingly, for a cop comedy, a few of the scenes are quite gory. Doesn't bother me, but it was unexpected. Finally, there was no Lo Pan in this film. Nor were there snakes on planes.
The verdict: I laughed, I cried, it was better than Cats. Ok, maybe not so much crying. Lots of laughing. It was all good. For me.
Disclaimer: If I ever had to make a list of "Top Five Movies I Did Not Expect To Hear 'By The Power Of Grayskull' In", this one just topped the list.
Disclaimer: It's also pretty rare that you see a blunderbuss and a WWII sea mine in the same scene. Gotta hand it to them. Also, I never get to use the word "blunderbuss" in my posts. Thank you, Hot Fuzz!
Disclaimer: Ok, it's also pretty rare that a hero cop gets to jump-kick an old lady in the face and break her nose. And mean it. That's just awesome.
Hot Fuzz
This movie comes from the creators of Shaun Of The Dead, perhaps the most unusual zombie-themed movie of all time. You know it's got to be something unusual when one of my movie-watching compadres, an avowed hater of all things zombiriffic, admits that she enjoyed that movie. Anyway, I'm not here to review Shaun Of The Dead, because that's so three years ago. I am here to say that if you liked that movie, you're going to like this one too. (Although if you haven't seen Shaun Of The Dead, go do so. It's funny.)
This movie is a police drama buddy movie. It's like Lethal Weapon. Only not even close. And with less drama. Maybe replace all the drama with "ludicrous hilarity". Ludicrous is a good word to use in conjunction with this film. Every single scene is completely off the wall. Rationality takes a back seat to whackjob. In some ways it's like a gigantic Monty Python sketch- simple real-world situations, like being a police officer in a village, become completely different with the addition of, say, a WWII sea mine, or a renegade swan.
The plot: Cops buddy up and solve murder mystery. It is like Lethal Weapon in that, at least.
The pros: Well, for me, I like British humour. Yes, with a u. That's cuz it's British, wot wot. I also like absurd random comedy. This movie has both. And it is good. Everything that happens is somehow expected, and yet not entirely in the way you'd imagine. Timothy Dalton is sinister... which is really what he does best. Why he was James Bond is anyone's call... but that's irrelevant. The ongoing parody of cop movies, especially Point Break and Bad Boys II, makes the comedy even more profound, even as you see what's going to happen before it does. Cameo by Bill Nighy, just for kicks.
The cons: I guess if you don't like comedies, especially British ones, you probably won't enjoy this. The movie does start a bit slow- it's still funny even in the beginning, but it's not until the last third of the film that the laughs really kick in, and the ludicrous nature of the plot becomes outrageously funny. On that note, if you like your comedy a bit less ludicrous, this is not for you; Ludacris himself would have a tough time here. Surprisingly, for a cop comedy, a few of the scenes are quite gory. Doesn't bother me, but it was unexpected. Finally, there was no Lo Pan in this film. Nor were there snakes on planes.
The verdict: I laughed, I cried, it was better than Cats. Ok, maybe not so much crying. Lots of laughing. It was all good. For me.
Disclaimer: If I ever had to make a list of "Top Five Movies I Did Not Expect To Hear 'By The Power Of Grayskull' In", this one just topped the list.
Disclaimer: It's also pretty rare that you see a blunderbuss and a WWII sea mine in the same scene. Gotta hand it to them. Also, I never get to use the word "blunderbuss" in my posts. Thank you, Hot Fuzz!
Disclaimer: Ok, it's also pretty rare that a hero cop gets to jump-kick an old lady in the face and break her nose. And mean it. That's just awesome.