Paul

I was on the Irish premier of the movie last Thursday with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost showing up and saying few words before the movie . First of all, I would like to say great cast especially Sigourney Weaver , Jason Bateman and my two mini stars of the movie Bill Hader and Joe Lo Truglio as agents Haggard and O'Reilly . The movie its self is very funny and the script well written , the small alien with voice from Seth Rogen its very real and well made by CG artists . Obviously the chemistry between Frost and Pegg is great like always ( you know what I'm saying if you remember Shaun of the dead or Hot Fuzz )Rogen as alien is a perfect cast with his IM SMOKING WEED voice and great lines . In summary well made , great cast , funny script what else do you need for Friday night . For me seven stars

From the trailers, I had come to expect quite a lot from the movie. Actually I had thought and believed the movie to be more than it actually was when I was done watching it. Now, I am not saying that the movie is bad or dull, far from it. The movie is pretty cool and fun, though there is nothing overly new and inventive about it. And that is what sort of made the movie a bit tame.

The storyline in "Paul" is good. An alien has crashed on Earth and now many, many years later he escapes from captivity and hits the road, where he accidentally bump into Graeme Willy and Clive Gollings. With the government in chase, Paul and his newfound friends are racing to get across USA and to get Paul home.

Right, well throughout the movie there was a bunch of subtle and not so subtle references to other movies. Many of these had me laughing, because they were hilarious and quite often in your face. And it was rather surreal to have a country/hillbilly band play the cantina band music from Star Wars, but it was hilarious.

As for the cast and the acting in the movie. Well, it has long been established that Simon Pegg (playing Graeme Willy) and Nick Frost (playing Clive Gollings) have amazing on-screen chemistry and they add a lot to each other. So it was nice to have another movie with them working together. Jason Bateman (playing agent Zoil; you will love his full name when it is revealed) also did a good job. He was cool and to the point, and his character was really awesome. Bill Hader (playing Haggard) and Joe Lo Truglio (playing O'Reilly) worked well together as a goofy police unit, and added some weird comedy to the movie. It was a shame that Sigourney Weaver (playing The Big Guy) had such a small role. But despite this, she always delivers a good performance. And I just loved what was said right after she got punched in the face. That was one of my favorite movie references in "Paul". Now, Seth Rogen (the voice of Paul) is not really one of my favorite actors, but he did a good job with the voice-acting in this movie.

For a comedy, don't expect to be laughing throughout the entire movie. The movie is driven by a good story and spiced with comedy here and there. Which in itself is a good combination, and it worked well for this movie.

Not to forget the CGIs in the movie. They were excellent. The character Paul was so nicely made, and the textures of his skin, face and eyes was off the charts. And those effects really helped carry the movie.

"Paul" is a great movie, though it is not Simon Pegg's and Nick Frost's best movie, it takes a lot to top "Shaun of the Dead". But it is a good enough attempt, and the movie works well enough all together. A movie with a great story, some laughs here and there, and it will take you out of this world.

It's been 60 years since Paul has been a visitor on planet earth. Being imprisoned in a Military facility for a long time the green guy (Paul the Alien), finds a way out. He escapes god knows how, and flees in the first vehicle he comes across. Unable to reach the pedal at the wheel Paul Swirls and finds himself in a fatal car crash, which was pretty much self-inflicted! Graeme and Clive two hardcore comic fans just happen to be taking a road trip across the states exploring area 51 in the greater Americas. Just so happens that Paul just like clockwork crashes right in front of them and so the friendship begins. Fleeing from the law is not an easy task if you're an alien I would say, not far behind in agent Zoil hot on their tail trying to bring Paul back in. Clive and Graeme make it their own concern as they earnestly try to save the little guy and send him back home. The choices they make are fairly unorthodox, but effective.

Written by Nick Frost & Simon Pegg, this alienated comedy is just what you are about to expect as per the trailer. Slapstick comedy, fast pacing and at times downright stupid; yet that is the genius comedy that makes this a fun to watch movie by the entire family if you're above 18! Some language and content seem to have brought upon R MPAA rating which personally I felt is a bit too much, taking into consideration the gist of storyline. Yet; that's just how it is! Director Greg Mottala (Superbad, Adventurland) who is known for his funny approach to movies does a sheer marvelous job on this hilarious sci fi comedy. A personal favorite of mine was the blowing up of the house! Without giving it all away, I need to say, simple but satisfying! Nick Frost, Simon Pegg & Jason Bateman. What a lovely combination of talent. The two Englishmen and the New Yorker does a fantastic job and keeps the movie and very fast pace. Seth Rogen does a perfect Paul, and his voice just livens up the lines in a manner that even some dialogues that are serious sounds funny.

It has been a while since I have been entertained on a Sci Fi comedy. As a critic at times one becomes to analytical, however there are a few productions that just go by me that deserve to be viewed in the intent it was scripted. The reason I chose to say this is the result of conversations where some believe that there is no depth in the characters and there was no intricate plot progression. That's when to the best of my knowledge, I shifted my paradigms and made an effort to align it with what presumably were in the hearts and the minds of the director and the writers. If you manage to do so you will enjoy the story of "Paul". If you are a fan of entertainment and allow room for some sci fi stupidity which is eventually a farce this for sure is one of those to sit back and watch with family or a few of your close buddies.

Title: Paul Directed by: Greg Mottala Starring: Nick Frost, Simon Pegg, Jason Bateman & Seth Rogen Rated: Rated R for language including sexual references, and some drug use. Rating: 07/10 109 Minutes

When they were promoting Paul, I had heard Pegg and Frost discussing the film and they made a comment regarding the fact that nobody was just going to give them 50 million dollars and let them do whatever they wanted to do at risk of a loss. Also in their minds I would guess was the fact that colleague Edgar Wright had been given freedom to make Scott Pilgrim which, although really good, didn't perform box office wise. As a result of this comment I was sort of prepared for this film not quite to be as British or as smart as their previous work on things like Hot Fuzz and of course Spaced; turned out I was right to be ready for this but wrong to assume it would make a bad movie.

Paul isn't a bad movie at all, it is just a pretty average and mainstream one. The laughs are solid and the action enjoyable but it does rather lack edge and bite when it has the opportunity to do so. Instead it seemed much more mainstream and easy than I expected it to be. The film really only takes shots at far right Christian extremism and they probably weren't going to be queuing up for this film in the first place. Outside of this the film goes for good general laughs so we have a rude alien who is essentially Seth Rogen and lots of action with comedy blended in – and it gets these good general laughs and produces a perfectly fine mainstream comedy. Sci-fi references are throughout the film but even these are hardly very clever or obscure (even my girlfriend got most of them); I still found them funny but again I got the feeling that the film was trying to make sure that it was as broadly appealing as possible, as opposed to the slightly more arch comedy that the two have done previously.

It does still work though because I laughed more than I expected to and even when I didn't it had a broadly amusing tone to it that entertained me and kept the mode consistent. A big part of this is that Rogen's Paul actually works well. Primarily as an effect he is great because you quickly forget he is an effect. Secondly though he works because he is likable and funny – and I say this as someone who can take or leave Seth Rogen's limited range. He is a good character and he has good presence. Pegg and Frost play it safe mostly. Pegg appears to be channelling Ricky Gervais' awkwardness but not to as much success – he is good but he has been better elsewhere. Frost plays his usual shaggy-dog character and he also does reasonably well with it even if some of his material isn't up to much. Wiig is nice in support and her unconvincing cursing is very convincing. Bateman was enjoyable as ever (he deadpans up there with the best of them), Weaver allows for several good sci-fi references and the support cast feature turns from Lynch, Tambor, Koechner and a few others doing solids.

Overall I expected little from Paul but yet it was funny and enjoyable. The laughs were solid but outside of them it kept its tone well and made for a mostly safe and enjoyable mainstream comedy. I hope that both Pegg and Frost benefit from it though – and benefit in terms of a little bit more trust and freedom because Spaced, Hot Fuzz, Shaun and so on all show they can produce classics when given the chance. Paul is not one of their classic but by all means it is a really enjoyable mainstream comedy.

Hilarious comedic duo, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are back this time in an American spoofish science-fiction adventure in Greg Mottola's 'Paul'. The sci-fi references (Alien, ET, Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind, Star Wars, Aliens, Predator, etc) are done excellently and had me laughing out loud. Pegg and Frost are superb as they always are when working together.

They're effectively supported by the wonderful Kristin Wiig, the no-nonsense (to an extent) Jason Bateman and Bill Hader. Cameos by Jane Lynch and David Koechner are equally amusing. There's another sort of cameo that's revealed in the end and her presence is just the right way to round up a brilliant cast. Seth Rogan is less annoying than his usual on screen personas but he still is the weakest link here. He's pretty much his usual annoying on screen self even though his character is an alien and it is only the better performances of his co-stars that actually make Rogan appear less annoying.

Compared to Pegg and Frost's previous works ('Spaced', 'Shaun of the Dead' and 'Hot Fuzz') which in my opinion are classics, 'Paul' falls a little short. Some of the jokes, especially the toilet humour delivered by Rogan, fall flat. It's also lacking in wit. The pacing is a little slow in the first half but it picks up quickly in the latter portion. Plot holes are scattered throughout the movie.

In terms of execution, 'Paul' is quite well made. The title character looks amusing. The cross country location suits the setting. Cinematography is adequate.

'Paul' may not be a classic like 'Shaun of the Dead' and 'Hot Fuzz' but it's still funny enough to be entertaining. Where there is Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, one can always expect to at least laugh.