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

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

I enjoyed this film quite a bit, it is a rare comedy that started kind of slowly, but continued to get more funny as it went on. Usually I find a lot of comedies start kind of fast then fade out kind of fast. This one has two Brits who are in the United States for comic con, the end all comic book, science fiction, horror and a whole heck of a lot more conventions. These particular two are into aliens and there to not only take in the sights and meet a favorite author, but to drive to some of the famous alien spots out in the west. Well they quickly run into some trouble with some local rednecks and then end up witnessing a very bad wreck. They go out to explore the scene and end up meeting Paul, an alien who is apparently on the run and in the need of assistance. During the course of their adventure the two Brits must keep Paul hidden from government agents and also deal with crazy religious fathers and all sorts of other things one tends to find on the road. Probably why I liked this one as I always enjoy a good traveling comedy of which this can certainly be classified as one. I also enjoy watching Simon Pegg and Nick Frost working together as they have a good chemistry. They are a couple of the few actors who I will watch a movie specifically because they are in it. I used to have a whole slew of actors and actresses like that, but these days not so much. The comedy is funny, like I said it started a bit slowly as I think the comic con scenes could have been a bit funnier, but it really got going once they met up with Paul. Not much of a Seth Rogen fan, but he did a fine job as the voice of Paul. So all in all a funny comedy that kept me entertained throughout.

It's been a long wait, but finally, for the first time since 2007 Simon Pegg and Nick Frost team up once again as the unstoppably funny duo. Their pairing this time isn't quite at the same quality of comedy as Hot Fuzz or Shaun of the Dead but let's face it, those two movies are comedy gold. Paul is still hilarious and it is rife with highly quotable jokes that you can laugh about for days. Plus it has plenty of great nerdy sci-fi humor that only us true geeks and catch on to. Paul follows two British tourists in America, Graeme (Pegg) and Clive (Frost) who are traveling cross-country to visit all of the most famous UFO sightings in America. While in Area 51 they pick up a hitchhiking alien named Paul who is excellently voiced by Seth Rogen. Graeme and Clive quickly learn that agreeing to protect this extraterrestrial is giving them a lot more than they bargained for as they are chased by the FBI, hillbillies, and a religious shotgun toting nut job.

If there's one thing I can commend Paul on, it's finally giving us the satisfaction of an R rated sci-fi comedy. The blend of the two genres is great and making it a vulgar, violent riot is just what fans needed with so many lame PG-13 comedies floating around these days. Pegg and Frost wrote a hilarious script for this movie, one that easily could have been ruined by a few edits to suit a PG-13 rating. But thankfully they got to keep it their way and give us something obscenely entertaining.

Paul isn't one of those profound comedies that breaks the barriers of typical comedy or goes unforgettably above and beyond, but it is really funny. The jokes are hilarious almost every time. It's not high brow comedy by any means and there are a number of fart jokes, gay jokes, poop jokes, and so on and so forth, but I can't say that they didn't make me laugh because I most certainly did. But as an added bonus the film is filled to the brim with sci-fi film references. They range from blatant, like a set of fireworks that make the Close Encounters of the Third Kind tone, to as subtle as the band in the bar playing the Mos Eisley cantina song from Star Wars. This has got to be one of the nerdiest scripts ever written, and I absolutely loved it. I'm sure there are a number of references I missed or didn't get, but that's just because every little thing is a reference to some sort of sci-fi film or theme. To quote the Brits, "It's brilliant!" There's no two ways about it, Paul is cast perfectly. Pegg and Frost are obviously excellent and you couldn't find a better duo of British nerds anywhere. Seth Rogen does a surprisingly good job voicing the alien, whose animations are also excellent and add a lot of comedy to the film. Other supporting characters are great in their roles, like Kristen Wiig playing the neurotic ex-Christian Ruth Buggs. Jason Bateman plays a straight man role as the FBI agent leading the chase after Paul and he is hilarious in his own deadpan way. Bill Hader and Joe Lo Truglio play two other FBI agents who make a hilarious little side pair of characters who have their own running jokes and quirks. Then there are tons of cameos from very recognizable actors such and Jeffrey Tambor, Janey Lynch, David Koechner, and even Sigourney Weaver. There's hardly an actor in this film that I don't go, "Hey! I recognize that guy" when I seem him or her.

Paul by no means transcends the comedy genre but it is no doubt funny. If you don't find at least some of the humor in this film amusing then there is something wrong with you. Sure it's cheesy at moments, OK it can be predictable at times, but as a comedy it really works and it gave me a solid hour and forty minutes of great entertainment. If you love a good R rated comedy, go see this movie, and if you're a sci-fi nerd you have to see this movie just for the fun of catching references. This is a great little comedy that is plenty of fun to watch.

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.