Quadruple Bill Mini Musings: Holidays, Punching, Fighting, and Walking...

Sightseers:
What's it about?
Dark comedy about a British couple who go away on a caravanning holiday and end up committing a series of impulsive murders.
Who would I recognise in it?
Alice Lowe, Steve Oram, Tony Way, Richard Lumsden.
Great/Good/Alright/Shite?
Taking the sort of low-level social nuisances that would normally only raise a reserved under-the-breath tut and tisk, and punishing them with full-blown murder (flinging people off cliffs, bashing their heads in, etc), Ben 'Kill List' Wheatley's film (written by the two stars) combines efficient arms-reach character study with quirky slaughter. The characters are beautifully drawn - complex, yet lightly sketched, warm and relatable yet capable of sudden outbursts of violence - and the balance of the film never dives too far into comedy or too far into savagery. Writing a sad letter can be lit up by a gigantic gift shop pencil, or a typically English quarrel about dog muck can explode into head-crushing brutality, and all these tonal shifts work together seamlessly. Uniquely British in all regards. On the cusp between good and great.

Click "READ MORE" below for Kick Ass 2, This Is The End, and The Hobbit 2...

Kick Ass 2:
What's it about?
Sequel to the uproarious and violent super hero comedy about normal citizens donning masks to fight crime.
Who would I recognise in it?
Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jim Carrey, John Leguizamo, and numerous 'oh it's them from that thing' British folk.
Great/Good/Alright/Shite?
Let's cut to the chase - it's not as good as the first movie - indeed it might come as a bit of a disappointment to some. Jeff Wadlow takes over scripting duties as well as directing (Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldman were the key creatives behind the first film's success), and he opts more for action than heart and humour. Comic book torrents of blood will spurt across the screen, but the tone is uneven - the laughs aren't as funny and the anarchic sense of superhero genre-messing is patchy. More forgiving audience members will find plenty to enjoy from this continuation of the story, but that sense of originality from the first Kick Ass is mostly missing. Jim Carrey's "Captain Stars and Stripes" is sadly underused (but great fun while he's on-screen), casting Lyndsy Fonseca's Katie aside (Dave's girlfriend in the first movie) feels unnecessarily harsh, and Hit Girl's journey through high school is a mixed bag - it does provide the bulk of the heart that does exist in the movie, but the pacing feels somewhat awkward. Don't expect the greatness of the first - Wadlow can't match Goldman & Vaughn's skill - but it's not a dud either. With modest expectations there's a fair bit of fun to be had in spite of a handful of weaknesses. On the cusp between alright and good.

This Is The End:
What's it about?
Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, and pals all play distorted versions of themselves as they attend a celeb-filled party that's interrupted by the apocalypse.
Who would I recognise in it?
Seth Rogen, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Jay Baruchel, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson, Michael Cera, Emma Watson, and a whole load of cameos.
Great/Good/Alright/Shite?
Lewd, crude, and eager in its use of vulgarity, This Is The End makes no excuses for it's foul mouth and obsession with all things filthy-minded, indeed, it actively wallows in it and that's one of the things that's so fun about the flick. The cast are all game to make fools of themselves and send-up their public personas during this 'fun-pocalypse'. If you enjoyed the likes of Pineapple Express then you'll know exactly what to expect here. Good.


The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug:
What's it about?
Second part in the trilogy of films covering JRR Tolkein's "The Hobbit". Bilbo, Gandalf, and the band of Dwarves head towards Erebor to evict the titular gold-hoarding dragon.
Who would I recognise in it?
All the ones from the first movie plus Evangeline Lilly, Orlando Bloom, Stephen Fry, and Luke Evans.
Great/Good/Alright/Shite?
Faster-paced than the first film, this works better as the middle chapter of a wider tale than on its own by design. The tone is darker, although there are perfectly judged moments of gentle levity (often delivered with Martin Freeman's trademark light touch) sprinkled throughout. Objectively there are scenes that could easily land on the cutting room floor without affecting narrative coherance, but part of the fun is diving into these scenes to enrich the wider world that Tolkein created. The addition of Lilly's Tauriel is a wise move to inject a bit of female power into what is otherwise a total sausage-fest, providing a nice counterpoint to Legolas' broody temperament and Thranduil's cold-hearted governance. Conversely, several of the Dwarves disappear into the background - Thorin, Balin, Dwalin, Bofur, Bombur, and Kili all get their moments to shine, but the others don't get an awful lot to do.

Jackson has gained a tendency to use vast and swooping digital camera movements during action sequences - so that we soar, tilt, glide, arc, dive, and tumble through large landscapes and battles - but they can disorient as well as diminish the scale of the action. A large set piece suddenly looks like a miniature and our spatial awareness is thrown-off ... hopefully such moments are more sparingly used in the final film. The third act is a little bit scattered, cutting across various plot strands, but Smaug was worth waiting for, even if your energy is flagging by the time the credits roll. The Lord of the Rings trilogy still wins-out over The Hobbit (well, the first two out of three films at least), but there's so much to enjoy. If you're already a fan of these films (and books) then you were always going to see it, and if you're already not a fan, then you aren't going to change your mind now. Bring on the trilogy-closing "There And Back Again"! Good.