New in Theaters (all at the Durango Stadium 9)
The World’s End.
World’s End is a tavern. It is the last stop on the golden mile – a legendary, unfinished pub crawl that still haunts one Gary King 20 years after the night he and his best mates tried but failed to down one pint apiece in each of the 12 joints along the way.
As we see in the perfectly conceived, hipster-nostalgic opening sequence in “The World’s End,” Gary was a young king of sorts in 1990, a charismatic, devil-may-care teenager leading “The Five Musketeers” on a pub crawl through the idyllic city of Newton Haven, a pub crawl that was punctuated by beer, brawls, fist fights and more beer.
Gary even struck romantic gold with a comely lass in the restroom of one of those pubs – a tryst he remembers fondly and often, but one she probably hasn’t thought about since the Soup Dragons and the Happy Mondays were ruling the jukebox.
Cut to present day. Four of the musketeers have grown up. Jobs, marriage, children, suits, ties – all the trappings.
Not Gary. He’s still dressing, drinking and acting like he did two decades ago. Desperate to re-create the greatest night of his life, Gary talks his mates into a return to Newton Haven, where they’ll finish that pub crawl.
Following the zombie apocalypse comedy “Shaun of the Dead” and the buddy-cop sendup “Hot Fuzz,” this is the third genre spoof from writer-director Edgar Wright, writer-actor Simon Pegg and the invaluable actor Nick Frost, and it’s the best of the terrific bunch. (The three films are referred to as the “Cornetto trilogy,” a reference to the ice cream company, because – well, you already know all this if you’re one of the legions of hard-core fans, and you don’t need to know any of it to enjoy the hell out of these films.)
Pegg plays Gary, the self-centered misfit who either doesn’t realize or doesn’t care how pathetic he looks to the mainstream world. His reluctant buddies include Paddy Considine’s Steven; Eddie Marsan’s Peter; Martin Freeman’s Oliver – and Frost’s Andy, Gary’s former best friend who’s still nursing a grudge (and rightfully so) over something Gary did way back in the day.
On the first part of the journey, “The World’s End” succeeds as a reunion movie about 40something guys at various crossroads in their lives. It’s like the Adam Sandler “Grown-Ups” films, only a million times better and with British accents.
Gary and his mates are chagrined to see many of their favorite pubs have fallen victim to “Starbucking,” with nearly identical interior designs, from the placement of the dartboard to the chalkboard menus to the overly buffed floors.
Gary is horrified when Andy orders water (“You’re drinking rain!”), and he doesn’t understand why the pub keepers don’t remember him and why the gorgeous Sam (Rosamund Pike) doesn’t want to pick up where they left off about 20 years ago, i.e., the restroom for another “go.”
It’s all quite well-rendered. If “The World’s End” continued on as a British “Big Chill,” we’d all have quite the fine movie-going experience.
But then something startling happens, and though the trailers (and much of the online discussion about the film) reveal the massive plot twist, I’ll still issue the obligatory spoiler alert.
Suffice to say there’s a reason why some of the familiar faces in Newton Haven haven’t aged in 20 years, and there are elements of “The Stepford Wives,” “The Martian Chronicles” and “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” at play here. When Gary gets into a fight with a robotic young upstart, his opponent bleeds blue “blood” and is able to heal from injuries that would kill a human.
Once Gary and the guys realize the town has been invaded, with a sizable percentage of the population now half-alien robot and half-human, their solution? Continue the pub crawl! Maybe if they keep moving and they keep drinking, they won’t fall victim.
It’s a brilliantly stupid plan.
“The World’s End” contains some of the funniest stunts and battle sequences in recent memory, with Frost executing some particularly nimble moves. You gotta love an alien whose legs wind up where her arms used to be – and it doesn’t slow her down one bit as she just keeps on swinging.
Even after some tragic setbacks, Gary keeps on barging into pubs, pouring a pint himself if the places have been destroyed and abandoned. He’s on a quest that’s only symbolically about those beers, and he’ll be damned if an alien invasion is going to stop him. Even as “The World’s End” segues into a spot-on sci-fi satire (and say that three times fast), it stays true to its reunion-movie roots as well, with Gary and Andy working out their differences amid all the insanity.
With the Cornetto trilogy and “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World,” among other works, director Wright is one of the more innovative filmmakers we have. The cast is amazing, from the great duo of Frost and Pegg to the supporting players, many of whom are better known for taking on heavy, dramatic fare. The editing, special effects and set design – a joy to experience.
It’s the end of the world, and they don’t blow it.
Focus Features presents a film directed by Edgar Wright. Written by Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg. Running time: 109 minutes. Rated R (for pervasive language including sexual references). HHH½ out of four.
Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times
You’re Next.
“You’re Next” is a nasty little slasher film that starts poorly but gets better once most of the cast has been butchered.
Indie film figures Joe Swanberg and Ti West play two attendees at a party where four siblings and their significant others are celebrating their parents’ 35th wedding anniversary. Most tolerable among this largely annoying crew are Crispian (A.J. Bowen), a college prof, and his Australian girlfriend Erin (Sharni Vinson), but that’s not paying the two very high praise. The irritation factor grows substantially after the first slaying at this remote Tudor mansion, when half the female cast seems to be competing to shriek the longest.
An unknown number of men, wearing animal masks and wielding crossbows (why not guns?), are stalking the family from without and within the house; since director Adam Wingard and screenwriter Simon Barrett have given themselves so many characters to kill, they start off with a few quick killings in which the victims are behaving so stupidly they’re practically asking to die.
Most frustrating during the film’s first half is that only one among the 10 characters, Erin, has anything approaching a self-preservation instinct. While others scream or stand around dumbly, she hustles off to lock windows and gather weapons. While the mask-wearing villains have a hard time delivering the kind of novel slayings horror fans demand, Vinson musters the ferocity to compensate – the moment she meat-tenderizes an attacker’s skull, the movie starts to turn fun.
In the absence of sympathetic characters, a little humor would have gone a long way here. But aside from a near-miss sex scene in a bed shared by a corpse, there’s practically none on hand. Only when the reasons for the attack become clear does the movie find its feet, but “You’re Next” ends on a high enough note that buzz on the way out of the theater should work in its favor.
“You’re Next,” a Lionsgate release, is rated R for “strong bloody violence, language and some sexuality/nudity.” Running time: 96 minutes.
John Defore, The Hollywood Reporter
Mortal Instruments: City of Bones. (Not reviewed. Rated PG-13.)
When her mom is attacked and taken from their home in New York City by a demon, a seemingly ordinary teenage girl, Clary Fray, finds out truths about her past and bloodline on her quest to get her back, that changes her entire life.
Still Showing
Durango Stadium 9
(Next to Durango Mall, 247-9799, www.allentheatresinc.com)
Tiger Eyes. (Wednesday only.) A 17-year old moves with her mom from Atlantic City to Los Alamos. Her culture shock is mitigated when she meets a mysterious Native American climber named Wolf. Rated PG-13.
Jobs. Ashton Kutcher looks a lot like the late Apple whiz, even if he comes up a bit short on matching wits. Rated PG-13.
Kick-Ass 2. The high school superhero is back with Hit Girl to battle the forces of evil - no superpowers needed. Rated R.
Paranoia. A wannabe yuppie plays a dangerous game when he climbs the corporate ladder by spying on his boss’ former mentor. Rated PG-13.
Planes. (In standard format and digital 3-D with surcharge.) If they can make it talk, they’ll make a movie out of it. This one has planes. They talk. Rated PG.
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters. The next book-to-film installment in this latest mega-gazillion-dollar moneymaker. Rated PG.
Elysium. All the rich folks move to a paradise in the clouds while the poor folks wallow in squalor back on Earth. Some seek a better life. Rated R.
We’re the Millers. Jason Sudeikis creates a family from a bunch of derelicts to cover his drug-running activities. Rated R.
Back Space Theatre
(1120 Main Ave., 259-7940, www.thebackspacetheatre.org)
A Highjacking. If you like Somali pirates like I like Somali pirates, you’ll love this one. The crew of a Danish cargo ship is taken hostage by the pirates in the Indian Ocean and a life-and-death game of negotiation ensues between the CEO of the shipping company and the rapscallions. Rated R.
Ghosts of the West. (Saturday only.) The stories behind the many lost mines and ghost towns still hidden throughout the mountain West. Not rated.
Gaslight Cinema
(102 Fifth St. Next to the railroad depot, 247-8133, www.allentheatresinc.com)
Lee Daniels’ The Butler. Forest Whitaker plays the butler who served Presidents for three decades at the White House. Oh, the stories he could tell...Rated PG-13.
The Way Way Back. An introverted 14-year old tries to survive summer vacation with his mom and her boyfriend (Steve Carell). Rated PG-13.
Ted Holteen and Associated PresS
