THIS IS THE END

It's fairly common for actors to play comic, unflattering, or excessive versions of themselves, but This Is the End takes that practice up several notches by having the whole cast parodying themselves -- and during the apocalypse too!

The plot is pretty simple.  Seth Rogen (who co-wrote and co-directed This Is the End, along with Evan Goldberg) picks up his good buddy Jay Baruchel at the airport in L.A.  Jay hates the whole Hollywood scene and just wants to hang out with Seth.  But Seth takes him to a big party at James Franco's self-designed house.  And it seems like everyone in Hollywood is there, from musicians to comics to an obnoxious Michael Cera.

When Seth and Jay leave the party to get some smokes, things get weird.  Beams of blue light drag people into the sky! Objects come crashing down, killing people!  A huge sinkhole in front of James Franco's house drags almost everyone at the party into it!  Soon Hollywood is a burning wasteland, with monsters and death.  Is it the Biblical apocalypse?  An alien invasion?  Global warming?  Anyway, after the night a few survivors are left at the house: Seth, Jay, James Franco, Craig Robinson, Jonah Hill, and Danny McBride (who crashed the party and fell asleep upstairs).

This Is the End is very dark and silly at the same time.  There are plenty of disturbing things -- from severed limbs to a head used as a kickball to cannibalism -- but it's all so over-the-top that it's hard to take seriously.  The same can be said of the actors, who enjoy spoofing themselves.  Has Jonah Hill really become ultra-nice after the success of Moneyball?  Does James Franco really shift so easily from pretentious artist to stoner ready to do Pineapple Express 2?  Is Danny McBride really that obnoxious?  Is Jay genuine, or just a poser?  None of it really matters, as the actors all riff on each other, throw parties, wonder if they deserve to survive, and have very explicit arguments and discussions.  (One between Franco and McBride is amazingly disgusting -- and laugh-out-loud funny.)

There's no real depth to This Is the End, but it's a very funny movie (and a nice contrast to the pre-2012 end-of-the-world disaster flicks we got).  There are numerous terrific cameos, plenty of bizarre interactions, and finale that's so silly it must be seen to be believed.  This Is the End could have been a self-indulgent pile of incoherent silliness, but it manages to be a bit more than that -- and pretty hysterical too!

Overall grade: B+
Reviewed by James Lynch

30 MINUTES OR LESS

A buddy comedy with a sick premise and a lot of cursing, 30 Minutes or Less is an extremely basic comedy. There are no big surprises or innovations, but it often manages to be funny.

Nick (Jesse Eisenberg) is a slacker content to smoke weed, watch movies, and break every traffic law out there as he races to deliver pizzas within 30 minutes (but never manages to do so). Nick seems upset that his buddy Chet (Aziz Ansari) has a real job as a substitute teacher (even if Chet seems most enthused that he has a laser pointer); Nick's also upset that Chet's sister Kate (Dilshad Vadsaria) is moving away to work at hotel management. And Nick and Chet get in a big fight, revealing that Chet slept with Nick's ex-girlfriend and Nick slept with Kate.

Elsewhere in town, there are two far more dangerous slackers. Dwayne (Danny McBride) has dreams of opening a tanning salon/prostitution ring, but all he does is hang out with his buddy Travis (Nick Swardson), who learns how to do things online and follows Dwayne like a puppy dog. Dwayne's father, the Major (Fred Ward), won the lottery -- and Dwayne is afraid that he'll blow through his winnings, leaving Dwayne with nothing. A stripper named Juicy (Bianca Kajlich) tells Dwayne that for a hundred thousand dollars, she'll hire her friend (actually her boyfriend) Chango (Michael Pena) to kill the Major.

So Dwayne and Travis get Nick to an abandoned junkyard, strap an explosive-filled vest (built by Travis) to him, and give him ten hours to rob a bank and give them the money. Nick recruits Chet to help him, and they're off! But Dwayne isn't about to let the "loose end" live, Travis is having pangs of guilt, Chango is running around without knowing what everyone's plan is, and Nick is panicking over the increasing possibility that he'll explode -- if the cops don't catch him first.

30 Minutes or Less is very simple and straightforward. While the plot takes a few turns here and there, the movie doesn't try for any big surprises or cleverness. Fortunately, this movie can be pretty funny. Jesse Eisenberg works pretty well as the straight man (who spends much of the movie in a "I can't believe this is happening" mode), and Aziz Ansari delivers all his lines with a terrific attitude. Danny McBride is also great as the villain, a braggart filled with vague plans who pictures himself as a criminal mastermind. The movie gets violent at the end, and is filled with cursing from start to finish, but 30 Minutes or Less makes up for its straightforward technique with some good jokes and great comic actors.

Overall grade: B-

Reviewed by James Lynch