THE WORLD'S END REVIEW

*MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

'The World's End' is the conclusion to the 'Cornetto' (also known as the 'Blood And Ice Cream') trilogy. Just like its predecessors, The World's End is full of hilarious moments from its characters and is full of action. Like in Shaun Of The Dead, there's an apocalypse and, like in Hot Fuzz, there's a surprising twist at the end.

The creative team of Simon Pegg and director Edgar Wright have gone all out to make this an exciting conclusion. They've succeeded in coming up with likable characters and a great narrative. Speaking of which, the narrative focuses on Gary (Simon Pegg), who we see in the beginning of the film trying to recover from his alcohol addiction in rehab. He recalls his last day of school and how he spent it with his friends, Andy (Nick Frost), Oliver (Martin Freeman), Steven (Paddy Considine) and Peter (Eddie Marsan) getting drunk at eleven different pubs. Suddenly, Gary remembers that they forgot to go to The World's End, the last pub. Now, over twenty years after their last pub crawl, Gary is determined to get through all twelve pubs and reach The World's End and not even an apocalypse will stop him.

Pegg is great as Gary, his determination makes him likable and funny at the same time. Nick Frost plays his best friend (of course), Andy and this is his most mature role out of the three films. Unlike Gary, Andy has a wife and a good job and isn't interested in going on a pub crawl but, like the the three others, reluctantly agrees. 

There are also appearences from Pierce Brosnan, who plays an old schoolteacher the group of friends find in one of the pubs and Rosamund Pike, Oliver's sister and who Gary once hooked up with. Both their characters give really enjoyable performances.

What I also loved about this film is its use of foreshadowing. I won't spoil them but it's one of the best things ablut this film.

The dialogue is also hilarious, especially from Pegg's Gary. He's immature and doesn't care about what he says or what anyone else thinks but this doesn't make him irritating, in fact, it's make him really funny.

I think this is a great way to end one of the most popular trilogies.

If you're a fan of Shaun Of The Dead and Hot Fuzz, you'll love this.

8/10

Read my review of 'Shaun Of The Dead' here.

Read my review of 'Hot Fuzz' here.

HOT FUZZ REVIEW

*MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

Hot Fuzz, which is the second film in the 'Cornetto' trilogy (the other two films being Shaun Of The Dead and The World's End), is the best in the trilogy because it's full of humour and also features some exciting action.

The 'Cornetto' trilogy stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost and the films are written by Pegg along with Edgar Wright who also directs. The three work really well together and it's not hard to understand why. Together, they've managed to create three successful comedies. Shaun Of The Dead, which was released in 2004, proved to be a massive success, not only at the box office, but also amongst critics and audiences worldwide. This lead to Pegg and Wright writing Hot Fuzz, which is another successful addition to the franchise. 

Top London cop, PC Nicholas Angel (Pegg) is good. Too good. And to stop the rest of his team looking bad, he is reassigned to the quiet town of Sandford. He is paired with Danny Butterman (Frost), who endlessly questions him on the action lifestyle. Everything seems quiet for Angel, until two actors are found decapitated. It is called an accident, but Angel isn't going to accept that, especially when more and more people turn up dead. Angel and Danny clash with everyone, whilst trying to uncover the truth behind the mystery of the apparent 'accidents'.

Combining action with comedy can be a tricky thing to achieve. Filmmakers need the right amount of both in orders to keep viewers satisfied. In Hot Fuzz, there's plenty of humour that makes it entertaining and there are some thrilling action sequences too. The mystery at the centre of the narrative is interesting too and adds to the comedy. The fact that all the villagers are trying to make the deaths look like accidents is one of the funniest running jokes in the film. 

Pegg and Frost's chemistry is one of the best things about this film. Frost plays an immature yet kind hearted cop who is obsessed with action films and Pegg portrays the serious Angel who is determined to uncover the truth about the 'accidental' deaths. Like in Shaun Of The Dead, the films works best when it's the two of them. I honestly had no idea how the two managed to keep a straight face in certain scenes. They're both hilarious together and I can't imagine the trilogy being as successful without either of them. This film also features some familiar faces including: Jim Broadbent who is the Inspector and also Danny's father; former James Bond, Timothy Dalton as Simon Skinner, Angel's prime suspect; Martin Freeman as Met Sergeant; Bill Nighy as the Chief Met Inspector and Lord Of The Rings director Peter Jackson in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo as a man dressed as Father Christmas who stabs Angel in the hand. There's also an appearance from Cate Blanchett as Angel's ex near the beginning of the film. There's not a bad performance to be found.

Shaun Of The Dead featured a lot of gore especially toward's the film's climax and that's no different in Hot Fuzz. To be honest, when I first watched it, I was shocked at how violent this film was but, after several rewatches, I now know that the violence and gore isn't meant to scare but, instead, it now adds to the humour because of how over the top it is. I would suggest that if you're squeamish, I'd hesitate before watching this. 

Overall, the brilliant minds behind Shaun of the Dead successfully take a shot at the buddy cop genre with Hot Fuzz. The result is a bitingly satiric and hugely entertaining parody.

8/10

Read my review of 'Shaun Of The Dead' here.

Read my review of 'The World's End' here.

SHAUN OF THE DEAD REVIEW

*MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

This is the first film in the 'Blood and Ice Cream' (a.k.a 'Cornetto') trilogy starring Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and directed by Edgar Wright.

Shaun (Simon Pegg), is a late twenties slack who lives with his friend, Ed (Nick Frost), and roommate Pete (Peter Serafinowicz). He has a job as a sales advisor at a local electronics store. The film begins with him breaking up with his girlfriend, Liz (Kate Ashfield), who he spends the whole film trying to win back. Shaun's friend, Ed, has no job and spends most of his days watching TV and being a couch potato, much to the annoyance of Pete. The morning after a night out, Shaun and Ed discover that the place has been filled with zombies. Shaun's plan is to get his ex-girlfriend, her friends, his mum and Ed to his favourite pub, The Winchester, to hide but will they all survive the zombie apocalypse? Well, you'll just have to watch and find out, won't you?

I think this was a great way to start off the trilogy. While we don't see the zombies until about 20 minutes into the film, the first 20 minutes still manage to give us plenty of laughs. The film begins with Liz wanting more from Shaun and criticising their relationship, stating that they always have their dates at The Winchester and that she hasn't met his mum yet, despite being together for over two years. We then see minor characters going about their everyday lives and acting in a very zombie-like manner, which brings humour as no one has become a zombie yet. The day begins badly for Shaun as he forgets to book a table at a restaurant leading to Liz ending their relationship, much to his dismay. He then decides to spend the evening at The Winchester with Ed and they both end up drunk together. And just as they are walking home, they notice a person who they assue is drunk but, as they leave, we see the first zombie. They return home and dance to loud music and Pete comes downstairs and shouts at them saying that he has to get up for work in just a few hours. The two friends notice a bandage around Pete's hand and he says that he got bitten by a teenager and that he now has a headache. The next morning, Shaun walks to the shops to get himself a drink and a Cornetto for Ed, and because he is hungover from the night before, he is oblivious to the zombies that are surrounding him. There are humorous moments when Shaun and Ed are surfing through the TV channels and, despite every channel talking about the zombie apocalypse, they don't notice the zombies until they see a young girl in their garden and, when Shaun pushes her by accident into a metal stump, they are shocked to see her rise up again. From this moment on, Shaun, Ed and many others have to do whatever they can to escape the apocalypse.

There are loads of hilarious moments throughout the film but also some sad moments, especially after (*SPOILER ALERT*) Shaun's mum becomes a zombie and he has no choice but to kill her. 

This is definitely one of my favourite comedy-horror films. For people who don't like gore needn't worry as there isn't that much in it.

If you like Zombieland, and the Scary Movie films, I'm pretty sure you'll like this.

8/10

Read my review of 'Hot Fuzz' here.

Read my review of 'The World's End' here.