‘The Five Year Engagement’ Trailer

UK Release Date: 27th April 2012.

The Five Year Engagement is Judd Apatow’s latest production. It has been co-written by Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller who co-wrote The Muppets, with Stoller also directing this time round.

The Five Year Engagement is a romantic comedy following Tom (Jason Segel) and Violet (Emily Blunt) as their relationship becomes strained from the continued delays to their wedding once they have gotten engaged.

The trailer offers a few laughs here and there. Female audiences might find Emily Blunt’s attempts at quirky comedy to be funnier than I did but I can see that getting annoying if it continues throughout the film.

But is there really any point in going to see this film? The trailer tells you the whole story in less than three minutes. So, after this, it will be difficult for the movie to actually have any unpredictability factor about it at all.

Pineapple Express (2008) Review

***WARNING: WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS***

Pineapple Express is one of my favourite films ever! I’m not a big fan of Seth Rogen, I’m not a big fan of Danny McBride but this film is hilarious. It’s not the best film ever made, but it is one that I could watch over and over again and never get bored of.

Written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, Pineapple Express is about a process server named Dale Denton (Rogen) and his marijuana dealer Saul (James Franco). The two of them end up on the run after Dale witnesses a murder by Saul’s dealer when trying to serve papers on him. Dale and Saul then get caught up in a turf war between two rival drug dealers all because of a rare form of marijuana called Pineapple Express.

Seth Rogen is, obviously, playing the same kind of character he always does but for some reason, in this film, he isn’t as annoying as usual which is a good thing. Danny McBride, for some reason, annoys me an awful lot and I can’t see past that for the sake of this film either. Amber Heard, as Dale’s high school girlfriend, isn’t featured too much but when called upon she does her job. But the main reason making Pineapple Express worth watching is James Franco; he is absolutely brilliant. Franco’s line delivery and all round performance as Saul is hilarious and well worthy of the Golden Globe he was nominated for.

The growing friendship and relationship between Dale and Saul throughout the film is great to watch as the two drug addicted characters become great friends. Their interactions, in particular in the forest whilst on the run, are fantastic. Rogen and Franco have been friends for years in their personal lives and it shows in their chemistry on screen.

The action scenes are hilarious, especially the one that takes place in Red’s house. The final shootout at the end isn’t the best action sequence in the world but the film was shot on a small budget and it just adds to the comedy aspect of Pineapple Express; some of the deaths are unforgettable, you look past how daft they may be and appreciate the quality of the comedy portrayed.

Pineapple Express manages to spoof the great action films of the eighties and nineties with their ending without making it look corny. When Dale carries an injured Saul out of a barn close to explosion it is clear, from the way the scene is shot, this is a reference to old school action movies. An analogy further emphasised when Red manages to crawl out of said barn after being shot ‘like seven times’ and remain alive and well, an obvious reference to action movie heroes being shot at constantly and going through hell to achieve their goals yet at the end of the film they are unscathed.

It’s not the best film in the world, far from it in fact. Pineapple Express, at times, is absolutely ridiculous but it is in the best possible way. It is one of the funniest films I have ever seen and something I could never tire of watching. The comedy quality here is top notch and I would recommend this film to anyone!

My Rating: 8/10