Jojo Rabbit

Based on the novel Caging Skies by Christine Luenens, Jojo Rabbit is the story of a young German boy who joins the Hitler Youth camp during the waning years of World War II as he learns his mother is hiding a young Jewish girl in their attic. Written for the screen, directed, and co-starring Taika Waititi as Adolf Hitler, the film is a satirical comedy about a boy who has Adolf Hitler as his imaginary friend as he struggles with his ideals upon learning what his mother is hiding while trying to understand the realities of war and tolerance. Also starring Roman Griffin Davis, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, Thomasin McKenzie, Rebel Wilson, Alfie Allen, Archie Yates, and Stephen Merchant. Jojo Rabbit is a witty yet rapturous film from Taika Waititi.

Set during the final months of World War II in a small German village, the film revolves around a boy who is a Nazi fanatic as he spends time at home following an accident in camp where he learns that his mother is hiding a young Jewish girl in their attic. It’s a film that is a coming-of-age story for this 10 year old boy who had just lost his older sister to influenza and his father was last to be heard fighting in Italy where he copes with not just all of the things he has been taught but also becoming conflicted with what he’s discovered knowing that his mother would be in big trouble. Taika Waititi’s screenplay does follow a straightforward narrative yet it’s more of a study of a boy coming to terms with this rhetoric of hate, race-purity, and all of these things that Adolf Hitler is spouting. The protagonist Johannes “Jojo” Betzler (Roman Griffin Davis) is someone that grew up on Nazi propaganda as he is convinced his father is still alive and fighting for the Nazis while is eager to fit in by joining the Hitler Youth camp.

Jojo doesn’t just cope with the rhetoric of the Nazis with a buffoonish version of Adolf Hitler as his imaginary friend but also the realization that his mother Rosie (Scarlett Johansson) is hiding a Jewish teenage girl in Elsa Korr (Thomasin McKenzie) who was a classmate of Jojo’s sister. Rosie has a different view on the world that is more hopeful as she sees taking Elsa into her home just to save someone’s life. Jojo also befriends Captain Klenzendorf (Sam Rockwell) who was a Wehrmacht official that would run the Hitler Youth camp where Jojo had an accident as he gets demoted to run the town’s Nazi headquarters as he is a unique character as someone that is becoming disillusioned while starts to care about Jojo as he feels that Jojo should just be a kid and not a Nazi. Once Jojo gets to know Elsa, he realizes that Jews aren’t as different as Germans as his friendship with Hitler starts to become more troubling.

Waititi’s direction does bear elements of style yet it his approach to humor and drama that really sticks out during the course of the film. Shot on various locations in the Czech Republic including areas near Prague, the film does recreate mid-1940s Nazi Germany at a time when the war is in the favor of the Allies instead of Nazi Germany but many of its locals aren’t aware or don’t want to know. Waititi creates an opening credits sequence that play into Jojo’s fascination with Hitler as this messianic figure with the Beatles’ Komm, gib mir deine Hand playing in the background that recall similarities to craziness of Beatlemania in the 1960s with an array of stock footage including propaganda films by Leni Riefenstahl. Much of Waititi’s approach to compositions are straightforward in the way he presents Jojo’s fascination with the world as well as his encounters with Nazi officials and Elsa. Waititi’s usage of the wide shots do play into this disconnect between Jojo’s idea of what Elsa and who Elsa really is as they would eventually closer as does the framing device in Waititi’s direction.

Waititi’s direction also emphasizes on this air of drama and tragedy into the events that would change Jojo’s view on the world where Waititi is more about what he doesn’t show than what would be shown. Notably as it play into some of the cruelty of reality that Jojo is unaware of that Hitler is trying to shield him from. Especially as he wants Jojo to stay on this course of hateful rhetoric as his character would progress from being silly to darkly comical towards its third act. Even as Jojo becomes aware of the reality where he starts to care for Elsa and wants nothing bad happen to her as even his friend Yorkie (Archie Yates) starts to be aware of the realities of what is going on. There is also this air of surreal and darkly comic imagery and situations that occur in its climax that involve children carrying grenades and young girls with machine guns as it does play into the many fallacies of war. Especially in the eyes of a 10-year old boy who realizes that there is so much the world has to offer than the stupid ideas of hate from a buffoonish dictator. Overall, Waititi crafts a touching and exhilarating film about a German boy’s journey to discover a world that isn’t filled with fanaticism and ideas of hate.

Cinematographer Mihai Malaimare Jr. does amazing work with the film’s cinematography as it features an array of lush colors for many of the daytime exterior locations as well as the emphasis on natural lighting for some of the interior scenes and low-key usage of lighting for scenes at night. Editor Tom Eagles does brilliant work with the editing with its stylish usage of jump-cuts and rhythmic cuts to play into some of the film’s humor as well as some of the dramatic moments in the film. Production designer Ra Vincent, with set decorator Nora Sopkova plus art directors Radek Hanak and Ondrej Lipensky, does excellent work with the look of the home that Jojo and Rosie live in as well as the Nazi headquarters that Captain Klenzendorf works at. Costume designer Mayes C. Rubeo does fantastic work with the costumes in the design of the Nazi uniforms as well as the clothes that Rosie wears including her shoes and a robot cardboard costume that Jojo wears during one of his volunteer assignments.

Hair/makeup designer Danielle Satherley does terrific work with the look of Hitler as well as Captain Klenzendorf with his one eye. Visual effects supervisor Jason Chen does nice work with some of the visual effects as it is largely minimal for a few things that Jojo sees including a shot of how he feels about Elsa. Sound designers Ai-Ling Lee and Tobias Poppe do superb work with the sound as it capture the array of how bombs, grenades, and machine guns sound as well as the atmosphere of war and quieter scenes in the film. The film’s music by Michael Giacchino is incredible for its usage of strings and percussions that include military march pieces as well as some somber moments that play into the drama. The film’s music soundtrack features a diverse array of music that include music pieces that was played in those times like Johann Strauss, the Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra with Roger Wagner Corale, Ella Fitzgerald with the Chick Webb Orchestra, Lecuona Cuban Boys, and the Glenn Miller Orchestra as well as anachronistic music pieces by Tom Waits, Roy Orbison, Love, and two well-known rock songs in German by the Beatles and David Bowie.

The casting by Des Hamilton and Maya Kvetny is wonderful as it feature some notable small roles from Luke Brandon Field and Sam Haygarth as a couple Hitler Youth camp counselors bullying Jojo, Gilby and Hardy Griffin Davis as a couple of young clones, and the quartet of Joe Weintraub, Brian Caspe, Gabriel Andrews, and Billy Rayner as members of the Gestapo. Archie Yates is terrific as Jojo’s best friend Yorkie as a young kid who joins the Hitler Youth camp as he makes some funny comments while being a completely innocent child that starts to realize not everything about being a Nazi feels right. Alfie Allen is superb as Captain Klenzendorf’s second-in-command Finkel who helps out with tasks while being aware that Germany is losing the war. Rebel Wilson is fantastic as Fraulein Rahm as a Hitler Youth instructor who believes blindly in what Hitler does while saying some of the dumbest things out there.

Stephen Merchant is excellent as the Gestapo agent Deertz as a man trying to find Jews as he also admires Jojo’s bedroom. Sam Rockwell is brilliant as Captain Klenzendorf as a once-revered captain who has become disillusioned by the war as he agrees to run the Hitler Youth camp only for an incident to go wrong where he tries to mount a strategy for what is to come while trying to be a good person to those around him including Jojo whom he cares about. Taika Waititi is amazing as Adolf Hitler as this buffoonish version of the Nazi Germany leader who encourages Jojo to do silly things in the name of Nazi Germany while becoming frustrated about his growing friendship with Elsa.

Scarlett Johansson is remarkable as Rosie Betzler as Jojo’s mother who is the opposite of everything Hitler is about as Johansson displays some wit and charm into her role but also a warmth that is touching as it is one of her finest performances to date. Thomasin McKenzie is incredible as Elsa Korr as a teenage Jewish girl hiding in an attic as she was a classmate of Jojo’s late sister as she deals with her situation while befriending Jojo despite his Nazi fanaticism. Finally, there’s Roman Griffin Davis in a marvelous performance as Johannes “Jojo” Betzler as 10-year old boy trying to do his part for Nazi Germany and Hitler as he later contends with his mother’s secret as well as the realities of the world as it has elements of humor but also an anguish into what he would deal with as it is a major highlight of the film.

Jojo Rabbit is a tremendous film from Taika Waititi that features phenomenal performances from Waititi, Roman Griffin Davis, Thomasin McKenzie, Scarlett Johansson, and Sam Rockwell. Along with Michael Giacchino’s offbeat music score, themes of fanaticism, war, and hope, dazzling visuals, and a great mixture of humor and drama. The film is definitely a touching and satirical film that explores the fallacies of hate and war while it is seen in the eyes of a child who would befriend a Jewish girl who helps him realize that love and kindness are the keys to life. In the end, Jojo Rabbit is a spectacular film from Taika Waititi.

Taika Waititi Films: Two Cars, One Night - Eagle vs. Shark - Boy (2010 film) - What We Do in the Shadows - Hunt for the Wilderpeople - Thor: Ragnarok - (Next Goal Wins) – (Thor: Love and Thunder) - The Auteurs #64: Taika Waititi

© thevoid99 2019

Logan (2017 film)

Based on the Marvel Comics character Wolverine created by Roy Thomas, Len Wein, and John Romita Jr. and a storyline by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven, Logan revolves around an aging mutant who deals with mortality as he cares for his aging mentor and the discovery of a young girl who has powers similar to his as they’re being chased by anti-mutant forces. Directed by James Mangold and screenplay by Mangold, Scott Frank, and Michael Green, the film is the third film of an unofficial trilogy of the Wolverine/Logan character that is played by Hugh Jackman with Patrick Stewart as the ailing Charles Xavier/Professor X. Also starring Richard E. Grant, Boyd Holbrook, Stephen Merchant, Dafne Keen, Eriq La Salle, Elise Neal, and Elizabeth Rodriguez. Logan is an enthralling yet heart-wrenching film from James Mangold.

It’s 2029 as mutants are nearly extinct with not a single one has been born in 25 years as the film revolves around an aging mutant who has given up trying to do good preferring to work as a limo driver in order to buy a yacht for himself and his ailing mentor Charles Xavier. During this time, Logan is being pursued by a nurse who has a young girl with her as she would later reveal to have powers similar to what Logan has in terms of its super-healing and using adamantium claws to attack. The girl is being pursued by a mysterious organization who want her where Logan and Xavier learn why as they decide to protect her and drive her to a mysterious sanctuary. The film’s screenplay is really more of a character study that relates to the Wolverine who has basically forsaken that name as he has reverted to his birth name in James Howlett. He’s also drinking to cope with the fact that he’s lost so many friends and has been unable to help forcing himself to just live by whatever job he can get to help himself and Charles with help from an albino mutant/tracker in Caliban (Stephen Merchant).

During a call for his limo service, Logan meets this nurse in Gabriella (Elizabeth Rodriguez) who offers him money to take her and this young girl named Laura (Dafne Keen) to North Dakota near the Canadian border. Yet, Logan has been encounter by a militant named Donald Pierce (Boyd Holbrook) to go after Laura where Logan and Xavier learn why Pierce wants Laura as it relates to a big revelation about a new generation of mutants who are being experimented on as an army with Laura and several others having escaped. Logan reluctantly takes Laura to North Dakota with the ailing Xavier who would have these monstrous seizures that would nearly freeze everything around him as his telepathic powers have become unstable due to his age. It makes Logan’s mission more difficult as he is also becoming ill due to the effects of the adamantium in his body that has made him age and his healing powers becoming much slower as well as ineffective. There is also this element of myth as it relates to Logan seeing that Laura has been carrying comic books that relate to his character as it drives him away from wanting to help her out. It’s that internal struggle that Logan faces in wanting to help but often faces obstacles where many others would be hurt or killed along the way.

James Mangold’s direction is definitely adventurous in terms of the setting but also quite confrontational as it relates to the violence as the film opens with a hungover Logan passed out on his limo being awoken by a gang trying to steal his hubcaps where he ends up killing them. Shot on various locations in New Orleans, various cities in New Mexico, and areas in Louisiana and Mississippi, the film does play into this mixture of the western, road movie, adventure, and drama as it relates to the humanity that Logan is trying to distance himself from. Mangold would use some wide shots for some of the vast locations Logan, Xavier, and Laura would go to as they’re being chased by Pierce and his army known as Reavers who capture remaining mutants they need. Though much of the film is set in various locations in the American Southwest including Mexico with some of it set in Las Vegas.

Mangold does maintain that sense of the western as it relates to the role that Logan is playing as well as one of the references Mangold uses in a film that Xavier and Laura watch. The film also has Mangold do something simple as it relates to the need of compassion and to help others when Logan, Xavier, and Laura meet a family in need of help as Logan does and they get shelter in return as it’s a brief moment of peace which is something Xavier needed as he had been filled with regrets for much of his life. The film’s third act is about Logan coping with something he never thought he would face which is mortality as he is aware of the fallacy of immortality having seen so many friends come and gone. Especially in moments that are quite brutal as Mangold doesn’t shy away from the fact that the film is very violent with lots of blood and deaths that are shocking to watch as it play into that struggle of humanity that Logan seems to lose faith on.

The third act which is set in the mountains where Laura, who had been largely silent, find these other mutant children who had been on the run is a moment where Logan sees a future that could be hopeful but doesn’t want to get close to it thinking he could undo it. The film’s climax isn’t just this showdown between Logan and these forces who want these children for their own reason but also everything Logan never wanted to be as well as to ensure this young girl that she never becomes what many evil forces wanted him to be. It’s a moment that is powerful but also heartbreaking as it conveys loss but also hope for a future generation. Overall, Mangold creates a visceral yet evocative film about a lost mutant who regains his purpose in life to help those in need of help including a young girl.

Cinematographer John Mathieson does excellent work with the film’s cinematography as it play into the sunny look of the American Southwest in its various locations as well as the usage of lights for some of the scenes set at night plus the abandoned compound where Logan, Caliban, and Xavier live in with its shades and such. Editors Michael McCusker and Dirk Westervelt do brilliant work with the editing as it captures the energy in the action while knowing when to slow down for the dramatic scenes without deviating too much into conventional editing styles. Production designer Francois Audouy, with set decorator Peter Lando and supervising art director Chris Farmer, does amazing work with the look of the abandoned factory/compound that Logan, Caliban, and Xavier live in as well as the farm home of the family Logan, Xavier, and Laura meet plus this mysterious lab for the people that Pierce works for. Costume designer Daniel Orlandi does nice work with the clothes from the military uniforms that Pierce and his team wears to the more casual look that Logan, Laura, and Xavier wears.

Special effects makeup artist Ozzy Alvarez does fantastic work with the look of Caliban as an albino whose weakness is sunlight as well as some of the gore in the characters that encounter Logan and Laura. Visual effects supervisors Richard Betts, Chas Jarrett, Doug Spilatro, and Chris Spry do incredible work with the visual effects in the way some of the action is presented as well as some set-dressing in some of the locations and the powers of some of the younger mutants plus a weapon created by the company Pierce works for. Sound designer Hamilton Sterling, along with sound editor Donald Sylvester, does superb work with the sound in creating sound effects for some of the weapons as well as the way some of the locations sound and the moments whenever Xavier is having a seizure. The film’s music by Marco Beltrami is wonderful for its orchestral score that play into the drama and action while music supervisor Ted Caplan provides a soundtrack that features elements of hip-hop, country, and blues with contributions from Jim Croce and Johnny Cash.

The casting by Lisa Beach, Sarah Katzman, and Priscilla Yeo is great as it feature some notable small roles and appearances from Elizabeth Rodriguez as a nurse named Gabriella who had been taking care of Laura, Eriq La Salle and Elise Neal as a farming couple who take in Logan, Laura, and Xavier, Quincy Fouse as the farming couple’s son, Dave Davis as a convenience store clerk, and in roles of young mutants that are Laura’s friends that include Doris Morgado, David Kallaway, Han Soto, Jayson Genao, Krzysztof Soszynski, and Alison Fernandez as kids who are seeking shelter and not be used as weapons. Richard E. Grant is superb as Zander Rice as a scientist who is the film’s main antagonist as a man that is hell-bent on creating something that would give mutants a chance to be used as weapons and soldiers that can do anything under anyone’s command. Boyd Holbrook is fantastic as Donald Pierce as a militant working for Rice who is eager to capture Laura where he sports an artificial arm and is ruthless in his pursuit to capture Laura. Stephen Merchant is excellent as the albino mutant tracker Caliban as someone who helps take care of Xavier for Logan while being someone who knows that Logan is ill as he doesn’t take shit from him.

Dafne Keen is phenomenal as Laura as a young girl who sports powers similar to Logan as she spends much of the film being silent and observant until she is threatened as she is a fierce killer that hasn’t experienced a lot of tender moments as there is this nice balance of innocence and rage in Keen who is just a joy to watch. Patrick Stewart is incredible as Charles Xavier/Professor X as a powerful telepath who is dealing with a growing illness as he’s unable to control his powers as he is filled with remorse and frustration where Stewart provides some funny moments in his banter with Logan as well as display a sense of grace over his regrets and need for peace. Finally, there’s Hugh Jackman in a tremendous performance as the titular character as a mutant who has little purpose in his life as he is a man filled with anguish and loss where he is eager to just end it all in the hope he can never see anyone killed because of him as it’s Jackman delivering a performance that is really heartbreaking to watch but also filled with a sense of honor into the fact that only he can be the Wolverine.

Logan is an outstanding film from James Mangold that feature spectacular performances from Hugh Jackman, Dafne Keen, and Patrick Stewart. Along with its supporting cast, high-octane action, studies on humanity and mortality, and gorgeous visuals. It’s a film that definitely raises the bar of what a superhero-action film can be as well as provide something that is very emotional where it gives the Wolverine character a fitting send-off. In the end, Logan is a magnificent film from James Mangold.

Related: Shane - 3:10 to Yuma (2007 film)

X-Men Films: X-Men - X2: X-Men United - X-Men 3: The Last Stand - X-Men Origins: Wolverine - X-Men: First Class - The Wolverine - X-Men: Days of Future Past - Deadpool - X-Men: Apocalypse - Deadpool 2 – (X-Men: Dark Phoenix) - (New Mutants)

© thevoid99 2017

Hot Fuzz

Originally Written  at Epinions.com on 4/21/07 with minor edits.

In 2004, British director Edgar Wright and his co-screenwriter Simon Pegg scored a massive cult hit with a zombie movie spoof Shaun of the Dead. The film, that also starred their Spaced co-stars Nick Frost and Jessica Stevenson, was a spoof and homage to the zombie films of George Romero that brought laughs and new energy to the genre. The film's cult success grew as fans anticipated for the next Wright/Pegg project. In 2007, the duo along with Frost re-teamed to create another spoof, the buddy cop movies for the film Hot Fuzz.

Directed by Edgar Wright and co-written with Simon Pegg, Hot Fuzz is about a cop who gets transferred to a quiet British town where his new partner is the chief's inept son. Learning of a crime plot going on in the quiet little town, the two action-film loving cops decide to take on the crime itself with style. An homage yet satire of every cop film and its cliches, Hot Fuzz revels in its humor and love of action with Pegg and Nick Frost playing the lead characters. Also starring Jim Broadbent, Paddy Considine, Anne Reid, Bill Nighy, Timothy Dalton, Billie Whitelaw, along with cameos from Steve Coogan, Martin Freeman, Stephen Merchant, and two other cameos by big stars (not going to tell ya). Hot Fuzz is a funny, satirical action-comedy that pays homage and laughs to the American action film genre.

Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg) is a police officer in London. So good, so dedicated, that he makes everyone in the police force look bad. Really bad. Angel's dedication is so powerful that his superiors (Martin Freeman, Steve Coogan, and Bill Nighy) decide to transfer him to a sleepy village in the North of England called Sandford. Angel is forced to move as his ex-girlfriend (Ecat Chettblan) has moved on with a new boyfriend. Arriving into Sandford, his new superior Inspector Frank Butterman (Jim Broadbent) introduces him to the local force that includes Angel's new partner and Butterman's son Danny (Nick Frost). The town hasn't had a recorded murder for twenty years as Angel finds himself out of place with the town. Even by his local forces that included detectives Andy Wainwright (Paddy Considine) and Andy Cartwright (Rafe Spall), officers Doris Thatcher (Olivia Colman) the aging Bob Walker (Karl Johnson) and Tony Fisher (Kevin Eldon).

Angel also has gotten the attention of local supermarket owner Simon Skinner (Timothy Dalton), who has been saying mysterious things, while being head of the Neighbourhood Watch Alliance along with Joyce Cooper (Billie Whitelaw), Dr. Robin Hatcher (Stuart Wilson), Reverend Phillip Shooter, (Paul Freeman) and Tom Weaver (Edward Woodward) who surveys everything in the town. Angel also meets local florist Leslie Tiller (Anne Reid), journalist Tim Messenger (Adam Buxton), and local millionaire George Merchant (Ron Cook). Angel finds himself getting into weird situations including trying to get a swan for its owner (Stephen Merchant) as he wonder where is the crime. Then after stopping a couple (David Threlfall & Lucy Punch) for speeding, he learns that Inspector Butterman wants Angel and Danny to go see them at their play. Then, a murder has occurred but has been covered up as an accident. Angel doesn’t believe it was an accident though the rest of the police staff laugh it off.

Feeling no respect for his work, only Danny seems to become his friend despite his lack of experience. Yet, Danny’s love for American action films including Point Break and Bad Boys II gives Angel something to take a break off. Then when another murder occurred at George Merchant's home, Angel becomes suspicious. Even more when more are murder including one witnessed by Angel, Angel wants to know what goes on. He suspects Skinner for the killings but doesn't get any proof. With Danny being the only help he has, he doesn't get any respect from anyone including Inspector Butterman who believes it's all a bunch of accidents. Angel continues his investigations where after an attack by one of Skinner's henchmen. He then learns not only that Skinner is involved but other people as well including those from the N.W.A. and a surprise member. There, Angel, Danny, and the rest of the force decide to get the law into order and with a bang.

When people see action films, they don't expect anything serious but blow-them-up and lots of stunts. Yet, they can get too serious and end up becoming parody. In the case of this film, Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg doesn't exactly take a p*ss on the American action genre. They glorify them while making fun of every cliche that's been seen in those films and have fun with them. The film's plot is easy to follow though a bit slow at times to move the story. It's only because the character of Angel is merely a satire of the cops seen on action films who takes himself too seriously at times and not be loose at the same time. Then when he is influenced by the action films Danny shows him, he becomes a different animal.

Edgar Wright clearly goes for style with this film rather than substance. Yet, it all works to convey the humor of what he's trying to do. He’s taking a p*ss at every cliche, every action film shot, every buddy cop movie. Yet, it's all in good fun. Even getting the likes of respected, British actors like Billie Whitelaw, Anne Reid, Jim Broadbent, Stuart Wilson, Ron Cook, and Edward Woodward to do something that isn't expected of them. It's because he knows that these actors are often seen in British dramas or Shakespeare but here, he lets them have guns, shoot people, and whatever. All in good fun. Plus, there's moments of gore that's also a bit extreme for the American action fan but that's the way the British does it. In some respects, Wright knows what he's doing and he's giving the audience something to have fun with while paying some respect to action directors and such.

Cinematographer Jess Hall does excellent work with the stylish, slow-mo camera work that's often done in action films while bringing a colorful look the British village. Editor Chris Dickens even goes for style with the kind of rapid-cutting that's seen in a lot of action films that are hyper-kinetic. There at least, the editing is all in good fun and plays to that action film style. Production designer Marcus Rowland and Liz Griffiths add a nice look to the film’s countryside while costume designer Annie Hardinge brings a nice look to the British cop clothes. Makeup artist Candice Banks does great work in playing with the gore as well as those cool mustaches Paddy Considine and Rafe Spall wear. Sound designer Craig Butters and sound editor Julian Slater play off to the film's action style in its sound while visual effects supervisor Richard Briscoe does some great special effects for some of the film's action scenes. Composer David Arnold also plays off to the genre with a stylish, orchestral score. The film's soundtrack also has kick with music by Adam Ant, XTC, Supergrass, the Kinks, Sweet, Arthur Brown, and Jon Spencer to add energy to the film.

The film's cast couldn't have been inspiring. The cameos from Steve Coogan, Martin Freeman, Bill Nighy, Stephen Merchant, and an Academy Award-winning director (ain't telling you), along with an Academy Award-winning actress (still ain't telling you) are funny to watch. The performances from veteran actors like Stuart Wilson, Anne Reid, Ron Cook, Edward Woodward, Billie Whitelaw, and Paul Freeman are fun to watch as they engage themselves in gore and have fun shootouts without taking themselves too seriously. Other small performances from Tim Barlow as Skinner's henchmen, Alice Low as Skinner's secretary, David Threlfall, Lucy Punch, and Adam Buxton are excellent. Fellow cops Olivia Colman, Karl Johnson, and Kevin Eldon are given some great funny moments as well as some great action scenes. Paddy Considine and Rafe Spall are hilarious as the mustache Andys who play the detective who love to make fun of Angel and his city-ways.

Jim Broadbent is wonderfully funny as the easy-going yet shady Inspector Butterman who doesn't want to believe anything that's wrong while trying to make Angel fit in. Broadbent is given great moments in both the action scenes and in the funny stuff where's given a lot to do and have fun at the same time. Playing against the James Bond role he's known for, Timothy Dalton is great as another shady individual as the villainous Skinner who is trying to do anything but to cover up his plans. Dalton is great while getting to do things he wouldn't have done as Bond, where he looks like he's having fun.

Nick Frost is really the funniest person on film. His character doesn't take things seriously and is like a kid when it comes to action movies and idolize them. He's like the cop that wants to be the superbad cop he idolizes in the cop movies. Frost brings a lot of fun to the role and makes himself relatable to audiences. Simon Pegg is also great as the straight man of the film who takes himself too seriously when doing things as Pegg really shows more of a dramatic side. When his character decides to go badass, he really sells it with a lot wit and humor. The chemistry of Frost and Pegg are just a joy to watch as they make themselves one hell of a comedy duo.

While not as funny as Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz is still a hilarious, witty action-comedy from the duo of Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg. With great comedy assistance from Nick Frost and a great cast of respected British actors, it's a film that gives the audience what they want. Loads of laughs and lots of violence, it's just a film that action fans can enjoy without taking it too seriously. In some ways, the British just know how to do the genre a bit better without being too serious while adding more gore to the festivity. In the end, for a film that brings laughs and a great experience to cheer, Hot Fuzz is the film to see.

Edgar Wright Films: (A Fistful of Fingers) - Shaun of the Dead - Scott Pilgrim vs. the World - The World's End - Baby Driver

© thevoid99 2010