Movie Review: MEN IN BLACK III

MEN IN BLACK III

2012

PG-13

"I promised the secrets of the universe, nothing more."

-- Agent K

Men in Black III is a 2012 sci-fi comedy directed by Barry Sonnenfeld that serves as the third installment in the Men in Black film franchise and the first to hit theaters since 2002. After a dangerous killer named Boris the Animal (Jemaine Clement) escapes from his lunar prison, he heads back to Earth to find and kill Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones), who had captured and imprisoned him forty years earlier as he had attempted to aid in an interplanetary invasion. He devises a plan to go back in time to kill a younger K so that he will no longer exist in the present. Soon afterward, K disappears from the present day, leading to emotional unrest for his partner Agent J (Will Smith), who then follows Boris into the past to keep him from exacting his plan. When he reaches 1969, he finds a young K (Josh Brolin), and the two work together, with the help of a solitary alien named Griffin (Michael Stuhlbarg), to stop Boris from destroying the planet.

It's been fifteen years since the first Men in Black film turned into a box office smash back, and it's been ten years since we last saw Smith and Jones team up as the alien-fighting team we've grown to know and love. Although I've enjoyed the past two entries in the series, I can't say that I was ever the biggest fan of the films. Still, they proved to be entertaining enough for me to want to see this latest installment, and the addition of actors like Brolin, Clement and Stuhlbarg definitely made the concept a little more intriguing.

Let's start with the screenplay. Although the film doesn't necessarily break any ground on bringing forth new ideas, it still manages to be entertaining. The jokes and gags are pretty consistent, and although I was never l rolling with laughter, I still managed to offer a chuckle here and there. The storyline proves to be engaging, and even though the idea of cinematic time travel has been tried and tested, it still manages to feel fresh in this one. And we're even getting a few twists and turns here and there, some of which I didn't predict until they happened. Ultimately, the story allows the viewer to enter the film and remain engaged with it throughout the film, and for that, it should be commended.

We're also getting a slew of decent performances from the cast. Smith and Jones are their standard selves, but this is really Smith's vehicle. Because of the story's constructs, Jones only appears in the early and later moments of the film. Fortunately, we're getting a clever impersonation job from the likes of Brolin in the intermediary moments. When I first saw the trailers for the film introducing Brolin as the younger Agent K, I immediately thought him to be a fine choice purely based off his look. After seeing the film, however, I can say that Brolin does a fine job filling the shoes, and he proves to bring most of the film's comedy to the table. I also thought that Stuhlbarg managed to steal the show with his performance, and if there's any reason to see the film, it's him alone. Also be on the watch for decent bits from the likes of Clement, Emma Thompson, Nicole Scherzinger and Bill Hader in a cameo appearance.

At the end of the day, Men in Black III might not be the best in the franchise, but it still proves to be an entertaining venture and pleasant addition to the franchise's overall storyline. It fills in a lot of questions that fans may have had about the characters, and even manages to flesh out our two leads a little bit further. For that, I think we can all be appreciative.

Movie Review Summary

Grade: B

Should You See It? Yes

Movie Review: PAUL

PAUL

2011
R

Paul is a 2011 sci-fi comedy directed by Greg Mottola. It follows two nerdy Brits - Clive (Nick Frost) and Graeme (Simon Pegg) - as they travel the United States in search of famous locations of alien encounter after spending time at Comic-Con in San Diego. As they're making their way across the American Southwest in their rented RV, they watch as a smaller car spins out of control in front of them in the middle of the highway in the middle of the night. When the two get out to investigate, they meet Paul (voiced by Seth Rogen), an human-savvy extra-terrestrial who claims to be on the lam from some sort of government agency. The two men reluctantly agree to help Paul in reaching his final destination, which he only says lies somewhere north of their present location. The trio starts their quest for this place, encountering opposition from a special agent named Zoil (Jason Bateman) while befriending a lonely, intelligent design-ist named Ruth Buggs (Kristen Wiig). The group slowly makes their way towards their final destination where Paul hopes to leave Earth for good.

I've known about Paul for quite a while, mostly because of my slight obsession with the past endeavors of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. They smashed onto the movie scene with 2004's Shaun of the Dead and upped the ante with 2007's Hot Fuzz. In both films, they turned a certain film type (zombie/romantic comedy and buddy cop flick, respectively) on their ears, and with Paul, they were trying to do the same with the sci-fi adventure. And while it's not quite at the level of their previous two films, Pegg and Frost definitely do enough with this one to make it an enjoyable venture.

The storyline really isn't much to applaud. We've basically got your standard road trip flick infused with some teenage-oriented raunchy comedy to fill our appetites. I'm sure that alone doesn't sound entirely appealing, but for this group of people, it finds a way to work. However, the real strength with the screenplay is the references to classic films past. Like Rango, Paul pays rather often homage to the great films that have come before it. Here's a short list of the films that I definitely found reference to: Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Star Wars, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Jaws, Lorenzo's Oil, The Karate Kid, and Back to the Future. Some of the references are larger than others - Star Wars and Close Encounters get their respectful due - but this proves to be a movie that will appeal to those geeks (like me!) who have seen films like the ones listed above.

The level of acting also isn't quite up to the standards that Pegg/Frost films have set in the past, but it's good enough for you to care about the characters on-screen. Pegg and Frost may deliver characters most like their actual personalities in this one, making this one really seem like a labor of love. Wiig is good for a few hilarious scenes as she gets over her obsession with intelligent design. And Rogen is actually very good as the titular character. I think he works best as a voice actor - we get that distinctive voice without actually having to see him act. In addition to the aforementioned actors, be on the lookout for the following actors: Jeffrey Tambor, Jane Lynch, David Koechner, Sigourney Weaver, Bill Hader, Joe Lo Truglio, Blythe Danner, and even a voiced cameo from Steven Spielberg.

All in all, Paul is a fine addition to the Pegg/Frost partnership despite not being quite up to snuff with its predecessors. It's still a fun watch, especially if you're a fan of these two clowns. And if you're a fan of the classic sci-fi films from years past, you should probably do yourself a favor and take in Paul while you can before he blasts off and leaves Earth for good.

Movie Review Summary:

Grade: B
2 Thumbs Up