This is the End Review!

This is the End could very well have been one of the biggest disappointments this year in terms of films. Instead what the audience got is one of the biggest surprises in film history, the audience are in for a treat, one that you would be mad to miss.

The premise for the film is Seth Rogen and his buddy Jay Baruchel meet up and end up going to a party at James Franco's house. Rogen, Baruchel, James Franco,Jonah Hill, Danny Mcbride, Craig Robinson and a handful of other celebrities such as Emma Watson play themselves. It turns out all these guys are brilliant as simply portraying themselves on screen and create a real special feel to the group of actors and have brilliant chemistry on screen. In a world filled with terrible comedies such as Scary Movie it's nice to see that gems still exist.

The group are the last survivors in an apocalyptic world and the film simply follows them and their hilarious adventure. It's basic, but perfect. Each character has a place that fits perfectly for them and not a single joke went flat for the entire film, even having some rather surprising and hilarious moments. Danny McBride for me was the best character in the film and stands as a rather bizarre but brilliant character. It works perfectly as a hilarious conflict point in the film.

If I had to pick out a very minor flaws with the film (which they are rather minor for the overall product). The humour is not smart humour by any means, which is still brilliant and hilarious however all the dick related jokes may not be for some viewers.

However if you are a fan of straight up comedy, this film is for you. Overall the package is brilliant and in my opinion this is probably Rogen's and Goldberg's finest film yet. With some VERY minor flaws which in no means should take away from the whole film. This film will go down as a comedy classic and I really can't wait to watch it again.

9/10 - Brilliant

Small Update on What to Expect!

 

So if this picture isn't obvious enough, I'm really excited for Pacific Rim! The image above is a Jaeger that I made on this link http://apps.warnerbros.com/pacificrim/designer/us/ 

 

So expect a review from me when I eventually see Pacific Rim and lets cross our fingers that it lives up to my expectations! So I've now finished school until September in which I will be going to university (yey?). So expect a lot more frequent blog posts now that I have no exams to worry about, expect a couple reviews of newer games and I'm also looking at reviewing a few classic games!

 

Please do keep reading and spreading the blog would be a huge help to me with a simple share of this blog to Google+ or other sites!

 

Wreck-It Ralph Review!

Wreck-It Ralph has proven to be one of the greatest animated films of 2012, (2013 in the UK). Wreck-It Ralph took the task of creating a film around gaming culture, as you can tell from my blog I'm a huge gamer myself! So coming from somebody that this film is aimed at, I can say it has completed the task with great success. I found myself chuckling at so many inside jokes which my friends did not understand, they really did work hard to include some references that gamers would find special.  From Sonic to Street Fighter and even the unexpected Metal Gear Solid, Wreck-It Ralph is bursting  with these gaming references!

Wreck-It Ralph is set inside the world of a video game arcade, a bright and stunning world where game characters can hang out together, it was rather funny to see some odd characters hanging out together. The story revolves around Ralph, a bad guy who wants to win a medal so he can be treated like the hero of his game. He sets out on an adventure to finally get that medal and become the good guy , the only way possible is by leaving his game and going elsewhere.

The world of Hero's Duty was my favourite location in the film, inspired by modern FPS games such as Halo or Call of Duty. The use of Skrillex, even though I usually hate him, actually worked rather well, it fitted in with the scenery and the action on the screen. The world of Sugar Rush I thought was not as impressive as Hero's Duty, it kind of lost its game feel, although it did give a feeling of Mario Kart. Gaming references also seemed to have stopped at this point and the film kind of lost its uniqueness to an extent, the film was still enjoyable though with the rather funny Oreo guard scene!

 The film's supporting cast are rather strong also, Fix-It Felix, Jr is the hero of the game Ralph inhabits, he is certainly a character inspired from the likes of Mario. Sergeant Calhoun, is the stereotypical FPS character, coming from Hero's Duty. A bad-ass soldier, who is usually paired with Felix as a love interest in the film.

King Candy is also a rather strong villain for the film and the 'end boss' you could say. His happy characteristics hide his true evil intentions and serves for a brilliant plot twist and fits in well with the rest of the story, leading to huge pay-off.

Vanellope is probably the weakest character in the film, she does provide some nice moments but her humour brings her down. Her jokes at times did seem a little childish and clearly made for the child audience to enjoy, they made a genius film at times look rather idiotic. Shame on you for whoever thought they were funny.

Wreck-It Ralph is a bold and risky move that certainly paid off for Disney, it's a brilliant and well-crafted film filled with gamer goodness. With originality comes success. - 8.5/10

My Game,Film and Television Show of The Year!

This year has been a great year for all three of these, but some certainly rised up and took their rightful spot this year.

 To start with I will choose my favourite game, I have got to say that it was a really tough choice. I enjoyed so many games but probably Telltale's The Walking Dead was my favourite. Never before has a game got me so involved in its story, even to the point it has put every film this year to shame with such a breathtaking story. With characters so well acted it is hard not to become emotionally attached to them, we can also expect season 2 next year which I honestly cannot wait for.

Favourite film probably has to be Batman The Dark Knight Rises, many people say that it was not as good as the previous film. I would agree as Heath Ledger was amazing but Tom Hardy did a fantastic job with Bane, although it was not as good it was still an outstanding film and if you have not watched it please go buy it on DVD! It is a shame that this trilogy is over but we can now look forward to the new Man of Steel film, which hopefully shall bring Superman back as one of the best superheroes!

Last but not least, favourite television show of the year. Some brilliant shows have been on this year but The Walking Dead for me has by far blown me away the most. With the highest cable TV figures of all time fans are loving season 3, with the mid-season break I find myself rather bored as I have an empty hour every week. I must say though that they have really stepped up this year and have delivered a brilliant piece of television every week!

So that's it sorry if I rushed it a little really busy right now! But expect some reviews and updates coming shortly!

Looper Review

Looper, the third feature film from writer-director Rian Johnson (who previously brought audiences the neo-noir thriller, Brick, and caper-flick, The Brothers Bloom) is a powerful, clever and swiftly-paced sci-fi film that you'll want to see time and time again - if just to try and understand it.

Mini-Reviews - Volume 1: The Hunger Games, The Dark Knight Rises and More

Because Two and a Half Penguins is such a new site, we've got a lot of catching up to do. Yesterday, I posted my review of Doctor Who's series 7 finale, The Angels Take Manhattan, and today I'm launching what will be a recurring feature here: Mini-Reviews.

The name says it all; I'm going to be reviewing some of the most noteworthy (for good or bad) films and TV episodes of the past year or so, in a few salient paragraphs. Today we start with Liongate's The Hunger Games, Pixar's first fairytale, Christopher Nolan's Batman finale and the stellar series 2 closer of Sherlock. Check out the four mini-reviews after the jump break.

Welcome!

Welcome to Two and a Half Penguins! On this blog we will be posting reviews for TV, movies, books, comics and games! Let us introduce ourselves!

Heather is a book maniac and a real lover of love films! William loves any animation film you chuck at him, he also runs the popular A113Animation blog, so go check that out! I'm Jonathan I love videogames and I also love a good action film! I'm also a Walking Dead maniac and own my own (not so popular) The Walking Dead blog!

Please follow and spread the word to help the blog start, thanks!

- Jonathan