When contrasted with their last two co-starring efforts (Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz), the science fiction comedy Paul may seem a bit dull by comparison. Where director Edgar Wright infused their past films with his brand of frenetic energy and stylistic flair, the work of Greg Mottola—typically a “character first, visuals second” type of director—may not wholly gel with what Pegg and Frost typically shoot for. Yet Paul has a geeky amiability that makes the film ultimately endearing. It’s little more than Pegg and Frost’s love letter to the Spielbergian sci-fi movies of the ’70s and ’80s, but if you understand the hundreds of nerd-centric pop culture references you won’t feel too lost at sea.
It’s been a slow couple weeks on the DVD/Blu-ray market, but there are a few intriguing options hitting the shelves this week. Besides Paul, which is the best of them, there is James Gunn’s Super. This is not a film for the faint-hearted—it begins by resembling a quirky indie comedy and eventually devolves into an ultra-violent portrait of an incredibly disturbed man—but it’s an intriguing film for those who’d like to venture off the beaten path. It stars Rainn Wilson as a man who has lost his wife to a sleazeball played by Kevin Bacon, and as a result he decides to become a superhero, with Ellen Page as the girl who will become his young sidekick. To reveal much more would be a mistake, but just know that this film is a repulsive little thing. Sometimes appealingly so.
Besides these two choices, there’s not much else to recommend. There is Mars Needs Moms, which I haven’t seen and don’t intend to, and there is also the brutally unfunny stoner comedy Your Highness, in which a group of actors are clearly having the time of their lives at the expense of the audience. Another interesting release this week is The Last Godfather, which I wrote about in a previous Trailer Trash segment. Shockingly, it apparently didn’t get a wide theatrical release. I saw nothing but a bright future ahead for this film.
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