I guess with that face, Ricky Gervais always has to play the loser. So it is no surprise that is how he starts off in The Invention of Lying. Although there are quite a few funny moments, it is hard to make a full length movie out of one concept. So it is patchy and loses momentum half way through. For me, it is the songs in the second half which hold it together: Donovan's "Try and Catch the Wind", Supertramp's "Give a Little Bit" and ELO's "Mr Blue Sky".
I do not like movies that have a narrator, but this time I will make an exception. Zombieland shows what can be done with a brilliant script. In fact, the scenes with Zombies being dispatched are the only boring and repetitive parts of the movie. The rest is the relationship that build between the four characters, and this is so well done. That they only use their destinations as names, is a neat twist. Woody Harrelson is made for the part, and Jesse Eisenberg is convincing as narrator and lead. Ruben Fleisher directs with a flourish, and the set piece ending wraps up the film nicely. There is one cameo appearance, and that is also terrific. In the same league (and another romcomzom) as Shawn of the Dead, it was a great fun movie.
If it were not for the critical acclaim, I might have given Up a miss. I am glad that I didn't. It is a great piece of film making. Again it is the script that makes it so good. The characters are lovable, and the movie has a real emotional impact. It is just not necessary to see it in 3D. I'm glad I stuck to the standard format. You could see in the action sequences that these were made for 3D, and although they were well done, it was the relationship between Carl and Russell that makes the movie. Bring on an exotic bird and Dug the dog, there are plenty of laughs. Equally good as WALL-E, it is no surprise that it gets 98% on Rotten Tomatoes.
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