Did I miss the Pineapple Express?

Above I have addede the trailer for the film Pineapple Express. I like many people will have seen the trailer, or read a preview, and thought that since this is written by the same guys who penned Superbad, that is was sure to be another fantastically funny string in the Judd Apatow comedy bow. And then Empire Magazine, of whom I am a regular reader, gave it four solid stars in this months review.

So on the strength of the above evidence, I went to the cinema and parted with my hard earned cash. But sadly, I didn't get it.

Firstly, I must point out that the film isn't a complete waste. The whole cast are fantastic, particularly James Franco, who for once has been trusted with a role that does not fall into the category of 'brooding'.

It just seemed to me that the writing was a little off. Comedy moments were patchy and some jokes completely missed the spot. The drusg message within the film started by hinting that they will ruin your life and then did a U-turn. The outcome of the relationship between Seth Rogan's character Dale Denton and Amber Heard's love interest is left hanging. The final showdown is too predictable and lasts too long.

People who have seen this film and loved it can feel free to tell me I'm wrong, as I think I have figured out why I didn't like it. I suppose it is because I know that this isn't a bad movie, its just not as good as I have come to expect from the combination of Apatow and Rogan.

Rocknrolla.....return to form for Guy Ritchie??

There have been very mixed reviews of the latest offering from Guy Ritchie, Rocknrolla. Some have called it a return to form for the London gangster specialist, while others argue that its too much like his previous offerings Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch.

I can see both sides of this arguement, but I have to admit that I enjoyed the movie. Yes, it is very similar to the previous criminal offerings of Mr Ritchie. Yes, its dated badly already because the credit crunch means that property in London isn't what it used to be, and yes, anyone looking for something original will be disappointed. But why is this familiar territory painted as a bad thing? Did anyone see what happened when he tried a new genre.......Swept Away, a film so bad I honestly thought deafness and blindless was a better option than the naff story, apalling acting (coutesy of Mrs Ritchie) and downright terrible writing.

Prior to Rocknrolla he reaffirmed his talent for uniquely beautiful shooting, with an amazing Nike advert. And looking at his two original gangster films, there are elements of this talent that occasionally shoot forward and deliver a wake up call to anyone doubting the director. Who can forget the dizzying shot of Ed in Lock, Stock.... or the knock out scene from Snatch that featured Brad Pitt's Mickey and a swimming pool.

Alot of the reviews, particularly the ones found in broadsheet newspapers, seemed to be judging the film on a dislike the journalist held for Guy Ritchie rather than actually watching the film. Which is a shame, as its a movie worth giving up the times to visit the cinema.

Tom Wilkinson excels, Gerard Butler proves himself an actor of worth, Toby Kebbell is more Pete Doherty than I thought possible and Mark Strong has another storming performance. There are weak points in the use of cast though. Jeremy Piven, who has proved himself as a sensational character actor in the series Entourage is wasted here, as so is Gemma Arterton, the girl who has only about four lines of dialogue yet is good enough to be part of the new James Bond film and also Jerry Bruckheimers next franchise Prince of Persia.

After personally finding joy in the film on the whole, all I can say is that people should not listen to anything I say and go tp see it for themselves, after all, I'm a blogger, not a critic.