Geeks Invade Hollywood!

No you have not missed an assault on LA by spotty, spectacled individuals, what I am referring to is the increasing number of self confessed film geeks who have successful careers among the Hollywood elite.

The list includes people such as Quentin Tarrantino, Simon Pegg (pictured right with fellow film fanatic Nick Frost), Edgar Wright, J.J Abrams and Judd Apatow.

Looking at the projects this type of person takes part in, the pure passion and enthusiasm (often bordering on obsession) comes to the fore. Tarrantino has a habit of recreating classic feelings in his movies, such as the Eastern matial arts tone of Kill Bill vol.1 and the old Western atmosphere of Kill Bill vol.2. Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg have created films that pack a huge amount of cultural referencing into the running time. And finally J.J Abrams who has reinvented the monster genre with Cloverfield and has now turned his attention to the re-building of the Star Trek franchise with a prequel to the original series.

People who live and breath for celluloid seem to be drawn towards each other by some cinematic version of gravity. J.J Abrams has cast Simon Pegg to play a young Scotty in his new Star Trek, Tarrantino has lent his voice to the commentary on the US DVD release of British TV sitcom Spaced (starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, and directed by Edgar Wright) and Edgar Wright has moved into a flat in LA above Tarrantino's cinema.

This revolution has been welcomed by people the world over, as it gives people who are crazy about film the hope that with enough passion, a career in the world they love is attainable. I know this, because I am one of them!

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.