This Is The End - May contain minor spoilers

Rating: Null/10 (12 June 2013)

Seth Rogen finds sure footing after stumbling along as the writer of the less-than-stellar "The Watch" with the wildly inappropriate and funnier-to-boot "This Is The End." Rogen reteams with co-writer/co-director Evan Goldberg (the pair having worked on "Pineapple Express" and "Superbad" together among others) to adapt their nine-minute short "Jay and Seth vs. The Apocalypse" into a feature film. "Jay and Seth vs. The Apocalypse" is rumored to have cost $3,000, stars five of the six main actors in the adapted feature (Rogen, Jay Baruchel, James Franco, Jonah Hill, and Danny McBride), and was never released to the public. Rogen's directorial debut joins the five actors with fellow funny man Craig Robinson as well as a boat-load of cameo appearances from other contemporary comedy giants who all play over-the-top versions of themselves in this horror-comedy that pokes fun at the privileged lives of the Hollywood elite.
"This Is The End" opens with Seth picking up his long-time friend Jay, who has come down from Canada to rekindle a friendship that has lost some of its spark since Seth has become Hollywood royalty and joined a new crowd. Jay's distaste for L.A. becomes readily apparent and is only perpetuated when Seth insists that the two should attend a housewarming party at Franco's mansion in the Hollywood Hills. Jay eventually gives in and the pair enter James' stunning house, cleverly designed by the multi-talented actor/writer/director/grad-student/teacher himself as he is only too willing to point out. The party is out of proportions in something similar to a scene out of the "Entourage" and complete with sex, copious amounts of drugs, and seemingly everyone in Hollywood who was free on that day of filming. Jay's level of discomfort increases throughout the party as he feels out of place and fails to click with Seth's new friends.
As the party is in full swing it is crashed by none other than the apocalypse, played out in biblical proportions with fire, brimstone, crashing cars, gaping holes in the earth, and slivers of blue light drawing people into the sky. After the dust clears, the death toll is enormous including Aziz Ansari, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, David Krumholtz, Jason Segel, Kevin Hart, Martin Starr, Michael Cera, Mindy Kaling, Paul Rudd, and Rihanna. Those who sought shelter inside of Franco's mansion survive including Franco, Rogen, Hill, Robinson, and Baruchel. As reality sets in, the group prepares to wait out the disaster by rationing food and discussing sleeping arrangements in a set of scenes that continue the gut-busting dialogue you would expect from members of the Judd Apatow gang. With the morning comes a new set of surprises, mainly the presence of Danny McBride who awakes from a drunken sleep oblivious to the events of the previous night and makes breakfast for the gang, considerably depleting their already scarce food supply.
With McBride comes a slew of insults so fast-paced and explicit that you feel as if you are getting the inside scoop on how comedic actors treat each other off set. Hilarity ensues as the star's egos collide and they spiritedly backstab each other for resources. Emma Watson makes an appearance before deciding to fend for herself in the outside world after overhearing the six males talk about the "rapey vibe" that they were putting off. McBride oversteps his boundaries by taking more than his share of the rations and is thrown out of the mansion. Jay finds religion as he begins dutifully reading the Book of Revelation and determines that the disaster is in fact the Rapture. And Hill becomes possessed in a scene that pits him against the newly-spiritual Jay for an exorcism that delivers huge laughs before the film turns to an effects-driven climax that ironically finds the Jewish actors in a Christian-like light as they dwell on whether or not they are worthy of salvation.
This Is The End's greatest success comes from how the film portrays the six main actors. Nobody takes themselves too seriously and in fact the actors embrace the way the world views them. Franco is always drawing attention to his successes, including showing off various film keepsakes such as the camcorder from "127 Hours" and a World War I era pistol from "Flyboys." Hill teases his nice-guy persona, even downplaying his Oscar nomination. McBride plays the bad boy and troublemaker while Baruchel portrays the actor who hasn't quite reached the level of success as his companions. Robinson and Rogen also deliver enormous fun including Rogen joking about his signature laugh. The actor's careers are also called into question with films like "The Green Hornet" and "Your Highness" being the butt of jokes. Fans of this group of actors will find themselves on the floor laughing while those opposed might be better off skipping this film.

Movie Mike (http://www.moviemikereviews.com/this-is-the-end-review/)