Paul

Plot synopsis:
In 2009, Graeme Willy and Clive Gollings (Simon Pegg and Nick Frost) are two English comic book nerds and best friends who have travelled to America to attend the annual Comic-Con convention in San Diego, California. Afterwards, the two take a road trip in their rented RV to visit all the sites of major extraterrestrial importance in the southwest USA. At one stop in Arizona, Graeme and Clive visit the Little A'Le'Inn where two hunters confront them, assuming they might be homosexual. In a hurried leave, Clive accidentally reverses the RV into the hunters' truck, leaving a dent.Later that evening, Graeme and Clive see headlights racing up behind them and, believing it to be the hunters, they speed off in their RV. Eventually, the vehicle catches up and they realize it's just a car. However, the car suddenly wrecks up right in front of them, and rolls off the highway. When Graeme and Clive investigate the crash, they meet and discover an alien named Paul (voiced by Seth Rogen) who is in desperate need of their help.Although shocked by the appearance of Paul, Graeme agrees to give Paul a ride, but Clive is not happy about the idea. Later, Lorenzo Zoil (Jason Bateman), a shady government agent, arrives at the site of the crashed car and informs his mysterious female superior over the radio that he's closing in on Paul, and she recommends using local law enforcement as back-up. Zoil then recruits two inept FBI agents, Haggard (Bill Hader) and O'Reilly (Joe Lo Truglio), to aid in his mission, without telling them the nature of their target.Graeme, Clive and Paul pull into a motor park run by Ruth Buggs (Kristen Wiig), a creationist Christian, and her abusive and controlling father, Moses (John Carroll Lynch). The trio bond around their campgrill, and Paul reveals that, ever since he was captured by the government, he had been advising them in all manner of scientific and sociological achievements, including giving Steven Spielberg the idea for E.T. and inventing the character of Fox Mulder. However, he discovered that he had outlived his usefulness as a receptacle of knowledge, and the government was now intending to surgically remove Paul's brain in an attempt to harness his abilities. With help from a friend inside Area 51, Paul sent an S.O.S. to his home planet, and his people are now en route to pick him up. The government pushed up the schedule for Paul's surgery, however, prompting his rapid escape.The next morning, Paul inadvertently reveals himself to Ruth, and the trio are forced to kidnap her and make a hasty escape. Paul then shatters Ruth's faith by sharing his knowledge of the universe via telepathic link; at first horrified, Ruth suddenly becomes eager to sin, which her father had raised her to fear doing. She initially doesn't trust Paul, but he heals her eye, as she has been blind in it since the age of four.Meanwhile, Zoil, Haggard, and O'Reilly talk to Ruth's father, who claims she was abducted by a 'demon'. Haggard finds a drawing of Paul that Graeme did, and becomes suspicious of Zoil's motives, especially after he accidentally overhears Zoil reporting to his mysterious supervisor over the radio. When Graeme, Clive and Ruth encounter the same pair of hunters from earlier, and are saved by Paul, Haggard later has his suspicions confirmed by showing the hunters Graeme's drawing, which elicits a fearful response.Whilst stopping in a small town, O'Reilly accidentally encounters Paul in a comic book shop, prompting the foursome to flee. When Haggard and O'Reilly tell Zoil what they saw, he pulls a gun on them, and orders them to return to headquarters, before going after the RV on his own. Contrary to his orders, however, the two FBI agents follow Zoil in the same direction.Eventually, Paul reveals his intention to return to the girl whose dog he crashed his ship on in 1947 and who subsequently saved his life, who is now an old woman, Tara Walton (Blythe Danner). After spending her life being ridiculed for what she said she saw, Tara seems grateful to see that Paul simply exists. She turns her gas cooker on to make tea, but is interrupted by Haggard and O'Reilly on one side of the house, and Zoil on the other. As the motley crew escapes and drives off with Paul, O'Reilly shoots at them, and the gas ignites, destroying the house. A winded Zoil tries to follow, but Haggard takes off first, running Moses (who'd also been tracking the RV) off the road, and catching up to the RV. However, thanks to an error of judgement, Haggard accidentally drives off a cliff, and is killed, leaving Zoil in hot pursuit. He reassures his superior that he'll have Paul within an hour, but she declares herself tired of waiting, and informs Zoil that she's ordered a military response, prompting Zoil to shoot his radio.When Paul, Graeme, Clive, Ruth and Tara arrive at the rendezvous, they set off a signal and wait. Eventually, eerie orange lights show up over the surrounding trees, and everyone believes that it is Paul's race. However, it is an army helicopter, with 'the Big Guy' (Sigourney Weaver) on board, Zoil's shadowy superior. As she and three troops move to shoot Paul, Zoil arrives, and it's revealed that he was Paul's inside contact who had helped him to escape. Zoil disarms the men, but is shot in the shoulder. Tara punches out 'the Big Guy', but Moses appears with a shotgun and shoots Graeme dead. Paul heals him, but inflicts the damage to himself (a possible side effect of his healing powers mentioned earlier in the film). Paul then collapses, exhausted. For a while, the other characters stand around his apparently lifeless body sprawled on the grass. Then, coughing, Paul props himself up, having healed himself. 'The Big Guy' regains consciousness, but is immediately crushed by the arriving alien ship. Paul begins to depart and informs Tara that she is going with him to live a better life and bids farewell to his friends hoping to meet them again one day.Two years later. Graeme, Clive, and Ruth are shown again at a comic convention, promoting their new mega-successful comic book, "Paul". O'Reilly is also shown to have survived the house explosion.

Tags: humor, psychedelic, comedy, murder, flashback

Review:
There were lots of sci fi movie references (Alien, ET, Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind, Star Wars, Aliens, Predator, etc.) It had an AWESOME cast, MARVELOUS character development, and a terrific script that went from sweet and moving, to hilarious, to scary, and back.
Now, Seth Rogen (the voice of Paul) is not really one of my favorite actors, but he did a good job with the voice-acting in this movie.For a comedy, don't expect to be laughing throughout the entire movie.
And those effects really helped carry the movie."Paul" is a great movie, though it is not Simon Pegg's and Nick Frost's best movie, it takes a lot to top "Shaun of the Dead".
Graeme and Clive quickly learn that agreeing to protect this extraterrestrial is giving them a lot more than they bargained for as they are chased by the FBI, hillbillies, and a religious shotgun toting nut job.If there's one thing I can commend Paul on, it's finally giving us the satisfaction of an R rated sci-fi comedy.
Seth Rogen does a surprisingly good job voicing the alien, whose animations are also excellent and add a lot of comedy to the film.
Paul, The third collaboration between the two best friends Simon Pegg and Nick Frost is another action-packed comedy featuring an alien, guns, and Jason Bateman.
Unlike the previous films the pair starred in, Paul still has the strong bromance between the two but takes a turn to be more of what Scott Pilgrim Vs the World was instead of Hot Fuzz.Scott Pilgrim – directed by Edgar Wright who also directed the first two films mentioned – was a geek-friendly action comedy.
Nevertheless, those 104 minutes are brimmed with pure entertainment and the plot is established enough to make sense and not take a wrong turn.With an ensemble cast, what makes Paul especially hilarious is how every character in the film has a moment of comedy gold.
It's reported that Pegg and Frost said that Paul was a love letter to Spielberg – it sure is an amusing one, and is certainly the best Valentine-themed film this Valentine's Day.The pair wrote the screenplay for this film – so expect many contemporary references – plenty of sci-fi ones – and clever gags.
Hilarious comedic duo, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are back this time in an American spoofish science-fiction adventure in Greg Mottola's 'Paul'.
He's pretty much his usual annoying on screen self even though his character is an alien and it is only the better performances of his co-stars that actually make Rogan appear less annoying.Compared to Pegg and Frost's previous works ('Spaced', 'Shaun of the Dead' and 'Hot Fuzz') which in my opinion are classics, 'Paul' falls a little short.
The movie its self is very funny and the script well written , the small alien with voice from Seth Rogen its very real and well made by CG artists .
Obviously the chemistry between Frost and Pegg is great like always ( you know what I'm saying if you remember Shaun of the dead or Hot Fuzz )Rogen as alien is a perfect cast with his IM SMOKING WEED voice and great lines .
The comedy is funny, like I said it started a bit slowly as I think the comic con scenes could have been a bit funnier, but it really got going once they met up with Paul.
Its merger of crude/rude and witty comedy plus a cast where everyone brings their A-game, without going too far makes Paul a good watch.Let's start with top billing.
A few too many guns get pointed bullets get fired for me, but at least the laughs keep coming which is important.Paul, creaks a little here and there, but it is appetizing as a comedy with a buddy movie spirit and a good dose of sci-fi satire..
Have been a fan of Pegg and Frost since Shaun of the Dead and enjoy their genius ability to spoof a genre and still make a thoroughly entertaining and funny movieThis time it's ET, Close Encounters ..
but all done with impeccably good British taste and style.Seth Rogan (and I'm not usually a fan of his) is superb as the voice of the Alien Paul of the title, and a cameo from Sigourney Weaver complete a superb cast who all acquit themselves well.The story is set around two British nerds doing a UFO themed tour of the US which starts at a Comic-Con convention.
When they were promoting Paul, I had heard Pegg and Frost discussing the film and they made a comment regarding the fact that nobody was just going to give them 50 million dollars and let them do whatever they wanted to do at risk of a loss.
As a result of this comment I was sort of prepared for this film not quite to be as British or as smart as their previous work on things like Hot Fuzz and of course Spaced; turned out I was right to be ready for this but wrong to assume it would make a bad movie.Paul isn't a bad movie at all, it is just a pretty average and mainstream one.
Sci-fi references are throughout the film but even these are hardly very clever or obscure (even my girlfriend got most of them); I still found them funny but again I got the feeling that the film was trying to make sure that it was as broadly appealing as possible, as opposed to the slightly more arch comedy that the two have done previously.It does still work though because I laughed more than I expected to and even when I didn't it had a broadly amusing tone to it that entertained me and kept the mode consistent.
Bateman was enjoyable as ever (he deadpans up there with the best of them), Weaver allows for several good sci-fi references and the support cast feature turns from Lynch, Tambor, Koechner and a few others doing solids.Overall I expected little from Paul but yet it was funny and enjoyable.
The plot is surprisingly good (unlike what you'd expect in a comedy), now add pro-class acting and an awesome CGI alien with super cute eyes and you got a super fun times guarantee..
When you go into a movie starring buddies Simon Pegg and Nick Frost (Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz) you know what to expect with their type of films.And who's really complaining?
Paul is on a mission to get back to his spaceship away from 'The Big Guy' and hops on the two guys RV Van. Along the way ,they pick up religious, non swearing Ruth (Kristen Wiig) who is almost a Jennifer Anniston look alike in this movie.
The landscape of America in this film looks great, with some nice cinematography that adds to the feel of a chase movie at the same time.The references to other alien films such as Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
First of all, I love big train, spaced, shaun of the dead and hot fuzz, and maybe i had too high expectations of Paul, but it is the weakest thing Simon Pegg and Nick Frost have done to date.I'm a sci-fi and comics nerd, and to be fair the last half an hour of the film was the best with plenty of referential lines to other sci-fi movies.Maybe the lack of edgar wright showed too much, but the story was very very weak, which would be OK if there were plenty of gags to keep the audience amused, but shot after shot of a camper van going by gets dull really quickly.The other disappointing thing was how weak the friendship between the two main characters was.
2 characters are created as stereotypical Christians with phrases like, "I'm on a mission from God!" being used to make fun of those who believe in God. This was nowhere near as funny nor as entertaining as Shawn Of The Dead and Hot Fuzz.
So Simon Pegg and Nick Frost team up for the third time to dish up another comic fun fest (or so I thought) after the great Shaun of the Dead and the hilarious Hot Fuzz.
I have always in particular liked Simon Pegg in Run Fatboy Run, How to Lose Friends and Alienate People and he was the best thing doing the voice-over of the memorable animation character Buck in Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, so I am a fan of his, but I'm afraid Paul is his poorest film yet.Don't get me wrong I did enjoy it enough to the end, there were some great gags and me laughing and chuckling enough to the end.
Seth Rogen as Paul was reasonable with terrific CGI and Jason Bateman gave a solid supporting performance with Sigourney Weaver who you don't actually see properly to the end of the film is terrific in her speaking scenes and when you actually see her.
But, it also was often rather nasty--with an unnecessary attack on Christianity (they are semi-brain-dead knuckledraggers here) and lots of VERY crude humor--the sort that might appeal to teens--but it's a rated R movie and they shouldn't be watching this film (but they will).
It's definitely feels like another "by geeks, for geeks" film but the characters and the story are fun enough for general audiences to have a good time.
If Paul (in-between all of his incessant farting, saying "F__k!", smoking cigarettes, hurling insults and, in general, being a rude, little alien-bastard) had even once shared one worthwhile insight with us or told us a super-fantastic tale of life on his own home-planet, then, yes, I would've surely rated this hopelessly lame, one-note-joke, Sci-Fi/Comedy somewhat higher.But as an alien with a mighty mean mouth who has whole-heartedly embraced everything trite and despicable about today's pop culture (and who even made a point of encouraging a child to steal), Paul's predictable, little "bad-boy" schtick unfortunately wore out its welcome at about warp speed.I found the Paul character to be about on par with that of an obnoxious and belligerent 14 year old boy.
Rogen's voice was clearly all wrong for this particular character.If, in real-life, you were to actually meet an alien from another world, would the likes of Paul be your first choice?
Seth Rogen does a perfect Paul, and his voice just livens up the lines in a manner that even some dialogues that are serious sounds funny.It has been a while since I have been entertained on a Sci Fi comedy.
Title: Paul Directed by: Greg Mottala Starring: Nick Frost, Simon Pegg, Jason Bateman & Seth Rogen Rated: Rated R for language including sexual references, and some drug use.
It star the British comedy heroes Simon pegg and nick frost and Seth rogen as the voice of the alien.
Actually I never really was all that interested in seeing "Paul", since it just looked like a bit of a lame and simplistic comedy to me, even though I of course really like other Nick Frost and Simon Pegg movies.
I however kept hearing really good things about this movie so I decided to give it a chance, which was something I really don't regret.Let's start off by saying that "Paul" is a great comedy.
They could had perhaps taken it somewhere interesting or funny but it just never quite gets there.Nick Frost and Simon Pegg do a great job portraying two nerdy characters, without the glasses or silly voices.
Paul stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, stars of the iconic (to me at least) Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz.
Directed by Greg Mottola, who made the excellent Superbad and the under-rated and under-appreciated (and surprisingly mature) Adventureland.Bill Hader has a key supporting role – the best kind of role for him – (he isn't a lead man).It's about two t-shirt wearing nerds who find a talking alien (voiced by Seth Rogen).The alien is named 'Paul"!!!!
Actually this is the kind of film I hate, it's lazy, formulaic and just plain not funny, and even if it is slightly better because Pegg and Frost are in it and share an effortless chemistry, by comparison with Hot Fuzz and Shaun I do hate Paul.Final Rating – 5 / 10.
We know the comedy duo are capable of making some very funny movies and TV shows but i have to wonder what they were both on when they wrote this rubbish.Firstly it doesn't help having an alien voiced by Seth Rogan and then giving him the only amusing lines.
This has all the hallmarks of a kids movie but with the swearing hence it really struggles and becomes difficult to watch but the worst thing about this film is that its just so boring and that about the worst thing a film can be accused of.Pegg and Frost need to think long and hard with their next project and they definitely must base it in the UK because playing the nerdy Brit in the US had been done to death so many times before.Paul is not so much out of this world but more like out of ideas,.
Today I'm reviewing Paul, a movie from the comedic duo of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, and from director Greg Mottola that I saw over the weekend.In the film, Pegg and Frost play Graeme and Clive, two British comics, Sci-Fi and UFO enthusiasts who decide that after a visit to Comic Con, have a road trip to see America's UFO hot spots.
But while on their trip, come across an alien named Paul (Voiced by the exceptionally casted Seth Rogen), who - after years of living in captivity on Earth - has developed bad human habits of swearing, smoking, and making crude sexual humor.
Aside from a terrific cast that includes not only Pegg, Frost, and Rogen, along with Kristen Wiig, Jason Batemen, and Bill Hader, What I most appreciate about the film is the screenplay.Like previous tributes like Shaun of the Dead to zombie films, and Hot Fuzz to fast paced action movies, Paul is an affectionate homage to classic 80's features, most notably the style of vintage Spielberg.
Pegg re-teams with his 'Shaun' co-star Nick Frost as Graeme and Clive, a pair of comic book geeks who find themselves caught up in a surreal chase across the wilderness of Nevada, Utah and Wyoming in the company of a 4ft tall alien called Paul.
Take your typical male movie fan, ask them to make a list of their favourite genres and it might read a lot like this: Zombies, Buddy cop and Sci-Fi. Strikingly similar to the current track record of the ultimate fanboy duo Simon Pegg and Nick Frost.
Often Rogen is type cast as the stereotypical, laid back, wise cracking stoner and this is no different only now he's an alien.The genre references and homage are a trademark of the Pegg and Frost films and they're once again present throughout Paul.
Greg Mottola (Superbad) steps in and tackles this sci-fi comedy with a lot of success.Graeme (Pegg) and Clive (Frost) are two British sci-fi geeks visiting America, starting with Comic Con. They travel the Southwest to all the famous UFO sites where on the road they encounter a real-life alien, Paul (voiced by Seth Rogen).
Graeme, Clive and Paul quickly have to go on the run from government agents (Jason Bateman, Bill Hader and Gregg Turkington) as they help Paul, but end up kidnapping a fundamentalist Christian, Ruth (Kristen Wiig), on the way.Paul is not as good as Shaun of the Dead or Hot Fuzz, but it is a film that Pegg and Frost fans will enjoy.
Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are back, this time around they are simultaneously spoofing and celebrating comic-con , alien movies, and American culture in the movie "Paul".
Along the way we meet Paul, (voiced perfectly by Seth Rogen) a stranded E.T.-like alien who is on the run from some shady government types played by Jason Bateman, and his 2 bumbling cohorts Bill Hader and Joe Lo Truglio.
Simon Pegg and Nick Frost came together once again, and this time they made Paul.
Simon Pegg and Nick Frost play nerds attending Comic-Con who then meet a sarcastic alien (voiced by Seth Rogen).
A couple of British comic book geeks, Graeme Willy (Simon Pegg, Shaun of the Dead) and Clive Gollings (Nick Frost, Hot Fuzz), are in America for a science fiction convention and a subsequent RV roadtrip to the famed Area 51.
It's no surprise that the men behind 'Paul' are Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, who created the hilarious 'Shaun of the Dead' and 'Hot Fuzz'.Pegg and Frost (who wrote the film) star as two British who take a long-awaited trip to San Diego for the Comic Con festival, followed by a road trip to famous alien landmarks (Nevada, Roswell etc).
Even if you haven't seen the seminal sci-fi films (Close Encounters, Star Wars, Aliens), the creative deluge of swearing from the charming Paul (voiced by Seth Rogen) will keep you cackling.Who, by the way, looks freakin' amazing.
The writers and stars, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, came up with an absolute classic with Shaun of the Dead several years back, and their follow-up, Hot Fuzz, might not have been quite as good, but it was good enough.
I'm a big fan of the Simon Pegg and Nick Frost duo since their show "Spaced" and I was certainly not disappointed when I watched this movie!
Be advised: there is no "deep meaning" to find here, this is just a fun film, and you shouldn't go in expecting anything other.Pegg and Frost are an excellent comedy duo and Rogen--whom I can usually take or leave--really brought Paul's character to life; he was an alien but easy to relate to, with his deadpan sense of humor.
Of the others, well, Simon Pegg as Graeme Willy and Nick Frost as Clive Gollings pretty much did what they usually do and Seth Rogen as the voice of Paul was just about what I expected.