25 April 2007

This Sh!t Just Got Real


So I am a bit late on this review, (I wanted a chance for it to sink in, and also saw it again), but better late than never. We here at I Always Wanted To Be A Tenenbaum cannot get enough of the genius of Messrs. Simon Pegg, Edgar Wright, and Nick Frost. These are the geniuses behind 2004's brilliant, cult new classic Shaun of the Dead (although if you are the sort of person drawn to the erudite, witty writings and well-made drawings that are our staple, and you are adventurous enough to delve deep into Internet to find them, then you are most likely pretty swell and you probably already knew that).

I, for one, never thought that they (nor anyone else for that matter) could touch the slick editing, brilliant timing, and extremely well-executed injokes and riffing that Shaun of the Dead was rife with. Well, sirs and madams, I was proved wrong. Hot Fuzz surpassed all of my expectations, which were frankly quite high. This movie manages to capture all of the things that make action movies action movies and take them to such a ridiculous degree that they become sublime. Mr. Pegg is perfect in his first foray from playing slackers (See Shaun, Spaced's Tim Bisley) and brings the right amount of seriousness to his portrayal of supercop Nicholas Angel. Certainly there are large traces of Shaun's lovably clueless best friend Ed in Nick Frost's Danny Butterman, but really, does anyone mind? Completing the crew is the similarly great directing of Edgar Wright. This time he overdoes his signature quick-editing style to mirror the new crop of action directors (and with a reported 1,700 shots and 6,500 edits, we're talking extremely slick and quick). There are also enough cameos of British comedians to keep any observant fan of good comedy happy, including the always hilarious Stephen Merchant as the owner of a mischievous swan. Also watch for Peter Jackson as a particularly stabby Father Christmas. I don't want to ruin any of the jokes by giving them away here, but please just go see for yourself. I, being the Anglophile I am, may be a little biased, but suffice it to say, Hot Fuzz is one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. I am not the sort of person that exaggerates a lot, ("like OMG, that was like the funniest thing ever, lolzz" equals "shoot me now"), but I will repeat it: Hot Fuzz is one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. Do yourself a favor and rush out to see this immediately.

Hot Fuzz Official Site

Hot Fuzz Metacritic (see compiled reviews)

3 comments:

Arkonbey said...

Dude! I am so jealous. Hot Fuzz is playing nowhere near me (in the wilds of Vermont). My fiance is near-livid at the lack of Hot Fuzz in our theaters.

Thanks for the comments, BTW.

Arkonbey said...

hey, man. I'll trade. I just put your site on my little list.

peace!

Sebastien Millon said...

This was a good flick,, well-written, although, I must admit, I did prefer Shaun of the Dead. I did particularly like the end of Hot Fuzz, that was great fun!