Star Trek: The Final Frontier. And the Final Movie in the Marathon

Space. Some have called it “The Final Frontier.” Fortunately, there’s a lot of it to explore, get lost in, and aliens to attack and cause cool space battles so we can be all like, pew-pew! Boom! Beam me up, Scotty! Vooosh!

This blog’s love affair with Star Trek is long, longer than the recently discussed love affair with Simon Pegg. Which is why watching 2009’s Star Trek was perfect way to end today. You all know the story, five year mission, Kirk, prequel, reboot, Spock, you have to wait until the sequel to see Benedict Cumberbatch, blah, blah, blah. Simon Pegg only makes a really brief appearance in this movie as Scotty, the miracle working Engineer who keeps the ship running with a little bit of duct tape and some hope. But it’s enough, he makes an impression that was large enough to give him a much bigger role in the sequel. (Which seems to be standard with most Simon Pegg roles.)

And of course there’s the whole debate about remakes or reboots and how it means that Hollywood is out of ideas, but of course if that were the case everything’s been out of ideas for about 400 years now. But more on that, later.

Sadly, this bring us to the end of our little trip down Simon Pegg lane, and an end to a Very Simon Pegg July Fourth Movie Marathon. So what did we learn today? We learned that while it may not be practical to dive through the air whilst firing two guns, but it’s fun. We learned that aliens are already on Earth, and they invented Agent Mulder. We learned that maybe the pub isn’t the best place to go when the zombies attack. We learned that sometimes changing the room numbers so the bad guys meet in the wrong place can be just as exciting as hanging off a very tall building. And we learned that if you accidentally beam Admiral Archer’s prized Beagle into oblivion, then you should expect to be marooned on an ice moon until Captain Kirk and a future version of Spock comes and beams you onto the Enterprise.

I like Simon Pegg. I liked him before this movie marathon, I like him even more now. Let’s face it, he’s a nerd who gets to live the dream. He’s fought zombies, sat on the bridge of the Enterprise, hung out with aliens... he’s even done some light romantic comedy and worked with the Dude in movies that we didn’t watch today because we decided to limit it to only 12 hours. And it’s a good way to get us in Simon Pegg/Nick Frost time before his new move, At World’s End, opens at the end of the month. I don’t count that as a shameless plug, but really what I’ll be doing in a few weeks. I’m not paid by the studio... not just yet. Oh, the cars they’ll fly that day...

I certainly hope you enjoyed this marathon down Simon Pegg lane. I know I did, but right now  I’m seeing Nick Frost, like, everywhere. It’s probably time to go watch something else.  Thank you for reading and spending this time with us! Join us next July Fourth as I find something equally as ridiculous to blog about.

Happy Fourth of July, everyone!

Star Trek Bad Shakespeare Approved Meal: Klingon Gagh. Fresh.

Tom Cruise Fails. Repeatedly. But It's Ok, Simon Pegg Saves Him.

Dun duh duh duh duh dun dun dun dun duh duh nananaaaaa nananaaa nanananaaa.. NA NA!

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (named so you don’t have to see Mission Impossible 4, and therefor know it’s the fourth part and thus realize that Tom Cruise is old) is a movie built on failure. For most of the movie, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise’s) IMF Team, is mostly an annoyance to the bad guys. Through careful planning, they manage to facilitate the exchange of diamonds for Russian Launch Codes, be in the wrong place at the wrong time to convince people that the IMF force were the bad guys to begin with, and then the whole thing of course ends with them letting the missile launch. It’s really just at the last minute that they finally save the day.

Side note: I’d like them to remake these movies with Samuel L. Jackson. Then they could call it the BMF force. Look, I’ve been watching movies all day. I’m a little punchy.

Of course, none of this is our boy Simon’s fault. No, I place the blame on Tom Cruise. Mostly because I can. And he’s the leader. And a good leader takes responsibility when he’s out climbing the world’s tallest building for no real reason other than to show off the cool spy gloves that should be in a James Bond movie. But you wouldn’t get Daniel Craig climbing the world’s tallest building just because it was there.

It is nice to see Simon not just relegated to the roll of comic relief, though, even with this movie starring Tom Cruise, Tom Cruise’s love interest, the guy who’s going to replace Tom Cruise eventually, and Simon Pegg. I mean, most of the comedy comes from him, but he plays a pivotal roll on the team. He gets to enter Nicolas Angel mode and really kick some Russian Terrorist Butt. (fortunately, this movie returns the Russians to the role of the bad guys. FINALLY.)

Bad Shakespeare Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol Approved Snack: Spaghetti Tacos. Because they’re Tom Cruise Crazy.

Our Final Movie for the Thanks Mum, A Very Simon Pegg July 4th Movie Marathon: We take a little trek through the stars in our least Simon Peggiest movie of the day.

Shaun Manages to Shamble is Way into Your Heart

Zombies are in right now. There’s zombie TV shows, all types of zombie movies, including a zombie romance, zombie books... it kind of makes me wonder what type of movie Shaun of the Dead would have been had it come out today as opposed in the ye olde days of 2004 (back before iphones and facebook, back when we were forced to talk to each other in person like animals) when the whole Zombie craze was just newly bitten and had not yet shambled its way into America’s heart the way it has today.

I’ve always enjoyed Shaun of the Dead, not just for the spot on way it manages to skewer zombie movies while crafting a genuinely scary one. Not even because it’s probably the way I’d react during a zombie invasion. Probably because it’s one of the best depictions of what it’s like to be aimless, trying to figure out what you want to do with your life. 

Let’s talk about the two best scenes from the movie.  I know they’ve been discussed and discussed, but come on... this is my blog, I get to talk about it. The first one, of course, is the scene where Shaun walks through is day, unaware that all hell has broken loose and zombies are now everywhere. It’s a hilarious take on somehow we just don’t take the time to see what is going on to pay attention to what is going on around us. Yes. It’s pretty obvious. But Simon Pegg plays it off well, probably a little better than anyone should have. Love it.

The other one, and this is one of my favorite scenes of any movie, ever. It’s in the middle of the movie when Shaun and his group encounters his friend and her group. Yeah, it’s an easily telegraphed joke... but it’s one that people don’t think about. In World War Z, one of the things Max Brooks (I can’t emphasize enough.. Mel Brooks’ son) points out is the “Last Man on Earth” Syndrome, where a group of people assumed they were the only survivors of the zombie invasion. I loved seeing this played out by encountering another group randomly like that. (Plus the fact that the show up again at the end...)

Overall, Simon Pegg’s true Simon Pegg-ness is on display in this movie as an aimless dude just trying to figure it all out, and the last thing he needs is this pesky Zombie attack going on.

Shaun of the Dead Bad Shakespeare approved meal: Pub Burger with Fries... after a pint we’ll just wait for this whole spot of business to blow over.

Up Next: Simon Pegg trades in Nick Frost for Tom Cruise, to save the world, and take part in a mission that might not be quite possible.

Who's Adam Shadowchild?

Aliens, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and Nerd References Galore! Paul is not an official part of the “Three Flavours” Trilogy (that wraps up this month with At World’s End. There’s a a 90% chance I’ll be in line to watch that. I don’t know. I’m watching a lot of Simon Pegg today. For you. The reader. You’re welcome.) but it’s an enjoyable look at what would happen if aliens made it to Earth, smoked a punch of pot, and then hung out with science fiction fans in a road trip across the midwest. Which is plausible, right? Aliens are going to come down, sound like Seth Rogen, and just hang out with the nerds. I hope.

Think E.T. by way of Pineapple Express. (Which is lazy, since Seth Rogen is in both. But I’m writing a lot of these today. I’m going to be lazy.)

I enjoyed this movie, which was written by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost without the aid of Edgar Wright. I haven’t seen it as much as I have his other works, and there’s just something that’s missing something. Maybe it is that Edgar Wrightness that Hot Fuzz had.  The jerk needs to just get started with his Ant-Man movie. Who knows? But it’s an enjoyable movie, and it’s rewatchable for the millions of different references to other sci-fi movies. I will ALWAYS laugh when Jason Bateman shoots his radio and says, “It was a boring conversation, anyway”. (I’m not telling you where that’s from. you should know.)

Great movie. Laugh out loud great, and again, you have the idea that the writers re-watched a ton of science fiction movies to get the little moments right.There’s a lot to love about Paul. As usual, Simon Pegg is hilarious, and of course he’s entrenched with Nick Frost in a pairing that just feels right. They obviously enjoy hanging out, and I’m sure even home movies of the two of them watching football (or soccer) are probably just as amusing. Sometimes it gets to the point that you want Seth Rogen to go away so you can just watch the two of them hang out for a little bit. Not that I have anything against Seth Rogen. I don’t want him to sic James Franco on me. I feel the two of them could take me.

But Nick Frost and Simon Pegg: I’d like to grab a beer with them. Or a pint down at the local pub. That last part’s funnier if you say it in a British Accent. Also if Aliens are attacking, like in that new movie they have coming out.

I have to say, re-watching movies for this marathon is fun, but it’s a lot different than the AMC Oscar Movie Showcase, largely featuring movies I hadn’t seen. Also there’s the sense of control that’s different, as 1) I get to go at my own pace and 2) I got to pick the movies, which means that, for instance, I won’t be forced to sit through a movie that features an old French Woman dying for two hours. Although, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost in a parody of Oscar Baiting movies. Someone get me Edgar Wright!

Paul Bad Shakespeare approved snack: Reese’s Pieces. Duh.

Next up: Lunch.

Then the one that started my love affair with Simon Pegg as he saves England, or at least his girlfriend, mother, and best friend, as they head down to a local pub to ride out the zombie apocalypse. 

James Bond is an Evil Grocer

There are two kinds of parody movies. There’s the kind where the writers wanted to churn out a pop-culture spewing loosely connected group of scenes into a movie that’s outdated by the second weekend of release, then there’s the Mel Brooks type where the writers and actors clearly watched every single movie in the genre and crafted a movie that could stand on it’s own, but manages to make fun of every trope, every cliche, every little moment that has even the most stoney faced serious guy laughing.

Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, and Nick Frost manage to do the latter, every time with hilarious results. Seriously, I have most of the movie memorized, but I still laugh every time, usually at something new.

Hot Fuzz (the second movie in their loosely connected Three Flavours of Cornetto Trilogy) is the loving homage to buddy cop action movies. It’s about a hotshot police officer who is sent to the tiny town of Sanford, where the crime rate is low and the accident rate is high, and of course he manages to find trouble, blah, blah, blah action and everything ends in a shootout, as any great action movie does. (The only real disappointment is that no one falls slow motion off a building, Hans Grueber style.)

You can tell from the first five minutes that Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright have obviously watched all the action movies to prepare for this. Pegg plays his part extremely straight, never really winking to the camera to remind everyone that his is all comedy. Nick Frost does the heavy comedy lifting as his action-movie afficionado partner. (And I've been told I look like him.)

I love this movie. I must have seen if a million and a half times, (I guess this makes a million and a half and one). I love it because it does pay close attention to action movies and makes “fun” of them without really making fun of them. (See also: Hollywood Homicide and Cop Out.) They pay loving attention to them, and like any loving relationship you can laugh at their mistakes without being mean about it. So when Nicolas and Danny dive through the air whilst firing two handguns at the same time (and missing every shot) it’s funny AND it pays homage to movies that have done it in the past. 

Plus, name another action movie that would hide two of its biggest named cameos in ridiculous ways?

        Absolutely fantastic way to kick off this marathon!

Hot Fuzz Bad Shakespeare Approved Meal: It’s a Buddy Cop Movie. So, naturally, Bacon and Donuts.

Next Up: Simon Pegg and Nick Frost stretch their acting muscles by playing a couple of nerds pursued by Michael Bluth and a bunch of Saturday Night Live Alum along with a CGI Seth Rogen!

Thanks, Mum: A Very Simon Pegg July 4th

Ladies and Gentlemen... welcome to the first ever Bad Shakespeare Holiday inspired movie marathon! Back in February we did the AMC Oscar movie marathon and we had so much fun I wanted to do something else like that, and given that I didn’t have any other July 4th plans this seemed like a great idea. Or at least a serviceable one. So here we go: Thanks, Mum... a Simon Pegg Fourth of July Movie Marathon!

Some people have asked: Why Simon Pegg? Why a very famous British Actor on this, America’s Special Day? Well, for one, it’s been well over 200 years since the whole war business. I think it’s time for the healing to have ended. I mean, look how many people were obsessed with the Royal Wedding. And the Royal Baby. Meanwhile America’s Royalest Birth involved a baby born to an amateur porn star/attention whore and a mediocre rapper with a God Complex. So, there’s that.

Also, if my intention was to pick someone so British he overshadowed the holiday I’d have picked Benedict Cumberbatch. Seriously, in four years he’s going to be elected king and the flag is going to be replaced with just a picture of his face. Hopefully in his Sherlock trench coat. I can dream...

Anyway, I picked Simon Pegg because in addition to having a new movie come out at the end of this month, being an amazing writer and actor, he is a professional nerd, and we know that nerds are extremely welcome here at ol’ Bad Shakespeare. So, it’s all in good fun that we put on some of my favorite of his works, we watch them, then I write up a little something about then at the end.

Oh, originally I was going to pair this with some kind of meal, unfortunately, I’ve been knocked down with an illness most of the week. (But I got up again. Ain’t nothing going to keep me down.) Thusly, at the end of each post I’ll make a brief mention of what I was probably going to make, but with less emphasis on it as I recover.

So, let’s get ready to have some fun! The schedule is very, very, very loose, and was picked on the basis of the foods we’d be having. The schedule is this:

1. Hot Fuzz
2. Paul
3. Shaun of the Dead
4. Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
5. Star Trek

Let's get this party started!