Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)

Peter (Jason Segel) and Sarah (Kristen Bell) have been together for five years. Sarah is an actress, starring in a TV crime drama, playing a homicide detective. Peter - a composer - writes the music for the show.

When Sarah reveals that she has been seeing someone else for some time, Peter is understandably heartbroken.

On the advice of his step brother Brian (Bill Hader), he begins sleeping around with as many women as possible to try and find the one for him.

Rachel (Mila Kunis) and Peter (Jason Segel).

When this doesn't seem to work, he decides to go to Hawaii for a week's holiday to take his mind off of Sarah. However. When he arrives there, he finds that Sarah and her new boyfriend - singer Aldous Snow (Russell Brand) - are staying in the same hotel.

While there he befriends Rachel (Mila Kunis) who works on the front desk at the hotel and the two of them become very close.

Of course, it isn't long before Peter and Sarah try to rekindle their relationship. But things don't go quite as planned.

Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell) and Aldous Snow (Russell Brand).

The screenplay, written by Segel, is quite clever. While a lot of the jokes are crude in nature, the similarities and contrasts between Sarah and Rachel are well-constructed and well-executed. The script follows general romantic comedy tropes, so much of the plot will not come as a surprise to many viewers.

There is not a lot of scoring in this film from composer Lyle Workman. However, there are a lot of songs, seemingly written by Peter, who is also in his spare time writing a rock opera based on the story of Dracula to be performed with puppets.

The cinematography, by Russ T. Alsobrook, is fairly standard for a film of this genre, and doesn’t feature anything particularly distinctive, or memorable, or even worth mentioning.

Brian (Bill Hader).

It should come as no surprise that the performances of the cast are well suited to this film. Apart from the leads previously mentioned, there is also a great supporting cast, including Jonah Hill as a waiter at the hotel, Paul Rudd as a surfing instructor, and Kristen Wiig as a yoga instructor.

Director Nicholas Stoller has made a reasonable enough film here, one that while I would be quite happy to watch again, is certainly not the best film I have ever seen, or even the best film I have seen in this genre.

6 out of 10.

Avengers: Endgame (2019)

The wait is finally over. The incredible story that began years ago with the very first Iron Man film - but was most recently continued in Avengers: Infinity War - comes to its final conclusion with this film. And what a conclusion it is: it holds the title of being the only Marvel film so far that has made me cry.

I must be very careful what I write, and how much I tell of the story here, as there may still be people out there who haven’t seen the film yet. Sure, it’s been in cinemas for nearly a week, but not everyone goes to movies the day that they open, and any small detail could spoil the enjoyment or suspense for you.

The story picks up shortly after the final events of Avengers: Infinity War, with Thanos having obliterated fifty percent of all living creatures on Earth. As you may recall if you were among the audience, this also included a large number of our heroes: Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, nearly all the Guardians of the Galaxy, Scarlet Witch and the Wasp, to name but a few.

The remaining Avengers - Captain America (Chris Evans), Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Rocket Raccoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper) are desperately seeking some way that they can reverse Thanos’s (Josh Brolin) destruction, bring back their friends and family, and save the world yet again.

We know from the trailer (so this can’t be a spoiler) that there are some new additions to the team who weren’t present during Avengers: Infinity War, namely Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) and brilliant comic-relief character Ant Man (Paul Rudd).

To be honest, I really don’t think I can say any more than that in terms of the plot. I realise that anyone could probably have worked out that much on their own without ever seeing it, but honestly, anything else I say past those few opening scenes would inevitably contain significant spoilers, and I don’t want to do that.

The script for this film, by Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely is very good, beginning with the incredibly bleak tones one would expect following the events of Avengers: Infinity War, moving on to the attempts to salvage whatever hope these heroes can, to the ultimate conclusion of the film almost three hours later (yes, it is a long film, but there is a lot that has to happen). These writers stay true to the characters at all times, which makes for some interesting - yet satisfying - conflict. The script is infused with just the right amount of humour at various points to provide a welcome break from the serious dramatic nature of the story (I spent a fair amount of the film’s running time in tears, and these funny moments throughout were definitely welcomed).

Trent Opaloch’s cinematography is incredible, with plenty of contrasting moments between light and dark, and beautifully-framed shots of the action sequences. I know I’ve said this before with other comic-book-to-film adaptations, but every frame of this movie (especially the high-action moments) looks just like it could have been lifted straight from the pages of a comic book).

The score, composed by Alan Silvestri, works perfectly with the high-action moments, but also with the moments with less tension and excitement. It may not be as innovative a score as that from Black Panther - another Marvel film - but it is still a beautiful score nonetheless.

The performances of the entire cast (and there is a huge cast in this one) are superb. Hemsworth and Rudd in particular have really stepped up for this final film in Phase Three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, special mention should go to Robert Downey Jr. who, though appearing in basically every Marvel film in the entire MCU, is a far better actor in this film than in any of the others, in my opinion.

Directors Anthony and Joe Russo (who also directed Avengers: Infinity War) have really outdone themselves with this film, bringing us a story that will thrill audiences the world over. Take my word for it, if you have enjoyed any one of the Marvel films (and I mean any single one of them), then you must see this film. If you are able to, see it on the big screen with an audience; it’s well worth the expense.

This is without a doubt the single greatest film Marvel has ever done.

10 out of 10.