Paul (R) ★★
Greg Motolla is one of the good young talented directors out there that not many people are talking about. His first film was Superbad, which has already become a kind of slacker classic for my generation and his second was Adventureland, a more mature effort that wasn't as half entertaining as the first one but showed great promise for what would end up being his third film, Paul. This is in fact a dissapointment in that not only is Motolla involved with the project but so are Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, the two dweebs that entertained masses with Shaun Of The Dead and Hot Fuzz. Don't expect Paul to duplicate the comic timing that infused those two films. For one the script is too well mannered to warrant many laughs and the naughtiness level has been toned down a notch. This all amounts to a film that really goes nowhere, hell the same could be said of Shaun Of The Dead and Hot Fuzz but those movies had a driving atmosphere that was almost catalcysmic and infectious to audiences. This is not. Which is not to say that there aren't any enjoyable moments in Paul- there are- it's just that there aren't enough and the slacker attitude Pegg and Frost are known for is not as apparent here. Seth Rogen voicing the Alien titular creature is a hoot and brings much needed comic relief here but it's not enough to prevent me from saying that I fear Pegg and Frost have been taken over by the hollywood machine. Say it ain't so Joe, say it ain't so.