With a movie like This Is The End, I feel like there are a few things that could’ve gone wrong, but mainly just two big ones.  One: The movie could’ve felt far two self-indulgent, since it stars a bunch of successful comedy stars potentially making in-jokey references that make it feel like the audience isn’t in on the joke.  And two: considering This Is The End also has such a high-concept apocalyptic premise, it could’ve gotten far too wrapped up in plot and special effects while losing sight of the comedy, which I assume is the reason anyone would go to see a movie starring everyone who’s ever been in anything Judd Apatow’s ever been involved with.  However, I’m glad to say that This Is The End for the most part steers clear of these trappings, and mainly succeeds by just being really really funny.

This Is The End revolves around Seth Rogen and Jay Baruchel (basically playing themselves) reuniting for a weekend in LA, mainly as a way of reinforcing their somewhat strained bromance.  We then get to see them hanging out at a party at James Franco’s house, in which we see basically every successful comedic actor working today playing up their image, including an amusingly sleazy Michael Cera.  Then shit of biblical proportions starts going down, as all these celebrities get thrown in to a giant molten pit, all while the city of Los Angeles begins to go up in flames.  Then ultimately, we’re left with Rogen, Baruchel, Jonah Hill, James Franco, Craig Robinson (Yay!), and Danny McBride all in one house, trying to survive the apocalypse the only way they know how: by making lots of jokes at each other’s expense.

I guess what’s comforting about This Is The End, is that despite the fact that all these Apatow veterans are pretty established stars at this point, they still have the comedic chops to riff with each other in a way that almost resembles a bunch of veteran jazz musicians getting back together.  It just works, because everyone knows each others strengths and weaknesses so well.  And if I wanted to keep milking that jazz metaphor, I could also say that a lot of this Seth Rogen/Evan Goldberg-directed vehicle feels very improvised, and whether it is or isn’t, you almost always get the feeling that everyone’s bringing their A-game.

Another thing I was particularly pleased with was the raunchiness of the humor that’s on display here.  It seems like in the wake of The Hangover movies, there haven’t been a ton of comedies that have pulled off the raunchy comedy thing without feeling either too mean-spirited or just gross for the sake of being gross.  But this is after all a movie from the guys that wrote the blissfully explicit Superbad, and it’s nice to see that they haven’t softened up one bit.  God knows I’ve been trying to scrub the image of a shiny black demon penis out of my head for the past few days, and I guess I have this movie to thank for that.

I suppose you could say this qualifies as a horror-comedy, since there are a couple of scary moments that derive from the supernatural aspects of the movie.  There’s also kind of a horror movie character dynamic that these guys have, which eventually plays out in a fairly predictable and generic way.  Also, the ending is maybe a little too silly for my taste, but This Is The End is certainly fast-paced enough and features such a copious amount of laughs, that in the end, it’s hard not to be entertained.

I’m not sure when it happened, but somehow HBO Films has become the preeminent source for great biopics. In recent years they’ve done well received films about Temple Grandin, Jack Kevorkian and Phil Spector. The trend among these films being that the’ve all brought out the absolute best in their stars. Behind the Candelabra is no exception, as Michael Douglas’ portrayal of Liberace may be the best performance of his career.

Steven Soderbergh, who claims this will be the last film before a lengthy hiatus, takes helm and directs with a sharp eye as usual. The story (adapted by The Fisher King’s Richard LaGravenes) comes from a tell-all book by Scott Thorson, Liberace’s former driver, lover and the film’s primary subject. The film explores with little restraint the rocky relationship between Liberace and Thorson against the backdrop of decadent 70s excess. Matt Damon at his best plays Scott Thorson, a naive bisexual man who leaves his home at the urging of producer friend Bob Black (Scott Backula) only to meet master showman Liberace (Michael Douglas) after one of his performances. The two quickly form an intimate emotional and physical relationship but quickly find themselves struggling with Scott’s drug addiction and Liberace’s tendency to sleep with other men.

Before I go any further I have to talk about Michael Douglas. The way he disappears into this character with such finesse and class is an absolute joy to watch. Not only does he capture the cheeriness of Liberace but the lying, egotistical darkside that dwelled underneath the surface. Honestly, I really don’t like Liberace after seeing this movie. His disregard for others feelings makes him a difficult personality to sympathize with. Yet, Douglas works his magic. Liberace is the kind of character you hate to love.

Damon is also great if it weren’t for the fact that he has to share the screen with Douglas. Both are deserving of whatever TV acting awards exist these days. Additionally, the rest of the cast is a unique ensemble of eclectic characters including performances by; Scott Bakula, Dan Aykroyd, Debbie Renyolds and Rob Lowe as a scary plastic surgery obsessed physician.

I only wish the story of Thorson and Liberace wasn’t so grim. It’s hard to enjoy yourself when an entire movie focuses on the painful process of a breakup. We watch Thorson struggle with deep physical and emotional scars, some of which never heal. It can be a difficult experience but a rewarding one as well. If you get the opportunity I’d recommend Behind the Candelabra, it’ll really tickle your ivories.

Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of the great ’90s band Stereolab, whose body of work was described by one rock critic as being so satisfying because it was “always different, always the same”.  Now I’m starting to think this trait could also be applied to The National, as they’re six albums in and have yet to make any huge alterations to their signature brooding sound.  Yet as Trouble Will Find Me reaffirms, they’re still so acutely aware of their strengths that they keep finding new ways of exploring these strengths without ever seeming like they’re falling back into comfortable old habits.  Perhaps this is due to the uneasiness that has always been an integral part of The National’s music, and fortunately doesn’t appear to be going anywhere.

I could easily just tell you that Trouble Will Find Me is good “cuz it’s the National bein’ the National”, but let me indulge you just a little bit further.  The songs here seem somewhat slicker and economical, as the string-laden grandiosity of High Violet has been muted considerably.  A lot of this is used for a more intimate effect, which often harkens back to the acoustic sincerity of 2007’s Boxer.  And yet at the same time, The National manage to fit in a couple chugging rockers with “Sea Of Love” and “Graceless”, which show that this band is still capable of crafting festival-bound showstoppers.  Overall, Trouble Will Find Me is maybe a little longer than it needs to be, as “Pink Rabbits” for me feels like it should be the last track, but considering it’s second to last, it’s a small quibble.

In many ways, Trouble Will Find Me could be considered just an amalgam of everything that’s made this band great in the past, which made me beg the question: Why does this feel like another triumph, when an album that similarly saw a great band revisiting familiar territory like The King Of Limbs, felt like a disappointment?  And I think there’s a number of reasons – one being that we’ve come to expect different things from Radiohead than The National.  Also, The King Of Limbs felt kind of tossed off, while The National have continued to make it a habit of being incredibly meticulous every time out, filling their albums with an abundance of musical nuggets that almost demand scrupulous re-listening.  The same can be said for Matt Berninger’s lyrics, which are still full of charming non sequiturs (like this post’s title) that can’t help but rattle around in your head as you go about your seemingly mundane day.

Favorite Tracks: “Sea Of Love”, “Graceless”, “Pink Rabbits”