BEFORE: Perhaps you saw this one coming. I figured this would work out somehow, with two films set in the U.K. put back to back, and I was right - Georgia King from "Cockneys & Zombies" was also in a film called "Burke & Hare" with Simon Pegg (last heard in "The Adventures of TinTin")
AFTER: To be clear, the title of this film refers to the name of a pub. Though I guess it's a double meaning of sorts, the actual end of the world as well as a catchy name like "The Famous Cock" or "The Two-Headed Dog". Also to be clear, there are NO zombies in this film, I guess that's because the people behind this film also made "Shaun of the Dead", and they wanted to break fresh ground. I won't reveal the identity of the actual villains in the film, but they do act sort of zombie-like in a way.
But this film is much more about battling sci-fi villains, and the best films are usually about more than one thing. This film is also about re-connecting with old friends, forgiving old grudges (or not, where appropriate), the futility of trying to recapture one's youth, alcoholism, anti-bullying, love, regret, the over-Starbucks-ification of everything these days, the indefatigable nature of the human condition, and yes, trying to save the world in the middle of all that.
Also, we learn what a "marmalade sandwich" really means, what happens in the disabled stalls in British pubs, some really great ideas for band names that I hope someone steals, and how ill-advised a 12-stop pub crawl really is. Look, I do a lot of different beer events around NYC, everything from beer dinners to special food + beer pairing events, to special spring and fall tasting events. At some of them I admit I drink to excess - even if they're giving out 2 oz samples, I find that if I drink enough 2 oz samples, I can get plenty wasted.
I just plain don't understand pub crawls. Why visit 8 bars to drink 8 beers, when you can stay in ONE bar and drink 8 beers? Why the need to leave one bar and go out into the world, dodging traffic (or worse, driving from place to place) when everything I need is already in one bar? In terms of pints, if I'm eating food I'm probably good for 5 pints, and a well-stocked craft bar probably has more than 5 beers to choose from, even if I'm looking for the ever-elusive perfect combination of food and drink.
And it's not like any bar has a special beer that I can't get at the next place down the road. Wait, I do now of a couple restaurants in the city that are the only place you can get certain beers - but I can always go to that other place on another night! Why risk life and limb just to cover a certain number of pubs in one night? Does the moving from place to place somehow sober up pubcrawlers just enough to be ready for the next beer? (Hmm, I'll have to investigate that...)
But I suppose this film (and pub crawling) is about being obsessive, and I can understand that. Downing a pint in 12 different pubs just to check them off a list, just to prove it can be done. I've been there - certainly if there are 40 or 50 beers to be sampled at a festival, my mind certainly goes straight to "I wonder if I can sample them all..." and they also provide me with a handy list that I can make checkmarks to. Well, what am I supposed to do, NOT try them all?
There's even a high-alcohol Belgian beer made by the Unibroue brewery called "Fin du Monde", which translates as "the end of the world". Definitely something to consider drinking while watching this film...
Just 2 films left in Movie Year 6, which is a bit like having one more pub to cross off the list before heading home, I suppose...
Also starring Nick Frost (also last heard in "The Adventures of Tintin"), Martin Freeman (last seen in "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"), Paddy Considine (last seen in "The Bourne Ultimatum"), Rosamund Pike (last seen in "Wrath of the Titans"), Eddie Marsan (last seen in "Me and Orson Welles"), Pierce Brosnan (last seen in "Die Another Day"), David Bradley, Michael Smiley, and the voice of Bill Nighy (last seen in "Jack the Giant Slayer").
RATING: 7 out of 10 tap handles
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