[Locke]

Today's viewing is The Worlds End, the final part of the Cornetto trilogy and hopefully better than the similarly titled 'This is The End'. Like many films this year, this was one I was following for a long time, and was very excited for, before it came out and life moved on before I even realised as such, and missed my opportunity to watch it on the big screen, so I had to wait for home releases. Thankfully though, it was worth the wait!

The great thing, about films like this, is if you're of the right age, they are just so relatable. Gary King himself is a despicable sleezeball (intentionally so, and utterly sympathetic by the end), but when you get to a certain age, it's true that you're expected to grow up and also know what growing up actually means. You get to a certain age and you can no longer really define where home is. You get to a certain age where you either pull ahead of old friends, or simply get left behind. And if you do watch your friends disappear onto the horizon of six figures a year and a nuclear family, you can't help but to retreat further into your past, a time where we can pretend it was the best and conveniently edit out the bad - and live a life of what ifs, and regrets.

Most impressively, is just how well the whole thing works. As it moves from a piece of social realism (that errs on the side of melodrama that totally works because that is how all of these films have always been) into all out sci-fi blockbuster, it seems like it would be a jarring affair, like watching two halves of separate movies. Instead however, the film slips between these two genres with such ease of back and forth exchange that you can't help but believe that these two genres were always made for one another. And as the film reaches a head, and has to bring the whole thing together, it's utterly brilliant.

Also. What a cast! This is an ensemble of English talent held together by a ridiculously sharp screenplay. It isn't quite a laugh out loud affair, but it's bound to have you chuckling near constantly. Especially Nick Frost, who steals the show of every one of these movies.

Plus, the fight scenes are kick ass.