Winter Views...

Paul- 3 stars ***

Last night I went to see Paul at the cinema with my boyfriend. It was one of those films where I saw the trailer before another film, chuckled a little and vowed I'd see it, and for once I actually did. It stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, and having seen Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, I thought it would be a decent watch.

The premise of it is fairly simple, if far-fetched. Two nerdy comic-book type guys (Pegg and Frost) go on a road-trip around America to visit the top UFO sighting hotspots. Whilst travelling, they encounter an alien called Paul (voiced by Seth Rogen), and so ensues their mission to return him to his mother ship whilst keeping his whereabouts secret from the mysterious 'Big Guy'.

This has a good plot, and after a while you find yourself believing that it is actually happening, as while Paul is obviously an alien, he does have his flaws (he is only invisible when he holds his breath), which helps to convince us that he is a plausible character. There are some good side stories, and a talented support actress in Kristen Wiig, who plays a bible-bashing young woman called Ruth, who the trio kidnap after she spots Paul by mistake. She then has her life turned upside down upon realising that God doesn't exist.

This was the only qualm I had with the film, as I felt a little uncomfortable at times at how anti- religion parts were. It wasn't so much offensive, but more that the characters they used to show 'Christians' were highly caricatured and stereotyped, and I thought it was a little crude. I couldn't help but feel like it had been potentially marketed at people with the same views, and not being one of those people, I found it a bit insensitive. This is not to say that I am a devout church-goer, far from it, I just thought it could have been portrayed slightly better.

All criticisms aside, I would still definitely recommend it. It is funny and light-hearted, yet has some emotional parts, a good message behind it and some very believable acting. That said, I do think it is an easy job for Pegg and Frost, as they are essentially Graeme and Clive. They make no attempt in interviews to hide that they are massive geeks themselves (and for anyone that's ever seen Spaced, you can believe it!), but say that they have just been fortunate enough to make it big. Fair play. I also love the fact that it came out on Valentine's Day. Anyone who was dragged to see it on the day probably enjoyed it a lot more than a slushy romcom!