30 Minutes or Less

The title not only tells you something about the film but also indicates how long it will take you to love this movie. Right from the start there are countless moments where you may find yourself in uncontrollable laughter. From Nick's (Jesse Eisenberg) first pizza delivery to the moment before the credits roll, the laughs keep coming.

Nick is unfortunate enough to be caught up in Dwanye's (Danny McBride) crazy plot to kill his father. In order to 'off' the old man he must come up with $100,000 to pay a hit man. His idea is to kidnap a random citizen, knock them out, strap a bomb to them and force them to rob a bank for him. Dwayne and his strange friend Travis (Nick Swardson) see an advert for pizza delivery and decide there target will be a delivery boy. Nick falls victim to the plan and wakes up to find himself with a bomb strapped to his chest and sitting between two men in primate masks. After they explain the situation to him Nick is frantic and visits his best friend Chet (Aziz Ansari) who he hopes will help him, despite their earlier fall out over Nick sleeping with Chet's sister.

Chet agrees and they buy ski masks, toy guns and spray paint. They then decide on fake names to use- Cruz and Luiz- before entering the bank and robbing the entire $100,000. They arrange the drop and the hit man arrives to take the payment but Nick refuses to give him the money until he has the code for the bomb. Nick and Chet jump the hit man and escape with the money. Travis realises Dwayne is serious about detonating the bomb and switches the phone number so Dwayne cannot blow Nick up. Meanwhile the hit man has gone after Dwayne and ended up killing his Dad anyway. All the characters meet at the end in which there is gun fire, real fire and lots of swearing! Nick deactivates the bomb, the hit man is killed, Travis is set on fire but saved by Dwayne and finally Nick and Chet get away with the money, unfortunately it has been marked by the bank and blue dye explodes over their faces.

The humour, action and twisted tale make this film a great comedy and a thoroughly enjoyable watch. In this movie our protagonist survives, gets the girl and keeps his best friend. Aside from the fact it makes the bombers look like fools there is still an element of truth in the movie which is unnerving to remember. 30 Minutes or Less climbs towards the top of the ladder to become one of the best comedy films of 2011.

***** 5 stars

Conan the Barbarian

Conan the Barbarian, 2011, had the potential to be awesome, but was only good. Although I enjoyed the action and appreciated the differences to the Schwarzenegger version, 1982, there was a number of areas in which I could see room for improvement. Jason Momoa, who plays our barbaric hero, definitely fit the bill for playing a ruggedly handsome, wild, blood hungry warrior. For all the ladies reading this, it would definitely be worth viewing just for the eye-candy! (Plus, we get a sneaky peak at his lovely buns!)


Not forgetting the male audience there also an array of scantily clad, beautiful women frequenting the screen. However, Rose McGowan (usually noted for her sex appeal) plays witch Marique who, I'm sorry to say boys, isn't quite the beauty you may be picturing in your minds. The rapidly receding hair line definitely has something to do with her loss of appeal in this film. To add to this there are a few battles, a bit of blood and even a few beheadings to add to the raw, revenge rampage that unfolds.


I would agree with those who believe children in this generation have become somewhat desensitized to much of life's darker corners. When I found out Conan was to be classified a 15 I thought perhaps there would be a bit more gore, violence and swearing than usual because of my pre-perceptions. I was wrong. As a viewer you are left to guess the actions which are occurring off screen, for example, when a young Conan is faced with five enemies and he alone defends his village and fights all five the audience is able to watch, you do not see him beheading the enemies and the fact he has performed this action only comes to light when he presents the severed heads to his father. When various main characters met their demise I also felt as if I had been robbed of a grand moment filled with screams and spine tingling shots.


While you may be reading this thinking that I am savage and there seems quite enough blood what you must remember is the name of the film, Conan the Barbarian. He is not shown to be quite as barbaric as the name suggests. Also after viewing Final Destination 5, which is also a 15 and came into cinemas around the same time, I believe the makers of this film could have pulled a lot more toe curling moments out of the bag.


The aspects which I felt worked particularly well include the skull cave design, the scenary, the casting, the introduction of Conan and the death of his father. Personally I prefer Momoa to Schwarzenegger, as do I prefer this re-envisioning of Conan. Momoa creates a more serious role and has brought Conan into the 21st century. I hope to see him in many more film, preferably topless!


**** 4 stars