Futureworld (1976)

 "Nothing can go wrong..."

Sequels are rarely better than the original, right? I mean, I tend to think this statement olds even with The Godfather. But this... well, it may be an exception.

Yes, the plot is simple- the same corporarion from Westworld have regrouped and now seem to be set on world conquest via duplicating world leaders, the implication being that robot duplicates have already taken over the company. It a solid premise, if not exactly original... although the point that humans will despoil the planet if left unchecked is certainly well made.

But it's not the premise but the execution that makes this sequel not only an underappreciated gem but a much better film than its predecessor. The direction is a triumph,with lots of arty touches but not too many for this type of film. Peter Fonda and Blythe Danner (especially) are absolutely superb as Chuck and Tracy. Not only do the characters come across as both likeable and very real, their romantic chemistry is perfect.

And the whole thing sizzles with wit and character, which add an extra dimension of both depth and fun to every scene, from Harry playing poker with "Clark" to the many amused jokes at how many of the park's guests just basically want to have sex with robots, which we all know is what would actually happen. But the film doesn't shine away from the philosophical implications of its premise either.

It is, perhaps, a little cheeky to make such a big deal of Yul Brynner for what is essentially just a cameo, but that is literally the only criticism I can make. And the entire dream sequence is superb. As is the film.

Paul (2011)

"Sorry you got killed by my Dad."

"That's fine."

This film obviously plays on the whole '90s "aliens and men in black" trope that was so big back then, mainly due to The X-Files. The X-Files didn't create the "men in black" trope, or that specific type of alien, but it brought it into the mainstream so that films like this could use it. This whole type of science fiction may be nearly twenty years old, but the characters are no spring chickens so it's sort of appropriate. Still, it's odd to see Simon Pegg and Nick Frost in such a very American setting and the film very much plays on that.

We start with our two British comics geeks, appropriately for Pegg's and Frost's first Hollywood film, at the San Diego Comic Con. The soundtrack, appropriately, is "Another Girl, Another Planet" by the Only Ones. They follow this, of course, with a more-eventful-than-planned road trip to Area 51, during which alien-related hi-jinks ensue and they make the acquaintance of a nice Christian fundamentalist girl. Oh, and there's a resurrection. And much riffing on E.T. 

Pegg and Frost are playing the same characters as ever, this time called Graeme and Clive, except that they play ever more middle aged versions with every passing film. This means that their characters become increasingly childlike, and this film only narrowly avoids a real bête noir of mine- an interest in sci-if, fantasy, comics and the like being used as a signifier of immaturity. Just you wait until I get to Buffy season six...

Paul himself is fantastic, and the early scenes between him, Graeme and Clive are a joy. Wonderfully, Paul smokes weed ("the stuff that killed Dylan"), has seen Predator and knows popular culture, so he should know how awkwardly close he is as a character to Roger from American Dad.

This is a superbly funny film with some very witty riffs on various tropes and a sublimely high standard of swearing.