Paul

This is a Simon Pegg and Nick Frost co-written Sci Fi comedy that tells the tale of two lads visiting the US comic con and touring the US UFO hot-spots. On their travels they have their own close encounter of the 3rd Kind with an escapee of Area 51 the alien of the title Paul voiced by Seth Rogan. A prisoner for over 60 years they are persuaded to assist him in his attempts to reunite with his mother ship.
      As you can tell this is a love letter to Spielberg's ET and Close Encounters of the third Kind. Simon Peggs previous collaborations Sean of the Dead and Hot Fuzz have been with Edgar Wright. This time Greg Mottola directs with a more laid back less frenetic style which suits the tale being told. This gives the film a heart so don't be put off by the films trailers which highlight the more profane and crude elements which though present and lead to some of the best laughs this film  has a real heart. Paul comes cross as the perfect foil for Mr Pegg and Frost.
    I loved this movie, it seems a natural extension of their Spaced relationship and for once Nick Frost is the more intelligent of our heroes.
    This has a great cast, some inspired moments and though it starts off slow once on the road this film gathers pace leading to a great chase in the last third and laugh out ending.
   I saw this late in the game, but it made up for a lackluster two weeks of releases. Much of which has been spent catching up with my wishlist of missed cinema opportunities from last year courtesy of the Rialto channel so more to follow.

Concept art world - Paul Gerrard

http://conceptartworld.com/?p=6172 this website is a Pandora's box of concept art for both the video game industry and film world. I discovered this site when looking for the artist responsible for the alien designs in Battle :Los Angeles. Paul Gerrard is the artisit responsible, he's british and this web site has some great examples of his style. The Doctor Who concept designs are particularly eye catching. Have a look around as this is just a taster of the artists whose work can be found there. There are some examples of Greg Broadmore of Doctor Grordborts"s fame. But if you like what you see and want to find out more about Mr Gerrard's work then take a look at his blog http://pgerrard.blogspot.com/ There is an almost Gigeresque quality to his work but its a hint Gerrard is deffinately his own visual stylist.