Everything's relative. And so, given that the film currently ruling the box office is about Americans encouraged by their own government to indulge their homicidal urges one night a year - we're talking about "The Purge" - it's tempting to hail the clueless young burglars in "The Bling Ring," by comparison, as veritable humanitarians.]]>Wed, 12 Jun 2013 13:01:44 -0400http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/ee324236f1a64d59b6abc3b1c442e0cc/US--Film-Review-This-Is-the-Endhttp://www.therepublic.com/view/story/ee324236f1a64d59b6abc3b1c442e0cc/US--Film-Review-This-Is-the-End

LOS ANGELES - The seemingly exhausted gross-out comedy genre gets a strange temporary reprieve with "This Is the End," an unlikable but weirdly compelling apocalyptic fantasy in which a bunch of young stars and stars-by-affiliation jokingly imagine their own mortality. A sort-of "The Day of the Locust" centered on successful comic actors, rather than down-and-outers, facing a conflagration in Los Angeles, this is a dark farce that's simultaneously self-deprecating, self-serving, an occasion to vent about both friends and rivals and to fret about self-worth in a cocooned environment. With everyone here officially playing themselves, the result is like a giant home movie and a reality horror show, different enough from anything that's come before to score with young audiences.]]>Wed, 12 Jun 2013 09:45:18 -0400http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/0cc4daed3208461a89e51b85353cdb70/MO--St-Louis-Rapperhttp://www.therepublic.com/view/story/0cc4daed3208461a89e51b85353cdb70/MO--St-Louis-RapperST. LOUIS - Music by a St. Louis rapper is featured in the new comedy "This is the End."]]>Thu, 30 May 2013 05:08:56 -0400