This Is the End

Hollywood stars send themselves up to riotous effect in the directorial debut of Seth Rogen and his writing partner Evan Goldberg. A party at James Franco's palatial Los Angeles home (attended by familiar faces from the big and small screens, all playing themselves) descends into chaos when the apocalypse strikes, and the pampered actors are forced to rely on their limited wits in order to survive raging fires and outwit biblical beasts. The concept of celebrities playing monstrously exaggerated versions of themselves was arguably pioneered on TV's The Larry Sanders Show, and is taken to even greater comedic levels in this over-the-top but whip-smart satire on the narcissism of Tinseltown. The likes of Rogen, Jonah Hill, Danny McBride, Michael Cera and even sweet Emma Watson relish the opportunity to indulge in self-mockery, the laugh-out-loud script sparing no egos.