Observe and Report

When an anonymous flasher starts causing havoc at a shopping mall in small-town America, psychotic chief security guard (Seth Rogen) takes it on himself to bring him to justice. He has to contend with a shoe thief, a local police officer who usurps his authority, and seduce the girl of his dreams (Anna Farris). Part comedy, part Taxi Driver, Observe and Report features scenes of teenage skateboarders being graphically beaten up, and date rape.

Dan Jolin, Empire: An odd one. Under the fratty exterior flutters a very dark heart. Rogen's latest clown is an angry, confused man who you never feel entirely comfortable laughing at - indeed, you don't know whether you should laugh or cringe in discomfort. As an actor, he's deserving of a more complex, poignant story than the loose stringing of shock-gag vignettes and twisted punchlines on offer here. (Verdict: 3 stars out of 5)David Denby, New Yorker: Rancid and unpleasant "black comedy" about a stupid mall security guard (Seth Rogen) who has delusions of grandeur. It's the kind of movie in which everyone but the hero and a chaste innocent (Collette Wolfe) turns out to be rotten and corrupt, and the director keeps scoring off the hapless characters, as if nastiness were some new form of hip. It doesn't work: the jokes are just sour, the violence is miserably staged, and the actors, including Anna Faris, Ray Liotta, Michael Peña, and Celia Weston, get trashed.  

Cosmo Landesman, Sunday Times: Does this film warrant one star for being so ugly, violent, misogynistic, sexist and racist - or five stars for being a daring and disturbing study of the violence, ugliness, sexism and racism of the ordinary American male? I'll settle on three, because it''s all of the above. One thing is sure; if you think it's funny, get professional help. (Verdict: 3 stars out of 5) ·