My Review: Kick Ass 2 (5/10)

"I try to have fun. Otherwise, what's the point?"

Let me begin by stating that I was a huge fan of the first film which ended up being one of my top ten movies of 2010. It was very entertaining and introduced me to Chloe Grace Moretz whom I absolutely love. My high expectations for this sequel were tampered down a bit due to the bad critical reception it received, but I still thought I was going to like it based on how much I loved these characters. However despite being entertained during several moments, I still felt this sequel was a huge disappointment due to the fact that it had serious issues with the overall tone of the film. It never quite captures the spirit of the first film which did manage to balance the ultra violent action scenes with funny moments. Here the sequel suffers from a lower quality script which never manages to be as witty as the first film. There were several scenes that felt forced and didn't work. One of the key differences with the first film is that director Matthew Vaughn turned in this sequel to Jeff Wadlow who doesn't have as much experience and isn't as good as a writer as Vaughn. Having got that out of the way, I still have to admit I had a fun time with Moretz's character and enjoyed her scenes as Hit Girl. She makes this film tolerable, despite the fact that they almost messed everything up when they tried to focus on her character's adaptation to High School. That was the weakest part of the film as Moretz was playing way out of character here and this felt like a bad version of Mean Girls at times. The jokes were predictable and forced in that scenario. When the film focused more on the action I thought the story improved a little, but there are too many weak moments in Kick Ass 2 for me to give it a passing grade. The film isn't for everyone, and unless you absolutely enjoyed the first one like I did, than I wouldn't recommend you this sequel. 

This sequel continues to follow Dave (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) as he has inspired several other ordinary people to become superheroes. Dave has been feeling a bit lonely and decides to ask Mindy (Chloe Grace Moretz) to team up with him as they continue defending the city. Mindy is reluctant at first, but she decides to team up with Kick-Ass and begins to train him. After an incident, Mindy who is now in the care of her foster parent, Detective Marcus (Morris Chestnut), is forced to abandon her vigilante dreams and try to live an ordinary life. She promises Marcus that she will stay away from the vigilante life and try to adapt to her normal life as a High School student. Being on his own once again, Dave decides to join forces with several of the superheroes he has inspired. Colonel Stars and Stripes (Jim Carrey), a former gangster and now a born again Christian, has been leading a patrol group of masked crusaders known as Justice Forever, and they are glad to have Kick Ass join them. As things begin to go smoothly for these superheroes, a new villain shows up claiming to want to kill Kick-Ass. The villain is none other than Chris D'Amico (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) who wants to avenge his father's death. He has assembled a group of villains to destroy the city and begin terrorizing the members of Justice Forever. A final face off between them seems inevitable, and not all will survive.

Other than Chloe Grace Moretz's character the rest seem to be underdeveloped. She is the only one carrying most of the film on her shoulders, but when the writers decide to strip her off of her uniform the film falls flat. It's those shifts of tonality that the film takes at times that end up burying this otherwise entertaining flick. The secondary characters don't do much here either, with the exception of Jim Carrey's Colonel Stars who gives a solid performance. He doesn't get enough screen time, but he stands out in the few scenes he's in. Nicolas Cage is really missed here as his performance in the first film was perhaps his last greatest one. He hasn't done much since. The film could have used a little more of Hit Girl and less of Mindy, but I agree with the fact that having a 15 year old vigilante isn't as shocking as it was when she was younger during the first film. I still enjoyed her performance and think she has a great future ahead of her (I loved her in Let the Right One In and Hugo as well). However I did find most of the villains really obnoxious here. They were another weak part of this sequel. Neither Christopher Mintz-Plasse nor Olga Kurkulina brought anything to the table and their characters were dumbed down. The film never quite finds its identity and at times it sends mixed and opposite messages about violence and society. 

My Review: This is the End (8/10)

¨Seth, that's some of the better acting that I've seen in your last six movies. Where was that in The Green Hornet?¨

This is the End is probably the most fun I've had with a comedy all year; I laughed so hard especially during the first hour of this raunchy/bromantic/stoner comedy. This is the directorial debut for Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg who have both written several screenplays together. Some of their screenplays have been hilarious (Pineapple Express, Superbad, and this one), while others have been a huge failure (The Watch and The Green Hornet). This film is actually based on a short they did in 2007, Jay and Seth Versus the Apocalypse. What I liked about the screenplay here is that they took a lot of risks and went places I`d never think anyone would. They weren't afraid of making fun of each other, some of their failures in movies such as The Green Hornet, but at the same time they also kind of played themselves (and one would imagine this is how they interact with each other normally). These guys were absolutely hilarious and I loved every second they were on screen together, but on the other hand I thought the film had a weaker second half containing some comedy/horror. It went too far for my personal taste, but I still have to give this film a lot of credit because it had me laughing during pretty much the entire first hour. There are a lot of movies and celebrity references that worked really well, and I can imagine that most of the dialogues here were improvised but that worked really well. The cameos were also used extremely well here and I thought they were all great. Some of the standouts here were Michael Cera making fun of himself, Danny McBride being ridiculously over the top with his antics, James Franco playing along with the gay rumors about himself and his pseudo artistic side, Jonah Hill being extremely nice but reminding us all he was nominated for Moneyball, Craig Robinson just being himself and singing along his hit song, Seth Rogen and Jay Baruchel trying to maintain their friendship which has cooled off over time due to Seth`s new posies. There are just so many scenes that had me laughing out loud and so many funny lines that it is hard to pick my favorite moments. Emma Watson also had a great cameo and she looked lovely as always. Movie lovers will love all the references here and if you liked Pineapple Express than you are in for a treat as well as they discuss what the sequel would be about. If you've enjoyed Superbad and Pineapple Express than you`re guaranteed to like this film because it keeps some of the core elements that made those movies so funny: the bromance and the raunchy dialogues. 

This is the End is a film where every actor plays himself. I would say some play complete opposite personalities than the ones they actually have, or exaggerated versions of themselves, and they play along with the way critics or fans have tagged them. The film begins with Seth Rogen receiving Jay Baruchel at Los Angeles airport. Jay doesn't like LA very much, but Seth always makes him feel comfortable at his home. After a warm reception, Seth invites Jay to come along with him to James Franco's housewarming party. Jay doesn't really want to go because he doesn't get along really well with his friends, but goes anyway. At Franco's home there are several celebrities such as Rihanna, Michael Cera, Emma Watson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, David Krumholtz, Aziz Ansari, Jason Segel, and many others who are all getting wasted and stoned. Seth introduces Jay to his closest buddies: Franco, Jonah Hill (who is extremely nice to Jay, but this just makes Jay feel awkward), and Craig Robinson. All of a sudden there is a big earthquake and a gigantic hole in the ground begins swallowing people. The apocalypse seems to be among us. Jay, James, Seth, Jonah, and Craig seem to be the only survivors at the house and they decide they must stick together and wait for rescuers to come and save them. The next day, Danny McBride shows up after having passed out during the party without having no clue of what happened. Now the six friends must find a way to survive and get along with each other if they want to make it through the apocalypse. 

I know the plot doesn't seem all that exciting, but it really is hilarious to see these guys together. The narrative isn`t the strongest thing about This is the End, what makes this film special is that the guys aren`t afraid to take risks and they take the classical stoner comedies to another level. The movie isn't really about the apocalypse, it is actually more about friendship and self-parody (the guys are extremely narcissist at times). If you want to know what the true definition of bromance is then by all means go see this. The narrative may not work too well in the second half of the movie, but it really has to do with the dynamics between these characters who will do what it takes to survive. Despite the ridiculous plot, it is just so fun to watch these characters interact with each other and make fun of the things we`ve made fun of in their bad movies. The film can be very tasteless at times, but it is really funny. The comedy and horror was well balanced as well so I would have to admit this is the funniest movie of the year so far despite some ridiculous moments.

My Review: Kick-Ass (9/10)

¨ Had I ever been a real super hero? The most I`d ever had to offer the world was good intentions and a slightly elevated capacity to take a kicking. With no power comes no responsibility, except that wasn`t true. ¨

(9/10) Director Matthew Vaughn has done a fantastic job once again directing this super hero movie, where these heroes actually don`t have anything super about them. This is Vaughn´s third feature film after directing Stardust and Layer Cake, and both films were received warmly by the critics and audiences alike. I have to admit that I really loved this ultra-violent movie and was really entertained throughout the entire film. Hit-Girl makes Beatrix Kiddo from Kill Bill look like an amateur. Of course we don`t have the Tarantino dialogue with this film, but the action and the performances are highly entertaining. Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn adapted the screenplay from Mark Miller`s comic book of the same name. Miller`s previous comic book, Wanted, was also made into a film starring Angelina Jolie, but I think Kick-Ass is far more superior and probably one of my favorite movies of the year. Yes, the violence is gratuitous and the language is strong, but watching this 11 year old girl fighting all these criminals is just priceless. She steals every scene she is in. This is not your regular super hero movie and definitely not one you will want to miss because it is an extremely fun ride. In my opinion Kick-Ass is last year`s Zombieland combining violence with comedy. Many people were turned down by the violence and the language in this movie, so I know it is not for everyone, but I think that what Matthew Vaughn did in this film was just brilliant, and one can tell he is influenced by his close friend Guy Ritchie.

Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) is an ordinary kid who isn`t very popular in school. He hangs around with two of his close friends, Marty (Clark Duke, Hot Tub Machine) and Todd (Evan Peters), reading and visiting comic book stores. Dave begins to wonder why no one decides to become a super hero and fight crime. Despite not having any special powers or any fighting abilities whatsoever he decides to become a masked vigilante and calls himself Kick-Ass. One day while he is on his super hero duty he encounters a couple of thieves and tries to stop them from stealing a car. Kick-Ass gets seriously injured and ends up in a hospital. Several metal plates are put in his body due to all his fractures, and they actually make him a little more resistible to punches. Little does Dave know that there actually two other masked vigilantes with vast experience on fighting organized crime. Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage) and his highly trained eleven year old daughter, Hit-Girl (Chloe Moretz) have been fighting against a mafia boss named Frank D`Amico (Mark Strong, Sherlock Holmes). One day the three masked heroes meet and they give Kick-Ass some advice on the business. Kick-Ass seems to have inspired other people to become super heroes and suddenly there is a new one in the streets who calls himself Red Mist (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) and is actually Frank`s son. None of these super heroes actually have any special power and the violence begins to escalate as the movie progresses, but always combining it with a great dose of comedy.

The true star of the film is Chloe Moretz who plays the eleven year old Hit-Girl who is highly trained in fighting and instead of playing with dolls, she plays with knives. She is just fun to watch on screen and one of my new favorite characters. Nicolas Cage is also good playing the eccentric Big Daddy and Aaron Johnson is great in the lead role. Kick-Ass can be compared to Clive Owen`s Shoot Em Up because of all the cartoonish violence on screen, but I found it more similar to Kill Bill, although with a much more climatic ending. I found the dialogue to be quite funny and mixed well with the action scenes. The movie isn`t deep and you probably can`t get anything out of it, but it is highly entertaining and such a fun experience. I haven`t been this entertained in a long time and Kick-Ass is one of those movies I wouldn`t mind watching over and over again. I definitely recommend this film and know it will be hard to top entertainingly wise.

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