KICK-ASS.

I've been anticipating this movie for quite some time. But I really didn't know what to think of it from the Green Band trailer. Then the Red Band trailer came out and it was like "OMG," as they say. And the closer it came to release, the more excited I got. Ironically, though, I didn't realize it was coming out this week until it was almost Friday. Lame. But I just got back from seeing it, and I must share my opinion.

The plot is pretty straight forward. Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) is a nerd who starts to wonder why nobody has ever tried being a superhero. And after yet another mugging of him and his friends (Even Peters and Clark Duke), he decides to order a wet suit and be one. Well... it doesn't really work out, ending up in a near-death experience. However, it messes with some nerve endings and infuses his body with some metal plates, allowing him to take quite a punch or two. And then he tries again... still getting his ass kicked, but fairing better. And this time, people see it happen and put videos of the fight up on YouTube (or a similar site). Meanwhile, mobster Frank D'Amico (Mark Strong) is losing some money and drugs to somebody ruining his plans, and he starts believing it's the new superhero Kick-Ass, while it's really the vengeful daughter-father team of Hit-Girl (Chloe Moretz) and Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage), who take a page from Kick-Ass' book and dress up like superheroes. But Frank can't get a hold of Kick-Ass, so his son, Chris (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), who really just wants to prove himself to his father, takes up the moniker of Red Mist to lure Kick-Ass into a trap and deliver him to his father. But all of this isn't nearly as easy as it seems.

Really, there's not a whole lot to say about the movie besides the obvious: it kicked ass (I know, so original). The action is phenomenally over-the-top and awesome, especially in regards to Hit-Girl. Chloe Moretz is the real star of the movie... at least the action parts. Kick-Ass (the character) really has Harry Potter syndrome. He's in over his head and, albeit having potential, mostly relies on his friends and acquaintances to survive at any given time. In other words, he gets the crap kicked out of him for most of the movie. But I believe that's the point.

As for the other characters, the most surprising was Chris/Red Mist. The trailers make him look like he's just gonna be some kind of wannabe inspired by Kick-Ass, but his story is actually much more interesting. Christopher Mintz-Plasse plays a much darker character here than he's done in the past, and he actually didn't make any of the character turns I expected him to. As for Nicolas Cage... other people have said it already, but this is one of his best roles in years.

There were only really a couple disappointing factors, but they weren't anything huge. First, the love interest angle of the story almost felt tacked on, like they did the rest of the movie and realized that they needed to give the main character a personal story as well, something for him to connect with when he's not getting beaten up. It wasn't overtly like that, but there were times when it just wasn't working for me. The other minor quibble was that they seem to build up this whole "he can't leap from one building to another" thing, but it doesn't really pay off anywhere. Granted, what it might have been doing was setting up a fear of heights which plays into the climax of the movie... if that's the case, then it's understandable. I was just waiting for a moment when he'd have to leap from one building to another, and it just didn't happen.

You've heard it already--the movie is uber-violent. Let's just say Tarantino would be proud. So let's just segue from that into the visuals: there's some good camera work, and the action scenes aren't confusing to follow whatsoever. And while there is a tiny bit of slo-mo, it doesn't feel out of place or overused. And there are some fantastic cinematography shots, like during the strobe-light fight, which is probably (outside the climax) one of the coolest parts of the whole film.

Besides the violence, the movie is hilarious, too. The only joke that really kinda seems out of place is one from the Red Band trailer--the masturbation joke. But it's so early on in the movie (the very beginning) that it doesn't feel out of place at the time. Only in hindsight. But there really aren't all that many crude sex jokes. And I'm not saying it bothered me. It didn't. It's just a random note looking back at the humor of the film.

One last thing I want to bring up is the soundtrack. This movie had to have one of the coolest action-comedy soundtracks ever. I seriously just loved the music in this movie, from the instrumental stuff to the ones with lyrics. The only gripe I have with the music is that they ripped off the main theme to 28 Days/Weeks Later (the long song they play at the beginning parts of both movies and/or during any slow-building intense moments of either film). Well, I don't think it's a rip-off, because it isn't a song that sounds like the theme. It actually is the song itself. But considering it's one of my favorite movie tracks ever, I forgave it just for the sake of including such a great song during a cool scene.

In fact, I can forgive practically all of my quibbles with the movie based on the last 20-30 minutes alone. It's practically one long action sequence (like... a pre-climax leading up to the climax). And with a big dose of incredible and over-the-top action and good humor, Kick-Ass is the movie to see right now. At least if you're into insane action-comedies.


Royale With Cheese

(P.S. Was I the only person to chuckle at the movie theater marquee sporting that "The Spirit 3" was now playing?)

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON.

I went in with pretty high expectations for this movie. I thought it looked pretty good from the trailers, and then it started getting really good reviews (one of the lowest being from Travis of The Movie Encyclopedia, who thought it had some tone issues, but was still a pretty good movie). Needless to say, this could have easily been a huge disappointment for me. Luckily, it wasn't.

How To Train Your Dragon takes us back to the good ol' days when Vikings with Scottish accents ruled the seas and partook in a never-ending battle against dragons. OK, so we aren't going for realism, but we knew that going in. I mean, seriously... that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Vikings with Scottish accents? Pfft... they were totally Norwegian/German. But I digress. We focus on the scrawny-but-smart Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) who one day dreams of becoming a dragon-slayer like his father, Stoick (Gerard Butler), and getting a girlfriend, particularly from Astrid (America Ferrera). But he's stuck in the smithy with Gobber (Craig Ferguson), while the likes of Snotlout (Jonah Hill), Fishlegs (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), Tuffnut (T.J. Miller), and Ruffnut (Kristin Wiig) are out training to fight the monsterous beasts. But when Hiccup wounds a dangerous Night Fury dragon (and nobody believes him), he goes out to find it, only to begin him on a journey that gains him a reptilian friend, raises his understanding of the opposition, and increases his popularity back home.

The movie takes on some interesting themes such as being an outcast, building relationships between peers and family, learning teamwork, and even a bit of living with disabilities. And the movie works with these themes well, allowing anyone of any age to connect with the film and its characters.

And the characters are great, even down to the secondary folks. First the voice acting. I actually wasn't annoyed at Jonah Hill, as he wasn't playing his usual schtick, and I didn't even realize until about halfway through that McLovin was the voice of one of the characters (though I did recognize the voice... it just took me a while to place it). Gerard Butler did amazingly well, too, with me forgetting it was even him until near the end of the movie (and I swear I saw the animated guy talk from the corner of his mouth). And Craig Ferguson was just funny. But I think the most surprising character for me was Astrid. Not because of America Ferrera, who I didn't realize was her voice at all until the credits, but because of the character herself. She wasn't your damsel in distress, nor was she the total strong-girl stereotype with no soft spot. She had a fair balance of both. For most of the movie she's the tough girl, angry with Hiccup for taking the spotlight. But then her emotions start to sway at the right times, though she doesn't completely turn tail to her old ways immediately, either. It made her a more realistic tough-girl character, which was nice.

Then there are Hiccup and Toothless (the main dragon). Jay Baruchel brings a deadpan humor to the character that really was funny, but he also made him endearing and likable. You wanted him to succeed. And when he's hurting (emotionally), you are, too. Toothless was another surprise, much like Astrid. I suppose what I was expecting, at least from the trailers, was your cutesy animal character that seems dangerous at first, but then really shows his lovable side and that's about all he has to it. This isn't so. No, Toothless has the cute side, but it's always right underneath the dangerous side. So you know that at any minute, he can either share his food or bite your head off, depending on how he feels. In other words, they kept his animalistic nature and didn't dumb him down for the kiddos.

The humor and the action varied depending on the scene. Sometimes the humor was a deadpan comment, sometimes it was aimed at the kids, sometimes it was aimed for somebody a little older. But I think there was a good enough mix of all types to where it seemed balanced (as even the jokes for the kids weren't really silly or stupid. I never once rolled my eyes or felt left out due to a bad joke). The action was similar--it depended on the mood of the scene. There were the lighthearted training scenes where it was more slapstick. But then there were the dangerous, life-threatening battles that had you on the edge of your seat. And, amazingly, there was more than one of the latter. Usually you just get the 'dark' climax battle at the end of the movie, but there are quite a few dark battle scenes strewn in throughout the film, helping to keep the film balanced.

And then there are the visuals. There really are times when the animation is jaw-dropping, which is mostly surprising due to the basic animation of the Vikings or the dragons themselves. Most of the stunning scenes come either during flight scenes or scenes that deal with large amounts of fire. I'd equate the difference as almost like playing a video game and having the difference between gameplay graphics and cutscene graphics. And the 3D version just escalates it all, really pulling you into the world--particularly the flight scenes, which are just stunning. There was actually one moment where Toothless and Hiccup are diving down toward the water, and I actually felt like I was going down on a roller coaster or something. Insanity.

Overall, this turned out to be a wonderful film. I really couldn't find much at all wrong with it, and I really don't want to. Even the music is fun, taking a bit of a Scottish sound. So I'll leave it at that. I strongly recommend this movie, and I really recommend it in 3D to get the full atmosphere of it. Excellent movie.


Royale With Cheese

(P.S. I actually believe this is the first movie of the year I have given this rating.)

ROLE MODELS.

I believe I’ve said this in a prior comedy review, but you know those times when you go and see a movie in theater and find it hilarious, but then you buy it and watch it at home, and it’s not even remotely as funny as you remember? And then you realize that the only reason you were laughing the first time was because of the crowd experience (i.e. THEY were laughing, so you were laughing, too). But all alone, you don’t laugh nearly as much. Well, that happens to me quite often. And I have to say that this movie… is not one of those movies. I laughed so much during this film, the majority of which was on my own accord (and a lot of which I know why, so I can get into that later in the review).

Danny (Paul Rudd) and Wheeler (Seann William Scott) are two guys who just float through life selling a disgusting energy drink to high school kids as part of a drug-free program. But after a really bad day that escalates to Danny getting broken up with by his long-term girlfriend Beth (Elizabeth Banks) and climaxes with a police assault and sexual innuendo-related car wreck, both Danny and Wheeler are given community service so that they can stay out of jail. The program, led by ex-druggie Gayle Sweeny (Jane Lynch), pairs adults (“Bigs”) with kids (“Littles”) in a buddy program. But the pairs made here, while at first seem terrible, turn out to be perfect. The negative Danny is teamed up with Amptgard-loving Augie Farks (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), while the ladies man Wheeler is teamed up with foul-mouthed Ronnie (Bobb’e J. Thompson). So now all they have to do is survive together long enough to get through the service hours… but wouldn’t you know it, relationships form.

I won’t deny it: the plot is formulaic. You know pretty much how everything is going to turn out early on. But that didn’t stop me from loving it. Sure, it started out a little slow, and the best joke prior to meeting the kids is shown in the trailer (“Congratulations, you’re stupid in three languages”), but once it gets to the gimmick, it really doesn’t pull back.

Unfortunately, Seann William Scott didn’t get to use his full arsenal in this movie and was really just a tag-along to the plot (hell, technically, he really didn’t do anything to get in trouble in the first place). The majority of the plot rested on Paul Rudd and Mintz-Plasse, which was fine, because that was the most interesting relationship in the movie anyway. Though that doesn’t mean Scott and Thompson weren’t good. In fact, Thompson had most of the funny one-liners of the film. But what I found funniest were the nerd jokes, mostly because I knew everything they were talking about. (Time to show true colors): back in high school, I actually knew people who played Amptgard and even played with them a couple times. It really is a ton of fun, though we never got as into character as they do in the movie. But anyway, the point is, I understood all the jokes on a more personal level.

But then there are the supporting cast members, such as Jane Lynch, Ken Jeong, Joe Lo Truglio, and Matt Walsh. To start with the negative, I found Jane Lynch to be one of the biggest downfalls of the film. She was funny the first couple times, but after that, it started to get old. It was the same jokes over and over again, and it started to get more tiring than funny. But then you have the likes of Ken Jeong, who you might recognize as the delivery doctor from Knocked Up (and he’s a real doctor, too, I believe), whose outtakes on the DVD were almost ten-times funnier than the movie itself. And he’s not wasted in this film, either, as the King (the ultimate villain in the Mintz-Plasse part of the story). Between his facial expressions and his slight hints of homosexuality, he was hilarious. And I pray that he has more outtakes on the Role Models DVD, too. And then, of course, you have the Amptgard loyalists, Joe Lo Truglio and Matt Walsh, whose dedication to the sport makes them great (especially Truglio).

Overall, I really loved the film. I know this review focused more on Rudd/Mintz-Plasse, but I honestly felt they were the best part. Scott and Thompson did have equal screen time, and they did have hilarious scenes (just so I can get that out there), but the plot was seemingly more dedicated to the former than the latter—again, at least in my opinion. I would really recommend this film, whether or not it’s predictable. Let me put it this way: I probably only once stopped to think about reviewing the movie while I was watching it (which is very rare these days) because I was so taken in by it. It’s one of the funniest movies I’ve seen in a while.

A Keanu 'Whoa'