Movie Review - Kick-Ass

Violence - Check! Sex - Check! Drugs - Check! Foul Language - Check! Burning Buildings and crazy costumes - Check! And this was just my bus journey through East London to the cinema. I was off to see the new Superhero film, Kick-Ass from Producer-cum-Director-cum-moghul-cum-Supermodel's husband-cum-lucky so and so, Matthew Vaughn.

The advertisement campaign for Kick-Ass has been huge. You couldn't walk ten feet without seeing a poster with the green, wet suited avenger staring at you. And after after watching several (extremely violent) trailers, I was excited to catch an early showing of the film and put up an early review. Those plans were almost scuppered however, as I didn't put my serious-film-reviewer-hat on as i accidentally got very, very drunk!

A friend and I had pre-booked tickets to see the film at the Screen on the Green in North London. A lovely little cinema with EXTREMELY comfortable sofas with arm and footrests (well, that is the least you would expect for £12.50 a ticket!) and a little table to place your drinks as there is a fully licensed bar with table service. I had no idea about this and if I did I probably wouldn't have had the 5 pints with dinner as we went through a bottle of red by the time the trailers were over. Let's hope this doesn't hinder my review! From what I remember...

Kick-Ass is the story of Dave Lizewski, an exceptionally normal teenager whose only special power is being invisible to women. Tired of being a nobody and getting pushed around, he decides to create a costume to become a Superhero and fight crime. His alter ego, Kick Ass, fast becomes an internet sensation and pretty soon, other costumed heroes such as Red Mist (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage) and Hit Girl (Chloe Moretz) come forward to assist Kick-Ass. But when mafia boss Frank D'Amico (Mark Strong) decides to send a message that being a superhero can be bad for your health, our heroes are faced with their biggest challenge yet.

Kick-Ass is the total antithesis of most superheroes movies that has come before it. It's an R-Rated Spider-Man if you will. Dave Lizewski is basically Peter Parker in disguise. He has the same geeky demeanor and is ignored by women. He lives in the same colourful, leafy suburbs of New York and is beset by family tragedy. But where as a film like Spider-Man only alludes to issues of growing up and being a teenager, Kick-Ass slaps you across the face with them with a nunchuck.


Take an early scene in the first Spider-man film for example, where Peter Parker is exploring a new part of himself, shooting that sticky, creamy substance from his wrist in his bedroom. Aunt May is dismayed by the clamour and wonders what is going on behind closed doors in his room. She knows what he is really doing. We all know what he is doing. In Kick-Ass, no subtlety is needed. Dave is a typical teenager and is jerking off to his school teacher before the opening credits are over. When he becomes a superhero, we see him use his superpowers for good by having sex with his new girlfriend in the ally. The best quote from this film that sums up where Kick-Ass sits in the realm of Superhero films is this: "With great power, comes NO responsibility!".

All the characters are foul mouthed and vicious. The only other film i can think of that was similar was the Watchmen, but that was so dark and brooding, more in tone with The Dark Knight. Kick-Ass still looks and feels like a comic book, just with real characters. For example, before the film even begins we see a guy fall to his death trying to be a superhero. But he was not a hero, just mentally insane. It was refreshing to see a film that was fantastical yet set in the real world at the same time.

Aaron Johnson is good as Kick-Ass, as are the rest of the supporting cast, but the real star of the show for me is Chloe Moretz as Hit Girl. She swears like a sailor and and is more clinical with her gun than Dirty Harry. It's unbelievable seeing how sweet she can be in one scene, yet so convincing shooting up a whole gang in the next. Nicolas Cage is surprisingly good as Big Daddy and Red Mist still has a bit of the 'McLovin's about him but is still has some funny lines.


The directing was also quite impressive and Matthew Vaughn has clearly done his homework into the superhero genre. There are also some original moments to the film and the action sequences are exciting and exhilarating. It was good to see some great camera and grip work in the film moving Matthew Vaughn forward visually and stylistically. One scene in the lumber yard is particularly great to look at without compromising the story.

If I had any gripes with the film, it would be that it looked so similar to some other superhero films in tone, and was almost a shot for shot copy of Spider-Man in certain areas. I would guess the film-makers would say that this is the point as it was supposed to be similar yet drastically different at the same time. The film still worked however, and if this was my only complaint I don't think they have anything to worry about.

Kick-Ass is the kind of superhero film that you have always wanted to see. Kick-Ass could be anyone of us as despite being set in a fantasy world of costume avengers, Kick-Ass has no superpowers, no money and no special gadgets. Just a will and a desire to make a difference. I doubt people will try to copy Kick-Ass and try and become a superhero in their own right, but it has certainly given me a few ideas of my own. Not from a need or desire to do good and fight crime, but i might need a costume and some nunchucks just to make it back home through the mean streets of hackney! Wish me luck...

Movie Review - Crazy Heart

Crazy Heart was one of those films I never really had any strong desire to see. But after Jeff Bridges won the Oscar for best actor, it suddenly became a film I felt I had to see, rather than one I wanted to. I mean, come on. . . it's the dude! Gotta show some support.

Crazy Heart tells the story of washed up country and western singer Bad Blake Nelson, who has seen his fame diminish and has now resorted to playing tiny bars and bowling alleys. He is overweight, alcoholic and needs to turn his life around. This opportunity comes when a meeting with a female reporter (Maggie Gyllenhaal) and an offer from his protégé Tommy Sweet, (Colin Farrell) he is faced with a choice to turn his life around or stay and follow his same destructive path.

I have to admit, I quite enjoyed Crazy Heart. It's a nice, touching story and gives us a deep insight into the life of a fading musician and how they can struggle with life after the fame and money have gone.

As you might expect, Jeff Bridges was brilliant as Bad Blake Nelson. He looked the part, and you could really feel Bad Blake's pain as he tried to battle his inner demons and find something to give his life meaning again. Gyllenhaal was good as the single mother but nothing really stood out as a brilliant performance. Certainly not in the same league as some of her fellow nominees, but I thought their dynamic worked really well and she made the mother a really believable character in her own right, rather than turning into some kind of caricature only here to move the story along.

And seeing as the last country and western song I bought was "Achy Breaky Heart" by Billy Ray Cyrus, I wasn't sure how I was going to respond to the music, but I thought it was great. A few of the songs are extremely catchy, annoyingly so. But they are used a great device to provide us with back-story for Bad Blake. Where as in Ray or Walk the Line or Other funny film where they use flash back. Bad Blake doesn't like talking about his life so his songs do it for him.

This brings me onto one of the main problems I had with the film. Mirroring the current state of Bad Blake's life, not a lot really happens. We see him tour, drink, fuck, repeat. I suppose we are supposed to be more concerned with the relationships between the characters and watch and as Bad tries to make something of his life.

Another problem i had was that I didn't find the story original in any way. There are several movies where our hero has had a fall from grace and battles with his demons. The most recent I can think of is The Wrestler. It was practically the same story and in light of Jeff Bridges and Jamie Foxx's Oscar wins, I thought Mickey Rouke was quite hard done by as he was fantastic.

While i really enjoyed Crazy Heart, it didn't leave me with anything the way The Wrestler or Walk the Line did, and i don't feel like I’ll think about it again apart from the songs I can't get out of my head. I’m sure I have missed something here as a lot of professional reviewers have said that Crazy Heart is great. If you think my review of Crazy Heart was unjustified and not very good, just don’t tell my heart. My achey breaky heart. I just don’t think it understand…

Movie Review - The Crazies

During the awards season, one is generally spoiled for choice with quality films at the cinema. I had the choice this particular Sunday of Avatar, Alice in Wonderland, Invictus or Precious. So what did I choose to see? The Crazies directed by Breck Eisner.

I had been excited to see this film since I first saw the trailer, as I actually had no idea what the film was about. It looked like a zombie film but it didn’t appear to have any zombies. It was a thriller but with a creepy edge. It looked like it could have been the film that M. Night Shayamalan’s The Happening should have been.

The film takes place in the Midwestern town of Ogden. A tiny farming community with only 1,200 people where everyone knows everyone and life is good. That is until a few of the towns folk start displaying strange symptoms and start acting a little….well, crazy.

After a military plane is found in the local river, the government is sent in to round everybody up and lock down the town to see who is infected. When the town’s sheriff’s wife is mistakenly diagnosed as a “crazy”, he risks his life to rescue her and to escape to the next big town. This is harder than it seems because not only do they have to evade the crazies, they also have to avoid the army who are taking no prisoners.


I tend to find the main problem with films of this kind is that they take too long to establish characters and plot, and the scare set-pieces are too few and far between. Not so with The Crazies. Events get going in the first five minutes and never lets up. The Crazies is simply one of the best horror films I have seen for a while.

I know this may sound cheesy, but I really was on the edge of my seat the whole time. Like any good horror film, the scares come thick and fast and are really well. One particular scene in a morgue was particularly creepy and will make you think twice before you ever pull the sheets off of somebody again. The camera work is shaky and in your face, but in this instance it fits perfectly as it contrasts the scares brilliantly with the vast landscapes of Iowa during the few quieter moments.



It’s main focus is just to scare the pants off you. There is no needless exposition explaining why people are the way they are. There is no cheese filled dialogue getting in the way of the action. It is a very real story with real character motivations. There are no scenes breaking into labs or discussing cures. There are no plots to take down the government, the characters main focus is simply to survive.

The actors all do there jobs considerably well. Timothy Olyphant does a good job as the sheriff and you and was also impressed with his wife, played by Radha Mitchell, who I usually have no time for. Joe Anderson who plays the Sheriff’s Deputy is also very impressive, especially when you realize that he is English, and you can put this mostly down to the script as we can all relate with our primal survival instincts.

The Crazies is not a perfect film by any strectch of the imagination, and sure there are some things wrong with it. Believe it or not, but I thought there were too many scares. After 2/3 of the film, it became a bit predictable as you knew every time they sat down or relaxed a crazy was going to attack. I’m sure some people won’t be too pleased by the explanation to the virus, or the lack of back-story to our characters, but I believe some of these “weaknesses” are the films strengths.

The Crazies doesn’t break the mould in any way, but mainly solidifies and builds on it. And while it might not be the perfect film and does contain a few flaws, what it does do, it does very well. And that is play to its strengths by keeping you on the edge of your seat until it makes you jump out of it. If you are getting bored of the recent race for Oscar gold or are getting sick of the latest 3D blockbuster, The Crazies is the perfect antidote.