Monthly Archives: July 2013
Kick-Ass (2010)
Kick-Ass (2010)
I delayed seeing Kick-Ass for 3 years. Honestly, at the time that it came out, it appeared like it would be jam-packed with gratuitous amounts of stupidity. I was fed up with superhero movies being the trend and given the fact that Nicolas Cage was a part of it made me worried. Cage is one of my favorite actors, but at the time that he made Kick-Ass he was taking any and every movie role offered to him. He was having money problems and he needed to get out of debt. During that time, he systematically dismantled his image and his career by force-feeding the world 11 movies over the course of 3 years. I thought the title was pretty lame and I was very skeptical to say the least.
The movie is about a nerdy high school kid (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) who one day decides that he wants to be a superhero. He dresses up like a superhero and therefore thinks that he is one. Fighting crime proves to be much more difficult than he anticipates and he gets in way over his head.
The film is directed by Matthey Vaughn and the rest of the noteworthy cast includes Nicolas Cage, Mark Strong, Chloe Grace Moretz, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Michael Rispoli, Clark Duke, and Jason Flemyng.
After writing off Kick-Ass three years ago, I never really thought twice about it until I learned of the upcoming sequel a couple of months ago, Kick-Ass 2 (2013). I heard from a few different people that Kick-Ass was actually pretty awesome. I decided to give it a chance.
The movie was actually pretty bad-ass. The soundtrack set the tone quite nicely with a couple of different songs by The Prodigy. Later it transitioned to Elvis Presley and even Ennio Morricone.
Nicolas Cage was better than I expected he would be. The film was during his low point, but his character turned out to be moderately entertaining.
Mark Strong was a superb hard-ass. He played his part perfectly.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson was alright, but it was the young Chloe Grace Moretz that stole the show. She sure kicked some ass.
I was shocked at how much I enjoyed this movie. It was far better than I originally anticipated. There is a bit of language, blood, raunchiness, and violence, but overall it was mildly funny and supremely amusing. It was a well-acted and clever, kick-ass journey into an almost believable world where superheroes exist.
I rate this movie an 8 on a scale of 1-10.
Buy, rent, or run? Buy.
Movie Picture of the Day 7/31/13
Kathy Bates is a “cockadoodie” cuckoo “dirty bird” (to use her own words) in the film Misery (1990).
If she is his biggest fan, I would hate to meet anybody who isn’t fond of his work.
Happy Birthday to Arnold Schwarzenegger
Happy Birthday to Arnold Schwarzenegger!
The man has been known as Mr. Universe and The Governor of California, but he will always be remembered as The Terminator.
Ahnuld turns 66 years old today.
Check out the trailer for his latest movie that also stars Sylvester Stallone, Escape Plan (2013).
The duo will also return for another go-round in the movie The Expendables 3 (2014).
Earlier this year Ahnuld was in The Last Stand (2013).
Check out Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Impression of Jeff Dunham’s Walter Doll.
He will be back in Terminator 5 (2015).
Click on any of the links below to read my Arnold Schwarzenegger movie reviews:
Movie Picture of the Day 7/30/13
The always incredible Jack Nicholson in the dysfunctional drama About Schmidt (2002).
This picture made me smile. I hope it does the same for you.
The Most Anticipated Movies Coming to Theatres in August 2013
The Most Anticipated Movies Coming to Theatres in August 2013
Click on each title below for a brief synopsis, trailer, movie poster and release date of each film.
Elysium (2013) (Click here for my full review.)
2 Guns (2013) (Click here for my full review.)
Kick-Ass 2 (2013) (Click here for my full review.)
If you would like to read my reviews on films that are currently out in theatres, simply click on the link below:
The Call (2013)
The Call (2013)
Before watching this film, I had assumed that it was rated PG-13. After watching the movie, I’m a little surprised that it was actually rated R. If it had been tweaked ever so slightly, I think that it probably could have gotten the PG-13 rating. I’m a little surprised that they would not have wanted to attract more of the teenage audience to this movie. It seems like so many other films these days go for that lighter rating to try to get the teeny boppers into the seats. Quite honestly, after learning of the rating right before the movie started, it actually made me raise my expectations of the quality of the film because of the genre.
The Call is a thriller about a 911 operator (Halle Berry) that makes a careless mistake while on an emergency phone call that causes the situation to end badly. Consumed by guilt and anxiety, she struggles to hold it together in order to perform her job. Time passes and one day the operator takes a call from a girl that has been kidnapped (Abigail Breslin). Determined not to make the same mistake again, the operator does everything in her power to try to help the girl on the other end of the line. She soon realizes that there is a link between the 2 emergency calls.
The film is directed by Brad Anderson and the rest of the noteworthy cast includes Morris Chestnut, Michael Eklund, Michael Imperioli, Justina Machado, and Jose Zuniga.
I held off from seeing this movie in theatres because I wasn’t sure if it would be worth my time. I can usually give or take Berry. Breslin is a talented young actress, but the movie looked a little B-rated. What sparked my interest however, was Anderson’s involvement. He has shown us that he is capable of excellence with his film The Machinist (2004). With that being said, even though The Call looked questionable, I knew that it would at least be well-made.
The film did not allow for much character development. It was not the type of movie that required quality acting. Anderson makes up for this with quality filmmaking. The events that occur in the film were made intense enough to keep my attention throughout. The soundtrack helps to make the movie seem more fast-paced than it really is. Because the film is kept at a relatively fast pace for its entirety, it helps you to forgive and forget the aspects of the movie that are lacking. Bravo to the director for knowing what was necessary to make this B-rated film watch-able.
The film is a little predictable, but it will still suck you in.
I rate this movie a 7 on a scale of 1-10.
Buy, rent, or run? Rent.
R.I.P.D. (2013)
R.I.P.D. (2013)
To me, this film appeared like it would have a lot of similarities to Men in Black (1997). Instead of a police force that protects the earth from aliens, R.I.P.D. has a police force that protects the earth from the dead. The dead people in R.I.P.D. wear human body suits and hide out among the living, sort of like the aliens in MIB. Interestingly enough, the dead people in R.I.P.D. and the aliens in MIB are monsters that appear very much alike. The futuristic guns in each film look like they are all part of the same family. Each movie has old grumpy veterans of the force that are tasked with training the new recruit. Hollywood continues to recycle the same ideas. They twist them around a bit and feed them back to us again on the silver screen.
R.I.P.D. is a buddy-cop comedy with a twist. Instead of simply just trying to protect and serve, Roy (Jeff Bridges) and Nick (Ryan Reynolds) are deceased cops who try to protect the living from the dead as part of the Rest in Peace Department. After 15 years on the force, Boston cop Nick is tragically murdered in the line of duty. Instead of going to heaven, he gets stopped along the way and recruited to become a member of the R.I.P.D. He gets paired with Roy, an R.I.P.D. veteran. Roy shows Nick the ropes, but Nick is only interested in investigating his own murder.
The film is directed by Robert Schwentke and the rest of the noteworthy cast includes Kevin Bacon, Mary-Louise Parker, Stephanie Szostak, Marisa Miller, James Hong, Devin Ratray, and Robert Knepper.
Even with the thought of basically already seeing this movie 3 times before, I expected it to be funnier than it actually was. Reynolds humor is usually pretty sarcastically witty. Pairing him with Bridges in a cowboy-like character, I thought that I might die laughing. This was not the case however. There was a touch of cleverness that caused a little bit of deserved laughter, but the comedy was mostly just not there.
All of the actors were likable, but the film was desperately lacking originality. The story was highly predictable and very convenient. I felt like there was not enough of a back story to the Rest in Peace Department itself and why the dead were trying to invade the earth. It was hardly explained why the department existed and why the dead were able to come back to earth. There were just tons of holes in the storyline that were completely overlooked by the characters. Apparently the viewers were also supposed to overlook these flaws and just go with it. I did that, but it made the film less enjoyable.
Overall, you can expect a few laughs and a bit of entertainment. It’s also pretty funny and sad to see what Buzz (Devin Ratray) from Home Alone (1990) has become.
I rate this movie a 6.5 on a scale of 1-10.
Buy, rent, or run? Rent.
Movie Picture of the Day 7/29/13
Michael Keaton, Michael Keaton, Michael Keaton, and Michael Keaton in the hysterical comedy Multiplicity (1996).
Trailer for 47 Ronin (2013)
47 Ronin (2013)
I finally had a chance to post this trailer. I heard about this movie months ago and I have been excited to see the trailer. Why have I been excited? Because I had heard rumors that Keanu Reeves was going to play a samurai.
The rumors are correct and I’m not quite sure what to think about this movie. I think it will either be hit or miss. Reeves could be an excellent samurai, however it appears like the film may be a little too far out.
Reeves plays an outcast who was enslaved and sold. His owners mistreat him and he is forced to fight. The enemies of his owners help him to break the bond of slavery and give him a chance for revenge.
The film is directed by Carl Rinsch and the rest of the noteworthy cast includes Rinko Kikuchi, Hiroyuki Sanada, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Tadanobu Asano, Yorick van Wageningen, Togo Igawa, and Haruka Abe.
Reeves has not really been in a big movie since 2008. This film appears like it has potential. I’m a fan of Keanu and him playing a samurai is enough to make me want to see it.
The film is set to release this Christmas, 12/25/13.
Movie Picture of the Day 7/28/13
Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin put on their frightening faces to try to scare the living in Tim Burton‘s classic film Beetlejuice (1988).
brockingmovies 