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Kick-Ass 2 (2013)
Kick-Ass 2 (2013)
After being surprised at how much Kick-Ass (2010) actually kicked ass, I was excited to see this sequel.
This time around Kick-Ass (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) has teamed up with a group fellow wannabe superheroes that he inspired to dress up and fight crime. Red Mist (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) is out for revenge on Kick-Ass and has gathered a group of so-called super villains to destroy him and everyone he knows.
The movie was written and directed by Jeff Wadlow and the rest of the noteworthy cast includes Chloe Grace Moretz, Morris Chestnut, Jim Carrey, Clark Duke, John Leguizamo, Lindy Booth, Claudia Lee, Donald Faison, and Garrett M. Brown.
I did not like this movie as much as the first one. At times, it was pretty tacky. Ass was kicked and laughs were had, there was a lot of quality action, but it just was not as good as it could have been. It was less believable and more predictable.
With the addition of Jim Carrey, I thought that for sure Kick-Ass 2 would be funnier than Kick-Ass. I was wrong. There were a few more laughs, but not because of Carrey. His role was not big enough to make a difference. Most of the other new characters in the film were not developed enough.
Moretz stole the show in the first movie and she was still probably the best part of this one, but she did not get the opportunity to kick as much ass as she did in the first film.
The film concentrated a little bit too much on the drama that the characters were having at school and at home instead of concentrating on them fighting crime. This made the film a little slower at times and less enjoyable.
Even though I didn’t like a few aspects of the movie, it was still entertaining enough to have fun watching. Almost all sequels are not as good as their predecessors, but maybe I just went into this film with expectations that were too high. The story went a slightly different direction than I anticipated, but I still laughed and had a good time.
I rate this movie a 6.5 on a scale of 1-10.
Buy, rent, or run? Rent.
Trailer for Kick-Ass 2 (2013)
Kick-Ass 2 (2013) (click on the title for my full review.)
Kick-Ass (2010) exceeded my expectations. Kick-Ass 2 appears like it could be concentrating a little bit more on the humor side of things. With the addition of Jim Carrey, the sequel is bound to be funnier than the original.
In the sequel, Red Mist changes his name and wants revenge on Kick-Ass for what he did in the first film. Red Mist gathers his own group of bad guys to take on Kick-Ass and his new Superhero buddies.
The film is written and directed by Jeff Wadlow and the rest of the noteworthy cast includes Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloe Grace Moretz, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Morris Chestnut, Lyndsy Fonseca, Donald Faison, and Clark Duke.
After the first film won me over, I think that the sequel deserves a chance.
The film is set to release on 8/16/13.
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.
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