"Kick-Ass" review

This is one badass movie. It's bloody, hilarious, and has a young girl beating big dudes up and cussing furiously along the way. This is what I'm talking about. Now is it really true that sometime in our lives, maybe even now, we fantasize about being a superhero? Yes, probably. Have we fulfilled that dream? Probably not. Why? Maybe because we're too much of a wimp to try it out. In this great film by Matthew Vaughn, that fantasy came true. This movie is definitely not for everyone. Don't be fooled by the trailers. This isn't a film for young kids or the faint of heart. It's gory like a Quentin Tarantino masterpiece. It's language is harsh at times and the jokes are very explicit. Call it "Superbad" with a little extra twist; there are superheroes. All those components, when put together, work amazingly. It has the right amount of rauchiness but at the same time, the perfect amount of heart. "Kick-Ass" brings out the vulnerable superhero from all of us.

The great imagination of being a superhero turns into a reality when a regular high schooler named Dave (Aaron Johnson) decides to try his hand at fighting crime. He's just a regular teen who "just existed". He wasn't into sports, wasn't the smartest kid, and girls didn't seem to like him much. It was just him and his three friends fooling around at comic book stores after school. Soon, Dave buys a funny looking green costume online. It looks ridiculous, and that's one of the funny parts of the film. It's stupid and not intimidating at all. Nevertheless, he puts it on and names himself Kick-Ass. Of course, like any superhero, nobody knows his true identity. None of Dave's friends know that he is Kick-Ass. So he begins his tour as a superhero, and things don't seem right. He first tries to fight a couple of thieves who are attempting to steal a car. It doesn't work out too well. He gets beat up and even worse, as he's walking away, he gets hit by a car. He's sent to the hospital bleeding out real human blood. This shows that despite being a superhero, he's a vulnerable human being like all of us. He gained some fame, but it wasn't until he decides to fight 3 guys who are ganging up on one guy that he broke through. As he begins to fight them, he attracts the attention of the people around him. One kid pulls out his cellphone and records it, posts it on Youtube, and the sensation of Kick-Ass is born. With the help of the loving, but obsessed Big Daddy (Nicholas Cage) and his daughter Hit Girl (the tremendous Chloe Moretz), they begin their reign. These two are masters at their crafts, and Big Daddy is relentless in teaching Hit Girl the ways of a superhero. Soon, obstacles begin to stand in their way, like the police department and the one and only Red Mist (Christopher Mintz-Plasse). The fights that the good and bad guys take part in are pretty darn cool. Trust me.

The whol cast is brilliant, but the one who totally steals the show is Chloe Moretz, a young 13-year-old actress who plays the totally badass Hit Girl. To think she was only 11 when they shot this film is mind-boggling. She slips that occasional cuss word, and gets grown men bloody from their heads to their toes. She stabs then and pops them right in the head with a gun. She's ruthless and a master at her work. The young actress pulls it off flawlessly. This performance will get her started for sure in her career. Aaron Johnson plays the role of Dave and Kick-Ass with heart and determination, always reminding us that he's not a superhero but just someone who dares to be one. And Nicholas Cage surprised me in this film. I've always known that he is a fine actor, but I didn't know he would play such a vital Role in this film. There are also strong supporting performances by Mark Strong and Mclovin from "Superbad".

"Kick-Ass" is a great film of people willing to obtain superhero-like powers. Not super speed, the ability to fly, or breathing out fire, but rather the willingness to make a change and end the corruption. We need more people like that in the world. In one scene, Kick-Ass is called crazy. He realizes that he's not the crazy one, but that we are for just standing there and watching the madness proceed. "Kick-Ass" is a terrific combination of being funny, violent, and tragic while at the same time being a hugely entertaining journey of a ridiculously fake superhero who will seem like a real one to all of us.
Rating: 31/2 out of 4

"How to Train Your Dragon" review

Does this movie look like something soley made for kids? You betcha. But trust me, it's more. It's an animated feature of a great adventure that can be enjoyed by both children and adults. The 3D is the best I've seen in any film thus far, and you will be blown away. The story is about a lovable character named Hiccup (voiced brilliantly by Jay Baruchel) who just wants to be a viking like his father and the rest of them. The problem is that he's a skinny little boy with a show of little confidence. Definitely not the recipe for a viking. So what does he do? He sees himself in a dragon he calls Toothless, and learns the ways of the dragon through him. The whole cast of voices here are all well-done, especially by the likes of Gerard Butler and Craig Ferguson. Ultimately, the movie is beautiful throughout, but the scenes that stick out are the ones with Hiccup flying high in the sky with awesome 3D magic. I don't know if this is quite Pixar-esque, but it isn't far away from that, and that's seriously saying alot. The film is at times funny, thrilling, and heartful. A family film to have all those qualities work effectively together is an undoubted success. One of the best films of the year thus far.
Rating: 31/2 out of 4

"Clash of the Titans" review

Movies like this can easily be bad, with over-the-top action scenes, a script that seems like it was written by a 12-year-old, and a bonehead plot. Fortunately, the filmmakers here decided to actually take this one a little more seriously. The film is based on a remake from the 1981 "Clash of the Titans", and the new 2010 one is filled to its brim with, at times, beautiful CGI. More or less, that's what this whole film mainly depends on, the strength of its CGI. And what the film mostly consists of is real humans fighting CGI in mindless action scenes. That's right, mindless. Is this a bad thing? Well, it can be enjoyable to a point, but when it reaches the stage where you can barely recognize what's happening in the movie, then that's bad. This is one of the flaws of the film. There are times when the action on screen simply look like utter madness. Still, Sam Worthington gives an inspired performance along with Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes. They make the best of the material is this fun but flawed action adventure.

Perseus (Worthington) learns that his real father is Zeus (Neeson), a god. He is angry that he never knew this after 20-some years, and to make matters worse, Zeus' brother Hades (Fiennes) murdered Perseus' fake father whom Perseus loved very much. He vows to take revenge by killing Hades but of course, it's no easy task to kill a god. Despite Perseus' obvious courage and characteristic of being both a man and a god, it seems like an impossible feat when you look at the creatures that he's going to have to kill. Watch Perseus swing his sword bravely through every mindless (there's that word again) action scene to accomplish his seemingly improbable goal.

I think Sam Worthington is a certified blockbuster actor now. And though he can't and may never top the success he had with "Avatar", it is no doubt that his new film will do well in the box office. Liam Neeson is solid here, but the part doesn't demand much out of him. Still, Neeson is Neeson, which is good. The rest of the supporting cast, led by the legend Ralph Fiennes, do enough to fulfill each of their characters.

The script is nothing special, but rather flawed in its amount of cheesiness. I hate using that word, but some scenes undoubtedly include some cheesy dialogue. But believe it or not, "Clash of the Titans" is not a bad film, but an enjoyable one. When the action doesn't seem so mindless, it can be fun to watch. You also begin to care about Perseus more and more as the film goes on, making his quest for revenge exciting. This film is a more serious version of this year's "Percy Jackson and the Olympians", which I found to be a better film. Despite that, this is a movie to enjoy with a big bag of popcorn and a nice pair of 3-D glasses. Just don't expect a masterfully made epic that's entertaining throughout. Just because it's starring Sam Worthington doesn't mean it's as good as "Avatar". C'mon now.
Rating: 21/2 out of 4