This film has predictably caused a tabloid frenzy, but really it is no more violent than many aimed at adults. The only difference is that a little girl takes part in said violence and swears a lot – which sensible people know is hilarious and awesome.
Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) is a geeky high school student who decides to follow in the footsteps of Peter Parker and be a superhero. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been bitten by a handy radioactive spider, and so is just an ordinary teenager wearing a customised wetsuit. Even more unfortunately, the fake superhero gets mixed up with some real criminals.
Superficially, Kick-Ass deals with similar issues to Alan Moore’s Watchmen, but does not take seriously the question of what would happen if superheroes were real. This is more in the Mystery Men mould of films about stupid superheroes.
Johnson is too bland for the role – not nerdy enough to convincingly play the character or with enough spark to make you care very much. He is out-shone by the supporting players, particularly Christopher Mintz-Plasse as rival fake superhero, the Red Mist, and Nicolas Cage as the real deal, Big Daddy. But it is Chloe Moretz as Hit-Girl who really steals the show. Cute and with killer delivery, she is a little star in the making and what the film will be remembered for.
Written by Jane Goldman and the director Matthew Vaughn, the English roots can be seen in the casting (Dexter Fletcher!) and the liberal sprinkling of art from the YBAs in the rich baddie’s house. The film has pretensions of following Tarantino, but despite the Kill Bill-style violence they don’t quite pull off.
Instead they have crafted a violent thrill-ride which is light on plot, but heavy with laughs. It’s not big, and it’s not clever, but Kick-Ass is a whole lot of fun.
Monday, 31 May 2010
Film review - I Love You Phillip Morris
They say that truth is stranger than fiction, and this certainly applies to the life and times of Steven Russell (here played by Jim Carrey). Once a happily married policeman, he came out and became a conman with a knack for escaping from prison.
His story is portrayed with a light, playful touch by writer-directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, who previously brought us Bad Santa (2003). There is something about the film which feels unoriginal – perhaps the wacky tone, hyper-real production design and Texas setting makes it too Coen Brothers-esque – but it is still a hilarious and fascinating tale.
Carrey is brilliant as the audacious protagonist, walking the thin line between his comic and serious acting personas. There are moments of pathos amongst the scams, which he pulls off with aplomb, but he is also happy to partake in a little slapstick. Ewan McGregor seems a little old to be playing Steven’s titular lover – the character is supposed to be an ingénue. However, he gives a very sweet performance.
It is unusual to have a gay romance portrayed in a mainstream film, but this is not a romantic comedy. The focus is on plot, and what a plot it is. See it and be amazed at what one guy got away with.
His story is portrayed with a light, playful touch by writer-directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, who previously brought us Bad Santa (2003). There is something about the film which feels unoriginal – perhaps the wacky tone, hyper-real production design and Texas setting makes it too Coen Brothers-esque – but it is still a hilarious and fascinating tale.
Carrey is brilliant as the audacious protagonist, walking the thin line between his comic and serious acting personas. There are moments of pathos amongst the scams, which he pulls off with aplomb, but he is also happy to partake in a little slapstick. Ewan McGregor seems a little old to be playing Steven’s titular lover – the character is supposed to be an ingénue. However, he gives a very sweet performance.
It is unusual to have a gay romance portrayed in a mainstream film, but this is not a romantic comedy. The focus is on plot, and what a plot it is. See it and be amazed at what one guy got away with.
Film review - Green Zone
It’s not surprising that a war film is depressing, but Green Zone isn’t depressing because of the loss of life on screen; our hero doesn’t have to comfort a dying friend or reflect on what it means to kill a man like usual. Instead what is depressing is the politics behind the war itself. The situations depicted here are exasperating and all too close to the truth for comfort.
Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller (Matt Damon) has the pointless task of searching Baghdad for weapons of mass destruction in the aftermath of the 2003 Iraq invasion. When a CIA agent points out just how pointless it is, he starts to investigate the evidence for the war itself.
This is a taut, tense thriller, full of fast-paced intrigue. Paul Greengrass has combined his talents for message films with the Bourne side here, and it is an assured take on a difficult subject. Damon is impressive in the lead role, and it is lovely to see the Wire’s Amy Ryan on the big screen as a journalist. Greg Kinnear portrays the spineless suit charged with covering up the government’s tracks very well indeed.
As I’ve said, this is an enjoyable, pacey film about intelligence briefings – you should by now have smelled a rat. This is not All the President’s Men, but a fictionalised and much simplified version of what actually happened. Unsurprisingly, this retelling is also not particularly kind to the Americans. As an enjoyable night out at the cinema, Green Zone works really well. The danger is that people will think these events actually happened in this way. If only it were that simple.
Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller (Matt Damon) has the pointless task of searching Baghdad for weapons of mass destruction in the aftermath of the 2003 Iraq invasion. When a CIA agent points out just how pointless it is, he starts to investigate the evidence for the war itself.
This is a taut, tense thriller, full of fast-paced intrigue. Paul Greengrass has combined his talents for message films with the Bourne side here, and it is an assured take on a difficult subject. Damon is impressive in the lead role, and it is lovely to see the Wire’s Amy Ryan on the big screen as a journalist. Greg Kinnear portrays the spineless suit charged with covering up the government’s tracks very well indeed.
As I’ve said, this is an enjoyable, pacey film about intelligence briefings – you should by now have smelled a rat. This is not All the President’s Men, but a fictionalised and much simplified version of what actually happened. Unsurprisingly, this retelling is also not particularly kind to the Americans. As an enjoyable night out at the cinema, Green Zone works really well. The danger is that people will think these events actually happened in this way. If only it were that simple.
Film review - Shutter Island
This 50s-set thriller is a bit of a disappointment – especially as it comes from Martin Scorsese. US Marshall Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his new partner (Mark Ruffalo) arrive on the 100-per-cent spooky titular island to find an escaped mental patient. As a storm hits, Daniels starts to believe that there is more going on at this hospital than there first seems.
It is obvious right from the get-go that Scorsese is paying homage to his favourite B-movies of the 40s and 50. In the opening scene the score is full of orchestral crashity-crashity boom-ba-boom, when all we’re looking at is Leo on a boat. The melodramatic score and ominous shots of the island as it comes into view seem totally over the top to a modern audience – instead of building tension it makes everything seem quite humorous.
There’s no let-up in the hokum when we reach the island – the mental institution is run by everyone’s favourite screen baddy (Ben Kingsley) and an archetypal creepy German (Max von Sydow), and of course “there’s only one way off the island”. Once the massive storm comes, there is no way off the island, and we follow Leo as he runs around the forest, soaked to the skin and desperately trying to find the truth.
In the end this is just a lot of noise and driving rain signifying very little. There’s nothing wrong with the performances – DiCaprio is fine in the leading role, Ruffalo gives a quality performance and Kingsley is everything you expect – and there are some creepy moments, but the slow pace and unintentionally hilarious flashbacks will leave most feeling cold. The film just doesn’t sweep you along like it should.
As a silly thriller, it works well enough. If you want some deeper meaning, it is best to look elsewhere.
It is obvious right from the get-go that Scorsese is paying homage to his favourite B-movies of the 40s and 50. In the opening scene the score is full of orchestral crashity-crashity boom-ba-boom, when all we’re looking at is Leo on a boat. The melodramatic score and ominous shots of the island as it comes into view seem totally over the top to a modern audience – instead of building tension it makes everything seem quite humorous.
There’s no let-up in the hokum when we reach the island – the mental institution is run by everyone’s favourite screen baddy (Ben Kingsley) and an archetypal creepy German (Max von Sydow), and of course “there’s only one way off the island”. Once the massive storm comes, there is no way off the island, and we follow Leo as he runs around the forest, soaked to the skin and desperately trying to find the truth.
In the end this is just a lot of noise and driving rain signifying very little. There’s nothing wrong with the performances – DiCaprio is fine in the leading role, Ruffalo gives a quality performance and Kingsley is everything you expect – and there are some creepy moments, but the slow pace and unintentionally hilarious flashbacks will leave most feeling cold. The film just doesn’t sweep you along like it should.
As a silly thriller, it works well enough. If you want some deeper meaning, it is best to look elsewhere.
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