Kick-Ass 2

ACTION/ADVENTURE, COMEDY

Super Reality

8.75 out of 10 | Movie or DVD

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Rated: R Strong violence, pervasive language, crude and sexual content, and brief nudity
Release Date: August 16, 2013
Runtime: 1 hour 47 minutes

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Director: Jeff Wadlow
Writers: Jeff Wadlow, from comic book by Mark Millar, John Romita Jr.
Cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloe Grace Moretz, Morris Chestnut, Claudia Lee, Clark Duke, Augustus Prew, Donald Faison, Garrett M. Brown, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Yancy Butler, John Leguizamo, Jim Carrey

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SYNOPSIS: The costumed high-school hero Kick-Ass joins with a group of normal citizens who have been inspired to fight crime in costume. Meanwhile, the Red Mist plots an act of revenge that will affect everyone Kick-Ass knows.

REVIEW: Never Back Down and the upcoming X-Force writer/director Jeff Wadlow takes over the reins and returns to a world where superheroes are not super powered, just super dedicated to truth, justice, and the American way. Based on the comic series written by Mark Millar and drawn by John Romita Jr., the hero comic made successful by Matthew Vaughn, Taylor-Johnson, and Grace Moretz, Kick-Ass 2 promises to kick ass.

The Internet costumed sensation turned drug kingpin killer Dave Lizewski a.k.a.Kick-Ass (Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Savages) has hung up his tights, paving the way for other costumed adventurers and vigilantes to patrol the streets and keep the city's citizens safe. Mindy Macready a.k.a. Hit-Girl (Chloë Grace Moretz, Let the Right One In) has even given up her blue hair and butterfly knives to just be a normal teenage girl under the care of her father's former partner Detective Marcus Williams (Morris Chestnut, Identity Thief). A new hero, Colonel Stars and Stripes (Jim Carrey, The Incredible Burt Wonderstone), leads the cadre of heroes against the evils of the night. Meanwhile, the former Red Mist / Chris D'Amico (Christopher Mintz-Plasse, The To Do List) seeks his own vengeance against Kick-Ass, leaving his innocence behind and taking the more brutal moniker of The Motherf%&*‏^r, and assembling his own legion of villains and criminals. Kick-Ass and Hit Girl must return to the fray as heroes in order to stop The Motherf%&*‏^r and his minions from destroying both their lives and the lives of those they love.

Taylor and Moretz brought the original comic to screen adaption to life to moderate box office, with greater success on DVD. Moretz's Hit Girl was brilliant, Nicolas Cage's Big Daddy was Adam west and William Shatner all rolls up into a vengeful, psychotic father, and Taylor managed to bring to screen a non-powered hero with all the hope of Peter Parker and all the heart of the caped crusader - without the gadgets or fighting prowess. It was faithful to the tone of Mark Millar's graphic limited series as best as it could be, changing things up with visuals and plot points that worked better on camera. Now we return to a non-powered superhero universe not unlike the real world, where a young hero like Kick-Ass can exist without much of a second look.

With Dave now a senior in high school and Mindy a freshman it seems that everyone is figuring out what to do next. Mindy struggles against wanting to help people as Hit Girl and Dave struggles with the mundane existence without being Kick-Ass. This film ups the ante like many sequels need to, with Kick Ass back out in the streets joining with other superheroes. Instead of being a couple heroes against a bunch of mobster, Kick-Ass 2 brings heroes and villains out by the dozens. No longer are Kick-Ass and Hit Girl the only masked avengers. More people have taken up the call to go to try to right the wrongs that they feel nobody else can – even the police.

From Colonel Stars and Stripes, to Kick-Ass girl Night Bitch (Lindy Booth, Dawn of the Dead), to Battle Guy (Clark Duke, The Croods) who ends up being unmasked as Dave's friend Marty, to Insect Man (Robert Emms, Mirror Mirror), to Dr. Gravity (Donald Faison, Pitch Perfect), the film fills the screen with ordinary people trying to do extraordinary things. In this world the bullets are real and people die, but fear of death does not deter the mission of these men and women. But Chris D'Amico has other plans for the lot of them, still brooding over the death of his father by the hands of Kick-Ass's bazooka.

Taking in both the Kick-Ass 2 and Hit Girl miniseries by Mark Millar, this film is funny, thoughtful, and utterly brutal. The fight scene scene end up being bloody melees, especially in the battle royale climax at the end. Hit Girl has some great choreographed scenes of action against D'Amico's thugs and against Mother Russia (Olga Kurkulina). What could have been considered a throwaway sequel actually has both teeth and something of a story backing it up.

Kick-Ass 2 is touted as this summer's last must-see film. Fans of the original film will get a kick out of watching Dave and Mindy trying to get on with their lives. Hit Girl may be less shocking than she was in the first film, but she is more grown up than ever. Sacrifices are made, blood is shed, and the reality of the wounds and scars collected are painful and deep.

Kick-Ass 2 is the perfect catharsis for the super powered summer blues. Snarky and comic-y, this film still holds a grain of humanity that the other genre films may have to marvel at.

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The Croods

ACTION/ADVENTURE, ANIMATED, FAMILY

Always Follow The Sun

9.0 out of 10 | MOVIE, DVD

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Rated: PG Some scary action.
Release Date: March 22, 2013
Runtime: 1 hour 31 minutes

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Director: Chris Sanders, Kirk De Micco
Writers: Chris Sanders, Kirk De Micco
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Ryan Reynolds, Emma Stone, Catherine Keener, Clark Duke, Cloris Leachman

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SYNOPSIS:  The prehistoric Crood family is forced to leave the safety of their cave when the world starts to shift and crack apart. Meeting up with a young homosapien, they have to fight predators, natural forces, and each other in the search for a safer haven.

REVIEW: Kirk De Micco (Space Chimps) Chris Sanders (How to Train Your Dragon, Lilo and Stitch) create the story, write the screenplay, and direct the new Dreamworks animated film involving the lives of one of the first prehistoric families and their fight for survival in a quickly changing world. 

Grug (Nicolas Cage, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance) keeps his caveman family safe by following the rules set forth on the cave paintings from ancestors past. 'Fear the dark and the unknown, and stay in the cave'. Every few days the family - with wife Ugga (Catherine Keener, A Late Quartet), son Thunk (Clark Duke, A Thousand Words), older daughter Eep (Emma Stone, Gangster Squad), younger daughter Sally, and Gran (Cloris Leachman, Raising Hope) - forage every few days for sustenance, stay in the cave protected by predators, and listen to stories of exploits, fear, and death by Grug. Eep, different from her father, has a curiosity for the outside world beyond the painted car walls. One night, Eep sees the flickering light of the sun and disobeys her father's standing order to stay in the cave by investigating its source. She stumbles upon a creature similar, but different from herself, a young homosapien named Guy (Ryan Reynolds, Safe House) and his furry animal companion named Belt. He urges her to come with him, telling a tale that the landscape he has traveled from has been overcome with earthquakes, lava, explosions, and death. When she can not leave her family behind, Eep soon learns the truth if Guy's words as the family cave and the surrounding valley are destroyed, forcing them to follow Guy to an unknown and new frontier they are reluctant to travel through.

Dreamworks Animation, known for top notch animated entertainment like Monsters vs. Aliens and Rise of the Guardians, returns for a prehistoric family tale for the whole family. In The Croods, curious Eep changes the whole dynamic of the Croods' way of life because of her free spirit and the unexpected meeting of the homosapien Guy. The world and characters that Dreamworks, Sanders, and De Micco create follows in the rich tradition of the studio and its storytelling.

From the onset, after Eep narrates the whys of her family's way of life, the dynamic and pace of the action, humor, heart, and style are fossilized into place. I am just a big kid at heart, by the way, and I laughed throughout the entire film. From Krug telling Ugga to 'release the baby' and watching the little scamp tear off after prey or her own family, to a human's furry utility belt Belt who seems to have more skills than just keeping Guy's pants up, the script is filled with clever verbal quips and visual gags for 'kids' of all ages. Aside from the great humor, The Croods has plenty of action. During the Croods family's first pursuit of food, they prove how closely they work together and how much strength and agility the cave people possess as they wrestle with oversized razor-toothed predators, tusked mammoths, and angry bird mothers, for a drop of scrambled egg. But at its heart, The Croods is a story of family, of growing up, and of surviving - together.

The character voices are perfect for the Croods. Nicolas Cage's Grug is a lumbering Neanderthal and a brute, but still a fierce protector of his brood. He can 'ugh' and 'ooh' with the best caveman, even though he and his may be the last of their kind. Emma Stone, fresh off her recent more adult roles, fits right in as the younger adolescent Eeg - ready to take on the wide unknown world. Clark Duke's Thunk is as funny as he is idiotic, Catherine Keener's Ugga is soft and capable, and Cloris Leachman's Gran is feisty and wise (when she needs to be). The Homosapien Guy, voiced by Ryan Reynolds, is nearly unrecognizable as the young new breed of human trying to survive in the changing, disruptive world.

There are no villains. per say, just the continued threat of predatory animals, the increasing and more violent tectonic shift of the earth's surfaces, the worry of a caveman for his family, and the worry of a father for the safety of his daughter against the unknown quaking world, and the unpredictable quaking of a young girl's heart in love.

The Croods is a great film to be enjoyed by the entire family - young and old. Filled with dangerous action, hilarious situations and gags that would give The Flintstones a run for their money, and a heart bigger than the entire Jurassic era, The Croods is the first great animated film of 2013.

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A Thousand Words

Life is a Journey

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Rated: PG-13 Sexual situations, language, dialogue and some drug-related humor.
Release Date: March 9, 2012
Runtime: 1 hr 31 mins

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Director:  Brian Robbins

Writers: Steve Koren
Cast:  Eddie Murphy, Kerry Washington, Cliff Curtis, Clark Duke, Allison Janney

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SYNOPSIS: Literary agent Jack McCall uses his bravado and big mouth to wheel and deal. After stretching the truth on a deal with a spiritual guide, Jack is confronted with the sudden appearance of a Bodhi tree on his property that drops a leaf with every word Jack utters.

REVIEW: Brian Robbins, a frequent directing force behind such Eddie Murphy films as Norbit and Meet Dave, teams up with longtime comedy writer Steve Koren known for Bruce Almighty, Click and A Night at the Roxbury for the latest Eddie Murphy off-beat comedy. This this outing, Eddie Murphy's character has "1000 words left to discover what matters most". I wonder if he will succeed before the last leaf falls?

Apogee literary agent Jack McCall (Eddie Murphy, Tower Heist) goes through life trying to land the big deals using fast talking and saying whatever he needs to. Living in a slick, glass bachelor pad with a manicured lawn and open pool on a cliff overlooking the city. Wife Caroline (Kerry Washington, The Last King of Scotland) is forced to change the diaper of their son on the kitchen counter and just wishes that Jack would put their lives ahead of his life. Meanwhile, Jack looks to land the manuscript from spiritual guru Dr. Sinja (Cliff Curtis, Colombiana), assuring Sinja that he will do whatever it takes to spread the word that is contained in his written work. While doing do, Jack is poked by a splinter on the trunk of a Bodhi tree. After Jack receives a five-page pamphlet instead of a brilliant self-help book, he confronts Sinja - to no avail. Afterward, at home, the same Bodhi tree suddenly appears in his backyard. After he touches the tree and speaks, a leaf starts falling off the tree for each word Jack utters. As more and more leaves fall, Jack becomes weaker and more sickly. Sinja realizes that Jack now shares a symbiotic relationship with the tree, and should focus his efforts on understanding how to find the truth within himself and spend less time chattering away with empty words.

Eddie Murphy has almost become synonymous with off-beat comedies that focus on self-discovery and enlightenment with films like Daddy Day Care, Imagine That, and the first two Doctor Dolittle movies. And with Click writer Koren in writing duties, we come close to getting a film with much of the same tone, if not the same manic quality that Sandler brought to bear. Luckily, Murphy also has the Shrek movies and the most recent Tower Heist to balance out his work. In A Thousand Words Murphy falls back on his extensive 'mugging' talents, his character forced to act out his requests and come up with creative ways that do not cross the rules of the karmic cosmos. McCall cannot even write any words down to communicate without causing leaves to fall off the tree since writing down words would be too easy a way to dialogue.

Murphy's expressiveness and the silly situations he finds himself in at home, work and around time supplies audible laughs for the film. Joined with his trusty assistant Aaron Wiseberger (Clark Duke, Hot Tub Time Machine), Murphy's McCall gets himself as much trouble as he gets out of. Cliff Curtis shows his versatility by playing the quiet and reserved spiritual leader Sinja, trusting that truth will set McCall free before the last leaf falls. But the laughs and smiles are tempered with more deep rooted (pun intended) issues that McCall needs to face and address, including the issues with his wife, the approval he needs to be acknowledged for by an Alzheimer's-ridden mother Annie (Ruby Dee, American Gangster) who mistakes Jack for his own father each time he visits her.

A Thousand Words is not for all audiences. Not that the film is not good - I was pleasantly surprised. People looking for continuous over-the-top Eddie Murphy hilarity will be somewhat disappointed. Although humor abounds, the film is a balance of silly and serious. Unlike Click and Imagine That, A Thousand Words should appeal to and satisfy a more adult moviegoing crowd. Without the inclusion of a precocious child, the story is still light but with a more mature slant.

As each leaf falls from the Bodhi tree and its branches become more barren, Jack McCall's inconvenient audible situation becomes more dire. Full of silent expressions, charades-style dialogue, and handy props to aid him, Eddie Murphy makes a dramedy that delights and enlightens, all along the journey's road that is our lives.

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WORTH: Matinee or DVD