Kick-Ass 2

ACTION/ADVENTURE, COMEDY

Super Reality

8.75 out of 10 | Movie or DVD

---

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

---

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

---

Watch Trailer

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.

---

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone

COMEDY

Sleight of Hand

6.5 out of 10 | Rental

---

Rated: PG-13 Sexual content, dangerous stunts, a drug-related incident and language.
Release Date: March 15, 2013
Runtime: 1 hour 41 minutes

---

Director: Don Scardino
Writers: Jonathan M. Goldstein, John Francis Daley, Chad Kultgen, Tyler Mitchell
Cast: Steve Carell, Steve Buscemi, Olivia Wilde, Jim Carrey, James Gandolfini, Alan Arkin, Jay Mohr

---

Watch Trailer

SYNOPSIS: Magician Burt Wonderstone splits from his longtime stage partner after a guerrilla street magician steals their thunder. By spending some time with his boyhood idol, Burt looks to remember what made him love magic in the first place.

REVIEW: Small screen director Don Scardino, known for Royal Pains and 30 Rock, takes the stage for the silver screen to bring Steve Carell (Seeking a Friend for the End of the World) into the spotlight with another possible comedy hit. Written by the team of Jonathan M. Goldstein and John Francis Daley (Horrible Bosses), with Tyler Mitchell (My Own Worst Enemy) and Chad Kultgen (Southern Comfort) supplying the story, The Incredible Burt Wonderstone hopes to be true to its namesake.  

Young Albert is the focus of many bullies during his young life. On a lonely 10th birthday Albert receives the Rance Holloway Magic Kit which changes his young life forever. Dedicating his life to magic, he befriends another young boy who is the target and scorn of other kids in the school. Together, they master the tricks and start coming up with their own inventions of illusion. Fast forward 10 years and the duo, now called the Incredible Burt Wonderstone (Steve Carell, Date Night) and Anton Marvelton (Steve Buscemi, Hotel Transylvania), are happy to have become one of the major acts in Las Vegas. For years they ruled the Strip with their 'Magical Friendship' show. But when ticket sales slump and the magic tricks become dated, Bert and Anton have to face the fact that their act is no longer relevant. Enter Steve Gray (Jim Carrey, Mr. Popper's Penguins), a Chris Angel-esque street magician, who takes the art of illusion for the next extreme level. Unable to compete with what's the target demographic of 18 to 45 want to see, Burt and Anton suffer a fracture in their own friendship causing Anton to disappear from the business while Burt struggles with obscurity. When Burt, now forced to perform magic at a convalescent home, discovers that his magical idol Rance Holloway (Alan Arkin, Stand Up Guys) is a resident there he starts to realize that what inspired him to become a magician in the first place is really the most important thing.

Steve Carell, finding himself a more quirky character than that of Seeking a Friend for the End of the World or Little Miss Sunshine, faces the challenge of a more sleight of hand role. As a head-lining magician and a Las Vegas casino staple, Carell's Wonderstone is not really a likable character at the start. The fact of Wonderstone being down and out still doesn't do much to sway the audience to his side. It's only when Wonderstone rediscovers what he has been missing, in his act, his friendships, and his personal life, does he become sympathetic and an underdog to root for. Anton, Wonderstone's partner in magic and longtime friends, knows exactly where Wonderstone heart lies. Olivia Wilde (The Words), as the stage manager Jane/magician's assistant Nicole, finds that her love of her own idol Burt Wonderstone is really just an illusion after all. Jim Carrey, as the street magician Steve Gray, adds some hijinks and a little conflict - but really is more silly than anything else. Alan Arkin's Holloway does a good job with this snarky retired magician who discovered that his loss of the love of his craft was secondary to losing himself to a loveless mundane show.

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone tries to be silly, succeeding on some levels. It's relative clean fun, from the stage show opening dance moves to the song 'Abracadabra', to Jim Carrey's Gray looking to outdo himself at every turn to comic effect, to a magicians' duel involving a Yorky puppy, to the reveal of the final trick at the end of the film. There are a few laughs in the flick, but not enough to make it up uproarious comedy.

Steve Carell and Steve Buscemi work well together, showing us the illusion of some good chemistry on screen. Olivia Wilde's Jane enters a partnership of these two illusionists with reverence, skepticism, and eventual disappointment, always trying to see Wonderstone as someone who could still be the best if he wanted to. But her chemistry with Carell's Wonderstone seems a little forced, not as important to the flow of the story. The conflict between  Doug Munny (James Gandolfini, Killing Them Softly) and extreme illusionist Gray give the story something to do, but neither carry the story strong enough to get the job done. You have to love Arkin, though, in his snarky senior citizen's ways.

With a cameo from David Copperfield as a real magician, it is interesting to see that the art of illusion goes beyond just parlor tricks, sleight-of-hand, and grand illusion. Evident are bold velvet suits, capes, and as many rhinestones as one could costume can muster. Watching Carell dance poorly on stage before leading up to an actual allusions just goes to show you how much showmanship is needed to keep an audience enthralled between every trick's prestige. Just as the audiences become more jaded about the magic they want to see, Burt and Anton's stage antics lose their comic luster just as quickly. From Rance Holloway's caped master magician, to Burt Wonderstone's feathered hair and sequined velvet, to Steve Gray's grunge street illusionist, we get a timelines of the evolution of theatrical magic.

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone is a story of magical friendships, the ever-changing art of illusion, and the cost of losing passion for one's profession. Although there's a few laughs and silly sequences throughout the movie, the story lags. Not unlike the stage direction between tricks, Burt Wonderstone leaves us waiting for the comic payoffs.

I am a fan of Steven Carell's work on both the small screen and the big screen, but Burt Wonderstone is, unfortunately, not that incredible. If you want to know the secret behind the tricks of the 'Disappearing Audience', you may want to wait for the rental.

---

Mr. Popper's Penguins

Perfectly Positioned as a Fowl Favorite

Director: Mark Waters

Writers: Sean Anders, John Morris, Jared Stern, Richard Atwater, Florence Atwater

Stars: Jim Carrey, Carla Gugino, Angela Lansbury, Ophelia Lovibond, Madeline Carroll, Clark Gregg, Maxwell Perry Cotton

SYNOPSIS: When his late father sends him a souvenir in the form of a penguin from one of his last adventures, slick and savvy Tom Popper's professional life is thrown upside down, even though he seems to be getting his personal life back as a result.

REVIEW: What do you get when you mash together Jim Carrey's Ace Ventura: Pet Detective with Liar, Liar? You get some of the elements from the Richard and Florence Atwater novel, Mr. Popper's Penguins with the classic Jim Carrey flare. Director Mark Waters of Jamie Lee Curtis' Freaky Friday and Mean Girls fame takes a adaptation of the 1938 children's novel to provide Carrey with a film vehicle perfect for his style. But does this black tie affair lend itself to a standing ovation? Or does Mr. Popper's Penguins make you wish you went more casual dress?

Jim Carrey stars as Tom Popper, a man whose childhood was filled with expectant HAM radio calls from his adventurer father as he traveled the globe in search of a treasured find that always seemed just out of reach. As Tom grew up, his father reached out to him more and more infrequently, and eventually abandoned the Popper family altogether. As an adult, Tom Popper is divorced with two kids, focusing all of his energies on the business of acquiring properties in New York City so they can be torn down for more shiny metal monstrosities. All of a sudden, Popper receives a final souvenir from his late father in the form of a penguin. Trying to get rid of "Captain", Popper finds himself with five more penguins - to his chagrin and his children's delight.

Similar to Liar, Liar where Carrey's character must realize that family should rise above the grind and emptiness of a ruthless career, Mr. Popper takes a journey of discovery and re-discovery with the assistance of "Captain", "Loudy", "Bitey", "Lovey", "Stinky" and "Nimrod". Their names fit their personalities perfectly and provide much of the fun to the film. Kids will find the penguins funny, gross and endearing. I think even some of the adults will find them charming as well. Jim Carrey actually finds himself the straight man much of the time as the Charlie Chaplin-loving formal fowl take many of the pratfalls. You still see a bit of the old manic Jim Carrey, but only a few times (and not too often) that doesn't takes away from the penguins. Sure, the penguins are CGI, but other than one or two "where should I put my hands so the CG artists can put in the penguin later" moments, each has a character worth watching.

While Popper thinks his nemesis comes in the form of finned fowl, he also has to contend with a daughter Janie (Madeline Carroll) who thinks his dad is just like Popper's dad, an official Nat Jones (Iron Man's Clark Gregg) bent on taking the penguins away to the zoo, bosses Franklin (Philip Baker Hall), Yates (William Charles Mitchell) and Reader (Dominic Chianese) pushing Popper to close a deal to buy Tavern on the Green from Mrs. Van Gundy (Angela Lansbury), neighbor Kent (David Krumholtz looking for any excuse to have Popper evicted, and apartment concierge Daryl (Desmin Borges) looking for a payout at every turn from Popper to look the other way about the illegal pets. Gregg uses his stoic agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. demeanor to be menacing and bumbling, while Borges uses his slim position of power to comic success. Krumholtz as the neighbor is underdeveloped and serves no purpose.

Rounding out the cast are Ophelia Lovibond as Mr. Popper's assistant Pippi who speaks with a lot of words that begin with "p", the always lovely Carla Gugino as Popper's ex-wife Amanda, and Maxwell Perry Cotton as Popper's son Billy who starts Popper's misery and gets the ball rolling by thinking the penguins are birthday presents for him.

Mr. Popper's Penguins may have strayed wildly from the 1938 novel, but the fowl in this film will flap their way into your hearts. From a penguin who sees an American bald eagle fly on the television and wonders why she can't achieve lift-off, to a egg that does not want to hatch, to a bird that loves to give hugs, these flightless birds make a movie that soars.

WORTH: Matinee or DVD