Rating: 2 Shurikens
Jack Black, the voice of Kung Fu Panda, and star of some rather good movies like School of Rock and King Kong, plays the classic traveler who finds himself shipwrecked in a land where the inhabitants are all mouse-sized. He starts out as a mailroom worker for a big-city newspaper who lies his way into a gig as atravel writer. His first assignment is to visit Bermuda to learn the secret of the Bermuda Triangle. He is, of course, shipwrecked, and wakes up to find himself tied to the ground by a tiny army.
So far, so good. He becomes the patron of the Liliputians and helps them by fending off the rival kingdom which is trying to conquer them. Unfortunately, there is the pompous general, played by Chris O'Dowd, running the Liliputian army. The General is courting the Princess, played most convincingly by Emily Blunt, who delivers the best acting in the movie. Jason Segal, of the comedy TV show How I Met Your Mother, is the commoner who befriends Gulliver, and at the same time, enlists Gulliver's help in courting the fair Princess.
The basic premise of the movie is a stretch already, but is a classic that has been enjoyed in many forms through the years. My own first reading of the story was in the old Classics Illustrated comics of the early 1960's. But this film tries to stretch it even further, to some comedic effect. The time frame advances far too slowly for the events which take place. Other than that, the story is amusing and somewhat entertaining.
Being 3D is supposed to save this film, but really doesn't do the job. A lame storyline bolstered by special effects really isn't worth spending ten bucks on, twenty if you take a date or a friend. This is two shurikens at most.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
The Sorceror's Apprentice
Rating: 4 Shurikens
I was anticipating this film for quite a while after seeing the previews earlier in the year. It is a fantasy story, with science fiction elements, based very loosely on the old Mickey Mouse cartoon of the same name. If you haven't seen it, the cartoon that is, it's probably on YouTube somewhere, or you can find it in the movie Fantasia. In the cartoon, Mickey play a budding magician who is left at home alone while the Wizard goes out. He has a set of chores to do, but decides to animate the mops and buckets using spells from the wizards book. Chaos ensues, and the Wizard comes home and fixes the mess, but Mickey still has to do the chores. There is a moral in there somewhere, I think having to do with shortcuts sometimes making more work for you, or something like that.
The Sorceror's Apprentice is a movie about a young man with a destiny, and the Sorceror who must be his teacher and mentor. The young sorceror is played by Jay Baruchel, who does a very nice bit of acting playing a twenty year old college student, since he is close to 28 at the time the movie was made. Nicholas Cage plays the Sorceror, named Balthazar Blake. Balthazar has been searching all over the world for the apprentice foe 1400 years or so, from the days of the original Merlin.
Morgana, the evil nemesis of Merlin himself, is trapped in a vessel resembling a Russian dolls. Russian dolls are the kind that are like bowling pins, which come apart at the waist, revealing a smaller one inside. In the case of Morgana, there are several layers, each of which has an evil magician trapped in it. The outermost vessel has Maxim Horvath trapped in it, who is a contemporary of Balthazar, and who has been trying for hundreds of years to get Morgana out. Horvath is played by Alfred Molina, seen recently in the Prince of Persia, another Disney film, where he played the rascally merchant who befriends and also betrays the Prince. He played Doctor Octopus, brilliantly, in Spiderman 2.
Interestingly, Horvath and Balthazar both loved the same woman, and she chose Balthazar, which made Horvath mad. Thus, Horvath became evil. The girl they both loved sacrificed herself to help get Morgana trapped in the first place, so Balthazar has been pretty miserable for hundreds of years, but never turned to evil like Horvath.
The movie opens with Dave, the apprentice, going on a field trip to New York City. The girl he likes is in the same class, so he passes her a note, asking her if she likes him. She marks her answer, and before he gets it back, it blows away. He chases the note, which leads him to a shop of antiquities, and he maakes the acquaintance of Balthazar. He also manages to free Horvath, and then traps them both. Dave is traumatized by the experience, which we find out as it flashes forward to his college days.
He grows up to be a college nerd, who does experimental work at a disused subway station. He gets to meet, again, his old flame from the fourth grade. Her name is Becky Barnes, played by Teresa Palmer, who has grown up to be very cute. He also begins to learn how to use the magical powers that he was destined for. There is lots of good action, and the soundtrack is very impressive. Musically, it is a very good movie, and as a nerdy sci-fi fantasy, it gets high marks. Appealing to small children and older audiences is always difficult, but something which is trademark of Disney.
The Sorceror's Apprentice has romance, danger, intrigue, and good acting. I can't say too much because I want people to see the movie, since I give it 4 Shurikens. It is time well spent. Stay after the credits for a small tease.
I was anticipating this film for quite a while after seeing the previews earlier in the year. It is a fantasy story, with science fiction elements, based very loosely on the old Mickey Mouse cartoon of the same name. If you haven't seen it, the cartoon that is, it's probably on YouTube somewhere, or you can find it in the movie Fantasia. In the cartoon, Mickey play a budding magician who is left at home alone while the Wizard goes out. He has a set of chores to do, but decides to animate the mops and buckets using spells from the wizards book. Chaos ensues, and the Wizard comes home and fixes the mess, but Mickey still has to do the chores. There is a moral in there somewhere, I think having to do with shortcuts sometimes making more work for you, or something like that.
The Sorceror's Apprentice is a movie about a young man with a destiny, and the Sorceror who must be his teacher and mentor. The young sorceror is played by Jay Baruchel, who does a very nice bit of acting playing a twenty year old college student, since he is close to 28 at the time the movie was made. Nicholas Cage plays the Sorceror, named Balthazar Blake. Balthazar has been searching all over the world for the apprentice foe 1400 years or so, from the days of the original Merlin.
Morgana, the evil nemesis of Merlin himself, is trapped in a vessel resembling a Russian dolls. Russian dolls are the kind that are like bowling pins, which come apart at the waist, revealing a smaller one inside. In the case of Morgana, there are several layers, each of which has an evil magician trapped in it. The outermost vessel has Maxim Horvath trapped in it, who is a contemporary of Balthazar, and who has been trying for hundreds of years to get Morgana out. Horvath is played by Alfred Molina, seen recently in the Prince of Persia, another Disney film, where he played the rascally merchant who befriends and also betrays the Prince. He played Doctor Octopus, brilliantly, in Spiderman 2.
Interestingly, Horvath and Balthazar both loved the same woman, and she chose Balthazar, which made Horvath mad. Thus, Horvath became evil. The girl they both loved sacrificed herself to help get Morgana trapped in the first place, so Balthazar has been pretty miserable for hundreds of years, but never turned to evil like Horvath.
The movie opens with Dave, the apprentice, going on a field trip to New York City. The girl he likes is in the same class, so he passes her a note, asking her if she likes him. She marks her answer, and before he gets it back, it blows away. He chases the note, which leads him to a shop of antiquities, and he maakes the acquaintance of Balthazar. He also manages to free Horvath, and then traps them both. Dave is traumatized by the experience, which we find out as it flashes forward to his college days.
He grows up to be a college nerd, who does experimental work at a disused subway station. He gets to meet, again, his old flame from the fourth grade. Her name is Becky Barnes, played by Teresa Palmer, who has grown up to be very cute. He also begins to learn how to use the magical powers that he was destined for. There is lots of good action, and the soundtrack is very impressive. Musically, it is a very good movie, and as a nerdy sci-fi fantasy, it gets high marks. Appealing to small children and older audiences is always difficult, but something which is trademark of Disney.
The Sorceror's Apprentice has romance, danger, intrigue, and good acting. I can't say too much because I want people to see the movie, since I give it 4 Shurikens. It is time well spent. Stay after the credits for a small tease.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Despicable Me
Rating: 4 shurikens
This is another fine animated feature from DreamWorks. Dreamworks is a company that has tried to match the success of Pixar, by using similar animation techniques and stories. Most of the time, they don't come close, other times they do really nice work. The animation is not the main selling point, although the computer-generated animation genre relies heavily on it. At the core of any good animated movie is a story.
Despicable Me is a great story, about an evil genius who tries to find a caper that will dwarf all others, and insure him infamy and approbation of the public, and the admiration of other super-villains. It is a superhero story without any superheroes. Steve Carrell does the voice of Gru, who is mean and obnoxious, as well as a gross polluter. He drives a huge, ugly vehicle powered by smoke-belching rocket engines, and lives in an ugly house.
when the Great Pyramid is stolen, he is jealous of the real thief, unknown to him. He decides to commit a crime that will make the theft of the pyramid look like small potatoes, but he needs a loan from the Bank of Evil. Unexpectedly, three orphans selling cookies enter his life, and he hatches a plan to use them to further his evil ambitions. The orphans are so cute that they melt his heart, and to tell any more would give away too much of the story.
Gru is helped by his little minions, who resemble cheese puffs. The come in a variety of shapes and talk in unintelligible squeaks. They do most of the work in a secret underground lair below Gru's home.
Despicable Me is an excellent movie. The characters are believable, and the human interactions are just plausible enough to draw you in to the story. The orphans are very cute and loveable. The minions offer a little bit of sidebar humor, and the other villain, Vector, is a good counterpoint to Gru. The story is well-told, even though the plot is predictable. After all, it is a cartoon, and is probably aimed at a younger audience. Even so, it is a very well-spent hour and a half.
I give this one four shurikens, for humor and action, and an interesting story.
This is another fine animated feature from DreamWorks. Dreamworks is a company that has tried to match the success of Pixar, by using similar animation techniques and stories. Most of the time, they don't come close, other times they do really nice work. The animation is not the main selling point, although the computer-generated animation genre relies heavily on it. At the core of any good animated movie is a story.
Despicable Me is a great story, about an evil genius who tries to find a caper that will dwarf all others, and insure him infamy and approbation of the public, and the admiration of other super-villains. It is a superhero story without any superheroes. Steve Carrell does the voice of Gru, who is mean and obnoxious, as well as a gross polluter. He drives a huge, ugly vehicle powered by smoke-belching rocket engines, and lives in an ugly house.
when the Great Pyramid is stolen, he is jealous of the real thief, unknown to him. He decides to commit a crime that will make the theft of the pyramid look like small potatoes, but he needs a loan from the Bank of Evil. Unexpectedly, three orphans selling cookies enter his life, and he hatches a plan to use them to further his evil ambitions. The orphans are so cute that they melt his heart, and to tell any more would give away too much of the story.
Gru is helped by his little minions, who resemble cheese puffs. The come in a variety of shapes and talk in unintelligible squeaks. They do most of the work in a secret underground lair below Gru's home.
Despicable Me is an excellent movie. The characters are believable, and the human interactions are just plausible enough to draw you in to the story. The orphans are very cute and loveable. The minions offer a little bit of sidebar humor, and the other villain, Vector, is a good counterpoint to Gru. The story is well-told, even though the plot is predictable. After all, it is a cartoon, and is probably aimed at a younger audience. Even so, it is a very well-spent hour and a half.
I give this one four shurikens, for humor and action, and an interesting story.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Toy Story 3
Rating: 5 Shurikens
The anticipated third installment of the Toy Story series has hit the theaters. It is every bit as entertaining as the first two. Told from the point of view of the toys, it is a bittersweet tale of a child's toys, after the child ha grown and no longer plays with toys. All of Andy's familiar toys are back, and are accientally donated to a day care center. They end up in the room with the very youngest children, and their ordeal is epic. The story is mostly about how they try to reunite with their old owner, even though their future would most likely be life in an attic.
Some other new toy characters are introduced, with their own stories of lost owners, and how they are affected by being lost or replaced. The characterizations are as amazinglly apt, each toy having a personality of its own. They interact as well as m0ost human actors, and in ways the story is more enjoyable than a lot of live-action movies. In fact, it is amazing that a cartoon, which is basically what Pixar movies are, can be so realistic in the depiction of how toys would look and act, and how they would feel if they were alive.
The first Toy Story movie was a ground-breaking expansion of the animated story, and Pixar has been churning out masterpieces ever since. Practically all Pixar movies are good, although some, like Rattatouille and A Bug's Life, are not as good as others, like Cars, Wall-e and Up. Still, even the worst Pixar movie is better than a lot of other studios' works.
The meeting of Barbie and Ken is classic, one of the highlights of the movie. The Potatoheads are great, and the Fisher-Price phone is awesome. Toy Story 3 is a good story, from beginning to end. Some of the story seems to write itself, and some of it is pretty scary stuff for little kids. And for adults, it's a cartoon that can make a grown man cry. It earns a full 5 Shurikens, for action and imagination.
The anticipated third installment of the Toy Story series has hit the theaters. It is every bit as entertaining as the first two. Told from the point of view of the toys, it is a bittersweet tale of a child's toys, after the child ha grown and no longer plays with toys. All of Andy's familiar toys are back, and are accientally donated to a day care center. They end up in the room with the very youngest children, and their ordeal is epic. The story is mostly about how they try to reunite with their old owner, even though their future would most likely be life in an attic.
Some other new toy characters are introduced, with their own stories of lost owners, and how they are affected by being lost or replaced. The characterizations are as amazinglly apt, each toy having a personality of its own. They interact as well as m0ost human actors, and in ways the story is more enjoyable than a lot of live-action movies. In fact, it is amazing that a cartoon, which is basically what Pixar movies are, can be so realistic in the depiction of how toys would look and act, and how they would feel if they were alive.
The first Toy Story movie was a ground-breaking expansion of the animated story, and Pixar has been churning out masterpieces ever since. Practically all Pixar movies are good, although some, like Rattatouille and A Bug's Life, are not as good as others, like Cars, Wall-e and Up. Still, even the worst Pixar movie is better than a lot of other studios' works.
The meeting of Barbie and Ken is classic, one of the highlights of the movie. The Potatoheads are great, and the Fisher-Price phone is awesome. Toy Story 3 is a good story, from beginning to end. Some of the story seems to write itself, and some of it is pretty scary stuff for little kids. And for adults, it's a cartoon that can make a grown man cry. It earns a full 5 Shurikens, for action and imagination.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
The Last Airbender
Rating: 3 Shurikens
Great special effects, and the name of the writer/producer/director, M. Knight Shyamalan make this epic fantasy very attractive. The storyline is simple and elaborate at the same time. The plot is very much like a comic book story, with fairly well-delineated good guys and bad guys.
The film is based on a cartoon television series that aired on the Nickelodeon network for three seasons. The first episode aired in 2005. It was fusion of anime and elements of American cartoon animation. The series was called Avatar, the Last Airbender, but the movie had to be renamed because of a conflict with the James Cameron movie from earlier this year, Avatar. The original Target market was the 6-11demographic, but the series was popular with other ages as well. Obviously so, since it was made into a major motion picture costing upwards of 110 million dollars.
The story was rewritten for the big screen by Shyamalan, who was the brains behind Sixth Sense, the famous movie about the boy who sees dead people. Other movies by Shyamalan include The Village and The Girl in the Water. Most of Shyamalans movies are fanciful and supernatural, but don't really go too far with gratuitous violence or excessive sensationalistic gore. This movie is very much in keeping with the writer's style.
The story is about a war between the forces of good and evil, and between the four elements, Air, Earth, Water, and Fire. Evil is represented by fire, and good is represented by the other elements who live together in harmony with each other and the spirit world. Apparently, there are four races, each with a specific affinity for one of the aforementioned elements. There are gifted people amongst each race called Benders. Before we join the story, the Fire people have pretty much killed off all of the Air people, leaving only Aang, the Avatar and Last Airbender. This is the reason for the his title of Last Airbender.
The Fire people have conquered the Earth Kingdom, and now hold them prisoner, and also have the Water people at bay. The Water people are divided into two groups, the Southern Igloo-Dwellers, and the Northern City Dwellers. You can see how it is simple and complicated at the same time. Anyway, the Avatar ran away from home right after it was learned that he was, indeed, the next incarnation of the Avatar that has kept peace for thousands of years, by maintaining the balance in the world. Somehow, when he ran away, he fell into a dormant state and stayed that way for 100 years.
The story begins for the audience as two young water people, Katara and Sokka, happen upon the reposed body of Aang, who is stuck in a frozen bubble under the ice of the frozen south. Somehow, they wake him up, and the adventure begins. It seems that while he was sleeping, the Fire people got antsy and started conquering the world. They hadn't yet gotten done conquering the North water people when the Avatar came and started a rebellion.
The story bounces between the travels of Aang and his two friends as the travel to the ruins of Air People temples and the Earth Kingdom, and finally to the Water City in the frozen North. meanwhile, they are chased, and Aang is captured twice, by Fire People, bent on keeping him from realizing his full potential. There are additional plot twists to make it interesting, and many interactions between characters that are introduced at different times.
At this point, I won't say too much more about the story. Some elements of the plot are semi-religious in nature, as the way that Aang is treated as a savior, almost like a messiah. He is also quite powerful, being able to master four elements, rather than the usual one per race. At the time of the story, he only knows how to bend air, so he is still not quite up to peak form. Another point is that the Fire People use machines and travel in powered ships that burn fire and belch smoke and ash. Meanwhile, the other peoples either walk or travel by mythical flying beasts. This seems like a hidden message about machines, fire, fossil fuels, technology and pollution, all from the Fire People, while the others are pastoral, primitive and pure.
The races of people also seem rather contrived. The Water People are white, blue-eyed and Caucasion, the Air people are patterned after Buddhist monks in saffron robes, and the Earth People are like an Asian race. The Fire people are more dark-haired and brown-eyed, with darker complexions. I fear this plays into stereotypes about skin color and good versus evil. It may be unintentional, but the impression is there.
At any rate, the story is overloaded with characters, and the acting is not very good. There are a couple of well-played roles, actually: the young Fire Nation Prince Zuko, played by Dev Patel, and his Uncle Iroh, played by Shaun Toub. Patel was the star of the movie Slumdog Millionaire, and Toub played Yinsen in the first Iron Man movie. Yinsen was locked up with Tony Stark, and helped him develop the power core that kept the shrapnel away from his heart.
The rest of the actors are not trying very hard, or are trying too hard, or theircharacters haven't been developed properly in the overpopulated cast. The single instance of romance between Sokko and the Princess of the Water People, with the obligatory kissing scene, is scarcely believable and mostly implausible, even for a fantasy movie aimed at a teenage demographic. The two female actresses, both either late teens or early twenties, have those balloon lips that Hollywood loves so much, but which make them difficult to look at without your eyes being drawn to those lips wondering if they are real or not.
Finally, even though the movie is inspired by Asian martial-arts themes, the Tai Chi-like moves which are required by benders to be able to bend their element are contrived and overworked. I prefer a simple wave of a wand or a gesture, a determined expression, and maybe even a few magic words. This movie spends twenty seconds of dancing just to get a glob of water to rise into the air. Otherwise, the movie resembles a b-rated Kung Fu movie, except it doesn't have to be dubbed into English. Perhaps I am a bit too discerning. The story is great for kids, since there are no adult themes, no swear words, and actually no blood. This is refreshing, since people want to take little kids to the movies and enjoy them together, something you can't really do with a movie like Kick-Ass. In that respect, this has something for everyone, and even a child can see who the good guys and bad guys are.
However, the movie is kind of hokey, and doesn't give you any reason to believe that the Avatar actually fell asleep for 100 years, or where he got that giant flying beaver that he rides around on, which nobody else has one of. The actor who plays Aang is very young, and this being his first role ever, it is pretty obvious that he is new at acting. He does okay for a newbie, since he was hired for being a martial arts student more than for his acting skill. All in all, this is not a movie that you should rush out to see, even in 3-D, unless you have already seen all of the other movies out there. It might be worth a matinee, but I wouldn't take a date, especially a female date. Never mind that there will be no less than two, yes two, sequels. This one gets 3 shurikens. That is all.
Great special effects, and the name of the writer/producer/director, M. Knight Shyamalan make this epic fantasy very attractive. The storyline is simple and elaborate at the same time. The plot is very much like a comic book story, with fairly well-delineated good guys and bad guys.
The film is based on a cartoon television series that aired on the Nickelodeon network for three seasons. The first episode aired in 2005. It was fusion of anime and elements of American cartoon animation. The series was called Avatar, the Last Airbender, but the movie had to be renamed because of a conflict with the James Cameron movie from earlier this year, Avatar. The original Target market was the 6-11demographic, but the series was popular with other ages as well. Obviously so, since it was made into a major motion picture costing upwards of 110 million dollars.
The story was rewritten for the big screen by Shyamalan, who was the brains behind Sixth Sense, the famous movie about the boy who sees dead people. Other movies by Shyamalan include The Village and The Girl in the Water. Most of Shyamalans movies are fanciful and supernatural, but don't really go too far with gratuitous violence or excessive sensationalistic gore. This movie is very much in keeping with the writer's style.
The story is about a war between the forces of good and evil, and between the four elements, Air, Earth, Water, and Fire. Evil is represented by fire, and good is represented by the other elements who live together in harmony with each other and the spirit world. Apparently, there are four races, each with a specific affinity for one of the aforementioned elements. There are gifted people amongst each race called Benders. Before we join the story, the Fire people have pretty much killed off all of the Air people, leaving only Aang, the Avatar and Last Airbender. This is the reason for the his title of Last Airbender.
The Fire people have conquered the Earth Kingdom, and now hold them prisoner, and also have the Water people at bay. The Water people are divided into two groups, the Southern Igloo-Dwellers, and the Northern City Dwellers. You can see how it is simple and complicated at the same time. Anyway, the Avatar ran away from home right after it was learned that he was, indeed, the next incarnation of the Avatar that has kept peace for thousands of years, by maintaining the balance in the world. Somehow, when he ran away, he fell into a dormant state and stayed that way for 100 years.
The story begins for the audience as two young water people, Katara and Sokka, happen upon the reposed body of Aang, who is stuck in a frozen bubble under the ice of the frozen south. Somehow, they wake him up, and the adventure begins. It seems that while he was sleeping, the Fire people got antsy and started conquering the world. They hadn't yet gotten done conquering the North water people when the Avatar came and started a rebellion.
The story bounces between the travels of Aang and his two friends as the travel to the ruins of Air People temples and the Earth Kingdom, and finally to the Water City in the frozen North. meanwhile, they are chased, and Aang is captured twice, by Fire People, bent on keeping him from realizing his full potential. There are additional plot twists to make it interesting, and many interactions between characters that are introduced at different times.
At this point, I won't say too much more about the story. Some elements of the plot are semi-religious in nature, as the way that Aang is treated as a savior, almost like a messiah. He is also quite powerful, being able to master four elements, rather than the usual one per race. At the time of the story, he only knows how to bend air, so he is still not quite up to peak form. Another point is that the Fire People use machines and travel in powered ships that burn fire and belch smoke and ash. Meanwhile, the other peoples either walk or travel by mythical flying beasts. This seems like a hidden message about machines, fire, fossil fuels, technology and pollution, all from the Fire People, while the others are pastoral, primitive and pure.
The races of people also seem rather contrived. The Water People are white, blue-eyed and Caucasion, the Air people are patterned after Buddhist monks in saffron robes, and the Earth People are like an Asian race. The Fire people are more dark-haired and brown-eyed, with darker complexions. I fear this plays into stereotypes about skin color and good versus evil. It may be unintentional, but the impression is there.
At any rate, the story is overloaded with characters, and the acting is not very good. There are a couple of well-played roles, actually: the young Fire Nation Prince Zuko, played by Dev Patel, and his Uncle Iroh, played by Shaun Toub. Patel was the star of the movie Slumdog Millionaire, and Toub played Yinsen in the first Iron Man movie. Yinsen was locked up with Tony Stark, and helped him develop the power core that kept the shrapnel away from his heart.
The rest of the actors are not trying very hard, or are trying too hard, or theircharacters haven't been developed properly in the overpopulated cast. The single instance of romance between Sokko and the Princess of the Water People, with the obligatory kissing scene, is scarcely believable and mostly implausible, even for a fantasy movie aimed at a teenage demographic. The two female actresses, both either late teens or early twenties, have those balloon lips that Hollywood loves so much, but which make them difficult to look at without your eyes being drawn to those lips wondering if they are real or not.
Finally, even though the movie is inspired by Asian martial-arts themes, the Tai Chi-like moves which are required by benders to be able to bend their element are contrived and overworked. I prefer a simple wave of a wand or a gesture, a determined expression, and maybe even a few magic words. This movie spends twenty seconds of dancing just to get a glob of water to rise into the air. Otherwise, the movie resembles a b-rated Kung Fu movie, except it doesn't have to be dubbed into English. Perhaps I am a bit too discerning. The story is great for kids, since there are no adult themes, no swear words, and actually no blood. This is refreshing, since people want to take little kids to the movies and enjoy them together, something you can't really do with a movie like Kick-Ass. In that respect, this has something for everyone, and even a child can see who the good guys and bad guys are.
However, the movie is kind of hokey, and doesn't give you any reason to believe that the Avatar actually fell asleep for 100 years, or where he got that giant flying beaver that he rides around on, which nobody else has one of. The actor who plays Aang is very young, and this being his first role ever, it is pretty obvious that he is new at acting. He does okay for a newbie, since he was hired for being a martial arts student more than for his acting skill. All in all, this is not a movie that you should rush out to see, even in 3-D, unless you have already seen all of the other movies out there. It might be worth a matinee, but I wouldn't take a date, especially a female date. Never mind that there will be no less than two, yes two, sequels. This one gets 3 shurikens. That is all.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Prince of Persia
Rating: 3 1/2 Shurikens
This is a movie based on a video game, one which I first saw on the Apple //e platform, back in the 80's. The movie was true to the video game concept, featuring the main character running through various places, leaping and swinging, and dodging adversaries. This is probably the most video-game-like adaptation I have ever seen. There are probably eight or nine sequences where the Prince runs, jumps, dodges, swings, throws, stabs, and many other actions.
The movie is very long. It does not shortchange you with a mere ninety minutes. It has a plot, although somewhat weak, but it includes a time paradox. I can't discuss it without giving away a major plot vehicle, thereby spoiling the movie. You will have to go see it yourself.
The main character, Dastan, is played by Jake Gyllenhaal, who I saw in October Sky some years ago, but otherwise I didn't recognize him. He does a decent job of with it, and he handles the love interest believeably. Tamina, played by Gemma Arterton, is a princess in a holy city, guarding a legendary dagger, and another much bigger item. She was seen in James Bond Quantum of Solace as Strawberry Fields, and I believe she died pretty early in that movie. She is very pretty, but she seems to have had some collagen implanted in her upper lip, making it difficult to take her too seriously. I really wish the mvie starlets would stop paying plastic surgeons to deform otherwise lovely features.
The relationship does not elicit any sense of empathy from the audience, which s just as well, I guess, since the audience is probably mostly children. I never once felt myself hoping they would live happily ever after. Most of the romance seemed like it had been seen before in movie after movie. The one kissing scene was overshadowed by her upper lip.
As for the villain, it was hard to tell at the beginning who the bad guys were going to be. I was a little surprised at how that all turned out. It seems there was a King of Persia who had a brother, played by Ben Kingsley, and two sons. The King of Persia, Sharaman, was played by Ronald Pickup, and the sons Garsiv and Tus were played by Toby Kebbel and Richard Coyle, respectively. Kebbel wil be seen in the upcoming Sorcerer's Apprentice, as will Alfred Molina, who plays Sheik Amar, and interesting person who comes to be allied with Dastan. The Uncle of Dastan and the other two Princes is Nizam, played by Ben Kingsley
The King adopted Dastan as an orphan, and raised him as his own. The oldest son, Tus, is destined to be the heir to his father's throne, and when the father is murdered, everyone is easily convinced that Dastan did it. He didn't, as you might well assume, given that he is the star of the movie. He was framed in an elaborate plot by the evil, well, I don't want to give that away, either. It was someone who was trying to find the magic dagger, and release the Sands of Time from their storage place. It turns out that it is not a good idea to rbelease the Sands of Time, as the whole world would be destroyed.
When Dastan flees for his life, he takes the dagger and the Princess with him, and meets Sheik Amar and his band of reprobates. Adventure is had by all as the Prince tries to convince his family of his innocence, and discovers who the real killer is, and then tries to keep the Sands of Time in their rightful place.
Truly, the story could have been written by a computer, or a room full of chimpanzees with typewriters. It is not very imaginative, for most of the time. The ending redeems it somewhat, but only partly. Most of the reason to see The Prince of Persia is the incredible acrobatics and the special effects. The angles which they shoot the action scenes shift way too fast for me, but that is a fact of life these days as movies try to pack so much action in a movie that they can't spend more than a half of a second on a shot. All in all, the movie is a pleasant diversion, with lots of action, fairly decent acting, and great effects, and it is good and long. I give it 3 and 1/2 shurikens.
This is a movie based on a video game, one which I first saw on the Apple //e platform, back in the 80's. The movie was true to the video game concept, featuring the main character running through various places, leaping and swinging, and dodging adversaries. This is probably the most video-game-like adaptation I have ever seen. There are probably eight or nine sequences where the Prince runs, jumps, dodges, swings, throws, stabs, and many other actions.
The movie is very long. It does not shortchange you with a mere ninety minutes. It has a plot, although somewhat weak, but it includes a time paradox. I can't discuss it without giving away a major plot vehicle, thereby spoiling the movie. You will have to go see it yourself.
The main character, Dastan, is played by Jake Gyllenhaal, who I saw in October Sky some years ago, but otherwise I didn't recognize him. He does a decent job of with it, and he handles the love interest believeably. Tamina, played by Gemma Arterton, is a princess in a holy city, guarding a legendary dagger, and another much bigger item. She was seen in James Bond Quantum of Solace as Strawberry Fields, and I believe she died pretty early in that movie. She is very pretty, but she seems to have had some collagen implanted in her upper lip, making it difficult to take her too seriously. I really wish the mvie starlets would stop paying plastic surgeons to deform otherwise lovely features.
The relationship does not elicit any sense of empathy from the audience, which s just as well, I guess, since the audience is probably mostly children. I never once felt myself hoping they would live happily ever after. Most of the romance seemed like it had been seen before in movie after movie. The one kissing scene was overshadowed by her upper lip.
As for the villain, it was hard to tell at the beginning who the bad guys were going to be. I was a little surprised at how that all turned out. It seems there was a King of Persia who had a brother, played by Ben Kingsley, and two sons. The King of Persia, Sharaman, was played by Ronald Pickup, and the sons Garsiv and Tus were played by Toby Kebbel and Richard Coyle, respectively. Kebbel wil be seen in the upcoming Sorcerer's Apprentice, as will Alfred Molina, who plays Sheik Amar, and interesting person who comes to be allied with Dastan. The Uncle of Dastan and the other two Princes is Nizam, played by Ben Kingsley
The King adopted Dastan as an orphan, and raised him as his own. The oldest son, Tus, is destined to be the heir to his father's throne, and when the father is murdered, everyone is easily convinced that Dastan did it. He didn't, as you might well assume, given that he is the star of the movie. He was framed in an elaborate plot by the evil, well, I don't want to give that away, either. It was someone who was trying to find the magic dagger, and release the Sands of Time from their storage place. It turns out that it is not a good idea to rbelease the Sands of Time, as the whole world would be destroyed.
When Dastan flees for his life, he takes the dagger and the Princess with him, and meets Sheik Amar and his band of reprobates. Adventure is had by all as the Prince tries to convince his family of his innocence, and discovers who the real killer is, and then tries to keep the Sands of Time in their rightful place.
Truly, the story could have been written by a computer, or a room full of chimpanzees with typewriters. It is not very imaginative, for most of the time. The ending redeems it somewhat, but only partly. Most of the reason to see The Prince of Persia is the incredible acrobatics and the special effects. The angles which they shoot the action scenes shift way too fast for me, but that is a fact of life these days as movies try to pack so much action in a movie that they can't spend more than a half of a second on a shot. All in all, the movie is a pleasant diversion, with lots of action, fairly decent acting, and great effects, and it is good and long. I give it 3 and 1/2 shurikens.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Robin Hood
Rating: 4 1/2 Shurikens
Tonight, I saw the Robin Hood movie starrring Russell Crowe as the legendary leader of the Merry Men. This latest retelling of the venerable tale is a bit more edgy and dark in its depiction of life in 12th century England. The violence is a bit more graphic than the Kevin Costner and Erroll Flynn portrayals, more in line with what today's audiences expect from an action movie.
The movie begins in France, where King Richard the Lion Heart is waging a battle against the French on his way back from the crusades. Robin and his men serve as archer in His Majesty's army, but right before the battle to take the castle, he tells the king something which the king doesn't like, so Robin and his men are stockaded during the battle when King Richard gets killed. Robin and his men escape, and Robin takes the identity of Robert Loxley to get back home. He delivers the crown of King Richard to England, and then goes to the home of Loxley, where he meets Lady Marian.
It is like the origin story of Robin Hood. He does very little of robbing from the rich and giving to the poor. There is adventure and intrigue, and the dialog is riveting. The whole movie is good versus evil, and good wins, mostly. It does have sequel written all over it, but as an origin story, you've seen Robin Hood enough times that you practically know the whole story before filming even begins. Perhaps the best thing about this Robin Hood is its departure from the re-retelling of the same old story.
Cate Blanchett plays Lady Marian, although the strong woman character seems a little bit strained at times. I guess the 20th-century audience expects strong women, but Lady Marian goes a bit far. She is stereotypical as the Lady of the Manor, having to run the place with an absent husband and a blind father-in-law. I can't really say too much without giving away important plot lines, but I will say that the reaction to being put in one situation is entirely believeable and satisfying, while later, you may find yourself wondering what she is doing other than extending her role in the movie.
The character of the Sherriff of Nottingham, played by Matthew McFayden, is not the major villain in this version. MAcFayden has been cheated in this role, because he once played the role of Mr. Darcy in the big-screen 2005 movie, Pride and Prejudice, a mushy chick-flick based on a novel by Jane Austen. Austen was the original romance novelist, who made her female characters strong and self-directing, rather than passive girls waiting to be married off. In that context, the role of Mr Darcey is an important one, as he is the leading man who gets to kiss the girl. As the Sherriff of Nottingham, he is cowardly and without honor or dignity.
The big villain is Sir Godfrey, played by Mark Strong. Godfrey is a traitor to the Crown in the employ of the evil French King Philip. You will remember Strong from his big villain roles in Kick Ass and Sherlock Holmes. He plays a very good bad guy, even though his motivations are far from clear. He seems to be doing evil for the sake of evil, rather than for any tangible rewards, but he does do some very dastardly deeds. He is very convicingly evil, and I can't wait to see him play the villain in the first Green Lantern movie.
William Hurt has been in some pretty good movies, including the Incredible Hulk from a couple of years back. I tend to like his movies, and he plays a good supporting role as the Chamberlain to King Richard and King John. I fully expected him to be killed in this movie, but I can say he doesn't complicate the plot by being killed off. Another big-name actor, Max von Sydow, plays the father of Loxley, and does a tremendous job of it.
The three Merry Men in this story are Little John, Alan A'Dale, and Will Scarlett. They make a great team, and none of them has to die to be avenged. Little John is played by Kevin Durand, most noted for his role as the Blob in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Interestingly, he played a bit part in a previous Russell Crowe remake of 3:10 to Yuma in 2007.
Robin Hood is a good movie, with lots of action, lots of violence, and an epic battle scene towrds the end. The interactions of the characters are realistic and mostly believable, the portrayals are accurate for a large part, and the story flows smoothly from the start, although some of the details are hard to work out at the beginning. Many action movies work through their inablity to create believable action by using too many camera angles and changing them frequently, but this movie doesn't do that too much.I highly recommend this movie as the first choice of movies to see this week, and grant Robin Hood four-and-a-half shurikens.
Tonight, I saw the Robin Hood movie starrring Russell Crowe as the legendary leader of the Merry Men. This latest retelling of the venerable tale is a bit more edgy and dark in its depiction of life in 12th century England. The violence is a bit more graphic than the Kevin Costner and Erroll Flynn portrayals, more in line with what today's audiences expect from an action movie.
The movie begins in France, where King Richard the Lion Heart is waging a battle against the French on his way back from the crusades. Robin and his men serve as archer in His Majesty's army, but right before the battle to take the castle, he tells the king something which the king doesn't like, so Robin and his men are stockaded during the battle when King Richard gets killed. Robin and his men escape, and Robin takes the identity of Robert Loxley to get back home. He delivers the crown of King Richard to England, and then goes to the home of Loxley, where he meets Lady Marian.
It is like the origin story of Robin Hood. He does very little of robbing from the rich and giving to the poor. There is adventure and intrigue, and the dialog is riveting. The whole movie is good versus evil, and good wins, mostly. It does have sequel written all over it, but as an origin story, you've seen Robin Hood enough times that you practically know the whole story before filming even begins. Perhaps the best thing about this Robin Hood is its departure from the re-retelling of the same old story.
Cate Blanchett plays Lady Marian, although the strong woman character seems a little bit strained at times. I guess the 20th-century audience expects strong women, but Lady Marian goes a bit far. She is stereotypical as the Lady of the Manor, having to run the place with an absent husband and a blind father-in-law. I can't really say too much without giving away important plot lines, but I will say that the reaction to being put in one situation is entirely believeable and satisfying, while later, you may find yourself wondering what she is doing other than extending her role in the movie.
The character of the Sherriff of Nottingham, played by Matthew McFayden, is not the major villain in this version. MAcFayden has been cheated in this role, because he once played the role of Mr. Darcy in the big-screen 2005 movie, Pride and Prejudice, a mushy chick-flick based on a novel by Jane Austen. Austen was the original romance novelist, who made her female characters strong and self-directing, rather than passive girls waiting to be married off. In that context, the role of Mr Darcey is an important one, as he is the leading man who gets to kiss the girl. As the Sherriff of Nottingham, he is cowardly and without honor or dignity.
The big villain is Sir Godfrey, played by Mark Strong. Godfrey is a traitor to the Crown in the employ of the evil French King Philip. You will remember Strong from his big villain roles in Kick Ass and Sherlock Holmes. He plays a very good bad guy, even though his motivations are far from clear. He seems to be doing evil for the sake of evil, rather than for any tangible rewards, but he does do some very dastardly deeds. He is very convicingly evil, and I can't wait to see him play the villain in the first Green Lantern movie.
William Hurt has been in some pretty good movies, including the Incredible Hulk from a couple of years back. I tend to like his movies, and he plays a good supporting role as the Chamberlain to King Richard and King John. I fully expected him to be killed in this movie, but I can say he doesn't complicate the plot by being killed off. Another big-name actor, Max von Sydow, plays the father of Loxley, and does a tremendous job of it.
The three Merry Men in this story are Little John, Alan A'Dale, and Will Scarlett. They make a great team, and none of them has to die to be avenged. Little John is played by Kevin Durand, most noted for his role as the Blob in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Interestingly, he played a bit part in a previous Russell Crowe remake of 3:10 to Yuma in 2007.
Robin Hood is a good movie, with lots of action, lots of violence, and an epic battle scene towrds the end. The interactions of the characters are realistic and mostly believable, the portrayals are accurate for a large part, and the story flows smoothly from the start, although some of the details are hard to work out at the beginning. Many action movies work through their inablity to create believable action by using too many camera angles and changing them frequently, but this movie doesn't do that too much.I highly recommend this movie as the first choice of movies to see this week, and grant Robin Hood four-and-a-half shurikens.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Iron Man 2
Rating: 5 Shurikens
I just got in from seeing Iron Man 2. I have to say it was a fine piece of cinematic artistry. It really doesn't get much better than this. The action is fast-paced without being too dizzying, the characters have real depth in spite of their comic book origins, and the cast is full of really good, big-name stars.
Robert Downey, Jr., reprises his role as the flamboyant playboy industrialist, Tony Stark, who is the alter-ego of Iron Man. Just as in the first movie, he captures the essence of the comic book character, and gives it real depth. Tony Stark's ego is exaggerated somewhat, compared to the character in the comics, but the big screen provides a medium that allows many more dimensions than 8 1/2" x 11" newsprint.
Downey is backed up by a slate of really excellent actors and actresses. Gwyneth Paltrow plays Pepper Potts, Tony Stark's love interest. She does a beautiful job of bringing a rather neglected character to life. Scarlett Johanssen plays Natasha Romanov, who is known as Black Widow from the old Avengers comics. Scarlet threatens to overshadow Gwyneth, but fails. Gwyneth is a better actress, and Scarlet's Hollywood lips are a detriment to her facial features, in my opinion. As Black Widow, Johanssen gets a nice action sequence of her own, and may well end up playing Black Widow in a feature film, the way Elektra was spun off from Daredevil.
Don Cheadle plays Colonel James Rhodes, Tony's liaison with the Pentagon. Colonel Rhodes often wore a suit of armor in the Iron Man comic books as War Machine, and was a sort of sidekick to Iron Man. In the first Iron Man movie, Rhodey, as he was referred to by his friend Tony Stark, was played by Terrence Howard. I like Don Cheadle's acting, and as a name actor, he has better recognition than Howard. He does a really nice job in the role, although it seems rather unnecessary to change actors between movies like that. That said, the character is strongly featured and true to the comic book.
Samuel L. Jackson reprises his previous cameo appearance from the tail end of the screen credits of Iron Man. He plays Nick Fury, agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., a super-secret agency of the U. S. Government, kind of like a super CIA with high-tech weapons and operatives. James Bond would be right at home with S.H.I.E.L.D. Anyway, Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury is plays a larger role in the story, adding some continuity to a rumored upcoming Avengers movie.
The villain in the story is Whiplash, a man with energy whips that was one of Iron Man's signature villains. Played by Mickey Rourke, he comes across as a significant threat, but he is humbled early on. After some adjustments to his weaponry, and with the help of Justin Hammer, a rival millionaire industrialist of Tony Stark, Whiplash rises again. I won't say any more about that, because I am not a spoiler. You will have to see it yourself. Justin Hammer is played by Sam Rockwell, who also played Zaphod Beeblebrox in "The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy."
All in all, Iron Man 2 is an amazing accomplishment, and a tribute to the writers and artists who originated the characters over forty years ago. Some of them aren't alive to see it, but if they could, they would be proud. Also, Stan Lee makes his obligatory cameo as the man who Tony Stark mistakes for Larry King. The action is superb, the story is excellent, the acting is top-notch. And at over 2 hours long, it is a good value for a comic book movie addict like myself. I give it all five shurikens.
Be sure to stay after the credits for a teaser.
I just got in from seeing Iron Man 2. I have to say it was a fine piece of cinematic artistry. It really doesn't get much better than this. The action is fast-paced without being too dizzying, the characters have real depth in spite of their comic book origins, and the cast is full of really good, big-name stars.
Robert Downey, Jr., reprises his role as the flamboyant playboy industrialist, Tony Stark, who is the alter-ego of Iron Man. Just as in the first movie, he captures the essence of the comic book character, and gives it real depth. Tony Stark's ego is exaggerated somewhat, compared to the character in the comics, but the big screen provides a medium that allows many more dimensions than 8 1/2" x 11" newsprint.
Downey is backed up by a slate of really excellent actors and actresses. Gwyneth Paltrow plays Pepper Potts, Tony Stark's love interest. She does a beautiful job of bringing a rather neglected character to life. Scarlett Johanssen plays Natasha Romanov, who is known as Black Widow from the old Avengers comics. Scarlet threatens to overshadow Gwyneth, but fails. Gwyneth is a better actress, and Scarlet's Hollywood lips are a detriment to her facial features, in my opinion. As Black Widow, Johanssen gets a nice action sequence of her own, and may well end up playing Black Widow in a feature film, the way Elektra was spun off from Daredevil.
Don Cheadle plays Colonel James Rhodes, Tony's liaison with the Pentagon. Colonel Rhodes often wore a suit of armor in the Iron Man comic books as War Machine, and was a sort of sidekick to Iron Man. In the first Iron Man movie, Rhodey, as he was referred to by his friend Tony Stark, was played by Terrence Howard. I like Don Cheadle's acting, and as a name actor, he has better recognition than Howard. He does a really nice job in the role, although it seems rather unnecessary to change actors between movies like that. That said, the character is strongly featured and true to the comic book.
Samuel L. Jackson reprises his previous cameo appearance from the tail end of the screen credits of Iron Man. He plays Nick Fury, agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., a super-secret agency of the U. S. Government, kind of like a super CIA with high-tech weapons and operatives. James Bond would be right at home with S.H.I.E.L.D. Anyway, Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury is plays a larger role in the story, adding some continuity to a rumored upcoming Avengers movie.
The villain in the story is Whiplash, a man with energy whips that was one of Iron Man's signature villains. Played by Mickey Rourke, he comes across as a significant threat, but he is humbled early on. After some adjustments to his weaponry, and with the help of Justin Hammer, a rival millionaire industrialist of Tony Stark, Whiplash rises again. I won't say any more about that, because I am not a spoiler. You will have to see it yourself. Justin Hammer is played by Sam Rockwell, who also played Zaphod Beeblebrox in "The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy."
All in all, Iron Man 2 is an amazing accomplishment, and a tribute to the writers and artists who originated the characters over forty years ago. Some of them aren't alive to see it, but if they could, they would be proud. Also, Stan Lee makes his obligatory cameo as the man who Tony Stark mistakes for Larry King. The action is superb, the story is excellent, the acting is top-notch. And at over 2 hours long, it is a good value for a comic book movie addict like myself. I give it all five shurikens.
Be sure to stay after the credits for a teaser.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
The Losers
Rating: 3.5 Shurikens
I went to see The Losers recently, because it originated from a comic book. The intense action and the flow of the story made for an entertaining movie-going experience. This is a good movie to watch in the theater, because the explosions and most of the action are great on the big screen, with serious sound. I wouldn't spend the money to watch it twice, though. The second time would be on disc, at home.
The story is basically a team of five highly macho mercenaries plus one very beautiful woman. Th woman is tough, a heck of a good fighter, and very sexy. She has a plan for The Losers, but she is secretive about it. The movie begins with a mission gone astray, and the Evil Boss Leader tries to destroy the losers at the end of the mission. He fails, of course, or there wouldn't be a story.
The Losers are stranded in Bolivia, thought dead, when the beautiful woman picks a fight with Max, the leader of the team. She offers a plan for The Losers to get their revenge, and much of the movie is the implementation of the plan, which requires a vast amount of money. Somehow the woman has the money to pay for everything, so the story continues to flow.
The Evil Boss Leader is a real a-hole, who wants to obtain new kinds of weapons, which are science-fiction, and don't correspond to anything in the real world. This is obviously from the comic book story, and it is refreshing to see something like that not get replaced by nuclear-tipped cruise missiles. It keeps the comic book feel in the story. Anyway, the villain kills a few people somewhat gratuitously, reinforcing his evilness. He also has an endless supply of minions who can be killed or maimed by The Losers.
Much of the story is formulaic and predictable, but the characters are realistic and likeable on a personal level. There is an undercurrent of wisecrack comedy, as we have seen in comic book teams through the years. With a good pace to the action and some spectacular scenes involving fire and explosions, The Losers entertains.
In the end, there is betrayal, the woman's secret is revealed, and the door is open for a sequel, but I won't say anything more. No spoilers here. You will just have to go see it yourself. You should go soon, because it will be probably be out of the theaters once Iron Man 2 arrives. I give it 3.5 Shurikens.
I went to see The Losers recently, because it originated from a comic book. The intense action and the flow of the story made for an entertaining movie-going experience. This is a good movie to watch in the theater, because the explosions and most of the action are great on the big screen, with serious sound. I wouldn't spend the money to watch it twice, though. The second time would be on disc, at home.
The story is basically a team of five highly macho mercenaries plus one very beautiful woman. Th woman is tough, a heck of a good fighter, and very sexy. She has a plan for The Losers, but she is secretive about it. The movie begins with a mission gone astray, and the Evil Boss Leader tries to destroy the losers at the end of the mission. He fails, of course, or there wouldn't be a story.
The Losers are stranded in Bolivia, thought dead, when the beautiful woman picks a fight with Max, the leader of the team. She offers a plan for The Losers to get their revenge, and much of the movie is the implementation of the plan, which requires a vast amount of money. Somehow the woman has the money to pay for everything, so the story continues to flow.
The Evil Boss Leader is a real a-hole, who wants to obtain new kinds of weapons, which are science-fiction, and don't correspond to anything in the real world. This is obviously from the comic book story, and it is refreshing to see something like that not get replaced by nuclear-tipped cruise missiles. It keeps the comic book feel in the story. Anyway, the villain kills a few people somewhat gratuitously, reinforcing his evilness. He also has an endless supply of minions who can be killed or maimed by The Losers.
Much of the story is formulaic and predictable, but the characters are realistic and likeable on a personal level. There is an undercurrent of wisecrack comedy, as we have seen in comic book teams through the years. With a good pace to the action and some spectacular scenes involving fire and explosions, The Losers entertains.
In the end, there is betrayal, the woman's secret is revealed, and the door is open for a sequel, but I won't say anything more. No spoilers here. You will just have to go see it yourself. You should go soon, because it will be probably be out of the theaters once Iron Man 2 arrives. I give it 3.5 Shurikens.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Kick-Ass
Rating: 4 1/2 Shurikens
I really enjoyed watching Kick-Ass. I decided to go see it when I heard it was based on a comic book by John Romita Jr. I used to read John Romita, Jr.'s work when he drew Frank Miller's Daredevil. Anyway, I recognized the name, so I wanted to see it.
Kick-Ass is a story of a teenager, Dave Lizewski, played by Aaron Johnson. Dave likes comic books, and hangs out in a comic book store. He goes to a rundown inner-city high school, and is not the least bit of a genius or an athlete, or any of the things that are entry-level for super heroes and super villains. He gets the idea to dress up as a super hero, despite having absoutely no skills and abilities beyond those of normal men. In fact, he has no business trying it in the first place. But, he sees a need, and decides to fill it.
Frank Strong, who recently starred in the 2010 Sherlock Holmes as Lord Blackwood, plays the underworld mobster boss, Frank D'Amico. Frank is very rich and powerful, and his son just happens to be an acquaintance of Dave Lizewski. Christopher Mintz-Plasse, who played McLovin in the movie Superbad, is Chris D'Amico, and also dons the costume of the character Red Mist. Nicholas Cage plays the Big Daddy character, who is a Batman-esque character. At one point in the movie, Big Daddy sounds exactly like Adam West's Batman of the 1960's.
Big Daddy is also the father of the pink-haired, pint-sized Hit Girl, played by Chloe Moretz. The Hit Girl character is a real show-stealer, and in my opinion, the best part of the whole movie. Chloe Moretz is as cute as the dickens, and delivers her lines without the slightest hint of difficulty. In short, no pun intended, she is the star of the show. Just saying.
The movie starts out like a teen party movie, like Role Models or Superbad, and soon becomes a really sharp action movie. It is replete with a good deal of violence and strong language, which you would never see in an actual comic book. It also includes a near-endless supply of bad guys for the good guys to kill. The Spirit and Sin City come to mind, as good examples of the cinematography used for the fight scenes.
I rarely go to a movie twice, but this one is worth the second ticket. I don't recommend for children to see it, even though one of the main characters is eleven years old. But if you are 16 or older, you will hopefully be mature enough to deal with the use of the drugs, the more than sexually suggestive scenes, and the really mature language. This movie is a must-see, which I give 4 1/2 shurikens.
I really enjoyed watching Kick-Ass. I decided to go see it when I heard it was based on a comic book by John Romita Jr. I used to read John Romita, Jr.'s work when he drew Frank Miller's Daredevil. Anyway, I recognized the name, so I wanted to see it.
Kick-Ass is a story of a teenager, Dave Lizewski, played by Aaron Johnson. Dave likes comic books, and hangs out in a comic book store. He goes to a rundown inner-city high school, and is not the least bit of a genius or an athlete, or any of the things that are entry-level for super heroes and super villains. He gets the idea to dress up as a super hero, despite having absoutely no skills and abilities beyond those of normal men. In fact, he has no business trying it in the first place. But, he sees a need, and decides to fill it.
Frank Strong, who recently starred in the 2010 Sherlock Holmes as Lord Blackwood, plays the underworld mobster boss, Frank D'Amico. Frank is very rich and powerful, and his son just happens to be an acquaintance of Dave Lizewski. Christopher Mintz-Plasse, who played McLovin in the movie Superbad, is Chris D'Amico, and also dons the costume of the character Red Mist. Nicholas Cage plays the Big Daddy character, who is a Batman-esque character. At one point in the movie, Big Daddy sounds exactly like Adam West's Batman of the 1960's.
Big Daddy is also the father of the pink-haired, pint-sized Hit Girl, played by Chloe Moretz. The Hit Girl character is a real show-stealer, and in my opinion, the best part of the whole movie. Chloe Moretz is as cute as the dickens, and delivers her lines without the slightest hint of difficulty. In short, no pun intended, she is the star of the show. Just saying.
The movie starts out like a teen party movie, like Role Models or Superbad, and soon becomes a really sharp action movie. It is replete with a good deal of violence and strong language, which you would never see in an actual comic book. It also includes a near-endless supply of bad guys for the good guys to kill. The Spirit and Sin City come to mind, as good examples of the cinematography used for the fight scenes.
I rarely go to a movie twice, but this one is worth the second ticket. I don't recommend for children to see it, even though one of the main characters is eleven years old. But if you are 16 or older, you will hopefully be mature enough to deal with the use of the drugs, the more than sexually suggestive scenes, and the really mature language. This movie is a must-see, which I give 4 1/2 shurikens.
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