I Came. I Saw. It Kicked My Ass!

The above headline is perhaps the least imaginative to be written by a self confessed movie geek about a motion picture entitled Kick Ass...but it just so happens to be the god damned truth. Expectations were high given the pedigree of Kick Ass comic creator Mark Millar and of the writer/director teaming of Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn (both behind the acclaimed Stardust). The eight issue comic, upon which the film was based and written in parallel, had something of a controversial reputation, as well showing how superheroes might exist if everyday normal citizens put on colourful costumes and fought crime. Since Vaughn and company were financing this beast outside of the studio system, Kick Ass had the potential to be something different ...and quite special.

And it is. This really is proof that if you have talent and the balls to finance and distribute something daring and unique, there are great rewards to be had. The biggest factor in it's success is the script. It's simply a great story. And by that I mean the various characters all have interesting personalities, whether they're good, bad or somewhere in between, and they all have character arcs which develop as the film progresses. Even Kick Ass's geek mates, who have limited screen time, are well written enough to stand out as individuals to care about. That means, as with all truly great movies, you can remove all the razzle dazzle, spectacle and special effects and you'd still have a damned fine film.

The controversial elements just add to the enjoyment level. The violence is extreme, but all presented in an over-the-top, heightened reality, so it never become disturbing. Think Tarantino in Kill Bill mode....crazy and thrilling, but grounded enough by the characters so that we care about their eventual fates. Aaron Johnson is fine in the lead, but he's not the most memorable character in the film, as he's needed to be the everyman who guides the audience through this bizarre world.
As expected it's Nicholas Cage and Chloe Moretz as Big Daddy and his 11 year old protegee Hit Girl that entertain the most. Cage, as Damon Macready, is all goofy doting father outside of the costume and takes on a side-splitting Adam West persona as the Batman inspired superhero he becomes. Moretz, continuing to display the freakish maturity she had in 500 Days Of Summer, is perfect as little Mindy Macready; all cute and innocent to look at, but a mature-beyond-her-years, fearless, foul-mouthed killing machine underneath. Another 7 years in age an we wouldn't bat an eyelid, but the sight of a pre-teen girl engaged in profane verbal sparring, fire fights and fisticuffs is brilliant and daring (as expected the Daily Mail shat kittens).

Vaughan directs with confidence, delivering the action with style and allowing the sight gags the editing room to breathe. There's an exemplary choice in music, whether it's the unusual song choices (the punked up Banana Splits song, The Prodigy's Omen or Ennio Morricone's A Few Dollars More theme) or the rare step of having four composers. John Murphy's work stands apart, as he also uses expanded versions of his Sunshine and 28 Days Later scores to haunting effect. Vaughan also uses an interesting colour scheme, muted in the more down-to-earth sequences while more colourful and comicbook-y when dealing with the superhero characters and villains themselves.

It's a film that builds and builds, with the pace, tension and excitement growing as the character's stories begin to entwine. In the mix there's some outstanding moments that stick in the grey matter, including an animated sequence (like in Kill Bill Part 1 and Revolver), a grown man being microwaved and an opening sequence that dares to suggest the world isn't ready for a flying superhero just yet (although Kick Ass himself might disagree in the movie's climax.) Talking of the climax, the only moment that feels uncomfortably edgy is in the inevitable confrontation between super-heroes and super-villains. The hero and sidekick must face off against criminal mastermind and henchman, as is required by the genre. Except here, the hero is Hit Girl (Kick Ass is basically her sidekick)and she has to have a full on scrap with the physically imposing Mark Strong. It's a little weird to see an 11 year old get punched and throttled by a large bloke...but hey, it's a fantasy don't you know.

So get to see Kick Ass if you can. It's always good to see something that pushes the boundaries and which does it in a way that embraces great storytelling too.


PS, I think there's room for this sub-genre of post-modern superheroes to expand and develop on film. Kick Ass explores what would happen if everyday people put on a mask, a costume and a cape to battle crime for themselves. Yet the film has heightened reality, that while supremely entertaining, isn't a 'real life' exploration of the topic. I can feel a hand held camera version on the way sometime in the future.

Alfred Hitchcock's Stop The Pigeon

The first time I watched Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds, many, many years ago...I didn't go a bundle on it. It takes forever to get to any of the brutal, feathered action, and even then it seemed less than thrilling. Over-rated might be the appropriate term. Having seen it again recently, and with me now having a more mature and experienced set of eyes, I can appreciate the film's qualities more.

The Birds is much less about the bird attacks in the quiet coastal town of Bodega Bay, than it is about the relationship between San Francisco socialite Tippy Hedren and mummy dominated lunk Rod Taylor. Birds are used throughout the movie metaphorically to show the effect their relationship has on Taylor's family and fellow townsfolk. As you'd expect from Hitchcock it's directed with precision and it's a confident man who releases a movie with no music score to support the visuals...allowing a superb sound mix to add tension.

While much better than I remember it, The Birds is still nowhere near my favorite Hitchcock movie (that's still a battle between Rear Window and Psycho). But it's still a grand piece of the art we know as film making.

Feather Plucking With Lea Thompson

When Howard The Duck was released nearly 24 years ago, it was regarded as a monumental flop. A turkey. A critical and financial disaster so great that upon it's UK release the title was changed to Howard: A New Breed Of Hero and all sight of the feathered star was removed from the posters. Still, the passage of time has a way of being kind to movies. Take Blade Runner and The Thing; hated upon their original releases and regarded as classics today. Now while I never, ever expected Howard to gain classic status, I did think that Howard may become a cult favorite...something that would be fondly recalled and mentioned amongst fans of blockbuster fantasy films.

Alas not. Most people today have never heard of Howard The Duck The Movie, the obscure Marvel comic book he was based upon, or even if they have, still revile the film to this day.

For better or for worse, I still think it's great fun. It's undoubtedly terribly flawed, but still entertaining despite them. Perhaps the most obvious mistake was to proceed with a Howard adaptation before the technology was there to do it properly. If done today, Howard would undoubtedly be a CGI creation (like Scooby Doo or Garfield). If Executive Producer George Lucas had waited just 2 year, he could have presented Howard as a piece of traditional 2D animation (as in Who Framed Roger Rabbit). But no, they went for a midget in a duck suit. To be fair, the duck costume looks fine and is very expressive...especially combined with the snarky vocal skills of Chip Zien, but it never convinces as anything other than a small chap in a feathered disguise. So when characters, and the general public start reacting to Howard as a freakish, bizarre alien...it feels false and undermines the whole enterprise.

The other big, major flaw of the film is one of tone. It's extremely uneven. On the one side it plays as a kids film with a fluffy, cuddly protagonist, juvenile jokes and performances that are pitched over-the-top with broad, larger-than-life mugging to the camera. On the other hand Howard himself is mature and cynical, reads soft porn, enters the sleazy Earthbound world of rock n roll and has a suggestive sexual relationship with a hot chick. The schizophrenic nature isn't very cohesive. A more deadpan approach, such as Men In Black , might have melded the contradicting elements better.

But there's plenty to like on the film too. Lea Thompson is enthusiastic and sexy, giving the film real energy. Jeffery Jones, wisely playing it straighter than everybody else, delivers one of the all-time great movie villains. Jones's Dark Overlord of the Universe is all silly voice, mischvious simmering, ambitious menace and has the sharpest one-liners of the movie. A young Tim Robbins dumbs it down as Phil, in the sidekick/comic relief role, and does a great job too ("No sex now...I'm working!").

The origin plot is more original, better constructed and faster paced than many lesser superhero movies these days while John Barry provides an epic score, ably assisted by some additional music by Sylvester Levey (frustratingly never released). ILM's effects work is on the tail-end of their 'classic period', being well up to scratch, especially Phil Tippett's design and execution of the Dark Overlord in it's true form (even with the advances in CG made since Jurassic Park, the stop motion here is superior to most stuff today). And while horribly dated, Thomas Dolby songs now come across as cheesy, they're still very catchy.

So if you like your comic book adaptations bizarre AND you can put ypurself in the mindset of an 8 year old, there's something to enjoy in Howard the Duck. If not, you're in for a world of hurt...

Baby Face A Slasher Disgrace

It seems that Dark Castle Productions don't just turn out low budget, lower quality horror movies (Thirteen Ghosts, Ghost Ship, House On Haunted Hill). They also produce micro budget, direct-to-DVD, lowest quality slasher movies like The Hills Run Red. On paper, it should be post-modern and clever. Tad Hilgenbrink's Tyler is obsessed by a notorious slasher movie of the early 80's call The Hills Run Red which was screened once until the print disappeared. Only a trailer remains. So Tyler and his buddies decide to track down the director's daughter, the perky crack-whore Sophie Monk, to find her father and the missing feature film. But it turns out daddy is still shooting his film and Tyler and company are the slasher's (Baby Face) new victims.

Below average as below average does describes this cheapo horror. It's suitably glossy and gory but does nothing to distinguish itself from an ever over-populated sub-genre. In fact the most intriguing thing about the film is model-turned-actress Monk; are the 31 year old's lips now enhanced with plastic or are they her original plump smackers from her youth.

Frankly, who cares.

Spoiler Island

There are so many good things to say about Martin Scorsese's new collaboration with Leonard DiCaprio.; the meticulously constructed script, imposing set design, dramatic 50's style score, beautiful frame composition or the authentic costume design. The cast (only the very best for Mr Scorsese) are superb from the always solid DiCaprio, theatrical Sir Ben Kingsley to the enigmatic Michelle Williams.

Shutter Island follows DiCaprio's US Marshall Teddy Daniels to a remote psychological institute where the worst of the most insane and apparently untreatable of America's mental patients are sent. Teddy's there with his new partner to investigate the disappearance of a female patient. But he also has a more personal, secretive agenda to locate and confront the arsonist who killed his wife.
But, as with all psychological thrillers, all is not what it seems. The 2 hour plus running time rockets along as the twist and turns, conspiracies and secrets are gradually revealed. But...

...And it's a big but...like many movies with a twist (A Perfect Getaway for example) the movie's success is based on a delicate balancing act; make the twist convincing enough for an audience to accept...but also hid the twist as much as possible so audience don't see it coming.

And I saw it coming. I suspected the type of story Shutter Island was telling right from the trailer. And perhaps because of that, I was alert, right from the opening scenes as to where this film may go....looking for clues, visual references that would lay the groundwork for the narrative that lied ahead. After all, you can't just thrust a dramatic change in story direction on an audience (unless you're From Dusk Till Dawn!), you have to incorporate it into the earlier story to taunt the audience that the clues were in front of their faces the entire time. There's a handful of films that have already explored this kind of revelation with great success, and because I was extremely familiar with these works, I was already primed with Shutter's potential story outcome. I won't mention those film titles here, so as not to spoil it for you, but if you don't give a shit then those similar stories are to be found here, here, here and here.

So, like A Perfect Getaway you have here a great movie...but than unfortunately predictable conclusion. I feel like the curmudgeonly film critic in Lady in the Water, using my extensive film knowledge to spoil the end of the movie...but for myself. But if I'd not seen a psychological thriller in my life, or was trashed out of my skull...Shutter Island might have blown me away.

St Patricks Day Of The Dead

It's shocking to think that George A Romero has now completed SIX zombie movies now, although to call them two trilogies would be misleading. Night through to Land form a quadrilogy, while Diary of the Dead, and now Survival of the Dead, are linked via the rogue military unit that were seen briefly in Diary. Survival follows the army guys through an ever desolate, American mainland as they seek refuge from the zombie hordes. They intercept an invitation, on the still functioning Internet, to live on a small island where they discover two warring communities of Irish immigrants; the O'Flynns who believe that killing the undead is the only way forward...and the Muldoons who feel that they should be restrained and spared, in case a cure can be found...or they can be taught to eat animal flesh, rather than that of humans.

As you'd expect it's solidly directed by Romero, with some pleasingly gory effects (flare gun to the head is particularly memorable) and a cool, western vibe this time out. The cast are nothing special but anti-hero Alan Van Sprang stands out in the lead role while Kenneth Welch impresses as the manipulative leader of the O'Flynns. Since half the cast are Irish accented paddys, the movie often has a broader, more farcical tone than the previous instalments, which is also supported by some daft humour (eg, the zombie's comical recation when being handed a stick of dynamite).

At least it being a Romero zombie movie it's not short on subtext or political allegory. Here is presented a situation that could be Northern Ireland, Israel, Iraq or even the USA itself as the inhabitants battle over long forgotten ideologies.
It's this aspect which is the film's strongest as Survival is on a par with Diary...rather than the ground-breaking epics that were Dawn and Day. But George can still trump 95% of the zombie movies out there today and even though I've just seen Survival, here's hoping there's room for one more in his career.

(Beverly Hills) Cop Out

What a shame that Cop Out doesn't quite work. It's a buddy cop thriller in the vein of Bad Boys and Lethal Weapon done in the style of Beverly Hills Cop and Kuffs. So you have the usual mis-matched partners (constantly bickering but love each other), a glimpse into their home lives and a routine crime plot that gets tangled up in their personal lives. Since this kind of movie was at it's peak in the 80's, Cop Out chucks in tons of tunes from that period as well as dragging Harold Faltermeyer (he who wrote Axel F) out of retirement, to create a new, retro score.

It's directed by Kevin Smith (Dogma, Mallrats), who for the first time, ditches one of his own scripts in favor of one by Robb and Mark Cullen. Good though it is (there's some great individual scenes and moments) it's not consistent enough in the entertainment stakes, and you can't help but think that Smith himself would have produced a far sharper rewrite. Tracy Jordan does fine in his movie debut, but he's not as funny here than on TV in 30 Rock, and he often descends into a shouty, rambling mess at times. Willis is on autopilot here (although likable as he's learnt how to smirk again recently) who needed a performance of David Addison standards to vitalise the narrative.

Smith does an adequate job as director and is becoming a glossier, more cinematic helmer with each project he takes on, but Cop Out still lacks energy in the action department. A fun, brisk and enjoyable piece of resurrected nostalgia. But like John Carpenter with Memoirs of an Invisible Man, or Tim Burton with Planet of the Apes, Smith needs to rediscover his voice instead of becoming just another director for hire.