Author Archives: Dan Kemp

“Kick-Ass 2” kicks just as much ass as the original

Kick-Ass 2 is the sequel to the highly popular 2010 graphic novel-turned-feature film Kick-Ass. It stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Dave Lizewski/Kick-Ass, Chloë Grace Moretz as Mindy Macready/Hit Girl, Jim Carrey as Sal Bertolini/Colonel Stars & Stripes, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Chris D’Amico/The Mother Fucker. In case you haven’t seen the first Kick-Ass, here’s a bit of a plot breakdown, as well as a brief plot breakdown of Kick-Ass 2.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson is back to kick more ass in "Kick-Ass 2". Photo by Daniel Smith.

Kick-Ass is about an ordinary teenager, Dave Lizewski, who decides to become a real-life superhero, calling himself Kick-Ass. Kick-Ass gets caught up in a much bigger situation when he meets Big Daddy (played by Nicolas Cage), a fellow superhero who has trained his young daughter Mindy to become a ruthless vigilante called Hit Girl. Big Daddy is on a quest to bring down drug lord Frank D’Amico (played by Mark Strong) and his evil (but mostly inept) son Chris.

Big Daddy is killed by Frank and his minions, which causes both Hit Girl and Kick-Ass to seek revenge. After a brutal and bloody fight between Kick-Ass and Hit Girl and Frank and Chris D’Amico, Frank is blown up with a bazooka (yes, a bazooka). The film ends with Kick-Ass and Hit Girl deciding to continue fighting crime, and Chris vowing to exact revenge on Kick-Ass.

Chloë Grace Moretz as the purple-clad sidekick Hit Girl in "Kick Ass 2". Photo by Daniel Smith.

Kick-Ass 2 takes place approximately two years later, with both Kick-Ass and Hit Girl coming out of retirement after getting the superhero itch. Kick-Ass joins a team of fellow superheroes (led by Colonel Stars & Stripes) who call themselves Justice Forever. Hit Girl is forced to stop being a vigilante at the request of her guardian Marcus (Morris Chestnut), who promised to take care of her after the death of Big Daddy in the previous film.

Meanwhile, Chris has been plotting revenge against Kick-Ass for his role in his father’s death two years ago, and decides to become the world’s first supervillain, calling himself The Mother Fucker. He puts together his own team of supervillains called The Toxic Mega Cunts, and begins to terrorize the city in an effort to lure Kick-Ass into a final battle.

If you’ve seen the first Kick-Ass, you can expect the same violent, bloody comedy that you saw the first time around. This is not a children’s movie (although my mind was blown when I saw two parents walk in with their infant son). The dialogue, for the most part, is superb, with the comedic timing blending perfectly with the over-the-top blood-and-guts violence. Many subplots from the first film are dropped completely, allowing the viewer to focus on the main plot that unfolds in this film.

Kick-Ass and Hit Girl face off with arch nemesis The Mother Fucker (Christopher Mintz-Plasse)! Photo by Daniel Smith.

Despite being a dark comedy, Kick-Ass 2 definitely delivers when it comes to action, rivaling any superhero movie to date. The fight scenes (although sometimes difficult to see due to the shaky cam effect) are well choreographed, and most of the action isn’t completely mindless (the explosions actually mean something, for the most part). The dialogue is witty and blends in well with the action. In short, it’s pretty much as close as you’re going to get to seeing a superhero graphic novel come to life on screen.

While the first film focused primarily on the journey of Kick-Ass, Kick-Ass 2 shifts a lot of its focus onto Hit Girl and her struggles with growing up fatherless and maturing into a teenager (there’s a great scene where Mindy hangs out at a slumber party, and gets hot and bothered while watching a boy band music video). To compare the two films, Kick-Ass is more like American Pie, focusing on nerdy, sex-starved boys, whereas Kick-Ass 2 is more like Mean Girls, focusing on high school girls and all the drama that comes along with that.

Colonel Stars & Stripes (Jim Carrey) and Eisenhower join the fight for justice in "Kick-Ass 2". Photo by Daniel Smith.

Kick-Ass 2 is surprisingly deep with its themes of love, teenage angst, high school drama and grieving. While it’s likely not going to win any Oscars for any performances, it’s nice to see a comic book movie with real emotions at stake.

It’s tough to talk about my favorite moments of this film (of which there are many) without giving away too much of the plot, so I’ll just say this; the fight between Hit Girl and the mammoth Mother Russia is one of the best fight scenes of 2013, hands down.

Kick-Ass 2 is an incredibly enjoyable film, both as a stand alone and as a follow up to the hit Kick-Ass. If you love superhero movies, go see this. If you love action movies, go see this. If you love teenage angst movies, go see this. But, whatever you do, do not bring young children to this movie. It’s rated R for a reason. Having said all that, what’s the best way to sum up this movie? It kicks ass!

www.kickass-themovie.com

Ted brings Seth MacFarlane’s potty humor to life on the big screen

Leave a reply

If you’ve seen the trailers for Ted, you’re going to find this movie hilarious. If you haven’t see any trailers for Ted, your going to find this movie ridiculously hilarious.

Ted is a story of a man named John (Mark Wahlberg) and his lifelong friend Ted (Seth MacFarlane). After receiving a teddy bear for Christmas, a 12-year-old John makes a wish on a magical shooting star that brings Ted to life. It’s weird for everybody, but soon enough the world accepts that he’s a talking, walking teddy bear. And then the real fun begins.

Ted (Seth MacFarlane) and his best buddy John (Mark Wahlberg) in "Ted" (photo courtesy Universal Pictures/Iloura)

Ted is John’s best friend (“Thunder buddies for life!”). But when John grows up and meets a girl (Mila Kunis), tensions arise and John must choose between his best friend and his best girl. Just as MacFarlane’s animated shows such as Family Guy and American Dad! are intended for adults, Ted is not for kids. Yes, it has a talking teddy bear. But this teddy bear has a dirtier mouth than George Carlin. He’s crude, brash, rude and utterly hilarious. But he’s not for kids, hands down.

Seth MacFarlane co-writes, directs and stars in this movie, so fans of his work should know what to expect. For those of you unfamiliar with his work, this movie is still highly recommended as good old fashioned slapstick, combined with smartly written vulgarities and poop jokes. Trust me, it’s a lot funnier than it might sound. I’d even venture to say that Ted might be this summer’s funniest movie.

Ted. Written and directed by Seth MacFarlane. Starring Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis and Seth MacFarlane. Rated R. www.tedisreal.com.

Centrifeud brings party gaming full circle

Leave a reply

Centrifeud, developed by Secret Library, is a fun new pick-up-and-play party game for the Apple iPad. The premise is simple; two-to-four players guide primary colored rotating discs around the virtual game board, bouncing off the walls and each other while trying to collect pink pellets. Once a player has obtained 13 pellets, the round is over with the option of starting a new game or calling it quits. Along the way, there are opportunities to collect power-ups such as drunk mode, blind mode and turtle mode that either help you, hinder your opponents or both.

The most important factor about this game (as well as it’s biggest selling point, in my estimation) is the ease of gameplay. Within a minute of playing, I was able to not only get the basic premise of the game, but also figure out strategies for winning. Its simplicity, combined with the beautiful visuals and kickass soundtrack, really make it stand out among other iPad apps.

Centrifeud is colorful, imaginative, universally accessible and basic enough for people of all ages. And with it only costing $1.99 to download, this game comes highly recommended.

For more information, go to www.secret-library.com.

UFC 140: Jones vs. Machida DVD offers hours of fights and more

Leave a reply

UFC 140: Jones vs. Machida took place on December 10, 2011, main-evented by Jon “Bones” Jones and Lyoto “Karate Kid” Machida for the UFC World Light Heavyweight Championship. Some other highlighted matches include both Minotauro and Rogerio Nogueira, as they face off against Frank Mir and Tito Ortiz, respectively.

This Ultimate 2-Disc Collection features these matches and nine other bouts, as well as bonus material, including the weigh-in show, the countdown video package that aired prior to the pay-per-view and a brief look behind the scenes, offering more than four hours of content.

If there’s one thing that Ultimate Fighting Championship has really succeeded in, particularly over the last five years, it’s branding itself. After watching the video packages, the countdown videos and the weigh-in show, it’s very clear that UFC is constantly trying to attract new fans and crossover even more into the mainstream. From the music selection to the video production to the voiceover work, this DVD is an excellent example of how a company should brand itself. Once you’ve finished experiencing all that this DVD has to offer, you’ll find yourself waiting for the next UFC DVD to come out. This is a fantastic addition to your DVD library, whether you’re a long-time fan of mixed martial arts or just discovering this type of action. Because not only is the production value very high, but there also happen to be 24 pissed off dudes beating the living shit out of each other for almost four hours.

For more information, go to www.ufcstore.com.

“Silent House” is chilling, until the end

Leave a reply

Silent House (starring the other Olsen girl, Elizabeth) is one of the most uniquely shot movies that I’ve ever seen. The soundtrack is minimal, appropriately scattered throughout the film. But what stands out the most about this film is the fact that the entire movie is done in one uninterrupted take. So, from the beginning of the movie all the way until the end, you’ll see a continuous shot form the same camera, giving it a sense that things are actually happening in real time.

This is the first film that I’ve seen shot like this, and it had me thinking a few of things. First, it made me feel really bad for the actors if the director needed to yell ‘Cut!’, because they would have to start all over again. Second, there were several moments where the camera is following a character who’s running, and it’s legitimately difficult to follow what’s going on. I don’t normally get motion sickness while watching a film, but admittedly, this film had me looking away just to stay oriented. And third, it did have an INCREDIBLY creepy effect on the film, because it leaves the viewer not knowing what might be just off screen, which provides some genuine scares.

Based on the 2010 Uruguayan film La Casa Muda (The Silent House), Silent House is about a young woman who becomes trapped in the lake house she grew up in. The house is now haunted by unknown terrors and you see her gradually slip in into a panicked psychosis.

While the plot is fairly basic, the ending proves to be a bit of a disappointment. I won’t give anything away, but don’t be surprised if you leave the theater feeling a bit underwhelmed. There’s such a great buildup of tension throughout the film, then the film just ends abruptly. Perhaps this was the directors’ intention, in an attempt to leave an eerily lasting impression, but it really falls flat.

All in all, Silent House is a decent horror film with plenty of genuine scares and a bit of a disappointing ending. Is it worth seeing in theaters? For the amount of tension that is built up, yes. Just be warned; that tension won’t last until the very end.

Silent House. Directed by Chris Kentis and Laura Lau. Starring Elizabeth Olsen, Adam Trese and Eric Sheffer Stevens. Rated R. www.whyisthishappeningtome.net.