Kick Ass

Couldn’t put it better than the title itself!

Lover: Taken from IMDB
“I saw the previews for this and thought this was going to be one of those slapstick stupid comedy movies (Superbad, Super Hero Movie). I came on IMDb and saw the rating and the reviews and I thought I'd reconsider after doing some research on this. I was very wrong with my initial assessment. Yes, there's some teen comedic elements to this movie, but the movie flowed perfectly. Great Soundtrack, great fight scenes, acting was good, story was great and original. With a current IMDb rating of 8.3 as I write this, look's like I'm not alone on how I rated this movie. Show stealer was definitely Hit Girl. I foresee her having a huge career. Possibly the next Natalie Portman. Reminded me of Natalie's role in Leon. Which leads me to my next point. Unless you're into comic books, video games, in your teens/20's/30's and don't have a young kid, you might be taken aback that a little 11 year old girl is killing people and using bad words. For those that gave this a bad review because of that, do some research on a movie before you go see something that you think you won't like. I hate musicals and I'm not going to pay 10 bucks to see High School Musical and then come in here and complain that there was too much singing and dancing. It's clearly geared at a older teen/young adult audience and is rated R, what did you expect. In closing, one of the most entertaining films I've ever seen.”

A good review and very well pointed out about bad reviews for the 11 year old girl killing an swearing like a trooper!

Hater: Taken from IMDB
“I created an account just to give this movie the worst rating that I could possibly give it. Here are the reasons that first came to mind as to why this movie is a glittering jewel of everything that is wrong with popular culture. 1) Needless, unentertaining, uncreative and horribly graphic violence. 2) Needless, pathetic-attempts-at-being-funny sexual content. 3) Needless, excessive, pathetic-attempts-at-being-funny language (especially coming from a little girl). 4) Shallow, flimsy, and pathetically strung-together plot. 5) Next-to-zero character development. Oh, my goodness... it is painful just to try and remember this film. I feel ashamed that Nicolas Cage would be in this movie. I find the lack of any redeeming value in this movie to be staggering. I swear that my grades have dropped just because of the brain cells killed during the watching of this movie.”

Created an account to write a review that has no use to anyone!? Has helpfully put what they hated about the film in a numbered list, however did not feel that he had to justify any of the completely wrong opinions he has!

What I thought:
Kick Ass was a hit of Adrenaline to comic book movies, before it we had hyper realism of The Dark Knight storming the box office or Iron Man showing how you could do it fun and not even get the curse of that first movie. What we have with Kick Ass is an original piece which plays with the genre but not in a “Superhero movie” way. It pokes fun by having its protagonist basically just being good at getting his ass kicked and has you cheer on a lethal 11 year old girl who slices and dices without remorse and sais the c word!

It’s not hard to see how some people might find that uncomfortable viewing material, however it’s just that kind of film. All the writing about how offensive the film could be and it has an 18 rating. If you don’t like being offended by your movies then why bother watching Kick Ass! Aaron Johnson completely convinces as the all-American comic book nerd, his process of becoming Kick-Ass is very well thought out and planned you could almost seeing it happen for real. Via some comic book wizardry of a car accident and damaged nerve endings, hence the fact he can take a kick in; he becomes a super hero unlike any other.

With this outlook it’s a refreshing movie, the lighter side as a comic book nerd who is more than willing to abuse his super hero status to get the girl. Then there is the adrenaline I mentioned and the real heroes in this film, Firstly Nicholas Cage brings out his rarely seen a-game for this, channelling Adam Wests' Batman for Big Daddy. It’s a fantastic performance, not to mention bloody funny in all the right places. His relationship with his daughter though maybe a little psychotic is heart wrenching and well thought out. Of course the daughter in question is the main talking point in this film, Chloe Mortez is a revelation. Naughty words and blood baths aside she is completely brilliant as the naïve daughter treating the killing and what her father has taught her as a game. Of course this makes her a very efficient killer, you will surprise yourself as you find yourself cheering her on but of course in the end even she needs some help.

Acting aside it’s just a well-crafted piece of cinema, wonderfully written and directed, just wish they would hurry up and get Kick Ass 2 under way!

Astro Boy

It’s only good for one thing!

Lover: Taken from IMDB
“Before going to see Astro Boy I decided to read some of the comments that were posted here. I read reviews by some who liked the movie as well as by some who did not like the movie. With an average score of 6.4 I went to see the movie with relatively low expectations although I got the feeling that those who did not like the movie were mostly upset about the movie not being "true" to the original TV series and were having some issues with certain characters reminding them of other characters such as Pinocchio. Well, I did not see the original TV series so I did not care whether or not the movie and the TV series were similar enough. I also did not mind that some of the side kicks may have had some resemblance to characters from other movies. The bottom line is that my 5.5 year old and I loved Astro Boy!”

A correct review, all that matters is that you’re kids love it, my boys have been quoting the line about machine guns in my butt for days after! I’d say the film did its job!

Hater: Taken from IMDB
“One of the few advantages of having a robot child, as opposed to a human one, is that it can process the concept of divorce faster and with less emotional scarring. Fortunately, the little boy in this computer-animated adventure doesn't have to worry about parental separation, because he's dead. When his son Toby (Freddy Highmore) is accidentally killed by a military robot powered by malevolent red energy, Dr. Tenma (Nicholas Cage) re-creates him in a robot form, powered by benevolent blue energy. But when the military becomes interested in his circuitry, Toby must hideout in the old city, where robots participant in gladiatorial games.” Based on the Japanese anime, Astro Boy falls far short of its Asian influence: the character designs are flawed, the voice acting is patchy and the story is unexciting. What's more, uptight North American movie makers didn't even bother selling Astro Boy's used underwear in vending machines.”

Cleary pissed off at the fact it doesn’t stay true to the original, I think it’s safe to say that the people adapting Astro Boy decided to use it as perfect kiddy fare. This means it does away with most of the adult themes to make it easily digestible (not everyone can do it like pixar). I do agree very much with the voice acting criticism though but I’m not too sure what they mean about the underwear comment?

What I thought:
There isn’t much to be said about Astro boy to be honest other that it is simply good fun for kids, my 4 year old went round for days after, wanting to be called Astro boy and saying he had machine guns in his butt. For any parent that’s all you need to know, its in-offensive material even deals with the death of a child and a father replacing him with a robot almost nonchalantly.

However it’s not up there with the Pixars of this world, simply because for adults the comedy might make you giggle but it won’t stay with you, the issues aren’t thick enough for anyone older than 12 to get their teeth into and the voice acting is well below par. Nicholas Cage once again delivers a howler and this time he’s not even on screen. Thank god he did Kick Ass recently as I was losing faith but he does literally sound like he’s phoning this one in!

It’s just a great kid’s film to put it simply.

Raising Arizona

As Screwball as they come

Lover: Taken from IMDB
“A lot of things come together to make this film highly enjoyable; acting, writing, music, pace, directing... It's over-the-top fun. It took me several viewings before it sunk in that the film's base story is about child kidnapping; which is an extraordinarily serious crime. But this film makes you enjoy every minute so it's easy to forget the seriousness of the base story. While I'm not a fan of Nicholas Cage, I thought this was a perfect vehicle for him. Holly Hunter is always excellent, IMHO. Their attention to detail in crafting their characters was on point and thorough."Well alright then." :)”

Short and sweet and fair enough, over the top fun indeed!

Hater: Taken from IMDB
“1st watched 11/21/2008 - (Dir-Joel Coen): Attempted road-runner like comedy falls flat of impressing me as it's plodding pace bored me. Despite my expectations before watching this early Coen brothers film, I was somewhat disappointed with this screwball comedy with strange characters. Nicolas Cage has done this kind of non-acting before in other movies and Holly Hunter isn't a whole lot better. The movie is basically about a couple that wants a child, can't have one and decides to steal one of the quintuplets of a local rich family, obviously because they cant handle five. The antics that revolve around this act with other strange characters like a over-the-top motorcycle bounty hunter and prison mates also get in the act of trying to get the child and the reward money. All in all, the ridiculousness doesn't necessarily make for a very funny movie and I'm sure there have been better movies carrying basically this same premise.”

I think it all comes down to sense of humour; off the wall and over the top comedy is not your cup of tea then you probably wont like this, like this person.

What I thought:
Second in my Coen Brothers double bill was Raising Arizona, the self confessed screw ball comedy which in no way should be taken seriously. As pointed out by one of the reviewers above; the issue of child kidnapping should not be taken lightly, but this is no normal film. The Coens have created appropriately zany characters and Nicholas Cage is a wonder to behold, using his usual crazy eyes and emotive face for comedy rather than an unhinged performance.

In some places I laughed out loud, but the whole film I had a smile on my face. The characters are watchable and have their part to play. It’s not the most intricate of their stories but their dialogue is still second to none. The Biker burning the road as he drives; just one example of the hyper reality used in certain scenes but it all fits wonderfully. So it’s not the funniest film you’ve ever seen but you’ll have fun watching it.