Kick Ass 2

         Okay, there are some movies not meant to be liked by the critics.  ‘Kick Ass 2’ is one of them.  The original ‘Kick Ass’ was a cult hit that was based on a cult comic that explored the premise: out of all the millions of comic book fans, over several generations, isn’t it odd that no one has ever even tried to be a super-hero?  ‘Kick Ass’ follows the life of nerdy teenager Dave Lizewski (Aaron Taylor Johnson) as he tries to live out his super hero fantasy.  The film was a parody, as was the comic, and went for the laughs, but it was also an R- rated, ultra violent, painfully politically incorrect, and had a surprising amount of emotional depth for a film that portrayed itself as a joke.  The film did a modest amount, but exploded on the DVD/Blu-ray market to gain cult status.  Of course, in the movie business, success breeds sequels.

‘Kick Ass 2’ tries to recapture the magic, but falls short of the first one.  ‘Kick Ass’ success was due, in part, to it’s uniqueness, but how does one replicate uniqueness (borders on being an oxymoron).  That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy the film and I am no where near as disillusioned with it as the critics.  I felt this was a valid attempt and I had fun, even though it is a shadow of the previous one. 

We revisit Kick Ass after he has hung up his tights and is trying to survive his senior year in high school.  His mentor/side kick Hit Girl (the delightful Chloe Grace Moretz who hit a growth spurt since the last film) has given up her father’s dream for her to be a super hero and is attempting to integrate into something that she finds more frightening than mafia criminals; becoming a high school freshman.  Their roles reverse and Dave becomes Hit Girl’s mentor in the savage land of high school.  Both are bored with their high school life, but realize that they have to get on with their lives.  To make their decision more difficult, costumed vigilantes, all who were inspired by Kick Ass and Hit Girl, start appearing and taking to the streets.  The most notable of these is the intense Colonel Stars and Stripes, played by an almost unrecognizable Jim Carrey.  He is both comedic and sympathetic.  In fact, all of the heroes are ridiculous, but once their stories are revealed they are surprisingly moving.

The rise of of super heroes enrages Chris D’Amico (Christopher Mintz-Plasse [does everyone from the new generation have hyphenated names?]), whose gangster father Kick Ass killed in the last film.  He decides to assemble his own team of super villains in response to the super hero teams forming.  Once Kick Ass decides to return to being a super hero, Chris reveals himself as The Motherf****r’, the world’s first super villain.  He is bent on avenging his father and killing all superheroes, especially Kick Ass.

The purpose of this film is to lampoon comic clichés, but it doesn’t sacrifice intensity, violence, and heart as the laughs roll out.  They are edgy laughs that borders on uneasiness, but never fully crosses that line (I suppose much of that depends on your temperament).  This movie is designed for comic fanboys as much of the humor relies on a comic book reader’s understanding on what exactly is being lampooned, but much of the humor is universal and if you are a person who doesn’t really connect with the super hero universes, it humorously validates one’s perception of the whole thing as ridiculous.

Overall, it is a sequel that doesn’t quite live up to the first one, but few sequels do.  It is a good time for those who liked the first one.  Be prepared to have your parody mixed with all the R-rated humor and violence that comes with those types of movies.  Watching the trailers it has the appearance of a kid friendly movie, but it is far from it.  

WARNING: EXPLICIT TRAILER

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1509927193/

I give this film ** stars

Blue Jasmine

I have love/hate relationship with Woody Allen.  I think most of his films are over hyped and pretentious and I’m not terribly fond of him personally.  He also grinds out film after film, most of which I find forgettable.  However, sprinkled among his huge body of work, he does produce fantastic and even inspired works.  Films like ‘Vicky Christina Barcelona’ and ‘Midnight in Paris’ are truly great works of art and make up for self indulgent films like ‘To Rome with Love’.  His latest film, ‘Blue Jasmine’ is one of his great films and I’m going to predict that Cate Blanchett will receive an Oscar nomination for this powerful performance of a fallen New York socialite.  Her portrayal is both sad and comic, which is not an easy feat to do, but Cate Blanchett takes us through all her emotions one by one and sometimes simultaneously.  Woody is even able to pull out a credible performance from Andrew Dice Clay.  Anyone who has the ability to do that deserves respect.

The film opens with Jasmine, a once wealthy socialite, flying to San Francisco to ‘temporarily’ move in with her blue collar sister while she struggles to find a foothold after her husband (Alec Baldwin) was convicted of fraud and promptly killed himself.  The government seized all her assets and now, the Park Avenue socialite, finds herself with no money or friends.  Somehow still flying first class, Jasmine rambles on and on about her troubles to a nodding elderly woman.  Despite the tragedy, Jasmine clings to hope and reveals all her life details to anyone who will listen.  Even to herself if no one is around.  She desperately tries to cling to a lifestyle that doesn’t exist anymore.  Cate Blanchett strikes just the right balance between snobbish and sympathetic.  Ginger (Sally Hawkins), her working class sister takes Jasmine into her single mother apartment and you can feel Jasmine’s revulsion at how her sister lives despite saying the required mannered compliments of her ‘homey’ space.  Andrew Dice Clay and Bobby Cannavale play Ginger’s ex-husband Auggie and current boyfriend Chili respectively.  They are in perfect comic form as the antithesis of everything that Jasmine find appealing in men.  Crude, low class, and rough yet despite their good hearts you can sense Jasmine’s unease in their presence.

Of course, despite being medicated with Xanax and a myriad of other forms of socialite medication, Jasmine must determine a course for her life.  Despite her forced optimism, you can sense her life is unraveling.  Jasmine’s present state of mind is better understood as the film weaves in flashbacks from her previous life and the events that led up to where she finds herself now.  She lived in a cocoon of denial as she instinctively understood that her husband was crooked, but actively tried not to know, in order to preserve her idyllic life.  Her life was a house of cards, but one for which she was suited. You can feel her misery as she enters a work force for which she is ill suited for by temperament alone. 

Woody is able to find comedy in this tragedy, but never from a mocking point of view.  Just the contrary, you can feel the great sympathy evoked from this character, especially in scenes involving her estranged son.  Even the side story of Ginger’s infidelities shows that not all is perfect in her life either.  Woody shows that everyone has problems, but some are just able to deal with them better than others.  Andrew Dice Clay and Vinnie Cannavale play obnoxious louts Auggie and Chili perfectly, but at the same time you love them for it. Their very existence offends Jasmine.  The scene where Chili asks Jasmine if she would like to go out with his 5’4” mechanic buddy was one of the movie’s priceless comedic moments.   I don’t want to leave out Alec Baldwin’s small role either as Jasmine’s deceased husband.  Baldwin really doesn’t get the credit he deserves as an actor.  He plays the super rich hustler husband perfectly. His eternal and relentless drive causes him to fool even himself as the authorities close in on his crumbling empire. 

It’s hard to see the disintegration of someone’s life as a comedic movie and I would be doing a disservice to this film if I labeled it a comedy.  This is a portrait of a woman that is both comedic and tragic.  An examination of a modern riches to rags fable reminiscent of Bernie Maddoff’s ex-wife.  This is the best performance of Cate Blanchett’s already impressive body of work.  It’s still too early to say this, but I do hope she gets the Oscar for this role.

I give this film **** stars

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2545264921/

2 Guns

‘2 Guns’ is a slick, stylish, and fun buddy action flick.  I didn’t go in with high hopes as I thought the pairing of Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg seemed odd and forced, but one of the things I really liked about this film was their chemistry.  It is surprisingly good and they play off each other very well.  It is based off of Steven Grant’s graphic novel of the same name and is the story of two undercover agents from different agencies who don’t realize the other is undercover.  In the beginning, each think they are setting the other up while trying to take down a Mexican drug kingpin.  It’s a fun premise, but one that could have gone quickly south had it not been for the chemistry between the two lead actors.

I’m not going to say this was a fantastic storyline or a complex narrative.  Edward James Olmos plays the villainous drug lord Papi Greco stereotypically, Bill Paxton plays the evil CIA agent Earl generically (although I must admit his role was fun), and Paula Patton is the requisite eye candy thrown in for the gratuitous nudity.  Of course, for a buddy movie to work there has to be the witty banter.  In some movies it works and in others it doesn’t.  In this case, it really works.  Denzel is in top cool form as DEA agent Bobby Trench and Mark Wahlberg is just a little too old to be playing the young cocky Navel special agent Michael Stigman, but he gets away with it.  

I have to say, I went into this a little leery as the Black and White buddy comedy has been done to the point of cliché.  Lethal Weapon and 48 hrs set the bench mark and every lazy writer since has recycled it to the point of eye rolling.  Also, it just has a pulpish vibe to it and hyper violent films adapted from graphic novels rarely succeed.  I was happily proven wrong and right at the same time.  Every cliché in the book is in here, but the ‘2 Guns’ unapologetically makes it work through sheer force of on screen charisma and chemistry.  I don’t care if I found the plot twists implausible or the situations forced and stiff.  This is just a great pop corn shoot ‘em up with two actors in top comedic and action form.  I feel like I should write a longer review, but like I said; it’s a basic and formulaic film, so I’m not sure what else to say other than ‘Have fun’.

I give this film **1/2 stars

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1587915033/