Posts Tagged ‘Clark Duke’

REVIEW: Kick-Ass

Thursday, April 8th, 2010

Kick-AssThe movie lives up to the hype! I missed countless screenings and heard many peoples’ reactions to the film throughout the past few weeks so my expectations fluctuated with every person I talked to. Still, I was surprised with what I saw and smiled from beginning to end…it was exceptional and well delivered. Kick-Ass is the story about a regular kid living at home with his dad. He goes through the regular routine day to day: going to school, hanging with friends, and generally being unimportant. He’s not into sports, isn’t popular, and doesn’t have any special skills at all. He constantly thinks to himself why nobody has ever tried to become a superhero. He thinks the comic books have it wrong – you don’t need to have special powers, you just need to have a mix of optimism and naivety.


If you haven’t guessed yet, Dave decides to become a superhero. He buys a scuba suit from the internet and transforms himself into Kick-Ass. The movie takes a real look into what could happen to someone who actually tries to do this and throws a lot of unexpected twists at you. They are great! You expect one thing going into a comic book movie like this and are shown something completely different, fresh, and original.

Kick-Ass and Red Mist hanging out in the Mistmobile

Kick-Ass and Red Mist hanging out in the Mistmobile


If you have seen any of the trailers or marketing materials, you’ve met Hit-Girl and her dad, Big Daddy. Chloe Moretz and Nicolas Cage play amazing roles which could have been made into a movie in itself. They really add an element to the film which puts it over the top for me. There’s going to be plenty of backlash and opposition for the story line, but I think it was scripted and depicted really well. The relationship between them is very strong and realistic and sure to bring some tears to some audience members’ eyes. You didn’t expect that from this movie, did ya?

Hit-Girl from Kick-Ass

Hit-Girl from Kick-Ass


Be forewarned, this movie is gruesome, vulgar, and out there. If you’re not into violence, this isn’t the movie for you. There are scenes where you would expect for the camera to turn away but instead you have to turn away yourself. But that’s not all the movie has to offer – it’s really funny and the action scenes are amazing. On top of all that, the music contributes so much to every single scene…the score is wonderful. You’ll have your head bopping and wondering where you can get the soundtrack afterwards…or buy all the songs off of iTunes if they’re not already in your collection.


The sound effects and music add to the cinematography of the film which go through a range of different views. There is a comic book style drawing sequence with 3D (not 3D glasses 3D), there is strobe light-esque scene, fantasy scene, night vision, multiple camera views, etc, etc. Pretty much you’re on a wild ride and it’s fun as hell. There are some sequences which reminded me a lot of a movie called Equilibrium and if you remember the action scenes with Gun Kata where they combined guns and martial arts, that gives you an idea of the awesomeness that you can expect from this film.

Big Daddy and Hit Girl talking to Kick-Ass

Big Daddy and Hit Girl talking to Kick-Ass


So far, Kick-Ass is the best movie of the year. My friend commented that he couldn’t remember a movie where he had so much fun in the theater. Not only were people clapping when the credits rolled, they were clapping during the movie. Kick-Ass is in your face and never stops delivering – the only bad thing with this film is that it leaves you wanting more! GO SEE IT!

WonderCon: The Lionsgate Kick-Ass Panel

Wednesday, April 7th, 2010

Kick-AssKick-Ass has been getting a lot of marketing and promotion or maybe I’m just in their target market. I missed the screening and panel for Kick-Ass at South By Southwest but luckily Lionsgate presented another one at WonderCon. All of the stars, Nicolas Cage (Big Daddy), Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Red Mist), Clark Duke (Marty), Aaron Johnson (Kick-Ass), Chloe Moretz (Hit-Girl) were in attendance to talk about the movie and answer some questions from the audience. Kick-Ass is about a regular kid with no real problems or challenges in his life who one day decides to become a superhero even though he has no super powers or training at all. It looks hilarious and violent…what more can you ask for?


So why Kick-Ass? When there are so many comic books and graphic novels out there, why did they choose a relatively new story to make a movie? Screenwriter, Jane Goldman, said that it takes the whole idea of the superhero genre from a different angle. Most of the other comics are old so all of the characters have been around for ages. All of the characters from Kick-Ass are brand new and quite groundbreaking. The idea of being a regular kid and wanting to become a costumed super hero resonates in a lot of people. Co-producer, John Romita Jr., said that Mark Miller claims that Kick-Ass is exactly what he wanted to do. He worked out, took martial arts, and planned to buy a costume.


When asked why he chose this movie, Nicolas Cage said that he tries to find scripts that give him a challenge, something he can’t really do in real life. When he saw that he would be shooting a twelve year-old girl in the chest, it made him uncomfortable…so he had to do it. He also likes to stay relevant to the current generation so seeing this script and knowing it would be casted by mostly younger people and target the younger market, he wanted to get in on it.


The most controversial part of this movie will inevitably be Hit-Girl played by Chloe Moretz. In the movie, she’s a bad ass twelve year-old girl who’s violent and vulgar. Jane Goldman said that she really saw Hit-Girl as a strong female character. It’s not very often when you can get a strong female character that isn’t a sex symbol or looked at in a sexist way. Chloe, on the other hand seems like your typical innocent girl. She almost spit out the water she was drinking when a scene of hers played on the big screen where she mentioned a certain male body part. An audience member asked her what her parents thought of the role and she answered that her mother read the script before she did and told her to read it and let her know what she thought. She thought it was an awesome role and the rest was herstory.


I didn’t get to go to the WonderCon screening of the film either, but I will be attending a screening tonight and can’t wait. We’ll have a full review for you guys tomorrow!



Kick-Ass starts kicking some ass on April 16, 2010.

WonderCon is one of the country’s best comics conventions featuring guests and events for comics, movies, video games, and other popular media. This year, WonderCon had presentations by such Hollywood studios as Disney, Warner Bros., Sony, and Lionsgate.
Visit WonderCon’s Official Website

REVIEW: Hot Tub Time Machine

Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010

Hot Tub Time MachineHot Tub: Sweet. Time Machine: Awesome. Hot Tube Time Machine: Epic. Hot Tub Time Machine is a hilarious comedy about four guys who wind up back in time while trying to escape their boring lives for a weekend of fun. It follows three old friends (John Cusack, Craig Robinson, and Rob Corddry) joined by a young nephew (Clark Duke) to a ski resort to get away from their everyday problems and try to relive their teenage years from the 80s. However, they didn’t think that they’d actually be given a second chance to really relive their teenage years. Approaching the mountain town, they’re greeted by a rundown ski resort that has seen better days. Nevertheless, they try to make the best of it and stay in the same old room they stayed in decades before. And then they find it: A Hot Tub Time Machine. After a wild drunken night with a random bear, magical squirrel, and crazy energy drinks, they are sucked into the hot tub and sent back in time. From the title and premise, you can tell that this is a ridiculous movie…it’s one of those movies where you just sit down, forget about the plot, and go for the ride wherever it takes you.


If you’re one of those people who try and debunk movies based on their physics and time travel philosophy, don’t even get started with this one. They’re back in time including the nephew of one of the characters who hasn’t even been conceived yet…just go with it, ok? As I said before, just forget about the plot and go along for the ride. If you love hysterical off the cuff jokes, witty back and forth dialogue, and crazy pop references, then you’re going to love this film. Sometimes you miss some of the comedic gems because the audience is laughing so hard!


I was really excited about this film, really excited. From the previews, it looked hilarious and starred some of my favorite comedians (Craig Robinson, Clark Duke, and Chevy Chase). Honestly, it didn’t live up to my high expectations, but it was still a solid funny film. To me, it felt like a movie where a group of friends got together and said, “Hey, let’s make a bad ass funny movie” …and they did. The laughs kept coming and the characters were really enjoyable. You can think back to your own circle of friends and see the similar traits they share with each of the characters in the movie. You follow the trio of friends as they try and relive the past in order to set things straight and get back to the present. Along the way, they use their knowledge of the future to do what they regret not doing in their lives before or take advantage of the naive people of the past. Who wouldn’t want to go back in time and do something different? However, it doesn’t always work out for the better…I know that squirrel! It’s a magical squirrel, this doesn’t count! If you want a good night and a good laugh, definitely check this one out.