Kick Ass

Believe the hype!!

The most controversial movie to hit the big screen this year. It's a shame it has received headlines for all the wrong reasons as this movie brings a lot more than controversy! Kick Ass (Aaron Johnson) describes himself as a regular guy with regular friends and has no luck with the opposite sex. In truth, he is a a likeable nerd bordering on Napoleon Dynamite. He spends his time with his 2 dorky mates reading comics and lusting after girls that are out of their league. His obsession with comic book superheroes gets him thinking as to why there is not a modern day hero to fight local crime, so he purchases a typical hero costume on line and sets about training himself to fill this role. These scenes are cringeworthy but hilarious and when he stumbles upon a local gang attack, he intervenes and becomes an overnight global hero due to a bystanders recording of the scene being aired on tv.

The newly famed Superhero is unaware that there is a crimefighting father and daughter duo sat at home watching his antics on tv. Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage) is a single parent father to Hit Girl (Chloe Moretz) who is a mere 11 years of age. She is more interested in getting guns and knives as presents from her father, rather than the latest Bratz doll.

It's at this stage in the movie where controversy rears it's ugly head as the 11 year old lets loose with a string of expletives and displays the fighting skills of a highly trained assassin. They have a more personal reason for their vigilantic acts and in their sights is local crimelord Frank D'Amico (Mark Strong). The duo will not rest until his empire is destroyed. By default, Kick Ass finds himself caught up in Big Daddy and Hit Girl's revenge on D'Amico and the results are gags that are laugh out loud with some outrageous action scenes. Initially it's shocking to hear an 11 year old girl use the C word and I can understand why some are upset over this. However, when the grim details of her birth and upbringing are revealed, Hit Girl's actions seem more acceptable.

This is Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldman's (Mrs Jonathan Ross) second collaboration and it couldn't be further removed from their previous venture, the lighthearted Starlight! Vaughn's directing is sleek and innovative, he even manages to fit in a scene with a giant billloard of his supermodel wife Claudia Schiffer in the background. Goldman's script is laden with clever one liners and never hits a lull. Newcomer Chloe Moretz is a revelation as Hit Girl and Brit actor Aaron Johnson who was recently on our screens playing John Lennon in Nowhere Boy excels in the lead role. Nicolas cage is for once very watchable and quite funny in his supporting role. Winning an Oscar all those years ago was the worst thing for Cage as it propelled him into the ill suited area of leading man resulting in countless flops.

Kick Ass the movie is at times shocking and gory but never takes itself serious. It views likes a cross between Kill Bill and Pulp Fiction but what sets it apart from a Tarantino movie is the heartfelt moments of sentiment that will keep the more sensitive viewer smiling and captivated. I doubt there will be many people who will think it an ok movie, it's a love it or hate it verdict. It's only April but I fail to see a better movie being released this year.

Believe the hype for all the right reasons!!!

Score: 10/10

Alice In Wonderland

Visual Treat!

It's only my second ever movie to see in 3D along with this years Avatar. Although Avatar was stunning to view in 3D, Alice in Wonderland is superior. It's not totally necessary to watch Avatar in 3D but Alice is impossible to view in 2D. Remove your 3D glasses for a moment and you'll see what i mean. I'm going to try not be biased here as I'm a massive Tim Burton fan.

I suppose you could call the movie a sequel to the original Alice in Wonderland as it takes place ten years after her 1st visit to Wonderland. Some of the sequences and characters are quite scary and some kids will definitely find it a bit creepy at times. Soon afer arriving in Wonderland via falling down a large hole chasing a rabbit, Alice learns that she is the chosen player/slayer for the good white queen, which is played very oddly and annoyingly effected by Anne Hathaway. It's up to Alice to carry out a death defying task in order to regain the good queens reign over Wonderland, currently ruled by her evil tyranical sister the Red Queen - played by the wonderful Helena Bonham Carter.

The movie is full of plusses besides the obvious ground breaking effects, the sound, the music.

Johnny Depp is his usual scene stealer and his Mad Hatter is full of Depp's perfected eccentricities. For me though, the real star of this movie is Bonham Carter's red queen. Hilariously over acted from a very under rated actress. She never received the plaudits she should have for her performance in Flight Club and due to the dark gothic nature of this movie I'm sure the same thing will happen with this role. It's such a shame as she is mesmerising whenever she appears on screen. The character of Alice is played very impressively by relative newcomer Mia Wasikowska. She's definitately one to watch out for in the future. The cast of animated animals are voiced by a predominantly British cast - Barbara Windsor, Timothy Spall, Michael Sheen to name but a few. Stephen Fry's Chester the cat is perfect.

I found the movie captivating and not in the slighest bit laboured. Burton rarely disappoints and it's definitely a return to form. There was however a very strange scene at the end of movie were Johnny Depp bursts into an an impromptu Michael Jacksonesque dance routine. It made no sense whatsover! Unlike the rest of the movie which was a visual and entertaining joy.

Score: 8/10

Shutter Island

Post war thriller with a pre-war jitter!

Set in 1954 Leonardo Di Caprio plays US Marshal Teddy Daniels, assigned to investigate the disappearance of a patient from the Boston Shutter Island hospital for the criminally insane.

The patient in question Rachel Solando, escaped from a locked room after been institutionalized for drowning her 3 children.

Accompanying Daniels on his investigation is his newly assigned partner Chuck (Mark Ruffalo). Assisting the investigators with the case is head doctor for the institute Dr Crawley (Ben Kingsley). It is immediately apparent to Daniels that there is something amiss as Crawley is reluctant to provide him with essential information regarding the case. When he stumbles upon a hospital board meeting consisting of several shady members, it only serves to convince him further that this case is not all it initially appeared to be.

As their investigating continues, a hurricane hits the island causing a complete power cut.

From here on things start to get really racey and tense, and with patients escaping, the guards are otherwise engaged therefore Daniels and Chuck have the ideal opportunity to discover for themselves if there is an underlying reason behind the patient's disappearance.

For a US Marshal, Daniels appears to be a very troubled person and from the onset suffers from wartime hallucinations and nightmares from his past. He begins to ask himself why he was assigned to this case, was there really a legitimate escape or are the doctors on this island using a fictitiuos incident to mask some illegal treatments/experiments on patients!

The movie itself is captivating and looks amazing. Scorsese shot it in a very Cape Fearish manner with lots of quirky camera angles and film noir poses. The performances are all worthy from the three lead male actors and there are sufficient supporting performances from Michelle Williams and Patricia Clarkson.

The movie may frustrate you as there are so many twists and turns along the way with no loose ends tied up until the very end. I personally was agitated by the fact that I didn't forsee how or when these lose ends would tie up. However, it made it all the better as the climax is definitely worth the wait.

Overall it's another classic Scorsese/Di Caprio venture!

Score: 8/10

I love you Philip Morris

Who said Romance is dead?

A caption stating 'The following events really took place' appears on the screen at the start of this movie. I was unfamiliar with Steven Russell's story and read very little about the movie prior to seeing it. If I had missed the opening caption, I would have said it was the most far fetched drama I'd seen in a long time. Instead, what I got was a left of centre romantic comic caper.

Steven Russell (Jim Carrey) is for want of a better worth a con man. His whole life is one cover up, even to the exent of his marriage. He eventually comes out to his family and friends after a near death experience and moves to a sunnier state to live as an openly gay man. To his dismay he discovers that being gay is expensive and sets out in the only way he knows to finance his lifestyle. After one scam too many his antics land him in prison. It's here that he meets and falls in love with Phillip Morris (Ewan McGregor). Being the con man that he is, Russell sets out to plan their escape. Morris goes along with Russell's plans as he is obsessed with him but is a by the book type of guy, therefore is always on the edge of suspicion.

Be it in or out of prison, Russell is constantly trying to better both their lives and there is a scheme of sorts constantly on the go. It's amazing the lengths he will go to just to sate his lover.

Although Carrey's performance is convincing, he overdoes it on the silly 'Mask' faces and just when you were putting his previous slapstick performances behind you, he does a silly voice! McGregor on the other hand is excellent as Morris and camps it up just the right amount. Their on screen chemistry as a loved up couple is totally convincing and at times quite touching.

Due to it's gay content it won't appeal to a mass audience which is a shame as Russell's experiences rarely happen to one individual in a lifetime and deserve to be seen. I felt that the movie was more suited to the small screen rather than the big screen and I'm sure it will be a bigger hit with dvd and tv viewers on it's eventual release. In saying that if you are looking for a movie that's not laugh out loud but charming, funny and entertaining then give this a go - you won't be disappointed!

Score: 6/10