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Kick-Ass 2 (2013)

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kick-ass-2-justice-foreverRoze-Rating: 4 / 5

Three years on following the success of Kick-Ass, we are reunited with superheroes Kick-Ass (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Hit-Girl (Chloe Moretz). Growing bored of living in the real world Dave Lizewski decides to suit up again and train with Hit-Girl hoping to become a legitimate superhero. Still mourning over the death of his gangster father, Chris D’Amico (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) obsesses over the fantasy of killing Kick-Ass. After accidentally killing his mother D’Amico reinvents himself as the “Mother-Fucker” swearing to avenge his fathers death.

The first Kick-Ass was a huge success because it was such a new concept to the superhero genre. It’s a parody to how the like’s of Batman, Hawkeye and Black Widow would fair in the real world if they suddenly decided to get up and become a superhero. It was fresh, funny and stylish. The action was bad-ass and the violence shocking which made it a comic-book movie classic.

When I heard there was going to be a Kick-Ass two I was quite excited but was pretty sure it couldn’t improve on the first because all that freshness and shock value would be gone. That may have been the case but it indeed improved in some ways, compared to the first film.

I didn’t really enjoy the first half of the film as it seemed really out of place, it turned into this mean girls slash watchmen hybrid as we saw Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl go through their own journey’s; Hit-Girl to puberty and Kick-Ass to adulthood. It was entertaining but felt off as jokes were limited and not well executed. I felt comedic timing and editing probably had something to do with that as I was aware of the jokes but they didn’t come out as well as they could. For example a scene where The Motherfucker robs a store and an old man is told to get on the ground, he struggles as his arthritis kicks in forcing him to go down very slowly. I only noticed it second time round as the camera was panned back. Luckily the second half of the film did not disappoint as it was a lot funnier and provided loads of action.

The bar was set pretty high for action sequences after the first film which is why I was happy to see that the crunching punches and hits remained present. Overall the sequences were well choreographed and thought out as we were given some slick moves and executions to feast our eyes on. It was good that they really strived for original action sequences as it only pumps us up even more, although it was missing the stylish edge that made the first film ultimately pretty to look at. Little things that the camera did in first that it didn’t do in the second.

New additions to the cast meant new superheros and super villains, some of them were awesome and some felt like they shouldn’t be there. Jim Carrey plays Colonel Stars and Stripes, ex mafia con man who starts a superhero team in the name of Justice Forever. He may not be as funny as we hoped him to be but he sure plays the part well. As for the rest of the team we have Night Bitch (Lindy Booth), Battle Guy (Clarke Duke), Doctor Gravity (Donald Faison), Insect Man (Robert Emms) and two parents who are looking for their missing child. They make for entertaining additions to the cast except I didn’t see the need for the parents, they didn’t really offer anything comedically and seemed to get in the way. Overall the group of super villains were much more badass, but again they weren’t all utilized making some of them seem out of place.

Kick-Ass 2 may take awhile to get going but the last acts are worth waiting for as they are adrenaline filled scenes of epicness. Not as coherent as the first as it knew what it wanted to be, a violent parody to the superhero genre. Kick-Ass 2 takes on a more serious tone which continues on from the D’Amico vs Kick-Ass saga. Definitely worth the watch.

Safety Not Guaranteed (2012)

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936full-safety-not-guaranteed-screenshotRoze-Rating: 4.5 / 5

Safety Not Guaranteed follows two interns and their superior on a work related journey to the seaside to investigate a newspaper add which states that a man is looking for a partner to travel back in time with. At first the three Seattle magazine employees are apprehensive about the man and expect the reality to match their cynical views, but as they get deeper into the man’s life they find themselves second guessing themselves.

This film is truly something special and out of all the films that I’ve seen this year, Safety Not Guaranteed is definitely the most genuine and real. There’s been quite a few films that share a similar tone as this but doesn’t quite make the mark and that’s purely because they lack heart. This film explores the strength of belief, youth and how your past can haunt you. There are numerous scenes which exude these themes simply from an awesome soundtrack and down to earth movie clips. Without the playlist the whole tone and indie feel of the film would be lost, and it’s honestly one of the best playlist I’ve ever heard for a film, it’s just perfect. It’s weird how much music can bring out emotion from a film scene, but it totally works.

The cast is awesome, it’s nice to see comedy series stars on the big screen. Mark Duplass and Jake M. Johnson completely surprised me with their performances, cementing their places as big time film stars. There’s also a pleasant quirky performance from Aubrey Plaza which will just make you smile uncontrollably. Definitely looking forward to any of their future films.

It’s definitely a feel good film, and it really tells you to cherish your youth and to cherish anything because one day they may disappear for no reason at all. I particularly liked the scene where Jeff tells Arnau to man up, get off his ass and start living because your only 21 once, it’s so true and the scenes that follow will just make you smile like you just discovered your first boner (if your a guy), Inspired film with genuine intentions and good laughs, perfect if your feeling down and need a pick me up.


Savages (2012)

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WFTCRMImageFetchRoze-Rating: 2.5 / 5

Successful entrepreneurs Ben (Aaron Johnson) and Chon (Taylor Kitsch), use their diverse backgrounds to produce the best marijuana ever made. Ben is level headed and uses his money to give back to the poor, making him the brains and ethics of the business. Chon, an ex Navy SEAL uses his anger and trained skills to make sure people pay for their product. What they have in common is the desire to grow the best marijuana and the love for a girl called Ophelia (Blake Lively). Once they get involved with a massive Mexican Drug Cartel and refuse to work with them, life becomes a lot less laid back and they have to do what they can to save Ophelia.

It may be a harsh score, but I went into the film hoping for something great and instead got something very flat and average. This film has a great cast and all pretty experienced, which is why there aren’t many let downs in that area. Benicio Del Toro gave a pretty scary performance making him the ultimate highlight of the film, as well as the two lead men Taylor Kitsch and Aaron Johnson who play their characters to perfection. The two biggest problems were Blake Lively and Salma Kayek. I felt Blake Lively’s character was too unrelatable and ultimately forgettable, which is why throughout the film, your not really caring much for her. Salma Hayek’s character wasn’t scary, nor was she likeable. For a character who is in charge of quite a successful drug business, you expect them to be a lot more grittier and intense but Hayek’s take on it was very underwhelming and not believable. 

There were too many mood and tone changes between Blake Lively and Salma Hayek’s characters to know whether they had a bond or not, and in the end it just felt like a waste of screen time. At times, you also couldn’t tell what Blake Lively was talking about, that scene when she was in her hostage cell is an example, it was like gibberish. The trailer was very misleading, I thought there was going to be some revenge action but there was only one scene that I can remember which contained a little bit, and it wasn’t thrilling, nor were the moments which intended to be. The only time I genuinely felt emotionally connected to the film was when Del Toro was in the picture, the only interesting character there.

It was a pretty good idea for Taylor KItsch to have his own group of men to do any handy work with, so it would have been awesome to see more of that. The story line and plot in the end didn’t really entice me, nor did the characters. A positive would be the style conveyed throughout this film, it’s pretty nice at times, such as the vivid colours and the dopey scenes. Other than that, pretty much a let down and way too long.