'Kick-Ass' movie review

WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS FOR "KICK-ASS" AHEAD

Interestingly, the first movie I will review this year turned out to be an older movie, the 2010 superhero film Kick-Ass. Because the movie is a couple of years old and some other plot-related reasons, I've decided I'd review this movie best in detailed and spoiler-filled ways, so if you haven't watched it yet, I advise you not to continue reading. Unless you want the movie spoiled for you, but honestly - it was spoiled for me and it didn't ruin the experience much. So Aaron Johnson stars as Dave Lizewski, a regular high school student, who decides to become a superhero. He first learns that being a superhero is not as easy as it seems, but after a few supporting characters, such as bad-ass Nicolas Cage as former cop turned superhero Big Daddy, Chloe Grace Moretz as his even more bad-ass daughter turned ninja, Mark Strong as douchy crime boss Frank D'Amico and his Christopher Mintz-Plasse as his son, wanna-be crime boss turned fake superhero Chris D'Amico enter the mix, you've got one explosive and hell of a fun movie ride in front of you.

First of all, I think Aaron Johnson as Dave Lizewski / Kick-Ass was great. He pulls off both the awkward, comedic and more serious, inspiring moments of the characters. He also looks like the kind of guy who would try to be a superhero, but is also likeable enough to root for and for the girls to cherish. Now I know everyone is praising Chloe Grace Moretz as Hit Girl, and I have to do that as well, as she is unbelieveably bad-ass and the best actor in the film, but I still don't want to waste too much time on her, as everibody knows she's awesome and I can't adress that furthermore. Mark Strong is as always an effective villain, Nicolas Cage gives his best performance in years, and I also admit that I really liked Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Red Mist. I don't know if it his extremely cool name or his ironically-cool appearance, but I did feel kinda sorry for him in the end. 

But what really makes the movie is the way it's stylized. This is probably the second most stylized film I've ever seen (right behind Scott Pilgrim vs The World) and it really makes it look like a comic book. Not like a comic book movie, a real comic book turned into film. Kick-Ass isn't triying to be anything more then that, and it very much suceeds, as with all those awesomely directed action sequences, costumography and music it just makes you believe and want to believe into a world where teenagers are superheroes and beat up people with battons, ride around in Mistmobiles and fuck up bad guy's places with jetpacks. It just deepens down that hidden wish inside you to be a superhero, but at the same time showing enough inflicted pain into the characters to turn away anyone who might have been seriously thinking about doing something like this.

Another thing I have to touch on is the violence. Even tough some scenes are really tough to watch and as previously adressed, really turns you away from ever being a superhero, the movie woudn't have been nearly as good and stylized as it is without the violence. Seeing a guy flapping around with battons and beating up people by mistake, a man's body exploding in a microwawe, a man taking down a warehouse in epic slowmotion-to-fastmotion blending, an 11-yr old girl ripping out people's throats and shooting them through other guy's mouths with spaghetti western music in the background just makes it all so more stylized and deepens the comic-book feel. It is a little weird in the beginning tough, when Kick-Ass gets stabbed and hit by a car, and you don't really as you're supposed to laugh or not, as you've been laughing at people crashing on cabs off skyscrapers and getting aneurysms during breakfast for the past few minutes, but further on the movie does nicely border the serious and the comedic violence. 

Overall, Kick-Ass is a very funny, spectacular and stylized comic-book tale, as comic-book tales should be, if they ever want to be anything more than comic-book tales. I am now also in further anticipation of the movie's sequel, Kick-Ass 2: Balls To The Wall, that is supposed to hit theatres this summer. I can't wait to see more Kick-Ass and Hit Girl working together, Christopher Mintz-Plasse as a full-fledged villain, known as The Mother Fucker and Jim Carrey in an actual movie. I really hope they do keep the feel of the first movie and everything as it should be, even tough Matthew Vaugh won't be directing. To be honest, I'm kinda angry at that motherfucker - I tought he would have to choose between the sequel of this and the sequel of X-Men: First Class, but he decides to drop out on both. Oh well.

Total rating: 8.5 / 10

So what did you think of Kick-Ass? Did you like it, dislike it, why? Are you in anticipation of its sequel? Comment below, let me know! 

Top 10 Movies to Watch in 2013

I wanted to start off this with some kind of a cliched and cheesy sentence, of how we must stop looking at the past (and at the same time of course, shamelessly promote my Top 10 Best Movie Trailers of 2012 and Top 10 Best Movies of 2012 lists) and how we must take a look into the future or some other stupid excuse to start off a list of most anticipated movies of 2013. But I figured this could do just as well. So anyways, as always, I must warn you that this list is highly subjective, as it's a list of the 10 movies I'm looking forward to most this year. But I also think that I share some of these "anticipations" with a lot of other people, so it could be taken as a general list as well.

10. Anchorman: The Legend Continues

I can't help it but to admit that I simply love the modern American comedies involving Ben Stiller, Will Ferell, Owen Wilson, Paul Rudd and the rest of the idiotically-hilarious crew and that I laughed and enyoyed pretty much each one of those movies (This is 40 is the only one I'm sceptical about), so a sequel to the amazing Anchorman with director Adam McKay and the main cast returning is pretty much big shit to expect. 

9. This Is The End

When I first heard of a comedy set during the supposed 2012 apocalypse, starring celebrities as themselves, I had some kind of an odd and very lame tought about one of those kind of movies, which end with the word  

movie, but the hilarious and chaotic red band trailer actually makes this look like one of the best, if not the most promising comedy of the year. Plus, Emma Watson's in it.

8. The Great Gatsby

I wasn't expecting this movie at all, but when I saw the incredibly modern, yet vintagefully mesmerizing, in short excellent trailer, I am just really fucking hyped for this. I kinda can't forget Tobey Maguire as Spiderman just yet (he looks pretty much the same), but still - this has good chances of being some kind of a new Romeo + Juliet.

7. Kick-Ass 2: Balls To The Wall 

Do I need to say more here? Great movie, same cast, a lot of expectation for the sequel. 

6. Iron Man 3

I'm really interested in what will the Iron Man franchise do after The Avengers. Will its build up to its sequel, or take on a darker twist, as suggested in the trailer? Any way it turns, with Kiss Kiss Bang Bang's Shane Black and Robert Downey Jr. on board, an entertaining film is a 100 % result (check out my review of the first trailer here).

5. Warm Bodies

The trailer for this zombie-comedic-love-story looks very promising, and it's really weird how everyone is talking about how this will be the next Twilight, not noticing, it's pretty much a parody of such stupid stories. So far, it looks like a very funny, sweet and cool movie. 

4. Star Trek: Into Darkness

I don't think I need to say a lot more here as well. The first movie was awesome, the trailers look awesome, the director and composer and the rest of Bad Robot's acquainted crew is awesome and fucking Benedict Cumberbatch is in it. Sounds awesome (check out my review of the first trailer here).

3. Man Of Steel 

A lot of people, including me, are hungry for a dark and realistic version of Superman, and this really looks like it. Just the credentials of the film promise something epic - just imagine a Superman story Nolan style, with Zack Snyder's visuals. And when a nice cast and epic trailers back that up, you can't help but to be excited (check out my review of the second trailer here).

2. The Hobbit: Desolation Of Smaug 

Even tough the first movie received far more mixed reviews as many have expected, I am one of those who have loved it. The story now drops into full-awesomeness and finnally introduces as the vicious dragon Smaug, whose both appearance and voice by always excellent Benedict Cumberbatch is rightfully one of the more anticipated things in the world of entertainment in 2013 (check out my review of An Unexpected Journey here).

1. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

                             

My hidden fanboyism just can't help to admit, that this is the movie I'm looking forward to most this year. I simply can't wait to see Jennifer Lawrence be Katniss one more time, I can't wait to see my favourite character of the series, Finnick Odair be portrayed by Sam Clafflin, I can't wait to see Phillip Seymour Hoffman as Plutarh Heavensbee, I can't wait to see the awesome salt lake arena battle and I could go on for quite some time. What can I say? I love the books, I loved the movie, I would love to see the next one. It's that simple. 

So what are your most anticipated movies of 2013? Comment below, let me know!