First off, Kick-Ass is not for kids. No way, no how. And it was never supposed to be. Fans of the source material know this, but parents who see it and think "oh, look, another superhero movie," should be warned. Of course, that R-rating could be a big clue. Even the violence in Christopher Nolan's Batman film The Dark Knight was tamer, more implied at times than the mayhem here. But really, for adults, that's part of the fun rollercoaster ride delivered by Kick-Ass. The film didn't exactly blow up at the box office earlier this spring. But it didn't leave the non-comics audience going "huh?" either, like Watchmen. The movie is based on the comic book series and graphic novel by writer Mark Millar and artist John Romita Jr., for Marvel's more adult imprint. In fact, the movie was optioned and went into development while the comics were still being worked out and coming out. The premise is actually quite simple. What if some people - mostly kids - decided to be superheroes in "real life," but without that "super" part; that is, they have no powers. So Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson), inspired by his comic book collection, dons a modified green diving suit (he looks like he might be called Frogman, really, if he wore a diving mask and flippers) to become Kick-Ass. And how does he go? Watch and see. Then, along comes an adult doing this, psychotic ex-cop Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage) and his equally giddy to kill bad guys tween daughter Hit Girl (Chloe Moretz). The escalation of violence is only matched by the rise in expletives, too.
So our, uh, heroes, which also include the Red Mist (Christopher Mintz-Plasse - cult hero McLovin from Superbad) take on mob boss (Mark Strong - Sherlock Holmes and the next year's Green Lantern as Sinestro) with a connection to one of the would-be crimefighters. Now the actors, except for a semi-cheeky Cage, who turns in an Adam West (Batman on TV) gone nutso impression, play it pretty straight. There's no nudge, nudge, wink wink. It's director Matthew Vaughn (Layer Cake), working from a script by Jane Goodman who sets things all tilt-a-whirl to the point of not parody, but dark humor satire. There are plenty of funny moments, but there are dead-serious scenes (including dead bodies) as well. Johnson and Mintz-Plasse have a believable sad sack teen buddy thing going on, but in so many ways, the film belongs to Moretz, who also shined whenever she appeared in the very kid friendly Diary of a Wimpy Kid (which is also out on DVD and Blu-ray). While Kick-Ass didn't rake in mega-bucks, there's still talk of a sequel and it wouldn't be a surprise to see it focus even more on Hit Girl.
Special Blu-ray features include: An Ass-Kicking BonusView Mode; a Matthew Vaughn Audio Commentary; a documentary, "A New Kind of Superhero: The Making of Kick-Ass; "The Comic Book Origin of Kick-Ass"; The Art of Kick-Ass; BD Touch and Metamenu Remote Enabled for iPhone/iPod/iPad; D-Box Metadata Track for D-Box Motion-Based Systems; and Lionsgate Live, a BD-Live menu system to access exclusive content, special offers, ringtones, and other extras. Disc two features the film on DVD and the third disc is a digital copy So watch this one when the kids are asleep or still at summer camp during the day or on a sleep=over at a friend's house. Because while Kick-Ass may not be family entertainment by any stretch, it is quite entertaining in many twisted and quite clever ways.
Released earlier this week (July 27), Batman: Under the Red Hoodis one the finest works to come from Warner Brothers/DC and stands out alongside releases such as Mask of the Phantasm in the '90s and Green Lantern: First Flight last year. The animated film is based on the comics story arc and graphic novel collection by writer Judd Winick, who adapted his tale, with some adjustments and the results are stunning for an animated comic book film, on par in its own way, with Christopher Nolan's two Bat movies. More comics writers should write these, adapting their own work.
This is a story of failure and an attempt at revenge with no redemption. It's about the greatest loss The Batman has ever faced since the murder of his parents as a child. The movie begins in Sarajevo where the Joker has kidnapped Robin - the second Robin in the comics, Jason Todd. Aware of it all is semi-immortal mastermind Ra's Al Ghul full of regret for setting such violence in motion. The Joker savagely beats Robin with a crowbar - but not quite to death - but leaves him locked in a building with a bomb set to go off. The Batman is racing there on a motorcyle, but doesn't make it in time and in a variation of a scene out of the tale Death in the Family in the 1980s, Jason Todd is dead.
We flash forward five years to a meeting of Gotham mobsters, attacked by the Red Hood, who tells them he's taking control of all crime. Who is he? Most comic fans already know, but that doesn't make the story any less compelling. Enter Batman, and the first Robin, now Nightwing. The Red Hood challenges crime boss Black Mask with a plan that involves freeing the Joker. The revelations begin to drop: what happened to Jason, the involvement of Ra's, and Batman faced with killing to save a killer. it's a dark tale with layers also built through flashbacks, Jason going from a kid hijacking the Batmobile's tires (!) (guess the anti-theft devices were shorted out that day?), to an enthusiastic Robin who becomes more cynical, reckless and angry, unlike Dick Grayson, who found himself while staying true to Bruce's guidance.
The film is rated PG-13 because it is violent, so parents should be cautioned that it may not be for some pre-tweens (depends on the child, of course). But it's not mindless violence, it's part of what drives the story, which at its core is about a (surrogate) father and his sons/mentor and his students (Dick Grayson, Jason Todd). A final flashback, with a young Jason as Robin is the final heart-tugger that further registers the pain felt by Bruce Wayne when he lost far more than a partner in his war.
The casting is - no pun intended at all - super. Bruce Greenwood (Captain Pike in Star Trek) voices Bruce Wayne/Batman with authority, a reading close to the greatest Bat-voice of all from TV and other animated features, Kevin Conroy. Jensen Ackles (Supernatural) is the "Red Hood," Neil Patrick Harris is Dick Grayson, grown up post-Robin as Nightwing and also does a fine job balancing his light and serious tones. Nearly stealing the film is John Dimaggio as the Joker in a portrayal that visually owes to both Heath Ledger and Jack Nicholson, while the voice is a bit Jack, yet far more sinister, a killer clown to match Mark Hamill's longtime work on the character on various DC Universe animated shows. Who's/what's missing? The inclusion of the third Robin, Tim Drake, who in comics brought Bruce/Batman out of his plunge into darkness following the death of Jason Todd. But perhaps Winick tried to but thought it too much to work into the story.
A short feature on the first disc is also stellar: a "DC Showcase" looking at western anti-hero "Jonah Hex" that's far superior to the live-action film earlier this year. Written by Hap and Leonard author Joe R. Lansdale, the 12-minute story is drawn from the adult-oriented comics in recent years and features the voices of the voices of Thomas Jane, Linda Hamilton, Michelle Trachtenberg, and Michael Rooker. Disc one also offers a terrific sneak peak of sketches and voice performances of the next DCU film due this fall, Superman/Batman: Apocalypse, based on Superman/Batman: Supergirl by Jeph Loeb and the late Michael Turner. Tim Daly and Kevin Conroy will again voice Superman and Batman, as they did for Public Enemies. Disc two's special features include "Robin: The Story of Dick Grayson," as well as a pick from producer Bruce Timm, the two-part, excellent "Robin's Reckoning," from Batman the Animated Series, telling Robin's origin. Also available on Blu-ray and in various special editions with litho cells, and as a single-disc DVD (but no Hex short on it), Batman: Under the Red Hood is without a doubt, a winning release and makes one look forward to the next upcoming animated film with uber-villain, Darkseid.
Crops were not the only thing cultivated in the small farming community of Brawley, California. The sheer boredom gave way to Barbara Morden's fertile imagination and insatiable wanderlust. Barbara started to use writing as an exercise in creative expression during her time at Cal-Poly Pomona. She has turned that passion into a full time job as the marketing & advertising coordinator for one of the Southland's biggest and busiest Real Estate Agents. Under the tutelage of Darryl Morden, her best friend, biggest cheerleader & late husband, Barbara's writing blossomed into its current evocative style. When Barbara is not trying to make an ugly house sound pretty, she can be found over compensating for being a working mother, haunting local music venues, reading science fiction & comic books, or taking a well-deserved nap.
Batman
by writer Mark Millar and artist John Romita Jr., for Marvel's more adult imprint. In fact, the movie was optioned and went into development while the comics were still being worked out and coming out.
The premise is actually quite simple. What if some people - mostly kids - decided to be superheroes in "real life," but without that "super" part; that is, they have no powers. So Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson
and the next year's Green Lantern as Sinestro) with a connection to one of the would-be crimefighters.
(Batman on TV) gone nutso impression, play it pretty straight. There's no nudge, nudge, wink wink. It's director Matthew Vaughn
), working from a script by Jane Goodman who sets things all tilt-a-whirl to the point of not parody, but dark humor satire. There are plenty of funny moments, but there are dead-serious scenes (including dead bodies) as well. 
(which is also out on DVD and Blu-ray). While Kick-Ass didn't rake in mega-bucks, there's still talk of a sequel and it wouldn't be a surprise to see it focus even more on Hit Girl. 
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