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Kick-Ass

Two years ago Andre sent me an email asking if I wanted to go see Iron Man. I always enjoy the movie-going experience with Andre (My hetero life-mate as his wife Stacey describes it) but on this day I was hesitant. You see, I had given up on super-hero movies. I was tired of seeing the same old recycled dreck again and again. Daredevil was a poor man's watered down Batman. The Superman reboot failed to leap tall buildings in a single bound and the two Hulk movies redefined the term “unwatchable.” So on this day I explained to Andre that I would go see Iron Man as long as it met the following criteria: (1) As a child, the hero doesn't watch his parents die at the hands of his future arch nemesis (2) He doesn't have to hide his secret identity from his unrequited love who is really in love with the hero and (3) There won't be nipples on the superhero costume (That's right, I'm talking to you Batman & Robin). Andre assured me none of those applied and to his credit Iron Man was everything he said it would be and more. I thought it was the best movie in the genre since the first two Spider-Man movies and not even The Dark Knight surpassed it in my estimation.

But then came Kick-Ass.

I know all you Dark Knight fans are already writing your angry responses (probably led by Moore, Andrew) but this was the best superhero movie I have seen in the past six years, easily. How can I describe it? I'm trying to think of a two word phrase that conveys how this movie dominated in every conceivable way. Hmmmmmm. Oh well, it will come to me.

Kick-Ass tells the story of Dave Lizewski (Aarron Johnson), an anonymous high school student and comic book fan who wonders why nobody ever tried to be a super-hero in real life. His curiosity soon turns to obsession and before long he is out trying to thwart bad guys. The ensuing beating and aftermath he suffers leaves him with damaged nerve endings meaning he is mostly immune to pain. This is the first sign of brilliance in this movie. They are able to give the hero some kind of “super-power” that is both believable and successful in moving the story forward. Now buoyed by his condition, Dave goes out to avenge Katie (Lyndsy Fonseca), the girl he is crushing on.

Without revealing too much, it is safe to say that Kick-Ass comes in contact with two actual superheroes who are doing it for real – Big Daddy and Hit-Girl. This is where the movie really starts to take off. Nicholas Cage is brilliant as Big Daddy. He is able to portray both the doting father in his real-life and a believable Batman clone as his super hero alter ego. In fact, he pulls off a very nice homage to the Adam West portrayal of Batman with the way he delivers his lines.

As good as Cage is in this movie, the real star is newcomer Chloe Moretz as Hit-Girl, an 11 year-old trained assassin masked hero. The first time we see her, she is in a training session with her dad. This scene is memorable for the way it is able to convince us of their competence as highly trained killers while still making us believe she is a very real 11 year-old girl who loves spending time with her dad. And her first line as the masked Hit-Girl is cinematic gold, if not entirely age appropriate. Perhaps that is what is so great about that character. She is both a potty-mouthed deadly killer and a sweet little girl. This juxtaposition gives her an amazing screen presence that is so strong, when she is not on the screen, I eagerly awaited her return. My buddy Kelly predicted she will receive a nomination come next Oscar season and I wholeheartedly agree.

I thought Director Matthew Vaughn (Stardust, Layer Cake) did a very nice job in respecting the comic book origins while still making this feel like a feature film. He uses the convention of having the Cage character create a Big Daddy/Hit-Girl comic book. When one of the characters flips through this comic book, we are given the back-story of how these superheores came to be. Here Vaughn embraces the look and style of the comic book to serve his feature film storytelling. He displays a very deft touch which comes across nicely on the big screen.

This movie is categorized in the sub genre of super-hero/comedy. Most of the comparisons I have seen liken it to Ben Stiller's Mystery-Men. I don't believe these movies belong in the same category. I enjoyed Mystery-Men as a comedy but never took it seriously as a super-hero movie. The world of superheroes and villains were simply the backdrop for a fairly traditional comedy. This movie works because it takes the world of heroes and villains very seriously. The heavies would not feel out of place in any other super-hero movie. When Kick-Ass ventures into waters well over his head, the consequences are real and believable. That the movie plays for comedic effect and not big laughs from gags is what sets it apart from other failed action-comedies.

This is not to suggest that it is a perfect movie. There are times towards the end where the developments feel a little familiar. The character of Red Mist (Christopher-Mintz Plasse aka McLovin) is a nice twist as a guy torn between the family business and the super-hero world. Still they character arc for Red Mist wanders into territory that we've seen before. James Franco will certainly feel a sense of deja-vu upon seeing this film. But the truth is that for a genre which has been done to death in the past decade or so, there is much to this movie which feels fresh and fun.

As for my two-word summation, it will have to wait for another day. Wait, I got it! This movie....

TOTALLY ROCKS.

I can't believe I didn't see that before.

How To Train Your Dragon

Just about a year ago I walked out of a darkened theatre after seeing the animated movie “Up” and I couldn't shake this one thought that was echoing throughout my brain – that was the best written movie I had seen in a years. Could that really be true? A “kids movie”? An animated movie? Several Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Writing Directly For The Screen, told me I was not alone in my observation.

Now, almost a year later I walked out of another darkened theatre this time filled with certainty rather than doubt. Anyone who wants to know how to tell a story for the screen should look at the best of the Pixar and Dreamworks catalogs because the latest Dreamworks offering,“How To Train Your Dragon” is a rich and beautifully told story that will entertain movie-goers of all ages.

How To Train Your Dragon, tells the story of Hiccup (voiced by Jay Baruchel), a young Viking boy who grows up in a village terrorized by Dragons who attack at night. He observes that the village is very old but all the buildings are new. They keep getting torched by the fire breathing dragons. So hiccup harbours the dreams of every other viking boy in the village – to grow up to be the greatest dragon killer ever known. Of course, the scrawny and clumsy Hiccup just isn't cut out to be a fierce dragon-killing warrior. This is an embarrassment to not only Hiccup himself but more so to Hiccup's father Stoick who really is the greatest Viking warrior in the Village.

Stoick leads a Viking expedition to search for the dragon's nest and Hiccup is enrolled in dragon-slaying training with some other kids his age. It is at this point when Hiccup stumbles upon the fiercest and rarest dragon of all, a black night fury. Turns out Hiccup wounded it one night with a cannon shot but nobody would believe him. Hiccup tries to kill the wounded dragon but discovers he cannot. When he sets it free instead, the dragon-killer wannabe and dragon (whom he names Toothless) begin a tenuous relationship that is very delicate.

Right here I'd like to point out what a brilliant job the writers have done in setting up the story to this point. Yes, this movie is based on a 2003 British Children's novel by Cressida Cowell but it is the changes the writers made to the original source material that really made this work. In the novel, the villagers train dragons and young Hiccup and his friends enroll in dragon-training classes rather than dragon-slaying classes. By portraying the dragons and villagers as historical enemies engaged in years of battles to the death, it “raises the stakes” for the detente that Hiccup and Toothless are about to enter into. Can dragons really be trusted? What happens if Stoick and the other villagers find out?

So as this story turns nicely from Act I to Act II we now have parallel training sessions going on. On the one hand, Hiccup is learning the “traditional teachings” of what dragon's are all about from village elder Gobber (voiced by Craig Ferguson). While at the same time he is learning what really makes dragon's tick from his secret experiences with Toothless. At one point he voices the inescapable yet logical conclusion “Everything we know about them is wrong.” Eventually the villagers view on dragons and Hiccups view of dragons are going to come into direct conflict. There is a nice turn where we discover why dragons sack the villagers and make off with farm animals.

What makes this story work is that is functions on more than one level. I could count on one hand the live action movies I've seen in the last 18 months for which I could say the same. Here the surface level “plot” involves Hiccup's dragon training and his secret excursions with Toothless. But beyond that is the character's inner journey which involves repairing a strained relationship between father and son. We get the sense training Toothless to fly on command is nothing compared to getting Stoick to actually listen to and connect with Hiccup. These scenes between father and son are as important and powerful as any aerial dragon fighting scene in the film.

Another aspect that makes this movie a success is the flying scenes involving Hiccup and Toothless. Somehow the animators are able to give you the sense that you are actually there flying with them. I almost want to see this movie again in IMAX 3D just for that experience. There is a beautiful scene between Hiccup Toothless and Astrid, the girl Hiccup crushes on (voiced by Ugly Betty's America Ferrara). Toothless seems to know how to impress a girl so gives them a combination of roller coaster thrill ride and romantic cruise in the sky. It gave a fresh take to the magic carpet scene from Aladdin. These scenes along with the action sequences are beautifully composed and executed.

This is by no means a perfect movie. It takes some shortcuts at the end with the father-son relationship. I think the underlying story elements in Up were stronger than they are with this movie. But on the whole, you would be hard pressed to find a better story and more fun at the local cineplex.

I really do wish live the powers-that-be behind live-action movies would pay as much attention to establishing and developing character as the animation studios do. I will still go to the theatre in the hopes of finding it. Of course when I am let down time after time, I won't fret too much. I'll just keep thinking of June 18, 2010. For that is the day that Toy Story 3 opens and I know that story will once again triumph on the big screen.

(It's also my father's 69th birthday but I'm fairly certain he wouldn't want that out there for public consumption so I will not bring it up.)