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Popcorn-Sized Movie Reviews: Let Me In

Here’s a popcorn-sized movie review you can read on the go. It’s low on fat but with all that buttery goodness.

88% on Rotten Tomatoes

In 2004, Swedish author John Ajvide Lindqvist wrote a love story between a young boy and vampire girl. Two years later, director Tomas Alfredson brought Let the Right One In to theaters. This month, Matt Reeves spared American audiences the trouble of reading subtitles, casting Kodi Smit-McPhee and Chloe Moretz as the star-crossed Owen and Abby.

Scene by scene, Reeves maintains a faithful reproduction of the original while making some minor changes. The time (1980s Reagan-era) and place (somewhere lakes stay frozen long enough to safely play hockey on) differ but barely scratch the surface, along with the needless cutting of the full-length title. “Let Me In,” as opposed to “Let the Right One In,” suggests a menace of a Hollywood horror film, but Reeves doesn’t bother reducing the story to something it’s not. Instead, Let Me In carries on the very human friendship that the characters share.

One or two scenes pale in comparison to the original feel, but for the most part, Reeves keeps the blood and special effects in check, and dares not make too great of leaps. Moviegoers who are looking for a gory or even sparkly vampire flick will be disappointed (no sappy teenage love songs here), but the more open-minded crowd might be pleasantly surprised with what they find. Fans of Let the Right One In will be paying for the same movie, essentially, but at least seeing it on the big screen earns it brownie points.

Tags: Chloe Moretz, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Let Me In, Matt Reeves
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Let Hit-Girl In

I’m fond of the Swedish vampire film, Let the Right One In, which stars Lina Leandersson as a “young” girl named Eli who befriends a twelve-year-old boy named Oskar. So of course, Hollywood decided we need an American remake. Of course. Because subtitles are hard.

Director Matt Reeves (his writer/producer/director experience consists mostly of Felicity TV credits) has reportedly delved into the original novel and, from the source, scrambled together a different take and renamed the central characters with more American friendly names: Abby and Owen, two names you rarely hear, so I guess that’s better than Ashley and … okay, what’s an overly popular boy’s name beginning with the letter “O”? Oswald? Oliver? … Otto? Let’s just move on.

So there’s good news and bad news. I wouldn’t count Reeves as a brilliant choice who’s going to pump out some remake that justifies the remaking, and the idea of a “different take” probably isn’t the greatest sign, all things considered, but at least the actors hold some promise. I don’t know much about Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Road; Stranded), but many recent moviegoers such as I were impressed by Chloe Moretz in last month’s Kick-Ass. She looks cute, sure, but she has bite to her.

Heh. Get it, “bite”? … Yeah, okay.

Am I the only one who can’t stop envisioning, “Let me in, you cunts”?

[via /Film]

Tags: Chloe Moretz, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Let Me In, Let the Right One In, Matt Reeves
Posted in Movies/TV | 3 Comments »

Kick-Ass: No Power, No Responsibility

Matthew Vaughn pounds a memorable nail into his directing career with the latest superhero romp, Kick-Ass. Erasing the often cumbersome line between mediums, the film gulps down audience and critic praise with Vaughn’s surprisingly polished tour de force.

Kick-Ass (Lionsgate) rocks the big screen by providing moviegoers with quite the enticing concoction. Aaron Johnson guides the story as Dave Lizewski/Kick-Ass, a high school nerd whose head throbs with the perfect balance of “optimism and naivety,” and quickly encounters noted talents such as Nicolas Cage (Big Daddy), Mark Strong (Frank D’Amico), and Xander Berkeley (Detective Gigante). Boldly, Kick-Ass pairs the household likes of Cage with that of the up-and-coming Chloe Moretz (Hit-Girl), who gives a knock-out performance that rivals those of the better known actors. Such a streamlined mix of experienced Hollywood names and promising young underdogs works undeniably in the movie’s favor. Even Nicolas Cage proves an unusually smart choice, knitting endearing facets into his character with sheer language and expectation-bending quirks. Christopher Mintz-Plasse excellently portrays Chris D’Amico/Red Mist, a son who, hungry for paternal approval and individual acceptance, tumbles into accidental villainy. Despite the role, each character dutifully fulfills his purpose on-screen.

Plus, the thoughtfully chosen music sifts between dramatic and hilarious with enviable ease, but regardless of the ephemeral context, the soundtrack’s direction rarely fails. Although the exposition drags at first before powering through its remaining length, just shy of two hours, it’s almost easy to forget why: Kick-Ass doesn’t imitate real life, but rather channels it. And that entails all the slow-burning or unpleasant qualities of our time.

In fact, the film delivers more brilliance than casual viewers might be willing to swallow. Kick-Ass surpasses most superhero movies not because of budget or special effects, but because of its hard-hitting human connection. When the stuff of comics bleeds into the real world, the emerging issues devour new power. The film mixes child-driven violence and swearing with its reciprocal. Hit-Girl, spewing foul words one moment, gains an intimate understanding of death the next. Scenes rapid-fire between the hilarious, the charismatic, and the explicit with terrifying comfort. The film slams shut the invaluable but tiny window of childhood innocence, and heroes become fueled by the needs we, everyday people, can understand if only the situation were ours.

We tap into Kick-Ass‘ world through the shared link of pop culture: Youtube, the internet, news reports, comics. As the television show Lost sidelongs imminent execution, the real world and the fantastic crash together. In turn, Kick-Ass achieves morbidly realistic heights, a level of success that other extraordinary superhero productions can barely touch.

Overall, the film communicates one striking message: When violence terrorizes our society, we contentedly watch. Even as heroes die, we quietly observe from behind windows, cameras, and computer screens. As Kick-Ass himself iterates, “And three assholes, laying into one guy while everybody else watches? And you wanna know what’s wrong with me? Yeah, I’d rather die.” Kick-Ass turns its own audience into test subjects who laugh at gut-wrenching, heartbreaking scenes in which desperate widows burn alive simply because a teenage outcast triumphantly feels up a pretty girl between takes.

We mistakenly believe that we know, not merely idolize, the film’s heroes: That kid at the local comic store, the renegade cop, the new girl at school. As much as we think the film allows us to feel at home with them, our own hypocritical reactions distinguish us. We are still the ones behind the television screens: the cowards, the wannabes. We are the ones giving high-fives to Kick-Ass on the street. We are not Kick-Ass himself, a realization that starkly contrasts against the likes of, say, Batman. While The Dark Knight nurtures that inner heroism and encourages citizens to act righteously, Kick-Ass establishes why in real life those masked avengers are, as Dave Lizewski ponders, absent.

Pulsating with entertainment, Kick-Ass soars as an outstanding movie experience, but we should appreciate the underlying substance, as well. D’Amico’s painting transforms for the watchful eye, and the blood red underlining the multiple guns ultimately emphasizes merciless violence. The film’s startling perspective on our society’s indoctrinated, trigger-happy lust for violence soaks the very fabric of Kick-Ass and cements its paramount success.

Tags: Aaron Johnson, Chloe Moretz, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Kick-Ass, Lionsgate, Mark Strong, Matthew Vaughn, Nicolas Cage
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SDCC09: Kick-Ass Panel

On Thursday of San Diego Comic-Con, Jeff Walker introduced director Matthew Vaughn, who then presented the world premiere of Kick-Ass—based on the popular Marvel comic book of the same name.

Actors Evan Peters, Aaron Johnson, and Clark Duke

The first clip rolled, scaling up a city building to a red-winged, costumed hero at the top. “At some point in our lives,” the narrator begins, “we all want to be a superhero.” The crowd below looks up and smiles a la Spider-Man, and when the man dramatically jumps off, he crashes painfully into a taxi cab far below. “That wasn’t me,” the narrator winces. “That was some Armenian guy with a history of mental health problems.”

Meet Dave Lizewski (actor Aaron Johnson), a curly-haired comic nerd who proposes an interesting idea to his two friends: with all these superhero comics, why hasn’t anyone tried to become a superhero? “Probably because they’d get their ass kicked,” his friend offers, followed by a crack about Paris Hilton.

Screenwriter Jane Goldman, creators Mark Millar and John Romita Jr., and actors Clark Duke (Marty) and Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Red Mist) arrived on stage shortly after Vaughn, ready to dish about the upcoming, sure-to-be-controversial film.

The second clip revealed one of my favorite scenes in the series so far: the memorable standoff between Hit Girl (Chloe Moretz) and Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage)—out of costume, of course. After an unnaturally calm debate about how much being shot in the chest would hurt, Mindy Macready’s loving father finally pulls the trigger. The blast knocks Mindy to the ground, and a few seconds later she sits up, examining the bullet-proof vest underneath her jacket. By agreeing to suffer two more rounds, she cons her dad into stopping by the bowling alley with an extra promise of ice cream. Hot fudge sundae it is, baby doll.

Dave Lizewski, aka Kick-Ass (actor Aaron Johnson)

By the time the third clip plays, Dave has decided he wants to be Kick-Ass. He gets mugged early on in the film, and now attacked.

“What the fuck are you looking at?” asks one of two guys trying to steal a car. “Nothing! Get the fuck out of here!” Dave backs off, and we hear, “Like every serial killer already knew, eventually fantasizing just doesn’t do it for you anymore.” As he returns donning his green and yellow costume in full daylight, the two laugh at how ridiculous he looks. Once Dave starts to intimidate them, however, things escalate. They fight, and one of them stabs Dave in the stomach, leaving him to die in front of the Capri Pizza Spaghetti. Staggering into the street, he immediately gets run over by a car.

The fourth clip commences after Dave has recovered from the hospital. Loud rap music floods the drug dealer Rizul’s apartment from outside as he approaches, claiming to be a friend of Katie’s. “Who the fuck are you supposed to be?” asks the man at the door. “The Green Goblim?” Dave manages to get inside, where a woman in a red dress and boots playfully exclaims that she’s Rizul. The real Rizul, however, keeps his eyes glued to the screen in front of him, controller in hand.

Dave finally gets Rizul’s attention, and announces, “I’m Kick-Ass, and this is me giving you a message. Leave Katie alone!” “Or what?” Rizul demands. “Or I’ll come back and break your fucking legs!” Kick-Ass swears. He shoots a taser at Rizul’s head, and in the struggle, Dave is pushed to the ground. Just when things start to get ugly … they get uglier.

A knife plunges through Rizul’s chest, and he collapses. Hit Girl, wearing a purple wig and dressed in black, smiles, “Okay, you cunt. Let’s see what you can do now.” Cue a series of acrobatics and gruesome stabs to the head and chest. Even a thug returning obliviously from the bathroom—who proceeds to show off his skill with knives—can’t beat Hit Girl’s prowess. The scene ends with her bloody knives jutting through the door, surprising the doorman and earning young actress Chloe Moretz a standing ovation as she steps on stage.

Red Mist (actor Christopher Mintz-Plasse)

The panelists finally give the green light to premiere the trailer. Red Mist jumps down on a dumpster, hurting himself in the process. We see Hit Girl at her computer, Kick-Ass in his room, and Red Mist asking, “Wanna go fight some crime?” In between villains and thugs, Hit Girl shoves a gun in a guy’s mouth; we hear, “With no power … comes no responsibility.” Then debuts a Batman look-a-like using guns, clones dressed in red and black, a series of head shots, a driving sequence, explosions—and best of all, Hit Girl reloading her twin guns in mid-air. At the end, she teases Kick-Ass: “Just contact the mayor’s office. He has a light that shines in the sky. It’s in the shape of a giant cock.”

So what makes Kick-Ass—in which “the script was finished before the comic”—so successful, the panelists were asked? “It’s just about telling good stories,” commented Jane Goldman. The crew plans to release the movie within the first quarter of next year; one of the biggest issues remains trying to nail the music to avoid it being outdated by the time of release.

“[We] wanted it to be true to the comic,” said Romita Jr, who also admitted he tried to “act as if I’m working on the book” when inquired about the animation sequence.

Writer Mark Millar confirmed his desire for a three-arc series; when prompted, the sweet and somewhat shy Chloe Moretz briefly mentioned the three months of training with martial artists she underwent. It’s hard to imagine foul words and incredibly gruesome action scenes being born out of the talent of such a small girl, but judging by the way Moretz blew the audience away on screen, she just might steal the show.

Encouraged by the strong approval of the Hall H audience, the impressive trailer ran a second time—ending the panel with a bang.

Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage) and Hit Girl/Mindy Macready (Chloe Moretz)

Tags: Chloe Moretz, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Clark Duke, Jane Goldman, John Romita Jr., Kick-Ass, Mark Millar, Matthew Vaughn, San Diego Comic-Con 2009
Posted in Comics/Manga, Movies/TV | 3 Comments »

Who says eleven-year-olds can’t Kick Ass?

This is one stunningly kick-ass photo if I’ve ever seen one.

Matthew Vaughn dishes out another teaser for his upcoming Kick-Ass big screen adaptation: a photo of Chloe Moretz as the infamous Hit Girl, aka Mindy Macready.

San Diego Comic-Con International will be announcing its day-by-day, full panel run-down next week, but /Film confirms that the first footage of Kick-Ass will be revealed at this year’s Con—specifically on Thursday, July 23, near the end of the day. I personally can’t wait to join fans in drooling over the stunts and action.

What do you think of Chloe Moretz as Hit Girl?

Tags: Chloe Moretz, Hit Girl, Kick-Ass, Marvel, San Diego Comic-Con
Posted in Comics/Manga, Movies/TV | 9 Comments »