'Kick-Ass' Definitely Kicks Some F*cking Ass

Release Date: April 16, 2010

Starring: Aaron Johnson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Mark Strong, Chloe Moretz, Nicolas Cage

Director: Matthew Vaughn

MPAA Rating: R for violence, gore, language, and sexual content. Not for young kiddies unless you are Chloe Moretz

'Kick-Ass' is a 2010 film based on the 2008 comic books of the same name.

The story surrounds the life of awkward teenager, surprisingly-not-played-by-Michael-Cera, Dave Lizewski (cougar-loving Aaron Johnson) and his typical life of being awkward in high school.

His love for comic books and superheroes expands out of his mind and into an obsession to become a superhero himself for justice, peace, and all that crap.

His first attempt to fight crime results in severe injuries. His nerve endings become damaged which gave him a greater tolerance for pain.

Being stubborn and/or out of his mind, he continues the road he originally set out on to "fight" crime. Luck finds Dave when he comes across a fight and defends a man from a bunch of thugs. The event is recorded by a bunch of onlookers and on one of the videos, he gives himself the superhero name: Kick-Ass.

Courtesy of Youtube and the news media, Kick-Ass becomes a phenomenon.

He later comes across two other superheroes: Hit Girl (refreshingly foul-mouthed Chloe Mortez) and Big Daddy (bear-suit wearing, woman puncher [see 'The Wicker Man'] Nicolas Cage). They state that they could work together and they will keep in contact.

Big Daddy is simply a former cop who was framed by crime leader, Frank D'Amico (Mark Strong) many years ago and plans his revenge with his daughter, Mindy.

Frank D'Amico is not happy with the way things are going and vows to stomp down on the superhero business that is annoying the hell out of him and getting in the way of things. Christopher Mintz-Plasse portrays his son, Chris, who constantly pines for his father's approval/affection.

What I thought:

I was surprised how much I liked this movie. Actually, I can honestly say I love it. When I first heard of the movie and saw the pictures, I thought it was one of those many parodies that Hollywood does (like 'Vampires Sucks'), this time on the film 'Watchmen.'

'Kick-Ass' and 'Watchmen' had the same yellow font style for the posters so I assumed it was another parody film since I'm not familar with the 'Kick-Ass' comic books.

Anyways, the beginning was all right, but the dialogue was pretty funny to me.

You've probably heard it a lot, but yes, Chloe Moretz plays a 12 or 13 year old with a foul mouth. I would just like to say that people need to get their heads out of their asses and shut the f*ck up.

It's a role that she portraying. I'm sure that she really isn't a violence loving, young maniac. And besides who has NOT started saying bad words around that age? Then it suddenly goes back to the parents of Moretz. I actually find it refreshing they let her take that role and say those lines. Their kid doesn't have to hide language behind the parents' back, unlike us, who had to watch what we said around our parents. Even her mother said, "It's her role."

I just had to get that out cause I think Chloe Moretz is an all right actress who does not depend on being backed up by Disney to become famous and well-known. That's what makes her different from most child actresses and for that, I applaude her. I think she did an excellent job as Hit Girl. An excellent job on the whole movie, but she pretty much made it.

Rating:

Rent worthy? If you haven't seen it yet, go ahead and watch it. I'm not sure if it's available instantly on Netflix, but it is available through mail-order. Blockbuster has it too.

DVD/Blu-Ray worthy? Already have it on Blu-Ray.

Keep on watchin'
The Little Critic

'The Rocky Horror Picture Show': The Cult Film That Rocked The World

No doubt you've heard of 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show.' If you do not know the title, you only need to look at the film's iconic image of lucious red lips, occasionally seating a Tim Curry transvestite, to make sense of what I'm talking about.

'Picture Show' is known as a "cult film" and there are several meanings to what a cult film can be. Some are films that are so terribly bad that they end up hilariously good, such as 'Plan 9 From Outer Space' and 'Super Mario Bros.' Some are obscure works that seem to be made by men who should be cleaning our raw sewage system instead of working behind a camera.


Some are just completely odd and different, which is where 'Picture Show' fits right in.


One thing is sure about all cult films: they are loved/laughed at (in a good way) by a devoted group of fans and are generally shunned by mainstream critics/audiences (sometimes just at first or the dreaded eternal hatred).


'Picture Show' is probably the MOST mainstreamed cult classic I know. By that I mean, even mainsteam-centered Hollywood loves it (not at first, but eventually). It was even selected for preservation for being "culturally, historically, or aestheically significant."


Many people embraced the transvestite from the Transsexual, Transylvania and his catchy showtunes.


I'm not even going to begin to tell you what the movie is all about because, if you're not familar, you would wonder what kind of drug I'm on for making you read such a strange story.


To be honest, I've only seen this once and it was just a few months ago that I watched it. I have heard about it for years, but never had a copy around to watch until then.


I cannot put into words of the many facial expressions I experienced as I witnessed the horror of certain bulging parts of a younger Tim Curry. I cannot look at Nigel Thornberry, who Curry voiced from 'The Wild Thornberries', the same way again without picturing black lace, stockings, and pearl necklaces.

Before Nigel Thornberry was a renowned expert of animals, he certainly knew how to party like one.

Despite my eye-poison, I kept on watching until the end for the sheer...weirdness of it all.

You get ear-candy along with that eye-poison though. This movie has some REALLY catchy songs, the most famous of these being "Time Warp," "Sweet Transvestite," and "Touch-A Touch-A Touch Me."

There are other delightfully weird characters in 'Picture Show' like servant Magenta with her rolling, thick accent and her brother Riff Raff's skeletal figure. Even a young Susan Sarandon joined the main part of the cast as normal, newly engaged Janet.

Obviously, this is not appropriate for young children and you should use your best judgement of when you watch it if you have any around.

This movie is NOT for everyone. After all, it is a CULT CLASSIC, so do not expect the movie to suddenly become a typical blockbuster film. Cult films are generally different and that's just what you'll get from 'Picture Show.'

I liked the music and the characters are cool, but in all honesty, I thought it was all right over all. Not my favorite, but I've seen other cult films and mainstream movies that are much worse. Still, I gotta say: Let's do the time warp again!

Rent worthy? If I have made you curious enough, go ahead. It's on Netflix and you can easily find it at Blockbuster. Occasionally, some colleges host a 'Picture Show' night on or near Halloween where you can watch it with some other people.

DVD/Blu-ray worthy? If you're a die hard fan, no doubt you own a copy already. I'm still new to it and don't know if I will ever own it. I do love that music though...maybe CD worthy for me.

Random Connection of a Sweet Transvestite to Disney: Susan Sarandon (Janet) provided the voice for Ms. Spider in 'James and the Giant Peach' and starred as the evil stepmother in 'Enchanted.' Also, Richard O' Brien (Riff Raff) does the voice of the British father on 'Phineas & Ferb,' an animated show currently on the Disney Channel.

Keep on watchin'

The Little Critic

Pros & Cons of Netflix & Why You Should Get Off Your Ass & Get It

We've all seen the creepy commercials with the creepy-ass family, "the Wrightnows," and the creepy-ass dad who promotes the not-so creepy-ass business known as 'Netflix.' Youtube the videos if you have not seen them.

I can't help but wonder how many people he held up at gunpoint until they joined Netflix.

To replace the creepy father figure, I am here to tell you the pros of Netflix and to expose the sad truth that there are a few cons that comes with it.

But first!

If you sign up with Netflix, you get a 1 month free trial so you can see how it works and if you are satisfied with it, keep it and enjoy God's creation. If not, cancel your subscription and let it burn in Hell.

There are three ways you receive movies: Instantly to your TV, instantly to your computer, and mailed to your door.
Price: It is only $8.99 per month for Netflix (for basic subscription level) and you can watch as many movies and TV shows as you want in that small amount of time and there are no extra or late fees for mail rentals.

Netflix now offers Blu-ray rentals to your door if you wish.

To-your-door rentals take only 1 business day to arrive. To return it, mail the disc back in the provided envelope and the next movie in your movie queue will be sent. Remember, no late fees.

There are hundreds of thousands of movies to watch and they do carry several foreign films, animated and live-action.

You can watch TV shows as well as movies. For the 90's generation, I'm here to tell you they offer 'Hey Arnold!' and 'Rugrats' to watch instantly (and more), along with 'Avatar: The Last Airbender.'

Netflix offers not only new films, but also classics, such as 'The Godfather,' 'Days of Wine and Roses,' 'Dirty Harry,' 'The Sting,' etc.

Many of the movies/shows offered instantly are in HD quality.

There are several hardware supporters of Netflix, meaning they aid in the use of movies streaming instantly to your TV. Hardware supporters include:

Available Now                                        Announced
Apple iPad                                                                                        Apple iPhone & iTouch
Insignia Blu-Ray Players                                                                    Boxee (set-top box)
LG Electronics (Blu-Ray players, certain TVs)                                   Popbox (set-top box)
Nintendo Wii
Panasonic Blu-Ray Players
Phillips Blu-Ray Players                                                                     Phillips TVs
Roku (set-top box) (I used to use)
Samsung
Seagate
Sony Blu-Ray Players & PS3
TiVo
Viewsonic
Vizio Blu-Ray Players (Which I use)

And now...

CONS! I could not find a suitable picture, so in place of that, please imagine William Shatner screaming "Con" in this way to open up.

Price: The $8.99 package will let you watch infinite amounts of movies, that part is true. However, when it comes to the DVDs coming in your mailbox, you can only rent one at a time.
To rent two at a time, you have to pay a little more per month, but it's still affordable and that is the subscription I use.

To rent Blu-Rays right to your door, that also costs extra. The way I see it, if you are renting movies, there's no need to rent it on Blu-Ray quality and pay extra. Don't bother.

Not all of the movies Netflix offers are available instantly. There are some movies, like 'Spirited Away,' that are only available through mailbox rental.

New releases such as 'Kick-Ass' or 'Clash of the Titans' will only be available through mailbox rental for a certain amount of time, but will eventually be available instantly.

Connection to the Internet is crucial for movies to show up instantly on your TV, so if you have a crappy connection, whatever you are watching will stop, pause, and loud every now and then. Make sure you have a competent Internet service.

If you have any questions about Netflix, the hardware I use for instant play, or anything else, comment here or on Facebook.

If you feel like you would only use Netflix twice a month to watch a movie, don't bother getting it. Even though Netflix is cheap, if you know you're not going to use it often, then do not get it. If you know you will use it, try it out.

Netflix

Keep on watchin'

The Little Critic