Review: Kick-Ass 2 (UK Cert 15)

Everyone’s done this: a new film comes out, your friends see it first, and when you tell them you've not watched it they stare at you like you've stepped out of a giant CGI spaceship. “ You've not seen (insert film here)? What’s wrong with you?! It’s AMAZING!!” So, you traipse along to the cinema and, yes, the film was alright, you've seen worse, but it wasn't the life-changing experience your friends promised you. That film for me was Kick Ass.

Now, before you start firing a World War Three-scale barrage of abuse, just hold fire while I talk about Kick Ass 2, as many of the problems I had with the first film crop up in its newly released sequel.

I’ll play the superhero for now and talk about what’s great about Kick Ass 2. While there aren’t many howl with laughter moments (although a scene involving UK boy band Union J is a highlight), it is more-or-less consistently funny, with Chloë Moretz’s foul-mouthed one-liners sounding like something Shakespeare secretly wrote. There are some great performances: Aaron Taylor-Johnson is a cheer-worthy hero as Kick Ass, Chloë Moretz is one of the best things about the films, Jim Carrey more than makes up for a lack of Nicolas Cage, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse is his usual effortlessly funny self as well as getting to turn up the diabolically evil all the way to eleven in this sequel (his costume looks like an S&M version of Jacko’s outfit in the Bad video). The action, while, oddly for a sequel, not as big-scale as the original, is fast paced, well edited, with plenty of wince inducing injuries. Jim Carrey disowned the film because of its violence, which seems strange as, while both films use household objects in plenty of inspired ways, I've still seen far worse in more highbrow, critically swooned over films.

And now I’m going to wear my evil grin as I become the villain and discuss what’s not-so-great about Kick Ass 2. For me, it’s the same problem that dogged the first film: it doesn't know what it wants to be. I get that the Kick Ass films are a homage to super heroes, with plenty of nudge-nudge, wink-wink jokes aimed at comic book readers, but are they also trying to be stand-alone super hero films in their own right? I ask this is because both films don’t succeed at doing either, and it’s the scripts that have to take the flack here. The humour in the Kick Ass films isn't quite as knowing and well-observed as it needs to be, but to make matters worse is the truck driver gear changes in tone. With the Kick Ass films you can go from foul mouthed one-liners and tongue-in-cheek violence, to bleak-as-hell preaching about the consequences of one-man vigilante missions, then back to another of Hit Girl’s one-liners, all in the space of five minutes. If anything – and this might be because Matthew Vaughn, co-writer and director of the original, gets a producer credit with this one – the sequel feels even preachier than the first.

For me, this is what stopped me getting caught up in the hype of the first film. With Kick Ass 2, the same applies, but even more so. That said, the sequel is enjoyable, funny and has the same glossy editing as the original.

Kick Ass 2 is worth a look, and there are far worse ways of killing nearly two hours of your life, you just find yourself wishing there had been a Hit Girl spin-off instead.

3 out of 5

Matt

Review: Hyde Park On Hudson (UK Cert 12A)

Earlier this year, whilst the epic Lincoln was still in the cinemas, another biopic of an important American President came and went with very little fanfare. 

Hyde Park On Hudson tells the story of the important meeting of Franklin D. Roosevelt (Bill Murray) and King George VI (Samuel West) at Roosevelt's country retreat in New York during June 1939, which led to America's involvement in the Second World War. However, it's not just about that pivotal weekend- it also delves into Roosevelt's private life, insinuating an affair with his distant cousin Daisy (Laura Linney). I really wanted to like this film but walked away from it feeling distinctly underwhelmed.

The main problem I had with Hyde Park On Hudson was that it didn't seem to know what it wanted to be. Was it a straight biopic of FDR? A period piece about the meeting between the King of Great Britain and the President of the United States? A foreigners-abroad comedy? A country-house comedy of manners? A personal relationship drama? It tries to be all of these things (and succeeds at some whilst failing at others) but there's a jarring shift in tonality when the separate strands cross over. 

The film is narrated by Daisy. I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with films that use omniscient narrators. The first rule of successful creative writing is show, don't tell. An omniscient narrator can sometimes be a shorthand way of telling the story which works in some films and doesn't in others. This falls into the latter category. The main problem is that Daisy narrates events that she wasn't present at. Linney does her best with the material she's given but Daisy is written as a bit of a wet lettuce, simply mooning after FDR and (rather hypocritically) playing the injured party when it's revealed there is another 'other woman' in his life.

Performances are generally strong across the board. Murray leads from the front, playing FDR as an avuncular rogue with a twinkle in his eye. He's charismatic without necessarily always being likeable and there's an after-dinner scene between him and Samuel West which is just superb. As George VI, West avoids coming off as a Colin Firth imitation (which is great) but is still initially lumbered with a stiff-upper-lip caricature. Luckily, that wears off during the course of the film. The relationship between George and Queen Elizabeth is strained by the trip, with Elizabeth worrying about the Americans making fun of them but also undermining George by comparing him to his brother. Luckily, Olivia Colman is playing Elizabeth and she is an actress who can elevate whatever she's given to make it something better than it is. There's also a nice (if underwritten) role for Olivia Williams, playing the formidable First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.

It's a relatively short film (94 minutes) so doesn't outstay its welcome. The most successful parts of the film for me where the parts regarding the royal visit. More focus on that and less on the frankly tedious relationship side would have made it stronger. It's not a complete washout but certainly isn't greater than the sum of its parts.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Tez

Review: Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa (UK Cert 15)

In The Simpsons’ big screen spin-off, Homer points out, “I can't believe we're paying to see something we get on TV for free!” When a TV series gets its own film, that quote is usually the first thing I think of.  Aside from the money, what’s the point? What am I going to see in a feature film that couldn’t have been shown in one or two episodes? Homer, Marge, Bart and co.’s big screen debut, while no misfire, was basically an extended TV episode. The first X-Files film, while decent enough, felt like an excuse to show some big budget set pieces you wouldn’t have seen in the TV series.

When it was announced that Alan Partridge was to get his own film, being a long-time fan I was ridiculously excited. Then I heard that the film was going to centre on a hostage situation and the cynic in me reared his ugly head. It sounded like the team of writers put ideas into a hat and this is the first one that they picked. Anyone who has the job of transferring a TV series to the cinema has an unenviable task: re-hash the same old material and audiences will wonder why they bothered; try and do something too different and your loyal audience feels pushed out. So how does Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa fare?

The writers (including Alan Partridge’s co-creator Armando Iannucci) have got the balance spot on. Alpha Papa is minute-after-minute of Partridge’s one liners and completely miss the point observations that have made the character such an icon, while also serving up imaginative grand-scale visual gags (this film has one of the funniest opening credits in a long time!).

What helps the film is that we haven’t seen all that much of Alan recently. Apart from the Mid-Morning Matters online series and an appearance on Red Nose Day a few years back, he has been more-or-less absent from our screens. With Alpha Papa, Norwich’s prodigal son gets put under the microscope. Yes, he obsesses over all things trivial, he’s selfish, and just that little bit dull, but he is a man stuck in a rut and waiting for that excuse to turn his life around (that excuse being having a gun held to his head by a crazed Irishman).

It’s plain to see that Steve Coogan relishes playing Alan; there’s so much that an actor can do with the character, but you can’t imagine anyone else playing him. Plenty of the film’s laughs come, not from the dialogue, but from a quick glance or an awkward squirm. Steve Coogan is a master of physical comedy, on a par with John Cleese and Eric Morecambe.

For those who “Smell my cheese!” means nothing to them, is Alpha Papa worth a watch? You can pay your money to see a so-called comedy and feel cheated because all the laughs were in the trailer; with Alan Partridge’s move to the big screen you are almost constantly laughing. The pace, the timing, the observations, and at times the sheer “bonkersness” are as close to perfect as a comedy can get. With The Inbetweeners Movie and now Alpha Papa, British big screen comedy is in an enviable place right now.

5 out of 5

Matt

Introducing... The Third Watcher!

It is with the greatest of pleasure that we introduce a new member of The Watchers:

Matthew Ford

Born across the border in England (don’t hold that against me!), my degree was in Film and Television at Aberystwyth, going on to study Screenwriting in Bournemouth. Both courses have meant I've never been able to sit back and watch a film ever again.

Strangely for someone who studied film – and has joined a film blog – I am writing for theatre, with my scripts being performed at a few festivals and new writing events around the country. I guess I’m the Watcher who will pick apart a script like the contents of a bucket of KFC, but I can also put my brain into neutral and watch a film with fast cars, explosions, and CGI. I’m willing to give any film a go (except musicals. I've always wondered where the music’s coming from. Is the lead being stalked by an orchestra?).

Welcome to The Watchers, Matt - it's great to have you on board! 

Rhys & Tez

News From Comic-Con 2013

This year's Comic-Con International took place from July 18-21. A veritable Mecca for film-goers, TV geeks and comic-book fans, it boasted an array of panels, press conferences and events to showcase the big things coming in film and TV over the next twelve months (and further ahead).

Sadly, we couldn't be there this year- all tickets sold out in a mere 93 minutes- but here's a round-up of the biggest news from the event.

* * *

Man Of Steel vs The Dark Knight

The biggest news of the event was the announcement that the sequel to Man Of Steel will feature Superman and Batman on screen together for the first time. As you can imagine, this news sent the Twittersphere alight with comments ranging from 'OMFG best thing EVER!' to '#ruined'. What we know so far is this: 

Zack Snyder is back to direct and is co-writing the story with David S. Goyer. Goyer will then write the screenplay. Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas (from the Christian Bale Batman trilogy) are acting as executive producers.

Henry Cavill will reprise his role as Superman/Kal-El/Clark Kent. Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne and Diane Lane will also reprise their roles from Man Of Steel as Lois Lane, Perry White and Martha Kent respectively.

The new Batman has not yet been cast.

The anticipated release date is Summer 2015.

* * *

Karen Gillan has a Close Shave!

At the panel for Guardians Of The Galaxy, Karen Gillan- renowned for her flowing auburn locks- revealed a startling new look.

She has shaved her hair off for her role in the Marvel superhero movie! 

It's also been confirmed that she will be playing villainous space pirate Nebula in the James Gunn directed movie alongside Chris Pratt as Peter Quill/Star-Lord, Zoe Saldana as Gamora,  Lee Pace as Ronan the Accuser, Michael Rooker as Yondu, Benicio Del Toro as The Collector, Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer, John C Reilly as Rhomann and Djimon Hounsou as Koranth.

Character art and props from the movie (including Star Lord's helmet and Drax The Destroyer's knives) were also shown.


* * *

Marvel's Upcoming Slate

You can imagine that DC's announcement of the Superman/Batman collaboration was a major gauntlet thrown down to their rivals Marvel.

In addition to the Guardians Of The Galaxy panel, Marvel also released new posters and showed clips from Thor: The Dark World (presented by Tom Hiddleston in character as Loki) and Captain America: The Winter Soldier, as well as a one-shot short showing what Peggy Carter- played by Hayley Atwell- did after the events of Captain America: The First Avenger

Joss Whedon announced that his sequel to The Avengers, due in cinemas on May 1 2015, is called Avengers: Age Of Ultron. For those who don't know, Ultron is an evil robot created by Dr. Hank Pym (aka Ant-Man). However, Whedon has played down reports that Pym will appear in The Avengers sequel as Edgar Wright is directing an Ant-Man movie for the third phase of Marvel Studios' cinematic universe.

Ant-Man will be released on November 6 2015 whilst three further as yet untitled movies are scheduled for release on May 6 2016, July 8 2016 and May 5 2017.

* * *

The Best Of The Rest

There were panels for many of the major films coming out over the next twelve months.

Many of the cast members of X-Men: Days Of Future Past attended their panel, where a preview of the film was shown:

New trailers and character posters were shown for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire:

There was a lot of fun at the panel for The Amazing Spider-Man 2, with Andrew Garfield appearing as Spider-Man for the first part of the panel:

There was a press conference for Divergent, based on the first novel in a trilogy by Veronica Roth where a young girl rebels against the restrictive rules of her society. and starring Shailene Woodley, Zoe Kravitz, Theo James and Kate Winslet:

There was also a special poster released for this:

There were also panels for TV shows including Doctor Who, Game Of Thrones, Sherlock, True Blood and Once Upon A Time plus a special 20th anniversary panel for The X-Files!

Programme 32: Superman Special

The Watchers Film Show: Ep32 Superman Special from The Watchers Film Show on Vimeo.

The Watchers Superman Special is here!

In this programme, we take a look at the Superman movie franchise from Superman: The Motion Picture (1978) to Man Of Steel (2013), giving our thoughts on each classic instalment- and yes, that includes Superman Returns (2006)- and then turning our eyes onto Man Of Steel. But is it a worthy successor to the films that have gone before? You'll have to watch to find out.

Enjoy!

Comic Book Movie Round-Up #4: Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Guardians Of The Galaxy

In the last of our comic book movie round-ups (for now, at least), we have all the info on a double-bill of Marvel movies, both of them from Phase 2. So first up...

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Director: Joe and Anthony Russo
Writer: Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely
Provisional Release Date: April 4 2014

What We Know:

Writers Markus and McFeely confirmed before the release of Captain America: The First Avenger that they were working on a sequel to the film.

The title of the Captain America sequel was announced at Comic-Con in July 2012.

Whilst there is no official synopsis yet, it is understood that the film will be a 'political thriller' mostly set in the modern day with elements taken from Ed Brubaker's Winter Soldier comic-book storyline, which sees Captain America's friend Bucky Barnes return from the dead as a brainwashed Russian assassin. As Steve Rogers adjusts to the modern world, he must team up with the Black Widow to deal with a powerful yet covert threat in Washington DC.

Who's In?:

There are a lot of returning characters within this film and several major additions.

Chris Evans will reprise his role as Steve Rogers/Captain America. Evans revealed he signed a six-picture deal with Marvel Studios to play the character.

Sebastian Stan will also reprise his role as Bucky Barnes, the 'Winter Soldier' of the subtitle. 

Scarlett Johansson will play Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow for the third time (after appearances in Iron Man 2 and The Avengers) whilst Samuel L. Jackson returns for his sixth outing as Nick Fury. Cobie Smulders and Max Hernandez will appear as S.H.I.E.L.D. agents Maria Hill and Jasper Sitwell respectively, reprising their roles from The Avengers.

Hayley Atwell, who played Peggy Carter, will appear in the sequel (it is expected that these will be mostly via flashbacks) and will also appear in a short film detailing what happened to her character after the events of The First Avenger. 

Toby Jones will also reprise his role as Dr. Armin Zola from the first film, as will Dominic Cooper who played the young Howard Stark. 

Garry Shandling will appear as Senator Stern, the character he played in Iron Man 2.

As for new characters, Anthony Mackie (The Hurt Locker, Gangster Squad) will be playing The Falcon, an ally of Captain America.

Frank Grillo will play the role of Crossbones, one of the movie's villains, and Georges St-Pierre will play another villain named Georges Batroc

Emily VanCamp has been cast as a character only known as 'Agent 13'

Robert Redford has been cast as Alexander Pierce, a senior agent within S.H.I.E.L.D. and Nick Fury's superior. Alan Dale, Chin Han, Bernard White and Jenny Agutter will play a team who will support Pierce, with Agutter once again playing a member of the World Security Council (as she did in The Avengers).

Anything Else?

Directors George Nolfi (The Adjustment Bureau) and F. Gary Gray (Law Abiding Citizen) were considered for the film before the Russo brothers were chosen.

Anna Kendrick, Imogen Poots and Felicity Jones were all linked to an unspecified role, as were Jessica Brown Findlay, Emilia Clarke, Teresa Palmer and Alison Brie. It is thought this role would have been Sharon Carter, Peggy's niece and Captain America's new love interest. It is uncertain whether this character will appear in the film.

Hugo Weaving announced that reprising his role as Red Skull was 'not something [he] would want to do again' despite having signed a multi-picture deal. Weaving stated "I did sign up for a number of pictures and I suppose, contractually, I would be obliged to, if they forced me to, but they wouldn't want to force someone to do it, if they didn't want to."

Production officially began on April 1, filming in Los Angeles with this initial picture officially released by Marvel Studios:

Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson and Max Hernandez were seen filming an action sequence in Los Angeles:

Filming also took place in Washington DC on May 13 2013, with filming done at the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge and the National Mall. Filming started in Cleveland, Ohio on May 17 and is scheduled to last until mid-June.

As part of the Phase Two preview, Marvel released several pieces of concept art for the film:

Captain America vs The Winter Soldier

Concept art for The Falcon

And a picture of Sebastian Stan in full 'Winter Soldier' gear has been released:

The short featuring Hayley Atwell as Peggy will be shown at the San Diego Comic-Con in July 2013.

------------

So that's the lowdown on Captain America: The Winter Soldier. So now, here's what we know about the penultimate film in Marvel's Phase Two (which will then lead into The Avengers 2):

Guardians Of The Galaxy

Director: James Gunn
Writer: James Gunn, Chris McCoy and Nicole Perlman
Provisional Release Date: August 1 2014

What We Know:

The project was announced at Comic-Con in July 2012, along with the Ant-Man film and the sequel titles to Thor and Captain America.

There are several characters who fall under the banner of Guardians Of The Galaxy but so far the characters Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax The Destroyer, Groot and Rocket Raccoon are confirmed to appear in the film.

From l-r: Drax The Destroyer, Groot, Star-Lord, Rocket Raccoon and Gamora

One potential plot that was revealed in August 2012, stated that the film was about 'a US pilot who ends up in space in the middle of a universal conflict and goes on the run with futuristic ex-cons who have something everyone wants', which suggests that the character Major Victory would be involved. This has not been confirmed as yet.

James Gunn was officially confirmed as the director in September 2012. Directors Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden were rumoured to be in the running but ruled themselves out. Yes Man director Peyton Reed was apparently a back-up choice.

Who's In?:

Chris Pratt (Moneyball, Zero Dark Thirty) will play the lead role of Star-Lord, also known as Peter Quill. He is a gunslinging space-ranger, a joker but also a hero.

WWE star Dave Bautista will play Drax The Destroyer who is a human who was rescued from death and resurrected as a green-skinned berserker with a mission to kill. 

Michael Rooker is playing Yondu, a game hunter of a primitive tribe native to Centauri IV and one of the four founding heroes.

Star Trek actress Zoe Saldana will play Gamora, a green-skinned humanoid and last survivor of her race, trained to be The Most Dangerous Woman In The Universe by Thanos.

Lee Pace has been cast as an as-yet-unnamed villain, who could be an alien Kree warrior named Ronan The Accuser or as The Collector.

British actor Enzo Cilenti has been cast but there is no confirmation about who he will be playing. Similarly, British actress Ophelia Lovibond has been cast, rumoured to be playing a servant of The Collector although this has yet to be confirmed.

John C. Reilly will play the role of Rhomann Dey, a human agent who deals directly between the Guardians and Earth, reporting to S.H.I.E.L.D. about their movements. Hugh Laurie, Alan Rickman and Ken Watanabe have been linked with a separate character who plays Dey's peer.

Glenn Close is attached to play a senior figure in Nova Corps, an intergalactic police force with military origins. Close's character is reported to be a counterpart to Nick Fury.

Former Doctor Who actress Karen Gillan has been cast as one of the film's major villains.

Oscar-winning actor Benicio del Toro has been cast to appear in the film, with the option of further appearances. It is expected that he will play a lead character but, as with much to do with this film, a lot has yet to be confirmed.

Anything Else?

Joel Edgerton, Garrett Hedlund, Jack Huston, James Marsden, Lee Pace, Eddie Redmayne, Jim Sturgess, Zachary Levi, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Rosenbaum, John Krasinski, Wes Bentley, Cam Gigandet and Sullivan Stapleton were all reported to be auditioning for the role of Star-Lord.

Actors Isaiah Mustafa, Brian Patrick Wade and Jason Momoa were said to be in the running for the role of Drax The Destroyer before Bautista was cast.

It was reported that Jim Carrey and Adam Sandler were being lined up for roles (possibly as the voices of Rocket Raccoon or Groot), but Carrey has quashed the rumours and nothing more has been said about Sandler's involvement.

The villain Thanos, glimpsed briefly at the end of The Avengers, will be appearing in Guardians Of The Galaxy (as well as The Avengers 2) but it is uncertain whether he will be a major antagonist or not.

As part of their Phase Two preview, several pieces of concept art have been released for the film:

Production has already started with shooting scheduled to start sometime in June 2013.