Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Kick-Ass (2010)

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Posted by Justin Hamaker (Member # 2165) on 03-19-2010, 08:27 PM:

Watched Kick-Ass on Wednesday March 17 at ShoWest. It was easily the most entertaining movie I've seen in a long time. Think of it as Superbad meets Kill Bill.

At ShoWest, Lionsgate decided to admit the general public to fill seats not being used by attendees. Having the studio do this a month before the film opens is a bold statement that they feel very confident in their product.

One presentation comment: it was a 35mm presentation that was slightly out of focus. The focus was noticeable when text was on the screen.

Posted by Jim Bedford (Member # 4) on 03-21-2010, 11:32 AM:

At which theatre was this shown?

Posted by Justin Hamaker (Member # 2165) on 03-21-2010, 01:38 PM:

Theatre Des Arts in Paris.

Posted by Justin Gorka (Member # 3727) on 03-31-2010, 03:48 PM:

Love it...hopefully will do wel, but being a 15 in the uk? Love the use of the C-word as well!

Posted by Geena Phillips (Member # 3726) on 04-06-2010, 11:53 PM:

I am ON FIRE to see this (read the comic it's based on, if you get the chance).

Posted by Stu Jamieson (Member # 4626) on 04-10-2010, 10:03 PM:

We have a new champion, folks! The Dark Knight has nothing on Kick-Ass and neither does Watchmen. Rarely do all the elements of a film come together as finely as they do here, particularly when it comes to a comic book adaptation and the inherent enormous suspension of disbelief which such a transition between mediums requires.

Kick-Ass director, Matthew Vaughn, also produced the upcoming Michael Cain starrer, Harry Brown, and Kick-Ass presents a similar social commentary, taking place in a world of spiralling social degradation and violent crime, partnered with an ever-increasing passive indifference from a public too scared to act against it. Into this world walks Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson), an idealistic teenage comic geek who decides that enough is enough and dons a not-so-super suit only to come to the crushing realisation that there are already crime-fighting heroes in the game who are so much more accomplished than he is.

The performances are as deliciously ostentatious as the films lurid, colour saturated photography. Nicholas Cage and newcomer Chloë Grace Moretz are a fantastic scene-stealing double act as Big Daddy and Hit Girl respectively; their performances abetted by the affection which clearly exists between the two actors. After a multitude of recent misfires, it's great to see Cage's specific talents again exploited to the full. Aaron Johnson struggles to keep out of their shadow with his geeky portrayal of Dave Lizewski/Kick-Ass but since this is integral to his story arc, this is hardly a criticism.

The film is well deserving of its MA15+ rating. It's tough, blood thirsty and uncompromising. A bevy of bad guys being butchered by a foul-mouthed, super-violent, gun-totin' 11 year old girl all to the Banana Splits theme tune is stupendously and beautifully politically incorrect and, can I say, quietly awesome! But the film deftly runs the full gamut of emotions being also hilarious and tragically melancholic as the moment requires. Full commendations must go to Universal Pictures for not neutering the film to achieve an unrestricted classification for the sake of bigger box office.

You'll laugh; you'll cry; you'll rush out afterwards to buy a wetsuit and desert boots. Kick-Ass is an instant classic.

10 out of 10.

Posted by Mark Strube (Member # 4190) on 04-16-2010, 06:02 PM:

Anyone else noticing a lot of "jitter" in their film prints? Not the whole picture shaking, but different areas of the picture moving a bit independently of the rest of the image. I've noticed this on two different projectors, a Kinoton and a Simplex, neither of which have image stability issues.

Posted by Stu Jamieson (Member # 4626) on 04-16-2010, 07:55 PM:

Nope, not here.

Posted by Sam Graham (Member # 2889) on 04-17-2010, 04:00 PM:

CINEMA: 13th Avenue Warren, Wichita, KS
AUDITORIUM: 14
PRESENTATION: Dolby Digital DLP/THX
PRESENTATION PROBLEMS: God this popcorn sucks
RATING: Three stars (out of four)

THE PLOT: A psychologically deranged father trains his daughter to be a violent cold-blooded killer. Oh...and some dork wears a scuba suit and gets his ass kicked a lot. Wackiness ensues.

"Kick-Ass"??? Well yes, it pretty much did.

MINIMAL attendance, but I bet this thing does huge word-of-mouth.

Posted by Jake Spell (Member # 5294) on 04-17-2010, 07:34 PM:

Wow, what a great movie. I went in thinking this was going have me ROFL, which I was, but then I was amazed at how it had so much more, Great writing, direction and editing. Definitely one of , if not the best movie of the year.

10/10

Posted by Jonathan Smith (Member # 5609) on 04-20-2010, 11:09 AM:

I'm going to have to see this, the trailer made it look terrible (both looking like a bad digitally-shot movie, not the case, and story-wise).

It's hard gleaming tidbits of useful information from trailers aimed at attracting a teeny-bopper audience, ya know?

Posted by Mark J. Marshall (Member # 1409) on 04-25-2010, 03:39 PM:

Go see this movie if you haven't yet. That's all I can say.

Posted by Jonathan Althaus (Member # 5042) on 04-26-2010, 01:21 PM:

Just saw it last night. Very impressed. The trailers made it out to be another R-rated comedy, but it was so much more.

Posted by Elise Brandt (Member # 5552) on 04-26-2010, 11:18 PM:

With all you people recommending it I had to see it. You're right, so far the best movie of the year, and pretty much unexpectedly. I have to say minimal attendance as well, it's sad how quickly we'll have to let this one go if the crowd won't pick it up... a great shame.

Posted by Kyle Butler (Member # 5601) on 05-05-2010, 06:34 AM:

Hands down, favorite film in a LONG time.
Didn't expect it at all either.

Too bad it's doing practically no business :/

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 05-05-2010, 05:16 PM:

Kyle Butler... is that your REAL name or have you been watching Dexter?

Posted by Kyle Butler (Member # 5601) on 05-05-2010, 07:35 PM:

You know,when i signed up, i considered just putting Kyle B, because i knew this would come up a few times.
Haha.
Yes, my name is actually kyle butler.
But i do infact watch Dexter.
Very avid dexter watcher to be exact.

[Big Grin]

Posted by Jim Bedford (Member # 4) on 05-07-2010, 11:30 AM:

Really good and unexpected film. Good and unexpected is what movies should be. If you have a strong stomach and a twinkle in your eye you'll have a grand time at KICK ASS. If not, well, go back to your Tea Party. [thumbsup]

Posted by Pravin Ratnam (Member # 1417) on 06-01-2010, 08:41 PM:

Best summer movie of the year so far and it wasnt even released in the summer.
Breezy funny fun lil action movie. Everyone in the cast did their bit, including Cage with his funny 60s era Adam West as Batman diction.

the marketers did a lousy job selling this movie.

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 08-22-2010, 12:09 AM:

I watched Kick Ass on Blu-ray. Screwed around and ended up waiting too long to see it at the theater. So I had to wait for the Blu-ray.

Pretty good movie. 3 out of 4 stars. I deducted one star for some of the movie's predictability. It had enough unusual and entertaining flair to at least be worthy of a strong 3 star rating.

Even though Kick Ass is the main character, Hit Girl steals the show. Certain critics were very put off by an adorable 12 year old girl talking with a very foul mouth, dishing out lots of mayhem and also getting shot, brutally beaten, etc. But that's actually part of what makes this movie work. The girl is tiny but has one hell of an attitude.

The Blu-ray has a DTS-HD Master Audio trailer. Never saw that before.

Posted by Claude S. Ayakawa (Member # 1401) on 09-06-2010, 02:17 PM:

I never saw KICK ASS in a theatre and was not aware it did. That should give you an idea how I originally regarded this film. When it was released on video, I had absolutely no interest in renting and watching the movie until Robert Harris of all person strongly recommended the film at the Home Theatre Forum.

Yes, you are all correct when you say it a fantastic and entertaining movie. Like Bobby, I saw it on a rented Blu-Ray disc from Blockbuster but will eventually buy a copy when the price comes down drastically as a sale item because it is a movie that makes you want to watch more than once like the KILL BILL films.

-Claude