Kick-Ass 2.

[rcavanah 21]

Before I saw it, I would have thought there was no chance in hell that this movie would be so bad that it could be a candidate for HDTGM... that anyone who suggested otherwise would just a nitpicky amateur critic hipster... but now that I've seen it, I'd say this movie is in desperate need of the HDTGM treatment.

 

It seems like it was written by someone who doesn't speak English, and has only seen a couple movies, and is 14 with ADHD. People try to say weirdly-worded inspiring things to each other, completely unrelated to the scene at hand, almost as nonsequiturs... there's the most unnecessary narration voiceover I've ever heard... there's a jokey cop-killing scene... there's a jokey rape scene (and I'm not automatically opposed to rape jokes, if they're legitimately funny and have the right tone, but this was just waaaay off)... there are total bummer deaths... there's a remote that causes vomiting and diarrhea... and there's a whole teenage girl coming-of-age/trying-to-fit-in plotline with no superhero stuff whatsoever. It's no fun at all.

 

Again, I know it doesn't seem like it would be that bad, but... just watch it. Jim Carrey tried to have his name taken off the movie, and I have a feeling it wasn't just because of the violence... part of me actually thinks he might have used school violence as an excuse to get himself removed from this movie's weirdness as a whole.

[seanotron 2307]

It seems like it was written by someone who doesn't speak English, and has only seen a couple movies, and is 14 with ADHD.

 

Worse, it was written by Mark Millar.

[inactiveuser501 168]

Okay, now I need to see how a film series got worse once Nic Cage left it.

[thestray 361]

 

Worse, it was written by Mark Millar.

 

Yup! Millar is terrible. Anybody familiar with Mark Millar's comic work should not be surprised that there's some distasteful rape shit involved in this movie. That guy LIVES to rape some fictional characters.

[seanotron 2307]

 

Yup! Millar is terrible. Anybody familiar with Mark Millar's comic work should not be surprised that there's some distasteful rape shit involved in this movie. That guy LIVES to rape some fictional characters.

 

Seriously, this is the guy that basically said rape is no different than shooting someone.

 

Though as I understand it, the most objectionable stuff from the comic was excised from the movie script (the rapes & the animal killing).

[rcavanah 21]

Yeah, it was excised, and in a meta way where they call attention to it. Heh, not unlike the Jim Carrey thing, it was almost as if the writer/director was trying to distance himself from those parts of the source material, but completely clueless to the fact that he was still totally complicit in that mess.

 

But that said, the objectionable stuff isn't so much of a downer that it would make the movie impossible to cover on the podcast in an entertaining way. The weird, vague, meandering dialogue is way more pervasive.

[Darian 19]

Okay, now I need to see how a film series got worse once Nic Cage left it.

 

the thing is, despite his questionable choice, Cage is a still a good actor

[PhillipMedoc 648]

Oh man, the rapey stuff is a serious turn; there's no possible light in which I can find that amusing. That would make the Missus (and many/most women/men? just a guess) uncomfortable. I feel like although great advances have been made, there's certain expectations for the box office that are way out of step with the times.

 

the thing is, despite his questionable choice, Cage is a still a good actor

He's a Coppola; it's in his blood. Respect to him for changing his name,

 

There is legit no unwatchable movie he's been in. That guy delivers.

[Darian 19]

Oh man, the rapey stuff is a serious turn; there's no possible light in which I can find that amusing. That would make the Missus (and many/most women/men? just a guess) uncomfortable. I feel like although great advances have been made, there's certain expectations for the box office that are way out of step with the times.

 

 

He's a Coppola; it's in his blood. Respect to him for changing his name,

 

There is legit no unwatchable movie he's been in. That guy delivers.

 

Cage is one of the bravest actors out there.

Sure he makes choices ripe for this podcast, and I am not complaining in any way about that, those are hilarious...

but he's a serious talent, fearless and he never sleepwalks in his roles.

 

Case in point, Kick Ass was awesome and Big Daddy was so fucking memorable in it

[inactiveuser501 168]

He's a Coppola; it's in his blood. Respect to him for changing his name,

 

There is legit no unwatchable movie he's been in. That guy delivers.

 

I really need to expand my Cage library. Because when I think of him, I think of Bees, Stealing the Declaration of Independence, and Cartooning me.

[rcavanah 21]

 

I really need to expand my Cage library. Because when I think of him, I think of Bees, Stealing the Declaration of Independence, and Cartooning me.

 

Go for Wild At Heart (bonkers, but amazing, and a good intro to David Lynch), Adaptation (straight up unironically good), Raising Arizona (overrated but good), Matchstick Men (instead of trying to be cool, he's appropriately twitchy and weird), Bad Lieutenant: PoCNola (self-aware insanity)... and Vampire's Kiss also might be the best dark comedy ever made, and it's more than a source of memes. Nic Cage is just incredible in it. Legitimately funny and insane, and not on accident.

 

He's a pro. He doesn't bash the crap that he's been in, but I'm quite certain he knows it's crap. I think he's just a sincerist who likes experiencing the whole gamut of acting opportunities. It's almost like he's got an OCD checklist filled with things like "Superhero, Witchhunter, Redneck, Archaeologist, Greaser, Actual Guy" and he takes whatever movie lets him check one of those off his list.

[seanotron 2307]

No movie containing Nicholas Cage, Holly Hunter, John Goodman, and Frances McDormand is capable of being overrated.

 

In terms of Cage's oeuvre, I'd also recommend Valley Girl, Peggy Sue Got Married, and Leaving Las Vegas. I think those 3 actually show off his range really well.

[RyanSz 3140]

Just saw this and had a good time watching just mindless action. The problem here was how they tried to connect the two movies while still having some semblance of connection to the books, since the first movie went with a more upbeat view than the source material. I was surprised they left out the dog killing scene as that was one of the more tame things that happened in the book.

 

The rape scene was actually turned into what Millar was trying to get across in the comment that got him in so much hot water. From what I've read about that whole thing, the only way I can seem him trying to make the point that he paints his villains in the worst possible light imaginable, and he's been able to do that in a lot of his books. Unfortunately he royally fumbled at the one yard line and he stuck his foot very far in his mouth. In the book it is very overtly implied what happens in that incident, wile in the movie Motherfucker is unable to get hard, and actually tries working himself up by jacking it a bit, only to be insulted by his intended victim and one of his cronies, ending with the woman just being beaten up.

 

Millar is an acquired taste I will admit, when he's reigned in he does some really masterful work (Superior, the Civil War storyline, and Old Man Logan in particular), but when it's his independent work where he has total control he goes Nic Cage level insane which can turn some people away.

[thestray 361]

I don't think MIllar is an "acquired taste", he's one of the biggest names in writing comics, I think he's just kinda hacky. The fact that he thinks he needs to use rape habitually to make his bad guys seem evil just shows how uncreative he is. Not only does he have fictional characters raped though, there are rape jokes all the time, implied rape, it's just a recurring theme in his work, he tries to work into mainstream superhero stuff when he can too (The Hulk in Ultimates). I feel like anyone leaning on rape that much probably has some problems they need to review.

[seanotron 2307]

RE: Millar's excessive use of rape, I always think of this quote from Kevin Smith:

 

"If I were to create a rating system, I wouldn’t even put murder right at the top of the chief offenses. I would put rape right at the top, and assault against women. Because it’s so insanely overused and insulting how much it’s overused in movies as a plot device, a woman in peril. That, to me, is offensive, yet that shit skates.

"

[rcavanah 21]

Yeah, there are better ways to make you hate the villain. Even Tarantino figured out that the only real hate-worthy villains are those based in real life (slavers, nazis)... every other decent villain is actually kinda likable (Loki, Joker).

 

I find that when I genuinely want revenge against a character, it's most often because that character was simply a weasel or a coward or an asshole. Anything more than that, and there has to be an entire premise formed around the revenge, a revenge-porn kinda thing like the two Tarantino films where you've set up the entire thing like dominoes. You can't just put McLovin' in a rape scene and expect me to laugh and hate the villain.

 

Anyway, I think we've just killed any chance for this to be covered on the show. But seriously, almost every line, I heard Mantzoukas saying "Are you KIDDING me?!"

[NorthShoreBen45 0]

First of all, I haven't seen kickass 2 yet but will within the next week or 2.

But from reading some of the first few comments regarding Nicholas Cage from what I gather is that

whether people like him in the movie or not (personally I think he is a dedicated, passionate and extremely hard working actor)everyone can agree on that he is in fact a major character and kills it in this role.

He was one of the more memorable characters and one of the reasons on why I will return to Kick Ass 1.

By the way, Kickass and the little girl do a pretty damn good job at acting for this being there first major film.

[wakefresh 689]

I would also put Kick Ass 1 up for consideration. When I saw the little girl beating up grown men, the only thing I could think of is "oh, this is 3 Ninjas but with a indie rock soundtrack."

[wakefresh 689]

I don't think MIllar is an "acquired taste", he's one of the biggest names in writing comics, I think he's just kinda hacky. The fact that he thinks he needs to use rape habitually to make his bad guys seem evil just shows how uncreative he is. Not only does he have fictional characters raped though, there are rape jokes all the time, implied rape, it's just a recurring theme in his work, he tries to work into mainstream superhero stuff when he can too (The Hulk in Ultimates). I feel like anyone leaning on rape that much probably has some problems they need to review.

 

 

Did the Hulk get raped?!@!!!

 

Damn, I have not read comics in a long time, but I don't remember that being in the origin story.

[thestray 361]

 

 

Did the Hulk get raped?!@!!!

 

Damn, I have not read comics in a long time, but I don't remember that being in the origin story.

 

Ha! Nope, but in the Ultimates he goes on a rampage trying to catch Betty Ross, proclaiming he's "Horny for Betty!" it's pretty obvious what he's going to do to her if he gets ahold of her. Oh and I almost forgot in that issue Wasp flashes her tits at Hulk to get his attention. I think Millar is much like the Michael Bay of comics, he does stuff that appeals to the sensibilities of 15yr old boys, and like Baby he can deliver a fun ride sometime, but also like Bay it's all really vapid and shallow.