Kick-Ass 2

TAKE 1: One Man’s Opinion

…because film is largely subjective

    

by Frederick William Springer III

Kick-Ass 2

Release Date:  16 August 2013                                                    Runtime:  103 Minutes              

Review Date:  5 November 2013                                                  Rating:  4 (of 6)

     Kick-Ass 2 certainly isn't its predecessor (few sequels ever are) but it's still worth checking out.  This installment, though still much of its trademark violence still present, felt a little watered down, perhaps due to the new writer/director, Jeff Wadlow.  Unfortunately, whereas Hit Girl (Chloë Grace Moretz) was the scene stealer in the original, both her language and actions, here it's her real identity as Mindy that gets the majority of screen time and the scene stealing aspects on her part are almost wholly absent.

     Of slight annoyance, the characters of Kick-Ass's friend Todd and Hit Girl's guardian Officer Marcus were both recast.  Here, Todd's presence was almost entirely cut and, when he was around, was made to look completely stupid which was not a characteristic of his in the original film.

     On a side note, after seeing both these films, my mind is boggled at Jim Carrey's remarks afterwards that he "cannot support that level of violence."  That leaves me wondering a) did he see the original film? b) did he read the script before he accepted the job? and c) was he present during the filming of his own scenes?  Because a "yes" to any of those--and we know the last question gets answered with a resounding "yes"--just makes him seem like an idiot.

 

2 Guns

TAKE 1: One Man’s Opinion

…because film is largely subjective

    

by Frederick William Springer III

 

 

2 Guns

Release Date:  2 August 2013                                                              Runtime:  109 Minutes              

Review Date:  5 November 2013                                                          Rating:  3 (of 6)

     The trailer looked promising and I like Denzel Washington.  But 2 Guns left me feeling indifferent, the movie not bad but not good either.  While the story was executed well enough and the acting was decent, something was missing.

 

We're the Millers

TAKE 1: One Man’s Opinion

…because film is largely subjective

    

by Frederick William Springer III

 

We're the Millers

Release Date:  9 August 2013                                                              Runtime:  110 Minutes              
Review Date:  5 November 2013                                                          Rating:  4 (of 6)

      While not hysterical, We're the Millers is an entertaining enough escape.  There's certainly a lot of unrealistic happenings going on, but, in contrast, the main characters of David (Jason Sudeikis), Rose (Jennifer Aniston), Kenny (Will Poulter) and Casey (Emma Roberts) all seem believable as this ragtag, thrown-together faux family.

     To get an idea of what you're in for, this film was initially written by the team that scribed The Wedding Crashers and then rewritten by the team responsible for Hot Tub Time Machine.

     (It was a pleasant surprise to see Molly C. Quinn--Alexis from Castle--also starring as a minor character here.  Though, possibly due to her character's intelligence in that show, I felt that this particular role was beneath her.)

The Wolverine

TAKE 1: One Man’s Opinion

…because film is largely subjective

    

by Frederick William Springer III

 

The Wolverine

Release Date:  26 July 2013                                                                  Runtime:  126 Minutes              

Review Date:  22 October 2013                                                             Rating:  5 (of 6)

 

     Though The Wolverine is not as action-packed as some other entries, which is fine by me, the story progresses organically, never slow by any means.  The plot is interesting, the characters are good and well-acted and the cinematography is pleasant to the eye.

 

Red 2

TAKE 1: One Man’s Opinion

…because film is largely subjective

    

by Frederick William Springer III

 

Red 2

Release Date:  19 July 2013                                                               Runtime:  119 Minutes              

Review Date:  1 October 2013                                                            Rating:  3 (of 6)

      Red was a movie I had wanted to see but never got around to.  Having the opportunity to see the sequel in the theater, I rented it the night before.  It was dynamic and the chemistry between the characters/actors was spectacular, the story fun.

     Red 2 didn't hold any of this magic, whatever chemistry there was seemingly lost.  Even with the addition of Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Byung-hun Lee, the story more or less fell flat for me.  While I usually herald the original writers returning, it seemingly didn't help on this one.

     A third installment has since been announced but I won't be spending any more time with these characters.

     *It is worth noting that the "review" dates I list are actually the day of the screening, me not necessarily penning my write up till the next day or even up to a week later.  This is a very extreme case wherein almost 2 months have passed--it's now November 25th.  While I don't think this has affected me here as I didn't really have anything to write and why I've kept postponing the inevitable, it may have kept me from including any fine details since forgotten.

 

     **Update: A demonstration on how fleeting and fickle our tastes can be:  Mid-January, I rewatched the original, a Black Friday Blu-ray deal I had nabbed.  It no longer enthralled or engaged me at all.

 

 

The Conjuring

TAKE 1: One Man’s Opinion

…because film is largely subjective

by Frederick William Springer III

 

The Conjuring

Release Date:   19 July 2013                                                                 Runtime:  112 Minutes              
Review Date:  15 September 2013                                                         Rating:  4 (of 6)

     Boo!  And not the scary kind.

     Alright, it wasn't that bad but my advice is to watch the extended trailer--it provides some tense, creepy moments which may lead you to believe it's "conjuring" something new in the realm of ghost stories and horror movies.  But step away after that because, as a full-length movie, the magic is lost.

     The only thing The Conjuring really has going for it is that it's another of the so-called "based on a true story" movies where the real horror is contemplating that something like this supposedly actually happened and therefore, theoretically, may happen again and can happen to anyone, including you.

     However, this concept also works against it because we all know most films that claim to be "based on a true story" are usually pretty liberal with the facts, one or two sprinkled sparingly into a complete fantasy--suddenly your mom is a man named Bob who grew up on a base on the moon and you were never born, but she/he still bakes an award-winning apple pie that's popular with the other housewives.

Monsters University

TAKE 1: One Man’s Opinion

…because film is largely subjective

by Frederick William Springer III

 

 

Monsters University in 3D

Release Date:  21 June 2013                                                         Runtime:  104 Minutes              

Review Date:  15 September 2013                                                Rating:  3 (of 6)

 

     Not remembering anything about the original, I thought a clean slate viewing the prequel might work in its favor but ultimately, much like its predecessor 12 years ago, I wasn't very impressed with Monsters University.  Though, if you see it in 3D, at least it looks good.