Double-Punch: Kick Ass 2

This is a double-punch review of Kick Ass 2. This movie is the follow-up to the first Kick Ass movie. In Kick-Ass 2, the title hero Kick-Ass teams up with Hit Girl and finds a community of other superheroes, prompting a team to form. Red Mist, the son of the villain from the first Kick Ass, is also plotting revenge after Kick Ass and Hit Girl killed his father.

Questions are courtesy of http://faculty.mansfield.edu/wkeeth/Film%20Review%20Questions.pdf. The first double punch review of The World’s End can be found at http://superhyperwafflepunch.blogspot.com.au/2013/08/the-worlds-end-double-punch.html.

1. What interesting facts or ideas does the movie bring to mind? What other films have you seen which might bear on your understanding of this film? To what contemporary events does the film refer? 

Waffler 1: A lot of these characters are outcast from society and how popular culture has defined them. This is shown well by how both the heroes and villains used communication to create conflict. I do think current events like school shootings and how internet bullying is affecting young adults.  

Waffler 2: Kick-Ass 2 brings the idea of the consequences of trying to be a super-hero in terms of violence and loss in your private life. The Dark Knight or Spiderman 2 are two other films which deal with the same themes of power and responsibility which affected my understanding of the film. The contemporary events is the rise of social media and the loss of privacy, as well as the cops treating all costumes as villains (with respect to racism).

2. Do you remember a particular, concrete, or special object/image in one shot or throughout the film? What is its significance?

Waffler 1: The first image of Jim Carrey as Colonel Stripes. His appearance showed us what being a real hero is about.

Waffler 2: I remember the image of Hit Girl getting dumped in the forest. I think its significance was showing that she is not invulnerable despite all her skills.
 



3. What is the basic argument of the film’s plot? What themes (an abstraction or generalization about life, humanity, and human interactions) underlie the plot? What does the film show about the people and their values? What is the general set of assumptions upon which the film is based? 

Waffler 1: I feel the theme of the movie is about overcoming doubt. That to be a true hero you must fully believe that you can do it, no matter the struggle. But be warned- there will always be an asshole to try and stop you.

Waffler 2: The film shows that good people will act good (and vice versa) to the limits of their abilities when pressed. It also shows that being a hero has consequences and is something that needs to be taken seriously. 

4. Who seems to narrate the film or what point of view seems to be presented? 

Waffler 1: The sequel seemed split between the three main character - Hit Girl, Kick-Ass and The MotherFucker, and about them finding their true calling even if it’s rather unusual.            

Waffler 2: The point of view that seems to be presented is centred allot more around Hit Girl and her struggles growing up despite being able to wipe the floor with criminals. It also shows the point of view of Kick Ass as he finds a community of superheroes to belong to.

5. Who are the film’s main protagonists and antagonists? Why do they behave the way they do? What was the general theme of each character’s development? 

Waffler 1: Each character had to overcome certain aspects of who they really were. For Kick-Ass it was about taking responsibility for making superheros mainstream. Hit Girl dealt with acceptance and how, even though she found ways to function within society, she is a real hero. For The MotherFucker it was about control of this life and turning super villains into a real threat when all the obstacles were out of his way.       

Waffler 2: The films main protagonists are Kick Ass and Hit Girl. They behave the way they do because they want to feel special and it is how they have been brought up, respectively. The main antagonist is Red Mist and he wants revenge because his father died in the first film. The general theme is that being a hero or villain has consequences.

6. Does the film have any significant political dimensions and leanings? What is the role of cultural, social, political, and economic history in interpreting the movie’s possible meanings? How are sexual orientation, race, religion, ethnicity, and nationality addressed in the film?

Waffler 1: The movie used stereotypes about people race, religion or ethnicity to describe super villains in a humorous manner which I think didn't work. It was about he importance of knowing the difference between right and wrong and that being a hero is about the simple things like helping people.

Waffler 2: I think the main political leaning is when the cops decide to treat all costumed heroes as villains. This could have a dimension such as racism (i.e. treat all non-whites a certain way legally). Different nationalities and orientations are addressed by being ignored. There is a diverse range of characters, but their differences are ignored and it is based more on their actions The cultural impact is the struggle for people to feel significant and special in current society without a privledged birth, which is why Kick Ass puts his costume back on.

 

Game Review: Braid (PC)

Braid is an indie game that was released back in 2009. Over the years, it has received much fanfare and has always been a game that I have wanted to try out. Although it is not a long game (it took me around 4 hours to complete), Braid was definitely worth the time invested in it.

The story follows a man as he makes his way through various worlds with the goal of saving his princess. His goal in each world is to collect pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. There are a total of five jigsaw puzzles, and thus five different worlds, to complete before he can find the princess. Throughout the game, the story is revealed through storybooks as you effectively play a silent protagonist who can do some quite cool things with the game mechanics.

The game mechanics involve the ability to turn time forwards or backwards. In later levels, these abilities are expanded with specific areas and items that are not affected by your time-manipulation and a portable slow ring that slows everything around it. Every puzzle in Braid offers a fresh environment and challenge so that things never become stale. The puzzles themselves are a good example of thinking as well as reflexes as you use your few actions (jump, change time) to try to get to areas that at first look inaccessible. Each different game world is built around a different game mechanic.

The game looks great. Although it is only a 2D game, each of the characters and animations are well done and look vibrant and alive. The games music and sound effects add to the experience. There is nothing that really makes each level look unique and the few enemies repeat themselves. However, due to the designer offering a fresh puzzle with every level and avoiding any levels as padding, and how well the graphics are done, the game never felt stale.

Due to the freshness of each level and the challenge of the levels, I can see why Braid received so much fanfare. The story is well presented and has a good ending. The game mechanics are well incorporated into the levels meaning you can do some interesting things in the game. Overall, Braid is allot of fun.

4.5 Time-Displaced Waffles out of 5.

Movie Review: White House Down (2013)

White House Down is a very solid yet rather forgettable action film. It stars Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx as the main hero characters. White House Down reminded me of the early Die Hard movies or films such as Never Back Down in that the main hero isn’t some sort of quasi-super-soldier or a hero above reproach or error.

The story of White House Down follows a group of terrorists who take over the White House for various reasons. Unfortunately for them, their plot coincides with the day Channing Tatum, playing an army veteran, happened to be attending an interview for the secret service. His daughter also accompanied him and they are taking a tour of the White House when the terrorists execute their plot.

Jamie Foxx plays the president of the United States and it isn’t long before him and Channing Tatum are teamed up and taking on the terrorists. The confrontations with the terrorists are always tense encounters because neither Channing Tatum nor Jamie Foxx are treated as super-soldiers. Even a single terrorist poses a significant challenge for the duo to take out and they are often out-armed, and as I mentioned, they are not above making mistakes and errors in their dealings with the protagonists (including one instance of a grenade being kicked back at them).

The chemistry between the duo of Jamie and Channing is very important to a movie like this. I found that the light-hearted banter and running gags between the duo enhanced the film. Both characters acted like believable characters and the injection of some comedy with the banter kept the movie from becoming too dark and serious (and subsequently dull). Plus, they also made this hilarious song (which also stars Miley): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPOUgobWTT0.

Some of the supporting characters, and allot of the movie, does suffer from being slightly forgettable. Although it has a smart plot (with some good twists) and good performances, it never really elevated itself above being just a good action movie. The villains were largely generic (although this is explained by the story) but they did nothing to distinguish themselves. That is not to say it is a bad movie. Sometimes a good action movie that doesn’t go too deep is all you need.

4 Channings all over my 5 Tatum Waffles.

Book Review: Limitless

Limitless is a book by Alan Glynn written in 2001 (called The Dark Fields on its first print through). It was turned into a major motion picture starring Bradley Cooper and Robert DeNiro a few years ago. The set-up of Limitless is that there is a drug that the main character, Eddie Spinola, acquires that is effectively a steroid for the brain muscles. As Eddie becomes a genius at pretty much anything he puts his mind to, he also starts to encounter problems. As always, minor spoilers follow.

Eddie uses his enhanced mental capacity in order to make money and become a mover and shaker in the world. However, most of the problems he encounters while taking the drug seem reminiscent of plot devices. Although in the story there is a good reason that Eddie does not know the drugs side effects (he more or less accidently stumbles on a stash of the drug), some of his characterisation seem to be there just to advance the plot. For example, his reckless impatience when on the drug leading him to get involved with a dangerous loan shark seems to be forgotten about once this plot device is set-up. The convenient plot devices don’t overshadow the story being good or the good character writing of both Eddie and the supporting characters.

The supporting characters were also the victims of inconsistent characterisation in some places. Normally written as very fleshed-out characters, some of their decisions leave allot to be desired. For example, some of the most powerful men in finance do not bother to do background checks on the new, middle-age prodigy rising up through their ranks before letting them in on some of their biggest deals? However, for the most part, the writing style is well suited to the book and it never felt like it dragged.

Alan Glynn’s style of writing really fitted well with the character that he was trying to portray with Eddie Spinola. Although he is very sparse in his descriptive writing, I really got the feel of a character which alternated between being in over his head and a character which was well in control of the situation. The illusion of him being in control is well and truly shattered by the end of the book. The conclusion is very different from what was in the movie. In the context of the story, I think the books ending was a much better fit to the overall theme of the story.

Although Limitless is a very good book, there were some inconsistencies in the characterisation of the main characters and a sometimes heavy reliance on convenient plot devices in order to advance the story. The writing style and overall story, however, were good enough to keep the book entertaining to the end and I felt the ending fit the theme of the book better than the movie’s more optimistic ending.

4 out of 5 genius-pill waffles

Movie Review - R.I.P.D

R.I.P.D. is exactly what it looks like. A fully predictable yet freakishly bonkers movie that seems born of some kind of brainstorming L.S.D. session that then got distracted by the power of CGI pixels rather than story. The movie opens with a cop Nick Walker (Reynolds), having an argument with his partner, Bobby Hayes (Bacon), over whether or not to turn in gold they found at a recent drug bust. Walker is immediately  killed by Hayes during a shootout.

Nick is recruited by the RIDP. On arrival he is greeted by the  Proctor, played by Mary Louise Parker, who is easily the best part of the movie. She plays the part completely straight yet brings this scary yet perky character to life with loads of offbeat lines.

The R.I.P.D. specializes in catching 'deados',  which are renegade spirits who roam the Earth and have an extreme aversion to Indian food. Nick is now demoted back to rookie status as he is  the department's newest arrival. and in typical M.I.B style he is partnered with legendary gunslinger and R.I.P.D. veteran sour puss Roy Pulsifer (Jeff Bridges ).  

I actually enjoyed the first half of the movie due to the chemistry between sad cupcake Reynolds and cartoon cowboy Bridges. It is just a shame that they never build that relationship up. You're introduced to some fun concepts like how the characters look different in the living world so as not to cause suspicion.  The concepts for the deados are pretty cool but, in comparison, it is disappointing that the afterlife police officers are a tad dull. It  just looks like someone installed bright white lights to symbolize that this is meant to be the good side. Mix that together with some truly over the top action scenes and the first half is solid fun.

After that the movie flatlines. All that energy just runs out as the story becomes boring and predictable. You’re left watching  action scenes that don't really serve a purpose, unless that purpose was to show of the power of pixelated mayhem. That would have been cool if I where  living in 2001 again.  R.I.P.D has the same problem Star Wars Episode 1 suffered from. It has overuse of computers to create characters and worlds that look like a unicorn threw up pixelated rainbows everywhere. I wish they had spent more of the budget on creating a visual unique world. All you're left with is Bridges and Reynolds  fighting a bunch lifeless CGI deados.

At the end of the day R.I.P.D relied too heavily on pretty shiny things to tell a story. The acting wasn't Oscar worthy but they did a very good job in their respective roles, it wasn't the funniest thing I've ever seen but I did laugh on the odd occasion. I am sure if this was made in the 80’s it would have been a fun romp through the afterlife, but there are far too many movies around today that look better and tell a better story.

2 and half pixelated sad Ryan Reynolds waffles out of 5