Comics Firestorm
Comics Firestorm
Movie review – Kick-Ass (2010)
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Yearning to be a superhero isn't the same thing as actually being one, but the two states aren't nearly as far apart as they appear. When kids who read comic books imagine that they can leap tall buildings, spider-surf the air, or lay waste to bad guys with iron-chested daring, simply by dreaming of doing those things they already share something with the pop vigilantes on the page. They've become the equivalent of a superhero's alter ego: the Bruce Wayne/Clark Kent ''ordinary guy'' side — the side that covets and lives vicariously, that has to wear a costume and an attitude to fulfill his ''real'' self. So when Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson), the 17-year-old hero of Kick-Ass, decides to put on a green jumpsuit with yellow piping and become a phantom crime-fighter, even though he has no special abilities or physical flair, we can see that he hasn't taken leave of his senses. Dave, a brainy and bushy-haired geek who looks like Harry Potter crossed with the young Steven Spielberg, knows all too well that he's got nothing going for him but will and desire — nothing but the drive to be a superhero. It's as if he thought that the sheer power of suggestion could fool the bad guys, and himself along with them.
Kick-Ass, directed by Matthew Vaughn (Layer Cake), is an enjoyably supercharged and ultraviolent teen-rebel comic-book fantasy that might be described — in spirit, at least — as reality-based. When Dave, in costume, gets out into the world of grungy criminals, he discovers that putting a stop to evil is no picnic. A showdown with parking-lot thieves puts him in the hospital, and the fact that he bleeds real blood is part of what hooks you; the movie never makes it too easy for him. But it doesn't mock him, either. Standing there in his silly/noble outfit, brandishing a pair of ninja batons, he looks just crazy enough to be a little scary, and when he chases off a pack of muggers and the exploit gets caught on video, it becomes a Web sensation. The legend of Kick-Ass is born.
Adapting the comic book by Mark Millar and John S. Romita Jr., Vaughn gets a lot of mileage out of the classic superhero tropes by converting them to Internet-age satire: a media firestorm over the mystery of Kick-Ass' identity; Dave's one-way flirtation with the gorgeous Katie (Lyndsy Fonseca), who thinks he's her gay BFF. As for the other characters, they fill in a vibrant pop patchwork of kamikaze comic-book wish fullfilment. As Chris, a mobster's son who tries to uncover Kick-Ass' identity by becoming a superhero himself — the sports-car-driving Red Mist — Christopher Mintz-Plasse proves great at playing the comedy of aggression off against his spindly, mouth-breathing boyishness. And just when it looks as if Dave's awkward valor is going to get him killed, along comes an even unlikelier masked do-gooder: Hit Girl, a pint-size, purple-haired martial-arts demon who's like a prepubescent version of Uma Thurman in the Kill Bill films. Hit Girl's real name is Mindy Macready (Chloë Grace Moretz), and unlike Dave and Chris, she's a stylized figure out of an action-thriller dream. The film becomes a dialogue between the two poles: the normal-guy teens who long to be invincible, and the little girl who more or less is.
Hit Girl, trained by a daddy (Nicolas Cage) with rubber-suited-vigilante ambitions of his own, turns out to be the most ass-kicking character in the film. The reason that's a good joke is that the way she turns villains into cannon fodder is really no more preposterous than, say, Bruce Willis doing the same thing. Yet is it a problem that Kick-Ass is by far the most violent movie ever to feature kids as heroes? Parents should consider themselves warned, though personally, I just wish that the film had ended up a bit less of an over-the-top action ride. It didn't need this much slam-bang when it had us at real-life superheroics.
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About the Author
http://istarmovie.com/kick-ass-2010/
O.K., diehard superhero comic book fans, can you match the heroes with their respective cities?
YES, I do know the answers, but here is a list of the heroes, and I am asking you to provide the name of each city where each hero operates. First person to correctly identify each one, gets 10 oh so glorious points! Have fun...
1. Green Lantern (Hal Jordan)
2. The Flash
3. Wonder Woman
4. The Atom
5. Batman
6. Hawkman
7. Green Arrow
8. Plastic Man
9. Superman
10. Nightwing
11. Firestorm
12. Zatanna
13. Animal Man
14. Vixen
15. Black Lightning (what area of which city?)
and where do Adam Strange and Martian Manhunter operate (HINT: More than just one city)?
1 Coast City
2) Jay Garrick, Wally West: Keystone City, Barry Allen:Central City, Bart Allen: LA when he died
3) Wonder Woman: New York and Washington DC, Mostly
4) Ivy Town
5) Gotham
6) Midway City and now St Roch
7) Star City, Seattle and then Star City Again (he just resigned as mayor)
After crisis on Infinite Earths he and Woozy were in New York
9) Metropolis
10) Bludhaven now New York (one year later)
11) Ronnie Raymond: The Inwood Section of Manhattan new York (above Washington Heights) Jason Rusch Detroit
12) Zatanna: New Orleans but she travels
13) Animal Man San Diego
14) Vixen native of M'Change then new York
15) Suicide Slum Metropolis
Sorry I did not see the Adam Strange: Who goes back and forth between Earth (often Midway City where he would team with Hawkman) and Rann and the martian Manhunter who use to spend a lot of time in the Watchtower on the Moon till it got blown up, and now seems to be ready to join the Outsiders when Batman takes over again
Comics Firestorm
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Top Ten Most Anticipated Returning Fall Television Shows
(For an explanation of how we at BuddyTV came across these rankings, check out our 2006 Fall Television Anticipation Rankings. It's pretty darn cool.)
10 Most Anticipated New Shows
#1: Survivor: Cook Islands
This year, Mark Burnett has decided to create a media firestorm and divide the tribes by race (white, black, Hispanic, and Asian). Some advertisers (including Coke) have dropped their ads for ridiculous PC reasons. Here's the rub: this is obviously a PR move by Survivor, but need we all forget that these initial tribes rarely last more than a couple episodes? It's not like the racially divided tribes will be competing throughout the entire run of the season.
Anyway, I love Survivor; it's undoubtedly the ultimate reality show, the producers know what they're doing, and host Jeff Probst brings more to the table than any other host alive. Survivor: Cook Islands boasts the show's largest cast ever, presumably in order to accommodate the racial divide. Survivor remains a great contest and an entertaining ride even into it's 13th season.
#2: The Office
The Office is the smartest comedy I've ever seen. It also might be the most unique. There is no laugh track. The jokes stay away from the usual trappings of half-hour comedy (relationships, sex). The cast improvises much of the dialogue. The mockumentary aspect allows for the observational humor to pervade without dialogue. The whole vibe is just different, and it's this freshness that leads to The Office's appeal. That, and how funny it is.
The cast on The Office is full of original comedic talent and their ability to improvise improves upon already great writing. The dynamic between receptionist Pam and salesman Jim is unique and engrossing. Rainn Wilson as Dwight has created a ridiculous and unbelievable character that works as a perfect comic foil for every other member of the cast. Steve Carrell pulls off the impossible role of Michael Scott with aplomb, at once annoying the hell out of everyone in The Office and somehow remaining sympathetic. The characters on The Office all have layers, are all three-dimensional, and it is this depth that allows for such sophisticated comedy to occur. The Office is going strong into it's third season, and should keep doing well for a long time.
I have absolutely nothing bad to say about The Office.
#3: Lost
Lost has broken boundaries in television. It may be end up being universally regarded as both the best show in the history of television and the single most important show in the history of television. It has ushered in what some have dubbed the "Golden Age of Television". I think this is a fair assessment. Lost has not only spawned knockoffs, it has allowed the networks to see that outside-the-box concepts aren't just commercially viable; they're actually preferred to the exhausted ideas of television's old guard.
The second season of Lost is not as well regarded as it's first. We could all see that coming. Any show with a spectacular premier season will suffer from accusations of declining quality in it's second season, regardless of how good that season actually is. In fact, the second season of Lost was still incredible. And I'm sure the third will be too.
#4: The Amazing Race
The Amazing Race is my favorite reality show on TV. Really, it's the best. Here's the reason: no "scheming". There's no strategy other than "beat the other teams to the finish line". It's mostly a race. Of all the reality shows out there, The Amazing Race relies the least on "confessional" interviews. There is too much action. Perhaps I'm biased; I love traveling. Maybe some people would gain more pleasure from dancing with b-list celebrities than traveling the world, but I can't think of anything I'd rather do than compete on The Amazing Race. I love flying. I love airports. I love random countries. It'd be perfect.
The Amazing Race is the best produced, best cast, best conceived, and most exciting reality show ever created. That's why it won the Emmy, and that's why I can't wait till Sunday.
#5: Gilmore Girls
Dudes aren't supposed to really admit this, but I like Gilmore Girls. A lot. What's so wrong with that? I find that most males my age unfairly disregard any female-centric piece of art. No guys can admit to liking Joni Mitchell or Heart or Fiona Apple without fear of ridicule. Is this sexist? Probably, but it's the way it is. Gilmore Girls is a show starring two females that was also created by a female (Amy Sherman-Palladino, who was the creative force behind the first six seasons). Thus, the show is decidedly feminine. It is also witty, engrossing, and expertly acted.
Men should feel no shame in watching Gilmore Girls. It is funny and the two leads (Alexis Bledel and Lauren Graham) are both very attractive. Story-wise, there have been some suspect decisions (especially late in season 6), but that won't stop me from watching.
#6: CSI
I'm not a fan of CSI. I'm sorry, I just can't do it.
I can totally understand people who are fans of CSI, though. It's glossy, interesting, mysterious, surprising, graphic. All good things. But it's a procedural and, basically, the same thing happens every episode.
CSI, as you know, has spurned two lesser sequels and propelled Jerry Bruckheimer into the troposphere of TV producers. Neither of these are good trends.
#7: Family Guy
During it's 9th season, South Park ran a two-part episode entitled "Cartoon Wars". The Premise of the story was that Cartman despised the cartoon Family Guy, so he Power Wheel-ed out to Hollywood to destroy it. The story was actually about censorship, but South Park took some pretty brutal digs at Family Guy (the FG writing staff turned out to be a group of trained Manatees). Their complaint about Family Guy was that their jokes are totally random and rarely have anything to do with the story. If you've ever seen an episode of Family Guy, you know about these jokes. A character will finish a sentence with a line that resembles, "..like the time when ____." Then, we will flashback to what the character was reminiscing about.
There are two things we know about these flashbacks (if you can call them that): 1) They have nothing to do with that episode's story, and 2) They are (usually) funny, at least to me and the people I know. South Park iterated that all of their comedy arises organically from the story. This is, more or less, completely true and it begs an important question about comedy: Is it important for laughs to be organic? Or is a laugh a laugh, doesn't matter how apt it is to the plot? Comparing South Park and Family Guy in this regard probably isn't fair; South Park is the far better show. However, at times, Family Guy may seem like a funnier show. The reason for this is that Family Guy simply has more jokes per episode, a result of their format, which relies on random, plot-free jokes. South Park, while attempting less jokes per episode, succeeds at a far greater percentage. Where laughs come from is important, but a show like Family Guy serves a different purpose than South Park. All Family Guy wants to do is make you laugh for a half-hour every week, and has no agenda. You may not remember any of the jokes an hour later, but you will remember that you laughed your ass off.
#8: Prison Break
The serial drama format has made a resurgence in the last couple of years, in part because of the success of Lost and 24. Prison Break takes great advantage of television medium, taking it's time to unfurl it's epic, complicated story. On TV, there is no rush for the ultimate "reveal". Taking an entire season of a show to mastermind a Prison Break turned out to be an ingenious idea, but, in theory, it may have sounded a little boring. Who wants all that set-up for a pay off that you know is coming the moment you heard the title of the show? But it worked, and Prison Break helped spawn it's share of copycat new shows this season.
The second season of Prison Break (informally subtitled "Manhunt") is off to a great start, with an especially great new addition to the cast in the the form of William Fichtner. Prison Break has a few more years before it's lack of plausibility becomes too much too handle. Until then, I'll keep suspending my disbelief and enjoying it.
#9: The OC
It seems The OC may be coming to an end quite soon. Mischa Barton is gone. Rachel Bilson has recently made it known that she thinks this season will be her last. Adam Brody likely has myriad film offers. It's quite possible that the momentum The OC had after their first season was simply impossible to match. The second and third seasons certainly had sparkling moments, but those were hidden deep within muddled plot lines and boring new characters. With High School over, I'm interested to see the direction The OC takes. I've stayed away from the spoilers on purpose; I want to go into the 4th season fresh.
What saddens me about the state of The OC is how prolific we all assumed it would be while we watched that initial season. Watching that first campaign, The OC looked like the heir apparent to "Beverly Hills 90210". It wasn't difficult to envision The OC going 8-9 seasons. Now, we'll be lucky to get through this one. Whatever.
#10: South Park
Trey Parker and Matt Stone are the best comedy writers in TV. They are inventive, ruthless, willing to take down anyone and, most of all, ingeniously funny. Ten seasons in, South Park might be getting better, which is a scary thought. Amazingly, South Park is still dismissed in some circles as juvenile and crass. These people are hopelessly ignorant (but first impressions are hard to break, you know?).
The freedom they are given by Comedy Central is more than admirable for a basic cable network. Parker and Stone stretch the boundaries of what's accepted, and it's likely that this push and pull between Parker, Stone and the network is what keeps South Park so edgy. Had South Park been on HBO, I don't think it would have been as good. More vulgar, sure, but being on basic cable forces Parker and Stone to reel it in and focus on story and character, rather than shock value. The tenth season of South Park starts in October, close to the mid-term elections. So, that should be fun.
-Oscar Dahl/BuddyTV
So if you want to find our more about Survivor or even about Lost, you should visit this website BuddyTV Television
About the Author
So if you want to find our more about Survivor or even about Lost, you should visit this website BuddyTV Television
Comics Firestorm
