SHORT TERM 12 Is a Heartbreaking, Uplifting, Must-See Indie

SHORT TERM 12 Review:

- Short Term 12 is a small story, but in its own way, its themes are almost staggeringly big in scope. This is a movie about how we as humans can end cycles of abuse and trauma. How we can help each other to overcome and move on. This is a story about finding humanity in a world that is often ugly and evil. This is also an intensely personal story. Writer/director Destin Cretton fills the film with so much lived-in detail, so much nuance, and such a feeling of authenticity that there can be no doubt that it's based on his own personal experiences. The fact that he brings those experiences to life in such a vibrant, heartfelt, and affecting manner is pretty remarkable. The end result is that Short Term 12 is an indie well worth checking out, and, surely, one of the must-see movies of 2013.

The film deals with a home for at-risk youth, depicting the lives of the teens who live there and the twenty-somethings who take care of them. One of those staff members, Grace (an amazing Brie Larson), can relate all too well to the kids she works with - she grew up in an abusive household, and still has her own lingering issues to work out. Her boyfriend, Mason (John Gallagher Jr.), works with her in the home, and himself is a former foster child. For each, the work day is filled with both fun and laughter, but also episodes that put them through the emotional grinder. The kids they work with can be difficult, unresponsive, or - worst case scenario - a danger to themselves or others. Grace, Mason, and the rest of the staff are there to supervise, guide, and to give the kids friendship and mentorship that they may have lacked on the outside. For Grace, it's an intensely personal job - the successes hit hard, and the failures hit harder. Things get even more personal for Grace when she begins working with a new teen, Jayden (Kaitlyn Dever of Justified), whose situation starkly mirrors Grace's own teenage struggles. Jayden's ongoing struggles open up old wounds for Grace - right at a time when she's looking to fully move on and start a new life with Mason.

It's been a while for me, but I spent five years working as a camp counselor, often dealing with kids with emotional and other issues. I also spent time as a teacher's aide at a Hebrew school in Boston, mostly as a one-on-one aide with kids with learning disabilities. Obviously it's not apples to apples as compared to the situations depicted in Short Term 12, but I will say that Cretton perfectly, 100% captures a certain atmosphere that you get when you put a bunch of twenty-somethings together, with kids, in an environment that's high-stress and emotionally-exhausting, but also, in its own way, fun and sort of crazy. A lot of the descriptions of Short Term 12 make it sound like a very heavy, serious film. And at times, it is. But what should also be noted is just how breezy and even funny the movie can be. Not in an over-the-top or overt manner, but in a very understated, naturalistic way. The movie brilliantly captures the kind of oddball, funny conversations that happen when a bunch of twenty-somethings are hanging out during a work-break. At the same time, it also has a sense of emotional rawness and intimacy that you rarely see at the movies. The quiet scenes of Grace and Mason together, at home, bristle with a realness and honesty that feels almost voyeuristic. Similarly, the scenes with the kids are oftentimes remarkable - a mixture of funny, heartbreaking, and startling.

I think it's telling that Cretton has a background with documentary filmmaking. His style is precise yet also surprisingly cinematic, in its own way. It's never overly showy, and that makes the emotionally-charged scenes in the film that much more striking, because they feel so real.

A great example involves the character of Marcus, played brilliantly by Keith Stanfield. Marcus is one of the oldest kids at the home. He's about to turn 18, which means he can't stay there for much longer. He's an African American teen who comes from a broken home. And the prospect of having to go back to that, after the relative comfort of his current digs, is weighing on him. Outwardly, he seems quiet and sullen. But you can tell there's a lot of inner rage, sadness, confusion, and emotion bubbling up on the inside. In one of the movie's most memorable scenes, Marcus shares a rap he's working on with Mason. As Mason plays a beat on a bongo drum, Marcus raps lyrics he's jotted down in a notebook. As tears well in his eyes, he unleashes a profane, profound storm of feelings, colored by resentment and anger. It's an incredible scene - funny, sad, mesmerizing, and moving all at once. The way Cretton captures it all - with a subtle, documentarian's eye - is what sells it. What could have been cheesy in any other film is, here, completely gutting.

Stanfield is fantastic in the film, as is Dever, as is the entire cast of kids. Each kid feels fully-formed, even the ones that don't get a ton of screentime. But Cretton has a way of giving them each a full inner life, through visual details in the rooms they live in, quick glimpses of their facial expressions, or even a sparse bit of dialogue that says volumes about who these characters are.

All that said, the breakout star of the movie has got to be Brie Larson. This is a phenomenal performance from a young actress who I was only vaguely familiar with going in. Larson is so good, so naturalistic as Grace - it's unbelievable. She crafts a character who you can't help but form a connection with. It's devastating when she falls back on old habits, and life-affirmingly satisfying when she has her breakthrough moments. Part of the resonance is that Grace is a character with a horrifyingly traumatic past that I can't even begin to relate to - but on some level, her struggle is everyone's struggle. Everyone wants to be able to reinvent themselves to become a better and stronger person than circumstances might otherwise dictate. And so Grace's small story of moving past personal trauma becomes this big - in-its-own-way-epic - story about overcoming adversity, and about learning from the mistakes of the old generation to help the new one.

Much of Short Term 12 is a collection of moments in the lives of Grace, Mason, and the kids they work with. Like I said, there is a lot of humor. John Gallagher Jr.does a great job of making Mason this sort of goofy, good-natured guy who helps keep Grace sane and functioning. And I got a kick out of Nate, the dorky newbie staffer at the home, who keeps doing and saying the wrong thing, despite good intentions.

There are some instances, however, where perhaps, Cretton strays from his own go-to aesthetic a bit, and gives in to the temptation to go for the big, sweeping uber-cinematic moment. So much of the movie feels naturalistic and authentic, that a key plot point in the third act feels like a bit much. It's dramatic, sure, but it feels more like a "movie moment" than a real-life one. Overall, the biggest strength of the movie is not in its couple of big, go-for-broke scenes, but in the quieter and more low-key ones.

To that end, I also really liked how art and creativity is such a big part of the film in general. Cretton keeps coming back to the idea of art-as-nutritious-for-the-soul. So much about each character in the movie is revealed through drawings they made, song lyrics they wrote, stories they composed, or food they baked. There's a creative spirit that runs through the movie that makes you want to go and just draw a picture or write a poem.

And that's why Short Term 12 proves to be such an uplifting movie, despite its at-times heavy subject matter. While there are setbacks and scary moments, this is ultimately a movie about the ability to turn pain into creativity and positivity, about decent people trying, and often succeeding, in making a difference in kids' lives. Anyone who's ever worked with kids, or mentored them, or who has kids, will, I think, find a lot of positivity to be gleaned from this film. Grace and Mason are the gatekeepers, the life-rafts that keep these troubled kids from going over the edge. They are, like I said, taking their own pain and channeling it into the enactment of positive change. It's not too far removed from the superhero ideal, in a weird way. Except that these aren't superheroes, just every day ones. And Short Term 12 does a wonderful job of celebrating them and telling their stories.

My Grade: A-

YOU'RE NEXT Is Smart, Shocking Horror-Comedy Fun

YOU'RE NEXT Review:

- I'm often hesitant to list horror among my favorite movie genres, because, to be honest, a lot of standard-issue horror movies don't do it for me. I don't like gore for gore's sake, and I don't love movies that function solely to move you, roller-coaster-ride-style, from one jump-scare to the next (unless it's done very, very cleverly - a la Paranormal Activity). But what I do love about the best horror movies is how they can push story and characters and action to the absolute extreme, and get away with it. The horror genre can give you the license to get weird, crazy, and to just be totally subversive and insane. And that subversive sense of glee - that anything-can-happen feeling - is exactly what makes YOU'RE NEXT so fun.

Let me first say a couple of things about this movie. One is - READ AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE ABOUT IT beforehand. I'm going to try to be very spoiler-free in this review. This is a movie you want to go into relatively cold. That said ... don't believe the trailers and ads for the movie! For whatever reason, the movie seems to have been marketed as a very straightforward, run-of-the-mill, home-invasion horror flick. But I would say that the movie is anything *but* run-of-the-mill. Here's what you SHOULD know going in: this movie is crazy and insane. It's very satirical and over-the-top. It most definitely falls into the "horror-comedy" genre, somewhere between the self-aware Scream movies and the over-the-top insanity of Evil Dead. Director Adam Wingard doesn't go for overt laughs, per se, but most of the movie is done with a tongue-in-cheek style and a grindhouse sensibility that will leave you alternatively laughing, wincing, and screaming "holy $#%&!"

Yep, YOU'RE NEXT has some of the craziest, most jaw-dropping, most "WTF just happened?" moments of any horror movie in years. Some of that is due to the sheer insanity of some of the movie's events. But a lot of it also stems from a smart, clever script that very cannily throws twist after twist at you. The movie this becomes is most definitely not the movie you originally thought you were getting into. But what's sort of brilliant is how the movie flips the script in a way that feels organic, yet still produces plenty of shocking moments.

Here's the basic premise of the film: a wealthy, middle-aged couple is celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary by inviting their grown children and their respective significant others to stay for the weekend at their isolated summer home. From moment one, there's tension and infighting among the various siblings. But things get *really* bad when a group of animal mask-clad killers descend upon the family's home, seemingly intent on picking off the family members one by one, for reasons that are, initially, unknown.

But rest assured, that's just the beginning.

Like I said though, the script is what really sets this one apart. The characters are all set up in a highly effective manner, and we keep learning new things about them and their relationships with each other as the movie progresses. There's a lot of dark humor in the dialogue, and there are a lot of highly-quotable lines - many of which I think will live in horror movie infamy for a long while. Give credit to writer Simon Barrett for on one hand, grounding the movie with great characters, and on the other hand, taking them to extreme places in memorable fashion.

I've also got to give credit to Wingard for some really inventive direction. The movie's low budget shows, at times, but man ... Wingard makes up for it with sheer go-for-broke craftiness. He also isn't afraid to give the movie a slow build. The movie takes its time establishing the characters, setting a mood, and building up tension for what is to come. And it shows its hands very carefully, doling out information at a deliberate pace. But when the action does ramp up, it explodes in ways that are guaranteed to leave jaws on floors. I've also got to mention the movie's incredibly badass score - Carpenter-style synth that sets the perfect retro-cool tone for the movie.

The cast of mostly unknowns (save for horror icon Barbara Crampton, who plays the family matriarch) is quite good. And the fact that they are not familiar faces adds to the movie's feeling of unpredictability. But I will say this: Sharni Vinson owns this movie. I won't say how, or why, but only that when the movie is over, you'll  likely be a member of her fan club. Vinson and other cast members were, by happenstance, sitting behind me in the theater when I saw the film, and I felt genuinely psyched for them as I watched. She and the rest of the cast kick some serious ass.

YOU'RE NEXT just keeps getting crazier as it goes, culminating in an instant-classic finale that hits like a sledgehammer. When it was over, I walked out of the theater giddily happy and ultra-hyped - I was on a total cinematic high. You'll want to watch this one with friends, or, ideally, with a big audience in a packed theater. This is a movie that elicits major crowd reactions, and that's half the fun. So many horror films go for those same kinds of reactions, but most do so with standard-issue jump scares. But YOU'RE NEXT isn't just about scaring you with loud noises or things popping out at you. It's about creating genuinely-earned moments of real shock, horror, and laugh-out-loud insanity through sheer cleverness and inventiveness and surprise. All of this adds up to one of the most fun and surprising horror movies in a long, long time.

My Grade: A-

THE WORLD'S END Is a World-Conquering Capper to Wright, Pegg, and Frost's Modern-Classic Trilogy

THE WORLD'S END Review:

- Shaun of the Dead. Hot Fuzz. Two modern action/comedy classics from director Edgar Wright and lead actors Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. Well, add one more to the list. THE WORLD'S END is right up there with the other two entries in Wright's thematically-linked "Cornetto Trilogy." In fact, the more I think about it, the more I'm convinced that it might just be the best film of the three - a perfect finale to the series that mixes laugh-out-loud comedy, sci-fi insanity, and genuine pathos. One of the best, funniest, and craziest movies of the year, The World's End is also one of the smartest and most emotionally rich. How many movies can both give you a feeling of "this is awesome" in the moment, yet also give you plenty to chew on after leaving the theater? And how many of those will also cause you to laugh your ass off? It's that potent combo that puts the movies of Edgar Wright in a class of their own.

While the first two entries in the Cornetto trilogy were overt genre-spoofs right from the get-go, THE WORLD'S END takes its time to get to the sci-fi weirdness. But all of that build-up is worth it, and the result is a movie that, honestly, could have worked even without the sci-fi (though let's face it, the sci-fi stuff makes it all the sweeter). Wright takes so much time establishing these characters though that there is a real, sincere humanity to the film. And a lot of that centers around Pegg's Gary King.

In his teenage years, Gary took his last name literally. He fancied himself king of the world - a black-clad punk who, along with his posse of young hooligans, raised both middle fingers to the world and felt poised to take it over. Flash-forward to twenty years later, and Gary is still the exact same Gary King he was in high school. Problem is, at age 40, that makes him a pretty pathetic loser - an irresponsible, self-destructive drunk - still living in the past and unable to grow up or mature. Gary tends to look back, not forward, and so he gets in in his head to revisit the most fondly-remembered - yet woefully uncompleted - adventure from his teen years - the Golden Mile pub crawl that he and his mates attempted as teens, back in their hometown of Newton Haven. The crawl was to have seen the gang get a pint each at twelve local pubs, culminating in a final drink at the pub known as The World's End. But alas, the Golden Mile was never finished, and now, decades later, Gary sees finishing the crawl as a way to recapture his lost youth.

It is also, of course, a way for Gary to reconnect with the old gang. While Gary King refused to grow up, his old pals have, perhaps, grown up too much. Martin Freeman's Oliver Chamberlain (aka "The O-Man") became a blue-tooth headset, suit-clad bore. Eddie Marsan's Peter Page became a meek introvert, still haunted by teenage traumas. Paddy Considine's Steven Prince became a douchey car salesman, divorced and dating a young trophy girlfriend while still harboring feelings for his high school crush, Oliver's sister Sam (Rosamund Pike). And then there's Nick Frost's Andy Knightley (see any theme with these character names?), who was once Gary's partner in crime and best friend. Andy, once a party animal who never met a pint he didn't like, is now stone-cold sober. Working in a corporate office, he's a different man than the teenage troublemaker that Gary once knew. What's more, Andy has deep-seated resentment for his old friend Gary after a long-past incident that caused a rift between the two. Suffice it to say, Gary hasn't talked to or seen most of the old gang in years, and so rounding them up to once again tackle the Golden Mile won't be easy.

But somehow, he convinces them. The old gang reunites for a trip to Newton Haven. All but Gary are reluctant. All but Gary realize that you truly can't go home again. All but Gary think this is a pretty terrible idea. But as drinks are had and old wounds are laid bare, Gary realizes that something is amiss in his home town.

All of Gary's fears - and all the fears of anyone who was once a cool kid but is now aging - seem to be coming to literal life. Fear that local haunts are becoming homogenized and gentrified. Fear that no one remembers your name or who you were - that you've faded into obscurity. Fear that today's youth doesn't appreciate all the cool stuff that you grew up with. Fear that your once-fun friends are being replaced by suit-and-tie-wearing pod people who've been sapped of their souls by the corporate machine.

Well, turns out, there might be more to Gary's fears than the everyday anxieties of an aging dude approaching middle age. It turns out there may be some *really* crazy $#%& going on in Newton Haven, and it just may be that Gary and his mates are about to witness the literal World's End even as they make their way to the fabled pub of the same name.

When THE WORLD'S END goes full-on sci-fi nuts in its second half ... man, it's glorious. Edgar Wright - as we know from Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World - can direct madcap, insane action with stylistic aplomb. He's got a knack for crafting absolutely applause-worthy, hilarious, crazy-ass action that's pretty much unmatched. Most of his movies don't have the slick f/x or high budgets of big Hollywood summer tentpoles, and so there's a manic, hand-crafted, "what the hell, why *not* do this?" aspect to the action that only adds to the sense of fun. But it all starts with the characters. Even as Gary King learns to be there for his friends and not always duck out when there's trouble, the rest of the guys learn to loosen up a bit and find some of their old, youthful fire. Seeing Nick Frost's Andy get progressively drunker and crazier as the movie goes on - fighting like a man possessed (even utilizing many classic WWE-style wrestling moves in the process) - my god, it's a thing of beauty.

Here's the thing though ... it would have been very easy for Wright to make this a simple comedy about old friends getting hammered and happy and working out all their problems. But this is a much more complex and nuanced movie than that. Wright throws in plenty of fantastic, "hell yeah!" sorts of moments that will keep you grinning throughout. But he also never gives in to the temptation to make the film simply a celebration of beer and never growing old. In fact, Gary is the movie's most misguided and troubled character. And for much of the movie, *he* is the asshole. Sure, his friends are a bit uptight. But while they might have a little to learn from Gary, Gary has *a lot* to learn from them. In particular, Andy, whose seemingly boring life is actually a fulfilling one for him, and one that took a lot of guts to create and uphold. Wright smartly doesn't make this movie about proving that either Gary or Andy's life choices were "right." Wright shows us that there's something to be said for Gary's unwillingness to conform, just as there's also something to be said for Andy's maturity, sobriety, and dedication to his family.

At this point, let me stop for a moment to just heap praise upon Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. I think this movie cements them as one of the great comedic duos. The fact that they have so much real-life, genuine affection for one another makes their on-screen chemistry that much more natural and hilarious. And that much more heartbreaking when we see their characters at odds. The World's End rather brilliantly subverts the usual Pegg-Frost relationship, tearing it down only to build it back up again as the movie goes.

The rest of the supporting cast is also quite good. Martin Freeman, Eddie Marsan, Paddy Considine, and Rosamund Pike are all excellent, and work great together and with Pegg and Frost. And there are a ton of great bit parts and cameos littered throughout the movie. My favorite? A dapper Pierce Brosnan as an old teacher of Gary and Andy's, who proves to be not quite what he seems.

The World's End is, in fact, one of the most dense movies you're likely to see. Not only is each scene packed with dialogue-driven gems and blink-and-you'll-miss-'em visual gags, but there is, like I said, a ton of thematic meat to chew on. I suspect that the movie's epilogue, for example, is going to be discussed and debated among film geeks for many years to come - what does it all mean? How do the strange circumstances that Gary and Andy find themselves in reflect back on the overarching themes of the film? There is that level of food-for-thought to be found here, but there's also another level of just pure hilarity. All I'll say is that the climactic scene of Gary and Andy confronting the movie's Big Bad is a classic - drop-dead funny and raise-your-fist-high awesome.

There is a bit of a feeling of melancholy here. The World's End feels like a definite end to this era of Edgar Wright's career. And you have to wonder: is he too grappling with the same extremes embodied by Gary and Andy in the film? Does he continue to do these scrappy, indie, anything-goes genre mash-ups? Or does he go corporate and "grow up?" I think what makes this movie so resonant is that in some way, we all ask ourselves this same question. And the movie's epilogue sort of says, in a way, that the movies and fantasy and sci-fi present this compelling third option - imagined worlds where epic adventure and thrilling battles go hand-in-hand with the act of becoming a grown-man or grown-woman. It's like Wright and co-writer Pegg end up admitting that they aren't fully satisfied that with either the Gary or Andy way of life, and so hey, here's this other way, and "wouldn't it be great if ..?".

And it's on that note that I think THE WORLD'S END just might be its own sort of masterpiece. And it's hear that I say, purely as a fan, a hearty thank you to Wright, Pegg, and Frost for fighting the good fight and making movies that are hilarious, badass, and heartfelt all the same. If this is the end, it's been a hell of a ride.

My Grade: A

Hunting For Goodwill When Ben Affleck Is Batman

So ... BEN AFFLECK IS BATMAN?!

- The internets collectively exploded late yesterday, as news broke that Warner Bros. had cast none other than Ben Affleck as Batman in the new Batman vs. Superman movie. There was shock. There was disbelief. There was nerdrage. 

I'll say for the record: I don't like this casting. But let's look at this point by point here:

"But Ben Affleck was Daredevil, and Daredevil sucked!"

- You know what, I don't even care about this. Daredevil was pretty bad, but the casting in it was basically fine. I blame this movie's general mediocrity on the script and director and the studio. Plus, I don't even think Daredevil was *that* bad. 

"Ben Affleck is actually a great actor. Just watch him in __________!"

- Guys, Ben Affleck is a pretty good actor, in certain types of roles. But a great one? Not convinced. Here's the thing: Ben Affleck does a couple of things quite well. For one, he's good and actually underrated at comedy, in my opinion. I actually was a big Affleck fan back in the day through Kevin Smith movies alone. More so, he excels when playing variations on the "regular guy" trope. In his best dramatic movies: Good Will Hunting, The Town, Hollywoodland - he is a variation on the regular-Joe, local-kid archetype. In Hollywoodland, he plays a celebrity who is essentially a guy overwhelmed by his abnormal lifestyle and success. Even in Argo, he does well as essentially a Joe Schmo who happens to work in a pretty dangerous and crazy line of work. Think about the scene in Argo where Affleck is brought in to pitch his fake-movie idea to a room full of government officials. Affleck is the jeans-and-flannel guy in a room full of suits. Affleck is good as the jeans-and-flannel guy. Well, guess what people ...

BATMAN IS NOT A JEANS-AND-FLANNEL GUY.

Now, look at Affleck in his more "movie-star" esque roles, where he plays the action hero even though we've now learned it doesn't really suit him. Have any of those action-hero, blockbuster turns from Affleck been praiseworthy? No, not a one. It's frustrating, because Affleck really has been on a hot streak with the double-whammy of The Town and Argo. Both fantastic films that he directed, both featuring two of his best acting performances to date. These star turns show Affleck in low-key mode. He's still doing a variation on jeans-and-flannel guy, but he is able to reign himself in and perform in a more nuanced, subtle, and refined way than in his earlier career.

Those directorial efforts seemed to be the start of a new era in Ben Affleck's career. An era in which he stopped taking roles offered to him because of star-wattage alone, and instead took roles that suited him, that played to his specific strengths, that were perhaps less glamorous, but ultimately had much more merit. As a director, Affleck's been knocking it out of the park. The days of Ben Affleck: star of Pearl Harbor and Armageddon, seemed like a distant memory.

Until this. Until Batman. Let's be honest: in order to be a great Batman, BEN AFFLECK IS GOING TO HAVE TO TURN IN, LITERALLY, THE PERFORMANCE OF A LIFETIME.

Why do I say that? Because Ben Affleck is not, naturally, Batman. Batman is tough, gritty, grizzled, and full of pain, rage, and angst. He's a badass. He thrives on fear and pain. He is, always, the smartest man in the room. He's a genius, a scientist, a detective, and a hero. Does that sound like Ben Affleck? Does that sound remotely in the vicinity of any role that Affleck has ever (successfully) played? 

For Batman, you need someone who has that darkness and rage and slight bit of madness in their eyes. Bale had it. Michael Keaton had it. Hell, Kevin Conroy's voice has everything you need to know about Batman in its inflection alone. But Affleck? Affleck is the 'bro next door. Even at his most grizzled and gritty, in, say, The Town, he's still a 'bro, jeans-n'-flannel (or in that movie's case, track-suit). 

Let's talk about Michael Keaton for a second. His name is being tossed around a lot as justification to use a wait-and-see approach. Sorry, but no. Keaton's casting was out-of-the-box, but it was also oddly appropriate. Keaton was a comic actor who had a certain undeniable darkness in his performances, and a Batman-esque madness in his eyes. He was weird. And Tim Burton's Batman was a weird and gothic movie that needed an appropriately offbeat lead. Keaton worked. 

In some ways, Affleck is a natural to play a superhero. He's a big dude with a square jaw. He might even make sense in, say, the Marvel-verse, where so many characters are regular joes who happen to have extraordinary powers. He'd fit in well with guys like Mark Ruffallo and RDJ, cracking wise and smirking and snarking his way through a world-conquering threat. But Batman is anything BUT a regular joe. And that's why you need someone to play him who's slightly off, slightly menacing, just a little bit dangerous. Is Ben Affleck any of those things? Not really. And is he enough of a chamelion-like actor that he could believably *become* those things? Not that I'm aware of. Like I said, he will literally have to put in the performance of a lifetime - and go to places and depths (physically, mentally, emotionally) that we've never seen from him yet on-screen - to pull it off.

Some reports indicate that Warners was intent on casting Batman with an eye towards someone with a Robert Downey Jr.-esque cult of personality. But why? Iron Man was a second-tier property that needed an injection of star-power and charisma to take-off, and RDJ was the perfect fit. He basically was Tony Stark. It was a match made in heaven. In contrast, if ANY movie sells itself, it's Batman Vs. Superman. So why the need to cast a marquee "name" ...? 

On that ... let's look at this in comparison to other divisive comic book casting. When Michael Keaton was cast as Batman, there was absolutely no element of box-office draw to that decision. The draw was Jack Nicholson as The Joker. Keaton was a left-field pick, but at the least you could assume that Tim Burton saw something in him that convinced him this was the way to go for his vision. When Heath Ledger was cast as The Joker in The Dark Knight, yes, he was a draw for the female audience, and he had a following. But this was a quasi-teen idol cast as a make-up covered homicidal villain. There was certainly no element of "safe" about that choice. Again, you had to believe that Christopher Nolan saw something unique in Ledger - and as it turned out, Ledger nailed it. Chris Evans as Captain America is the other one that felt really left-field to me. But Evans was not a big enough star to make his casting a purely box-office-driven decision. Again, you had to think that Marvel screen-tested him and saw something special. And again, they were right, and Marvel's track record in casting remains pretty damn good. They've earned our trust.

But WB and DC ... who knows what's going on there. They struck gold, I think, in Henry Cavill as Superman. In fact, the whole of MAN OF STEEL was seemingly perfectly-cast. Whatever reservations you might have had about the film, you've got to cop to that. But this Affleck casting reeks of a purely corporate-driven decision. I hope I'm wrong. I hope that Chris Nolan and Zack Snyder have a Ben Affleck screen-test that's mind-blowingly awesome. I hope that this is, somehow, a role that Affleck will play by reaching deep down and showing us something we never thought we'd get from him. But the first instinct is naturally to be cynical, and look at how this house has been out-of-order for a long time now.

And why not be cynical? Already, sites like Deadline are waxing about what a brilliant business move this was for WB. Affleck's casting generates buzz, ropes in the tabloid-crowd who might not ordinarily see the film, and hey, all those dorky fanboys are just going to see the movie anyways, right? The abundance of these types of editorials make me even more cynical. As often happens, creative concerns are intermixed and confused with discussion about box-office potential. But a casting decision made primarily for box office is a cynical one, and cynical decisions often lead to underwhelming movies. Again - look at Marvel as Exhibit A of smart casting in which the name on the marquee was never more important than the CHARACTER. And they've done pretty okay, I think.

I'm a DC fanboy to the core. I'll defend MAN OF STEEL until I'm blue in the face. And I want nothing more than for Batman Vs. Superman to kick ass. But so much of what's going on right now feels utterly reactionary and short-sighted. I wonder if Zack Snyder is upset about this. I mean, Snyder seems to have an eye for good casting. Look at Man of Steel. In 300, he gave Gerard Butler a break-out role (and man, HE could have been a good Batman) and Lena Heady as well. In Sucker Punch - even if you hate it, how could you not love the casting of Emily Browning, Abby Cornish, etc? Watchmen even had some really interesting casting, a lot of it out-of-the-box - a lot of risks that, mostly, I think, paid-off (Jackie Earl Haley, anyone?). Snyder, if nothing else, knows badass. And so you've got to wonder about his reaction here. And that of Nolan, whose casting of the great Christian Bale helped wipe away horrible memories of the Val Kilmer and George Clooney years. Was Bale perfect as Batman? No, but man, he was pretty damn good. I never did like his Batman voice. But Bale pulled off the emotional and psychological beats of those films to perfection. Bale is exactly the sort of actor you want as Batman.

And that's the capper ... even if, IF, Affleck shows us psychological range that he's never-before displayed on-screen ... he'll still be Ben Affleck. And again, I like Ben Affleck. But the voice, the look, the smirk, the demeanor, the persona ... every bit of him screams "chill dude to have a beer with," and not " tortured soul / relentless genius / guy who scares the crap out of you."

We shall see.

And what kills me is that somewhere out there is some up-and-coming actor who was basically born to play Batman. 

So yeah, what only a few weeks ago seemed like a can't-miss movie event now feels like a potential disaster-in-the-making. I hope I'm wrong. But yeah, we shall see.

Screw the Critics, Kick-Ass 2 Kicks Some Ass

KICK-ASS 2 Review:

- Critics are being way too harsh on Kick-Ass 2. On one end of the spectrum, you've got the same stodgy old-folks who didn't get Kick-Ass 1, swiftly condemning its sequel. On the other end of the spectrum, you've got the geek reviewers who appreciated the first movie as a cult-ish, vulgar oddity, but are now too cool to sing the praises of its sequel. Well, I'm here to tell you to forget the critics and listen up, fanboys and fangirls and appreciators of fun: KICK-ASS 2 is actually pretty freakin' kick-ass, one of the most fun films of the summer of 2013, and a must-see for anyone jonesing for a rock n' roll action flick that pulls no punches.

I know I'm not the only one out there who thinks this way - I've seen the odd review on the web that speaks my language, acknowledging the pure entertainment value to be found in this unlikely sequel. And in talking to friends, it feels like most, if not all, of my like-minded movie-going pals have similarly high praise for the film. So where's all this hate coming from? I think it stems from a variety of things: increasing pressure to dismiss violent and/or subversive action films, weariness with the creative output - as well as with some ill-advised public comments - of Kick-Ass creator Mark Millar, and general fatigue with summer action films at this late point in the season. But, hey, whatever - for me, Kick-Ass 2 is the kind of gleefully absurd movie that you've got to love. Not an Oscar winner, not a box-office champion. But a movie that just plain hits that sweet spot of action, comedy, and character that so many movies miss entirely.

In KICK-ASS 2, everyone's favorite green-and-yellow-suited not-quite-hero - aka Kick-Ass, aka Dave Lizewski - is back, and ready to take his superhero career to the next level. He decides to join a newly-formed superhero team - Justice Forever - a ragtag group of real-world vigilantes led by the square-jawed, straight-laced (but possibly-deranged) patriot known as Colonel Stars and Stripes. Kick-Ass has been training with teen ass-kicker Hit-Girl, and looking to improve his fighting skills. But Hit-Girl soon decides to give up superheroing, in order to honor the wishes of her guardian - police detective Marcus Williams - and those of her late dad. As Dave finds a new family - and a new romance (with the scantily-clad and hilariously-named female hero Night Bitch) - Hit-Girl embarks on her most perilous mission to date: attempting to fit in with the cool girls in her new high school. Meanwhile, hero-turned-super-villain Red Mist lurks in the background, gathering an army of pissed-off, evil-inclined followers and rechristening himself as The Mother$%@#er. Yep, you heard me. In his new guise, now decked-out in pseudo-bondage gear, Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl's dorky-yet-dangerous nemesis plots revenge on Kick-Ass for offing his mafioso father in the first film.

Let's put this out there first: Chloe Moretz stole the show in the first movie, and she does so again here. Her performance as Hit-Girl is sort of phenomenal, in its own way. Sure, now that she's in her teens, the character loses some of its initial shock-value. But Moretz makes up for it with another totally fearless, completely fantastic turn. In some ways, I almost like teen Hit-Girl better, because it gives the character a certain punk-rock, teen-angst edge that she didn't have before. And Moretz is able to go from foul-mouthed avenger to sweetly-naive high school outcast in a way that few, if any, other young actresses could hope to replicate. Bottom line: Moretz positively kicks ass as Hit-Girl, and it's the kind of actor/character match-made-in-heaven performance that I don't think I could ever tire of. If there's any justice in the world, we'd be able to check in with Hit-Girl every couple of years and see her transition to badass college student, ass-kicking young professional, deadly super-mom, and eventually, retiree with an axe to grind.

As for the rest of the cast, they are universally a lot of fun. Aaron Johnson manages to play Dave as still-a-dork, but also a more experienced hero who is coming into his own as Kick-Ass and in general. Christopher Mintz-Plasse is just a hilarious ball of evil nerd-rage as The Mother$%&#er. He consistently cracked me up during the movie. Some have criticized his character's vulgarity and political incorrectness - but, come on, that's why the character is so great. It's a hopeless loser's vision of what a villainous badass is supposed to be like, and the discrepancy between the image he wants to give off, versus how he actually does come off, is pretty damn funny, if you ask me. I'll also mention Jim Carrey, who really nails Colonel Stars & Stripes. Carrey plays him as that sorta-cool uncle who you suspect might also have some mental issues lurking behind his upbeat exterior. The Colonel positions himself as a squeeky-clean do-gooder, but clearly, there's an element of sadistic thrill behind why he does what he does. It's a shame that Carrey disassociated himself from the movie's PR campaign. He should be proud of the character work he does in this one.

Where Kick-Ass 2 suffers a bit in comparison to the first film is in the directorial department. Director Jeff Wadlow (who also adapted the screenplay from Mark Millar's comic book) pulls out a couple of neat tricks over the course of the movie, but he doesn't give you quite the same level of awesome that Matthew Vaughn brought to Part 1. Unfortunately, a couple of the movie's big action scenes feel a tiny bit low-rent - like Hit-Girl's moving-car battle that feels slightly disjointed. But to Wadlow's credit, what he lacks in wow-factor, he makes up for with sheer competency. At the least, the action in Kick-Ass 2 is refreshingly straightforward, with a couple of stylistic flourishes thrown in on occasion. But mostly, there's a nice simplicity to the movie that, I think, suits it.

Plus, the surprisingly un-flashy direction is bolstered by a pretty excellent script. Having read all of Mark Millar's Kick-Ass comics, I actually really like what Wadlow did here. Millar is a writer whose work I'm always interested in, because he's a writer who rarely goes to the same story well twice, and is always trying outside-the-box ideas. But Millar's biggest flaw may be that his writing sometimes feels more like the work of a carnival barker or a showman than of a guy who just wants to tell the best possible story. Meaning: Millar will sometimes go for shock value at the expense of his story. And said shock value often leaves to jarring and uncomfortable tonal inconsistency. Case in point: Millar's version of Kick-Ass 2 has some scenes that I found to be far too dark and disturbing for what is, mostly, a more satirical and over-the-top book. But in the film version, Wadlow softens a lot of Millar's rough edges. He gives Hit-Girl more heart, and crafts a surprisingly touching relationship between her and Kick-Ass than what we've yet seen in the comics. And he wisely tones down just a bit of the shock value to create a more tonally consistent movie. Wadlow's Kick-Ass still has tons of great gags, gross-outs, cartoon-violence, and over-the-top characters. It's still packed with grin-inducing "holy-$#@%" moments. But whereas Millar's version feels stuck in a sort of adolescent darkness-for-darkness' sake, this version embraces the light: balancing some legitimately dark moments with scenes of overt humor and levity, knowing playfulness, and yes, heart. Reading the comics, it was more with a mindset of "what crazy thing is going to happen next?" I still got that same subversive rush with this film, but I also genuinely cared about the characters in a way that, to me, elevates the movie above and beyond the source material.

KICK-ASS 2 is one of the most straight-up entertaining films of the year so far - full of memorable characters and over-the-top humor. I think a lot of the criticism comes from a place that's inconsistent with what these movies are trying to do. Upset that the movie purports to be about real-world superheroes, but is actually super over-the-top and comic-booky? Umm, I think that's sort of the point. Embrace the candy-colored craziness of it all. One of the oh-so-refined, hipster-geek critics who on one hand calls the movie tame, but on the other picks apart certain scenes for any sign of offensiveness? Dude, imagine if that methodology had been applied to the great over-the-top cult films from back in the day, from Evil Dead to They Live, from Dead Alive to Battle Royale? We need more, not less, movies that dare to be a little rock n' roll, and hell, maybe even a little bit offensive. Nothing wrong with that. The fact that Kick-Ass 2 manages to be vulgar and perverse and semi-insane, while still having heart, and still managing to be uber-likable and infectiously fun? Man, that to me is pretty remarkable and praiseworthy. Dare I say it? I do: sure, this may not be a masterpiece or a new classic, per se, but Kick-Ass 2 does, indeed, kick some ass.

My Grade: B+