Scott Pilgrim vs the World

Rated PG13 for comic book/video game violence, some sexuality, brief language

Starring Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kieran Culkin, Ellen Wong, Aubrey Plaza, Anna Kendrick with appearances by Jason Schwartzman, Chris Evans and Brandon Routh

Scott Pilgrim is a 22 year old bassist in the hopeful indie rock band Sex Bob-Omb and shares a studio apartment and bed in Toronto with his gay roommate Wallace Wells. Scott has also started dating a 17 year old high school girl named Knives Chau, much to the disapproval of his roommate, sister, bandmates and well, everyone he knows - they all refer to Knives as Scott's "fake high school girlfriend" and tell him to get a real girlfriend, one that's his own age.

One night while sleeping, Scott sees an attractive girl with pink dyed hair comes skating through his dreams and he can't get her out of his head. The next day, he sees her in person, delivering a package to the library and later runs into her at a party where he learns her name is Ramona Flowers and that she is new town from New York after a rough breakup with her ex, he makes a complete fool of himself. Desperate for a second chance, the next morning Scott orders a package from Amazon.ca in hopes that Ramona will be the one to deliver it to him. Fortunately, she does and she agrees to meet up with him later in exchange for him signing for his package already.

The two go out for the evening and end up spending the night snuggling together at Ramona's place. The morning after Scott invites Ramona to his band's upcoming Battle of the Bands gig, completely forgetting that he also invited Knives and that he's technically still dating her! Both girls show, creating an awkwardness for everyone, however his friends and sister both approve of the much more age appropriate Ramona. Right as Sex Bob-Omb takes the stage, Knives faints due to excitement, and suddenly a man named Matthew Patel comes crashing into the venue, challenging Scott to a duel.

Scott is confused at first until Patel askes "Didn't you get my e-mail... about the League of Evil Exes controlling the fate of Ramona's love life?"

"I skimmed it..." Scott slowly responds, but in video-game like fashion, Scott and Patel begin fighting and throwing punches (much to the dismay and astonishment of everyone in the club), with Patel summoning "demon hipster chicks" before Scott delivers the final blow and Patel turns into a handful of coins.

Him and Ramona quickly flee the scene and hop on a bus where Ramona explains that if her and Scott are to date, he must defeat each of her 7 evil exes (which includes a famous hot shot skater turned actor, a telekinetic vegan musician, a goth girl half ninja, a pair of Japanese techno pop star twins and the infamous powerful music producer Gideon Graves). Scott doesn't seem to have a problem with that, however, all his friends remind him, he needs to break-up with Knives if he is going to continue to see Ramona.

This movie is based on a series of 6 graphic novels written by Bryan Lee O'Malley and it really is a great adaption of a comic book brought to life on the big screen. It combines young adult romance with comedy and video game action, as when Scott defeats each one of the exes he gains coins, skill points, level ups, free lives, and even swords. The soundtrack is pretty fun too with music that helps drive the movie.

While the plot overview may seem more for teenagers, it really is more than just that - it's a geeky/gamer affair with some awesome visuals. I cannot stress how well this movie is when it comes to bringing a comic book to life - thanks to technology of today, it really does feel like the images, characters and fight scenes from the books have come to life on the big screen. If video games were real life, this is what the result would probably look like. While I won't say it's the best movie I've ever seen, it definitely was fun and some of the scenes really do deserve to be seen on the big screen to get the full effect of awesomeness!

This film doesn't deserve to be doing as poorly as it is at the box office (it barely made the top 5 its first week, and last week it barely placed in the top 10). In an age of remakes, spoofs, and unoriginal movies, this is one that is very unique both in it's style and portrayal.

If you like comedies, go see it.
If you like action movies, go see it.
If you like comic books and/or video games, go see it.
If you like movies that are just plain fun and clever, go see it.

Just do yourself a favor and go see it!

DVD Review: Kick-Ass

Rated R for language, bloody violence, brief sexuality

Starring Aaron Johnson, Nicholas Cage, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Chloe Grace Moretz, Mark Strong

"How come no one has ever tried to be a superhero?" geeky comic book lovin' teenage Dave wonders to his friends. He says that really all it is is helping others and doing right, stopping the bad guys. His friends think him nuts, but after being bullied for the last time, Dave done an outfit and wonders out, looking to put a stop to it.

His first attempt, against the same bullies that inspired him to take action, does not fare well, as he ends up with quite the wound and gets hit by a car, causing damage to his nervous system so he can no longer feel pain and metal is placed under his skin to help support his bones. Not giving up so quickly, after his recovery, Dave sets out again, this time saving a lone man from a group of attackers in a parking lot outside a dinner - several customers look out the window, with their cell phone video cameras rolling, catching the whole thing. Dave is quite the internet sensation as super hero Kick-Ass.

While on a mission for a girl he loves, he gets into a bit more of a mess than expected when it turns out to be a drug dealers headquarters and when it seems all is lost, a young girl with a penchant for knives and other sharp objects comes in through the window, also donned in a costume as well as a wig, saves him from a grisly fate. He comes to learn later that girl, known as Hit-Girl, and her father, Big Daddy, are also masked vigilantes, however they have very specific plans - turns out Big Daddy was once a cop but was framed by Frank D'Amico - a drug lord and crime boss who disguises his hideout as a lumber company. Because of this, Big Daddy's wife killed herself, while pregnant with their daughter Mindy who was able to be saved, but given over to custody of his partner. He got out of jail and got her back, training her to become the vigilante Hit Girl with his Big Daddy persona and they plan to take down D'Amico.

Unaware that other superhero's are out there, D'Amico seems to think that it is Kick-Ass taking out his men and causing problem for the family business and wants him dead.

We are also introduced to D'Amico's son Chris, who is also a classmate of Dave's and decides to become costumed character called Red Mist.

Kick-Ass is definitely not a kid's movie, despite being about superheros like you see in the comics. There's a reason this movie is rated R - the violence is very bloody and despite one of the main characters being a preteen girl, the language is very adult and R-rated, as you wouldn't want your young daughters quoting her!

As an adult comicbook action superhero movie though, Kick-Ass is highly entertaining! While not as deep (or as long) as Watchmen (another adult comicbook action superhero movie that came out in 2009), adults will enjoy the humor and action as one teenager tries to prove that anyone can be a superhero.

Watch it with other adults or older teens, but put the kids to bed first!

Iron Man 2

Rated PG13 for comic-action violence, some sexuality, brief language

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Mickey Rouke, Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson

Picking up where the previous film left off, Ivan Vanko sees the news of Tony Stark announcing that he is Iron Man. Vanko's dying father tells him that should have been him (Ivan) as he created the arc-reactor with Stark's father, giving him the blueprint of the plans.

6 months pass, Tony Stark opens up a year long Stark Expo in order to continue the Stark legacy as the core of his arc-reactor is seeping poisonous chemicals into his blood stream and Tony feels he might be dying soon. He is also ordered to appear before a Senate Committee who declares the Iron Man suit is a weapon and should be turned over to the government. Stark points out that no one else in the world is near close to replicating it and points out that he has been able to maintain world peace.

All that changes soon in Monte Carlo, when Ivan Vanko, in a suit of his own with whips that spark lightning, shows up and takes on Iron Man, proving to be an equal, as he could have killed him, but didn't. He is captured, but soon broken out of prison, as someone else sees him as a skilled engineer and wants his help in creating an army of Iron Man suits.

Will Tony be able to save his own life and find a cure for his arc-reactor core? And as Iron Man will he be able to stop Ivan Vanko?

Iron Man 2 follows in the same footsteps as the previous installment, showing us to value life and do what's right. While it doesn't really expand much or go above and beyond the first one, it was still just as quirky and entertaining with a plot that was easy to understand.

We also see more of SHIELD leader Nick Fury in this one (his lone scene in the first one was after the end credits) and are introduced to SHIELD member Black Widow, who shows us that tiny petite females can sure kick some butt!

Don Cheadle replaces Terrance Howard as Stark's good friend Lt. Col. James "Rhodey" Rhodes, however, unless you're watching the films back to back, you don't really notice the change that much. We also see the last appearance of DJ A.M. who died in Fall 2009.

And like the first one, be sure to stick around after the credits role for a sneak peak of who the next Marvel film is going to focus on!

DVD Review: G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

Rated PG13 for comicbook violence

Starring Dennis Quaid, Channing Tatum, Sienna Miller, Rachel Nichols, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marlon Wayans

In the near future, a weapons expert has created a nanotechnology based weapon that can destroy an entire city. After selling the warheads to NATO, troops such as Duke and Ripcord are sent to protect and deliver the goods to NATO, however they get ambushed by bad guys, which include Baroness, who also want said warheads and GI Joe troops Scarlett, Snake Eyes, Heavy Duty and Breaker step in to help out.

We learn that the GI Joe Team is a classified organization of the best troops in the world, lead by General Hawk. The story centers around the nanotechnology warheads, which do eventually get stolen from the good guys who have to put a stop to the bad guys before they destroy The Eiffel Tower, and three other monuments across the globe. There's also several plot twists, including a connection between Duke and Baroness.

With Channing Tatum in one of the main lead roles, I was not expecting much from this film, as Tatum is known for his roles in teen films such as Step Up and it's sequel. G.I. Joe actually ended up being much better than I was expecting. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is brilliant in his role as The Doctor as well as another role that is revealed in one of the twists. Marlon Wayans, while not as goofy as some of his previous work, was pretty good as the main comic relief. While the acting in general was nothing to really write home about, some of the devices used in the film are pretty neat (such as the accelerator suits, for example) and there were some really cool martial art scenes as well.

While it won't win an Oscar, if you're looking for a fun, action film based on an 80s toy that doesn't suck this year and is okay for the whole family to watch, check out G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.

DVD Review: X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Rated PG13 for comicbook action and violence, brief language

Starring Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Danny Houston, Lynn Collins, Taylor Kitsch, Will.I.Am, Ryan Reynolds

X-Men Origins: Wolverine is just that - a film about the origins of Wolverine. We are introduced to James Howlett (aka Logan, Wolverine) and his older brother Victor Creed (aka Sabretooth) and see that at a young age, back in 1845 the brothers were forced to flee due to their strange mutations - Logan with this odd retractable claws, and Victor with his sabretooth cat like strength and agility.

The two brothers spend most of the next century and a half fighting in the American Civil War, World War I & II and the Vietnam War. During Vietnam, Victor allows his rage to take over, killing innocents in the process, while Logan does what he can to stop and save his brother.

Both are imprisoned after they were unable to executed for the crime, but offered spots in Major Stryker's Team X, composed of other humans with strange genetic mutations. Here we are introduced to John Wraith, Fred "The Blob" Dukes, Wade Wilson, Agent Zero, and Chris Bradley. While with the team, the brothers go on top secret missions, but after one that requires murdering innocent villagers, Logan has had enough and leaves, eventually leading to the collapse of Team X.

Years later, Logan is leading a simple, yet happy life as a lumberjack in Canada with his school teacher girlfriend, Kayla Silverfox. His approached by Stryker, informing him that someone is killing off the former team members and to be careful, however we learn that it is Victor doing the killings. After Victor kills Kayla in an attempt to get his younger brother's attention, Logan allows Stryker to conduct a test procedure on him, turning his entire skeletal system into hardened adamantitium, giving him metal indestructible claws capable of finishing off Victor. However once the procedure is a success, Logan overhears Stryker talking about erasing his memory, causing him to flee instead.

Knowing that Stryker is up to no good, Wolverine gets some help from his former Team X members, as well as new friend the Cajun Gambit to put an end to Stryker and his brother in the process.

If you like comic book movies, especially any of the X-Men films, you'll be sure to enjoy X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

DVD Review: The Spirit

Rated PG13 for comicbook violence and action, sexuality, brief nudity

Starring Gabriel Macht, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Eva Mendes

In Central City, the masked Spirit is a vigilante who protects the city. After a tip from the Detective that something big is going on near the docks that could include Spirit's arch-nemesis The Octopus, he rushes to the scene, where he finds the Detective dead and only 1 of 2 chests remaining. He also encounter The Octopus and the 2 duke it out for quite sometime until The Spirit is knocked unconscious, waken up a bit later at the hospital, appearing fully healthy despite being shot. Trying to find who killed the Detective and why, The Spirit finds a golden locket on the Detective's body that he recognizes as belonging to his childhood friend Sand Saref.

The Spirit, directed by Frank Miller, is reminiscent of Miller's previous work in Sin City, having the same stylized action and comicbook feel to it. The plot however, if you're not paying attention, can become a bit confusing as well.

If you enjoy comicbook films and liked Sin City, be sure to check this one out as well, as it's much of the same, but on a PG13 scale, otherwise, you're not missing much if you decided to skip this one.

Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen

Rated PG13 for action violence, mild language, sexuality

Starring Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibbons, John Turturro

Picking up two years after the original film, The Transformers are now working with a top secret government group called NEST, headed up by Major Lennox (Duhamel), in order to track down and disassemble Decepticons throughout Earth. Sam Witwicky (LaBeouf) and Mikaela (Fox) are preparing for Sam's first semester away at college across country.

Little do they know, Sam still has a sliver of the Allspark that when he touched it, filled his mind with Cybortron hieroglyphics and now he can't help but go crazy, writing them everywhere, trying to figure out what they mean. Meanwhile, the Decepticons devise a plan to break into a government building, steal the Allspark, and then ressurect Megatron. Megatron wants the information Sam now has in his head, as it contains information as to the location of The Matrix of Leadership, which is needed to activate a Sun Harvester device on Earth which will take out our sun and turn our planet dark and cold forever. The race to the Matrix of Leadership and to the destroy the Sun Harvester leads us to Egypt and the middle East.

The first time around, this movie was entertaining, however the more you watch, the more you catch simple flaws and holes in the film that a simple editing job of the script could have prevented. This film is pure mindless entertainment, with very little depth to it. Like a typical Michael Bay movie, Transformers 2 focuses heavily on explosions, chase scenes, more explosions and extended action sequences which make you wonder if you really did just spend the last 20 minutes watching characters run through the desert through constant explosions.

Watchmen

Rated: R for language, gratuitous violence, nudity, sex

Starring: Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Carla Gugino, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Patrick Wilson

Based of the highly recommended 1986-87 graphic novel of the same name, Watchmen takes place in an alternate 1985 America. Nixon just won his 5th term, costumed vigilantes have been outlawed and the US is on the brink of nuclear war with Russia.

The film starts out, we see a man, after being beat up in his high-rise penthouse, get thrown out through the glass window. People wonder, was this a random murder? A political killing perhaps, since the man had connections to the government? Rorschach, a man doning a trenchcoat, brimmed hat and a mask with inkblots that move around, believes someone is killing off former superheros. We soon learn that the man thrown through the window was The Comedian - a man who was part of the original 1940's Minutemen, fought in Vietnam and was part of the next generation of Minutemen, known as the Watchmen.

While we follow Rorschach and the rest of the remaining Watchmen (which includes Dr. Manhattan, The 2nd Nite Owl, The 2nd Silk Spectre and Ozymandias) avoid assassination and get to the bottom of what's going on, we have flash backs into each of their lives. We see that The Comedian wasn't exactly a nice funny guy, but rather had a more sadistic sarcastic sense of humor. We see how Dr. Manhattan became the big blue glowy dude that he is now and how his condition has affected all his relationships and in turn the effect it's had on him, we see how 2nd Silk Spectre's mother and relationship have effective her and so on. We also see the affects that the superheros have had on on major historical events throughout the decades.

Watchmen shows how even superhero's struggle with their inner self and have to deal with real issues just like the rest of us. It even begs the question, is it right to sacrific a smaller majority in order to ensure that the rest of the human race will live on?

Although it was almost 3 hours long, it kept my attention the entire time and definitely gave you some interesting points to think over.

It's definitely not one for the kiddies though, as Dr. Manhattan is shown fully nude in multiple scenes, 2nd Silk Spectre gets it on with several of the male characters and not much is left to the imagination, The Comedian attempts to rape another female character, and the violence is shown full force too - take some of the more graphic violent scenes from Zack Snyder's previous films Sin City and 300 and then multiply it several times. People get stabbed and shot with a close camera on them, limbs get hacked off in plain graphic site... there's a reason it's rated R.

The Dark Knight

Rated PG13 for violence, dark themes

Starring Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman

This is the 2nd installment in the remake of the Batman franchise.

After the police and Batman close in on the mobs in Gotham, the Joker decides to step in, being a new class of criminal and causing death and chaos in an attempt to call out who Batman really is. New elected politician Harvey Dent, while on his crusade to lock up all criminals gets caught in the middle of it, as does Bruce Wayne's oldest friend Rachel Dawes. We see how revenge can consume some, while others "just want to watch the world burn."

While still good, I think it probably should have been cut into two movies, allowing for more elaboration of Two-Face - Harvey Dent doesn't turn into his alter ego until the last hour or so of the film and he doesn't get much face time - I recall him being much more villanious in the comics and it seemed like they just kinda crammed his story arch in with the Joker's when it could have filled a whole movie itself.

It should definitely be nominated for an Oscar though and the critics will be talking about it for awhile! Heath Ledger's portrayal of the Joker was amazingly dark and truly creepy - he deserves an Oscar for this role... too bad he died though, as it was definitely one of his best roles and his career had a promising future.

Definitely don't miss this one this summer and I recommend seeing it twice at least!

Hancock

Rated PG13 for language and violence

Starring Will Smith, Charlize Theron, Jason Bateman

Will Smith is Hancock, a superhero who spends his time between crime-stopping out getting drunk. After saving a PR worker from death by train, the PR worker decides to return the favor by helping Hancock clean up his image and be someone people can look up to - not a superhero causing trouble and doing more damage to the city in his crimefighting techniques.

It was a fun twist on the superhero movie with several plottwists to keep viewers interested.

Wanted

Rated R for language, violence, sexuality, nudity

Starring James McAvoy, Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman, Terence Stamp, Common

Wesley Gibson (McAvoy) works in small cubicle in an office, a la Office Space. He hates his job as his boss regularly abuses and humiliates him from of his coworkers, and his best friend is banging his girlfriend behind his back. While filling his a prescription at the grocery store, he meets Fox (Jolie) and gets caught in the middle of a shootout between her and a man sent to assassinate Wesley. Turns out, Wesley's father, who left him and his mother when he was just a baby, was a great assassin who was recently killed and Wesley just inherited his insane fortune. He is brought into the Fraternity his father was a part of, headed up by Sloan (Freeman) in order to help gun down his father's murderer by the rogue member Cross. During his training, Wesley is reborn and begins to take charge of his life, making something of it.

This movie is very loosely adapted from the graphic novel. While the plot starts out the same, the end result is somewhat different. In the comic, rather than a Fraternity of assassins, they're actually a Fraternity of Super Villians, living in a world void of Super Heroes since the 1980s. In the graphic novel, some of the villains and their gimmicks are amusing. Also of note, in the graphic novels, Fox was modeled after Halle Berry, while Wesley was modeled after Eminem.

If they had stuck closer to the graphic novel, it would have made for a much much cooler movie, as it's not often we have films about super villians, although if you haven't read any of the graphic novel, you'd probably say it was a really good action flick. I'll admit, it was clever and entertaining!

Speed Racer

Rated PG with mild language and adventure violence

Stars Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, Japanese pop star Rain, Matthew Fox, Susan Sarandon and John Goodman

If you've ever seen the classic anime cartoon you know exactly what to expect. If not...

Speed and his family are all part of Racer Autos. Despite a tragic racing incident that killed his older brother Rex, Speed and the family continue to race for the fun of it. Royalton Autos notices Speed's talent and tries to recuit him, to which he declines, and then goes on to blackmail him, telling him that racing has been fixed for 50 years - he'll never win any of the bigtime races. With some help from his family - Mom and Pop Racer, annoying kid brother Sprittle and family pet monkey Chim Chim - fellow mechanic Sparky, girlfriend Trixxie and Racer X, Speed's determine to prove Royalton wrong.

My only complaint about this film was that it was a little too long.

Visually, it's amazing and stunning and, well, fun! The Wachowski Brothers (the guys who brought us The Matrix trilogy) did an awesome job with this one and the 24/7 360 bullet time effect looks amazing as well. Plus, who doesn't love ninjas?

Don't listen to the critics on this one - unless you're prone to epilepsy, go see it!

Iron Man

Rated PG13 for violence

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrance Howard, and Jeff Bridges.

Tony Stark is a playboy weapons engineer and owner of Stark Enterprises. After a demonstration of his latest weapons project, the Jericho, terrorists attack the convoy and kidnap Stark, forcing him to recreate the Jericho. Stark has other plans though and creates an iron suit to bust out of captivity. Upon returning home, he decides it's best not to make weapons anymore and, after tweaking his iron suit, decides to track down all his weapons that have fallen into terrorist hands, while discovering that someone inside his company has been dealing weapons to terrorists under the table and has their own plans for the Iron Man suit.

Iron Man was incredibly fun and a great kick off to the summer season. Robert Downey Jr. was born to play Tony Stark.

If you like fun action movies, even if you've never seen or heard much of the comics, check this one out

Transformers

In a summer of big blockbuster sequels, this will probably be *the* summer blockbuster for the year. Seriously, who wouldn't wanna see cool cars transform into giant robots and fight each other over mankind?

Although the storyline wasn't much and was fairly simple, the special effects were awesome! It's your typical Michael Bay film - the romantic storyline, the kid that leads people to safety, explosions and things blowing up... but it's all very entertaining!

I'd say it's a pretty solid film for the whole family... well maybe not mom, but for the kids, young and old and young at heart. Especially if ya grew up with Optimus Prime and Megatron back in the 80s. Also, the pop culture references of today are quite amusing, ie: references to Ebay, the internet, xm radio, etc... you also see plenty of the sponsors' logos too. The new Chevy Camero and the Pontiac Solstice are pretty sweet looking too!

Be sure not to miss this one this 4th of July weekend!

Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer

I never saw the first one, it looked too bad just from the brief clips i had seen. I had the same impression about this one as well and I was right!

On the verge of the wedding of Sue Storm (aka the Invisible Woman) and Reed Richards (aka Mr Fantastic, who, imo, aint very good looking), a strange energy is creating massive craters in the earth and the Fantastic 4 are recruited by the US gov't to help out. Creating new alliances and dealing with villians old and new, our heros learn what's really important.

It had it's humorous moments, but was filled with over the top cheesiness.

Guys will like watching Jessica Alba despite her awful dye job, girls will like watching the hotness that is Johnny Storm (aka the Human Torch), comic book geeks will be pissed about the portrayal of Galactus, and unfortunately Michael Chiklis gets the shaft.