Why KickAss kicks ass

Q: Who are the voiceless in modern society?
A: Kids
....and I can add teenagers to that unhappy lot, I remember the old addage that the government dosent give a shit about them because they cant vote.

The Daily Mail leads the brigade of brow beaters lamenting the demise of morality with the awarding of a 16's certificate to KickAss, apparently it gives the wrong example to teenagers. This from a paper happy to carry daily diatribes on the Katie Price circus.

Ill tell you why Id be happy if my teen was watching this, this film makes mincemeat of the last ten years of big budget superhero propaganda, that always left the audience impressed but no nearer feeling better about themselves. Kickass slaps them about the face, with an open palm....

This film succeeds on a number of levels, it has heart, the big blue eyes and awkward advances of Aaron Johnson are known to most if not all of us, that longing we all have to make things better, but our flawed selves rarely do. Any of us that have stepped up and stepped in know the heady rush and the blind panic that can engulf when you become the target of aggression. Unlike the self loathing skulking and moody teen angst that pollute films now (sparkly vampires and moody Bronte readers) Johnson is human, is hopefull and despite knockbacks is actually interested in something other than himself.

As with all heroes we will him on, but this film shows none of the stock changes that usually accompany hero's in the making stories, he will never make it to the top of the steps with Rocky, but neither will we...remember those New Years resolutions...how're they lookin now?

Hit girl on the other hand is a Tarantinoesque 11 year old death in pigtails...I'm sure there are conservatives frothing at the mouth over her stabbing, slashing and slicing antics. It is for those very reasons she is a triumph, a kid that kicks ass, an 11 year old heroine that wants a glock not a puppy for her birthday. I was reminded of the stellar hallway battle in Oldboy watching this little mini mamba get all ultravoilent in the penultimate battle. When KickAss turns up to help her I felt like jumping to my feet and applauding, I haven't felt that way since Ralph Macchio kicked ass at the end of the Karate Kid (OK so I was like 8, but that's how I felt!)

A film that can reach out and drag you in, without having to beat you over the head with the good guy versus bad guy nonsense, we are all both, we're capable of great things, but too often we sit back and let things happen, the only thing it takes for evil to triumph is for a good man to do nothing. This is the best two hours Ive paid for in years, a film that every big studio refused to make, and in brilliant little red hen style they made it themselves, I can only hope more films get made without the dirty fingers of studio executives meddling.

Them Bones, them bones

Oscar season is upon us, roll up the the glittery and the botoxed to listen to James Cameron accept ALL the awards.
For the next few days I'll run you through the films you might want to see or avoid in the coming month as the cinema becomes the only social outlet worth your pocket money (Fags, Drink, Chocolate and Beer still managing to maintain their hold on our guilt strings)

1: The Lovely Bones

There are many books that should never have been filmed, but for each bad book adaptation there are a dozen Gamers that should never have never have offended my hard drive with their presence. I was excited to hear of this adaptation, but as a book it evoked such personalised emotions and images that I had trouble imagining it. Just as the Catcher has never been filmed, somethings are best left your mind. Heathcliff was never Ralph Fiennes when I read Wuthering Heights, Sinead O'Connor did not appear as the mother of Jesus in the butcher boy. Let me also situate myself as the kind of person who cries over the Barrys Tea adverts at Christmas so I tend to avoid 'weepies'. The idea of going to see a film specifically designed to make you cry for an hour is anathema to me. If I want to cry Ill open my bank statements instead of hiding them behind the radiator.


Despite the fact that I blubbed through the book I was looking forward to this emotional heart tug, unfortunately Peter Jackson got lost down the rabbit hole on this one. The Lovely Bones it seems was a foolhardy foray for the good lord of middle earth. Somewhere along the line he decided to make this film about the murder, about catching the killer, about vengeance.
While these are all subtexts in the film they are not the crux of the tale. To me the book was all about the breakdown of Susie's parents' marriage and the building of new lives for the family and friends left in the wake. In Peters' quest to adapt the book to screen he has left out what gave the book its heart, the lovely bones themselves. These are the relationships and lives that grew around her demise.

While everyone who has read the book will find something that personally touched them missing in this film. For me it was the death of Susie's dog years after her own murder which led to them being reunited in her 'heaven'. Much will be made of the stunning visuals in Suzie's heaven but they came at a price, whats imagined and personal is more powerful than anything yet shown.

If your still convinced that sad films are for you then look no further than The Road, its unrelentingly sombre, the ochre tones remind of us how fragile life in all its forms is, in fact watching it feels like you've gone ten rounds with Tyson. The book delivers blow after blow to the reader and Vigo is once again exceptional as the father who loves his son enough to teach him how to put a gun to his head. It leaves you with more questions than answers, a film you never want to see again but somehow need to watch.

Recommendation : Buy the Lovely Bones, read it, then give it to somebody you love. Watch The Road instead but consider yourself warned.