"Kick-Ass 2": Not sure I believe it, but why not?

Where better to start today than with a rumor about easily one of my favorite movies of 2010 so far, especially when it's such a juicy one.

While I can't aesthetically call "Kick-Ass" a "great" movie, which certainly means something different to every person who chooses to bestow it on a flick, I can say that it's by a pretty wide margin the funnest movie I've seen this year, and that goes a long way in my little corner of the world.

Now, I understand that the often very bloody antics of a 13-year-old superhero of sorts named Hit-Girl (the simply excellent Chloe Moretz) isn't for everyone, but I still couldn't understand how so many people skipped this during it's spring theatrical run (it only made $48 million in its domestic box office run, and about the same amount overseas.)

DVD sales and rentals, however, have been considerably better, which leads us to the claim that got me so geeked up this morning: Mark Millar, writer of the Kick-Ass funny book, has said on the UK's Radio 5 that a "Kick-Ass 2" has been greenlit and will go ahead based on his follow-up comic (courtesy of AICN for the head's up.)

Now, from all I've read, Millar says a lot of things, but here's hoping this bit at least turns out to be true, because "Kick-Ass 2"? To that, I can only say bring it on!

And after that bit of possible fantasy, here's some much more serious news about two very interesting flicks, one about to start and one that's already finished.

Anyone who's been here before knows that there are very few genres of movies that I like more than the American political movie, the kind that gets at the meat of campaigning in what we still like to think of as a civil society.

George Clooney, who stars in "The American," which hits theaters today (and I'll be seeing tomorrow), will next move back into the director's chair for "Farragut North," an adaptation of Beau Willimon's play, and he's apparently lining up a fantastic cast.

According to Vulture, "the story is set in Des Moines, Iowa, just weeks before the state's Democratic caucuses officially commence; it follows the exploits of a twenty-something presidential campaign spinmeister/wunderkind named Stephen Myers, and the dirty pool he plays to get his candidate the nomination against a rival senator."

As for the cast, Clooney has apparently reached out to Chris Pine, a.k.a. the new Captain Kirk, to re-create the lead role he played in a L.A. stage production of the play last fall. Already set are Philip Seymour Hoffman as Myers' boss on the campaign trail and, even better, Paul Giamatti as the campaign manager of a rival candidate. Offers are apparently also out to Evan Rachel Wood to play a teen campaign staffer and Marisa Tomei to play a probing journalist.

Shooting is set to begin in February, so I'd guess you can put this on the list of movies I'll be amped to see about this time or a little later next year.

And as for movies coming out a lot sooner in at least some corner of the world, can anyone remember the last time John Sayles directed a movie? It was "Honeydripper" in 2007, and though I almost completely hated that flick, the man has made many, many more that I love, so any news of a new Sayles flick is welcome around here (if I had to pick two of his movies I like the best, they would be "Passion Fish" and "Lone Star".)

The director heads to the Toronto International Film Festival this year with a new movie, "Amigo," a fictionalized account of the Philippines-American War at the turn of the 20th century, based on his unpublished, 1,000 page novel on the same subject, "Some Time in the Sun."

The film stars Joel Torre, Garret Dillahunt, Sayles regular Chris Cooper, DJ Qualls, Rio Locsin, Ronnie Lazaro and Bembol Roco, and according to The Playlist, here's what it's about:

The film revolves around the occupation by a squad of U.S. soldiers of a small, rural village. Headed by a respected elder, whom the Yankees refer to as “Amigo,” the villagers are forced to deal with this foreign presence as rules are set, curfews introduced and small attempts at democracy initiated. But the most significant tension in the film lies in the village’s relationship with a rebel group leading the resistance to the occupation. Amigo’s brother is the rebel leader, and his son runs off to join them, so he constantly finds himself torn between balancing what is right for the village and what this means to his family.

Juicy stuff that, and when he's on his game, Sayles is just an epicly good storyteller, so keep an eye out for this one hopefully soon. In the meantime, here's the trailer. Enjoy.



OK, after that today, all I have is a couple of clips, courtesy of MTV, from flicks I'm really looking forward to this fall. Admittedly, they're not the most exciting stuff, but I still think the movies they're culled from will be well worth watching.

First up comes "It's Kind of a Funny Story," from directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, which comes out Oct. 5 (I believe) and which you can list as the single movie I'm most looking forward to for this fall. It stars Keir Gilchrist as a teen who checks himself into a mental hospital only to find himself housed in the adult ward, where he meets Zach Galifianakis and, I'd have to presume, a host of other colorful characters. Enjoy this short clip from the flick.

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

And finally today, though I haven't read the book by Kazuo Ishiguro, I'm really looking forward to Mark Romanek's "Never Let Me Go," coming to at least some American cities Sept. 15, because it just looks thoroughly creepy in all the best ways. The flick, starring Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley and Andrew Garfield is, as best as I can tell, about students at an English boarding school who are part of some kind of truly odd social experiment. If I knew more than that I'm still not sure I would reveal it, because I think people, including me, should always be surprised by movies. Anyways, enjoy this short clip featuring Reel Fanatic fave Mulligan and Knightley, and have a perfectly passable Wednesday. Peace out.

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

"Star Trek": Not bold, but still brilliant

As I was waiting for J.J. Abrams' "Star Trek" to start last night (I showed up plenty early, expecting, frankly, a much bigger crowd), I was trying to remember the last time I had even bothered to watch a movie based on an old TV show, and I really couldn't think of one.

"Bewitched"? Why bother? And despite the presence of both adorable Anna Friel and veryfunnyman Danny McBride, I really can't see myself getting into Will Ferrell's upcoming "Land of the Lost."

In most cases, even if its called a "reimagining," it usually just means adding tired jokes about all the anachronisms. What Abrams has accomplished with "Star Trek," however, is something entirely different. By embracing the best elements of the original animal but adding a fresh and almost uniformly appealing cast and enough of his own touches to give the series a big jolt of new blood (and adrenaline), he's created something so entertaining that it should relaunch the series and have it thriving (or, if you must, prospering) for a long time to come.

Though our 7 p.m. showing was only a little more than half full, I could tell from the crowd that we were in for something thoroughly fun. Despite the absurdity of a local country station giving out Trek t-shirts (to the only two people who bothered to come in costume), all the good-natured "Star Wars" jokes ("I should have come dressed as Vader") just set the stage perfectly.

So, what about the movie itself? Well, after a superb opening sequence that simultaneously features the birth of Kirk and introduces the movie's big bad, the Romulan Nero (Eric Bana, not really all that menacing except for the fact that - with all the Romulan facial tattoos - he looks a lot like Mike Tyson), Abrams and screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman wisely spend a lot of time introducing the new members of the Enterprise crew-to-be.

And though the types are already well set in stone, the new players are all just about perfectly cast (with the glaring exception of Simon Pegg, but more on that later.) The only thing I could remember seeing Chris Pine in was the mildly disappointing "Bottle Shock," but here he captures the combustible mix of anger and potential that makes the young Kirk intriguing, and though I gave up on "Heroes" during the disastrous second season, Zachary Quinto finds the soul of Spock rather than making him the cartoon it would have been easier to become.

Among the supporting crew, Zoe Saldana smolders just enough as Uhura, and gives the movie its most tender moment along with Quinto. Karl Urban's McCoy (a truly eerie dead ringer) and Anton Yelchin's Chekhov are mostly there for very effective comic relief, but my favorite crew member of all was John Cho's Hikaru Sulu, perhaps mostly just because it was so much fun to see him do something besides get incredibly stoned.

The main (and just about only) beef I had heard from the minority of critics who at least kind of panned this was that the story was lacking, but I have to disagree. Though it is indeed a fairly standard revenge tale with enough wrinkles thrown in to keep it interesting until the end, I have to wonder, just how intricate could you really expect what amounts to the first mission of Kirk's Enterprise crew to be?

As it is, Abrams keeps the tale moving at a very fast but fluid pace, enough so that - for once - I really didn't mind the occasionally shaky camera work because it really does set up some simply stunning set pieces. Kirk and Sulu get the best one of all, as they dive from the Enterprise to take out a crazy giant drill that Nero is using to assault the Vulcan planet. I guarantee it will be the best action sequence you'll see this summer (or at least I welcome the challenge from "Terminator: Salvation" trying to top it in two weeks or so.)

My only quibble (and I hesitate even to bring it up, because the movie really was just about perfect summer fare) was that, after producing a script that set up the natural dynamic of the young Enterprise crew, it really felt like they went back at the end and crammed in the catchphrases that any Trek fan (and even a casual admirer like me) expect to hear. They're very funny at first, but exceedingly just a little annoying as it feels like Abrams and crew are working from a checklist.

And the introduction of Pegg's Scotty unfortunately feels right in this vein too. You know going in that he can't be a member of the Star Fleet Academy class with Kirk and company, but he just feels tacked on when he's finally brought in, and it doesn't help matters that Pegg - shockingly - just doesn't seem to fit the part at all. It's the first time on the big screen that I just really haven't much liked him at all.

But all that said, the bottom line is that this is a thoroughly fun flick that will thrill "Star Trek" devotees and newcomers alike. And with that, I have to go pay $70 to keep from having my power cut off and then to the job that pays me just enough to put me in that admittedly rather sorry position. Peace out.