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Reviews
Kick-Ass 2 (2013)
Real life heroes require the greatest suspension of disbelief
There's something entirely off about the Kick-Ass universe. It certainly seems promising. The prevailing message is interesting enough: that ordinary people can be heroic without super powers. All they need is sufficient dedication and enthusiasm. Also interesting is the consequences for this, in the real world, where things don't always go neatly, not everything turns out for the best, and the hero doesn't always prevail in the end. There's definitely plenty of meat for a decent story here.
However, it's understandably difficult to pull off in the context a of Hollywood movie. A truly realistic superhero story probably ends with a guy getting stabbed, and either dying or giving up the game for good. There would be nothing for the audience to enjoy or appreciate, other than the cold and depressing light of reality shone upon the escapist fantasy of super heroism. Any story exploring these themes have to walk a careful line. They must have enough realism to explore the themes, but also enough escapism so that the fans of the superhero genre are entertained. And, although the movie had many flaws, the original Kick-Ass movie managed to do this with some degree of competence.
I wish I could say the same about Kick-Ass 2. Instead of walking this line, Kick-Ass 2 blunders across it, staggering from one side to the other, but heavily favours the escapist side. Still present is the graphic and stylised violence committed by minors and the highly flawed super heroes. Now, there's a self-styled villain (who doubles as comic relief). Yes, there's a "real life" person who figures that his purpose in life is to be a villain, like in comic books. This is a person who wants to make trouble for the citizens of the city, because this is what villains do. Not out of greed, not out of vengeance (for the most part), but adherence to the villain archetype. And what's more, he found plenty of equally villainous sidekicks.
It's not just the ludicrous plot, but the interactions between characters often seem ridiculous. One of the themes the movie deals with is Hit Girl's newly found high school drama, which gives rise to one of the movies most laughably incongruous sequences. Hit Girl is invited to a sleepover with the popular clique, and for some reason, the dialogue is comprised entirely from subtext that usually is not spelled out. I say 'for some reason', but it's clear it's supposed to be funny and a little confronting. The net effect was that my suspension of disbelief was completely shattered, I no longer cared about these caricatures, and I found myself wondering why I was still watching.
If you can indeed suspend your belief, overcome the hackneyed writing, and endure the sickly sweet stench of omnipresent fan service, then there are still some things to like in Kick-Ass 2. Jim Carrey is unrecognisable and believable as the ex-mafia enforcer Col. Stars and Stripes, and Christopher Minz-Plasse does hit some effective notes in his reprise of his role as Chris D'Amico. Plus the movie is sumptuously shot, and the audio was well done (especially in a particular scene involving one woman and some police cars). However, these features are just icing on a somewhat fishy-smelling cake. If you're a fan of the comics, then I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself, but if you aren't, then there are better things to do with your time.
Noel Fielding's Luxury Comedy (2012)
This is Noel, as he's always promised, but never before delivered.
Luxury Comedy is definitely the work of Noel Fielding. It's overflowing with much of the same surrealism we've seen in The Mighty Boosh, as well as his stand-up. We've heard him talk about himself in absurd terms. We've seen his wistful creations. Every time we've seen his works, we've seen flashes of a bubbling caldera of surreal, outlandish creativity, but always somewhat suppressed, somewhat mired in the interests of making his humour palatable. Luxury Comedy is what happens when the caldera explodes. This is Noel unchained. The show is a sea of glam, paint, and insane creations. This is not just Noel talking about how is unique mind works, this is him showing you, and it's... it's weird.
It's very weird. It's definitely the weirdest show I've ever watched. It subverts, deliberately, just about every convention it can get its finger paint-stained hands on. These conventions, of course, are comforting and are usually there for a reason, and when all of them are stripped so unceremoniously from the show, it can feel genuinely uncomfortable. The humour billed in the show's title is inexpressibly bizarre, typically staying well clear of punchlines, or anything else to make you laugh out loud. Instead, there's generally a haze of amusement that pervades the show. Some sketches in the show, such as the incomparable Jelly Fox sketch, hold our attention for their sheer hypnotic brilliance, even if they're not particularly humorous.
Naturally, it doesn't always work, on the level of art or entertainment, but it never feels forced. It is hypnotic, addictive, and surprisingly more-ish once you give it a generous chance. If you have an above-average tolerance for surrealism, I recommend you give it a go.
Grim Fandango (1998)
A Fantastic Tale With Fantastic Puzzles
This game is simply awe-inspiring. It uses its consistently excellent plot to hold you, while it presents fiendishly difficult puzzles for you to solve. The game felt immensely satisfying both intellectually and aesthetically.
The story follows Manny Calavera in his four year journey of the soul through the land of the dead, as he searches for a woman he believes that he cheated. There are classic themes of corruption, redemption, love, betrayal, karma, and others. The story has a profound sadness to it, lamenting for time, love, and opportunities stolen by injustice and greed. At the same time, the game never loses its sense of hope, and never loses its razor-sharp wit. In short, this plot is as good as many of the movies out there.
As for the puzzles, they are extremely challenging. If you have played Lucas Arts adventure games before, you would know the formula. Basically, it consists of this:
1) You cannot possibly lose the game
2) There is no general time limit, or indeed, general progression of time at all
3) You are given a general, limited area in which to find items and to solve puzzles necessary to advance the game
This particular game seems to require you to find comparatively few items (compared to the other Lucas Arts games I've played), and relies more on the clever use of your surroundings in order to solve a puzzle. Most of the time, I found I had all the tools I needed to solve the puzzle on hand, which was very useful. The puzzles are still difficult enough to keep you entertained for hours.
The only flaw I found was the control system, which was clunky and irritating at first, but the environments become easier to navigate and I stopped noticing. Despite the obvious flaw, I found it hard to justify deducting a star from the overall rating. The game was really that good.