From the director of the original Ring (who was also behind both it’s sequel and the US remake’s second installment) comes a London-based cyberspace teen psychological shocker, Chatroom.

Five different teens with varying social hang-ups meet online in a chatroom created by William (Aaron Johnson), an introverted teen (and previous self-harmer) who initially appears to lend a sympathetic ear to the group, offering his own words of advice and support. It soon becomes apparent however, that William is actually manipulating his newly found cyber friends, unearthing their weaknesses and failings and exploiting their vulnerabilities to satisfy his own twisted needs. Things threaten to take a turn for the worse when Jim, the soft-spoken member of the group (who has some deep-rooted emotional issues), presents the ideal target for William’s ultimate (and potentially lethal) scheme.

Those who are expecting a dark, modern twist on The Breakfast Club (with liberal lashings of J-Horror thrown in for good measure) will be sorely disappointed with what’s on offer here. The film fails at pretty much every conceivable level and even the title and subject matter now seem extremely archaic and irrelevant, particularly with the advent of online social networking.

A large problem with the film stems from the fact that the director (veteran Japanese horror director Hideo Nakata) appears to really struggle with the language and cultural barrier he’s unaccustomed to. Many of the performances are weirdly off-key (and not in a good way) and are too big and theatrical, which makes for a jarring viewing experience, and leaves the young cast, including upcoming Br(It) girl Imogen Poots and Johnson (so good in Kickass, but completely over-the-top and clichéd in the villain role here), completely adrift. His character’s motivations in particular are extremely petty and odd (William’s rage seems to stem from his novelist mother’s decision to use his older brother as the face and name on the series of Harry Potter/Indian Jones-esque children’s adventure books she’s written!). The film is full of strange inconsequential plot points like this which only serve as an annoying distraction.

The biggest disappointment however, is that the fear and acute sense of foreboding dread which Nakata successfully managed to bring to the forefront in both his original versions of The Ring and Dark Water is completely missing here. Visually, the film looks like an after hours episode of Hollyoaks, and is further hindered by the equally cheesy and outdated cyberspace graphics and imagery. Only one scene where William watches a shocking video of a young Japanese girl, who casually and coolly commits suicide by jumping out of her bedroom window, approaches anything close to resembling the director’s older, respected work.

Originally a stage play, the film adaptation never manages to transcend its original setting, despite the maker’s attempts at providing a visual manifestation for surfing the internet in the form of having the characters actually enter a room (which is designed by William in the pre-credit sequence) where they chat face-to-face, plus a series of corridors filled with busy human activity, which is intended to represent web traffic. These devices wear thin very quickly and a scene in the chatroom where a middle-aged man attempts to pass himself off as a little girl (whose innocent school-girl disguise begins to glitch, sporadically revealing his true form) is just plain embarrassing.

From its ridiculous, laugh-out loud denouement at London Zoo (which has all the cinematic grace of a Children’s BBC drama programme) in which the rest of the chatroom kids show up out of nowhere, to the hilariously contrived ending, the film is a massive misstep for Nakata. The director maybe should have done some online chatting of his own, and consulted his peers about this film’s script and locale before he agreed to make it.

Do yourself a favour and logoff and shut down if this film comes your way.

Bryan Singer’s re-working of Jack and the Beanstalk (Jack the Giant Killer) is finally beginning to take shape and now two young British up-and-coming stars are amongst the number of actors vying for the lead role.

The Hollywood Reporter have mentioned both Aaron Johnson (Kickass) and Nicholas Hoult (About A Boy, TV’s Skins) as a two potential leads in the role of the young farmer who is tasked with leading a rescue mission to the giants’ kingdom to free a princess.

Singer is a producer on the upcoming X-Men: First Class and apparently used the casting process for that film to pre-select candidates for his feature, hence the inclusion of Hoult, who is currently playing the part of Beast in Matthew Vaughn’s prequel.

According to the site, Singer had originally planned to begin production this past summer, but due to all the time it’s taken to plan all the effects work and the studio carefully watching the budget, the director has had the luxury of a little more time to concentrate on the casting, as the film start date has now been pushed back to March next year.

Sounds like this production is shaping up to be the exact opposite to that of  Singer’s original X-Men, which was reportedly rushed into production, causing much anxiety for the director, who had to contend with hurried, underdeveloped effects work and the Wolverine casting headache drama (although that didn’t turn out too bad!).

We are big fans of Kick-Ass here at HeyUGuys and in particular Chloe Moretz’s fantastic performance as Hit Girl. You can read my review of the film here and a round up of our extensive coverage here.

Thanks to MTV we now have the details on the US DVD and Blu-Ray release and a wonderful behind the scenes clip. The US DVD and Blu-Ray will be released on the 3rd of August, with the UK version undoubtedly following much later.

There are a decent amount of extras on both the Blu-Ray and DVD, including a commentary by Matthew Vaughn and the cast and crew. You can watch a taster from the extras in a clip below that shows some behind the scenes footage focusing on Chloe Moretz. The clip ends with Moretz showing off a particular skill she acquired for the film and even though we see her do it in Kick-Ass, seeing her do it here so casually still left me speechless.

Check out the clip and below that the full details on the DVD and Blu-Ray.

KICK-ASS

Street Date: 8/3/10
Blu-ray Disc Combo Pack (Blu-ray Disc, DVD & Digital Copy) SRP: $39.99
DVD SRP: $29.95

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
I can’t read your mind. But I can kick your ass. This summer, prepare for a wild action film unlike any you’ve ever seen as Lionsgate releases Kick-Ass to Blu-ray Disc Combo Pack (three discs – including Blu-ray, DVD and digital copy). The film will also be available on DVD, Digital Download and On Demand. Co-written and directed by Matthew Vaughn (upcoming X-Men: First Class), the ass-kicking adventure about unlikely real-life crime fighters stars Aaron Johnson (Nowhere Boy), Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Superbad) and Mark Strong (Robin Hood, Sherlock Holmes), along with the dynamic father-daughter duo played by Chloë Grace Moretz (upcoming Let Me In), and Nicolas Cage (National Treasure series). Based on the comic written by Mark Millar and John S. Romita JR, “Hit Girl,”, “Big Daddy” and the do-it-yourself superheroes make their way to your home with super DVD special features, including audio commentary, art archives and the featurette “It’s On! The Comic Book Origin of Kick-Ass.” The Blu-ray Disc Combo Pack kicks even harder with the same DVD special features plus a documentary length “making-of,” and a feature-length Ass-Kicking Bonus View mode. In addition, the Metamenu Remote powered by BD Touch, another Blu-ray exclusive, will allow for iPhone OS and Android users to personalize their experience with this state-of-the-art free app. Once connected through BD-Live, viewers can select menus using intuitive gestures, find scenes by dialogue, discover details about the actors, and more. With headphones, they can select to listen in alternate language tracks, or enjoy other synchronized content including portions of the Ass-Kicking Bonus View (which users can take “to go” on their mobile device). The high-octane phenomenon invades shelves and homes on August 3rd for the suggested retail price of $39.99 for the Blu-ray Combo Pack and $29.95 on DVD.

Dave Lizewski (Johnson) is an ordinary teenager who goes unnoticed in high school until he takes a chance to “do something” and dons a mask and becomes “Kick-Ass” to fight real-life crime. Bruised and beaten and without any real super powers, he is saved by a father-daughter duo (Cage as “Big Daddy”, Moretz as “Hit-Girl”) who know all the right moves and have a vendetta against a vicious crime-lord, D’Amico (Strong). After a fiery internet storm of publicity for Kick-Ass, D’Amico wants to meet the masked man, and his son (Mintz-Plasse) dons a costume of his own and becomes “Red Mist” to befriend him and get in his father’s good graces. The story comes to a head when D’Amico succeeds in luring the crime-fighters to his home and ass-kicking destruction ensues.

BLU-RAY DISC SPECIAL FEATURES*
DISC ONE
• Ass-Kicking Bonus View Mode (Blu-ray Disc Exclusive) – Synchronous with the feature film, this innovative multi-media presentation incorporates video and audio commentary, behind-the-scenes clips and illustrative graphics with Co-Writer/Producer/Director Matthew Vaughn, plus cast and crew providing an all-access perspective on Kick-Ass
• “A New Kind of Superhero: The Making of Kick-Ass “ documentary (Blu-ray Disc Exclusive)
• “It’s On! The Comic Book Origin of Kick-Ass” featurette
• Audio Commentary with Writer-Director Matthew Vaughn
• “The Art of Kick-Ass” gallery
• Marketing Archive
• BD Touch and Metamenu Remote
• Lionsgate Live™ enabled, featuring extra content for Internet-connected players
• Enhanced for D-Box™ Motion Control Systems
*Subject to change

DISC TWO
• Standard Definition DVD Copy of the feature film

DISC THREE
• Standard Definition Digital Copy of the feature film

DVD SPECIAL FEATURES*
• Audio Commentary with Writer-Director Matthew Vaughn
• “It’s On! The Comic Book Origin of Kick-Ass” featurette
• “The Art of Kick-Ass” gallery
• Marketing Archive
*Subject to change

CAST
Aaron Johnson Nowhere Boy, Chat Room, Angus Thongs and Perfect Snogging
Christopher Mintz-Plasse How To Train Your Dragon, Year One, Role Models, Superbad
Mark Strong upcoming Green Lantern, Robin Hood, Sherlock Holmes, Syriana
Chloë Grace Moretz upcoming Let Me In, Diary of A Wimpy Kid, (500) Days of Summer, Bolt
and Nicolas Cage upcoming The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, National Treasure series, Bangkok Dangerous, Leaving Las Vegas, The Rock
Clark Duke Hot Tub Time Machine, Sex Drive, TV’s “Greek,” Superbad

PROGRAM INFORMATION
Year of Production: 2009
Title Copyright: © 2009 KA Films LP. All Rights Reserved.
Type: Theatrical Release
Rating: R for strong brutal violence throughout, pervasive language, sexual content, nudity and some drug use – some involving children
Genre: Action / Comedy
Closed Captioned: Blu-ray Combo Pack – English SDH, DVD – English
Subtitles: English and Spanish
Blu-Ray Format: 1080P High Definition 16×9 Widescreen (2.40:1)
DVD Format: 16×9 Widescreen (2.40:1)
Feature Running Time: 118 minutes
Blu-ray Audio Status: 7.1 DTS-HD and French 5.1 Dolby Digital
DVD Audio Status: 5.1 EX Dolby Digital

**Please note that although I do discuss the plot of Kick-Ass in this review I have avoided giving away any spoilers for major plot points or anything that was not featured in the trailers**

Kick-Ass, like many classic superhero stories, is about an ordinary guy who becomes something more, something extraordinary. The difference is that Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) doesn’t have Batman’s money, he’s not bitten by a radioactive spider and he’s not exposed to cosmic rays, he’s just an ordinary teenager who is a little deluded. This lack of an extraordinary ability or easy availability to a large quantity of expensive gadgets doesn’t stop him from fantasizing; like Dave says “At some point in our lives, we all wanted to be a superhero”.

Dave decides to try and make this dream a reality, ordering a wet suit off the internet, customising it and begins training in the art of being a superhero. You know, learning to jump between buildings and striking cool poses, stuff like that. As Dave says though, any serial killer will tell you – there’s a point where fantasizing just isn’t enough. His first foray into costumed vigilantism isn’t particularly successful, he’s stabbed, hit by car and ends up in hospital. Following a series of operations Dave is returned to good health but is unable to feel pain after his nerve endings are severed. Although this isn’t quite a superpower and it doesn’t add to his fighting abilities, it does mean he has a better chance at being the last man standing in a fight.

Although swearing he won’t go back on the streets, the desire to assume his alter ego is too great and he goes out looking for wrongs to right. Whilst trying to rescue a cat he accidentally knocks down a guy who is running away from a group of thugs. Despite not being particularly successful in beating them up and chasing them away, he doesn’t give up and it doesn’t matter how many times they hit him he won’t go down. A group of people gather to watch from inside a diner, one kid recording the fight on his phone, everyone else just watching in disbelief. When the fight is over and the thugs have finally given up and run away the kid rushes over to ask the masked vigilante his name; Kick-Ass! Dave replies. The video is uploaded to YouTube and Kick-Ass becomes an overnight sensation. Dave also sets up a Kick-Ass Myspace page where he ends up with thousands of ‘friends’. Dave is a pretty geeky guy though, with just a couple of close friends, and in his regular life he experience nothing like the adoration he gets as Kick-Ass. The three friends mostly hang out together, making inappropriate jokes, reading comics and generally repelling attractive girls. As Dave spends more and more time as Kick Ass though his real life gradually changes and there are even romantic possibilities for Dave, a guy we are introduced to really early on masturbating in his bedroom, a lot.

As the story progresses the supporting cast becomes more key as the film is more about a collection of great characters, rather than just a film about Dave/Kick-Ass. Dave Lizewski does provide the centre for the audience though as he is probably the character that is relatable in a group that is mostly very strange and pretty demented. Other characters include Nicholas Cage as Damon/Big Daddy, Chloe Moretz as his daughter/side kick Mindy/Hit Girl, Mark Strong as crime boss Frank D’Amico and his son Chris played by Christopher Mintz-Plasse. Part of the way through the film Chris also adopts an alter ego becoming Red Mist. Dave and Chris are similar in many ways but where Dave has his close friends and a relatively simple ‘real life’, Chris is the son of a large crime lord and therefore has everything money can buy but due to his privileged lifestyle he is also a lonely figure. The dynamic between the two and Chris’ eventual character arc didn’t really work for me actually as Chris’ motivations seemed a little muddled but I think this might be less of an issue on subsequent viewings.

Although did like the characters of Dave and Chris and the other school kids are engaging, this film for me was about two characters who, unsurprisingly to anyone else who has read the comic, totally steal the film. Big Daddy and Hit Girl. Just writing those five words makes me want to watch the film again right now. I tend to try and avoid film criticism that lapses into simple fanboyism but it is so hard to write about Kick-Ass, and in particular Big Daddy and Hit Girl, without slipping into fanboy hyperbolism. If I saw this film when I was 15 (thanks to a generous ruling from the BBFC, the film is released in the UK as a 15) it could well have been my favourite film. There are large sequences of insanely violent action, there are endless comic book references, from the obvious down to details such as a background shot of a cinema playing The Spirit 3, there is a protagonist who is around the age of 15, a little girl who swears like a sailor and slices off limbs, a plethora of amusing pop culture references and a visual style that is ridiculous and excessive in an unbelievably fun way. Don’t misunderstand me though, this is not a film just for teenagers, I am around double that age and I still had an absolute blast watching Kick-Ass.

Nicholas Cage as Big Daddy had me in stitches and with this and Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans I have slightly fallen in love with Nicholas Cage this year. Cage plays the father part with a strange but appropriate sincerity and when he is Big Daddy he channels Adam West with really funny results. And so to Hit Girl, Daily Mail baiting, foul mouthed, John Woo loving, weapons expert, tiny killer psychopath Hit Girl. Every moment Hit Girl is on screen is a joy and Vaughn clearly understands the point of Hit Girl in the original comics. Hit Girl is there for extreme action and shock value but every now and again, especially towards the end, she is there for emotional engagement. The sentimentality in a few scenes could jar and come across as clumsy but Moretz’s performance is pitch perfect and she mixes so well the elements of her character, she is both a monstrous mass murderer and a sweet little girl. Chloe Moretz is only 13 (12 when she made the film) but she is already clearly a talented actress, her performance is very impressive for someone so young and despite the pulpy subject matter she delivers a genuinely engaging and layered performance, both extravagant and nuanced. It is hard not to just gush about Moretz’s performance but it is seriously that good. Although the idea of seeing a Let The Right One In Hollywood remake holds little appeal to me, hearing that Moretz is going to play the role of Abby (Eli in the original) is enough to spark my interest. Hopefully she can build on such a memorable performance and not pull a Culkin.

Also surprisingly good in Kick-Ass is Mark Strong. I say surprisingly because although I know he has his fans I have yet to see him anything where he has impressed me; I was particularly underwhelmed by his performance in Sherlock Holmes. In Kick-Ass Strong plays Chris’ father and crime boss Frank and he is pretty funny in the role and plays the exaggerated cartoon crime boss bad guy with great panache. I’m now really looking forward to seeing what Strong can do with the character of Sinestro in the upcoming Green Lantern film.

Kick-Ass is also a great film to look at, not something I was necessarily expecting, with super-saturated colours and flashy but not ridiculous camera flourishes. The editing is also pretty tight throughout ramping up the pace in all the right places but still giving space to dialogue heavy scenes and emotional moments without rushing past them to get to the action. One criticism I do have though is that there is a sag in the pace part way through the film and the film could have been much tighter if the editing had been a bit more ruthless. Also there were moments where the action sequences felt a little like self-contained set-pieces and not significantly intergrated into the rest of the film. That said these two points are minor criticisms and overall the pacing and editing is pretty tight.

This film is mostly action and comedy and it delivers so well in both areas. The action and comedy are both vulgar but this vulgarity never seems forced. The film is just so much fun it’s hard not to just get swept up in it. At the press screening I attended there was even applause at some of the more outrageous moments and there was raucous laughter throughout. Not just relying solely on the shock factor that much of the film has, Kick-Ass has characters you actually grow to care about and it also benefits from an engaging story.

Kick-Ass is so audacious in every way possible and a film that after seeing I immediately wanted to both see it again and tell people to go and see it.

Kick-Ass opens in the UK on 26th March and embedded below is the Red Band Trailer which focuses on the foul mouthed, scene stealing Hit Girl.

It’s a slow week for movie releases, with Fantastic Mr. Fox the only release of note in the UK, along with Cirque Du Freak. Most of the remaining big films this year are due out in November and December.  

So, with the big winter films already hyped to the max, and with Iron Man 2, Clash of the Titans and Robin Hood being the highly anticipated movies this Spring, I thought i’d take a look at some Spring movies that maybe aren’t getting the attention they deserve – The Losers, Green Zone, A Couple of Dicks, Machete and Kick-Ass. Note, this is a list of the films i’m personally looking forward to, so you won’t necessarily agree with me…

 The Losers

When is it? – 9th April.
 
Where is it? – Currently filming in Puerto Rico
 
Who is it? – Directed by Sylvain White, starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Chris Evans, Zoe Saldana, Jason Patric.
 
What is it? – Based on the short lived DC comic series, it follows members of a CIA black ops team that are betrayed and left for dead. The team goes out to hunt down the people that tried to kill them.
 
Why am i excited? – Jeffrey Dean Morgan is brilliant in everything he does, from John Winchester to The Comedian. Zoe Saldana is one of the hottest properties in Hollywood, with roles in this years Star Trek and the upcoming Avatar. And Chris Evans is vastly under-rated, having to try and shine in films like Fantastic Four and Push. The plot actually sounds very similar to next year’s The Expendables, and whilst Sly’s action all-stars will easily out-gross The Losers, the great source material means The Losers should have a much better storyline. Word has it this movie will roughly follow issues 1 to 12, leaving ample material for a franchise if its successful.
 
But? – White is an inexperienced director, with I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer one of his few credits. And writer Peter Berg was responsible for the mess that was Very Bad Things.

Would you like to know more? – You can find our interview with one of the stars, Idris Elba, here. The first official photos can be found here. The fantastic trailer can now be found here.

 Kick-Ass

When? – 16th April (USA)
 
Where? – In the can
 
Who? – Directed by Matthew Vaughn, and co-written with Mrs Jonathan Ross Jane Goldman. Starring Nicholas Cage, Aaron Johnson and Christopher Mintz-Plasse.
 
What? - A young schoolboy decides to become a superhero, despite a distinct lack of super powers.
 
Why? – Kick-ass was struggling to find a distributor, due to some slightly questionable content – said to be mainly due to the presence of Hitgirl, an 11 year old schoolgirl assassin. Vaughn took some footage to comic-con, which got a standing ovation, and a bidding war was triggered. Lionsgate won, but considering they’ve been distributor for every Marv Films production (Vaughn’s production company), this wasn’t all that surprising. The leaked trailer showed a fairly even mix of comedy and stylistic action. 

 But? – The team of Vaughn and Goldman achieved success with their first film Stardust, but will have to have stepped up their game for Kick-Ass – Vaughn hasn’t really done action, and worryingly there were rumours he ducked out of X-men as he felt out of his depth.

Would you like to know more? – You can now find the trailer here, official posters here and here, and the official movie site here. The fantastic Hit Girl trailer is here with another clip here..

 Green Zone

When? – 12th March
 
Where? – In the can
 
Who? – Directed by British director Paul Greengrass, and written by Brian Helgeland. Starring Matt Damon, Jason Isaacs, Greg Kinnear and Brendan Gleeson.
 
What? - A thriller about a pair of CIA agents on the trail of WMDs, and a foreign correspondent following their mission 
 
Why? – Greengrass has shown great talent for compelling drama with Bloody Sunday and United 93, and great action with Bourne’s Supremacy and Ultimatum. This, coupled with his working relationship with Damon developed during those Bourne films, makes him the perfect man for the job. United 93 was based on a politically and socially sensitive subject, and the majority feel he handled it well. Damon’s career has improved dramatically thanks to his work as Jason Bourne, and this year has shown his diversity with a career performance in Steven Soderbergh’s The Informant. The book it is based on is a non-fictional account of the early days of the invasion of Iraq, when political relations were perched on a knife edge. The book was written by real life journalist, so historic details should be fairly accurate.

But? – Some attendees of very early focus group screenings have criticised perceived overuse of shaky-cam, but the film wrapped some months ago, so there’s been plenty of time for post-production.

Would you like to know more? – You can find some trailers here and here, some images here, and the poster here.

 Machete

When? - 16th April (USA)
 
Where? – In post
 
Who? – Written and Directed by Robert Rodriguez, and starring Danny Trejo, Cheech Marin, Jessica Alba, Robert de Niro, Lindsay Lohan, Don Johnson.
 
What? – Based on the fake trailer shown between Tarantino and Rodriguez’ Grindhouse double feature of Death Proof and Planet Terror. Based on an idea formed by Rodriguez back during Desperado, the titular Machete, Danny Trejo, is an assassin on the FBI’s payroll. He is double-crossed, and is now out for revenge, pursued by FBI agent Alba.
 
Why? – The trailer is really cool, in a crazy over-the-top kinda way. Word is Rodriguez has cut all the scenes from the trailer into the movie, and built the rest of the story around them. Rodriguez had a big hit with Sin City, which suggested he may be beginning to find his form again. Danny Trejo is due a lead role, following two decades of bit-part characters. Cheech Marin is always great to watch, and is reunited here with Johnson; they’ve worked together in Tin Cup and tv series Nash Bridges.
 
But? – Once Upon a Time in Mexico was a bit off a mess, and the Spy Kids pictures Rodriguez is now known for are as far removed from this kind of movie as you can get.

Would you like to know more? – You can find a poster here.

 A Couple of Dicks/A Couple of Cops – Now Cop Out!

When? – 26th February  

Where? – In post
 
Who? – Directed by Kevin Smith, written by Mark and Robb Cullen. Starring Bruce Willis, Sean William Scott, Michelle Trachtenberg, Adam Brody.
 
What? – The dicks in question are two cops, and the movie follows them through a series of hilarious situations.
 
Why? – This is the first movie Smith has directed that he didn’t write, so he must have been impressed by the screenplay. As listeners of Smith’s Smodcast podcasts know, he is a genuinely funny guy with a great feel for comedy. Despite a career based mainly on action movies, Willis has also shown a talent for comedy. He did, after all, start off in comedy series Moonlighting. After meeting Smith, Bruce took a liking to him and specifically wanted to work with him. 
 
But? – This is Smith’s first feature without regular producer, Smodcast co-host and friend, Scott Mosier. Willis has a reputation for poor script choices, and, barring 2005′s Sin City, hasn’t had a big hit for 10 years.

Would you like to know more? – You can follow Kevin Smith at http://twitter.com/thatkevinsmith. He recently stated on a tweet that A Couple of Dicks is the best movie he has been involved with.You can now find the trailer here.

Bazmann - You can now follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/baz_mann