Scott Pilgrim vs the World Review

From the moment the Universal Studios classic intro is played in 8-bit sound, you know you’re in for something different with this movie. Michael Cera is once again type-casted as his typical shy, heartbroken awkward-character, except this time he’s got video-game fighting abilities. The plot follows Scott Pilgrim’s journey from coping with a heart-wrenching breakup with She-Who-Will-Not-Be-Named through an epic Battle of the Bands in Toronto and falling in love with the girl of his [literal] dreams. The catch is that he must defeat her bitter evil exboyfriends, each with their own superhuman video game powers. The supernatural ridiculousness isn’t too questionable since, from the start, the entire movie is set like a big video game, with plenty of childhood references for you gamers. The smaller quirky things, like on-screen texts and classic anime-like animations (split-screening faces and crazy flying backgrounds), also make this an extremely innovative film. The editing was superb for these subtleties. The scene transitions are very quick and creative, as expected from Edgar Wright (director of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz). The film displays a new style an genre of cinema I haven’t seen before; it’s definitely worth the watch. What can I say, that shit was fresh!
Trailer:

Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels

Another movie review - this one was released in 1998 (still amazing 10 years later). For those who don’t know, the director Guy Ritchie also directed the latest Sherlock Holmes film, if that sparks your interest. Forget your convoluted-‘Inception’-plot syndrome. Forget your classic Pulp Fiction cross-cutting and juxtaposition. This pre-“Madonna” (before he married her) Guy Ritchie film is the British enigma of an ironic story. With over seven or eight different parties (the main group of protagonists, their theif-neighbors, a legend Harry the Hatchet, his debt collector, a group of stoner pot-growers, a Samoan drug boss, two idiot-goons, and two expensive smoking barrels), Guy Richie somehow manages to over-explicate dramatic irony as all we see the separate stories interweave and unfold. I can’t do the ridiculous story justice, nor would even a Wikipedia summary, so I won’t say anything more than that it’s a story about criminals taking risks and making chips. While the dialogue isn’t as fresh as say, Pulp Fiction, it is definitely there and very crispy. The characters are all very hip (this was before Jason Statham became lame), and their accents and use of the “F” word make this an enjoyable watch. Be careful not to get lost though, there are many characters and they all tie in together in some twisted coincidental irony. Go out and rent it. It’s bloody brilliant.

Inception Review

The most contagious thing is an idea. Once an idea is planted it grows into a virus or cancer or something like that, according to Leonardo Dicaprio. And the idea or concept behind, what I feel is not only the best summer movie but perhaps the best movie I’ve seen in QUITE a while, Inception, is pretty original. I’d like to say something cliche like my opinion is worthless and I’m just writing this for the hell of it, but if I didn’t feel strongly about my taste or thought it was no value, I probably wouldn’t be writing this for the hell of it.

First of all, goddamn. I don’t know where to start. It was brilliant, definitely up to par with some of my favorites (can’t beat Pulp Fiction, of course). It wasn’t the typical summer blockbuster with explosions and car chases and shootouts (Transformers sucks!); it also had one of the most intricate twisted plotlines breeching that of and requiring the logical processing to follow The Departed (also with Dicaprio). Although, at times, the ridiculousness of the plot approached a little too farfetched, everything pieced together perfectly which makes this film a pretty damn good work of art.
The premise is based around manipulating dreams and the subconscious to extract or implant information in a person’s mind. With this we get dream-within-dream scenarios, worlds that break the barrier of reality, and impossible anti-gravity fight scenes, while all the while raising the existential questions of “What is real?” and “Are we even here?” Nolan did a great job as the director (this was better than The Dark Night), with the help of actors Dicaprio, Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy, Ken Watanabe and personal favorite Ellen Page. The ending is beautifully up to your own interpretation and will have definitely earned a spot in my heart as a “classics” a few seconds, years, decades from now. For those who haven’t seen it, you should go out and watch it now. Stimulate your mind and finally think, for a change. I’d gladly see it again.

Kick-Ass Review

Believe me, the trailer is no joke. This is not your average high-school super hero comedy. This is some real shit. A crossroads of wicked awesome violence and more-than-the-typical-crude humor along with some sarcasm and just straight up funny shit. It’ll have you on the edge of your seat the whole time - overwhelmed by the pure awesome fight scenes, witty dialogue, and even seriousness at times. This was my first time going to the theaters since - I don’t know - Zombieland, and Kick-Ass blew me out of the water. Probably the best film I’ve seen in quite a while. The director displayed a variety of editing styles that bordered old westerns and Terentino. A great music selection along with actress Lyndsy Fonseca doesn’t hurt either. We all go to movies to escape reality, get lost in a far off scenarios - and, trust me, I was there one hundred percent of the time. Look up the other trailers and check out the movie. Kick-Ass kicked some major ass. I’d love to see it a second time.