Sherlock - The Magnetic Sleuth Rocks Modern Day England

Mark my words, you will enjoy the tantalizing works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes in modern day England. Starring an eccentric Benedict Cumberbatch and solid Martin Freeman. This series is for the sleuth in all of us, calling out our inner detective to solve every mystery as Sherlock does. And then laughing like we knew the answer all along [we didn't].

The best part? He doesn't even say Elementary, my Dear Watson. Thank God. A breath of fresh air and as strange as you want it, you got it. Benedict entertains as the great Sherlock Holmes, making him so enjoyable, I hardly miss *shock* Dr. House. All the great witty bantering, eccentric behavior, cutting tongue, and driving intellect has been brandished into a shining penny due to this man's talents.

The best part of the series...drunk games!

Martin Freeman is an excellent Watson, playing an ex-military doctor that needed a kick in the pants to restart his boring civilian life. However, he finds all the adventure he could ever stomach and more when he meets Holmes. They are really made for each other as they balance each other's attributes.Watson is even tempered when Sherlock is out of control, warm when Sherlock is cold, and accepting like no other friend could be to a man so out of place in this world. Watson is the rock while Sherlock is the kite.

The Good:

Acting:

All by myself...don't wanna be..oh wait, he does.

There is a magnetic quality thrown into Sherlock Holmes by the great Benedict Cumberbatch. He isn't just the superior analytical detective we all know and love. He is an arrogant one with a flavor of strange that makes him lovable, if not wacky. Superb chops are on display here and I feel at the core these characters suit them well. Playing off of each other with a warm friendship that I feel is evident even off screen.

The rest of the cast is very well conceived, bringing to life an array of colorful characters from Ms. Hudson, a sweet old woman who assured her drug dealer husband's death to the ever psychotic Moriarty who makes even the worst of us go, "what the shit is his problem?"

Effects:

The greatest effects are the ones where we get to be inside of Sherlock's mind. The texting is quite conveniently laid out too. I like the format of it being written on the wall instead of us peaking at the phone itself. Everyone gets it and its an easier, less intrusive way to keep us in the loop. We also have everything from symbols to running through mind palaces or flipping through information like an internet search. It really connects well with today's viewers in understanding his mind by illustrating it like a fast processing computer.

The Plots:

This sums up most of the series...

The plots are interesting. They are based on the original novels by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, but you have to wonder if each one is by the book or some are made up? There are only 4 novels, but there are 56 short stories that exist in the Sherlock Holmes universe. I have not read even close to all of them so its hard to tell if some are loosely based off of some short stories, while other episodes are made up.

As for the set up, as much as I like old England, new England is just as cool and more technology savvy. I think this modern day setting makes it easier for us to relate to Sherlock and his adventures while giving the writers an expansion of ideas to play off of compared to being limited to the technology and possible crime plots of old England. Besides that....its very overdone.

So some plots are great and some plots are not. However that is not why I watch this series. What is really important is watching Sherlock and Watson solve the case and get into trouble. In essence, this is a similar formula to House MD. Everyone knows House is going to solve the case. Nobody cares about the ending.

Everyone just wants to watch House be a total douche to everyone while he does it. Since Gregory House is based off of Sherlock Holmes, I can start to see why I really don't like the endings, nor the reveal of bad guy intent [as I mention later in this review]. Some of the reasoning is boring or not interesting enough. However watching Sherlock solve the case is, as well as who he manipulates or screws over to do it.  Its these interesting interactions he has with the world that make

Well that answers that question...

the series the most fun to watch. Everything else is just bonus.

And like all Sherlock versions, we anchor ourselves to Watson, since he is the "dummy" that asks the questions we all want to know. Although he is far from stupid and that is why Sherlock enjoys his company so much. If it were up to Sherlock, we would never get an explanation and the story would just be awful. John tends to humanize Sherlock in a way Sherlock can not, which creates an excellent balance of dynamics that keeps the story flowing.


The Bad:


The series however has some issues. For one, its only 3 episodes long per season. Granted each episode is like a movie, 1.5 hours long...it never feels long enough. We also have the problem of the season that shows up whenever it feels like. We all know Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman are both busy men, but its painfully unfair for seasons to come and go with years in-between. Dreadful even. Who can stand waiting? Why does the series producers choose to do this to their audience? Is it really worth the wait or does it always leave a bad taste with the cliff hangers for years to come? How does one build a fan base based on inconsistency? Who knows, but this series certainly has done it.

Villains:

As I stated earlier, "Was I impressed with the villains?" I don't know about that. This is the single biggest complaint I have of the series. The villains don't strike me as some one I want to hate, but more a get under your skin type of irritation, which makes it hard to get into them.

And apparently he plays the pringles guy on the side too.

The nonsensical chaos of Moriarty bugs me as even the most crazy of bad guys make sense in some manner. I was very upset that the writers chose to kill off Moriarty in the least gratifying way. It was injustice as far as story telling goes. The hero never gets to defeat the bad guy, the bad guy defeats himself to pigeon hole Sherlock.

And what about the last bad guy in season 3? Magnussen [does that sound like cold medication to you? Or maybe the name we would give to snot]? He is the worst of them all. His biggest weapon is knowledge, similar to Sherlock Holmes, but used in a way to black mail people. I was personally glad Sherlock shot him right in the head, but I was more hoping Watson would have due to the face flicking. Like I said...Villains...very irritating lot and I'm not sure if they handle them the way I expect. So at least its a surprise each time.

Blood, Boobs, Blocked?

Evil Sherlock on the Horizon?

This series really should be put on HBO. Maybe I am just a little too use to a new breed of violent television, but the whole show seems rather soft in its display of violence and everything else. Granted, I really don't like seeing sex scenes, so I'm OK with never seeing that. However the little blood there is seems odd to me.

Maybe you can argue its not that type of show, but there is a pristine innocence I find off putting. I am glad Sherlock went dark and killed some one. I hope he becomes darker as the series progresses. It would be interesting. Especially if 'you know who' is still in the picture.

Think of it this way...the whole Batman concept. "Either you die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain." Not that I want him to be a villain per say, but changed in a way that pushes his character forward into the shadows. I want him a bit unhinged for a while....since the last guy actually outsmarted him. I can see that as a jumping point to explore a new depth of Sherlock that we haven't gotten a chance to see yet.


The Ugly: [And the biggest gripes go to....]

Lets pull out the laundry list of undead mofos...

WHY DOES NOBODY EVER DIE IN THIS SERIES?! Christ.

Season 3 - Last Episode - A lot of WTFs and a mess of a story. I was not happy with how they worked the episode in general. It was more sloppy and random than past episodes. Especially after coming off a good high with the first two, this was the messiest I had seen in a while.

Way too many things going on at once and the whole mind palace sequence with Sherlock's dying scene was just too over the top. The episode felt rushed and packed with too much NEW information that didn't need to be there. Either way, I am still looking forward to the next season. TRY AGAIN, WRITERS! I know you can do it!

What do you think of the TV series, Sherlock? Tell me in the comments below!

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DnD Rating: 9/1O

American Hustle - Revealing 97% of the plot in the first Quarter since 2O13

American Hustle still holds a solid 93% and I don't understand the piss why. This is the second movie this year that has been overrated for me. Maybe I am just getting too use to these big movies expecting a pay off. So any way, David O. Russell brings back his all star cast, Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper and Robert DeNiro while tacking on a few more [Christian Bale and Amy Adams]. A lot of people state this is supposed to be a Scorcese like movie and if Wolf of Wallstreet is any indication on how this was going to turn out, this is definitely a good comparison. Here comes a different kind of review because...well I can.

How can two cons be so stupid to let this dipshit fool them?

So here is the quick synopsis of this story. Two cons get conned by an ambitious and pigheaded FBI agent to take down a politician by recording him taking bribes. During this time they make friends with the target and place people to make the deal solid. However Ritchie [the FBI agent] becomes too ambitious and begins to push for more, exposing a possible upset in the plan. The cons are trying to find a way out of this mess, but it gets trickier as they get deeper into the operations.

So what do I have to say about this film? It was trying to be all cryptic ops like, but it couldn't even do the most basic thing a movie with a twist ending needs, KEEP THE AUDIENCE GUESSING. They gave us way too much info to make the ending matter. It also was a terrible set up. The sting operation was only a background piece compared to the drama between the characters. The story was just too character heavy and not story driven enough.

Big man Ritchie is walking the dogs

The worst part is you start off with the beginning of the sting and then take a 4O min detour in the background of the characters. Which is..horrifying as a storyteller. Its almost never beneficial to switch from present to past for a lengthy period of time with something that can easily be expressed in a few scenes of conversations. And that is where Russell fails to pull off in the end. I didn't think for one second Amy Adam's character was really in love with the FBI agent. It would have been more of a shock if I never got to hear her say she will seduce him because they need an extra card at the end. Thanks...thanks for spoiling the entire movie.

The worst fake arab ever. Thank God Google wasn't invented.

Also...NARRATION. There are so many great possibilities that can be done without it. Narration in a movie is a lazy man's way to pump out an unwanted scene in a script and not push your cast to perform toward a higher level of emotion. Whenever I see narration, the movie already starts racking negative points. Spoon feeding the audience is a horrible way to begin, continue or end a story. It is almost never needed if you have the right cast and good script writers. Even the Hobbit doesn't use it and we know Bilbo is telling the lads a story!!

Another important thing to mention is the soundtrack is horrible. Its just a terrible mishmash of songs from that time period that do not gel with the movie at all. Jefferson Airplane's "white rabbit" [one of my fav oldies] doesn't even freaken make sense when it appears during the time Rosalyn rushes to the bathroom. Rosalyn wasn't high, she was just wasted and crazy. Which seemed like a typical Rosalyn issue.

You go girl. Power scrub that floor!

Other songs like Donna Summer's "I Feel Love" also crop up in weird places like the dance floor during a not so loving moment. People may not realize how critical a soundtrack is until it is terribly mismatched, but its pretty important for one to pull a vibe off of each scene. Should I feel excited? Tense? Happy? Peaceful? Sexy? Emotional?

Music can drive that, but it can never replace good acting. But you know what's really hilarious? Jennifer Lawrence singing Paul Mccartney's Live and Let Die while cleaning the house. You can hear other characters sing in this story as well. Personally I think this would have been better if it was a musical.

The only interesting characters were shockingly Rosalyn and Irving. Irving was complicated for a con artist and I liked how he wanted not only to win, but also be a good man at the same time. Irving's portrayal was fantastically done by Christian Bale. His wife, Rosalyn was hilarious. She was the monkey wrench in all of Irving's plans and she was a bit on the crazy side, which made her colorful compared to the bland characters involved.

Those curls are the equivalent of duck face photos

Amy Adams was convincing as the female version of the con man, however her character was uninteresting in the grand scheme of things as she lures FBI agent Ritchie in. And Ritchie...don't get me started. His curls make me want to slap him. They are horribly ugly and there really is just no shred of decency with this guy. But I would accept this because he is essentially the villain in this story except for the fact that he feels like every Bradly Cooper character ever performed. Talk about Buzz Kill. Bradley Cooper, no matter how cute he is [and hes adorable], is a terrible method actor. He is the same character with different clothing and that makes it hard for me to see anything through him.

My final beef with this movie is the quote in the beginning "Some of this happened." Now this movie was based off of an actual sting and the characters involved represented the people involved. However much is left to the imagination and that element of realism is almost unnecessary considering this was just loosely based and given plenty of artistic freedom. What was the point of even mentioning it? So people can be drawn into how real it is? This is the world of google search, nothing escapes this generation's finger tips. That line would have worked better with a 195Os crowd.

And I don't even have the decency to finish this review...

The End.

What did you think of this Scorcese wannabe movie? Comment below!

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DnD Rating: 4/1O

Anything after the credits? No

The Wolf of Wallstreet: A Three Hour Obnoxious Ode to Wallstreet's Most Enterprising Criminals

 
The Wolf of Wall Street is about the life of Jordan Belmont [Leonardo DiCaprio] and his merry pack of thieves. A film set up with an all star cast, including Jonah Hill, Matthew McConaughey and that dude, Shane from the Walking Dead [glad you got work as Zombie Shane] and directed by the legend himself, Martin Scorsese [Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, Hugo, Raging Bull, etc].


Down and Dirty [just how we like it]:

Let the Midget tossing commence!

This was so not a small 18O minutes, it felt more like 5 hours. Painfully drawn out. Even the Hobbit felt short in comparison. No, this is a monster of a movie about a man addicted to the high of money, booze, babes and blow. Get ready for a long winded story about the man behind Stratton Oakmont's dirty business and  the fall of an empire.

Get ready for a lot of scenes with snorting, drinking, screaming, screwing, partying, and madness at this hyper indulgent biopic of a Wall Street criminal.







Story:

Im still extorting money by enticing you to watch me screw you.

I have read the story of the Wolf of Wall Street years ago. A man who laundered and extorted billions of dollars through his company. But why? Because we let him. Say what you want about Jordan Belfort, but he was only extorting one of the most ugly emotions of human nature, greed. The story leaps from panel to panel of Jordan's life and the fat cash he has made, becoming King of the Mountain in a few short years. But like all people who roll the dice, his luck ran out in the end.

We would hope that a story like this ends poorly for such a vile example of an anti-hero [if we can even call Mr. Belfort that], but it honestly doesn't. Sure he loses the house, the wife, the kids, and the cash, but hes still kicking in the end. Because a true villain never seems to die, he always manages to recreate himself differently.

Overall the story was drawn out, with scenes that were funny, but took up way too much film time to be impactful and punchy the way the film seems to present itself. The FBI agent parts seemed considerably underwhelming until the end where they finally nail Belfort on camera. Hilarious.


Characters:

Don't worry there is plenty where this came from...

Just a long collection of douche bags that have a taste of the high life and yell the F word every other word. I guess that is the language of Wall Street, but the film seems to present these men as heroes of the trading world. The person you want to idolize in getting rich and the powerful elite. They were untouchable and acted as such. Nothing was too much for these power houses as they steam rolled through each scene.

Leonardo DiCaprio has a flair for the rich prick. I have never seen him in The Great Gatsby, but I certainly have seen his role as Mr. Candy in Django Unchained and I saw a bit of that same rich prick charm in Jordan. The type of charm that contains a hint of smugness that makes you burn inside with anger.

Jonah Hill still plays a fat guy that sounds like a Jewish New Yorker. Jonah's Donny represents Danny Porush, one of Jordan's real life close friends. A man who quit his job to work for Jordan so he could be rich like him. Donny soon becomes Belfort's right hand man and confident as they roll through life in their limos and ferraris.

The rest of the cast is purely just side talk as the focus is all on Jordan and his ridiculousness.


Emotions:

This picture about sums it up....

I honestly didn't feel a lick of sympathy for these guys. The emotions in this film was rather upbeat, light hearted, and comically sarcastic for a film about an enterprising criminal. This could have been presented intentionally to show that Belfort was a total douche that deserved everything he got in the end. But it made me feel more like why am I watching some one prey on the poor? It wasn't easy for me to like his character at all, although his inner monologue was hilarious at times.

But I digress. The witty sarcasm presented in the movie was lost after a while to stupidity and arrogance. Jordan could have clearly bailed out when he knew he was in hot water, but like any addict, he had to roll the dice one last time. And he lost. I just don't believe he learned his lesson in the end. Unlike most people, he got stuck in a white collar prison for a few years, got out to write a book and continued making money as a motivational speaker bringing in tons of people. Think about that. A guy who cheated people millions, is still being paid by people to teach them to get rich. That's like paying a 7-11 thief how to get a job at 7-11.

So what lesson do we take from all of this? That everyone gets their due? That all good things must come to an end? That the rich always get a second chance? Its hard to tell with this Scorsese film. Regret is a word that least comes to mind when it comes to Jordan Belfort.


Violence:

For the most part, there isn't much violence in this film until the very end when things unravel. There is a scene where Jordan hits his wife, twice. It didn't bother me as much [because gosh...it was something different for a change. Hooray for fake spousal abuse!], but it made half the audience faint. So if you are sensitive to female violence, I would just...cover your eyes or make a trip to the bathroom after his second wife asks for a divorce. You aren't missing much.


What Grinds My Gears:

Me. Me. Me.

1. Talking to the Camera - We all know Jordan is telling this story, but its almost self-imposing and narcissistic to tell it yourself. It was probably intentional, but it jolted me out of the story a lot. I never liked the personal insertion of the narrator in any kind of film.

2. Jonah Hill - I'm not exactly sure how accurate Jonah's interpretation of Danny Porush was, but he was not my favorite character. He felt like the second hand henchman to a villain instead of his own dynamic entity Also why didn't this guy upgrade his glasses after being filthy rich? The guy still wore the same horrible glasses since the beginning. Are they afraid people wouldn't recognize Jonah at all without it? I mean..hes Jonah..the only fat guy on screen. How can we miss him?

3. Hrs of Indulgence for What? - What really bugged me was that story telling quickly took a back seat to a marathon of scenes featuring drugs, sex, and alcohol. To the point where it literally got boring to watch. This is the same problem Don Jon had. After every other scene being porn/sex or the talk of porn/sex it had me thinking, "All right already. I get it. He likes porn and sex. Skip please."

The gang...that nobody got to know.

4. Why were the other characters introduced? - There were 4 or 5 other people introduced in this story that made "appearances" but we didn't really know a damn thing about them. I thought at some point they would be fleshed out more, but they never did.

5. What happened to Matthew McConaughey? - I really want to know what happened to that guy. If he was such a great stock broker...you would figure he would have showed up at Stratton Oakmont at some point.

6. Backing up - Sometimes backing up was necessary and funny. Such as the scene where Jordan is so high, he thinks he drove his car safely back home when instead he wrecked the living shit out of it. However this backing up routine is used frequently and a bit unnecessarily for my tastes.

7. The language - I know this is New York and all, but gosh. Does every other word really need to be the "F" word?  I am not sensitive to curse words at all, but diversity people! Diversity!

Overall the Wolf of Wallstreet does have some charm to it from scene to scene. Unfortunately the story is so long it becomes hard to appreciate it toward the end. When you think it is ending...it doesn't for a good 4O minutes. Why this film got such a high rating initially is beyond me. I think they could have cut an extra 45 minutes and it would have been relatively the same story. Now if you excuse me, I got to go wash all the "F"'s off of me.

What did you think of the Wolf of Wallstreet? Tell me now by commenting below!

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DnD Rating: 6/1O

Breaking Bad's Epic Ending

 
Breaking Bad has been a favorite of mine for a while. The first time I saw it I was hooked. I binged watched it until the end of the fourth season right before the fifth one started. And this past Sunday night, it all came to an end.

 Let me first say how brilliant the writing is with this show. Everything is solid and even at its worse, its amazing how the writers create the characters get away schemes. The fact that they use science to get out of their situations makes Walt's skills the most unique criminal skills in the history of story telling. Who the hell uses chemistry and guns to kick ass? Walt does. Because Walt is a bad ass character. This is what makes this show fascinating and fun to watch. It gives nerds a place in the universe even on the scale of evil to be cool. The meek becomes the strong...and then the tyrannical. As Walt says "I'm not in danger, I AM the danger." A lot of the lines that Walt states is chillingly awesome.

At first when you see him he is plain and pathetic man beaten down by life. Then he grows to be a brilliant criminal that even at his worse, had the best intentions for his family. The conflict of evil vs good weighs heavily in this series and even the worst Walt does, you still end up relating to him. You can't help it. Walt is an evil character that is hard not to love and feel sorry for. Hes had a shitty life and the blue meth he created was his magnum opus. You kind of understand what he did because most of us would feel the same if we got the same raw deals he got.

Back to the subject of endings. Endings are difficult for most people to do properly. There are several series I can name off the top of my head that pissed me off. You want an ending to do justice to the show, but at the same time you want it to be a thrilling ride all the way to the last second. Walt's ending was satisfying. I told everyone I wouldn't be happy if Walt died. What I feared most was the writers would go cheap and have him shot by some one close. Making for a rather somber, crappy ending to such a brilliant character. I won't tell you what happened, but lets say Walt did redeem himself a little in this last episode. All of the pain he caused, he knew was there. And it ended with him going out like a bad ass.

The writers did a good job at tying up loose ends and giving us hope for some of the characters in the future. Most of all, we see how far the relationship of Walter White and Jesse Pinkman is tested all the way til the bitter end. Its amazing, but I will miss their messed up partnership between Master and Apprentice.

The most painful scene to watch was between him and his wife with their last goodbyes. I never liked his wife. In the beginning she was controlling and cold to him, but as the series went on, you could tell this woman loved him. She grew on me in the last season. Even through the worst of it, she still gave him a last chance to say goodbye to his little girl. Such a sad scene, because of all the implications that went into that final talk.

Breaking Bad, you continued to surprise me on what's around the corner every step of the way. I couldn't have been more wrong in my predictions, but I loved every second of it. It was a brilliantly thought out show with interesting characters and one hell of a ride all the way through.

My hats off to the best writing in television. I can't wait to see what you guys come up with next!


                 Next up...BETTER CALL SAUL!

Kick Ass 2 - What just happened?

[WARNING: SPOILERS!]

There were a lot of exciting movies that came out this summer and Kick Ass 2 was something I was uber excited about. Kick Ass has to be one of my all time favorite comic book movies due to the concept of a real life vigilante is fun to think about. As Kick Ass 1 was about Dave and his transformation story, Kick Ass 2 really felt more like Mindy's story with a Dave sideplot.

When I first saw it come out, it had a rating of 66%. This ended up plummeting to 23% within a few days as reviews came out bashing the movie. Even though this was not the best sequel [sequels are always a hit and miss], it still had some good moments. But you do have to sit through a lot of the bad pockets that make you want to tear your hair out.

Kick Ass had a lot of smoothing over to do. I really felt the Mindy high school girl acceptance side plot was a total distraction. Mindy [or Hit Girl] is some one I just don't see following anyone blindly to fit in. This is a girl that has murdered people on her own and home schooled on the side. So lets just toss her into society without any transition whatsoever. Great idea, pops!

I'm surprised her new father had no practical sense on how to transition her knowing her history. I doubt she had friends growing up...or social skills in general besides making smart ass remarks. And to force her to make friends...with the popular girls? WTF was he thinking?

Also WTF was this sexual awakening bull shit? You don't watch a N'Sync wannabe video and all of a sudden go boy crazy! What the crappity crap is that about? You could not think of a better intro into the high school boys thing? And what is up with these girls and that nasty talk behind closed doors? Its just down right creepy. Do girls talk like that in high school now? I never talked like that in high school.

Everything the writers did to the epically cool Mindy was instantly trashed, watered down and distanced from the Hit Girl persona. I super disliked the softer side of Mindy because her main character was to be a crime fighting cold-hearted bitch with a snarky attitude. I loved that about her in the first movie and just like her, it felt like the whole second movie had an identity crisis of what kind of message it wanted to get across.

Now lets go back to Dave...who is also trying to figure out how he fits back into society after some how miraculously getting away with being Kick Ass and killing a bunch of people, surviving torture, and watching a man immolate in front of his very eyes. Why is this boy not whimpering in his bed in the fetal position? And where was his girlfriend in this film?

She just shows up to dump him over a vague misunderstanding. That seemed like a way too convenient lead way into him banging Night Bitch every Justice Forever Pow Wow. Which was holistically pointless as they never stay together any way, leaving room open for a possible Dave and Mindy romance [which is a huge no no in my book...they are pretty far apart in age in the comics].

And WTF is up with Chris D'Amico? He just goes bat shit crazy in this movie. Kills his mom with no consequences and dons her dom gear so he can go murder it up. Then when his uncle shows him real evil, he gets EVILER. Right back at ya uncle! I can do worse and not some how land in prison! Man...Chris steps out one time with that costume and the cops would be man handling him all the way to jail. Especially New York cops....they don't get paid to take your shit. That's for sure. I'm really surprised his gang of ultimate killers did not just threaten him to give them all of his money and then beat him to death and take over. Apparently the Russian chick was paid 5O million by Chris to look like a real life street fighter character and don a cleverly racist name. Wow. In Mother Russia, America pays you!

So what about the other characters? In general a great mixture. Jim Carrey rocks it as Col Stars and Stripes. Turk from Scrubs plays a happy go lucky Dr. Gravity, a vigilante that wasn't even a doctor. lol. The playful mixture of the Justice Forever team seemed to be well-helmed by the Col which is a born again Christian that has a penchant for kindly reminding the members not to take the Lord's name in vain.

Even John Leguizamo, who plays Javier, Chris's body guard, had a decent cameo. Although he
was considerably unrealistic watching the little shit go crazy on the world.

So what bothered me about this film? It was serious when it should have been funny and funny when it should have been serious. There were some REALLY odd moments that should have not been made for laughter. Like the potential rape scene. Poor taste on their part. And the blatant disregard for all the killing they did and the implications of that. Dave's father gets murdered and some how they have time for a funeral that was also cop guarded [how did Dave afford the funeral again?]. If I were Dave's friend...I would have bailed as soon as I saw those cell phone pictures. Who wants to be a part of that? That's real life big boy stuff. Screw that. They were just supposed to be saving lives in cool costumes. Not watch people they love get killed.

I do realize this movie is naturally over the top and that is what I loved about the first movie itself. I think Kick Ass 2 definitely went far over the top of ridiculousness that it was difficult to shut my brain off completely. Did I totally hate it? No. There were some funny moments and I thoroughly enjoy every time Mindy beat some ass or got her revenge. That's the way it should be for me. But I think it was lacking polish, tempo and common sense. It basically ruined the best character of all, Hit Girl and that to me is unforgivable.

RATING: 7/1O

This is what I want to do to the people that ruined Hit Girl....

Double Downey Review: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Due Date

While I recover from my adventure out in the woods of Big Bear Mountain and man-eating bugs...I decided to write a classic double feature!

---------------------------

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is about a thief masquerading as an actor [Robert Downey Jr], a detective by the name of Gay Perry [Val Kilmer] and a struggling actress [Michelle Monaghan] mixed up in a middle of a murder mystery.

The movie is quite humorous in its jarring, convoluted story telling as Harry Lockhart [our thief and hero] tries to recall the story of his wild adventure in Hollywood. The best character in this film has got to be Gay Perry, a hard ass detective that has a penchant for insulting Harry at every turn. The dark humor between the actors seems to string you along like bread crumbs far into the woods of engrossing interest. And it only continues to get weirder and more twisted as you go farther down the road.

Random side note:

What blows me away the most is Val Kilmer...still acting. But he's far from his days of flying high in the F-18 taking out "Mig-28s":

Yes Val...we did. Where did that guy go? Tom Cruise hasn't aged a second in his life, so what is your excuse? At least you were pretty damn entertaining in this movie so I forgive you.

Its not a film to watch with the kids, but its still worth watching if you like off beat films. Beautifully done with quirky dialogue, dark humor, patched well with sex, murder, and unexpected turns. Enjoy!

9/1O

---------------------

Due Date - What an odd film. This one is about a high strung, father to be, named Peter Highman [Robert Downey Jr] who is forced to hitch a ride with a wanna-be-actor named Ethan Tremblay [Zach Galifianakis] after he gets kicked off of a plane to meet his pregnant wife for the birth of his child.

The movie has its moments, but I really feel like Zach has no other characters besides stupid, fat ones. I didn't like him that much in the Hangover and he isn't that much more likable in this movie either. However that is the roles he plays. The obnoxious, but strangely lovable psychopath.

The only thing that makes him worth keeping around is the fact that he is a great actor to bounce insults off of. And there are a lot of great moments where Peter [RDJ's character] loses his shit. Even at one point spitting on Ethan's little hog-snorting, masturbating french bull dog, sunny.

There are also a few scenes I found a bit out of place, even just plain useless to the storyline. This movie is about a road trip from hell with the most ignorant, happy-go-lucky nightmare of a man. Mixed with a man with rage issues and you got one heck of a story. At times, uncomfortable to watch even.

I wouldn't say this is film of the year, but the highlighted moments make it at least tolerable to watch. I wouldn't say it would be something I would watch again in full. Perhaps in select pieces.

5/1O

Bonus Film....Robert Downey Jr and Zach Galifianakis interview moments: