Man of Steel Review (2013)

Man of Steel is directed by Zack Snyder and stars Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Russell Crowe, and Michael Shannon.

So I saw this film sometime ago, and for me, this was my most anticipated film of 2013. Being a huge fan of Christopher Nolan, AND Zack Snyder, Man of Steel was my dream movie. I ordered my tickets weeks in advance and arrived at the IMAX theater hours before the showtime.

... my most anticipated film of 2013

Did the movie live up to my high, high expectations? Let's begin our review ...

As of last Wednesday, I've now seen Man of Steel five times. Why? Well because it's one of my favorite films of the year. That's right, I loved Man of Steel and I'll tell you why. 

The first time I saw the film, I was conflicted. I went into the theater thinking I was going to see "Superman" but when I came out, I felt like I hadn't seen a "superhero" movie, but rather an alien invasion film. I was conflicted.

I was conflicted.

So I decided to see it again two days later. From that viewing on, I loved it. Absolutely loved it. Why? Because I watched it as the film was titled, not "Superman," but "Man of Steel." I realized this isn't a superhero film. This is a film about a child who grows into a man of steel due to his alien origins. He's not Superman. He's just a guy with spectacular abilities. He's not trying to be a parody of the human race as Clark Kent, no, he's just Clark Kent, and in this film when he puts on the suit, he's still just Clark... in a suit.

Man of Steel, not "Superman."

Why is this such a big deal? Because let me say again, he's NOT Superman in this film. He doesn't have the reflexes to save all the people of Metropolis, or know to control his powers when he fights a man who is just as powerful as him. All that is and should be on Clark's mind in the final act of this movie is to STOP ZOD.  Stop him at all costs, because if he doesn't, the human race will be reduced to bones and ash.

... STOP ZOD!

I get it. I really do. And that is why I love this movie. It makes sense. While Clark Kent is in a brawl to death with Zod, it makes sense that he wouldn't mind destroying some buildings because they are both gods. Pure and simple, they are gods duking it out. If you think no destruction would come of that, then you live in a fairy world.

Two gods fighting will make for some destruction.

Also for all the fans angry for Clark's fatal decision at the end of the film, I say this: He killed Zod. The last remaining link to his very own species. It was either him or the human race. After he does the deed, he lets out a blood curdling scream. You can tell he's in pain. But is he yelling because he killed Zod, or because he killed? I think it's because he chose to kill someone, and that will be the propelling force for him to restrain himself from killing ever again in future films.

Now I've explained how I view this film and why I love it. I was predicting the second film to be called "Superman" because at the end of Man of Steel, Kal-El is now utilizing Clark Kent as his parody of the humans. THAT is Superman. And THAT is why this film is not called Superman. But now with this amazing news of a World's Finest film (Batman vs Superman) I'd find the title "Superman" to be out of place.

Lois is out of her element.

A couple quick things I didn't like about this film: Cheesy dialogue, Lois Lane's character and how she had to be in scenes that didn't call for her whatsoever (Zod's ship, bombing Zod's ship, showing up after Clark snaps Zod's neck.) Also, I felt like the scene right after Zod's killing was unnecessary and it really killed the emotional tone they had going. 

So those are my thoughts on Man of Steel. Reviewers with predetermined notions of the film were too quick to judge and I feel like they need to remove their egos and view this film as I have so lovingly explained above. 

I give Man of Steel an A- / RT score of 84%

ELYSIUM Review (2013)

ELYSIUM is written and direct by Neill Blomkamp (District 9) and stars Matt Damon, Sharlto Copley, and Jodie Foster.

I had some seriously high hopes for this film. I really did, and for the first half, I was getting everything I was hoping this film would be. Every reviewer I followed seemed to love this movie as much as I thought I would. But unfortunately for me, and the friends I saw it with, Elysium just didn't impress. Let me explain.



... quite cheesy and run of the mill.


From the opening credits, we find out that Earth is a wasteland meant for the poor. Whereas Elysium is a halo in the sky that houses only the rich and privileged. In the opening, we meet Max (Matt Damon) who is depicted as an orphan who grows up on Earth. This scene, for me, was quite cheesy and run of the mill.


Max's daily life was intriguing. 


Then the film cut to adult Max, and this is when the film picked up for me. We got to see how society works on earth, controlled by robots machined by the privileged on Elysium. It was very totalitarian and very exciting to see. We get to see what Max does for a living and hear about his legendary status as a criminal in his past life. All of which was very intriguing and just what I wanted for and end-of-the-summer film.

Cliche'd and cheesy timing.

Then Max has an accident at work (which was handled very poorly) and Max is told he will die in five days time... very cliche'd timing. But, I shrugged it off, the film was good, so what if it got a little cheesy, right? Well, one cheesy thing lead to another, including a heist gone bad, a dumb president, and a timely relationship. I mean, what are the chances that you're going to run into the love of your life, who just happens to be a nurse, who's child is dying so she has all her medical equipment at her house, when you are badly injured in need of medical attention? It all just seems to work out a little to conveniently for ol' Max.

So, Max gets stitched up, leaves, makes a decision selfishly, then is transported up to Elysium with the help of Kruger, the man who nearly killed him. Oh, and Max's love interest happens to be there too. How convenient.

I couldn't tell what the hell was going on during the fight scenes.

Speaking of Kruger, he was the best part of the whole film. Sharlto Copley is seriously starting to become one of my favorites. His ruthless performance in this film almost, almost made up for the horrendous shaky - cam fight sequences. Seriously, I couldn't tell what the hell was going on during the fight scenes. They were worse than transformers fights.

Convenient.

So, anyways, the film concludes in a nice tidy, convenient way. Like, brutally, painfully convenient. No ramifications, no nothing for the scoundrels that broke into Elysium. Oh, and apparently Elysium had hundreds of medical ships that could magically heal people from anything, but just didn't deploy them? So... I guess... Elysium citizens were just... dicks? Huh.

At least the CGI was amazing. 

I give Elysium a D+ / RT score of 48%

Kick-Ass 2 Review (2013) - Michael Kuznar

Kick-Ass 2 is written and directed by Jeff Wadlow (Never Back Down) and stars Aaron Taylor- Johnson, Chloe Moretz Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Jim Carrey. The story continues to follow Kick-Ass and Hit Girl in their adventures being "real life" superheroes. They must pass tests and tribulations as a new evil emerges, formerly "Red Mist" now known as "The MotherFucker" who leads an evil army of his own now for one purpose and one purpose only: To make Kick-Ass pay for what he did in the first film.

I am a big fan of the first Kick-Ass. It swept me away with its upbeat tone and humor mixed perfectly with some highly emotional and climactic scenes. It's premise was so simple, but executed in such a ludicrous fashion (Frank D'Amico's death) that it was irresistible to me in 2010. Having watched it again today, I can say it still holds up to being one of my favorite movies to date.

Last Thursday I caught an early screening of Kick-Ass 2. Long story short, it was a very worthy sequel to the Kick-Ass name.

I had read the Kick-Ass 2 graphic novel last summer, and we ecstatic to later find out they were adapting Mark Millar's book for the silver screen. As far as adaptations go, I felt as though this one took some unnecessary liberties. The ending was changed slightly, but even those slight changes made me think "why change that?"

One scene in particular I was looking forward seeing after having read the book was the death of a very big character. You see, in the book, the scene leads up to this character's very grisly death, and the final panel of the chapter is a gut-wrenching image. I know it's sick, but I was very much hoping they would reenact that scene... not because I like grisly murders, but because how they handled it in the film just didn't seem to *Carrey that much weight. Well, not as much as an animals head being placed where a human's should be.

But all in all, I thought Kick-Ass 2 was a very well done film. The pacing seemed fine, and the story arcs were a nice touch for some characters. They even got the emotional scenes almost as good as the original, which I never thought could be done. I say good job to all involved, and I cannot wait until the 3rd chapter.

I give Kick - Ass 2 a B / RT score of 81%