Hot Tub Time Machine

Okay for starters I just want to say I think The Hangover is EXTREMELY overrated, I may have laughed twice. It's not that I didn't get the jokes, its just that I didn't find them funny. Now that I got that out of the way I do think this movie was a little bit funnier than The Hangover but unlike The Hangover all the jokes worked. Yet, there were not that many jokes. Also unlike The Hangover, Hot Tub Time Machine works as a movie without the jokes. I would prefer to see this movie marketed as a fantasy/comedy and it would be perfect. The 80's movie references were spot-on. I think it was more of an examination of 80's movies than the 80's themselves. The villains were so much like the clichéd villains in movies like The Karate Kid and other 80's films. I thought John Cusack was fantastic, yet I have never not liked him in a movie. I think he is probably in my top 10 favorite actors to see in a movie at this point. He is simply extremely likable in every singe thing he does from High Fidelity to 1408. Chevy Chase does not belong in this movie his character adds ALMOST nothing to the plot, he does give them like a stupid little tip on how to get back to the future. One of the main problems I had was that there was no real reason that they had to get back to the future, their lives would have probably been more enjoyable if they didn't go back. The plot was flawed it was pretty funny and the performances were on the whole pretty good. It is no where near my favorite film of the year, it is actually probably one of my least favorite films of the year.

Hot Tub Time Machine - 2.5 out of 4

-Zach

A Kick-Ass Night at the Movies

I was lucky enough to get to attend the New York premiere of Kick-Ass over a month before the film's release on April 16th. As a reference point, I read the entire eight-part series of comic books before attending the screening. After the screening I was luck enough to get to meet the co-creators of the comic, Mark Millar and John Romita Jr. and I got them to sign some of my Kick-Ass comics. The curtain pulled back that was in front of the screen and what was then presented was one of the best comic book film adaptations I have ever seen. There is an energy that is running through every second of this film that is inexplicable yet evident in every shot. The language is profane and the violence is graphic, yet the films is shot like a Spider-Man or Superman film. The screenplay is fabulous, there are many changes from the comic, especially towards the end. There was one change I didn't like at first, but the more I think about it the more I don't really mind. The performances were actually okay, towards the beginning I didn't really get the accent Aaron Johnson was using as Dave/Kick-Ass, but I warmed up to it by the end. It was only after getting home after the movie that I realized that Aaron Johnson is British, and it is actually amazing how well he pulled off a New York accent. I also really loved Nicholas Cage and Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Big Daddy and Red Mist. But the stand out performance in my opinion was from Chloe Moretz as Hit Girl. She was recently in (500) Days of Summer but she shines here as the trash-talking ass-kicking 11-year-old warrior-girl who blasts right off the screen into oblivion as pretty much the most awesome little girl in any movie... pretty much ever. If they make a sequel I think it should be focused on her because frankly, she is a more interesting character than Kick-Ass. The action sequences are beyond awesome, they feature moments so intense I was nearly falling off the edge of my seat from the suspense... AND I HAD ALREADY READ THE COMIC!!!! I even knew exactly how it was going to turn out in the end and I was still so far on the edge of my seat towards the end of the film. After the film was over I found myself exhausted from the intensity of the proceeding 15 minutes. Considering the amazing writing, acting, and great direction from Matthew Vaughn, Kick-Ass is easily my second favorite superhero movie of all time, I enjoyed it even more than The Dark Knight which I felt was approaching perfect but because of some clunky storytelling towards the end fell a few feet short. I would say Kick-Ass is a few inches short of perfect. I really hope this film does amazing at the box-office because I'm already extremely excited for a sequel.
Kick-Ass - 4 out of 4
-Zach