When word was out that the Coen’s follow-up to last years A Serious Man was going to be a remake of a classic western movie, many were excited to see what they could do with this under-appreciated genre. What was actually put on screens was ultimately dissapointing and this review is going to contain a lof of, ‘for a Coen brothers film, this is surprisingly ….’.

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Here we have two decidedly different movies, with no real common thread other than that they happened to come in the mail at the same time. Normally these two movies would probably have almost nothing to do with each other but watching these two movies so close to each other highlighted some peculiar similarities that are definitely worth exploring.

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The arrival of first Toy Story in 1995 heralded not only a new age of CGI based animated movies, but the arrival of the powerhouse that is Pixar Studios. From that first effort, the studio has gone from strength to strength, putting out numerous well written animated movies with only a few minor missteps (Cars is probably their weakest effort, but it still more interesting than almost everything that Dreamworks has put out to date). Their 1999 film, Toy Story 2 is in a exclusive club of sequels that are better and more well realised than movie that precedes it. The sequel built on the universe established in the first movie and added a fantastic amount of texture and complexity to the characters. The announcement that they were going to put out a third installment in the series was always going to be a bit of a risk, and unfortunately the final product does not live up to the quality of Pixar’s previous efforts . (more…)

Based off a popular graphic novel, Kick-Ass sets out to be a very different type of superhero movie. The idea that a regular kid could decide one day to become a superhero is an interesting one and something unique in the world of comic book movies. He has no special powers, no discernible skills or special merit that differentiates him from any other teenager save for a desire to be a comic book hero. Mixed into this interesting world is the real superheros of Hit Girl and Big Daddy and a genuinely evil main villain.
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Let’s get this out of the way at the start here, this movie is all about Colin Firth. Much of the buzz around this film concerns Firth’s acting and deservedly so. He is a fantastic actor to begin with and here is an absolutely fascinating character that he can really sink his teeth into. The amount of emotion that he brings to this film is outstanding and his nomination for Best Actor is certainly justified. In essence this film is a exploration of grief at its most base level. The loss of his long term partner irreparably damages George Falconer to the point that he feels suicide is the only answer. Over the course of a single day we witness George trying to tie up the loose ends in his life so he can finally end it. The story is simple and does not try and overwhelm the viewer with a complex narrative. Rather, Tom Ford allows Firth and the supporting actors to really explore grief and the impact that it can have.
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