South Philly Review

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A hard-core hybrid of “Kill Bill,” “Spider-Man” and a witty teen comedy, “Kick-Ass” has much to offer. It’s exciting, wickedly funny and even has time for a little puppy love that’s sweeter than you’d expect from a subversive superhero movie whose title would get many kids grounded if they uttered it at home.

And, frankly, while my adolescent self would hate me for saying this, most of those kids should be shielded from this splatter-rific flick. Though a savvy and unique addition to the cape-and-cowl genre, it’s teeming with expletives, deaths and dismemberments, and it manages to shock despite being of an era in which the “Saw” franchise is nearing its seventh installment. Why? Because the merciless brutality often comes courtesy of children barely old enough to juggle homework and hormones.

Yet, for viewers of appropriate age and tolerance levels, the controversial content of “Kick-Ass” is part of its charm. Directed and co-written by Matthew Vaughn, the adaptation of the comic by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr. is designed to keep its harsh and tender elements in balance. Its subject matter grows quite dark, but it’s almost never without the bubble-gum colors of a Saturday morning cartoon.

Teenager Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson), who on a whim becomes the haphazard hero of the title, takes a beating and is poised to serve it right back, but his help-thy-neighbor motives are as old and pure as those of Beaver Cleaver. And 11-year-old Hit Girl (Chloe Grace Moretz), who fillets mobsters with a flick of her samurai sword, has an oddly affecting relationship with her retired-cop dad (Nicolas Cage) to offset her propensity to spill blood.

With Mark Strong and Christopher Mintz-Plasse as a father-son nemesis team, and Lyndsy Fonseca as the hero’s squeeze, “Kick-Ass” is a movie of the times, both in its shrewd utilization of insta-media (camera phones! YouTube!) and its insistence on not pushing, but shoving, the envelope. The latter will raise many an eyebrow, but it doesn’t wound the film’s fine craftsmanship.

Kick-Ass
R
Three-and-a-half reels out of four
In area theaters tomorrow

Avatar
PG-13
Available April 22

The most talked about movie of 2009 and the most successful movie in history, James Cameron’s astonishing sci-fi saga “Avatar” needs no recommendation from me, as everyone from tweens to grandparents has already paid a visit to the lush, bioluminescent jungles of Pandora.

For those who still haven’t, know this: While seeing the film in your living room won’t measure up to the enveloping experience of catching it on the big screen, the beauty of the imagery will hit you just the same. For Cameron, though not a genius in the screenwriting department, thinks as much about unadulterated artistry as he does jaw-dropping theatrics.