Despicable Me 2

Despicable Me 2 - Dirs. Pierre Coffin & Chris Renaud (2013)

Despicable Me was a delightful surprise from Universal's fledgling Illumination Entertainment. Although it ended on a satisfying conclusion, its box office take of over $543 million ensured that a sequel was forthcoming. Despicable Me 2 certainly didn't disappoint, at least in terms of ticket sales, it pulled in over $918 million and stands as the fifth highest grossing animated film of all time.

For those who missed it, Despicable Me followed eccentric super-villain Gru (Steve Carell) on his diabolical quest to steal the moon. As part of his scheme, Gru was forced to adopt three little girls: Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), Edith (Dana Gaier), and Agnes (Elsie Fisher). Gru was the proverbial Grinch whose heart grew two sizes bigger once those adorable moppets wormed their way into his life.

The sequel finds Gru more than comfortable in his new life as a single father. Things are going great though a little dull as Gru attempts to turn his elaborate laboratory into a factory for jams and jellies. Luckily, Gru is recruited by Silas Ramsbottom (Steve Coogan), the erudite leader of the Anti-Villain League. A mysterious mastermind has stolen an experimental serum that could be used to create an army of monsters and only Gru has the experience needed to find him. Gru is reluctantly paired up with agent Lucy Wilder (Kristen Wiig, who previously voiced Miss Hattie) to go undercover at a glossy shopping mall where the bad guy might be hiding out. Gru has his eye on Eduardo Perez (Benjamin Bratt), a boisterous restaurateur who may secretly be the infamous El Macho, a villain who supposedly died while riding a shark strapped with explosives into a flaming volcano. However, Gru's most fearsome foe may be young love when Margo falls head over heels for Eduardo's suave son Antonio (Moises Arias).

The biggest criticism lobbied against Despicable Me 2 is that the lead protagonist has lost his edge. An opening sequence where Gru dresses as a fairy princess for Agnes's birthday party might attest to that. Screenwriters Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio may have dulled Gru's fangs a bit; they've still captured the madcap pace and unique sensibilities of the first film. We see Edith running around in a ninja outfit and a bizarre subplot in which Gru goes on a blind date. Despicable Me was like a candy colored Bond adventure and its successor continues those threads with the AVL's underwater base and other high-tech gadgets. There's a submarine car, lipstick taser, Gru's trademark freeze ray, fart guns, and an opening sequence in which a giant magnet snatches up an Arctic research station. The sequel builds to a thrilling conclusion with Gru going into full John Woo mode with guns that shoot his foul-tasting jelly.

Steve Carell gives it his all with a slick Slavic accent, but its Benjamin Bratt who gives the best vocal performance as Eduardo. His over-the-top energy perfectly matches the zany tone of the movie. Oddly enough, Al Pacino was originally cast in the role before Bratt stepped in at the last minute. It's hard to imagine anyone else playing that character.

The real scene stealers though happen to be the Minions, Gru's not-so-helpful helpers that look like a bred Oompa Loompas with Twinkies. They speak in their own unique language and their kooky antics are a constant source of Three Stooges-esque slapstick. The Minions might sidetrack the main plot from time to time, but the cute factor is undeniable. Unsurprisingly, their presence is beefed up here and they're set to star in their own picture in 2015.

With Pixar and Dreamworks having a virtual stranglehold on the animation genre, its nice seeing another player emerge in the field. Despicable Me 2 is a delightful sequel with plenty of heart that will please young and old alike.

Rating: *** (*****)

Thor: The Dark World

Thor: The Dark World - Dir. Alan Taylor (2013)

It wasn't too difficult for Marvel to get audiences to buy into an eccentric billionaire who designed a high-tech suit of armor to save the world. It was an uphill battle to get those same people to buy into a Norse god with a magical hammer that could summon lightning. Thor was the fourth picture from Marvel Studios and their first attempt to inject their new cinematic universe with sci-fi/fantasy elements. While not a runaway success like Iron Man, Thor was an entertaining romp and the character was a huge component to The Avengers, which shattered box office records. Riding high off the crest of The Avengers, Marvel kicked off Phase 2 of their cinematic universe in 2013 with Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World.

When last we left the God of Thunder (Chris Hemsworth), he defeated his evil brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) with help from his new allies on Earth. A year later, Thor is still trying to clean up Loki's mess as the Nine Realms have descended into chaos. Meanwhile, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) continues her search for Thor and stumbles onto an ancient weapon known as the Aether. In turn, this awakens the Dark Elves of Svartalfheim and their leader Malekith (Christopher Eccleston), who vows to return the universe to its primordial state of darkness. When the Dark Elves lay waste to Asgard, Thor is forced to team with the ever-scheming Loki to save his lady love and all of creation.

In many ways, Dark World is an improvement on the first Thor. The world of Marvel's Norse gods has been expanded far beyond the scope of that tiny town in New Mexico. Asgard itself looks more organic rather than the glorified video game level it was in the previous picture. Alan Taylor has replaced Kenneth Branagh as director thanks to the strength of his work on Game of Thrones. Although Taylor is forced to work within the confines of the Marvel movie making machine, he's clearly able to handle the film's fantastical elements, which mix Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. The action is ramped up with the Dark Elves armed with ominous spacecrafts, laser rifles, and grenades that open miniature black holes. One sequence feels lifted right out of a heist movie as Thor and his allies attempt to escape Asgard. The climactic battle in London was the perfect antidote to the widespread destruction seen in Man of Steel and Star Trek into Darkness. Rather than the mind-numbing sight of skyscrapers tumbling to the ground, Dark World gets innovative with cracks in reality that unexpectedly teleport combatants between dimensions.

The Dark World also stands as one of the funniest Marvel movies to date. Of course, that depends on your tolerance for Darcy (Kat Dennings) the comic relief intern. She's at the height of her Darcy-ness here. While the film has a tendency to go over-the-top with the antics of Darcy and Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgaard), who has now become a kook prancing about without any pants, the best gags are understated. One involves Thor nonchalantly hanging his hammer on a coat rack and another sees the God of Thunder catching a ride on the London underground. Chris O'Dowd essentially reprises his role from Bridesmaids in a cameo as a blind date for Natalie Portman.

That's not to say this sequel is without flaws. Marvel has crammed a lot into their 2-hour blockbuster. The first half of Dark World is overloaded with exposition as characters explain the origins of the Aether, the Dark Elves, and the Convergence. That doesn't include a prologue that could have sprung from the mind of JRR Tolkien himself. With so much happening many of the supporting players don't get their fair due. The Warriors Three all but disappear into the background with Hogun the Grim (Tadanobu Asano) actually being told to sit this one out. Idris Elba's Heimdall also suffers this same fate though he does get a brilliant moment when he takes down an entire ship with only a pair of daggers. An intriguing love triangle between Thor, Jane Foster, and Lady Sif (Jaimie Alexander) is teased, but nothing ever comes of it.

Now that he's gone through the hero's journey, Thor isn't as arrogant or boastful, but Chris Hemsworth still has the brashness and charisma (not to mention physicality) to keep the audience enthralled. However, he and the rest of the cast are completely outshined by Tom Hiddleston. Marvel has hired a parade of talented actors to portray their movie villains, but the bad guys themselves haven't made a powerful impression with the exception of Hiddleston's Loki. That's never more apparent with the casting of Christopher Eccleston as Malekith. Eccleston is a fine actor, but he's buried under layers of make-up playing an antagonist whose sole purpose is to get punched by Thor. Things get infinitely more interesting once Loki gets into the mix. While the sequel delves deeper into his complexities, it still barely scratches the surface. Every subtle gesture Hiddleston makes registers. He also gets in on the comic relief with some sharp one-liners and a hilarious sequence where Loki utilizes his illusions during a chat with his brother. Marvel should really consider the sons of Odin on a wacky road trip as the plot of Thor 3.

The now ubiquitous post-credit stinger will have fanboys drooling as it sets up Guardians of the Galaxy and the possibility of the Infinity Gauntlet in Avengers 3. Of course, the uninitiated will find it baffling, if for no other reason than Benicio Del Toro's eccentric performance as the Collector.

Thor: The Dark World might be the messiest Marvel movie since Iron Man 2. However, it still stands as a rousing adventure and another vital chapter in Marvel's cinematic universe.

Rating: *** (*****)

All the Boys Love Mandy Lane

All the Boys Love Mandy Lane - Dir. Jonathan Levine (2006)

When a film sits on the shelves for an inordinate amount of time before being unceremoniously released, there's a stigma attached to it. Maybe the movie just wasn't very good. That's not always the case. It took four years for Kenneth Lonergan's Margaret to see the light of day because of disagreements between the director and the studio over the final cut. The Cabin in the Woods, written and produced by Joss Whedon, was delayed for two years due to the financial trouble of MGM. Both pictures received strong reviews.

All the Boys Love Mandy Lane was another horror film that underwent a long, arduous journey to the silver screen. It debuted at the Toronto Film Festival in 2006 where it was snatched up by Harvey Weinstein for $3.5 million, over four times the $750,000 budget. However, Harvey and brother Bob disagreed on how to market and distribute Mandy Lane. This, coupled with initially poor test screenings, led to the Weinstein Company to sell the rights to the German-based Senator Entertainment. Senator released the picture overseas, but the company folded before they could do the same in the U.S. As luck would have it, the rights to Mandy Lane made their way back into the hands of the Weinsteins thanks to their new distribution arm Radius-TWC.

Nobody really paid attention to Mandy Lane (Amber Heard) until she blossomed over summer break. At this point, All the Boys Love Mandy Lane may be a more appropriate title. The sweet-natured Mandy and her outsider friend Emmet (Michael Welch) are asked to a pool party by hunky alpha male Dylan (Adam Powell). When his advances fail, a drunken Dylan is convinced by Emmet to dive off the roof and into the pool to impress Mandy. His foolhardy gesture leads to his death.

Nine months later, Mandy has been embraced by the in-crowd while Emmet has been further ostracized, even by his former friend. Popular stoner Red (Aaron Himmelstein) invites Mandy to his parents' cattle ranch along with jocks Jake (Luke Grimes), Bird (Edwin Hodge), and pretty girls Chloe (Whitney Able) and Marlin (Melissa Price). Despite being under the watchful eye of handsome ranch hand Garth (Anson Mount), the kids consume plenty of alcohol and drugs. The fun stops when a psycho with a shotgun begins picking them off one by one.

It's easy to see why the Weinsteins had difficulty drawing up a marketing plan. All the Boys Love Mandy Lane isn't your typical hack and slash affair. The gorehounds won't find enough gratuitous violence to satisfy their cravings, yet the movie doesn't deconstruct the horror genre the way Cabin in the Woods or Scream did. Screenwriter Jacob Forman does seem to find a happy medium. Mandy Lane conforms to the standard tropes of teenage debauchery being punished by a mysterious killer. Still, it doesn't feel like a horror movie at first, aside from the eerie prologue. With its focus on the treacherous social dynamics of high school, Mandy Lane is clearly influenced by John Hughes as much as it is by Tobe Hooper or Wes Craven. The rural setting and grainy quality of the film recall Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Jonathan Levine, who would go on to direct The Wackness and 50/50, makes his directorial debut on Mandy Lane. Not bad for a guy who was working in a mail room at the time. Levine had greater success melding horror with teen romance in Warm Bodies, but clearly displayed a knack for capturing the sometimes painful experience of youth. His indie sensibilities shine through even in the soundtrack with an eclectic selection that includes the Go-Go's and 60's crooner Bobby Vinton.

Mandy Lane hinges entirely on Amber Heard, who has gone on to high-profile roles in Pineapple Express, The Rum Diary, and Machete Kills. Of course, Heard is gorgeous enough to you believe every guy in school wants to get into her pants. She also conveys a vulnerability that makes her easy prey.

If John Hughes made a horror movie and shot it in the style of Tobe Hooper with a dash of Terrence Malick, it might look a little like All the Boys Love Mandy Lane. It's about time this low-budget gem found an audience.

Rating: *** (*****)

2 Guns

2 Guns – Dir. Baltasar Kormákur (2013)

2013 was another huge year for comic book movies with Iron Man 3 and Man of Steel doing blockbuster numbers and Thor: The Dark World closing out the year. Meanwhile, films based on non-superhero properties like R.I.P.D. and Red 2 didn't get quite as much attention. This brings us to 2 Guns, based on a little known mini-series published by BOOM! Studios. Most folks would probably be surprised to hear that it was adapted from a comic though it does feature the titanic team-up of Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg.

Bobby Trench (Washington) and Michael Stigman (Wahlberg) are a pair of crooks who decide to steal $3 million from safety deposit boxes belonging to drug lord Papi Greco (Edward James Olmos). These boxes are tucked away inside a bank vault in the tiny town of Tres Cruces. If that sounds familiar, then you’ve seen the 70's neo-noir classic Charley Varrick, which screenwriter Blake Masters borrows heavily from. In a series of twists and turns, Trench is revealed to be an undercover DEA agent while Stigman is actually working for Naval Intelligence. Neither man was aware of the other's true identity. Even worse, the bank didn't hold $3 million, but over $43 million belonging to an illegal CIA slush fund. Stigman narrowly escapes an attempt on his life by his corrupt commanding officer Quince (James Marsden), who wants the cash for himself. He'll have to get in line because Papi wants it too and so does the sadistic CIA agent Earl (Bill Paxton).

2 Guns feels like it could have come straight out of the hyperkinetic wheelhouse of the late-Tony Scott. This is a fast-paced, brainless affair that builds to a cluttered climax as four different factions (five, if you count a herd of stampeding bulls) shoot it out for a trunk load of dollars. However, Icelandic director Baltasar Kormákur, who previously worked with Wahlberg on Contraband, doesn't have Scott's visual panache. Still, the action sequences are decent enough, save for a rough looking car chase.

What really sells 2 Guns is the chemistry between its leads. The interplay shared by Wahlberg and Washington harkens back to the buddy cop formula set by Lethal Weapon. Both protagonists give as good as they get as their one-liners fly faster and more frequently than their bullets. The burden of carrying the movie doesn't fall squarely on their shoulders thanks to a game supporting cast. Perennial nice guy James Marsden is cast against type as a back-stabbing naval officer while Edward James Olmos is perfectly grizzled as a cartel boss. Yet, they all pale in comparison to the scene chewing performance of Bill Paxton, who affects a thick Southern accent to portray the main antagonist. 2 Guns is so overstuffed with testosterone that there's no room for a strong female character. That's a shame because Paula Patton played a pretty kick-ass secret agent in Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. Instead, she's a damsel in distress who spends most of her time either tied up to a chair or gratuitously slinking around with nothing on except wafer-thin panties. Yeah, okay, that's not necessarily a bad thing.

2 Guns is such a breezy trifle that you almost forget just how surprisingly cynical it is. Just about every branch of the American government is portrayed as corrupt, incompetent, or simply uncaring. Stigman cracks a joke about purchasing his high-powered sniper rifle at K-Mart (are they still around?) and the US/Mexico border is patrolled by good ol' boys looking to dispense redneck justice to anybody with dark skin.

2 Guns may be formulaic and predictable, but the winning charm of Washington and Wahlberg make it a passable bit of popcorn entertainment.

Rating: ** (*****)

Escape Plan

Escape Plan - Dir. Mikael Hafstrom (2013)

"You hit like a vegetarian."

Stallone. Schwarzenegger. Two of the biggest action heroes in movie history with a combined body count well into the triple digits. Fans have always wanted to see them fight side by side, except the right project never came about. Sure, there's The Expendables, but Arnold's appearances were brief and they had to share the screen with a bunch of other red blooded action stars. Escape Plan is the first proper team-up for Stallone and Schwarzenegger though sometimes it feels like a film 20 years too late.

Stallone is Ray Breslin, a specialist who has spent decades breaking out of maximum security prisons to test their fallibilities. Breslin and his shifty partner (Vincent D'Onofrio) accept a $5 million payday from a CIA agent to test the security for a black bag prison housing criminals no country wants to house. The location is top secret so Breslin won't be able to receive outside help from his associates (Amy Ryan & Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson), who are uneasy about the whole deal. He should have listened because somebody paid a lot of money to keep him locked away for good.

Breslin is dropped into the Tomb and left at the mercy of the ruthless Warden Hobbs (Jim Caviezel), who has used Breslin's own work to shore up the Tomb's defense. Breslin finds an unlikely ally in fellow prisoner Emil Rottmayer (Schwarzenegger), the right-hand man for a mysterious boss named Mannheim, who holds the key to dismantling the European banking industry.

Escape Plan has the undeniable scent of an 80's actioner right out of the Cannon playbook. It has no desire to be anything more than unsophisticated B-movie fun. The story itself is riddled with plot holes. Never mind that Breslin's MacGyver-esque methods of escaping from prison are so convoluted that nobody else could ever possibly think of them, let alone threaten prison security. These issues will hardly cross your mind until after the film has ended because of the sheer screen presence of Stallone and Schwarzenegger. They may be decades past their prime and the banter doesn't have the same zing as it used to, but it's still a joy to see them sharing scenes. The audience cheered wildly when the former Terminator armed himself with a heavy machine gun. Jim Caviezel is suitably cartoonish as a warden so vicious, he hires Vinnie Jones as his head guard. He starts by doing the low-key, minimalist performance as seen on Person of Interest and then turns the dial up past 11 when he has to. Sam Neill and Amy Ryan are absolutely wasted in the throwaway roles of the weary prison doctor and Breslin's right-hand woman, respectively. Finally, the less said about Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson woefully miscast as a computer expert, the better.

Escape Plan pales in comparison to action classics like Predator, First Blood, and The Terminator, but it's certainly worth a viewing should it pop up on Netflix.

Rating: ** (*****)

Parkland

Parkland - Dir. Peter Landesman (2013)

The assassination of John F. Kennedy has spawned an entire subculture dedicated to examining every detail of the tragic event. Was it the work of a lone gunman or was it a vast conspiracy involving Lyndon B. Johnson, the CIA, the military-industrial complex, the Russians, and organized crime figures? Countless books and films have sprung up over the years speculating on just that with Oliver Stone's "JFK" being one of the more notable.

Millennium Entertainment's Parkland isn't interested in conspiracy theories or facets that have been picked apart ad nauseum. This is an ensemble piece that wishes to tell the story of the little people whose lives were forever affected by JFK's assassination, just as the entire country was. Released to coincide with the 50^th anniversary of Kennedy's death, Parkland was written and directed by first-timer Peter Landesman, a former journalist who based the screenplay on the book, Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy by Vincent Bugliosi, a district attorney best known for prosecuting Charles Manson.

Clothing manufacturer Abraham Zapruder (Paul Giamatti) excitedly arrives at Dealy Plaza with his 8mm Bell & Howell camera in the hopes of capturing the President's motorcade as it passed by. Instead, Zapruder unwittingly filmed the most infamous home movie ever made, clear footage of JFK's shooting. Dr. Charles Carrico (Zac Efron), a young resident at Parkland Memorial Hospital, is the first physician to treat Kennedy when he is rushed into the emergency room. As medical personnel scramble in a blood soaked ER, a dazed Jackie Kennedy (Kat Steffens) hands a veteran nurse (Marcia Gay Harden) fragments of her husband's skull. Robert Oswald (James Badge Dale) is left in shock when he learns his younger brother (Jeremy Strong) is responsible for killing the president. Gordon Shanklin (David Harbour), head of the FBI's Dallas field office, berates James Hosty (Ron Livingston), upon learning that they had been investigating Lee Harvey Oswald, including receiving a threatening letter from Oswald. Roy Kellerman (Tom Welling from "Smallville") and other agents assigned to the President's detail are burdened by the belief they have failed in their duty.

While major players like LBJ and Jackie Kennedy are present in Parkland, the focus is clearly on the individuals who would otherwise be considered historical footnotes. Zapruder is haunted by the images he has seen and has his faith in the American dream shaken. Robert Oswald faces an uncertain future knowing his family will become pariahs for what his brother has done.  Landesman also broaches topics that one normally wouldn't think of. Members of Kennedy's staff remove seats from the cabin of Air Force One in order to accommodate his casket. Zapruder and Forrest Sorrels (Billy Bob Thornton), a Secret Service agent assigned to Kennedy's detachment, struggle to find a photo lab to develop the 8mm film, a relatively new process in the 60's. No church or cemetery is willing to accept Lee Harvey Oswald's remains. During the funeral, Robert must rely on paparazzi to serve as pallbearers.

Tom Hanks served as one of the producers for Parkland and it's disappointing he didn't take a Band of Brothers approach to the subject matter. Zapruder and Robert Oswald are interesting enough to support their own films. A medical drama revolving around the Parkland staff as they treat Kennedy and Oswald would also be extremely compelling. At less than 90 minutes, Parkland barely scratches the surface and squanders an amazing cast. Despite turning in strong performances, Marcia Gay Harden, Mark Duplass (as Kennedy aide Ken O'Donnell), and Jackie Earle Haley (as the priest who delivers last rites) appear in glorified cameos. James Badge Dale, who has quickly become one of Hollywood's most reliable character actors, brings a sense of pathos to his role that is almost undermined by Jacki Weaver's over-the-top performance as overbearing mother, Marguerite, steadfast in her belief that her younger son was a secret agent for the U.S. government.

Landesman employs a documentary style akin to Paul Greengrass, minus the headache inducing shaky cam. Not surprising that Barry Ackroyd, who also shot United 93, Green Zone, and Captain Phillips, served as cinematographer. The result allows the audience to feel like a fly on the wall while maintaining tension throughout the short runtime.

Parkland finds a fresh perspective on a significant moment in history, but still feels like a missed opportunity. The movie is blessed with a wealth of talented actors and intriguing characters, yet never gives them enough time to shine. Still, it earns a mild recommendation solely on star power.

Rating: **½ (*****)

Machete Kills

Machete Kills - Dir. Robert Rodriguez (2013)

Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino paid homage to the exploitation movies of their youth with the 2007 double feature Grindhouse. They had big plans to turn it into a franchise until the film died at the box office. Still, there was enough interest to spinoff Machete, a machete wielding badass who made his first appearance in one of Grindhouse's faux-trailers.

Described as ”FBI, CIA, and DEA all rolled into one mean burrito," Machete starred in a self-titled feature film bolstered by over-the-top action and an eclectic cast that included Robert DeNiro and Lindsay Lohan. Of course, Machete couldn't have worked without its star, Trejo, the craggily faced and tattooed character actor in his biggest role to date. Trejo returns in the sequel, Machete Kills, which remains faithful to its B-movie roots while upping the ante by adding a sci-fi spin. There's a lead villain cut from the same mold as Hugo Drax from Moonraker and plenty of Star Wars references.

A mission to foil an arms deal ends disastrously for Machete and ICE agent Sartana (Jessica Alba). Our hero is about to be hanged by a redneck sheriff (William Sadler) when he's pardoned by President Rathcock (Charlie Sheen, billed under his real name of Carlos Estevez). POTUS sends Machete into Mexico to track down a nuclear weapon that has fallen into the hands of a former cartel leader known as Mendez the Madman (Demián Bichir), so called because of his multiple personalities. However, the real mastermind is revealed to be billionaire industrialist Luther Voz (Mel Gibson), who has concocted a plan to engulf the entire world in nuclear war.

Also returning for the sequel are Michelle Rodriguez as the one-eyed revolutionary She and Tom Savini as hitman Osiris Amanpour. Joining them are Amber Heard as beauty queen/secret agent Miss San Antonio and Sofia Vergara as Desdemona, leader of a gang of deadly prostitutes. While the cast is as star-studded as its predecessor, most of the actors (Vanessa Hudgens, for example) appear in glorified cameos. One character, a master of disguise named The Chameleon, is simply there to justify a string of gonzo, guest appearances by Walt Goggins, Lady Gaga, and Cuba Gooding Jr. Only a few get to make any real impression, such as Sheen who has fun playing into his tabloid persona as a boozehound and horndog. Bichir and Gibson (in his first turn as a bad guy) give the best performances as both actors straddle the line between cartoonish villainy and honest-to-goodness gravitas. Bichir, in particular, brings some surprisingly soulful moments to Machete Kills.

Rodriguez's flair for action isn't fully on display here. Machete Kills manages a couple of decent set pieces, usually involving Machete versus Chilean martial arts star Marko Zaror. Unfortunately, much of the film is repetitive with Rodriguez relying one too many times on his hero killing henchmen by throwing them into helicopter blades. Sofia Vergara, who plays it to the hilt, packs a high caliber brassier as well as the crotch gun from Desperado and From Dusk Till Dawn. Even a catfight between Amber Heard and Michelle Rodriguez comes off dull.

Machete Kills opens with another faux-trailer for a third picture, Machete Kills Again…in Space, that offers more thrills than the actual movie that followed. Maybe it's time to say, "Adios," to this franchise.

Rating: ** (*****)

The Purge

The Purge - Dir. James DeMonaco (2013)

"Blessed be the New Founding Fathers for letting us Purge and cleanse our souls, Blessed be America, a nation reborn."

2013 was quite the year for Ethan Hawke. In August, he starred in Getaway, which received some of the worst reviews of the year. Earlier in the year, Hawke also starred in Before Midnight, the third picture in Richard Linklater's critically praised trilogy. While Getaway garnered a paltry 3% on Rotten Tomatoes, Before Midnight landed an impressive 98% and will surely find its way on numerous best-of year end lists. Not to be forgotten is The Purge, a low-budget thriller that came out around the same time as Before Midnight. Although the reviews were lukewarm, The Purge did take in over $87 million at the box office. Quite the haul considering the release date was sandwiched in between Fast and Furious 6 and Man of Steel with Iron Man 3 and Star Trek into Darkness still going strong.

The Purge takes place in the year 2022 as America sees crime rates and unemployment at an all-time low. This is attributed to an annual event known as 'The Purge,' a 12-hour period in which all crime, including murder, is legal. Well, almost all crime. Weapons of mass destruction are off limits and high-ranking government officials are not to be touched. Other than that, anything goes.

Thanks to the Purge, James Sandin (Hawke) has done extremely well for himself by selling high-tech security systems. He's sold quite a few to fellow residents in his affluent suburban neighborhood, enough to build a new addition to his spacious McMansion. As the Purge commences, Sandin puts his home on lockdown and settles in for a quiet night with the wife, Mary (Lena Headey), and kids, Charlie (Max Burkholder) and Zoey (Adelaide Kane). However, Charlie notices a wounded man (Edwin Hodge) outside the house crying for help. Against his father's protests, Charlie lets the stranger in and sets off a deadly chain of events. A gang of masked assailants come knocking to demand the Sandins hand over the "homeless pig" or they will tear down the gates and kill everyone in the house.

The Purge was written and directed by James DeMonaco, who was previously a screenwriter on The Negotiator and the remake of Assault on Precinct 13 that also starred Hawke. As a siege and home invasion picture, The Purge has a lot in common with the original Assault as well as The Strangers with Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman. It has all the hallmarks of a B-movie, but DeMonaco seeks to elevate the material with some heavy-handed political rhetoric. The country is under the sway of a group called the New Founding Fathers, an obvious analogue for the Tea Party, and participating in the Purge is seen as a patriotic duty. Of course, the easiest targets are the poor and disenfranchised, such as the stranger, who happens to be black and a veteran. The villains are young, white, and led by a handsome gentleman (Rhys Wakefield) with blue blooded affectations and a prep school uniform.

Wakefield gives a creepy performance and his gaunt frame makes him look like the perfect candidate to play a Batman villain. Hawke and Headey are also good, but the acting and the concept aren't enough to shake off the silliness.

The Purge requires a little suspension of disbelief. Just because people are allowed to cut loose for one day a year, doesn't necessarily mean they'll be law-abiding citizens are the other 364 days. Also, the characters behave in foolish ways that seem to be dictated by whatever is required to progress the story. Characters decide to split up like a bunch of teenagers in a slasher flick. The second act consists of the Sandins searching their home and arguing over what to do with the stranger. At least, the climax is action packed as a free-for-all erupts between the wholesome nuclear family and the bloodthirsty invaders.

The Purge won't be mistaken for serious cinema though it does work as a solid genre piece. The story is simplistic and, at less than 90 minutes, the film moves at a brisk pace.

Rating: ** (*****)

The Place Beyond the Pines

The Place Beyond the Pines - Dir. Derek Cianfrance (2013)

"If you ride like lightning, you're gonna crash like thunder."

Derek Cianfrance debuted as a filmmaker with 1998's Brother Tied, but didn't gain widespread notice until his second feature, "Blue Valentine," an intimate and heartbreaking story of a dissolving marriage. Cianfrance's latest movie, The Place Beyond the Pines, is a much more ambitious effort that re-teams the writer/director with Blue Valentine star Ryan Gosling.

Place Beyond the Pines is a generational drama told in three parts about the sins of the father passing on to their sons. The tale begins with an uninterrupted tracking shot of Luke Glanton (Ryan Gosling), the main attraction at a traveling carnival. Luke and his partners, the Heartthrobs, ride their motorcycles around and around within the confines of a caged sphere, an apt allusion for Luke's vagabond life. That is, until he runs into old flame, Romina (Eva Mendes), and discovers they had a son together. Luke decides to stick around. In his own words, "I wasn't around my dad...look at the way I turned out." However, his job prospects are slim and the only work he can get is fixing cars at a low-rent body shop run by Robin (Ben Mendelsohn, once again cast as a sweaty lowlife). Looking to score some fast cash, Luke and Robin cobble a plan to rob banks with the former hitting hard and fast before escaping on his bike. There, Robin will be waiting with a box truck to scoop up Luke and make their escape.

The second act changes gears as we follow Avery Cross (Bradley Cooper), a squeaky clean beat cop who crosses paths with Luke, now dubbed the 'Moto-Bandit.' Avery's newfound notoriety catches the eye of veteran detective Peter Deluca (Ray Liotta). Soon, Avery finds himself in a dirty world where he's forced to take payoffs and steal evidence from police lockup. The story leaps forward fifteen years in the third act to focus on Jason (Dane DeHaan) and AJ (Emory Cohen), the respective sons of Luke and Avery. Jason has a lot of questions about the father he never knew while AJ feels ignored by his dad, who is in the running for New York's Attorney General. The two become friends not knowing the improbable connection they share.

Cianfrance announces his bold vision for Place Beyond the Pines right from the beginning with that memorable tracking shot courtesy of DP Sean Bobbitt, who also shot similar sequences for Steve McQueen on Hunger and Shame. Gosling commands attention with every scene he's in, despite the fact that he plays a slight variation of the taciturn loner seen in Drive. Gosling's smoldering charisma is so undeniable that the film suffers when he disappears. This is no slight on Bradley Cooper, but his character isn't nearly as interesting and his travails are fairly formulaic. The movie does improve in the third act with the arrival of Dane DeHaan, who bares more than a resemblance to a young Leonardo DiCaprio. DeHaan has quickly established himself as one of Hollywood's top newcomers due to his work on Lawless and Chronicle. His performance here is strong and carries the final section of Pines while Cohen overplays his hand with a thick Long Island accent. Eva Mendes is also terrific as the glammed down Romina. Well, at least as glammed down as Eva Mendes can get.

The Place Beyond the Pines is an uneven effort by Derek Cianfrance, but the writer/director has nothing to be ashamed about. There's a melancholy lyricism to the movie, which is handsomely shot and littered with emotional performances and naturalistic dialogue.

Rating: ** ½ (*****)

Kick-Ass 2

Kick-Ass 2 - Dir. Jeff Wadlow (2013)

Scotsman Mark Millar is one of the top writers currently in the comic book industry. He's able to find a unique slant to traditional superhero tropes. Millar's magnum opus, Superman: Red Son, is a brilliant look at what would have happened if baby Kal-El had landed in Stalin Russian instead of Smallville, Kansas. Millar's talent as an author is frequently lost by his proclivities for being a provocateur. His works, such as Wanted and Nemesis, are known to frequently use profanity and violence for shock value. Millar has also come under fire for his cavalier attitude towards the depiction of rape. This leads us to Kick-Ass, which initially debuted as an 8-issue mini-series in 2008 and gained notice for Hit-Girl, a 10-year old vigilante described as a cross between Rambo and Polly Pocket. Hit-Girl casually cursed like a sailor and eviscerated bad guys with a variety of deadly weapons. When it came time to turn the comic into a live-action movie, director Matthew Vaughn raised the $30 million budget himself when studios balked at the violence and the young age of the character that caused most of it. The first Kick-Ass film didn't do blockbuster numbers, but it did enough off a modest budget to warrant sequels.

Kick-Ass 2 is based on the second mini-series and the Hit-Girl spin-off that bridges the gap between the two stories. Some time has passed since the events of the previous picture in which geeky Dave Lizewski (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) donned a green wetsuit to moonlight as the superhero Kick-Ass. He mostly got the crap beaten out of him while pint-size dynamo, Mindy Macready aka Hit-Girl (Chloe Grace Moretz), did all the real damage. Dave has hung up the tights, but dons them once more to escape his dreary existence as a high school senior. His past exploits as Kick-Ass have inspired dozens of other New Yorkers to put on their costumes, including Dave's best friend Marty (Clark Duke), now known as Battle Guy. Together, they join Justice Forever, a superhero team founded by Col. Stars & Stripes (Jim Carrey), a grizzled ex-mob enforcer who went legit after finding Jesus.

Now that he's playing in the big leagues, Dave receives further training from Mindy, but the sparring sessions end when her guardian and late-father's former partner, Marcus (Morris Chestnut), catches her in costume during a Ferris Bueller race to the house. Forbidden from being Hit-Girl, Mindy must acclimate to civilian life and dealing with one of her most fearsome foes ever, mean high school girls. Meanwhile, Dave's archenemy, Chris D'Amico (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), vows revenge and transforms himself into the Motherfucker, the world's first supervillain. He gathers his own team of thugs and killers led by a buff KGB assassin dubbed Mother Russia (Olga Kurkulina).

There were mixed message with Kick-Ass. It wanted to deconstruct the superhero genre and show real world consequences to costumed crime fighting. Then, it ended with the title character flying around on a jetpack and blowing a man up with a bazooka. Still, it was a fun action movie that hung on a bravura performance from young Chloe Moretz. Kick-Ass 2 is just a mess.

Matthew Vaughn had a flair for action, but he only serves as producer for the sequel. The reins are handed over to writer/director Jeff Wadlow, whose uninspiring resume includes Cry_Wolf and Never Back Down. Somehow, he's also managed to land X-Force as his next picture. Wadlow has no knack for action, employing the same choppy approach that too many American filmmakers adopt. A sequence where Mindy clings to a van full of mobsters is the movie's most poorly constructed set piece. Close-ups of Moretz in front of a green screen are embarrassingly obvious.

Kick-Ass himself has regressed as a character. He's less competent and less interesting in Kick-Ass 2 with his primary motivation being boredom. No, the true star of the sequel is Hit-Girl. Moretz manages to convey all the heartbreak that comes with bullying and adolescent awkwardness. However, Wadlow has embraced Millar's preoccupation with juvenile humor. Any emotional payoff from that storyline is tossed out in favor of a sight gag involving projectile vomiting and diarrhea. In fact, any time Kick-Ass 2 tries to inject some semblance of gravitas; it's undercut by jokes done in poor taste. Two deaths are expected to be taken seriously, yet the movie has such a casual attitude toward death that we feel nothing, except maybe nausea. Mother Russia brutally kills several police officers to a rock version of the Tetris theme and an attempted rape scene is played for laughs. This is tame stuff compared to the source material, which featured a gang rape, children being gunned down, and a decapitated dog.

It's also a shame that Kick-Ass 2 doesn't fully utilize its fantastic supporting cast. An unrecognizable Jim Carrey gives his liveliest performance in years in the small role of the Colonel. Carrey really disappears into the part thanks to some prosthetics and thick New York accent. Taking on these character roles can really revitalize his career. Too bad they aren't in better movies. John Leguizamo and an exuberant Donald Faison are wasted along with Iain Glen from Game of Thrones in a throwaway cameo.

Kick-Ass 2 is an out and out disappointment rife with abrupt tonal shifts and sloppy storytelling.

Rating: * ½ (*****)