Adventures in Netflix: Kick Ass **

I know that I'm supposed to like this movie.  I'm something of a comic book movie apologist.  For crying out loud, I've even defended The Green Lantern in more than one semi-heated debate.

When this movie came out in 2010, I saw the trailers and thought it looked pretty good.  I definitely wanted to see it, but, truth be told, a super-violent super hero movie can be a tough sell with the wife.  That being the case, I just barely got around to seeing Kick Ass today, fully expecting to enjoy it.

But, I didn't.

It might have been the fact that it was poorly made, rife with tone and pacing inconsistencies.  But, let's be honest, I've overlooked that before.  No, the biggest reason I didn't like Kick Ass was that it was morally repugnant.

On Second Thought: The Proposition (2006)

Since it's been a while since I laid out my vision for this blog, I'll refresh everyone's memory.  In posts filed under "On Second Thought," I've planned to re-watch a movie I haven't seen in some time and reflect on whether it's improved with age.  For the inaugural "On Second Thought" post, I've chosen The Proposition, the 2006 hyper-violent Australian western directed by John Hillcoat.

I know, I know, this is a random choice and most of you probably don't even remember hearing about this movie.  I'll try to pick more widely seen movies in the future.

I saw The Proposition only once.  I actually remember a surprising number of details about the day I went to see the movie in the theater way back in the spring of 2006.  But, when I re-watched it last month, I realized that I'd basically forgotten the entire plot.  I remembered the movie as being extremely and brutally violent and a slow-burn thematic movie that succeeded more in terms of tone and mood than anything else.  On that count, my memory wasn't far off.

Best of 2011: #4 Drive

There's a scene near the end of the end of Drive that perfectly captures the entire existential complexity of the story and characters as well as the exquisite style of the filmmaker.  This one scene will tell you everything you need to know about this movie.

If you've talked to anyone about this movie, you've probably heard about it already.  But, I should probably just say it...SPOILER ALERT.