When the Cheshire emerges...

When I wrote my review for Charlie's Country last week I ended up expanding on it as I thought I might, looking at it in a bit more depth in the form of an essay.

And with that I'm back on the Movie Mezzanine bandwagon!

It's been a while since I've been able to write for the site, but now being back from my holiday I'm really keen to get stuck into writing some great film articles on a regular basis.

For now, take a look at this if you'd like an idea of how Rolf de Heer's look at the life of an indigenous man relates to what's going on in Australia right now.

.@katiinkaa write on CHARLIE'S COUNTRY and the complex racial dynamics of Australia: http://t.co/S9lxX5UtMP pic.twitter.com/6cerjeDthV
— Movie Mezzanine (@MovieMezzanine) August 4, 2014

My Prisoners film review can be accessed on here, but I'll be putting it up tomorrow in full. That's a promise. Meanwhile, my news of the week.

My review of Prisoners will be published tomorrow.

Sticking with tonight's usual theme though, you get two articles I wrote for Movie Mezzanine during the week!

After the site's reveal of our top films of the 1970s, I took the liberty at thinking about how lists come to define many people's movie-watching - myself included.

ICYMI, @Katiinkaa wrote about "anarchy disguised as order" when it comes to our obsession with making lists. http://t.co/BfepVGtozs
— Movie Mezzanine (@MovieMezzanine) October 18, 2013

And then I had something to say on the Fifty Shades of Grey production...

Could Charlie Hunnam's decision to leave Fifty Shades of Grey end up saving his career? @Katiinkaa thinks so. http://t.co/DYCYIuNpLZ
— Movie Mezzanine (@MovieMezzanine) October 18, 2013

Things you may have missed from me this week:

Do the Coalition know what their Internet filter policy is? http://t.co/4xrjpUui68 #storify #ausvotes #auspol
— Katina V (@Katiinkaa) September 5, 2013

Tonight's review has a bonus entree for those of you like me keeping warm and cosy on the couch on this Saturday night.

I'm now what I'd like to think a contributor proper to Movie Mezzanine with a second piece now published. Have a read and tell me what you think:

Here's @Katiinkaa on why next year's 'Fargo' series on FX warrants equal doses of skepticism and excitement. http://t.co/iPYTi9rPAH
— Movie Mezzanine (@MovieMezzanine) August 22, 2013

***

This week's film was rather disappointing.

Kick-Ass (MA 15+)

THE FIRST film about Dave Lizewski and his invention of Kick-Ass was a direct response to Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy if nothing else. Twisting direct quotes and scenes, Matthew Vaughn's telling of this fanboy's fantasies was a punchy look at how superheroes in the real world could come to exist. And an 11-year-old Chloe Grace Moretz saying the 'c' word for good measure.

Three years later we see the return of Dave/Kick-Ass (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Mindy/Hit Girl (Moretz) in the time after the first film's events. The crime fighting has stopped but Dave wants back in. The thought of achieving success as Kick-Ass is an addiction, and with Mindy by his side as trainer and potential partner in crime Dave believes they could do great things.

This sequel in many ways is a repeat of its predecessor. The Spider-Man references/style continues, there's another bad reference from the little lady and a new superhero father figure emerges in Jim Carrey's Colonel Stars and Stripes.

More emphasis is placed on Mindy coming out of her shell as a 15-year-old. She is subject to bullying at school from the mean girls she tried to befriend and discovers how males can be seen as an object of desire. Secret fantasies are also a game changer for The Motherf----er (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), in dominatrix-inspired get-up as the world's first supervillain. He's out for Kick-Ass' blood to avenge the death of his father.

It becomes a battle of the supporters as both Kick-Ass and The Motherf----r have strength in numbers. The good team is an odd bunch, but all reveal good reasons for being there in the film's most poignant scene. The bad guys - well, that's where the film begins to spiral.

Photo: collider.com

John Leguizamo is the only sane one in the baddie camp as he tries to explain the political incorrectness of henchmen names like Genghis Carnage and Black Death. It doesn't work, and The Motherf----r steadily declines into a psychotic state. The film eventually hits rock bottom as it attempts to make a potential rape scene a point for laughter.
Taylor-Johnson may impress with his abs but not particularly with a whinier Dave, and Moretz, while the best thing about the film, still threatens to over-sexualise the now-not-completely-innocent Mindy.

Director Jeff Wadlow took over from Vaughn to create a similarly stylised affair. But gags best kept to the Batman series of the 60s somehow make their way into this hyper-violent world where they don't belong, and the film suffers as a painful return as it struggles to kick any butts or gain credibility.

Rating: 2/5

MISSED LAST WEEK'S REVIEW? See what I thought of Elysium.

I wrote earlier this week about feeling as if I'm back in the film critic game.

But to cap a good week off, on top of now having my Daily Liberal reviews recognised on Rotten Tomatoes, I am now also a contributor to American film site Movie Mezzanine.

I'm one of a number of contributors from around the world, all of us I'm sure there to hopefully gain that little bit more exposure and continue crafting our film-writing talents.

Photo: tonedeaf.com

My first piece is on the big news out of the Australian entertainment industry this week, the change in US DVD cover for The Sapphires.

If you would like to have a read and share your love please do, and any comments are appreciated as always.

The idea is that I'll be an opinion/feature writer on the site and bring my views on news in the film industry from around the world.

***

Quality rather than appearance... ethics rather than rules... knowledge rather than achievement... integrity rather than determination... serenity rather than acquisitions.

Intention is the energy of your soul coming into contact with your physical reality.