Elysium & Kick-Ass 2

Elysium

Image property of TriStar Pictures

Imagine living in a world that has become over populated and stricken with poverty, crime, and disease.  Now imagine that, with enough economic privilege, you can escape to a society for the elite, where the living is luxurious and no disease is incurable. 

This is the unharmonious setting of writer and director Neill Blomkamp's,  early August release, Elysium.

This film captures the raw struggles of the unprivileged citizens of a future planet Earth.  Matt Damon plays Max, a former orphan turned ex-criminal parolee.  Damon's portrayal of Max is more than convincing, as he makes an attempt to bring justice and balance to the forgotten people of Earth. 

Meanwhile, the attempts made by citizens of Earth are crushed by the work of Secretary of Defense, Delacourt.  Jodie Foster makes a  return to the silver screen after her two-year break in movie releases as the smart, suave yet brutal, Delacourt. 

The story of Elysium suffered in moments that dwelled on minor plot aspects, making its 109 minute runtime feel a bit long.  Fortunately, the film retained a standard of quality and made excellent use of the opposite settings of Earth and the lush world of Elysium and the characters built within them. 

This is a film for viewers that enjoyed the 2009 release of Blomkamp's District 9.  He has a way of creating hypothetical settings that feel completely real for the duration of his works. 

For anyone who prefers their science-fiction in a non-violent way, it may be a good idea to steer clear of Elysium.  For those who are brave and enjoy a little gore, however, this may be your new favorite movie, as it earned an R-rating for it's use of violence and realistic bloodshed.

 






Kick-Ass 2

Image property of Universal Pictures

The sequel to Kick-Ass, the 2010 self-made superhero release Kick-Ass 2 debuted in theaters nation-wide on August 16th. 

Where the first film was the pursuit of one teen to become a superhero in the crime-ridden modern world, this installment proved to be the story of the rise of villains attempting to end the fame and success of Dave Lizewski's alter-ego, Kick-Ass (played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson).  While this villainous rise to power is devastating, there is hope, as a new team of self-made superheroes begin to assemble to fight crime.

This film focuses heavily on the character Mindy Macready/Hit-Girl, who quickly gained fan-following after the first film was released.  The character is played by one of Hollywood's newest it-girls, Chloë Grace Moretz. 

The other note-worthy cast members include Jim Carrey, Donald Faison (Turk from TV's Scrubs), and Christopher Mintz-Plasse (McLovin of Superbad).

Though not as novel as the first movie, this film still manages to provide an interesting and thrilling viewing experience.


Thank you for reading!