HTF Blu-Ray Review: KICKASS Combo Pack - Page 2

I just spent the last couple hours listening to the commentary track, which I thought was phenomenal. It was apparently recorded shortly after the premiere and after party, and you can almost hear him sobering up as the movie goes on. For all of that, Vaughn takes the effort seriously, alternating between practical tidbits of how various shots and production aspects were achieved with the unique war stories that come from making an independent film like this one. Most gratifying, he invests in the sincere character beats as much as I did -- it's nice when you can tell a filmmaker cares about the things you cared about. Mark Millar is suck a cynical S.O.B. that it's hard to invest in any of his work. Most of the changes Vaughn and screenwriter Jane Goldman made were toward the point of making Big Daddy, Katie etc. less alienating than they are on the page and polishing Millar's iffy dialogue. Because Vaughn doesn't have much of a bedside manner, he's honest, airing disagreements and frustrations with his crew that a more personable director maybe wouldn't. As a listener, it was great to get a window into what went wrong as well as what went right. Just a highly recommended track, if you love filmmaking or just love the movie itself.

I could not get this BD to load in my 3-year old Sony 300.   Firmware updates can only go so far. 

It was just the excuse I needed to go looking for a new BD player.  I settled on the Sony 570.  Man oh man, what have I been missing!?!?!!!!!    

This player is nearly instant on. It's lightning fast, loaded w/ new features and the Kick-Ass BD, even with all its' gadgets and live material loaded right up almost instantly.   

I suspect that we'll start to see more discs like Kick-Ass that push features & cause problems for the older BD players.  But frankly, I'm so glad I upgraded players, I don't mind.  It is a great disc and will buy a copy very soon (rented for my first viewing). 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adam Lenhardt 

This definitely had the longest load time of any disc I've played so far. And a good five minutes of that load time was with a completely black screen, which had me nervous. I think it's because of all of the LG Live overlays and gadgets. Once the disc finally made it to the menu it worked without a hitch. Terrific transfer, and a terrific making of documentary.

This has got to be due you your brand of player. I watched this twice over the past two days, once on my ps3 and again on my s370. Load times were under a minute on both machines.

What a fantastic film, well done all around. Hit Girl and Big Daddy made this film shine.

Amazon has this for just $12.99 right now!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ron-P 

This has got to be due you your brand of player. I watched this twice over the past two days, once on my ps3 and again on my s370. Load times were under a minute on both machines.

A couple weeks after Ron and I had this exchange, one of the firmware updates from Panasonic resolved the issue. Just FYI for anyone with Panasonic players holding off on this disc because of what they may have read.

I found the deal yesterday and ordered it.  Last week they had The Wolfman for $12.99 and now it's back up to the mid-$20s, so now's a good time to jump on this one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neil Middlemiss 

Amazon has this for just $12.99 right now!

 Best Buy has it for the same price, in-store.

^ thats exactly why amazon has it for that price this week.

Given the Director's comments on wanting to put out an extended cut, and a sequel due in two years, it seems pretty likely this will get another release soon enough. Hopefully with better picture quality.

Just something to keep in mind.

As far as I can tell, the sequel is not even a sure thing, let alone "due."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaron Silverman 

As far as I can tell, the sequel is not even a sure thing, let alone "due."

Actually, Kick-Ass: Balls to the Walls was announced a while back and is in production, and due in 2012. 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1650554/

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Frezon 

...and the five-minute load time my Panasonic BD-10 (1.0 player) had with Avatar.

Hmmm...  Even Mike acquired this BD?  Didn't think this would be your cup of tea -- or am I mistaken(?)...

Anyway, I'm really tempted by that BB/Amazon price to blind-buy this after passing on it long ago because of its generally "rotten" showing around the critics circle (both amongst the highly reputable and not) -- and it's even discounted just that tad bit further in my personal Amazon Gold Box list "today only"...

One thing that holds me back though is the amount of four letter words and assorted "foul language" apparently rampant in this flick -- not quite so much because I might be offended by them (though maybe it will indeed be a bit much for my taste), but that it may be difficult to find an appropriate time to watch it w/out all that language disturbing others, including my own kids (even if my wife decides she likes it like she did w/ Dogma and Watchmen -- sans a couple of the more gory/extreme takes/scenes in the latter's director's cut).

Hmmm... maybe this could fit into my new "lunch break" on my work-at-home Thursdays schedule (as my wife would say )...  Tempting indeed...

EDIT: Took another look on RottenTomatoes, and I must've remembered wrong about it getting panned by critics before (though it certainly was not all raves amongst the more reputable critics).  Now that I look again, it was probably Roger Ebert's 1-star review that discouraged me most (although I probably do have it on my currently inactive, Blockbuster Online queue).  Of course, I've also been quite disappointed by a few of Ebert's 4-star raves in the past too, eg. The Cell...

_Man_

Quote:

Originally Posted by ManW_TheUncool 

 

Hmmm...  Even Mike acquired this BD?  Didn't think this would be your cup of tea -- or am I mistaken(?)...

 

 

You are mistaken...     I was just commenting/comparing on my own long load times with Avatar.

I didn't buy this disc...yet.  I am, however, quite tempted...given how many people here on the HTF have enjoyed it--including Robert Crawford and many others.

But, like you, I'm not quite sure when and where I'll fit it into my queue.  Today, I had the rare couple of hours to myself and used it to watch Planet Terror (Grindhouse).  I actually ripped the plastic off the case of the Steelbook DVD case I purchased when the DVD first went on sale at Best Buy!  Just to give you an idea of how these things sometimes take a fair amount of time for me. 

  so how did you enjoy Planet Terror, Mike?  I liked it though I'm not exactly a big fan of the old grindhouse fare unless we count all the somewhat-less gory stuff that came out of the old Hong Kong/Taiwanese studios that both filmmakers (along w/ some others like Sam Raimi) apparently adored and obsessed over in the past -- my wife wasn't as keen on that particular flick, but she's definitely much more squeamish than me...

BTW, as I noted in my edit above, Kick-Ass apparently did garner better reviews than I recalled -- Roger Ebert's 1-star notwithstanding.  Maybe I'm rationalizing again (as usual)... 

Too bad though I can't seem to find something else worthwhile to pair up w/ this to qualify for free shipping from Amazon.  Maybe I'll just order it from BB for in-store pickup instead.  Anyone know how long the sale price will last?  Apparently, I was mistaken about the grand opening day for the new nearby BB -- it's actually set for next Friday, instead of last Friday -- so would prefer to just wait for the new BB opening for easier pickup, if the sale price will last...

_Man_

Quote:

Originally Posted by ManW_TheUncool 

  so how did you enjoy Planet Terror, Mike? 

I don't want to derail the thread...but I wasn't thrilled with it.  I liked Death Race much better. 

I say we should both go out on a limb with Kick-Ass and see what we think! 

An awful lot of members here ended up really liking it.  You just have to be okay with the rather unorthodox language from the children.  At least that's the thing I've read most often as being off-putting to viewers. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Frezon 

I don't want to derail the thread...but I wasn't thrilled with it.  I liked Death Race much better. 

 

 

Well, I wouldn't go so far as to say I was "thrilled" w/ Planet Terror -- I just thought it was fun and likeable enough for the ($10?) price I paid (to the Fulton St vendor ), which wasn't quite that far off from the current asking price for the Kick-Ass BD (though I don't think the street vendor has discounted it that much yet?).  I probably would've picked up the Death Race BD also for similar price, if it played on the kind of cult film tropes that I find more nostalgic and fun (as in PT).

 

Then again, I've also passed on Shaun of the Dead (and the first Evil Dead -- though just barely) so far while picking up and loving Hot Fuzz -- really looking forward to the blind-buy on Scott Pilgram vs the World now...

 

I say we should both go out on a limb with Kick-Ass and see what we think! 

 

An awful lot of members here ended up really liking it.  You just have to be okay with the rather unorthodox language from the children.  At least that's the thing I've read most often as being off-putting to viewers. 

True that.  So am I hearing this right?  You're actually convincing both of us to rationalize... jump on this one for a change?

Hmmm...  I guess it *could* be delicious Thursday matinee fare for me...

EDIT:  Alright, it's a done deal.  I decided to spring for the upcoming Avatar SE BD set (since I held out for this) + Master and Commander BD (which I eyed, but never bought before) w/ Amazon's $5-off offer for the combo to go w/ my personal Gold Box offer for the Kick-Ass BD -- and threw in a ~$4 pack-of-4 Microfiber Wonder Cloths (that my kids and I could use for cleaning our stringed instruments ) for good measure in case I change my mind and cancel just the Avatar part of the order (for some unlikely better deal by release day ).  If nothing else, saves me the time and trouble from trekking over to BB just for this BD.   And my apologies for devolving this part of the thread into general bargain hunting talk (and chatter about other films) that's not wholly relevant to the review...

_Man_

Quote:

Originally Posted by ManW_TheUncool 

EDIT: Took another look on RottenTomatoes, and I must've remembered wrong about it getting panned by critics before (though it certainly was not all raves amongst the more reputable critics).  Now that I look again, it was probably Roger Ebert's 1-star review that discouraged me most (although I probably do have it on my currently inactive, Blockbuster Online queue).  Of course, I've also been quite disappointed by a few of Ebert's 4-star raves in the past too, eg. The Cell...

You have to take any of Ebert's reviews for films which involve violence to children with a grain of salt. That is one line with him that, if crossed in a way he deems exploitative, is an automatic deal breaker. Kick-Ass is not filled with violence, but what violence there is is brutal, graphic and with lasting consequences. No PG-13 bloodless bullets here. When characters get shot or stabbed or mutilated, they bleed. When they get punched, they bruise. This rubbed many critics the wrong way, especially since one of the combatants is a preteen girl. Director Matthew Vaughn argued that showing brutally real violence was the only responsible thing to do, because when you show ordinary people dressing up in costumes and putting themselves in the same space as the city's most dangerous people, terrible things happen. If you romanticize it, you're more likely to draw out Kick-Ass copy cats that will get themselves beaten up or killed. I agree with him.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adam Lenhardt 

You have to take any of Ebert's reviews for films which involve violence to children with a grain of salt. 

Films, and the taste in them is way to vast, and personal, to take any persons review with anything more then a grain of salt, especially those in the public eye because there's a lot more a play in their reviews then just their opinions and thoughts.

Points taken (about Ebert and reviewers in general) although I don't generally just rely on whatever (very limiting) summary ratings, but usually try to read between the lines as need be and understand where the reviewer's coming from to help better gauge my own potential reactions/feelings toward the film.  Sometimes, you just don't need to give something a try to know well enough not to do it (based on contextual understanding of trusted recommendations, advice, etc.), but I guess this is one of those cases that was not so easy to decipher despite Ebert's much more favorable reactions/reviews to recent films like Watchmen or older ones like Natural Born Killers (or even The Cell for that matter).

Anyway, looking forward to checking this one out for myself on some Thursday afternoon when the kids (and neighbors) are not around...

_Man_

To be honest, I take the reviews from regular folks like you guys over anything a film reviewer has to say about a movie.  Over the years, there have been too many films pan by establishment reviewers that have turned out to be very entertaining to me.  I view films to be entertained and if they do that then I'm satisfied as a film lover.

Crawdaddy

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robert Crawford 

To be honest, I take the reviews from regular folks like you guys over anything a film reviewer has to say about a movie.  Over the years, there have been too many films pan by establishment reviewers that have turned out to be very entertaining to me.  I view films to be entertained and if they do that then I'm satisfied as a film lover.

 

 

That's why I mentioned your opinion of the film, Robert.  I agree completely.  Although I really enjoy reading Ebert's writing.

Do I get burned sometimes?  Sure.  But we all do. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ron-P 

 

 

Actually, Kick-Ass: Balls to the Walls was announced a while back and is in production, and due in 2012. 

 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1650554/

A note on IMDB doesn't qualify as an official announcement.  Every article I've seen regarding the sequel is entirely vague as to when or if it'll be made.  If you can find something more concrete I'd definitely like to see it!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Frezon 

I didn't buy this disc...yet.  I am, however, quite tempted...given how many people here on the HTF have enjoyed it--including Robert Crawford and many others.

Me too.  If I end up not liking this I'm going to blame Crawdaddy.

When you said Death Race was better than Planet Terror, did you mean Death Proof?  I found Death Proof (the extended version) boring and stupid.

Ooops.  Yup.  I meant Death Proof.

I haven't seen the extended cut.  The theatrical cut seemed plenty long enough for me.  I don't know how much time was added to the original. 

According to Wiki (and other sources), it went from 90 minutes to 127 minutes!

Then I could see where people might have an issue! 

But now...back to our regularly scheduled discussion about KickAss. 

I'm interested to hear what Mike and Man think.  I for one really enjoyed Kick Ass--and for $12.99 you can't go wrong!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adam Gregorich 

I'm interested to hear what Mike and Man think.  I for one really enjoyed Kick Ass--and for $12.99 you can't go wrong!

Mike loved it! 

I had another couple of hours to spend with my HT this weekend while my wife was involved in other projects and it was Kick-Ass which got pulled off the shelf.

I thought the film was inventive.  The story and characters were fresh as fresh can be.  I enjoyed myself from beginning to end.  I was hooked right at the opening sequence when the guy takes the dive off the skyscraper.  When the film was over, I realized I had a big grin on my face.  The cast was terrific.  There was humor, action, pathos.  It was a coming-of-age, action thriller...I guess.    I remember when I was a kid...reading my DC comics in the '60s and '70s...hoping upon hope that it would be possible to get the ability to fly.    this movie really spoke to my childhood in that way.  Great premise.

One of the things I found the most fun was the constant realization on the part of the characters about how difficult it would be to be a superhero in the real world...but to then, as a viewer, get caught up in some of the amazing action sequences only to be challenged to suspend your belief that these characters could really be performing these acts. 

Hit Girl absolutely stole the film. 

Finally got around to seeing this one on BD (after repeated postponements in trying to find a good time for it).

I (and my wife) concur w/ Mike -- and my wife might actually like it even more than me despite being a little bit squeamish about a couple of moments (eg. the giant microwave moment).   Definitely not for the squeamish though -- and it's definitely very much for a "mature" audience.

One thing.  I had trouble getting the BD to load on my Panny BD60 and finally had to try my first firmware update on the player for it.  After the firmware update, the disc loaded and played just fine (even though it took a long while to load), but I did have playback trouble (eg. image breakup, freezing, skipping, etc.) w/ the first several minutes of the long making-of documentary and am not sure if other special features will work.  And then, when we tried loading it again a couple days later, we had the exact same problem of it not loading again.  The player tries to read the disc for a couple minutes and then stops and says it cannot read the disc (just like before the firmware update).

Very strange since I did get it to work (the one time) right after the firmware update.  Given what's been said about problems w/ the disc, I'm wondering if I just need a way to flush whatever might be stored in the player's built-in persistent memory in order to get it to work again -- I'm guessing its memory was flushed w/ the firmware update.  The player doesn't seem to offer any simple way to flush its persistent memory -- and doing some sort of full factory reset is probably not a viable solution since I'd probably need to do this everytime I try to load the disc, if that's the case.  And no, I don't have an SD card in the player and never allowed it to connect to the internet for BD-Live.  Of course, there's also the possibility that my disc is bad since I did have some playback trouble w/ the long documentary the one time I got the disc to work -- nothing is visibly wrong w/ the disc though.

Anyone else having trouble getting the disc to work again in subsequent tries after previously successful playback?

_Man_