McBone Mini-Reviews; the McBone Week in Movies

More Than a Game - McBone loves basketball, and as Akronites, we naturally follow the exploits of fellow Akron native LeBron James with particular interest.  That said, the excellent documentary, More Than a Game, is not about LeBron James.  Nor is it about basketball.  MTaG guides us through the public school careers of 5 friends, one of whom happens to be the greatest basketball player on the planet.

From their beginning as a small time traveling team to their blossoming into a national powerhouse at St Vincent St Mary High School, we learn about what happens when people are loyal to each other.  Trust, commitment, friendship and a wise mentor--that's what guides these young men, who grew up underprivileged and poor, as they seek the coveted high school national championship.  The journey to the end is an arduous one, and they are often dogged by their own human failings, which the filmmakers skillfully capture.  Are you puking yet?  I know I paint a saccharine picture, but I promise you won't puke when you watch this.  Official McBone Rating: 4.0 McBones


Kick-Ass - A seventeen year-old with a hero complex dons a costume, christens himself Kick-Ass, fights crime and more or less gets his ass handed to him.  Along the way he meets a father-daughter team of real superheroes who actually do kick ass.  Together, they take on New York crime boss, his gang of thugs and his wimpy son, who is played by McLovin.

How can a movie that is so very wrong feel so right?  I'm sure that 10 years from now we'll look back and remark how tame it is, but for now Kick-Ass straddles the line of what's acceptable for a child actor and what is not. I won't go so far as to call it controversial, but I admit to being taken aback just a little to hear an 11-year-old girl say the word c--t.

Anyway, what Kick-Ass does is take a big bowl, stirs in lot of Spider-man, some Batman, a heavy dose of Tarantino, some first-person gaming action and bakes it up in a big, demented souffle of awesome.  The special ingredient is Hit-Girl, the pre-teen in question as played with cussing, killing, bloodthirsty glee by Chloe Grace Moretz.  Moretz doens't just steal the show; she single handedly makes the movie relevant.  Bonus feature: Nic Cage, so prone to sucking, doesn't suck as Hit-Girl's dad. Refreshing!  4.0 McBones

nwb