Movie; Emily the Criminal (2022) Caution Spoiler Alert

 Emily the Criminal

Came out; 2022

Time; 1 hours 37 minutes

Watched: Netflix

Rating; R for language, some violence and brief drug use

IMDB Rating; 6.7/10

Caution; Spoiler Alert

Staring.

Aubrey Plaza as Emily

Theo Rossi as Youcef

Bernardo Badillo as Javier

Megalyn Echikunwoke as Liz

Story Line.

Emily (Aubrey Plaza) is saddled with student debt and locked out of the job market due to a minor criminal record. Desperate for income, she takes a shady gig as a "dummy shopper," buying goods with stolen credit cards supplied by a handsome and charismatic middleman named Youcef (Theo Rossi). Faced with a series of dead-end job interviews, Emily soon finds herself seduced by the quick cash and illicit thrills of black-market capitalism, and increasingly interested in her mentor Youcef. Together, they hatch a plan to bring their business to the next level in Los Angeles

Thoughts.

This movie looked great from the preview, it had potential, but it fell very flat.

The movie was so slow and extremely boring with some tense moments. I think most of can feel what Emily was feeling. Working dead end jobs and trying to come out ahead.

CAUTION; Major Spoiler Alert

Emily lives in Los Angeles and is deeply in debt. She struggles to pay off her student loans, largely because a felony conviction prevents her from obtaining a well-paying job. Consequently, she delivers food as an "independent contractor" for a catering company. A co-worker connects Emily to a "dummy shopper" service that promises to make her $200 in one hour.

The service is revealed to be a credit card fraud ring, and Emily meets Youcef, one of its organizers, who instructs her to purchase a flat-screen TV using a fake card and ID. The next day, Emily is sent on a larger job (purchasing a car on a no-limit credit card) which goes poorly after the dealer discovers the scam, leading to a physical altercation.

Youcef tends her wounds and they discuss their aspirations. Emily, an aspiring artist, wishes to visit South America once her loans are paid off, while Youcef plans to purchase a rental property with the money made from the fraud ring.

On her request, Youcef teaches Emily how to make fake credit cards on her own. He gives her a taser for protection, and instructs her not to sell stolen goods at her home or scam the same store twice in a week. Youcef lies about his involvement with Emily to his cousin Khalil, with whom he works.

While dogsitting for her childhood friend Liz, a buyer for some of her stolen goods follows Emily to her apartment and robs her of her earnings, taking the dog. She tases the buyer and reclaims both.

At a party, Emily learns that there is an opening at Liz's advertising agency, and that Liz has gotten her an interview with Alice, her boss. Emily invites Youcef to the party, which sparks a romance between them.

At a dinner with Youcef's family, Khalil reveals that Emily has been caught hitting the same store twice within a week, prompting the store to post security footage of her online. This leads to a falling-out between Youcef and Khalil, who cuts him out of the fraud ring.

Emily's job interview with Alice goes poorly after she discovers the job is actually an unpaid internship. When Emily objects, Alice insults her, calling her "spoiled".

Youcef reveals to Emily that Khalil had not been paying him for several months. Further, the owner of the rental property he plans to purchase requests an immediate down payment and so he decides to rob the fraud ring itself. Youcef and Emily arrive at the ring's storage unit to find that Khalil has already taken everything, as well as emptying their shared business bank account.

Emily convinces Youcef to confront Khalil at his safehouse, where they attempt to ambush him. Khalil attacks Youcef, severely injuring him, though Emily is able to subdue him using a box cutter. Taking the ring's money and assisting Youcef to his car, she realizes they have lost his car keys and cannot drive away. As police and ambulance sirens draw closer, Emily chooses to abandon him in his car and take the money for herself.

The police eventually raid Emily's apartment and discover she is gone. Now living in South America, she returns to making art. Emily also establishes a credit card fraud ring of her own, recruiting dummy shoppers with the promise of making $200 in one hour.

Movie: Kick Ass 2 (2013) Caution Spoiler Alert

 Kick Ass 2

Came out; 2013

Time; 1 hours 43 minutes

Watched: Netflix

Rating; R for strong brutal violence throughout, pervasive language and sexual content and brief nudity

IMDB Rating; 7.6/10

Caution; Spoiler Alert

Staring;

Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Dave Lizewski AKA Kick Ass

Chloe Grace Moretz as Mindy Macready AKA Hit Girl

Garrett M Brown as Mr. Lizewski

Lyndsy Fonseca as Katie Deauxma

Sophie Wu as Erika Cho

Christopher Mintz-Plass as Chris D'Amico AKA Mother Fucker

Jim Carrey as Colonel Stars and Strips

Morris Chestnut as Detective Marcus Williams

Clark Duke as Marty AKA Battle Guy

Augustus Prew as Todd AKA Ass Kicker

Donald Faison as Dr Gravity

Matt Steinberg as Mr Radical

Steven Mackintosh as Tommy's Dad

Monica Dolan as Tommy's Mum

Yancy Butler as Mrs D'Amico

John Leguizamo as Javier

Story Line.

After Kick-Ass' insane bravery inspires a new wave of self-made masked crusaders, led by the badass Colonel Stars and Stripes, our hero joins them on patrol. When these amateur superheroes are hunted down by Red Mist -- reborn as The Mother F%&*^r -- only the blade-wielding Hit Girl can prevent their annihilation. When we last saw junior assassin Hit Girl and young vigilante Kick-Ass, they were trying to live as normal teenagers Mindy and Dave. With graduation looming and uncertain what to do, Dave decides to start the world's first superhero team with Mindy. Unfortunately, when Mindy is busted for sneaking out as Hit Girl, she's forced to retire-leaving her to navigate the terrifying world of high-school mean girls on her own. With no one left to turn to, Dave joins forces with Justice Forever, run by a born-again ex-mobster named Colonel Stars and Stripes. Just as they start to make a real difference on the streets, the world's first super villain, The Mother F%&*^r, assembles his own evil league and puts a plan in motion to make Kick-Ass and Hit Girl pay for what they did to his dad. But there's only one problem with his scheme: If you mess with one member of Justice Forever, you mess with them all

Thoughts;

We decided to watch number 2 because we had watched the first one.

This wasn't as good as the first one, but it was still pretty good.

I love these movies, I very much enjoy black comedy

CAUTION; Major Spoiler Alert

Dave Lizewski (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) stands several feet away from Mindy Macready (Chloe Grace Moretz) as she aims a gun at him. She fires a round at his chest, throwing him off his feet, but it's shown he was trying out a bulletproof vest. Dave says that was awesome but is nervous when he sees Mindy pull out a bigger gun. He tells her not to shoot it at his chest and he walks away, leaving her to shoot him in the back.

In the four years since Dave became the costumed vigilante known as Kick-Ass, Mindy has been enrolled at school by her new guardian and her father's former partner Marcus (Morris Chestnut) but has been cutting to continue training herself to become tougher. She hasn't gotten caught because she hacked the school's server and gave herself perfect attendance. Dave is dealing with being a high school senior and an increase in fatigue and boredom, even around his friends Marty (Clark Duke) and Todd (Augustus Prew). Additionally, other individuals have gone around dressed as superheroes, inspired by Dave's heroism. Dave asks Mindy to help him continue training to become as good a fighter as she is, which means she subjects him to a lot of beatings and bullets to the chest.

Meanwhile, the spoiled and rotten Chris D'Amico (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) has moved to Long Island and is still seeking revenge against Kick-Ass for the death of his father (in the previous film). He complains to his mother Angie (Yancy Butler) and his new bodyguard/driver Javier (John Leguizamo) about her removing a news report on Kick-Ass from the DVR. Angie blocks out her son by drinking and getting into a tanning bed. Chris throws a tantrum and starts kicking the tanning bed, causing it to break and electrocute his mother.

Dave expresses a fear of dying to Mindy, especially after her father was killed trying to be a superhero. Mindy tells Dave that if he fears death, he will eventually die, and adds that she considers her dad to have been the first true superhero.

Chris is putting away his mom's belongings after her funeral, when Javier comes across a pair of guns that she owned. Chris also happens upon some S&M gear of hers (including anal beads), but he is most interested in the outfit that she has.

Mindy puts Dave's training to the test by having him walk around a dangerous part of the city dressed as a pimp. He is followed by a group of four thugs who harass him with homophobic slurs, but Dave starts to take them on, doing pretty well until they gang up on him. One thug pulls a knife and prepares to kill him, but Mindy comes in dressed as Hit-Girl and single-handedly takes all of them out, ending with her slicing the hand off the lead thug with the knife. Dave and Mindy hear police sirens, forcing Mindy to run. Marcus overhears on the radio that someone fitting the description of Hit-Girl is on the run, and he calls Mindy, who fakes sick and rushes home on her motorcycle before Marcus gets home. She makes it and nearly fools him until he spots blood on her cheek, then sees she's still wearing her costume. Marcus tells her it is time for her to be done with Hit-Girl for good.

Dave finds Mindy at school the next day and tries to talk to her, but she says she's sorry for ditching him and nearly getting him killed, and that she is done with Hit-Girl. Unfortunately, everybody overhearing this conversation thinks Mindy is breaking up with Dave. This includes Dave's girlfriend Katie (Lyndsy Fonseca), who effectively breaks up with him when she mistakenly thinks he is seeing Mindy and refuses to listen to his denials.

Dave still takes it upon himself to be Kick-Ass, receiving a welcome back from the citizens of New York, but he feels alone without Hit-Girl as his partner. He contacts another costumed citizen named Dr. Gravity (Donald Faison), who claims to be a physics professor (he's not) who has a weapon that levitates objects (it's a baseball bat wrapped in tin foil). As he walks the streets, Kick-Ass is attacked by two thugs. He fights back and is helped by Dr. Gravity. They send the thugs away, and Dr. Gravity invites Kick-Ass to join his team of heroes.

At the same time, Chris has donned his mother's S&M gear and fashioned himself a super villain costume, calling himself...The Motherfucker. His first act as a villain is to try and spread the word of his crimes by robbing a convenience store, but he's pissed to find there are no cameras around. He instead starts shooting the beverages, even hitting himself in the eye with his gun because of the recoil.

Marcus, deciding that Mindy needs to live a normal life as a teenage girl, takes her to her first slumber party at the home of the high school's queen bee, Brooke (Claudia Lee), joined by Brooke's two shallow friends Harlow (Tanya Fear) and Dolce (Ella Purnell). They pester Mindy with questions such as if she's ever done anything with a boy. They put on a music video from a boy band called Union J, which gets Mindy's hormones going. She joins the girls to go sniff bath salts.

Meanwhile that same evening, Kick-Ass joins Dr. Gravity at a meeting place for a new team of superheroes known as Justice Forever, led by former mafia hitman turned Born Again Christian superhero, Colonel Stars and Stripes (Jim Carrey). Also joining them is Night-Bitch (Lindy Booth), a young woman who started fighting crime after her sister was murdered; a husband-and-wife duo named Remembering Tommy after their son who disappeared; Insect Man (Robert Emms), a gay superhero who doesn't wear a mask because he feels he has nothing to hide; and Battle Guy, who is really Marty faking an origin story to sound cool, though Dave recognizes him and reveals to Marty that he is Kick-Ass. Together, Justice Forever patrols the streets of the city performing good deeds, such as volunteering at a soup kitchen. Dave enjoys the experience and even starts hooking up with Night-Bitch. Todd tries to join with a wetsuit of his own, taking on the name Ass-Kicker, which Dave and Marty mock him for, causing him to angrily leave.

Chris decides to train himself to fight against Kick-Ass, going as far as getting help from Chuck Liddell. He gets his ass kicked by a skilled fighter (Daniel Kaluuya), but Chris decides to hire this guy to join his planned supervillain team, naming this guy Black Death (which Javier thinks is racist).

At school, Brooke tries out for the cheerleading squad by putting on a risque performance for everyone watching. When Mindy is up, she visualizes a fight as Hit-Girl between a couple of ninjas. She shows off her fighting skills and passes it off as dance moves, which impresses everybody and makes Brooke look inferior.

One evening, Dave and Marty go off in their superhero costumes to join Colonel Stars & Stripes and Night Bitch to catch a man named Jimmy Kim (Benedict Wong), who is running a prostitution ring with girls, and even children, from his village. Colonel S&S busts the bouncer up and storms in with the other three heroes, taking out Kim's gangsters together. When asked where the girls are, Kim refuses to comply, so Colonel S&S brings in his dog Eisenhower to take a bite of Kim's groin, and then threatens to shoot Kim in the head until he relents and admits where the girls are. Justice Forever frees the girls and gives them over $50,000 from Kim to send them on their way.

Meanwhile, Chris continues recruiting villains for his team. With Javier's help, he picks three people: a short-statured and ruthless killer who Chris names The Tumor (Andy Nyman); a former Triad member who is dubbed Genghis Carnage (Tom Wu); and a hulking blond Russian ex-KGB woman who apparently ate her cellmate. She is named Mother Russia (Olga Kurkulina).

Mindy goes on her first date with a boy named Simon (Wesley Morgan). He drives her out to the woods where he tries to hook up with her, but she refuses. Mindy then hears something in the woods and walks near it, only to find Brooke and her friends, along with other high schoolers, parked in their cars. Brooke walks out and tells Mindy that she's a loser who messed with the queen bee and is now getting stung. She gets Simon (whom is her boyfriend) to ditch Mindy and leave her alone in the woods. Mindy goes to Dave's house in tears, expressing her humiliation. He reassures her that she is tough and beautiful, inspiring her to be herself to take them on.

Mindy goes to school the next day looking absolutely stunning in a purple dress and wearing make-up. She catches Brooke trying to use some "Mean Girls" ploy on a dowdy-looking girl, but Mindy tells the girl she doesn't need to follow them and gives her a wad of cash to get herself something nice. Brooke tries to browbeat Mindy again by telling her that she will never live the life that Brooke does, but Mindy simply responds by pulling out a device that looks like a phone. It turns out to be something from her father that causes vomiting and diarrhea. She uses it on Harlow and Dolce, causing them to projectile vomit, and then pulls it on Brooke, causing her to puke and shit herself in front of everybody.

Chris visits his Uncle Ralph (Iain Glen) in prison to ask for his help in killing Kick-Ass. Ralph laughs Chris off, especially when he tells him that his name is The Motherfucker. He has one of Chris's guys call Javier, making Chris listen to Javier getting stabbed and killed by one of Ralph's guys. This inspires Chris to do something drastic.

Colonel S&S is alone with Eisenhower when the dog starts barking. The Colonel finds nothing but then finds The Motherfucker and the other villains coming in. They call themselves the Toxic Mega-Cunts. Mother Russia breaks the Colonel's leg and impales him with a large blade. Chris finds the address and identity of Night-Bitch, whose real name is Miranda Swendlow. He leaves Mother Russia to break the Colonel's neck and decapitate him.

Kick-Ass and the other Justice Forever team members hear of the Colonel's death. They know that Chris is bragging on Twitter as The Motherfucker about killing the Colonel, but they are unable to track his IP address. Dave goes home and finds his dad (Garrett M. Brown) in his room, holding the Kick-Ass suit. He knows his son has been going off late at night as a superhero, and he tells him to stop. Dave coldly rebuffs him and tells him that nobody will remember him when he's gone, and he leaves.

The Toxic Mega-Cunts make their way down a suburban street and find Night-Bitch's home. They break in and chase her into her room where The Motherfucker tries to rape her, but he can't get hard despite his efforts. He orders The Tumor to beat her up. When they leave, the police start showing up, and Mother Russia begins a full-scale assault on every officer who comes by. She grabs a canister of gas and puts a cigarette in there to make a bomb and hurl it at a cop car, then goes as far as ramming a cop car with another car that has a lawn mower on it, shredding two cops apart.

Distraught over the murder of 10 cops, the NY police begin to crack down on everybody seen wearing a mask or costume, whether they are criminals or not. They arrest the remaining members of Justice Forever. The cops arrive at Dave's home where Mr. Lizewski spots them. He takes the fall for Dave and is arrested, claiming that he is Kick-Ass. Dave calls Mindy to ask for her help, but she tell him that she is grounded for the incident at school and is unable to help. He visits his father in the city jail and is asked to promise that he will never wear the costume again.

In his villainous lair, The Motherfucker laments that the shark he bought is immobile. It's also shown that he has loads of fertilizer to make bombs. Todd shows up in his Ass-Kicker costume and inadvertently reveals to The Motherfucker that the man arrested for being Kick-Ass is Dave's father. We see two goons come into Mr. Lizewski's cell when the cops are gone, and they say they want a picture together. Dave and Marty then go back to Marty's place when Dave gets a text from Chris. He collapses to the floor in shock when he looks at his phone. Marty picks it up and finds a horrifying picture of Dave's father, bloodied and hanged by the neck.

Dave goes to his father's funeral, remorseful for what he said to him earlier. The members of Justice Forever (sans Night-Bitch, who is recovering in the hospital) attend without costumes after being released on parole. Dave sees Mindy, who consoles him. Several tombstones away, the Toxic Mega-Cunts (also without costumes) pull out weapons and fire at the attendants, releasing smoke bombs to create a diversion so they can abduct Dave and take him away in a van. Genghis Carnage orders him to put on the Kick-Ass suit, but Dave refuses. The villain pulls a knife on Dave, but he is shot in the head. Mindy has climbed onto the van and begins shooting at the other villains. After an intense and violent chase, she holds The Tumor at gunpoint and forces him to pull over. She interrogates him into telling her and Dave what The Motherfucker's plan is. She then tells Dave to look for pliers so she can cut off The Tumor's dick and feed it to him.

Mindy calls Marcus to tell him that the villains are creating fertilizer bombs to bring the city down. Dave sends out a mass message on Facebook to ask every other wannabe superhero for help.

The Motherfucker rounds up his army of villains to head out and execute their plan, but Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl infiltrate the lair. The Motherfucker laughs at them when he thinks they're fighting alone, but they open the doors to reveal their own army of costumed citizens, including Justice Forever. This makes most of the villains slightly more nervous. Kick-Ass throws the first punch and a large brawl ensues, with Kick-Ass fighting The Motherfucker while Hit-Girl takes on Mother Russia. Kick-Ass chases The Motherfucker out to the roof of the building while Mother Russia nearly kills Hit-Girl. She pulls out an adrenaline needle and holds it near Mother Russia, who thinks it contains a poison. She injects it into Hit-Girl, who fakes being dead, only to jump back with fury, bringing Mother Russia to her knees and repeatedly stabbing her with broken glass until she is dead. Meanwhile, Kick-Ass beats The Motherfucker's face in as payback for all the people he's hurt and killed. He falls through the skylight, but Kick-Ass catches him. The Motherfucker refuses his help and lets go, but then immediately regrets it. He lands in the shark tank and is then ripped apart by the shark.

The heroes make citizens arrests and detain the villains. Justice Forever meets on the roof as a team once more before they retreat to avoid being arrested again. Mindy drops Dave off somewhere on her motorcycle and says she is leaving New York because she doesn't belong there anymore. She kisses Dave and goes off. Dave concludes the film by saying that the world doesn't need a hero who is super, but someone who is brave enough and can really kick ass.

After the end credits, it's shown that Chris survived the shark attack, but his legs are gone, as are most of his fingers (and apparently his dick). He complains and asks for help as he is unable to even take a sip from his cup of water (but still leaving the door open for another sequel).

Movie; Kick Ass (2010) Caution Spoiler Alert

 Kick Ass

Came out; 2010

Time; 1 hours 57 minutes

Watched: HBO Max

Rating; R for strong brutal violence throughout, pervasive language, sexual content, nudity and some drug use – some involving children.

IMDB Rating; 7.6/10

Caution; Spoiler Alert

Staring.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Dave Lizewski AKA Kick Ass

Nicolas Cage as Damon Macready AKA Big Daddy

Chloe Grace Moretz as Mindy Macready AKA Hit Girl

Garrett M Brown as Mr. Lizewski

Evan Peters as Todd

Lyndsy Fonseca as Katie Deauxma

Sophie Wu as Erika Cho

Christopher Mintz-Plass as Chris D'Amico AKA Red Mist

Mark Strong as Frank D'Amico

Story Line.

Dave Lizewski is an unnoticed high school student and comic book fan with a few friends and who lives alone with his father. His life is not very difficult and his personal trials not that overwhelming. However, one day he makes the simple decision to become a super-hero even though he has no powers or training.

Thoughts.

I remember when this movie came out, but I never saw it. In face, this is my first time watching this.

This movie was great! It had a decent story line, lots of action, comedy and the awkwardness of High School all mixed in.

It kept my attention the entire movie and was fun to watch

CAUTION; Major Spoiler Alert

Dave Lizewski (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) opens the film with a narration about how superheroes came into existence. A man in a superhero costume stands on a skyscraper above a crowd ready to show the world his new flight suit. He jumps as people cheer before crashing into a taxi and dying. Dave comments that the man isn't him; just a delusional mental patient. He introduces himself as 'Kick Ass' and starts telling the story of his life.

He begins six months earlier. Dave is a social misfit; a real, natural-born geek, a true nobody at his high school, and invisible to all the girls. He has two good friends, Todd (Evan Peters) and Marty (Clark Duke), and they spend most of their time at the local comic book store. When Dave was 14, his mother died suddenly of an aneurysm and that's when he noticed that, even when things change, they simply stay the same. He is in love with Katie Deauxma (Lyndsy Fonseca) but she barely notices him. A genuinely nice guy, he tries to reach out to people, including Chris D'Amico (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) the spoiled but lonely son of a local mobster, however this plan fails miserably. When he attempts to casually talk to Chris, Chriss' bodyguard scares Dave away because Chris is not allowed to have friends. One day, following a conversation about superheroes at the comic book café, Dave and Todd are robbed by a pair of street gang members. This event inspires Dave to become a superhero and fight crime. He orders a green colored diving suit off the internet, fits two batons to the back, and starts training to become a crime fighter.

After a few weeks of physical training, Dave sees the two men who robbed him and Todd trying to break into a car. Dave dons his suit and confronts them which leads to a fight. It ends when Dave is brutally stabbed and the robbers run off. Dave stumbles away only to be hit by a car which quickly drives off. However, an ambulance shortly arrives and rushes Dave to the hospital. En route, though clinging to life, Dave begs the paramedic to hide his suit. Dave is brought to the hospital naked which starts rumors about the circumstances that led to his admittance - one heavily implied to be related to gay prostituion.

A few months later, Dave is almost as good as new. His injuries left him with metal plating covering most of his skull and interior and he possesses a higher threshold for pain thanks to frayed nerve endings. He returns to school and is shocked when Katie begins talking to him, but Marty explains that she likes 'lame ducks' and tells Dave that the entire school thinks he's a gay prostitute. Though he is at first horrified by this, Dave comes to accept his new social standing, seeing it as the only way to be close to Katie. Despite the setbacks his debilitating fight caused, Dave is still determined to be a superhero and sets up a MySpace account for his alter ego: Kick-Ass.

One night, while looking for a lost cat, Dave notices three men viciously attacking a fourth man in front of a diner. Immediately, Dave rushes to the man's aid and successfully beats off the attackers, his metal plating and inability to feel pain providing an advantage. Some patrons from the diner record the fight along with Dave's formal introduction of his alter ego and post it on YouTube. Kick-Ass becomes an internet phenomenon and is quickly circulated throughout the media. Chris watches the latest reports with his parents, Frank D'Amico (Mark Strong) and Angie (Yancy Butler) as his father criticizes Kick-Ass's apparent lack of skill.

Across town, Frank's thugs are torturing one of his associates who claims that a man resembling Batman attacked their cocaine dealers and stole all of their drugs. Thinking it far more likely that the associate stole the cocaine for a profit, Frank has him tortured and killed before taking his son Chris out to the movies. Frank surrounds himself with a posse of thugs/bodyguards wherever he goes for both intimidation and to protect himself from family members of rivals and people he's killed. Later on, Frank learns that his earlier assumption about his missing shipment was incorrect, so he sends his men to take care of a Russian mobster whom he believes is really responsible for messing with his shipments.

The next morning, ex-policeman Damon MacReady (Nicolas Cage) points a gun at his 11-year-old daughter, Mindy (Chloë Grace Moretz), and shoots her in the chest. Mindy stands up, shocked by the force of the bullet but impressed with how effectively her bullet-proof vest absorbed it. They watch the reports on Kick-Ass. Damon is not impressed and sees Kick-Ass as a wannabe rookie but Mindy thinks he has potential. Framed as a drug dealer by Frank D'Amico, Damon was relieved of his duty as an officer and sent to prison for five years which led to his wife's suicide and left Mindy in the care of Damon's partner, Marcus (Omari Hardwick). Damon vowed revenge against Frank and began training to become a vigilante. Once his term was served, he was reunited with Mindy and began training her as well, against Marcus's wishes. Bent on eliminating all of D'Amico's crime syndicate, Damon captures and manipulates several members resulting in very brutal and violent deaths. Marcus finds Damon and begs with him to end his vendetta before dirty cop Detective Gigante (Xander Berkeley) or D'Amico finds him. He asks to see Mindy but, seeing the futility of the attempt, leaves, telling Damon he owes Mindy a real childhood. Damon colors a large, comic book-style hit list and hangs it on the wall.

As Kick-Ass, Dave continues to save people and gathers more supporters over the internet. As Katie's 'gay' best friend, he is able to get closer to her and begins to get to know her as a person. One day, she mentions that a meth addict named Rasul (Kofi Natei), who frequents the clinic she volunteers at, robbed her and smacked her around, refusing to leave her alone. Dave convinces her to message Kick-Ass. That night, Kick-Ass finds Rasul at his apartment and attempts to intimidate him, but fails. As Rasul and his gang members are about to castrate Kick-Ass, Mindy, dressed in her vigilante outfit as with a purple wig and cape, shoots through the window and fights off all the gang members with knives and a long spear until they are all dead. As a surviving gang member sneaks up behind her, Mindy's father shoots him through the head with his sniper rifle from an opposite building. She introduces herself to Kick-Ass as Hit-Girl and begins stealing all of the gang members' money and guns. Kick-Ass asks what's going on and Hit-Girl tells him to come with her. They go to the roof and Hit-Girl jumps across the rooftops to join her father, dressed as his alter ego, Big Daddy. Kick-Ass is too afraid to follow and the other two leave disappointed. Dave returns home, removes his mask, and cries himself to sleep. He laments that he's just an incompetent, overgrown child and that there are other people better suited for his job as a superhero.

That same night, Big Daddy and Hit-Girl pay Dave a visit at his house. They tell him that they were able to easily back-trace his MySpace account and the three have a chat. Big Daddy tells Dave that he is doing okay but that he has potential to be better. They tell him that if he ever needs to reach them he should decorate his MySpace page with an 'On Vacation' banner and they will find a way to contact him.

Meanwhile, Frank D'Amico learns that there are actual vigilantes fighting against his organization and becomes very pissed off. Chris wants to get in on the business, but Frank pushes him aside. He becomes extremely tense and paranoid, going so far as to kill a Kick-Ass imitator in broad daylight, thinking the phony to be the real thing. As more of his gang members are disposed of, Frank becomes desperate. He contacts Detective Gigante and tells him to 'take care' of Kick-Ass. Gigante admits that Kick-Ass is in a relatively gray area, but he'll do his best. Chris offers an alternative solution: let him don his own superhero alter ego called the Red Mist. As such, Chris will frame one of D'Amico's incompetent associates and trick Kick-Ass into trusting him before leading him into an ambush.

Chris executes his plan while Dave becomes more and more discouraged. As Red Mist, Chris makes contact with Kick-Ass and requests to become his sidekick, since Kick-Ass is the one who inspired him. Red Mist shows Kick-Ass his flashy sportscar and they drive off to the D'Amico stronghold, only to see it burning to the ground. Kick-Ass rushes inside to see if he can save anyone but everyone inside is dead, horribly cut and burned. Red Mist grabs a teddy bear from the wall and runs out of the building with Kick-Ass as it explodes. The two part ways and Kick-Ass resolves to give up crime fighting. He goes to Katie's house with the intention of revealing his identity. She sprays mace in his face, calling him a pervert, until he de-masks. Dave confesses his alter ego and tells Katie that he isn't really gay and he loves her. She forgives him and they begin dating and start having sex. Todd and Marty are left to hang out with a friend of Katie's.

Meanwhile, Frank D'Amico has seen the destruction of his warehouse and worries for his son until Chris arrives and tells him that Kick-Ass isn't the real threat. He shows Frank the teddy bear which has a Nanny Cam in it. They watch footage of Big Daddy killing all of D'Amico's men and burning the warehouse to the ground. D'Amico convinces Chris to set up a trap to catch Big Daddy.

Dave, having been Kick-Ass free for a week, sees a series of emails from Red Mist requesting his help and decides to go on one last mission. He tells Katie what he is doing and leaves to meet up with Red Mist who tells him that they have a bounty on their heads. Concerned for his allies, Kick-Ass contacts Big Daddy through his MySpace page. Damon and Mindy notice the urgent message while enjoying some hot chocolate and reviewing their latest cache of weaponry. They response to Kick-Ass and instruct him to meet them at one of their safe houses. Red Mist drives Kick-Ass to the location while being followed by D'Amico's men. At the safe house, Red Mist and Kick-Ass are ushered inside by Big Daddy as Hit-Girl waits beside a window. Inside, Red Mist pulls a gun and shoots Hit-Girl twice in the chest. As she falls out of the window, Big Daddy screams and D'Amico's men rush in, beating him and Kick-Ass unconscious. As they put them in the back of a waiting van, Red Mist screams for them to let Kick-Ass go since he considers him a friend and doesn't want to see him hurt. One of the bodyguards takes Big Daddy's bazooka as a reward and drags Red Mist home to his father. Chris complains to his father that his men reneged on the deal by taking Kick-Ass along with Big Daddy but Frank tells him to shut up and to watch what happens next. He explains that Big Daddy is a nobody, important only to him for the sake of his business, but that by killing Kick-Ass he sends a message to all the punks out there considering to becoming superheroes. Chris can only watch.

A countdown is announced for the unmasking of Kick-Ass and all of New York City bears witness. Katie is proud of Dave but watches with horror as a live video feed on the internet shows Big Daddy and Kick-Ass handcuffed to chairs awaiting torture and execution. Marcus also watches solemnly as D'Amico's men begin to brutally beat the two. They pour gasoline over Big Daddy as Hit-Girl, very much alive, sneaks into the hideout. She attacks and kills all of the men inside but one of them manages to set Big Daddy on fire, burning him severely. Hit-Girl extinguishes her father too late and shares one last moment with him before he dies in her arms. Hit-Girl rescues Kick-Ass and takes him back to her father's apartment. There, Dave tries to tell her that it's all over now and they should give up their vigilante lifestyles but Mindy is adamant about finishing what her father started, adding her own fury to avenge her father's death. Realizing that he is responsible for all that's happened, Dave agrees to help her. He takes up a mysterious piece of weaponry that Big Daddy had bought and assembled.

At Frank D'Amico's headquarters, his men are on double alert waiting for Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl to show up. In the lobby, the first guards are standing idly on duty when Mindy knocks on the front door, dressed in a school girl outfit. The doorman and guards, having never seen Mindy's face before, open the door to let her in. She tearfully says she can't find her parents so the doorman offers her his phone to call them. As he kneels down, Mindy stuffs the barrel of a handgun into his mouth. The guards realize this too late and Mindy takes them all out with ease. She changes into her Hit-Girl guise and arrives at the penthouse, fighting with speed and stealth and killing more of D'Amico's men. When she runs out of bullets she resorts to throwing knives. A large thug runs to get the bazooka, much to the shock and disgust of both Frank and Chris, while the other thugs pin Hit-Girl behind a counter. The large thug returns with the bazooka as they all hear a mechanic sound near the windows. They look outside to see Kick-Ass hovering upwards with a jet-pack strapped to his back with attaching rapid-fire mini guns protruding over each shoulder. Kick-Ass quickly disposes of the rest of the thugs.

In Frank's office, he and Chris hear the final sounds of the fire fight and think that the thugs were successful. But Hit-Girl and Kick-Ass barge through the door, ready for the final showdown. Frank orders Chris to take on Kick-Ass. Chris is disgruntled but rushes into battle while Frank squares off against Hit Girl.

Kick-Ass and Red Mist face off in an adjacent dojo and knock each other out cold. Hit-Girl battles Frank with ferocity but finds that she has met her match since Frank is highly trained in martial arts. Frank's attacks become increasingly ruthless and he beats Hit-Girl near to a pulp and slams her through a coffee table. He retrieves his gun and prepares to kill Hit-Girl when Kick-Ass appears, suggesting he 'pick on someone his own size'. Frank redirects his gun only to see that Kick-Ass is holding the bazooka. Kick-Ass fires, sending the rocket into Frank and out the window, killing Frank.

Chris comes to and draws a katana, looking for a rematch, but finds Kick-Ass activating the jet-pack and flying off with Hit-Girl. They land on a distant rooftop and Kick-Ass unstraps the pack and sets both Hit-Girl and the pack down. Hit-Girl thanks him for the help, saying Big Daddy would be proud of them both. Kick-Ass takes off his mask and tells her his real name, Dave Lizewski. Hit-Girl consents to the gesture and takes off her wig and mask, showing him her face, and telling him her true name, Mindy MacReady. They shake hands and look toward the horizon.

A voice-over from Dave tells us that Marcus regains guardianship of Mindy and that she is now enrolled at Dave's school, on the promise that Dave will look out for her...not that she'd need it as Dave says. An amusing scene shows two school bullies attempting to shake the 'new kid' for her lunch money but she merely smiles, cracks her knuckles and beats up the two bullies. Dave relaxes with his friends at a coffee shop as his voice-over mentions that Kick-Ass has become a cultural sensation with his own comic strip. And while Dave is retired from crime fighting, there is a whole new wave of people inspired to follow in his footsteps.

However, we see one who is equally determined to break the new superhero wave down. Chris, as the Red Mist, sits in his father's office donning a revamped costume and mask vowing revenge against Kick-Ass, Hit-Girl, and any superhero wannabe that gets in his way. He aims his gun at the camera and fires and the screen goes black as the credits roll.

Chronic Pain Thoughts; Volumn 5

 

Dear Reader,

I have a vacation planned very soon and the closer it gets the more nervous I get. I'm worried that my fibro or my back is going ruin the entire thing.

I feel like absolute shit when I wake up every day. My stomach hurts, my joints hurt and no matter how much sleep I get, I am fatigued and plain out of it.

To make matters worse I think I'm in perimenopause.

Doctor's either don't care of don't feel the need to treat because appointments are often a month out, pain is dismissed and I'm so sick and God damned tired of hearing “Make sure you get a good night sleep”.

We've all been dismissed; we've all been pushed to the side and not listened to. All I want is enjoy the vacation I've saved for with my family.

Movie: Dragged Across Concrete (2018) Caution Spoiler Alert

 Dragged Across Concrete

Came out; 2018

Time; 2 hours 39 minutes

Watched: Netflix

Rating; R for strong violence, grisly images, language and some sexuality/nudity

IMDB Rating; 6.9/10

Caution; Spoiler Alert

Staring;

Mel Gibson as Brett Ridgeman

Vince Vaughn as Anthony Lurasetti

Tory Kittles as Henry Johns

Michael Jai White as Biscuit

Thomas Kretschmann as Lorentz Vogelmann

Jennifer Carpenter as Kelly Summer

Laurie Holden as Melanie Ridgeman

Don Johnson as Chief Lt. G. Calvert

Story Line;

The script centers on two policemen, one an old-timer (Gibson), the other his volatile younger partner (Vaughn), who find themselves suspended when a video of their strong-arm tactics become the media's cause du jour. Low on cash and with no other options, these two embittered soldiers descend into the criminal underworld to gain their just due, but instead find far more than they wanted awaiting them in the shadows.

Thoughts.

I have no idea how this movie got such good ratings on IMBD. It was slow and boring as hell. There was about 5 story lines going on that came together at the end. In the middle of it it was hard to keep track of.

Way too many little things that weren't needed to get the point across, this movie could have easily been 1.5 hours and the “point” of the movie would have still been made

CAUTION; Major Spoiler Alert

In the city of Bulwark, recent parolee Henry returns home, interrupting his mother with a customer. After chastising her for turning to prostitution, Henry reunites with his younger brother Ethan.

Three weeks later, police detectives Brett Ridgeman and Anthony Lurasetti raid the home of Vasquez, a known drug dealer. Ridgeman is unnecessarily rough with the suspect, and coerces Vasquez's girlfriend into revealing a duffel bag of money and narcotics. The bust is a success, but the detectives are called before their superior, Chief Lt. Calvert. Explaining that a video of Ridgeman subduing Vasquez has been released to the media, Calvert is forced to suspend both detectives for six weeks without pay.

Ridgeman's daughter Sara is continually harassed, and his wife Melanie, a former cop with multiple sclerosis, pleads with him to move them to a safer neighborhood. Lurasetti is similarly desperate for money, with plans to propose to his girlfriend Denise. On a tip from Friedrich, a wealthy businessman with criminal connections, Ridgeman recruits Lurasetti to help him surveil and rob the mysterious Lorentz Vogelmann. Having bought an engagement ring, Lurasetti stalls in proposing to Denise, unsure if he can continue with Ridgeman's plan.

Henry and his childhood friend Biscuit are hired by Vogelmann, whose masked associates - one wearing black gloves, one with grey - have committed a series of robberies to buy a customized bulletproof van with airless tires. Bank employee Kelly Summer struggles to leave her newborn son, but returns to work for the first time after her maternity leave. Vogelmann, Black Gloves, and Grey Gloves take the bank hostage, with Biscuit and Henry disguised as security guards in the van. Using methodical, tape-recorded instructions, Vogelmann demands the bank's supply of gold bullion. Kelly, fearing for her life, tries to prevent a colleague from notifying the police, and is executed.

Tailing the van, Ridgeman and Lurasetti realize Vogelmann is robbing the bank. The thieves escape with the bullion and a hostage, Cheryl, having castrated the bank manager. Unsettled by Vogelmann and his henchmen's brutality, Biscuit and Henry are forced to surrender their weapons. Realizing they may be killed, Henry distracts Biscuit with memories of their childhood, and chooses not to reveal they are being followed by the detectives.

Lurasetti learns five people were killed in the robbery and the thieves have taken a hostage. He berates Ridgeman for not intervening sooner or notifying the authorities, but Ridgeman asserts that law enforcement would be too late, and only the two of them can deal with the thieves. Lurasetti leaves Denise a voicemail, leading her to the engagement ring.

Arriving at a garage in the countryside, Biscuit leaps out of the van and is shot, as Henry wounds Grey Gloves with a hidden gun. Mortally wounded, Biscuit swallows the van's key; imploring Henry to take care of his mother, he is shot dead. Ridgeman and Lurasetti arrive, donning body armor and ballistic masks. Cheryl is sent to pull Biscuit's body into the van, while Lusaretti, an Army marksman, is unable to disable the van with his sniper rifle. Black Gloves cuts the key out of Biscuit's stomach, but Ridgeman rams the van, knocking it over.

Threatened by Vogelmann, the half-naked Cheryl crawls to the detectives and shoots Lurasetti, and is shot dead by Ridgeman, who kills Black Gloves as he exits the van. Lurasetti listens to a voicemail from Denise declining his proposal and dies. Ridgeman fills the van with tear gas and kills Gray Gloves as he surrenders. He is ambushed by Henry, who has recorded the entire incident on his cellphone, and kills Vogelmann. Disarming Henry, Ridgeman proposes they split the score, and together they load the bodies and the bullion in the getaway car.

Towing Lurasetti's car from the scene, Henry finds another hidden gun. Ridgeman holds Henry at gunpoint, demanding he erase the cellphone video, and Henry shoots him. After promising the dying Ridgeman that his family will be taken care of, Henry buries all the bodies.

Eleven months later, Henry lives in a lavish mansion with his mother and brother. He sends Melanie and Sara a package, addressed to them from Ridgeman, containing a share of the gold bullion.

Movie; A Star is Born (2018) Caution Spoiler Alerts

 A Star is Born

Came out; 2018

Time; 2 hours 16 minutes

Watched: HBO Max

Rating; R for language throughout, some sexuality/nudity and substance abuse

IMDB Rating; 7.6/10

Caution; Spoiler Alert

Staring;

Lady Gaga as Ally

Bradley Cooper as Jack

Sam Elliott as Bobby

Greg Grunberg as Phil

Andrew Dice Clay as Lorenzo

Rafi Gavron as Rex Gavron

Anthony Ramos as Ramon

Dave Chapelle as George “Noodles” Stone

Alec Baldwin as Alec Baldwin

Story Line;

Seasoned musician Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper) discovers-and falls in love with-struggling artist Ally (Gaga). She has just about given up on her dream to make it big as a singer - until Jack coaxes her into the spotlight. But even as Ally's career takes off, the personal side of their relationship is breaking down, as Jack fights an ongoing battle with his own internal demons

Thoughts;

Why didn't I watch this movie sooner? It's because I tend to not give into the hype of movies.

I love Lady Gaga and I feel like she was telling a bit of her own story with this movie.

It was so well put together and a great movie!

Spoiler Alert; I cried at the end, I couldn't help it.

CAUTION; Major Spoiler Alert

43-year-old Jackson "Jack" Maine, a famous country rock singer privately battling an alcohol and drug addiction, plays a concert. His primary support is Bobby, his manager and older half-brother. After a show, Jack goes out for drinks and visits a drag bar where he witnesses a tribute performance to Édith Piaf by 31-year-old Ally, who works as a waitress and singer-songwriter. Jack is amazed by her performance, and they spend the night talking to each other, where Ally discusses her unsuccessful efforts in pursuing a professional music career. Ally shares with Jack some lyrics she has been working on, and he tells her she is a talented songwriter and should perform her material.

Jack invites Ally to his next show. Despite her initial refusal, she attends and, with Jack's encouragement, sings "Shallow" on stage with him. Jack invites Ally to go on tour with him, forming a romantic relationship. In Arizona, Ally and Jack visit the ranch where Jack grew up and where his father is buried, only to find that Bobby had sold the land, which was converted into a wind farm. Angered at his betrayal, Jack attacks Bobby, who subsequently quits as his manager. Before doing so, Bobby reveals that he did inform Jack about the sale, but Jack was too drunk to notice.

While on tour, Ally meets Rez, a record producer who offers her a contract. Although visibly bothered, Jack still supports her decision. Rez refocuses Ally away from country music and towards pop music. Jack misses one of Ally's performances after he passes out drunk in public; he recovers at the home of his best friend George "Noodles" Stone and later makes up with Ally. There he proposes to Ally with an impromptu ring made from a loop of a guitar string, and they are married that same day at a church ministered by a relative of Noodles.

During Ally's performance on Saturday Night Live, Bobby reconciles with Jack. Later, Ally and a drunken Jack fight over Ally's growing artistic success. Jack criticizes Ally's new image and music, as her success appears to be outpacing his recent decline in popularity. At the Grammy Awards, where Ally is nominated for three awards, a visibly intoxicated Jack performs a tribute to Roy Orbison. Later in the evening, Ally wins the Best New Artist award. When she goes up on stage to receive her award, a still-inebriated Jack staggers up to her, where he publicly wets himself and passes out. Ally's father, Lorenzo, berates a semi-conscious Jack while Ally attempts to help Jack sober up. Jack joins a rehabilitation program shortly thereafter. While recovering in rehab for about two months, Jack discloses to his counselor that he tried to commit suicide at age 12. He also mentions that he has hearing problems due to progressively worsening tinnitus.

Jack tearfully apologizes to Ally for his behavior. While returning home, Jack admits to Bobby that it was he whom he idolized and not their father. Ally asks Rez to bring Jack on her European tour, but Rez refuses, prompting Ally to cancel the remainder of the tour so she can care for Jack. Later, while waiting at their home for Ally, Rez confronts Jack and accuses him of nearly ruining Ally's career, stating that Jack will certainly relapse again. That evening, Ally lies to Jack and tells him that her record label has canceled her tour so she can focus on her second album. Jack promises he will come to her concert that night, but after Ally leaves, he hangs himself in their garage. Grief-stricken and inconsolable after Jack's suicide, Ally is visited by Bobby, who tells her that the suicide was Jack's fault and not hers. The closing scenes reveal a flashback of Jack working on a song about his love for Ally, which he never finished writing. Ally sings this song as a tribute to Jack, introducing herself for the first time as Ally Maine.

Movie: Kimi (2022) Caution Spoiler Alert

 Kimi

Came out; 2022

Time; 1 hours 29 minutes

Watched: HBO Max

Rating; R for violence, language and brief sexuality/nudity

IMDB Rating; 6.3/10

Caution; Spoiler Alert

Staring;

Zoe Kravitz as Angela Childs

Bryon Bowers as Terry Hughes

Rita Wilson as Natalie Chowdhury

Devin Ratray as Kevin

Betsy Brantley as Kimi (Voice)

Story Line;

During the COVID-19 pandemic in Seattle, an agoraphobic tech worker discovers evidence of a violent crime while reviewing a data stream, and is met with resistance and bureaucracy when she tries reporting it to her company. To get involved, she realizes she must face her greatest fear by venturing out of her apartment and into the city streets, which are filled with protestors after the city council passes a law restricting the movements of the homeless population

Thoughts;

This movie wasn't bad. You can see Angela going through fight or flight with the entire process.

It kept my attention as you don't know exactly where the movie is going to go

CAUTION; Major Spoiler Alert

Bradley Hasling, CEO of a tech corporation called Amygdala, gives an interview about the company's newest product, Kimi. Kimi is a smart speaker which controversially makes use of human monitoring to improve the device's search algorithm. Amygdala plans to soon hold an initial public offering, which stands to earn Hasling a fortune.

Angela Childs is an employee of Amygdala in Seattle who works from home monitoring incoming data streams from Kimi devices and making corrections to the software. She suffers from anxiety and agoraphobia because of a previous assault, which has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Her primary human contact is with her romantic partner Terry, her neighbour from across the street, whom she meets for sex in her apartment. One day while working, Angela receives a recording that appears to capture a violent sexual assault by a man named Brad. With the help of her coworker Darius, she accesses the information of the account holder, a woman named Samantha. Angela uncovers more of Samantha's recording, including one that sounds like her murder. It is revealed that 'Brad' is, in fact, Bradley Hasling himself and that Samantha was his mistress. Bradley had ordered the murder from a hitman named Rivas. Angela transfers the recordings to a flash drive.

She reports the incident to her superior, who refers her to Natalie Chowdhury, an executive at Amygdala. Angela attempts to reach Chowdhury over the phone but is eventually convinced to come to her office in person, with the promise that the FBI will be informed about the case. At the office, Angela is disturbed when Chowdhury seems reticent to contact the authorities and refers to her prior mental health leave. While waiting for the FBI to be contacted, she receives word from Darius that someone has deleted Samantha's voice recordings from the Amygdala servers, and shortly after sees two unknown men enter the office. She flees and travels on foot towards the nearby FBI field office while being tracked by Rivas and his accomplices through her cell phone.

The men catch up with Angela and attempt to force her into a van, but a group of nearby protestors prevents her from being abducted. However, one of Rivas's men, a hacker named Yuri, can deduce where she is headed from her search history. Angela is drugged and taken back to her apartment by her kidnappers, who plan to stage a home invasion to cover up her murder. On their way inside, they are interrupted by Kevin, a neighbour who also spends all of his time inside and became concerned after seeing Angela leave the house. Kevin is stabbed, distracting the assailants, but Rivas is already waiting inside her apartment. He confiscates the flash drive and deletes the recordings from Angela's laptop, but she uses her Kimi device to again distract Rivas and his men, escaping to a higher floor. She cobbles together a weapon using a nail gun left by a construction project in the apartment above her, using it to kill the intruders. Terry, whom she had planned to meet up with, arrives just as she is calling 9-1-1.

An epilogue shows that Bradley Hasling has been arrested for Samantha's murder. Angela, sporting a new hairstyle, gets breakfast with Terry outside of her apartment.

Chronic Pain Thoughts: Volume 4

 Dear Reader,

I've been sick. I feel like something hits us worse than “normal” people.

I have slept for about 4 days straight, ended up in the ER dehydrated and now I'm back to work. Terrible and I hope it skips all of you.

I keep trying to get stronger, to get more energy, to watch what I eat, but it's not helping.

I can hardly wake up in the morning and stay awake all day. My joints hurt, my stomach hurts and I just am at a loss what to do.

I still have younger kids and my husband has a job, as do I. Balance is needed but I can't seem to achieve it