“Kick-Ass”
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
It’s a touching premise for a naughtytongued, dementedly violent and terrifically rousing comic book ride: “Why don’t regular folk try to become superheroes?” wonders titular, soon-to-be masked defender Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson). Then he learns why — the hard way. Matthew Vaughn’s film (cowritten with Jane Goldman and based on Mark Millar and John S. Romita Jr’s series) is homage and then some to the superhero ouvre. Nicolas Cage gives his brand of the peculiar as a cop turned caped crusader, raising his daughter (Chloë Grace Moretz) in the art of lethal weaponry and payback. R. 1 hour, 58 minutes. Lisa Kennedy
“Diary of a Wimpy Kid”
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
About the hero’s first year of middle school, and it’s nimble, bright and funny. We find cliques, cruelty and bullying. The movie is inspired by the books of Jeff Kinney. Greg Heffley isn’t the shortest student in his class. That would be Chirag Gupta. Greg (Zachary Gordon) is only the second shortest. He’s at that crucial age when everybody else has started to grow. The onset of adolescence is an awkward age, made marginally easier for Greg because he still hasn’t developed an interest in girls. PG. 1 hour, 32 minutes. Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
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