KICK ASS 2 ***
Dir: Jeff Wadlow( 15, 113 mins) Following in the gory, sweary wake of the anarchic superhero action comedy Kick Ass comes the Mark Millar scripted sequel, now with added Jim Carrey and a slightly less disturbing expletive spouting Hit Girl. Kick Ass, played again by Aaron Taylor Johnson, has inspired a generation of normal people to become superheroes with mixed results. Now he and Hit Girl( Chloe Grace Moretz) are trying to behave like normal teenagers – he’ s about to graduate and she has to pretend to be a ninja to do a show and tell and fit in with high school mega bitches. They decide to form their own superhero group, a low-fi Avengers and find themselves in league with fellow masked do-gooders like the insane Colonel Stars and Stripes, a prosthetically-enhanced, born-again mobster played with relish by Jim Carrey – who has subsequently balked at the film’ s violence. A superhero needs a supervillain however, and that comes in the shape of Christopher Mintz- Plasse’ s Red Mist, now renamed the Mother Fucker, who’ s out to avenge the death of his father, leading to violent face offs, uncomfortable comedy and CGI gore. Whether this will be as in your face as its predecessor remains to be seen; its take on superheroes being not quite as anarchic post Dark Knight. Opens Aug 16
ALAN PARTRIDGE: ALPHA PAPA ***
Dir: Declan Lowney( 15, 100 mins) Aha! On the big screen. Steve Coogan’ s enduring comedy creation Alan Partridge makes it to the multiplexes after 22 years of refinement from radio through to TV, internet and back to TV again. It’ s been a rollercoaster ride for the North Norfolk Digital DJ, and it’ s only going to get more intense when he is taken hostage by a disgruntled employee( Colm Meaney) at the radio station when they are taken over by a corporation. Alan goes from hostage to hostage negotiator and it’ s up to him to defuse the tense situation encountering many of his former sidekicks in the process. From Tim Key’ s Sidekick Simon, Felicity Montagu’ s PA Lynn, Simon Greenall’ s incomprehensible Geordie Michael and many more. It’ s Partridge as usual in a believably silly scenario that caters to fans. Coogan is as precise as ever as the Daily Mail reading Little Englander caught up in an action film not of his own making. Fast and funny with cringeworthy attention to detail, and finishing with an inept chase on the pier at Cromer, this is a very British comedy directed and acted with aplomb. No real insights into Partridge’ s character, it’ s more of the same on a slightly broader canvas, and it’ s still funny. Aha indeed. Opens Aug 7
ONLY GOD FORGIVES **
Dir: Nicholas Winding Refn( 18, 90 mins) After the hyper-stylised, cool as a cucumber Drive, expectations for another Ryan Gosling team up with director Winding Refn were high. Unfortunately Only God Forgives disappoints. Detached to the point of irritation, this is a cold exercise in style and hyper violence, only lifted by Kristin Scott Thomas’ s vengeful matriarch. A nigh-on wordless Gosling plays a drug dealer forced by his nasty crimelord Mum( Scott Thomas) to avenge the death of his brother by maverick copper Vithaya Pansringram. What follows is a lot of red, both in lighting terms and bloodshed. The violence is brutal, bonecrunching fights and swordplay feature in wince inducing scenes that only serve to alienate further. Although this could have been Shakespearean in scope with its themes of family and honour, it feels empty and grubby, laced with an unpalatable sexism and bristling with machismo. The style over content is unforgiveable. Opens Aug 2
LOVELACE ***
Dir: Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman( 15, 92 mins) The life of the infamous pornstar Linda Lovelace, who by starring in Deep Throat was part of porn’ s foray into mainstream culture, is given the bio-pic treatment complete with full 70s kitsch. Initially unfolding as a fantasy, full of bright flashbacks, Amanda Seyfried’ s Lovelace leaves her controlling mother and falls in with Peter Sarsgaard’ s Chuck Traynor, the man who would make her a porn star. This soon contrasts with the grimmer realities of Lovelace’ s life, the abusive relationship with Traynor, her private hell and exploitation within the industry and her ultimate escape. Lovelace eventually denounced her past and started again; losing her need for attention and gaining a family that didn’ t abuse her. Lovelace is a competent if unspectacular bio-pic that shies away from anything too racy. There are great performances from Sarsgaard and Seyfried and a superbly ugly turn from Sharon Stone as Lovelace’ s abusive mother. Opens Aug 23
PAIN AND GAIN **
Dir: Michael Bay( 15, 129 mins) Michael Bay, the director of bombastic blockbusters Transformers, Armageddon and Pearl Harbour makes his smallest budgeted film since Bad Boys and attempts to do black comedy and drama with so so results. A pumped up Mark Wahlberg and even more pumped up Dwayne‘ The Rock’ Johnson play bodybuilders who decide to make a quick buck by kidnapping a fellow businessman, torture him, make him sign away his assets and then attempt to kill him. All this is based on a true story, one of greed and nonsensical crime, but Bay is more interested in making everything look like a sexy advert rather than plumbing the depths of the soul. Thus the torture of Tony Shalhoub’ s businessman is glossed over and the real life participants’ subsequent trail of murder ignored. Wahlberg’ s abs look good, there are a couple of chases amidst the sundrenched glamour porn visuals, but the film isn’ t funny and painting a murderer as a Robin Hood figure rankles. Opens Aug 30
Rebel Wilson, but not as funny. MORTAL DEVIL’ S PASS( 15) Five film-makers follow the path of a group of hikers who mysteriously disappeared with inevitable jumpy results. Based on like a true story and everything. WE’ RE THE MILLERS( 15) Jennifer Aniston swears and smokes weed in this road comedy movie about a pot dealer who creates a fake family in a bid to smuggle marijuana across the border from Mexico. Some amusement. UPSTREAM COLOUR( 15) Head scratching sci-fi mind trip / romance from the director of Primer which will either annoy or entrance.