We saw two films on our first day here at SXSW. The Mark Millar adapted graphic novel, Kick-Ass, and the White Stripes documentary, The White Stripes Under Great White Northern Lights. Kick-Ass was first. There is a lot of hype surrounding this film, and it does not disappoint. If you’re unfamiliar with Kick-Ass, you can watch the red band trailer here, but I would not recommend watching it if you plan on seeing the film. The trailer shows too much, and kind of ruins some of the punchlines and ultra-violent action scenes.

To put it simply, it’s about a comic geek (played pitch perfect by Aaron Johnson) that is sick of the world being filled with villains and no heroes. So he takes action into his own hands and starts dressing up and fighting crime under the name “Kick-Ass”.  Unfortunately, he has no super powers, so he ends up taking some pretty heavy beatings.

As Nicolas Cage’s character, “Big Daddy”, says in the film, “he should change his name to ass kick”. Nicolas Cage is great in the film, he does a few things with his character (that I won’t give away) that got a huge reaction with the festival audience, but I do wonder how well it will go over with the general audience.

Even better than Cage, however, is Chloe Moretz, who plays “Hit Girl”, the daughter and sidekick of  “Big Daddy”. The 12-year-old actress steals the show. Audiences will fall in love with her character like they did Natalie Portman in The Professional. It’s a great character, and Moretz seems like she was born to play the part. Matthew Vaughn, the director, mentioned that she was only the second girl that auditioned for the part and they knew right away that she was perfect. “Hit Girl” is like a 12-year-old version of The Bride from Kill Bill, except twice as ruthless. Christopher Mintz-Plasse (aka McLovin) also is a perfect fit for the sleazy “Red Mist”.

There are lots of big laughs in this film and lots of over the top violence, but the film has a lot of energy and is a lot of fun. If you don’t mind crude humor or gory violence then chances are you’ll love this film. Ruben Fleischer, the director of Zombieland, was at the screening and I heard he loved it. Basically, if you had a good time watching a film like Zombieland, or enjoyed any superhero/comic book film (good or bad) then Kick-Ass is a film for you. It’s definitely a crowd-pleaser and I’m pretty sure it will be a huge hit. After the screening I ran into the comedian Doug Benson (check out his awesome podcast, I Love Movies) and we were talking about how great Kick-Ass was. He said he thought it was “the first, perfect superhero film” he’s seen. He also raved about Chloe Moretz, as we were waiting in line for the new White Stripes documentary, and talked about how he thought she should be nominated for an Academy Award.

Doug Benson and I, right after Kick-Ass, waiting in line for The White Stripes Under Great White Northern Lights

The White Stripes Under Great White Northern Lights is a documentary about the White Stripes as they tour Canada and celebrate their 10 year anniversary. If you’re a White Stripes fan, I highly recommend this film. If you’re a fan of “rock docs”, I also highly recommend this film. The concert footage is great, and very unique.

This is the first time the Detroit natives have toured Canada and they decided to play a lot of large shows, as well as a lot of smaller, more intimate shows. For instance, they play one show at a bowling alley, and another on a moving boat, as the crowd watches from the nearby shore. Another highlight is their “one note show”, which is pretty hilarious because it is exactly that, a one note show.

The director of the film, Emmett Malloy, really captures some great moments between Jack and Meg, and the concert footage is amazing. Malloy did a fantastic job making the film fit The White Stripes color scheme, using a lot of red, and switching to black and white at times. He commented that it helped that they were in Canada and the Canadian colors are red and white. A lot of the interviews are also done in good fun, where the interviewer (who I believe is Malloy) is lying in a bed behind Jack and Meg, and asking the questions from there. Jack does most of the talking, as usual, and Meg mostly sits quiet. At one point, Jack takes a moment to clarify that Meg is just really shy and that’s what she prefers, and it’s not so much that he loves the spotlight.

Although there is one funny moment where Jack snaps on Meg for being so quiet, and uses a great Randy Newman reference to emphasize his point. Jack White is undeniably cool, and he knows it. Normally that trait would annoy the hell out of me, but Jack White has earned his coolness, and so it’s hard not to applaud him for it. From his cool guitars, like the one he named after Rita Hayworth, to his snazzy suits and matching entourage, and then of course his phenomenal guitar playing, the guy is just cool.

Not too much light is shed on Jack and Meg’s relationship, and Malloy intended it to be that way. He stated that he thought the mystery behind them is so much a part of the band, and he wanted to keep that intact. The two of them are such opposites. Jack will will have these elaborate answers where he talks about how he thinks work ethic and inspiration are one and the same, and how deadlines are good because they force creativity, whereas complete freedom causes you to be lazy and thus uninspired. And then Meg will just nod and very rarely say a couple sentences, and when she does it’s always subtitled because she talks so low. But that dynamic is what makes them The White Stripes.

The contrast of Jack’s loud perspective, and Meg’s quiet smirk as she listens and acknowledges his every word. Jack’s energy and wild guitar playing on stage, and Meg’s childlike pounding on the drums. Meg absolutely adores Jack, you can see it throughout the film, and I think it’s a large part of what drives him and the dynamic of the band. We don’t know where The White Stripes currently stand, their 10th anniversary show in Nova Scotia, where Malloy captured some beautiful moments, was their last show. Their latest tour was canceled. I really don’t think we’ve seen the last of them together though, because Jack is an entertainer, and Meg is his biggest fan.

The White Stripes Under Great White Northern Lights will be released on DVD on March 16, 2010 and Kick-Ass is set to be released theatrically on April 16, 2010.

To read Jared’s full review on Kick-Ass click here.

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Here is a picture from the Kick-Ass Q&A. (L-R) Mark Millar, Matthew Vaughn, Aaron Johnson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and Clark Duke

Director Emmett Malloy talking about The White Stripes Under Great White Northern Lights