Here’s something I never thought I’d say after 1998: “Huh, I don’t want to get up and leave the theater when Jim Carrey is on the screen.”Other than the few and far between reminders that Carrey might not be completely content phoning it in all the way to the bank (2004’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and 2008’s I Love You Phillip Morris), the ’00s were rough for those who excitedly watched Carrey evolve from Fire Marshall Bill to Lloyd Christmas in their younger years.

And Carrey, while not the lead in Kick-Ass 2 is inevitably the focal point of discussion around this film for so many. The uninitiated will probably only know Kick-Ass 2 as the film Carrey made news for not wanting to do publicity for — saying he couldn’t in good conscience promote following the Sandy Hook tragedy.

Fair enough. There is violence here — we’re not talking a Django-level body count, but it’s enough to make the faint at heart turn away. Bodies are crushed like half-full soda cans under cars and cops are cut down by a yard tool. But, if you’re the type who can find humor in over-the-top comic book violence, there are definitely a few scenes in Kick-Ass 2 that will leave your mouth open — either in laughter or shock. A great deal of these scenes revolve around a jacked ex-KGB agent who takes the villainess name of Mother Russia. (Think: Zangief with boobs and an eye patch.)

Part 2 takes up shortly after the first. High schooler-turned-vigilante Kick-Ass’ (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) work has inspired others to take up costumed justice calling — like The Dark Knight but with the good guys being totally cool with maiming and murdering the bad guys. (Batman am disappoint.)

Carrey, with a Mickey Rourke impression and some sort of facial prosthetic, plays Colonel Stars and Stripes, a square-jawed lovable sociopath hell bent on vigilante justice with a penis-eating German Shepherd. The Colonel leads a ragtag team of would-be superheroes, a poor man’s Justice League, that takes in Kick-Ass after Hit-Girl (Chloë Grace Moretz), his partner in anti-crime, takes an oath to hang her costume up for good. This leads to a Mean Girls side story for Hit-Girl that wraps up not so unlike (speaking of Carrey) Dumb and Dumber's infamous bathroom scene.

This paternal “superhero” role gives Carrey even less screentime than Nic Cage got in the original Kick-Ass, which is too bad, because if anyone could ever attempt to halfway fill those weird-ass shoes, it’s Carrey, who steals the scenes he’s in. Among the other pleasant surprises is John Leguizamo, who delivers some solid laughs as the Alfred to Red Mist’s — now the “Mother Fucker” (Christopher Mintz-Plasse aka McLovin) — Batman.

Original Kick-Ass co-writer/director Matthew Vaughn (Layer Cake, X-men: First Class) passes the directorial torch to Jeff Wadlow, who — as you may have ascertained from reading this sentence — is not Matthew Vaughn. Perhaps Vaughn passed because he knew that like the heroes that Kick-Ass inspires, it’s difficult for what comes after to ever match the original object.

Kick-Ass 2 is juvenile, which isn’t necessarily bad, but fails to live up to the first, which balanced shock, intense action and superhero fantasy into a frenetic entertaining mix in a vibrant, over-saturated romp. Still, there are some laugh-out-loud moments and few scenes of eyebrow-raising gratuitous violence that warrant giving Kick-Ass 2 a chance if you go in with realistic expectations.

--Eric Pulsifer

This raunchy comedy won’t have you rolling down the aisles in a laughing fit, but We’re the Millers does hit the occasional comedic high point.

Former Saturday Night Live alum Jason Sudeikis plays aging small-time Denver drug dealer Dave Clark, who happens to be the on hook to a drug kingpin (Ed Helms) after his stash and cash are stolen by some young punks. To pay back his debt, Clark must smuggle a “smidge” of marijuana across the border from Mexico. He devises the idea to parade as a wholesome unsuspecting family—because who would mistake an all-Ameican family for drug smugglers—with the help of local stripper, Rose (Aniston), the geeky kid next door, Kenny (Will Poulter) and a couch-hopping troubled teen, Casey (Emma Roberts).

What happens shortly after the misfit “family” members hop in their RV and take off on their journey should come as a surprise to no one. The foursome’s time together breeds a level of familiarity, which predictably leads to genuine care and concern for one another. This is where We’re the Millers may earn some appreciation from viewers.

All of the film’s stars do an apt job in their roles. Sudeikis is edgy and as sarcastic as ever. Young British actor Poulter adds a naïve charm to the film and provides a couple of the film’s most memorable moments (when a poisonous tarantula gets inside his pants, the results and his reaction is priceless). Emma Roberts held her own, though at times I felt as if she didn’t really add anything to some of the scenes she was in.

Aniston’s performance had a very endearing quality to it, especially in the scenes where her maternal instincts are on display. But what I’m sure most people are curious about is her prowess as a stripper. First off, she is in fantastic shape! It’s obvious she works very hard to keep her body in tip-top shape. Her strip tease scene was done tastefully, and was even injected with a bit of humor to continue with the film’s overall comedic tone. I will admit that at one point during her dance I thought to myself: “It’s weird watching Rachel perform a strip tease.”

This exaggerated comedy does suffer a bit from an uneven script, but not enough to mar an otherwise enjoyable experience filled at times with hilarity, as well as humanity.

-- Derrick Mitcham

I am ashamed to admit that I, at first, refused to watch District 9 because the trailers made it look too scary. When I finally caved and watched it, I was shocked at how expensive it looked and how much that movie said with so little. Elysium, director Neill Blomkamp's second feature, is almost the opposite: it has SO much going for it, and it sometimes squanders much that it has...but it doesn't mean it's not a dazzling movie to watch with engaging performances, gosh-wow visuals, and a Aesop fable-like moral propelling it forward.

The year is 2154, and two classes of humans exist: those who can live in the pristine Elysium orbiting the Earth with the ability to cure themselves should they ever fall ill, and the poor, unfortunate souls who are forced to live in an impoverished, polluted, and over-populated Earth and struggle to keep healthy. Matt Damon plays Max, an ex-con who's trying to stay on the straight and narrow path by taking a job in a factory. On an exceptionally shitty day, droids pull him aside merely for being a parolee and break his arm before he heads to work, where he accidentally gets exposed to lethal radiation that will kill him in five days time. Wee! Max then decides the only way he can survive is by sneaking onto Elysium and finding himself into a magical pod that can cure him--but in order to do that, he'll have to attach a heavy duty exoskeleton thingy to himself and hijack some codes out of a Elysian's head, not knowing that said codes could change the course of history...

Also along for the ride are Jodie Foster as a diabolical Defense Secretary of Elysium (one with a SUPER questionable accent) and Sharlto Copley as a rouge sleeper agent on Earth who's gone a little batshit insane and will stop at nothing to make sure Max doesn't reach Elysium alive. Of course, it wouldn't be a summer action movie if there wasn't a dame, and Alice Braga plays Max's childhood friend who, naturally, has a dying daughter of her own.

Now, Elysium is being billed as a thinking-man's summer action film, and this is definitely an accurate statement in that there is a bunch of political agenda wrapped into a sci-fi flick about the haves and the have-nots. There is gunfire and neato gadgets and space crafts and a bunch of really cool set pieces designed by the same dude who brought you dystopia at its finest in Blade Runner, all which add up to some pretty cool shit. There are even really fun hand-to-hand fighting and some really gross things happening to body parts, and while this is all really neat and exciting, at the end it all boils down to a climax everyone with a brain (or someone who watches a shit load of movies) can see coming a mile away.

But Elysium is a fun ride, nonetheless, with a decent performance by Damon, who spends most of his time limping around or passed out when he's not fighting Copley, who is (duh) one of the best things about this film. Can he just go around playing sadistic assholes for a living, please? It's the end of a kinda disappointing movie summer, and Elysium is definitely a nice little palate cleanser even with its faults. It's a great action flick for those who don't want to read into all the political mumbo jumbo, and it's a nice change of pace for those who are currently bored of all those comic book heroes at the moment.

-- Darcie Duttweiler