This is your Kim Pick for the week

Welcome to Kim The FanGirl; picking movies since 2010. What movie can I choose for you today? We have a wide selection to choose from. Maybe, I can interest you in selecting a Gene Pick. His pick for today is Weekend At Bernie’s II. No? That does not interest you? Well, may I suggest a Kim Pick. She has a good taste in movies, at least she think she does. Her pick for today is Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. *

*This has been a reference to the classic 90’s sitcom Seinfeld. You must be at least 20 years old to understand this reference. Yadda, yadda, yadda, Seinfeld is awesome.

Nerds! Nerds! Nerds! It’s my Scott Pilgrim vs. The World review! (This is where you jump up and down with excitement) First of all, going into this, I knew nothing of Scott Pilgrim the video game, graphic novel, etc. I only knew that one of my favorite directors was directing this little piece of epicness: Edgar Wright (Director of such amazing works as Shaun of The Dead & Hot Fuzz (Two of my favorite movies)); which means, I probably lost some nerd points. Damn.

So, when I entered my local cinema, little did I expect to see a 8 bit (For all you younglings, that is like the original Nintendo) rendering of the Universal theme song. Um, awesome. I will admit, I might have choked out a little fangirl squee right about then (1000 coins to Edgar Wright!). From there, there is really no grace period between introduction and story.

The Story: Scott Pilgrim is an unemployed, self-centered, semi-charming 20 something (Michael Cera) from Toronto (That’s in Canada!) who spends most of his time rehearsing with his band, Sex Bob-Omb, and has been recently dumped (1 year ago) by his thought-she-was-the-one girlfriend who left him for a bigger and badder music career. In an attempt to get over her, he starts dating a high schooler called Knives Chau, much to the dismay of his sister (Anna Kendrick) and gay roommate (Kieran Culkin). The relationship seems to be a comfortable, convenient situation for Scott. Then, he meets Ramona Flowers. She’s beautiful, interesting, aloof, and trying to get away from an overbearing ex boyfriend. Immediately, Scott is captivated by her – he must have her. But, he can’t break-up with Knives, because that would just be too hard. So he pursues Ramona, while seemingly dating Knives. But, not so fast, Scott Pilgrim. There is a league of 7 evil ex’s trying to kill you!

Being a connoisseur of unique films, it’s nice to see a movie like this get some recognition, because it’s different; because it’s not formulated; because it’s unique. Edgar Wright is a genius. He brings such originality, innovation, and craft to the art of film-making, that it’s a shame, the lack of appreciation he receives. Scott Pilgrim is a fast paced ride of excitement that only gives you small moments to breath and take it all in. This is not at all negative to the film. I didn’t feel as if I missed the information that was presented to me, nor that too much information and story-line was rushed and compacted. I think that the presentation of the information (In stat charts and captions) enhanced the story and made it into a video game/comic book lovers dream. Life is a video game for Scott Pilgrim. 1000 coins for defeating the first evil ex! 1 up! 2000 coins for defeating the second evil ex!

Edgar ( Can I call you that? Or should I say Mr. Director?) opened a whole new bag of cinematic tricks (That I fear might be so awesome, that they will be overused in other future films). The fight scenes are, in their own right, incredibly spectacular. Filled with POW’S and BANG’S, right out of a nerd’s dreams, the fight sequences are nothing but cinematic fun and highly entertaining. While, the more sensitive scenes between Scott and Ramona are filled with floating heart’s, a nice shout out to all the nerd girls out there. Now, let’s talk about the music. It’s not premature to say, but I definitely would buy a Sex Bob-Omb album if it came out. The soundtrack is not to bad either. Metric, Beck, and Plumtree all contribute to the stellar sound of the movie.

And then there’s the acting (Because we couldn’t do this review without it). Oh, Michael Cera. While, I don’t quite hate his acting, maybe we should say lack of, I’ll admit he was only semi-annoying in this movie. He is the same character he plays in every movie, except his has a good script behind him this time. For me, the one who stole the show was Young Neil (Johnny Simmons). He was, by far, my favorite in the long list of characters. He is an adorakable, charming, sometimes silent addition to the cast. If I were you, I’d keep an eye on this one. Kim (Alison Pill), who is Sex Bob-Omb’s drummer and Scott’s bitter ex, gives a more dark comedic performance compared to the others. She brings a bit of fresh air to the more comedic characters, like the evil ex’s who seem a bit overly done (Except that’s how their supposed to be).

I’m, if nothing, a person who cares deeply for detail. Detail! Detail! Detail! It’s always the details that can make or break a movie. One of my favorites, in this particular movie, is when the villain’s turn into hundreds of coins when Scott kills them. Hello, awesome! Another, is the Street Fighter introductions into the fight scenes. A thunderous voice comes out of nowhere and announces: VERSUS! For someone, who has spent a couple of hours playing video games in her younger days, this seems all to amazing to be true. A movie paying homage to nerds? A movie for nerds? Really? It’s still a little hard to believe.

Overall (Is this a 8th grade English paper?), Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is an entertaining joy ride that does make you learn a little something about life (What? Learning? Yes. Learning!). The only thing that prevents me from giving this movie an A, is sometimes the story didn’t give me a chance to fully understand the characters. I really wasn’t sure why Scott cared so much for Ramona when he only just met her (This really doesn’t make sense, since I’m a hopeless romantic). Also, I wanted a little bit more after the fight scenes. Sometimes, they almost ran into one another (This is also coming from a person who loves dialogue. So, you might not feel the same way as I do). I fully enjoyed Scott Pilgrim and look forward to owning it on DVD.

Movie Rating: B+

See you tomorrow! – Kim

Have you seen Scott Pilgrim? What did you think? Have any movie recommendations for me? Tell me in the comments!

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