We’re only a few weekends away from the summer movie season, but is warm weather (at least in my neck of the woods) enough to excite people into the theaters a bit early for a blockbuster-type film in “Kick-Ass”? Lionsgate sure hopes so and early reviews are certainly suggesting your time will not be wasted. More importantly, “Kick-Ass” is not forcing anyone to choose which dimension they want to see it in.

The other offering this weekend is Chris Rock’s all-star cast of black comedians taking on the British farce “Death at a Funeral” which will offer some competition to Tyler Perry’s “Why Did I Get Married Too?”

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Now Playing

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Kick-Ass

Directed by Matthew Vaughn
Written by Jane Goldman, Matthew Vaughn, Mark Millar (comic), John Romita Jr. (comic)
Starring: Aaron Johnson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Nicolas Cage, Chloe Moretz

The Word: The superhero movie extends to the world of ordinary people donning costumes and fighting crime. “Kick-Ass” is the story of a self-inspired teenage superhero who becomes an Internet phenomenon and causes a bit of a stir in the crime underworld.

Rotten Tomatoes: 75%

My Thoughts: My number one film for this spring and I won’t take that back at all, especially with such positive reviews. Be prepared for some violent superhero satire. The question is whether the film has done enough to draw an audience outside of comic book geekdom. Regardless, it appears to deserve one.

Recommendation: Worth admission.

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Death at a Funeral

Directed by Neal LaBute
Written by Dean Craig
Starring: Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence, Zoe Saldana

The Word: If you haven’t seen the 2007 UK film this movie is based on, it’s worth seeing even if you don’t catch the Chris Rock version. The story is a morbid farce surrounding the ridiculous events at a family funeral and the deceased’s dark little secret, or should I say white little secret?

Rotten Tomatoes: 41%

My Thoughts: As a fan of the original, it’s hard for me to endorse Chris Rock’s taking advantage of it, but I don’t blame him because it’s a great family comedy premise and that’s exactly the audience Rock is aiming for. The black all-star cast will certain get some attention, even if the film can’t quite replicate the wit of the original.

Recommendation: Worth renting the original, or renting later.

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Box Office Predictions

No doubt that the box office will need to be prepared for an ass-kicking this weekend. “Kick-Ass” should have no trouble getting it done, but I’m going to be modest and say this is a $50 million take at best. The PG-13 style marketing along with an R rating has the non-fanboy public a bit confused I’m going to guess. Because of a bunch of low performers last weekend, “Death at a Funeral” should manage to finish behind it with about $18-20 million.

Now I turn to the dead heat that was last week’s box office with the top three finishing within a couple million of each other. “How to Train Your Dragon” should hold up the best given how little it fell last time. $15 million is not a stretch at all. “Date Night” and “Clash of the Titans” will finish fourth and fifth respectively. With “Kick-Ass” out, “Clash” will lose a huge audience and “Date Night” still has its audience cornered anyway.

1. Kick-Ass
2. Death at a Funeral
3. How to Train Your Dragon
4. Date Night
5. Clash of the Titans