Super

Super - Dir. James Gunn (2011)

Shut up, crime!

The idea of ordinary folks becoming costumed crime fighters isn't a new one with the two most recent entries in the subgenre, Defendor (with Woody Harrelson) and Kick-Ass, seeing release in 2010. If you think loonies dressing up as superheroes in real life could never happen, just take a look at Mr. Extreme in San Diego or Phoenix Jones of Seattle. Let’s hope these kooks don’t imitate the ultra-violence perpetrated by the characters of James Gunn’s Super, which bears a superficial resemblance to Kick-Ass.

Rainn Wilson from The Office is perfectly cast as Frank, a short-order cook with a strong faith in god. God's existence is practically proven due to the fact that Frank is married to Liv Tyler as Sarah, a beautiful waitress and recovering addict. Frank's conviction is shaken when she has a relapse and falls into the arms of a slimy drug dealer named Jacques. After an extremely bizarre vision, Frank is literally touched by the finger of God (voiced by Rob Zombie) and creates the superhero identity of The Crimson Bolt. Armed with a mighty pipe wrench of justice, Frank gleefully dishes out brutal punishment to dealers, muggers, and child molesters. He even splits a man's skull open for cutting in line at the movies. Every good hero needs a sidekick and Frank finds one in Libby, an unhinged young woman working at the local comic book store. Libby fashions her own costume to become Boltie, whose first act as crime fighter is to nearly bludgeon a man to death for possibly keying a friend's Jetta. Even Frank (with an obviously tenuous grasp on reality) balks at Libby's gleeful disregard for human life.

Super is pure, low-grade shlock. Not surprising coming from a picture written and directed by a filmmaker who started out with B-movie purveyors Troma Entertainment. Gunn’s previous directorial effort was the underrated horror-comedy, Slither, with Super acting as something of a kindred spirit in terms of violent content. Whereas Slither was consistent in its attempt to create a throwback to early Cronenberg, Super is wildly uneven, shifting from tone to tone on a whim. Super opens with a cutesy animated title sequence (set to Tsar’s “Calling All Destroyers”) while the Crimson Bolt’s initial forays into vigilante adventures feature Three Stooges-level slapstick. That’s after the first few days when Frank spends entire nights sitting behind a dumpster waiting for crime to happen. His most exciting encounter being a cardboard box blown along the street. He vows to pick it up later. Shit gets real once we start seeing gaping wounds and gushing blood. After jumping from slapstick to dark comedy, the movie becomes just plain dark with a finale right out of Taxi Driver.

Gunn is hardly a subtle filmmaker and he tackles the film’s themes with the same blunt force trauma as the Bolt’s pipe wrench. Just as the masked protagonist continues to beat on his opponent long after he has been incapacitated, Gunn beats and beats his points and labored eccentricities. The “finger of God” sequence would have come off fine had it simply ended with a luminous shaft of light peering down on Frank. Instead, Gunn goes overboard in order to include hentai tentacles (badly rendered in CGI) clutching at Frank’s limbs while pulling his scalp open to expose his brain. There’s also a creepy scene involving Boltie seducing an unwilling Frank that’s supposed to symbolize the fetishistic sexual undertones of costumed superheroes, a topic already covered more deftly in Watchmen. When Frank inevitably kills someone, comic book style graphics pop up ala the 60’s Batman show as a further perversion of innocent iconography.

The fact doesn’t completely fail is in no small way due to the cast. Rainn Wilson is excellent as the sad sack hero, able to give a somewhat unsympathetic character a tragic edge. Every great hero needs an equally memorable villain and the Bolt does indeed have one in Kevin Bacon, who is hilarious as the smarmy Jacques. It’s true, everything is better with Bacon in it. Nathan Fillion is pure Nathan Fillion as a Christian TV superhero named the Holy Avenger, who serves as a muse for the Crimson Bolt. Without a doubt, the performance Super will be remembered for is Ellen Page as the homicidal anti-Juno. It’s a change to see Page play someone who isn’t the smartest girl in the room, but her part could have been better served with a little restraint.

The film also features cameos from Linda Cardellini, Zach Gilford, Steve Agee, Troma co-founder Lloyd Kaufman, and William Katt from Greatest American Hero.

Super is a little behind on the times when it comes to deconstructing the superhero mythos. This is a movie desperately searching for a consistent tone, funny one minute and appalling by the next.

Rating: ** (*****)

Inception

Inception - Dir. Christopher Nolan (2010)


”You mustn’t be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling.”

Christopher Nolan certainly wasn’t afraid to dream big. Originally pitched to Warner Brothers back in 2002, Nolan spent almost eight years developing the intricate $200 million action-thriller, Inception. Nolan applies the blockbuster approach of The Dark Knight with the mindfuck methodology of earlier films like Memento to this high concept take on the heist movie.

Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Dom Cobb, a world-class thief who has taken corporate espionage to a new plane of existence. He doesn’t break into bank vaults, he breaks into dreams. Known as “Extraction,” Cobb hooks his slumbering victims to a Matrix in a suitcase in order to steal their deepest secrets or sacred ideas. Cobb and his right-hand man, Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), have failed their latest extraction on wealthy businessman Saito (Ken Watanabe). However, Saito is impressed enough that he hires them for the impossible task of “Inception,” where an idea is planted into someone else’s mind.

The mark is Robert Fischer (Cillian Murphy), who will inherit an energy conglomerate from his dying father (Pete Postlewaite). Saito wants the son to break up his company thereby preventing a near-monopoly that would squeeze out Saito’s own corporation.

So Cobb assembles his team consisting of Arthur; Yusuf (Dileep Rao), a chemist who is an expert at sedatives; Eames (Tom Hardy), a forger who impersonates others inside the dream; and newcomer Ariadne (Ellen Page), an architect charged with crafting the world of the dream. Nolan gets a little playful in naming her after the character from Greek mythology who led Theseus out of the labyrinth of the Minotaur.

Sharing dreams with Cobb, Ariadne discovers the dangers that have leaked out of his subconscious. Cobb is a wanted fugitive who has left behind his children by fleeing the States. His troubles stem from the death of his wife Mal (Marion Cotillard). She lives on in his mind, but twisted by his own guilt, she attempts to kill Cobb and his team at every turn.

The second act of Inception follows the formula of other con game movies like The Sting or Ocean’s Eleven. The team plan and practice their scheme. The third act involves creating a multi-layered dream world to ensnare their target. These dream worlds aren’t as surreal as the ones seen in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. It’s less Charlie Kaufman and more Michael Mann with a dash of M.C. Escher. The movie isn’t nearly as confusing as one would expect. Nolan helpfully provides more than enough exposition to keep everything clear. Therein lays the film’s biggest weakness.

The majority of the dialogue is entirely functional in that characters are simply explaining things to each other. As the eager newcomer, Ariadne serves as a stand-in for the audience. She’s there to be introduced into Cobb’s world so that we are as well. It feels a bit insulting for Nolan to hold everyone’s hand at each step. We don’t really get to know any of the characters beyond the genre archetypes of fresh-faced rookie or nerdy tech guy. One of the film’s best scenes is a quickie involving Arthur stealing a kiss from Ariadne. It’s a rare moment in which the characters are allowed to simply be themselves.

The strengths of Inception lie in its original concept and spectacular visuals. Nolan is like the cerebral Michael Bay. He’s a master at creating widescreen spectacle, yet there is substance to the style. There are some amazing images to be found here, from a crumbling cityscape to a Parisian boulevard that is literally folded in half. Nolan still struggles with crafting coherent action sequences. A car chase through the rainy streets of downtown L.A. isn’t nearly as thrilling as the chase from The Dark Knight and a James Bond-esque battle at a snowy fortress is disorienting. On the other hand, a gravity defying fist fight in a hotel hallway is well done. Nolan and long-time editor, Lee Smith, deftly intercut the various dream layers during the climax. Neither are Nicholas Roeg, but they get the job done.

The ensemble cast is excellent all around with Tom Hardy and Joseph Gordon-Levitt providing a pair of great supporting performances. Ignoring G.I. Joe, Gordon-Levitt is easily at the top of the heap when it comes to young actors working today. Watch him in this along with Brick and The Lookout, if you don’t believe me. For the second time in a row, DiCaprio plays a tortured widower. He’s the glue that holds the film together, playing well with the other actors. The exceedingly gorgeous Marion Cotillard is pitch perfect as the film’s femme fatale. If DiCaprio is the Batman of Inception, then Cotillard is his Catwoman. You know, I wouldn’t mind seeing Cotillard in black leather leotards and cracking a bullwhip. Either by coincidence or design, Nolan throws in a nod to her Oscar-winning turn in La Vie en Rose by utilizing Edith Piaf’s “Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien” at a key moment.

After suffering through the inane schlock of last year (Transformers: ROTF), it’s refreshing to see that 2010 has brought us films like Green Zone and Inception, action dramas with a brain. Inception does get bogged down with exposition, but it’s saved by a great cast and stunning visuals. Even with a runtime of 148 minutes, it moves at a brisk pace. It is definitely the shortest 2 and a half hour movie I’ve ever seen.

Rating: *** ½

Whip It

Whip It - Dir. Drew Barrymore (2009)


After growing up in front of the camera, Drew Barrymore makes her debut behind it with Whip It. Barrymore’s first directorial effort is equal parts glib indie hipster comedy and equal parts misfit sports movie. Think Juno meets Bad News Bears and Slap Shot.

In fact, Juno starlet Ellen Page is cast as the lead, one Bliss Cavendar whose Eggo is a little less preggo here. Bliss is a high school senior in the one horse town of Bodeen which is smack dab in the middle of nowhere, Texas. She works part-time as a waitress at the local diner with her best friend Pash (Arrested Development’s Alia Shawkat). Both are forced to serve their classmates who are mainly dumb jocks and stuck-up cheerleaders. Bliss’s mother Brooke (Marcia Gay Harden) is a postal worker who forces her daughter to compete in local teen beauty pageants. Bliss’s father Earl (Daniel Stern) is passive to the bone doing anything he can to avoid conflict.

Bliss is the proverbial square peg in a round hole until she discovers direction in her directionless life. She finds roller derby. She sneaks off to Austin, lies about her age, and successfully tries out for the league, despite the fact that her only pair of skates has Barbie on them. Bliss becomes a member of the Hurl Scouts, the league’s worst team and damn proud of it. Her teammates are a collection of colorfully named cuties like Maggie Mayhem (Kristen Wiig), Bloody Holly (Zoe Bell), Smashley Simpson (Barrymore), and Rosa Sparks (Eve). Bliss is transformed into Babe Ruthless and becomes the league’s poster girl drawing the ire of rival derby girl Iron Maven (Juliette Lewis). The Scouts even have their own versions of the Hanson Brothers in the form of the Manson Sisters, a pair of deaf & mute enforcers played by real-life derby girls Kristen “Krissy Krash” Adolfi and Rachel “Iron Maiven” Piplica.

The two best performances in the film belong to Kristen Wiig and Andrew Wilson as Hurl Scouts coach Razor. Wiig has stolen many scenes in miniscule bit roles before, Knocked Up and Ghost Town, for example. Here, Wiig is given a more substantial part and a chance to stretch her acting muscles as the team’s resident den mother. Andre Wilson is the elder, lesser known brother of Luke and Owen. Yes, he’s the Zeppo of the Wilson Clan, but I doubt either of his bros could have played the role any better.

The script by Shauna Cross (the real-life Maggie Mayhem) is predictable and uses just about every cliché known in the playbooks of inspirational sports movies and coming-of-age tales. What makes the film work is its overwhelming sense of joy. Whip It is just too much fun not to enjoy.

Rating: ** ½