CONFESSIONS OF A SUPERHERO -- Matt Ogens, dir

© 2007
studio: Arts Alliance Amer
production company:
dir: Matt Ogens
cast: Maxwell Allen, Christopher Dennis, Jennifer Gehrt, Joseph McQueen
documentary

"Confessions of a Superhero" chronicles the lives of four mortal men and women who work as characters on the sidewalks of Hollywood Boulevard. [from IMDb.com]

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What a fascinating documentary.

This could easily have become a laugh riot at the depressing, clownish characters that we see, parading along Hollywood Blvd, looking for tips. However, director Ogens makes no outright statements and does well to not skew our feelings toward these characters.

"Batman" and "Superman" both come off as very strong personalities ... men lost in their dreams. "Superman" at least, seems to try to live the ideal life as "Superman," recognizing that he is representing an image.

"Batman" (who happens to look quite like George Clooney) is downright psychotic, telling stories with full belief of his double life, having worked for the mob, strong-arming thugs, and killing those who've gotten in his way.

"Hulk" and "Wonder Woman" both seem like representatives of the typical Hollywood story ... small-town performers trying to make it big and doing whatever it takes to get by until that big break happens. Both seem like the types who would be happy with acting jobs, not necessarily looking only for that big break. "Wonder Woman" has the advantage of having a strong, supportive family to fall back on, should she choose. "Hulk" was homeless before making enough money at his pan-handling superhero job to get an apartment.

A fascinating documentary. I had intended to only watch a small portion my first night, but ended up watching the whole thing in one sitting.

Worth the time to watch.

GRINDHOUSE: PLANET TERROR -- Robert Rodriguez, dir

©2007
studio: The Weinstein Company
production company:
dir: Robert Rodriguez
cast: Rose McGowan, Freddy Rodriguez, Josh Brolin, Marley Shelton, Jeff Fahey, Michael Biehn, Rebel Rodriguez, Naveen Andres, Bruce Willis, Julio Oscar Mechoso, Stacy Ferguson, Nicky Katt, Hung Nguyen
screenplay: Robert Rodriguez

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This is classic, late night at the movies kind of film-making. To go to such extremes as to include scratches on the film and film that jumps as though it's been rudely edited by pimple-faced projectionists in small towns across the country, lends an air of authenticity to this horror flick.

I felt like I was 18 again and seeing whatever cheap film the theatre could afford -- does anyone else remember such films as "The Legend of Boggy Creek"?

I laughed. There was blood and body parts everywhere. Campy dialogue. Outrageous situations. It had everything a smash-up horror flick should have, including the troubled hero with a solid constitution.

Have fun and check it out.

THE LIBERTINE -- Pasquale Festa Campanile, dir

©1968
"La Matriarca"
studio: First Run Features
production company:
dir: Pasquale Festa Campanile
cast: Catherine Spaak, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Gigi Proietti, Luigi Pistilli, Renzo Montagnani, Fabienne Dali, Nora Ricci, Edda Ferronao, Vittorio Caprioli
screenplay: Nicolo Ferrari and Ottavio Jemma
foeign film, dubbed

A sexy widow discovers her late husband had a secret apartment where he cheated on her. Now she decides to used the same apartment to explore her own sexuality. [from IMDb.com]

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1960's, foreign (Italian) soft-core-porn. Need I say more? (Except that Catherine Spaak was very attractive.)

Really, it didn't offer much by way of story. The plot was razor-thin, providing only enough to get Ms. Spaak into some unique situations.

FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER -- Tim Story, dir

©2007
studio: 20th Century Fox
production company: Twentieth Century Fox, Marvel Enterprises, 1492 Pictures, Constantin Film Produktion, Dune Entertainment, Ingenious Film Partners, thinkfilm
dir: Tim Story
cast: Ioan Gruffurd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis, Julian McMahon,Kerry Washington, Andre Braugher, Laurence Fishburne, Doug Jones
screenplay: Don Payne and Mark Frost from a story by John Turman and Mark Frost

The Fantastic Four learn that they aren't the only super-powered beings in the universe when they square off against the powerful Silver Surfer and the planet-eating Galactus. [from IMDb.com]

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Is it possible for a sequel to be better than the original movie? In this case ... yes.

I felt that the original movie tried too hard to crack wise. There was still a trace of that here, but it wasn't nearly as overwhelming or annoying. Instead, this one had a plot and the need for the team to resolve the crisis. Still too many sub-plots. Did we really need Doom? Did we need the government taking over control of the project? Did we need the wedding? Did we need the power-changing problem? No. We probably could have reduced .

Still, I enjoyed this film much more than the first.