The Specials (DVD)
Directed by: Craig Mazin
Written by: James Gunn
Starring: Rob Lowe, Jamie Kennedy, Thomas Haden Church

Just when I thought comic books had been completely “spoofed out”, along comes another wackysuperhero comedy that somehow manages to bring with it a unique and fresh experience.

Certainly, the world of comic books can be a pretty ridiculous one, and it doesn’t takea lot of talent to poke fun at it. Many comic book spoofs just come across as competitions to seewho can come up with the most bizarre superheroes and villains.Luckily, The Specials does not rely on easy jokes like these, and in fact, the actual super powers of each of the characters in the movie are pretty much irrelevant.To be honest, I couldn’t even tell you what half of their super powers were.It is the personalities and the acting that makes each character funny, not the schtick. For most of the movie, you aren’t even necessarilyaware that these characters are superheroes, and this, I think, is one of the movie’s greatest strengths, and also its main weakness.

Here is a basic run-down of the story:

The Specials are a ragtag team of superheroes, outcasts who couldn’t make the cut with other supergroups. They are filled with self-doubt and bitterness, as they struggle for validation in their lives. Led by The Great Strobe (a self-assured, Tick-esque personality played by Thomas Haden Church), and his wife Miss Indestructible (Paget Brewster), we follow them as they welcome young newcomer Nightbird to the team, and as Kosgrow Toys releases a toy line based on their likenesses. Amidst this high honour that is being bestowed upon the team, some personal issues threaten to break up the group. The Specials must learn to put aside their differences in order to do what’s right, and in order to continue on with their average, mundane second-string superhero lives.

Does this sound promising? Well, I have to say that I thought the movie was hilarious. It really took me by surprise. I wasn’t exactly dying with laughter for the whole movie, but a lot of the jokes were the kinds of things that tended to get funnier with repeat viewings.

Although The Specials obviously makes me think of both Mystery Men and The Tick on more than one occasion, it feels for the most part very different.

The Specials often goes for a gritty, realistic feel, where the superheroes swear, talk about sex, and bicker with each other. In this film, superhero teams operate like businesses, as they try to enhance their public image, avoid bad press, and recruit more popular heroes from other superpower teams as they become “free agents”.However, The Specials also brings with it a kind of “cute” humour, with characters such as the alien orphan (a humanoid resembling a grown man, but who acts like a 2 year old kid), and U.S. Bill (a simple-minded fellow who just isn’t too bright). I think the combination of the two styles of humour makes it unlikely that anyone will be turned off from the movie completely, but it also prevents most people from continually laughing throughout the film’s entire duration. Also, by mixing the two styles of comedy, they sacrificed some of the potential laughs that could have resulted if they went all the way in one direction. In general, though I think their balance of gritty humour with “cute” humour still worked considerably well.

There are certain parts of the movie and certain characters that people will either love or hate. For example, I personally found the dim-witted U.S. Bill to be one of the funniest characters in the movie, while others despised him. On the other hand, many people thought Amok was the best part of the movie, but I felt that his bad boy attitude seemed a little too forced at times.One character that was consistently “off the mark” was Eight. The concept of a being with 8 consciousnesses may have seemed funny on paper, but on the screen it only meets with blank stares. The dance scene at the end of the movie, too, seemed like little more than a time filler.

The Specials is a low-budget independent film (depending on your definition of low-budget), and it is the brainchild of writer James Gunn and his friends. It is probably the low budget elements of this movie that give it most of its charm and originality.

The filmmakers cut costs by using almost no special effects, which, for a superhero movie, is completely unheard of. With the exception of the ending sequence, on which probably over 50% of the budget was spent, we never see any super powers in use. It is a superhero movie where there isn’t a single fight, and no real arch-villain - for the comic book purists, this will make it feel incomplete. Personally, I happened to like it this way. It proves that it is possible to spoof a genre without operating completely within the genre’s trademark format.

The lack of special effects also forced the humour to be dialogue and character-based, which adds to the realistic feel of the film. For anyone who is a fan of independent films that are mostly dialogue based (ie. Clerks), you will definitely find yourself at home here.

The other 50% of the budget was probably paid to Rob Lowe (who, as they mention in the DVD’s audio commentary, had a larger trailer than anyone else working on the movie). Because of the budget constraints, there aren’t many big name actors in the movie. Again, I think this is a good thing. The Specials are supposed to be the world’s “fifth best” superhero team. In other words, they live in obscurity, overshadowed by other supergroups. It only makes sense to have more obscure actors playing the characters in the movie. Still, you will probably recognize many of the actors, although you may not be able to place them immediately. Jamie Kennedy, who plays Amok, was in the Scream movies, and Kelly Coffield, who plays Power Chick, used to star on the TV show In Living Colour. Oh, and there is also a brief appearance by Sabrina herself, Melissa Joan Hart.

The story is actually really well written. At first I thought there would be too many characters to keep track of, but they managed to let each character come into his or her own.In the little moments when the movie tries to be sentimental, it succeeds, and I think this ispartially a testament to the great acting, but also to the fact that you really start to care for the characters. Maybe it’s because with all their whining and fighting, they feel like real people. They don’t have the weight of the world on their shoulders, they just have small every day problems like you or I.

Another interesting thing they did with this movie is they mixed in mockumentary style interview footage with each character, giving often hilarious results. They also included a short “documentary” on the history of The Specials, complete with cheesy muzak and overly enthusistic dialogue from the hosts, Weevil and Power Chick. This stuff was all just sort of randomly thrown in there, but it added a lot to the movie, and enhanced the gritty feel.

The Specials’ DVD contains some great extras as well, which added to my appreciation of this movie.

First, you get about 10 deleted scenes, some of which are just as funny as the stuff in the movie. There is a full audio commentary with James Gunn as well as the director and producer. Aside from containing the usual ass-kissing, this very amusing and fun with lots of great stories about the shooting of the movie, and how they overcame the many obstacles of low budget filmmaking. Gunn also reveals the truth about an attempted kiss with Jordan Ladd (Nightbird) in the movie. You really get the feeling that this is just a group of friends making a movie because it is what they love to do.

Also included for posterity are full versions of the Specials toy commercial, and the fake wedding video footage they shot for Strobe and Miss Indestructible’s wedding. Let me tell you, I could watch that toy commercial a million times and never grow tired of it. It spoofs so perfectly all those toy commercials we were bombarded with while we helplessly watched cartoons in the 80’s.

You know, my only real complaint about The Specials is that it is a little on the short side (the ending definitely seemed abrupt), and this seems inexcusable with the huge amount of untapped potential they had to work with. The concept is a great one, and I know they could have done a lot more with it.

But this is just a minor trifle, because even though I was a little doubtful, The Specials succeeded in thoroughly impressing me. Although it is still fairly unknown, it is clearly destined to become a cult classic. Hopefully its release on the DVD format will help it to reach the audience it so greatly deserves. If you were one of the many people who thought Mystery Men missed the mark, then track down The Specials, because you will probably find that this movie is right on target. — Sean

Wonder Boys (DVD)
Directed by: Curtis Hanson
Written by: Michael Chabon (novel), Steven Kloves
Starring: Michael Douglas, Tobey Maguire, Katie Holmes, Robert Downey Jr., Frances McDormand

Wonder Boys is a movie that made almost every critic’s top 10 list last year, and yet it made a very brief appearance in theatres, and managed to fly under most people’s radars. Although it’s pretty normal for critics to love a movie that the general public didn’t like, I think that with this movie, the general public probably would have also liked it if they had been given the chance.

I see Wonder Boys almost like the American Beauty of 2000. It’s a movie that both critics and general audiences can appreciate. Both movies are about a wide array of characters struggling to find meaning in their lives, and both have a very witty sense of humour about the whole thing.

Also, like American Beauty, Wonder Boys has a solid cast that carries this film to another level. Michael Douglas, Toby Maguire and Robert Downey Jr are all stellar. Frances McDormand, who is often overlooked in her acting, also brings a great performance to the screen. Then there’s Katie Holmes, who has a habit of starring in some great movies, and I don’t think it’s a coincidence. All the actors take a very laidback, realistic approach to their roles, and no one overdoes it. The characters all feel like real people.

Grady Tripp, played by Michael Douglas, is a professor who wrote a book a few years ago that many people praised, but now he is struggling to come up with a second one. There is a student in his class named James Leer (Tobey Maguire), who is also a writer with great potential, but who tends to get himself into a bit of trouble now and then. Not that Grady himself doesn’t know how to get into trouble. He just happens to have an affair with the Chancellor’s wife (Frances McDormand) and gets her pregnant. In amongst all this also is Hannah Green (Katie Holmes), a young student who boards with Grady and also has a bit of a crush on him. Both Grady and James find that they have a lot in common and Grady sort of takes James under his wing as they both try to sort out their lives and realize their potential.

It’s difficult to find a lot of things to say about Wonder Boys. Curtis Hanson’s last project was L.A. Confidential, and I really can’t see many similarities between these 2 movies.

Wonder Boys has a lot of funny moments, and there are a lot of ridiculous situations, but it’s not really a comedy. In some sense it is a college movie, but it’s not about students partying and going crazy Animal House-style. It’s difficult to categorize, as the best films usually are. The movie slows things down to a pace where you can enjoy the humour, and yet still have ample time for reflection. This is probably the main reason why I think it is similar to American Beauty - the movie had a way of making you smile, and at the same time, making you think.

The photography in Wonder Boys is amazing. There is a real emphasis on earthy colours in this movie. The greens and browns are used over and over again, creating sort of a drab atmosphere, which parallels Grady Tripp’s life. The scenery is also beautiful, and all the winter weather is captured on film with great care. There is a scene outside of a diner at night, when Grady is standing outside in a parking lot and the snow is falling all around him. It is breathtaking. One complaint about that scene though… I have nothing against Bob Dylan or the song he wrote for the movie, but it sounds rather cheesy and makes me cringe when it suddenly kicks in at that point in the film.

One thing that I am a little curious about: there was a disclaimer at the beginning of the film saying that it had been “edited for content”. What the hell is this all about? I didn’t rent it from Blockbuster, and I didn’t watch it on TV, so why should the movie be edited in any way at all?

The DVD layout and menu was really cool, but there weren’t too many extras on here. Still, I think DVD is the medium of choice for this film, if you have access to it, because the video just looks amazing.

There is no doubt, this is a great film. I don’t know if it deserves all the hype that the critics have been stirring up, but it’s thoughtful and enjoyable. As long as you have the patience to sit through a movie that is a little slower paced, you will be greatly rewarded for it. — Sean

Weezer - “The Green Album”
(Geffen/Interscope)

All I want to know is, how the hell did Weezer get to be so damn popular? After something like a 5 year hiatus, their fan base is probably bigger now than it ever was before. Tell me, where is the logic in that? Then again, I guess rock music never was very logical to begin with. It just goes to show that Weezer are a great band with a lasting appeal, and it’s easy to see why the Green Album was easily one of the most anticipated albums of the year. The big question in my mind was, could Weezer live up to their own legacy?

When Weezer toured last year, early indications were that their new material was dry, depressing and anything but poppy. But still, the hype built and built, and I can only think that that somewhere before they actually released the album, they feverishly reworked a lot of the songs. The end result of the new songwriting exhibited on the Green Album didn’t turn out nearly as bad as it could have. And yet… it doesn’t quite measure up to the songs found on their other two records.

One thing is clear: Rivers did not want to risk another commercial failure like Pinkerton, and so he went back to the tried and true pop rock formula of the blue album. But something is missing this time. Maybe that something is Matt Sharp. He was replaced by former Juliana Hatfield bass player Mikey Welsh, who can play bass just fine, but is simply not the great songwriter that Matt Sharp was. Sharp’s departure also seems to be the reason for the disappearance of the moogs and keyboards this time around.

I have few basic gripes with the record, one being that the music sounds watered down, rushed and a little generic. The Weezer big rock sound is still there, but now it sounds distant, buried in the mix. Plus there are few too many slow tempo songs, and too many wah-wah guitar solos.

If it wasn’t a Weezer album, quite honestly, I don’t think I would have given it a second listen. But maybe that’s just my bad.

On the flip side of the coin, there is a lot of catchy stuff on this album. Some of the songs grabbed me right off the bat, such as Photograph and Simple Pages. Now some of the other songs are starting to grow on me as well, especially Glorious Day and O Girlfriend (part of which reminds me of a Jam song, but I can’t figure out which one). I don’t even mind Hash Pipe, which I thought was a disgrace the first time I heard it on the radio. (I still think it needs an intro of some sort though.)

The reviews of the Green Album have been mixed pretty much all across the board, and I think both sides have good arguments. The thing with this album is that if you really want to fall in love with it, then I think you probably will. On the other hand, if you are just waiting for your chance to denounce Weezer, then you will find plenty to complain about as this record is far from bulletproof.

Personally I found the Green Album to be both a disappointment, and yet a relief at the same time. I’m not writing them off just yet. Let’s wait and see what else these boys have up their sleeve, shall we? — Sean

Stand Off - Beneath The Surface Of Awareness
(Chimaeric)

I don’t know too much about the history of this Niagara Falls band, but I do know that there was a point at which they decided to get a little more serious about their music, and they moved from being basically a pop-punk cover band to being a pop-punk band who wrote their own songs. What really made me take notice of them, was the fact that their original songs were good. Very good.

They have a sound comparable to melodic punk bands like Lagwagon and Ten Foot Pole, but they avoid being completely derivative.They released a 4 song demo tape a year or two ago, and I listened to it non-stop. It had melodic singing, crunchy layered guitar parts, and tight drumming. Even though some of the lyrics were pretty cheesy, they didn’t sound cheesy, because the music backed them up so well. And even though it was their first real demo, something about it sounded very mature, because the songs were well-written.

Needless to say, I was pretty desperate to hear a full length cd from these guys. So here it is, the new album: Beneath The Surface Of Awareness, just recently released with little to no fanfare.

There are 12 songs on the disc, 4 of which are the same recordings from their demo tape. In my mind, none of the newer songs quite match the perfection of the original 4 demos, but many come close. Some of the newer songs take a slightly less energetic approach, but they still have poppy hooks that draw you in. “Waiting For You”, “Reason For Concern” and “Close To The End (Allison)”, (the latter of which appeared on the SCENE 2000 compilation), are all solid songs that have a way of weaving themselves into your head after only one listen. The harmonizing vocals work surprisingly well, and the drumming is still precise and creative.

Of course, they couldn’t resist throwing a cover song on the album, and they did a nice job with Bon Jovi’s classic rock ballad “Always”, turning it into a fast paced sing-along, while still having fun with the cheese factor.

The only complaint I have about this album is that the production sounds wimpy and tinny for the most part. However, being from the Niagara Region I know that good (and cheap) recordings are not easy to come by, and I can’t really hold it against them. Still, it’s frustrating because I know this album could sound much better.

Stand Off are an excellent band that no one seems to know about.It’s too bad these guys don’t seem to have the drive or the means to get their name out there, because I really think they have the potential to go somewhere. They may not be the most original sounding band, but they certainly know how to play, and this is easily one of the best albums I’ve ever heard emerge from the Niagara Region. Do yourself a favour and check them out. — Sean

Requiem For A Dream
Directed by: Darrin Aronofsky
Written by: Hubert Selby Jr., Darrin Aronofsky
Starring: Jennifer Connelly, Marlon Wayans, Jared Leto, Christopher McDonald, Ellen Burstyn

Oh the pain of walking along the new release rack,seeing movies you saw in theaters and want to seeagain, seeing movies that went straight to video thatlook like a b-movie laugh riot, seeing videos that youthink you would really like but could be risky… whodeserves the 6 bucks today? Do I go with the reliableand tested “Best in Show”, the Olson twins’ “WinningLondon” or will it be “Quills”?

I chose the Olson twins movie. Then I put it back.”Quills”! I’ll get “Quills”! Then “Winning London”again. Another box caught my eye.

I took a look at the back of the box, which atRogers video tells you all the bad stuff that lil’kids like me should avoid. A warning, if you will.

“Orgies. Forced sexual acts. Extreme Drug Use.Directed by Darrin Aronofsky (Pi)”

We have ourselves a winner.

Having enjoyed Pi thoroughly, I made haste back tomy laboratory to explore this world of sex and drugs.It had been a while, not having seen “Traffic” or”Blow” yet I was ready to sink my teeth into somehardcore vein poppin good times. But it was not to be.”Requiem for a Dream” turned out to be a majordisappointment.

Jared Leto plays Harry Goldfarb, a televisionstealing junkie always in need of a fix. With him asalways is Marlon Wayans as Tyrone, and JenniferConnelly as some sort of eye candy or something. Moreimportantly there is Ellen Burstyn as Sara, Harry’smother, who spends her days watching bad gameshows onthe very TV set Leto steals and pawns over and over. Iactually liked the crappy gameshow, hosted byChristopher McDonald, or as he’s better known, goodol’ Shooter McGavin.

There are two stories going on simultaneously in”Requiem” - Leto and Friends pawn and tap, and pawnand pawn and tap. Drugs Drugs Drugs, Fix Fix Fix. Ithink you get my drift. Theres not much going on here.Its pretty typical stuff, the same sort of stuffyou’ve seen in EVERY drug movie. They can’t finddrugs, they blame each other for not being able tofind drugs. They find the drugs. They do the drugs.Yay. Edgy. Exciting. Yawn. Why not watch Trainspottingor even Gridlock’d instead? At least those films hadsome ideas and good dialogue. This part of the storyis shit. Just fast forward. Why?

Ellen FAWKIN’ Burstyn, thats why. She rules here.Her character of Sara is approached by her favegameshow to act as a contestant. She takes one ganderat a photo of her at Leto’s graduation (probably theonly moment where Leto seems truly important in thisfilm) and realizes he must lose weight to fit her oldred dress, which will undoubtedly make her feel realand wonderful again, unlike the poor ol mom of ajunkie she now is. She cant take the diet, so sheunknowingly starts taking uppers from a doctor, anddown goes the weight, and Sara goes crazy.

As you can tell, the characters all go through adownhill spiral, and a sour end is in store for all.Even with the bad drug story, this all seems prettydecent, right? Well in Burstyns case, the acting isthere. Everyone is is pretty “eh”, all talking insomber arthouse flush the toilet short lines, walkingthrough dream sequences on a pier, and being thesubject of very overdone speed-up and close-upeffects… Anorofsky’s style gelled well in “Pi”, butin this case it all seems really pretentious andannoying after the 5th or 6th time he employs thistechnique, almost like a pattern. Darrin somehow makeshis ‘edge’ boring, and thats not good. Especially notwith his talent. He needs some better content to workwith, and I’m sure he’ll put out a masterpiecesomeday.

I can’t find any faults with the soundtrackthough, there is nothing wrong with that choice. It’sall classical and it builds, and without it, theadmittedly incredible climax, showing just howdesperate everyone is, would be as limp as everythingelse in the movie. The rental price is justified withthe climax alone. Make sure you resist the urge toavert your eyes. This is one scene you will neverforget.

So I guess with all this I don’t really know whatto say about “Requiem”. It is definitely adisappointment, and I’d certainly hesitate to call ita good film. But on the other hand, I have beenthinking about it for over a week, all the time, andthere are moments still firmly implanted in my mindthat probably wont go away for a while. I guess thatmeans I recommend it, don’t you think? — The Pretentious Goon

Freddy Got Fingered
Written and Directed by: Tom Green
Starring: Tom Green, Rip Torn, Harland Williams

Tom Green is a funny guy. Just when I thought that TV was completely useless and devoid of any humour that is even slightly intelligent, I caught part of The Tom Green Show one evening on the Comedy Network and realized that there was still hope. It was so fresh and off the wall, and it had me in hysterics. It had been a long time since I had laughed out loud in front the television screen.

I’m sure there are a lot of people right now who would question my assertion that Tom Green’s humour is intelligent. In fact, I am questioning it now myself, after seeing his film Freddy Got Fingered. Let me tell you, this thing is a real piece of work.

As we all know, the movie got pitiful reviews, but I didn’t think I could really trust critics on a movie like this one. A lot of critics probably couldn’t wait for their chance to rip into Tom Green. While the release of Freddy Got Fingered may have come at the height of his popularity, it also came at a time when I think a lot of people were beginning to sick of him. I think he was putting himself in people’s faces just a little too much, and for most people I think 90 minutes of Tom Green on the big screen (with no chance to change the channel) is a possibly fatal overdose.

There were definitely numerous warning signs to stay away from this flick, but I still wanted to give it a chance and see it for myself.

It didn’t start off all that bad. The intro shows Tom skateboarding all over town and performing some cool stunts. Although it was rather self-indulgent, it was put together in a cool way, and energized the film off the bat.

Tom Green’s frantic, hyperactive acting style had me grinning initially. One or two jokes kind of made me laugh. I was still uncertain as to where it was heading, but there was a faint hope that maybe it wouldn’t be too bad.

From there the movie quickly fell… fell until it hit rock bottom. Then fell some more. That’s really what it felt like.

Before seeing this movie, I didn’t realize how important even a vague, predictable plot is to a comedy. Freddy Got Fingered makes all of those cheesy Saturday Night Live spin-off movies seem like masterpieces.I won’t even bother trying to explain the plot, because there isn’t one. Tom just seems to jump aimlessly from scene to scene, each scene consisting of one simple event that is stretched into 5 or 10 minutes while Tom repeats things over and over again.

Film just doesn’t seem to be Tom Green’s forte. It’s clear that he is only funny when being spontaneous, and that he and his friend Derek can only come up with amusing ideas that are suitable for 60 second segments. (This may explain why the trailer for this movie is actually somewhat funny.)

It’s like there is no script here, but rather each scene has one or two lines that he improvises around. Unfortunately, his improvisation just doesn’t work in the sterile film environment, and he ultimately ends up repeating the same sentences over and over again. Tom just seems to be trying too hard throughout the movie. Maybe he is trying extra hard because he knows that his antics aren’t going to translate as well when they are not live and off the cuff. Each scene just drags on and on, and there are parts that would have been funny, but they are killed because they carry on for too long, or because we’ve already seen them in the trailer. (ie. “Daddy would you like some sausage?”)

Also, gross out humour is one thing, but there are some particular scenes that are just not enjoyable to watch. I’m not overly sensitive to these kinds of things. In fact, I laugh at a lot of gross out stuff he does on his TV show, but in the movie, for example, when his friend breaks his leg skateboarding and the bone is sticking out, and Tom starts to lick the wound… I just stared at the screen dumbfounded. It may have sounded bizarre and funny on paper, but really, it’s just gross, and up on the screen it just looked moronic.

There is also the matter of the music selections in this movie. Tom Green acts like a true MTV spokesperson, throwing all kinds of popular music for the little generation X-ers into the movie, even if it is just for 5 seconds. That kind of thing bugs me. It becomes painfully obvious that you’re just trying to be hip when you have to keep finding excuses to play popular music in a movie.

All I can say is… ouch. Tom Green has definitely made a name for himself with this film, unfortunately, it’s not a very good name.Indeed, I feel bad for everyone involved in this movie. How could they all have gone along with this, and not realized at some point that it was going to suck? I feel bad for the actors who lent their faces to this monstrous creation (especially Rip Torn who also lent his ass). Actually wait… I don’t feel bad for Drew Barrymore. She deserves the wack role she had in this movie. But what the hell was Shaq thinking, giving a cameo appearance in this? It’s going to tarnish his image from previous films such as Shazam and Steel.

So as I watched the film deteriorate into a horrible, horrible thing, I had to stop and ask myself, “Is it supposed to be this bad? Is he doing this on purpose?” I almost want to believe that the whole thing is a Kaufman-esque inside joke. I think that Tom Green is smarter than this.

There is a hint that maybe Tom knows how stupid the whole movie is: At the very very end of the movie, while the credits are rolling, and we seem some of the outtakes, the last outtake has Tom getting up off the ground, and walking off camera, rolling his eyes, and laughing to himself muttering “What the fuck am I doing?”

Tom Green himself has said that all that matters to him is getting a reaction out of people; whether it is laughter, or not is irrelevant. In a way, I can see him being very proud to have made this movie that people are calling one of the worst films ever.

But you know what? When all is said and done, I look back at this movie and I laugh - laugh because it is completely ridiculous that a movie like this was ever made. I can definitely see this becoming a cult classic. It is quite possibly one of the worst movies ever made, and in that sense, I find it kind of interesting. Still, that doesn’t mean that I would sit through it again, nor would I ever think of recommending it to anyone else. — Sean