A Wasted Opportunity Mr. Robinson
Added 4/21/2005
James Robinson started out with a pretty good idea although I was hoping for a character based more on the comic book guy from "The Simpsons". He had enough money to make a technically solid feature out of his material, and he did a fairly good job of casting (except for Cary Elwes). I won't bother to summarize the plot but will just address what went wrong. And enough is wrong to render this thing genuinely terrible.
It appears that Robinson was inspired to totally change his original ending late in the game, but was not inspired enough to rewrite the first half of his screenplay (very lazy). Which means there is a HUGE disconnection between the first and the second halves of the movie. This is not a good thing because in the first half Robinson provides film language elements (signs and syntax) that point in an entirely different direction from the way the film ends up going. The whole idea of film is to effectively tell a story; bottom line is that writers and directors who do this well are considered talented.
As I was watching it I gave it more credit than it deserved. I was waiting for them to reveal that the mother and the robber had just set up the store-owners to teach them a lesson. After a point I had to abandon this idea and began to wonder if it was a parody without any humor. If that's the idea then someone should explain to Robinson that to be successful a parody should be funny.
There were some very good shots in this movie. Natasha Lyonne gave a particularly good performance even if it was a grown-up version of her "American Pie" character. So a lot of good work was totally wasted on something that doesn't work on any level which is very sad.
Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.
2 out of 4 people found this helpful.
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Comic Book Fan Boys Run Amouk
Added 12/4/2004
There is an underlining message to COMIC BOOK VILLIANS. All involved in this film must either hate comic books and its industry or know a lot about it... or care about comic books to put out this "message" film. It can go either way. In the mid-to-late 90's, the comic book industry and its subculture went on a collecting and memorabilia craze. People thought they were going to buy comic books as investments and be millionaires. That plan bottomed out and the industry nose-dived. COMIC BOOK VILLIANS indirectly is an outgrowth of what happened to the industry in the late 90's. The film is a cross between PULP FICTION, A SIMPLE PLAN, and VERY BAD THINGS with a touch of 'Kevin Smith' thrown into the mix. Two rival comic book storeowners Ray and Norman (Donal Logue / Michael Rapaport respectively) in a small town find out a local avid collector has died. Then they figure that they can get his comic book collection and sell it for a windfall. Unfortunately, the guy lived at his Mom's house (Eileen Brennan) where he kept his collection and she refuses to sell. So, the two rivals devise plans to woo her to get the collection. However, she stands her ground not to sell. They end up resorting to drastic measures to get the collection and it gets real ugly, and very, very, violent. The plot starts out innocently enough with the script and dialogue having "comic book-knowledge" banter and even mentions the SDComic Con Int. (The San Diego Comic Con International)etc. However, it suddenly takes a sharp left turn and it is jarring and unwatchable. None of the characters are likeable. The only positive aspect of the film is that one of the characters; a comic book aficionado (D.J. Qualls as Archie) realizes the futility of comic book collecting and comes out on top. Therefore, as stated, there is an underlining message of the film; and that it is telling comic book 'fan-boys' to "GET-A-LIFE!" and that there is a whole world out there to explore besides the world of comic books and its obsession with memorabilia and collections. The film is blatant in this message and if that is its main intent, it is a scathing dig on the whole culture of the comic book industry.
1 out of 4 people found this helpful.
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What a Funny and Good hearted movie
Added 6/10/2004
This is a movie for the fans of comic books, eccentric actors, and/or just for people who are generally odd-ball types. If you fit into any of the above categories, you must buy this movie! Or watch it on STARZ!
3 out of 5 people found this helpful.
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FUNNY BOOKS
Added 4/29/2004
Eileen Brennan, way long ago from LAUGH IN and PRIVATE BENJAMIN, has the best lines in this film when she asks DJ Qualls if he likes funny books. In a movie about obsessive comic book fans and collectors, it sums up the banality of the obsession. COMIC BOOK VILLAINS starts out in a fairly light vein, with some funny scenes and then turns bleakly dark, and by the end of the movie, you feel like you need Prozac. Another lesser known film, STRANGER THAN FICTION, did this funny to horrifying segue, and it worked. Somehow COMIC BOOK VILLAINS doesn't make this transition as easily. Donal Logue as the totally obsessed Raymond starts out rather cool, then almost zany in his obsession, but by the end, his murderous rage totally disengages him from real life. DJ Qualls (The Core) once again plays the nerdy friend to the tee. Qualls will probably always look seventeen, but he's a disciplined performer, and shines in his role. Natasha Lyonne and Michael Rapaport are such caricatures that when Lyonne decides to end their marriage, it seems way out of character. Cary Elwes plays way against type as the hoodlum Carter, but even his metamorphosis from a guy trying to make life work to a crazed kidnapper seems improbable.
Eileen Brennan is glorious as the intended victim, and though she looked very old and frail, her reserve energy boosted the film when she was on screen.
A different kind of film, but not as fulfilling as it should have been.
2 out of 4 people found this helpful.
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Well... really 2 and a half
Added 4/28/2004
Anyway when I first heard of this movies I had such high hopes for it... but it reallty took a trip down the toliet. For the first 45 minutes or so it was hilarious, the "accidental" running over Logue, even when he incinuated that Archie was "doin'" the old lady. I was excited about the cast it seemed really cool. But right after the old lady got stabbed it just took a turn for the worse. I'm a comic book fan myself and I don't even buy this. Okay I can buy that Logue would hire a man to steal the comics, I can buy that the old woman got stabbed by accident, I can even buy that no one wanted to call the police for her, but anything beyond that was on the wrong track. I was very disappointed to where it came to in the end. It felt like I was watching two different movies at the same time. I don't know... was this supposed to be dark humor or serious? PICK ONE! The dark humor quickly turned from something funny to something serious, then to something funny and light hearted again. There were a few things I liked about it that DJ was figuring out that there was a life outside of comic books and to get a life, and even how the rivals were going about getting the priceless comic books. I went from liking the movie to surprised then pissed off then indifferent. Not a good reaction. This is only for the hard core comic book fans that want no clear storyline, just mindless insanity and reference to comic books.
2 out of 3 people found this helpful.
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A Wasted Opportunity Mr. Robinson
Added 4/21/2005
James Robinson started out with a pretty good idea although I was hoping for a character based more on the comic book guy from "The Simpsons". He had enough money to make a technically solid feature out of his material, and he did a fairly good job of casting (except for Cary Elwes). I won't bother to summarize the plot but will just address what went wrong. And enough is wrong to render this thing genuinely terrible.
It appears that Robinson was inspired to totally change his original ending late in the game, but was not inspired enough to rewrite the first half of his screenplay (very lazy). Which means there is a HUGE disconnection between the first and the second halves of the movie. This is not a good thing because in the first half Robinson provides film language elements (signs and syntax) that point in an entirely different direction from the way the film ends up going. The whole idea of film is to effectively tell a story; bottom line is that writers and directors who do this well are considered talented.
As I was watching it I gave it more credit than it deserved. I was waiting for them to reveal that the mother and the robber had just set up the store-owners to teach them a lesson. After a point I had to abandon this idea and began to wonder if it was a parody without any humor. If that's the idea then someone should explain to Robinson that to be successful a parody should be funny.
There were some very good shots in this movie. Natasha Lyonne gave a particularly good performance even if it was a grown-up version of her "American Pie" character. So a lot of good work was totally wasted on something that doesn't work on any level which is very sad.
Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.
2 out of 4 people found this helpful.
|
Comic Book Fan Boys Run Amouk
Added 12/4/2004
There is an underlining message to COMIC BOOK VILLIANS. All involved in this film must either hate comic books and its industry or know a lot about it... or care about comic books to put out this "message" film. It can go either way. In the mid-to-late 90's, the comic book industry and its subculture went on a collecting and memorabilia craze. People thought they were going to buy comic books as investments and be millionaires. That plan bottomed out and the industry nose-dived. COMIC BOOK VILLIANS indirectly is an outgrowth of what happened to the industry in the late 90's. The film is a cross between PULP FICTION, A SIMPLE PLAN, and VERY BAD THINGS with a touch of 'Kevin Smith' thrown into the mix. Two rival comic book storeowners Ray and Norman (Donal Logue / Michael Rapaport respectively) in a small town find out a local avid collector has died. Then they figure that they can get his comic book collection and sell it for a windfall. Unfortunately, the guy lived at his Mom's house (Eileen Brennan) where he kept his collection and she refuses to sell. So, the two rivals devise plans to woo her to get the collection. However, she stands her ground not to sell. They end up resorting to drastic measures to get the collection and it gets real ugly, and very, very, violent. The plot starts out innocently enough with the script and dialogue having "comic book-knowledge" banter and even mentions the SDComic Con Int. (The San Diego Comic Con International)etc. However, it suddenly takes a sharp left turn and it is jarring and unwatchable. None of the characters are likeable. The only positive aspect of the film is that one of the characters; a comic book aficionado (D.J. Qualls as Archie) realizes the futility of comic book collecting and comes out on top. Therefore, as stated, there is an underlining message of the film; and that it is telling comic book 'fan-boys' to "GET-A-LIFE!" and that there is a whole world out there to explore besides the world of comic books and its obsession with memorabilia and collections. The film is blatant in this message and if that is its main intent, it is a scathing dig on the whole culture of the comic book industry.
1 out of 4 people found this helpful.
|
What a Funny and Good hearted movie
Added 6/10/2004
This is a movie for the fans of comic books, eccentric actors, and/or just for people who are generally odd-ball types. If you fit into any of the above categories, you must buy this movie! Or watch it on STARZ!
3 out of 5 people found this helpful.
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