Super
DVD I Blu-ray
DIRECTOR: James Gunn
WRITER: James Gunn
STARRING: Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page, Liv Tyler, Kevin Bacon, Michael Rooker, Nathan Fillion, Gregg Henry, Sean Gunn
IFC Films
RELEASE DATE: August 9, 2011

Just recently I reviewed a little indie flick called Griff the Invisible, one of three fairly recent movies about normal everyday folks creating and becoming their own superheros. The other two are 2010’s Kick–Ass, and director James Gunn‘s Super. At the time, I said that the three movies shouldn’t be compared (having a basic understanding of Super but not having seen it yet), and now, having seen all three, this is confirmed: all three are unique in their own special ways, and all three are very much worth seeing.

Super tells the story of Frank D’Arbo (Rainn Wilson), a lowly and rather pathetic man who works as a cook at a local diner. Frank only has two “perfect moments” in his life: when he married his wife, Sarah (Liv Tyler)””a recovering drug addict he met at work””and when he pointed the cops in the direction of a purse–snatching criminal.

A very special added bonus is set to be released with the new Call of Duty: Black Ops expansion pack, called Escalation.

One of the maps that will come with the expansion is called “Call of the Dead” and is inspired by the man who’s pretty much single-handedly responsible for the zombie sub-genre, George A. Romero, who’s also part of the game itself. In it you’ll be able to take on an army of the undead, which Call of Duty has become known for in their games and extra DLC packs, but it’s WHO you get to play as that makes this particular expansion so amusing.

You can see a very grindhouse-inspired trailer for the Black Ops expansion by clicking on over to the other side now!

Last night the groundbreaking AMC series The Walking Dead, developed for television by acclaimed filmmaker Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption, The Mist) and blockbuster producer Gale Anne Hurd (The Terminator, Aliens) and based on the Image Comics series created by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard, ended its first season on a somber and occasionally revealing note that valued the further development of the show’s principal characters and the severity of their situation over gruesome zombie carnage, and it proved to be a powerful finale that raised a few questions and for me at least was only somewhat disappointing. The ratings for the finale are not in yet, but it wouldn’t surprise me if the episode pulled in even more viewers than last week’s edition, which drew 2.8 million viewers, the show’s biggest audience since the highly-hyped Halloween night premiere.

Continue reading for a SPOILER-filled overview of The Walking Dead Season 1 Finale.

Another highly entertaining panel that was held during San Diego Comic Con 2010 was the one for James Gunn‘s hero movie, Super. Gunn is best known as the director of the wonderful horror-comedy Slither, and he also wrote the screenplays for Scooby-Doo and Dawn of the Dead.

Super had one of the better panel lineups, bringing out Gunn, stars Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page, Nathan Fillion, Liv Tyler, Michael Rooker, and producers Ted Hope and Miranda Bailey.

The movie sounds like it’s along the same lines as Kick-Ass where people without superpowers fight evil. In it, Wilson plays the lead character, who calls himself the Crimson Bolt. He has no powers, but he does have a wrench he likes to use in confrontational situations. Looking at the cast and concept, you would think this was primed for gut-busting humor, but apparently it’s a very dark comedy with a lot of dramatic situations.