Super (2010)

Number Rolled: 87

Movie Name/Year: Super (2010)

Genre: Independent

Length: 96 minutes

Rating: R

Production Companies: This Is That Productions, Ambush Entertainment, Cold Iron Pictures, Crimson Bolt

Executive Producer: Iddo Lampton Enochs Jr., Matthew Leutwyler, Rainn Wilson

Director: James Gunn

Writer: James Gunn

Actors: Rainn Wilson, Elliot Page, Liv Tyler, Kevin Bacon, Gregg Henry, Michael Rooker, Andre Royo, Sean Gunn, Stephen Blackehart, Don Mac, Nathan Fillion, Rob Zombie

Frank Darbo is a nobody. His wife is the best thing in his life, and she’s pulling away from him. When he finds out that she’s gone back to her old druggie ways, his world comes crashing down. That’s when he’s given the idea to fight evil as the superhero, “The Crimson Bolt.”

Super reminded me of Kick-Ass… if the writer had been on crack. The plot is the same basic idea with different motivation and a different outcome. It’s a similar dark field trip down the path of the question, “what if someone decided to become a real superhero?”

Yes, I know about the superheroes that go around in costumes calling the police on people and carrying pepper spray to protect themselves. I don’t mean that kind of superhero. I mean the popular kind. The heroes with no power but many weapons: Green Arrow, The Punisher, Batman, Elektra, Catwoman, or Hawkeye. Shit would go pear-shaped pretty quickly. Super explores just how pear-shaped it could get.

I can’t complain about the actors. They were all very into their parts and 100% believable. It was the story line that had me groaning at times. There seemed to be completely unnecessary sex scenes that didn’t even try to be part of the story. Some of the motivation for the main character really didn’t strike me as the best idea. At times, it even got a little preachy.

With all its faults, Super was still memorable and entertaining. Weird and completely random? Sure. However, if you enjoy incredibly dark comedies, it was definitely above average.

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 48%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 55%

Netflix’s Prediction for Me – 4.3/5

Trust-the-Dice Score – 3.5/5

Movie Trailer:

The Angriest Man in Brooklyn (2014)

Number Rolled: 91

Movie Name/Year: The Angriest Man in Brooklyn (2014)

Genre: Comedy

Length: 83 minutes

Rating: R

Production Companies: AMIB Productions, Cargo Entertainment, Landscape Entertainment, MICA Entertainment, Prominent Media Group, Vedette Finance

Executive Producer: Gordon Bijelonic, Paull Cho, Marina Grasic, Michael Ilitch Jr., Anthony Jabre, Dale Armin Johnson, Jan Korbelin, Mila Kunis, Jean-Charles Levy, Julie B. May, Glenn Murray, Orin Woinsky

Director: Phil Alden Robinson

Writer: Daniel Taplitz, Assi Dayan

Actors: Robin Williams, Mila Kunis, Peter Dinklage, Melissa Leo, Hamish Linklater, Sutton Foster, Richard Kind, James Earl Jones, Daniel Raymont, Chris Gethard, Louis C.K.

Henry Altman is a jerk. He is angry, difficult to deal with and everything else that makes someone a jerk. Dr. Sharon Gill is a tired pill-popping doctor that is having a seriously bad day. When the two meet, words are exchanged that send Henry on a mission to fix his life in 90 minutes.

This movie was trashed by critics and I whole-heartedly disagree.

I absolutely adored The Angriest Man in Brooklyn. I didn’t think it was as funny as it was made-out to be, but that’s a marketing error, not a creative one. It had a funny edge, but it was first and fore-most a drama that took some significant risks with its plot. I don’t think it was a perfect film, but I could definitely sit down and watch it again.

The actors gave everything to their characters, the script was interesting and even the setting caught my attention. I’ve read the reviews for the film and I can’t even speculate what people were thinking when they wrote them.

I’m going to just call this the Patch Adams effect. You have a great movie with some amazing actors that have a knack for comedy in it; Robin Williams (The Crazy Ones, Night at the Museum, Death to Smoochy), Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones, Knights of Badassdom, Penelope) and Mila Kunis (Family Guy, Black Swan, Ted). Critics go into it expecting the movie to be filled with smart laughs and some physical comedy. Instead, they get an in depth, heartfelt story with a message that was based on something else. They can’t wrap their head around the reality vs. their expectations and the trashing begins.

There’s a reason you let a movie speak for itself, and there’s a reason you sometimes just need to say, “Fuck the critics.”

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 10%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 28%

Netflix’s Prediction for Me – 4.6/5

Trust-the-Dice Score – 4/5

P.S. Remake of Isreali movie: Mar Baum (1997).

Movie Trailer: