Rainn Wilson is Super in San Francisco

With tons of superhero fans looking for a movie to see after the first day of Wondercon, what would be better than one about a short-order cook who loses his wife to a drug dealer, and decides to become a superhero to bring her back?

Sounds like a fine, upstanding commercial project.
Now, add James Gunn, then Rainn Wilson, Kevin Bacon, Liv Tyler and Ellen Page, plus a dash of Nathan Fillion.

There. you have Super, a superhero movie that clearly is not for everyone. In fact, Super has split the critics, but it has found an audience for those who want something a bit different.
Friday night's 7:30 showing at the Landmark Embarcadero was two-thirds full, but the crowd really enjoyed the action, especially Wilson telling crime to shut up, with a wrench in his hand

Now, this movie is very violent, and not just with Wilson and his wrench. Even in the credits, there's a lot of blood. In fact, the only superhero who could be traditional is the Holy Avenger, played by Fillion. He is the inspiration that convinces Frank, the cook, to become a superhero. Fillion is incredibly cheesy as the Bibleman/Heteroy-type hero shown by a religious channel. The guy who plays the villain is kinda creepy, too. Just check the credits.

What also stunned me about this movie is Ellen Page, as a comic book store clerk who becomes Frank's kid sidekick. She was a superhero once, namely in X-Men 3, Here, though, she enjoys being Boltie a bit too much, and gets way too close to Frank...in her costume.

Overall, this is a twisted superhero/revenge story, but there is heart as well. See Frank recall how he met a married Sarah, who was a recovering drug addict working with him. You can see why he'd do all this for her.

After the movie, Rainn talked about the film, and how it is an underdog story, compared to all the other superhero movies coming this year. He also said he'd like to get Page on The Office next year.

Super will be adding more screens through this month, and will also be available through on-demand cable the end of the month.

At The Movies

In the past week, I got a chance to see what may be the fall's biggest comedy abut roller derby in a special preview, and Michael Moore's latest compelling comment on America for free.
Both were time well-spent, and are headed to a theater near you, like tomorrow.

If you've watched TV or read the paper regularly, you noticed that there was a Saturday preview of Whip It, and some incentive to spend ten bucks on it...a free T-shirt. That, and Ellen Page, convinced me to come.
It's an odd-ball coming of age story with Page as Bliss, a girl who's unhappy with small-time life in Bodeen, Texas. Thanks to roller derby, of all things, she gains new confidence, but there are still bumps to be dealt with and lessons to be learned.
This is also the first film Drew Barrymore has directed, and she does a great job with this story. She makes sure that the story is real, and that the actors are really out there skating and bumping into each other. You also see the gals with nicknames like Smashley Simpson and Iron maven are still real women.
Take a look at Kristen Wiig as "Maggie Mayhem", You'll see she still have a life beyond the roller rink.
I also liked Bliss' relationship with her friend Pash, played by Alia Shawkat, aka Maeby from Arrested Development. Get past the fact that she has grown after that show left Fox, and you'll like her, too. It's going to get stiff competition from The Invention of Lying and Zombieland (which explains the Saturday preview), but you should check out Whip It.

A couple of days later, I got a free ticket to a preview for Capitalism: A Love Story, Michael Moore's commentary on the current economic crisis. While Fox News is sure to use this movie as evidence that Moore is a traitor, but not bother to see it, Moore is even-handed is explaining how the stock market and major financial institutions crashed. He's not exactly calling for a Soviet-style economy or socialism, but what we have now but with more consideration for all working classes. Some right-wingers will go nuts because the movie has priests saying capitalism is a sin, even if there's evidence that might prove that point. There is also the "publicity stunt" of calling the AIG building a crime scene, but he would like to see the America he remembers as a kid to come back, rather than what we have now. It may not pull in as much cash as the other movies that will start this weekend, but it hopes to make its mark on trying to help this country out.