New Movie Review: Super

Via IMDB:

After his wife falls under the influence of a drug dealer, an everyday guy transforms himself into Crimson Bolt, a superhero with the best intentions, though he lacks for heroic skills.

I saw this premier at SXSW. The film was an instant success. During a panel that was hosted by James Gunn and Rainn Wilson, the inevitable questions arose as to how they would handle the comparisons to Kick Ass. After watching the film, the only parallel that really exist is the desire to create a costume and take the law into one’s own hands. Gunn had said that this has been his passion project for well over eight years. The problem was, he couldn’t find an actor who could both exude physical dominance and deliver an offbeat blend of humor, melancholy and self deprecation. On a call to his ex-wife Jenna Fischer (Pam from The Office) she said, “Hey, why not Rainn?” Nice one, Mrs. Halpert.

Super does a great job of blending elements of violence, humor, drama, action and suspense. The cast includes Ellen Page, Kevin Bacon, Liv Tyler and a slew of others who come together to illuminate Gunn’s vision. Rainn Wilson plays Frank D’Arbo, a line cook at a lackluster restaurant in Louisiana. After his wife (Tyler) leaves him for a sleazy drug dealer (Bacon), D’Arbo breaks down and asks God for a sign. In a dream, D’Arbo’s skull is cut open by several Hentai sex tentacles and his brain touched by God. He then has a vision of a mask. From there, he creates Crimson Bolt, a vigilante who fights crime with a pipe wrench. On his quest to fight for his wife, he is joined by Libby (Page), a 23-year-old fan girl who works at a comic book store. She creates a whimsically eccentric side kick for Crimson Bolt: Boltie. Together they fight crime in an awkward and entertaining manner.

Super strives to achieve both unease and humor at the same time. One scene in particular has Frank down on his knees praying to God as we can hear him thinking that “people look stupid when they cry.” The film plays with how likely it is that someone who’s been dealt a horrible hand by the universe will go to drastic measures to save themselves. Super is gritty, hilarious, violent, uneasy, action packed, fun and unsettling all at once.

Super will be release April 1^st via IFC Films

Listen To: Mi Ami “Watersports”

Watersports is an album that lurks like a hungry animal in the massive African Savannah – out of sight but never far away, carefully tracking prey with a hungry eye and stealthy footstep. Indeed, the influence of the African night is in the album almost literally, with vocalist Daniel Martin-McCormick sounding at times quite like a lonely hyena, pleasantly yapping away at some sort of unknown sign, while the sounds of relentless, fevered drumming fills the night air. Mi Ami is a band that does not shy away from the primal parts of music, and indeed Martin-McCormick’s voice, along with the drumming of Damon Palermo and Jacob Long on bass have created an album that seeps into the parts of the brain where the line between animal and man is at its most tenuous. In a world where most music is manufactured to the point it is difficult to hear the humans behind the machine, “Watersports” is all animal, full of blood and piss, and ready to break loose.

Because the edge is so readily trod by the folks in Mi Ami, this album won’t be for those who crave order, control, structure, melody, or anything approaching rules for songwriting or music making. But for those listeners who can let go and enjoy that strange tickling in the back of the head that suggests we’re not that far from the loincloth, Mi Ami’s “Watersports” is the perfect release.

If you’re lucky enough to be going to South by Southwest, check out Mi Ami. They’ll be playing with other Touch And Go/Quarterstick Records bands at 10 p.m. on  Friday, March 20 at Flamingo Cantina, 515 E. 6th Street in Austin, TX, 78701.

Mi Ami’s MySpace

by: Meghan Bainum

“New Brow: The Rise of Underground Art”

New Brow, Pop Surrealism, the New American Art Movement, whichever term you choose will ultimately lack the depth needed to describe the contemporary art scene in America. More of a populist movement than an aesthetic, New Brow artists rarely share similarities in their work yet the artists are still very much connected.  The connections come from the influences they share: punk music, skate/surf culture, hot rod street culture, graffiti, street art, graphic design, tattoo culture, and the general DIY attitude artists need to build a following without the aide of the established art world.

Humble Pictures in association with the Shooting Gallery expose you to first hand accounts from those artists, galleries, and collectors that started the New American Art Movement in the film “New Brow: The Rise of Underground Art.”

And although the film was denied entrance by the acceptance committee for South by Southwest, thanks to the DIY attitude of all involved in the film you can still view “New Brow” and the coinciding artwork in Austin, TX during the festivities.

Artists included in the exhibition are: Eric Joyner, Charles Krafft, Shawn Barber, Travis Louie, Anthony Ausgang, Ron English, Mike Giant, Isabel Samaras, Camille Rose Garcia, Van Arno, Shepard Fairey, Liz McGrath, Henry Lewis, Tim Biskup, Gary Baseman, Glenn Barr, Kill Pixie, Niagara, Sas & Colin Christian, Erik Foss, Yumiko Kayukawa, Natalia Fabia, Paul Chatem, Sylvia Ji, Helen Garber, Joshua Petker, Mike Maxwell, Greg Gossel, and Francesco LoCastro.

Film Screening Times in Austin, TX

Tuesday March 17th, 2009
What: Single screening of New Brow
When: 6pm
Where: The Independent at 501 Studios
501 N. IH-35
Corner of E. 5th and Brushy
501stageandscreen.com
180 seats

Wednesday March 18th, 2009
What: Double feature at Cafe Mundi
When: 8pm New Brow & 9:45pm Abraham Obama
Where: Outdoor screening, 1704 East Fifth Street, 512-236-8634

Thursday Mrch 18th, 2009
What: Artist Reception at 602 West 7th #A
Where: Formerly Gallery Lombardi

Saturday March 21st, 2009
What: Double feature
When: 1pm New Brow & 3pm Abraham Obama
Where: The Independent at 501 Studios
501 N. IH-35
Corner of E. 5th and Brushy
501stageandscreen.com
180 seats

posted by: Harold Johns III