Comic Book Villains (2002) (V)

Director:

James Robinson

Writer (WGA):

James Robinson (written by)

Release Date:

1 January 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Obsession. Betrayal. Revenge. And other funny business.

Plot:

Told from the point of view from Archie, a comic book collector, this is the story of a rivalry between two comic book shop owners...

Plot Keywords:

Comics | Comic Book | Comic Book Shop | Rivalry | Comic Book Collector

Cast

Donal Logue	...	Raymond McGillicudy
Cary Elwes	...	Carter
Michael Rapaport	...	Norman Link
Natasha Lyonne	...	Judy
DJ Qualls	...	Archie
Eileen Brennan	...	Mrs. Cresswell
Monet Mazur	...	Kiki
Danny Masterson	...	Conan
James Duval	...	Baz
Marshall Bell	...	Gun Store Order
Chris Weber	...	Tony
Denny Kirkwood	...	Dino
Irene Montalà	...	Woman in Barcelona
Donnal Ward	...	Normal Customer
Ric Borelli	...	Slob

MPAA:

Rated R for language, violence, some sexuality and drug content.

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Netherlands:12 (DVD rating) | Portugal:M/16 (video premiere) | Australia:MA | Canada:14A | USA:R

Company:

Capital Arts Entertainment

Goofs:

Continuity: During the fight at the end between Ray and Carter, the image is flipped. Ray's cast moves from his right to his left hand, the gun from the right to the left. When Carter shoves him through the door it is a left hand opening door. It is corrected when Ray comes back through the door.

Quotes:

Archie: After all that had happened, life and the living of it seemed too fleeting to waste in one place or on arguing whether Superman was stronger than the Hulk.

Movie Connections:

References Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

The time flew by!

These types of stories, by which i mean, a group of people who's true natures are exposed by greed and obsession, will either work for you or not, and by default the climax will seem over the top and take away half the audience.. but no matter the ending, the ride there is very well executed, and went way past the expectations i got from just watching the trailer.

The great cast of guys who steal scenes in other films, was one i was very interested in, but i sceptical about the actual film, i thought past the interesting plotline,it would be poorly written and directed by a moron.. but it so wasn't!

It's one of those movies that through good storytelling just makes you watch, and not want to get up, and the 90 minute runtime just flies by! not one scene is wasted, not one performance is perfunctonary, it's just completely well made all round, and very well written/directed. I think the negative comments are from people who are expecting way too much from the film, and maybe movies in general.. if you're someone who just goes along with the ride, so long as it's all relatively credible, and you like the cast, then i think you'll have a great time, no doubt! this film went way past my expectations!

my only quibble, and it's so minor, plus it seems unavoidable with films about greed, HOW THE HECK DO YOU END IT!! if the film was being completely realistic, then the film's ending probably wouldn't happen, but in real life the ending would be pretty dull, and lose the whole comic book feel to the film.. comic books also use violence as a device, comic books are visually over the top representations of everyday things.. many characters in comic books are 2-dimensional simple folk.. hence the title to this movie, and in general the whole feel and look to the movie (which btw looks VERY good for such low budget!).. so the ending in after thought may seem to be slightly over the top, and doesn't seem to fit the characters, but while watching i was hooked! and so will you! :)

definately worth the rental!! maybe even a buy. It's hard to recommend as a film for comic book fans, because that's like saying every girl is going to like a chick flick, but there are comic book references aplenty, and comic book collectors for fellow guys to relate with.. so i think a comic book fan might get more out of it than others, but not necersarily enjoy it more.. but what's great about this movie, is that you don't need to know ANYTHING about comics to enjoy it, you can even watch it in mute! it's really well made!