Dressing up in a silly costume and fighting crime is only heroic in the movies and comics. In real life, it's more likely to be the result of a mental breakdown than a quest for truth, justice and the American way.
It's the real-world approach that Super takes and pursues relentlessly. Rainn Wilson (Dwight from the US The Office) plays a delusional cook whose life collapses when his ex-junkie wife, Liv Tyler, leaves him for local criminal Kevin Bacon. He snaps and becomes The Crimson Bolt, wielding a monkey wrench while delivering his goofy catchphrase, "Shut up, crime!" He teams up with a far too enthusiastic sidekick, Boltie (a very game Ellen Page), and sets out to right wrongs, hospitalising drug dealers and muggers with wrench blows to the head. He also doles out the same punishment for relatively minor infractions like butting into cinema queues. Director James Gunn did his training in the zero-budget exploitation of Troma films before writing the Dawn Of The Dead remake and directing enjoyable monster satire Slither. He's a director who doesn't pull punches, which is what this story needs to work. It's darkly funny, with a message that is far more complex than The Dark Knight, Spider-Man, etc. Plus, with no stupid rocket jetpack to shatter the mood, it kicks Kick-Ass's ass.
DVD & Blu-ray, G2 Pictures
Bittersweet coming of age comedy, directed with bags of style and a sure hand by first-timer Richard Ayoade.
DVD & Blu-ray, Optimum
The Rock stars in a surprisingly merciless and effective revenge thriller. Score by Clint Mansell.
DVD & Blu-ray, Sony
Average Joe becomes a brainiac thanks to an untested pill with sinister origins. Bradley Cooper stars with Robert De Niro in this limited but entertaining thriller.
DVD & Blu-ray, Momentum
Impeccably written, acted and directed classic Ealing comedy. Essential.
DVD & Blu-ray, Optimum
Parisian TV crime thrillers don't come much grittier than this.
DVD, 2 Entertain
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