Sacha Baron Cohen can wholly become a character like few other actors working today. As we saw in Borat and Brüno, he seemingly transforms beyond recognition into whatever heavily accented, exaggeratedly foreign, brazenly funny character he is embodying. While The Dictator is more of a traditional, narrative film that his two previous mockumentaries, Cohen still manages to fully become his character and give us some crude, sharp and satirical jokes.

For this film, Cohen transforms into Admiral General Aladeen, the merciless leader of Wadiya, a North African nation. Aladeen is a ruthless, egomaniacal ruler who oppresses his people and has anyone who crosses him executed on a whim. He’s seemingly unaware that he’s in the midst of a power struggle with his premier Tamir (Ben Kingsley) who is trying to assassinate him to take his rightful position at the top. The plan is to kill him during his speech before the UN Security Council, where he will address his country’s development of WMDs. Fake security is hired (John C. Reilly) and Aladeen ends up kidnapped, beardless and roaming the streets of New York. After a being mistaken for a protestor when he tries to return to the UN headquarters, he is taken in by Zoey (Anna Farris) and offered a job at her super-hippy health food store. She’s impressed when he uses his dictator tendencies to get the store running more efficiently and they start to fall for each other.

Meanwhile, he discovers “Little Wadiya” a section of New York that now houses all the people he thought he had executed. His former nuclear scientist Nadal (Jason Mantzoukas) decides to help him take back power and get rid of the dim witted body double (also Cohen) that Tamir used in his place.

Cohen is, as always, perfect in this character. There are several scenes were he goes wild with the accent and it makes you long to see the outtakes of his improvisations. Mantzoukas brings a ton of laughs with his criticisms of Aladeen and his plans. Farris does her usual wide-eyed, over-the-top performance, but it can get a little tiresome when everyone else is so damn good.

The film feels like a combination of Team America and The Devil’s Double and really captures the tensions between the United States and, well, everybody. In a clever and rousing speech, Aladeen fires off a list of atrocities that exactly mirror some of the US’ misdeeds over the past few Presidential terms. His changing several words in his country’s language to Aladeen is a running joke and his constant arrogance brings a really funny spin to the endless series of dictators we see on CNN. Don’t worry, it doesn’t get too snarky and satirical, there are some poop jokes too.

The only downside to the film is that, if you’ve seen the trailers and Cohen’s hilarious in-character interviews on The Daily Show and others, you’ve basically seen the movie. It’s unfortunate that some of the best jokes are given away so easily. Still, it’s definitely worth the price of admission to see this character genius work his magic.

Back in the 1990s, Hollywood started taking old TV shows and making them into movies, set in present day, and making fun of just how outdated they seemed by today’s standards. The Brady Bunch Movie, The Adams Family and even Pleasantville showed us that the characters of old would have a tough time fitting in with our cool, hip, progressive society. Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows is a lot like those fish-out-of-water parodies, just with more vampire jokes.

The original series ran in the 1960s, but the film is set in the 1970s, complete with stoner hippies, lava lamps and a disco ball. Johnny Depp stars as Barnabas Collins, heir to a very wealthy colonial family who rebuffs the advances of a clingy witch named Angelique (Eva Green) and ends up cursed to spend eternity as a vampire. After spending two hundred years trapped in a coffin, Barnabas is unearthed by some construction workers in the 1970s and must reunite with his relatives and try to adjust to the technology of the time at his ancestral home, Collinwood. There’s a side story about Barnabas’ true love (Bella Heathcote) falling under the witch’s spell and jumping off a cliff, only to be seemingly reincarnated as a nanny working for the Collins family, but it seems a little tacked on in an attempt to make Barnabas more three dimensional.

The film’s primary goal seems to be attempting to make every possible joke about the 1970s and an old fashioned vampire trying to blend in. Barnabas is perplexed and fearful of a lava lamp in pouty, teenage Carolyn’s (Chloe Grace Moretz) swingin’ bedroom. Elizabeth (Michelle Pfeiffer) explains to him that they don’t ride around in a carriage, but a Chevy instead. He assumes a television is some kind of magic trick. He even learns to brush his teeth, though his reflection doesn’t show up in the mirror. Because he’s a vampire. Get it! Isn’t that hilarious?! With all these kitschy jokes, it’s hard to even remember the story lines of little David (Gulliver McGrath) being visited by the ghost of his late mother, Roger (Jonny Lee Miller) trying to rip off the family fortune and even Angelique trying to take down Barnabas by destroying his family’s business.

Burton’s trademark dark, angular, German Expressionist-influenced style is also a bit lost here. Sure, there are some looming gargoyles and a beautifully spooky, big-eyed heroine (Heathcote), but aside from the casting of Helena Bonham Carter, it’s hard to even tell this is a Burton film from visual alone. Even Danny Elfman’s music seems toned down and simplified.

The cast is sort of engaging. McGrath is adorable and plays his timid, haunted character well. Moretz, whom we know can actually act, seems a bit wasted in such a stereotypical role, so much so that, when we discover a twist about her character during the finale, we don’t really care. Pfeiffer is good, though it’s hard to tell why she talks with an affected accent like Madonna when the rest of her family speaks normally. Green, who looks like a slightly more sinister Anne Hathaway, fully commits to going bat-shit crazy as a spurned ex-girlfriend. Carter brings a bit of comedy to her role as a drunken psychiatrist, but her scenes are few and far between.

The whole thing feels like Pirates of the Caribbean meets Hocus Pocus, good for kids too young to go see Twilight, but disappointing for adults who were looking for a solid nod to the original series.

Our heroes set out to save the world

What do you get when you combine Hollywood’s most profitable superheroes in one film? You get action, effects, humor and fun. In other words, you get The Avengers.

In case you’ve been living under a rock, or movies based on comic books are so not your thing, The Avengers are a team of heroes from various comic books who have been brought together by S.H.I.E.L.D., a secret military law enforcement agency, on a mission to save the world.

The team includes Thor (Chris Hemsworth), The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Captain America (Chris Evans) and Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) on the superhero side, as well as two regular humans with exceptional skills, Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson). They’re supervised by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and on a quest to stop Loki (Tom Hiddleston), who aims to use the all-powerful Tesseract to subjugate earth.

Thor and Captain America get ready to kick some ass

This film is so action packed that it would take me about 5,000 words to describe everything that happens, but suffice it to say that a lot goes down. We see the team assembling for the first time, their personal struggles and friendships, the reemergence of Thor’s brother Loki as a villain and the mythical Tesseract that we’ve seen glimpses of in all the single character movies that lead up to The Avengers. With this all-star group of heroes, the focus feels equally distributed and we get invested in each one of them in the first half of the film, which eases the transition from origin story to the pure, adrenaline-fueled, CGI orgy of action that follows.

The dynamic between the characters is great. Downey stands out because Tony Stark is such a delightful smart ass, Ruffalo is excellent at capturing the meek alter ego of his not-so-jolly green giant, Hemsworth is jacked beyond belief and Evans is channelling his inner Superman with his straight-laced, old-school hero. The guys get along, the guys fight, and the audience wins.

Tony Stark tries to ruffle Bruce Banner's feathers to get "The Other Guy" to show his big, green face

Let’s face it, movies today are expensive–3D movies even more so–and The Avengers definitely gives you the most bang for your buck. The final battle in New York is so action packed you might need to bring some eye drops because you’re not going to want to blink. Danger waits around every corner and we get to see superheroes do what the do best: throw down. Each character is highlighted individually and we also see their place within the team. This also gives the filmmakers an opportunity to show off just what these guys can do, from shield throwing to hammer tossing to building climbing to dishing out witty comebacks whilst zipping around in a high-tech suit.

If you enjoyed any of the individual character movies, you will loose your freaking mind in The Avengers. Director Joss Whedon manages to give us a hero team that’s even greater than the sum of its parts.

Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most well-known and important names in American literature. His work has been adapted time and time again for both television and film, most notably by The Simpsons and the legendary Roger Corman. The Raven, the new film from director James McTeigue, has an interesting take.

The film takes multiple Poe stories and intertwines them with Poe’s life, some of which is fact-based and some being fictional, to create a From Hell-like murder mystery.

The Raven takes place in Baltimore in 1849 just around the last few days of Poe’s life. At this point Poe is a poor drunk who hasn’t written anything in quite some time and is quite underappreciated in America. He does have one American fanboy, however, he turns out to be a lunatic madman who begins to murder people in a fashion quite reminiscent of some of Poe’s most well known work.

Detective Fields (Luke Evans) is on the case and sees Poe as a suspect. He calls Poe in and quickly dismisses him as the murderer despite the overwhelming amount of motive he has for killing some of the victims. Fields decides to team up with Poe to track down the killer and from there the hunt is on.

I can’t say I liked nor disliked this film. It’s enjoyable and has some moments I thought were done quite well, but it’s not without it’s flaws.

There seemed to be a tone issue with The Raven. The film was at times dark, which one would expect given the subject matter, but humor was mixed in to varying results. It appears as if the filmmakers wanted to go for a From Hell or Sleepy Hollow feel but something didn’t quite work. The combination of dark and humor missed more than it hit.

The opening and end title sequences were completely out of left field. They didn’t fit the film at all and were strangely placed. The same can be said about the music which seemed as if it were pulled directly from Queen of the Damned, and I don’t have to tell you that that’s a bad thing.

With that being said the film had highlights worth pointing out. The idea itself is very creative. Playing Poe as a detective like character is a nice nod to the man credited with starting the detective genre. All the little references to tidbits from Poe’s life that we know such as the repeating of the name Reynolds to his disdain for Henry Wadsworth Longfellow to his grudge with fellow writer and critic, Rufus Wilmot Griswold were a nice touch that Poe fans will appreciate.

The performances are solid. John Cusack makes a perfectly good Poe and Evans gives a strong supporting performance as Fields. Perhaps with a better script they would have really shined.

The kills are quite nice with a decent amount of gore. Kudos to the studio for not holding back and making this an R-rated film.

I can’t recommend this film as something you should rush out and see. However, if six months down the line you stumble across this on HBO or even see it at the Red Box, then you may want to consider it.

Check out some of Chris Coffel’s other work on darkofthematinee.com

Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard on the set of 'Cabin in the Woods'

I recently had the opportunity to sit in on a discussion with director Drew Goddard about his new film and feature length directorial debut Cabin in the Woods. Goddard, a pleasant, down-to-earth individual, started off as a writer that was stuck in a room alone for ridiculous amounts of time and now he’s working with 300 different people with a common goal of making a fun enjoyable film. Take a look at what I got out of the discussion, then make your way to your local cinema to have the most fun in a movie than you’ve probably had in a long time. I call Goddard the “Michael Bay Killer” and that’s not far off.

Goddard is the co-writer and director behind the horror film Cabin in the Woods. You may know him as one of the writers of Lost, Cloverfield, Alias, Angel, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He then took his experience working on television and applied it to writing and directing Cabin in the Woods. When Goddard set out to write Cabin in the woods with Joss Whedon (of Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Dollhouse and Toy Story fame) they just wanted to make something that they would want to watch. They didn’t think about how the film would sell or how marketable it would be.  They just knew that, based on their background, they wanted to make a horror film that worked as one of the sub-genres that made you laugh as much as it scared you.

The process that Goddard used to create this film leads to one word: fun. “There’s nothing like a good rowdy horror movie,” he says. “I just want people to enjoy it, we really want to make the ultimate date movie.” He even went on to mention that Cabin in the Woods was extremely fun to make and that the studio didn’t hold them back from what they were trying to do, and he was thankful for that. There was a lot of energy in the cast and the crew during shooting and it shows on the film.  Part of the fun in making the film was using practical effects. His current favorite movie is The Thing and it was one of the inspirations that pushed him to use practical effects whenever possible. Which, in my opinion, always look best.

When asked if Goddard would be looking to direct more features after Cabin in the Woods, he mentioned that he would love to, but he doesn’t want to close himself off to other opportunities. He won’t push himself into only a certain type of film because he doesn’t know who he will be in a couple years down the road. But he will do what he’s been doing and choose things that he thinks will be enjoyable to work on.  Based on this film and his past work, I think we can look forward to more work from Goddard that is just as fun and entertaining as Cabin in the Woods.

After making Cabin in the Woods Goddard learned a few things about himself. He learned that he “loved blood more than he realized” which really comes through after seeing Cabin. Any fan of horror films can attest to this strange love. Even people who are not fans of horror films will love this film. “If you don’t like horror films you might still enjoy this because it’s different. If, I could be the gateway drug to [non-horror fans] then it’s a job well done.” Whatever you have to do make sure you go see this movie!

From left to right: Curt (Chris Hemsworth), Holden (Jesse Williams), Jules (Anna Hutchison), Marty (Fran Kranz) and Dana (Kristen Connolly) in THE CABIN IN THE WOODS.

“You don’t know the story,” that’s the tag line for The Cabin in the Woods. So I’m like, “Oh, ok first time feature director Drew Goddard, show me what you got!”  So I sit down in a theater full of critics and take in this film only to find that he was right. Now, be warned this film is best viewed without knowing too much about it. I didn’t know the story and I think that’s what makes it the most fun. The trailer hints at what’s going on but doesn’t tell you too much about the tale. I’ll go into some detail here, but you will still be amazingly surprised! If you want to avoid any potential spoilers, stop reading now. It’s best to see this film without too much information going into it. Even if you do read some spoilers, you must see Cabin in the Woods!

Now just because you don’t know the story doesn’t mean it’s not familiar. We open with a group of very good looking young adults, all with traditional horror movie character types. You have the slut Jules (Anna Hutchison), her jock boyfriend Curt (Chris Hemsworth a.k.a. Thor), the good-looking “virgin” Dana (Kristen Connolly), the braniac Holden (Jesse Williams of Grey’s Anatomy) and the pot head Marty (Fran Kranz from Donnie Darko). They have a break from school so they are going to get away from the world and take a trip up to the cabin in the woods that their family recently acquired. Are we thinking “cliché!” yet? That’s just what they want you to think! Damn puppeteers!

Amy Acker, Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford in THE CABIN IN THE WOODS

Now we also have a side story developing here. A couple of working stiffs, Hadley (Bradley Whitford) and Sitterson (Richard Jenkins) are going through typical water-cooler conversation. They are talking about making bets on something and are giving other coworkers a hard time. Then we cut back to the kids who confront a crazy looking hillbilly who runs the Fontier Land-type gas station on the way to the cabin. He pretty much tells them they are going to die, but they don’t pay much attention to him. They just head out to the cabin in hopes of having some fun.

Once this group gets to the cabin they start to unpack and get ready to have a good time. We then see that Hadley and Sitterson can see and hear everything that’s going on in the Cabin. They are in a very elaborate control room with multiple screens and monitors that show them everything in the cabin and the woods surrounding it. Through conversation in the room we learn that the control room is where all of the terror this group is about to face is controlled. And for those who are worried about the moral implications there is a newbie in the room who brings it up where it is immediately shot down. The one thing we learn from his concerns is that the kids make the choice to go into the cellar and they choose their own deaths.

Dana (Kristen Connolly) in THE CABIN IN THE WOODS.

The reason you don’t know this story is because it’s multi-faceted and I don’t think it’s ever been done before. Cabin in the Woods pays great homage to a ton of horror stories and films. Its quick-witted and a ton of fun. The way the story builds upon itself and cuts back and forth between the cabin and the control room is done really well. Not to mention we also see some great cinematography and amazing visual effects. The casting was incredible and everybody in the film seemed to work very well together. I would recommend anyone who has ever enjoyed a horror film see this and see it the first chance you get.

The Phoenix Film Festival has become my favorite way to spend three or four days away from home. That even beats out Disneyland, which I went to for the first time this year. This year’s Phoenix Film Festival did it again with a ton of great movies, parties and seminars. There wasn’t enough time for me to take it all in so I dedicated most of my time to watching movies and eating Harkins concessions. This year I saw 16 feature films and a few shorts.  I’m going to rank them from my most favorite to my least favorite; I’ll give you a short synopsis of the film and then tell you what I did or didn’t like about the film.

#1 – PIG

Pig is about a man who wakes up in the middle of the desert. His hands are tied behind his back and a woman finds him and nurses him back to health. He has no memories and no recollection of how he got to the desert, so he starts out on a quest to find out who he is. This was by far my favorite film of the fest. It had a great story line and great acting. The film was shot well and my interest in the story and what was going to happen to the man in the desert never waned. I liked how the film gave subtle hints and what was going on, but you’d never pick up on them until watching it a few times. See this movie!

#2 – Searching for Sonny

Searching for Sonny was a great little comedy about a group of friends who haven’t seen each other since high school. They all come together to look for their friend Sonny, who seems to be missing. When they go out in search of him they find a dead body and the events that happen seem eerily similar to a play they performed in high school.  This film was very close to taking the number one spot. It was very well written and the humor never let up. The mystery side of the film was also very well done. All of the talent was great and the film was superbly directed. It’s very well worth your time to find this movie and give it a view.

#3 – The Theatre Bizarre

The Theatre Bizarre is a six segment horror anthology with six various directors, the most notable of which directors is Tom Savini. Each section of the film had its own unique greatness; they were all well directed and contained some of the best gore I’ve seen in a long time. Needle to the eyeball – enough said.  One of the films seemed more dramatic than your typical horror film and didn’t have much of a story line, but we see a biker slice the throat of a deer to put it out of its misery. It was great for that reason! For horror or gore fans, it’d be worth your time to check out this movie.

#4 – Shuffle

Shuffle is the story of a man who keeps waking up on different days and at different ages. Sometimes he’s 30, sometimes he’s 8 and other times he’s 90. During that time he learns he has to save someone’s life so we follow him on his search to find out who he’s saving and why. Shuffle won Best Picture at the festival and I think it was well deserved. It is definitely a stand-out film and worthy of high praise. The story was very well crafted and the idea behind it was genius. I loved the two leads; they had a ton of personality and were very relatable. The only reason this wasn’t ranked higher is that I found the other films more entertaining. While a great story is essential to a good film I enjoy something to be more comedic or visually stimulating.

#5 – The Victim

The Victim stars the amazing Michael Biehn as a man who lives in a cabin in the woods to get away from the problems of the big city. The only thing is, those problems find him. When a dancer shows up on his doorstep claiming two cops were out to kill her, he has to stand in to protect her. The Victim was a lot of fun to watch, especially in a theater full of movie lovers but the acting, even from Biehn, seemed subpar. The film was shot day for night which lead to some odd looking shots. If you’re going to watch the film, it’s purely for the sex and violence which was the best part. Although based on how Biehn is marketing the film, I expected even more violence.

#6 – Below Zero

Below Zero stars Edward Furlong, who you’ll remember as John Connor from Terminator 2, as a screenwriter struggling with writers block, so his agent sends him to a remote slaughterhouse to be locked in a meat freezer. While in the freezer he has to write a film regarding a similar story and save his career. While locked up, things seem far from normal and we see the story of the script he is writing play out on the screen.  While this story had some good moments it became a bit convoluted. As a horror movie it wasn’t very scary and had little gore. As a writer I did enjoy seeing the writing process come to form on screen.

#7 – The Intouchables

The French film The Intouchables is the feel-good movie of the year. It’s your every day odd couple story about a rich, quadriplegic white guy who hires a black man to be his caretaker. The movie had a lot of great laughs and was well shot. While I found it to be pretty entertaining, it didn’t offer much story wise. There was little conflict and when it had the opportunity to build a story line it veered away from it. I liked it, but I probably wouldn’t purchase it or go out of my way to watch it again.

#8 – Tilt

Tilt is about a group of friends who live in Bulgaria during the late 80s and early 90s when they were transitioning from communism to democracy. The group sold pornography and did other not-so-legal things to make money. After getting shut down by the cops one of the friends falls in love with the police chief and soon-to-be militia boss’s daughter. The father refuses to let love blossom and we see the story unveil around a young man chasing his love. The story is similar to a Romeo & Juliette theme and is entertaining for the most part, but it tends to drag along and had some meaningless scenes. I think it’s worth a look, but the story itself isn’t worth someone going out of their way to see it.

#9 – Into the Wake

Into the Wake is about a man who travels back to his hometown because of a mysterious phone call. Once home, he is taken capture and tortured until he reveals the location of a buried dead body. Into the Wake probably has the best cinematography of any film in the festival. It has some stunning imagery and a good cast, but it fails to really tell its story. I understood what was happening and why, but the story lacked depth. There were events that happened and it was unclear exactly why; while this is sometimes used as a great cinematic tool, I felt it held this movie back. It was also upsetting when the main character shaved his beard.

#10 – Andrew Bird: Fever Year

This is about a year in musician Andrew Bird’s life on tour. We see him making music and performing music. The film is titled Fever Year because he is sick for the better part of the tour. I wanted to like this movie much more than I did. Bird is a fantastic musician and he puts on a hell of a show. However, the movie was more about showing his performances than it was about documenting his life on tour. We only see one or two venues he played at and a barn where he made music. He never actually got very sick and the people around him kind of poked fun at him for it. The film is worth watching if you want to see what a Bird concert would be like.

#11 – FDR: American Badass

FDR: American Badass is about Franklin Delano Roosevelt being pretty badass. A pesky werewolf bite takes the use of his legs away from him; but it gives him the courage he needs to run for President. As President he has to deal with pesky werewolf Hitler, Mussolini, and Emperor Hirohito. The story follows him handling these terrorists like a badass. The idea of the movie sounds amazing, but the execution isn’t there. There are only a few jokes, but they’re overused throughout the film. There was little action and the effects were done very poorly. It’s a shame that a good idea went this bad.

#12 – How Do you Write a Joe Schermann Song

This is a fairly atypical love story done as a musical. A composer finally gets his break to write for an Off-Broadway musical, but runs into the dilemma of casting either his girlfriend or a newly discovered talent. While the movie was well made it, wasn’t very entertaining. We simply don’t care about the characters or what is going to happen at the end of the film. The only thing I liked was the way they chose to end it. Anti-Hollywood.

#13 – Monster Brawl

Monster Brawl lives up to its title: It’s a bunch of monsters fighting each other. Unfortunately, the movie was a monster fail. It’s set up just like a WWE Pay-per-view event and there is absolutely no story or plotline, just monsters fighting each other. The premise might be interesting, but the movie isn’t. The effects and costumes are mediocre and the judges and hosts aren’t very funny.  Much like FDR: American Badass they had a good idea, but failed to pull it off.

#14 – We Run Sh*t

This is the documentary of a group of guys who try to host five events with no money. The movie depicted a group of people failing at life. It was way too long, inconsistent and probably didn’t deserve to be screened.

#15 – Beyond the Black Rainbow

This film follows a girl locked up in a futuristic commune with a crazed doctor. As she tries to escape the doctor gets crazier and crazier. I wanted to like this film, but it is ridiculously slow and boring. There are three things that happen in the entire film. There are some interesting visuals and the effects are done well, but I think they could have added to the story to pick up the pace of the film.

#16 – Paranoia

Paranoia is a local Phoenix film that was tagged as a “psychological thriller”. It’s about a woman who thinks her husband is cheating on her. Her paranoia and stress cause her to lose focus on reality. This was the worst I saw at the festival and probably the worst I’m going to see all year. The movie was neither psychological nor thrilling. The story was laid out right in front of the audience and I never really cared about the characters or what was going to happen to them. There were scenes that were so poorly done and lines so poorly read that I laughed out loud.

Perhaps the most overused word when describing fans is “passionate”, but that is the best way to describe all those who attend the behemoth convention that is Comic-Con.

Morgan Spurlock has taken on the task of telling the story of Comic-Con 2010 in the documentary Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope–not an easy feat due to the plethora of characters that attend this convention.  Comic-Con is a unique experience for everyone who attends, but Spurlock chooses to zero in on a few specific characters: The Geek, The Designer, The Soldier, The Survivor, The Collector and The Lovers. The film takes these characters from Comic-Con prep time in their hometowns to Comic-Con go time on the convention floor and anyone who has attended can find a piece of their experience in these characters.

The Geek, is a bartender from Missouri, whose parents met at the first Star Trek Convention in Kansas City, his geek-ness apparently passed down in his DNA.  He is passionate about drawing comics and attends because he sees this as the ultimate job fair. We follow him and his portfolio through the masses and see him pitch his wares to Dark Horse and others.

The Designer is a talented, determined girl who makes elaborate costumes in San Bernardino, which she describes as “the place where people stop to go to the bathroom before they go skiing.” Her passion is costume design and she longs to be noticed by the illusive industry for her stellar skills.  She sees the Con as the platform to make or break her and invests all she has in a “Suicide Mission” to win the Comic-Con Masquerade.

The Survivor, owner of Mile High Comics in Denver, is one of the most intriguing characters, because from his interviews, we see the evolution of Comic-Con from the 1970s to present. We meet him in his gigantic warehouse from which he distributes over 8 million comic books. In the warehouse he unlocks a safe and delicately removes “Red Raven #1” which he intends to sell at the Con for $500,000.  He also packs up a store’s worth of inventory, as he has for the past 38 years, and sells comics on the convention floor. He admits times are more difficult for comic book dealers at the Con, because electronic arts are such a draw for fans these days.  He goes on to say that although the word “comic” is in the name of the convention, very little is truly about comics anymore.

The Collector is a man passionate about his toys. We meet him in his “Room of Doom” with wall-to-wall toys. His Holy Grail at the Con will be to purchase the 18-inch Galactus. He will stand in line for two days and navigate through the gauntlet of people in hopes of buying this illusive toy before they sell out.

The Soldier from Minot, North Dakota is in the military and is passionate about drawing.  He leaves his small town to the hustle and bustle of the Con with his portfolio in hand and tries to get the attention of a publisher he can draw for.

The Lovers, who met at Comic-Con the year before, plan to take their relationship to the next level in front of Kevin Smith and the thousands at his sold out panel in Hall H.

There are many brief interviews with Robert Kirkman, Eli Roth, Corey Feldman, Guillermo Del Toro, Harry Knowles, Todd MacFarlane, Frank Miller, Grant Morrison, Joss Whedon and even Trashwire fave Gerard Way to name a few and, of course, we get some added insight from the Comic Con guru himself, Stan Lee.

Through all these characters and interviews we get a taste of all things Comic-Con, but not a full meal although we get a good understanding of the level of fan camaraderie, the uniqueness of those in attendance, how the entertainment industry will tap into it, and of course, the passion of fanboys and fangirls who make the Con what it is.

If you’ve ever been to Comic-Con you will see this movie more than once, like a professionally produced home movie, just to pick out some of the people and the things you saw when you attended. If you have never been to Comic-Con, you might not fully understand the magical and all-encompassing world Spurlock is presenting here, but the doc should intrigue you enough to want to attend.

Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope is playing in select cities and is also available On-Demand.

Check out Trashwire.com Comic-Con coverage (including photos and video) here.

Andrew Bird is described as an American musician, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He has a bachelor’s degree in violin performance and has made tons of music in the genres of folk, jazz, swing and blues. He’s been on albums with multiple bands but failed to get viable commercial success. He was later asked to open for a band in his hometown, but his band mates were unable to make it to the opening. So he did what any levelheaded person might do and played the gig solo. It went extremely well for the young musician! Because of the success of his solo show Bird went on to gain success by wrapping himself in his music with a solo career.

At the upcoming 2012 Phoenix Film Festival we got an inside look at Andrew Bird while he’s on one of his most rigorous years of touring. Andrew Bird: Fever Year premiered at Lincoln Center during the New York Film Festival and will screen with 17 international film fests during April. The Arizona premiere at the Phoenix Film Festival was on Friday, March 30^th, with an encore on Saturday, March 31^st.

Based on the trailer this is a documentary well worth your time. Music is most fun when you know the artist loves his craft. Bird embodies that idea. He is creating amazing techniques and seems to love his craft more than most. Check out the trailer here and be sure to catch the documentary if it’s playing at a fest in your town.

Official Trailer (2:45) from Andrew Bird: Fever Year on Vimeo.

Jennifer Lawrence stars as 'Katniss Everdeen' in THE HUNGER GAMES. Photo credit: Murray Close

Let’s face it, Hollywood rarely succeeds in making a book-to-screen adaptation that lives up to the original. Even True Blood, one of my favorite shows, takes quite a few creative liberties with Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse novels. After reading (and totally loving) Suzanne Collins’ best-selling The Hunger Games, I was keeping my fingers crossed that the film version would live up to all the hype. Thankfully, director Garry Ross gives us a film that perfectly captures the essence of the original work. 

Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth) in THE HUNGER GAMES. Photo credit: Murray Close

The story takes place in the future country of Panem, built on the ruins of North America, and centers around Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), who lives in one of twelve districts that surround the ultra-wealthy Capitol. Katniss’ district, District 12, is the poorest in the nation and our heroine is forced to break the law and go hunting with her friend Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth) in the woods outside the district to feed her family. When we join the story, it’s the day of The Reaping, when one teenage boy and girl from each district are chosen as “Tributes” to participate in The Hunger Games, a barbaric spectacle in which the kids must fight to the death until only one is left standing. The event exists to show the government’s absolute power as well as being broadcast to the entire nation for entertainment. Think American Idol meets ancient gladiators. In a horrible turn of events, Katniss’ tender-hearted sister, Prim (Willow Shields) is chosen to compete. Certain that this will mean Prim’s death, Katniss volunteers to be District 12’s female Tribute. She will go up against their male tribute, Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) and the other kids in the arena.

Cinna (Lenny Kravitz, left), Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson, center) and Josh Hutcherson (right) in THE HUNGER GAMES. Photo credit: Murray Close

The barbaric and primitive nature of the event is offset by the high-tech entertainment value. The tributes are escorted to the Capitol where they train in fighting techniques and receive strategic advice from their advisors, previous winners of the games. District 12’s only winner is Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson), a drunken slob with no manners and seemingly no valuable information for Katniss and Peeta. The kids must also compete for sponsors, wealthy people who can spend their money sending food, medicine and other supplies to their tributes while in the games. In trying to court those deep-pocketed sponsors, the kids receive makeovers from stylists like Cinna (Lenny Kravitz) and PR training before they go on to their interviews with Caesar Flickerman (Stanley Tucci).

From left to right: Clove (Isabelle Fuhrman), Cato (Alexander Ludwig), Marvel (Jack Quaid) and Glimmer (Leven Rambin) in THE HUNGER GAMES. Photo credit: Murray Close

Then it’s off to the games where Katniss must go up against the Career Tributes, kids from the wealthier districts who have trained their whole lives for the games and become deadly killing machines. She’s horrified when Peeta seems to have formed an alliance with the Careers and forms a partnership of her own with little Rue (Amandala Stenberg), a very clever twelve-year-old girl from District 11.

Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks, left) and Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) in THE HUNGER GAMES. Photo credit: Murray Close

The brutal atmospher of the games is contrasted by the people at the Capitol who see this purely as entertainment, completely devaluing the lives of those competing. This attitude is perfectly captured by Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks), whose utter disregard for the lives of Katniss and Peeta brings a twisted humor to the story. We also see this reflected in Seneca Crane (Wes Bentley), a Gamemaker who can throw twists at the kids to make the show more exciting.

Caesar Flickerman (Stanley Tucci) and Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) in THE HUNGER GAMES. Photo credit: Murray Close

As someone who’s watched her fair share of reality TV, I found the book and the film to be incredibly poignant, providing a great commentary to what our society finds entertaining. A show like CBS’ Big Brother is very Hunger Games-esque in that it locks its competitors in a space and forces them to go head to head (not to the death, but for a great sum of money) while audiences watch live and have the ability to vote for favorites to win prizes. Reality TV is all about creating characters and we see that as well in the film with Cinna branding Katniss the “Girl on Fire” and Peeta presenting a Romeo and Juliet storyline that might just save both of their lives.

Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks, left), Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson, center) and Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence, right) in THE HUNGER GAMES. Photo credit: Murray Close

The film also succeeds in creating a beautifully realized, visually rich world while carrying the dystopian heaviness of a story about kids forced to murder each other. Even when we laugh at one of Effie’s comments or roll our eyes at Caesar’s cavalier attitude for the games, we feel the underlying somberness of the entire situation. It’s truly rare for a film to succeed in being entertaining while maintaining those kind of dark undertones, doubly so for a film aimed at the PG-13 crowd, but The Hunger Games flawlessly navigates those waters.

Josh Hutcherson stars as 'Peeta Mellark' in THE HUNGER GAMES. Photo credit: Murray Close

The young a relatively unknown cast is very impressive. We identify with Katniss, Peeta and Rue, despise the cruelness of the Career Tributes and feel sympathy for the friends and relatives forced to watch their loved ones die on TV. Each actor completely embodies their character, which allows the viewer to be totally immersed in the world of the film.

When it comes to adaptations, Hollywood needs to follow The Hunger Games’s lead and focus on the overarching message of the original work. Sure, there are a few things that have been altered from the book, but the spirit of the story is there, and that’s what’s most important. Hopefully this kind of excellence will continue in the adaptations of the other two books in the trilogy, Catching Fire and Mockingjay.