Second page and I'm already shocked! Love it.

Four hours later and I notice - "A Hard-Boiled Comic" - AWESOME!!!

"Probably the most impressive scene is the shoot out sequences at the Glory Hole Casino. People blowing up, nuclear weapons deals with a Middle Eastern terrorist, midget dancers with machine guns, and a shadowy underworld figure killing people with a katana all in one scene. "

I almost closed the article right after that sentence so I could go try and find that movie as fast as humanly possible....

I had actually just added this show to my Netflix Instant Queue yesterday, hoping it would hold similarities to some of the other titles you mentioned. However, after reading your review and watching as the trailer reveals the show to be 90% slow-motion (I still can't get on board with that stylized trend) - I hope you will excuse me while I go remove this show from my Netflix Instant Queue.

I've never passed up a stylized detective tale before, and I'm not about to start now. This is really awesome. Wednesdays and Fridays will have to deal with more anticipation than they ever have before...

Big Fan was a movie that did not get a release in small-town Indiana, even though I read all about the film and it's early screening praise. Seeing as how I am a big Patton Oswalt fan (and arguably an even bigger Kevin Corrigan fan) I could not wait to see this movie. The trailer came out and I finally got around to seeing The Wrestler, and at that point the anticipation was almost too much for a man's directing debut. The thing is, every bit of that anticipation was lived up to upon finally seeing the film.

I think one of the main points that really made this work, as the author said, is that the director gives each scene almost the perfect time to play out - no more, no less. No scene lingers in the dreaded 'close-up emotion' shot.' It's brisk runtime of 86 minutes does nothing but help the film. You are immediately thrown so deeply into this character's world, and are just as quickly thrown out of it just as the end credits begin to roll. And while I agree that the ending is a tad unusual, I do think it's so close to absolute perfection for the end of that character's arc. I'm not a huge football fan, but am around enough of them to understand how sacred it can become - and seeing him put on that jersey towards the end was heartbreaking. Although I think that point does come back to what was said about the theme being so universal that really makes this movie. In the end, it's just about what makes you happy.

I don't want to beat a dead horse by talking about the stand-out performances. After this shining performance, I really expect Oswalt to become more of a household name in the very near future. (It's upsetting when someone doesn't know who Oswalt is and I have to describe him as the short chubby friend Kevin James in The King of Queens) But then there's supporting actors Kevin Corrigan and Michael Rapaport (who makes wonderful use of his limited screen time) who keep turning in great performance after great performance, getting little to no recognition.

Great review, and I completely agree that it's universal theme of a 'hobby' (whether it be football or something else) that really ends up defining this movie.

What's most upsetting about this to me, is that in original story concept, it's not that terrible of an idea. In fact I'd go as far as saying that I would really like to see a 'good' version of 'Legion.'

And this film isn't the only instance of this. In fact I feel as though many could say that about the majority of recent releasea. Take 'Daybreakers', the idea behind that movie sounded extremely interesting to me - "Ten years into the future, almost everyone is a vampire, running out of blood." Now, using my knowledge of horror creatures, I know that lack of blood for a vampire can't be good thing. It sounds interesting, right? Well instead of an intense look at what kind of crumbling world that would be, we get generic action sequences, cliche' side characters, and sub-par special effects. Worst of all? They barley scratch the surface on the commentary regarding the lack of blood - the reason I thought the film seemed interesting! (Although I cannot lie: no matter how cheesy Willem Dafoe's character was, I still loved seeing him wield a crossbow/shotgun hybrid.)

I don't mean to steer the discussion away from the reviewed film, but it all seems relative to me. Like you said Griffey, I can only imagine the writers of these film's indulging themselves, writing what they think is some of the smartest commentary, and 'knowing' the finished project will be amazing. I can only hope it's due to a general lack of caring.

With at least a shimmering hope of a decent idea at the core of all these movies, there shouldn't be a reason we can't get something better. The acting isn't respected in films like this, even the actors seem to know they're "slumming it." Genre films just don't seem to be respected by anyone anymore, and it's all about getting something out fast to make some money. But I guess that's the way it works....

By the way, Bettany is a great actor who needs to get some good & consistent work. I'm looking forward to his more real-life/dramatic portrayal of Charles Darwin in 'Creation.'