The Super Network

Every week the people of Super Website (Super Blog) will give you a recommendation of a Film, DVD, Bluray, Book, Soundtrack or any other item for you the readers to check out.

Super Marcey Recommend’s:

Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life (Volume 1)

I assume most people by now are quite familiar with Scott Pilgrim, probably more so with the film. I was aware of the comic before the film came about, but it wasn’t until Edgar Wright got the motions going that I really became interesting in Scott Pilgrim. Now my friend (you know who you are) was a huge fan of the comic and his consistent chatter about it basically lead me to check out the comic. I raced through it and that was that, however with the film my interest got tickled again and since my blu-ray purchase and my obsession kicking in I decided to go back and re-read Volume 1 and take my time this time. Now really, you can’t go wrong with this what so ever. It is funny, full of references that a geek like me loves to see and the art work is fantastic. If you haven’t ventured into the comic yet and you enjoy the film you have to check it out! It wont take you long and you’ll have a fun time doing it.  You get introduced to an amazing cast of characters and of course to so much more that the film wasn’t able to include. Welcome to the world of Scott Pilgrim!

| WIKI | Purchase on Amazon |

Bede Jermyn Recommend’s:

Get Low

One of my favourite things about being a film geek is discovering films that are either have been forgotten or overlooked by the film community. For my recommendation this week I’ve decided to pick one film in particular that, in my opinion, should have deserved a lot more attention. That particular film in question is the 2010 period drama “Get Low”. Which is a shame as this is quite a terrific little gem that should have been seen more by everyone. While it did get a lot of rave reviews from film critics, unfortunately it was forgotten pretty quickly upon its release. So I figured I’ll take time to tell you why I think you all should check this film out. Set during the 1930’s and inspired by an actual true story, the film tells story of Felix Bush (Robert Duvall), an mysterious old hermit who lives deep in the woods alone outside a small town where he is the subject of many rumours and legends by the local town’s people. One day, after experiencing chest pains the night before, he comes into town with a whole bunch of money to organize a funeral for himself with the local funeral parlour owner Frank Quinn (Bill Murray) and his young assistant Buddy Robinson (Lucas Black). However, he doesn’t he want any normal funeral. He wants to have it while he is still alive. Plus he wants everyone in the county to come so that he can hear them tell all the stories and rumours about him. However things get a little complicated when a woman from his past named Mattie Darrow (Sissy Spacek) comes back into his life, which brings forth a secret from his past to the surface. This is beautifully well crafted film that I found both equally moving and enthralling at the same the time. The entire cast are all terrific in their roles but the stand-out being Robert Duvall, who is truly excellent as Felix. It definitely ranks up there as one of the best performances of his career. It’s the kind of role that could have easily got him an Oscar nomination (it’s a shame that he was both forgotten and snubbed around nomination time). The direction from first filmmaker Aaron Schiender was confidently well handled, the script is beautifully written and both the production & costume design are equally stellar. The only negatives I can think of for this film is that the story is slightly predictable and straight forward, but even that isn’t too of a bad thing as the filmmakers make it work extremely well. While there are a lot of aspects I go into about the film but I won’t because I feel that it might go into spoiler territory. However I will say that I was actually quite affected by this film, both its story and themes definitely had me as from beginning to end. Plus it was even quite funny at times as well. Overall I really both loved and enjoyed “Get Low”, for me this is the definition of an “overlooked” film. I hope that after reading my recommendation for it, you will want to go and check it out for yourself. It’s definitely worth it for sure.

| IMDB | Purchase on Amazon |

Pat Torfe Recommend’s:

Dead and Buried

This week, I have to select probably one of the most criminally underrated zombie films ever. No, I’m not talking about Redneck Zombies, I’m talking about Dead & Buried! Directed by Gary Sherman and featuring the talents of writer Dan O’Bannon (co-writer of Alien, writer/director of Return of the Living Dead) and Ron Shusett (co-writer of Alien) with special effects by the legendary late Stan Winston, this puppy from 1981 really never got the attention it deserved (other than the negative attention from the “Video Nasties” craze). The film stars James Farentino as Sheriff Gilles, whose town of Potter’s Bluff is being terrorized by murders. It seems some folks aren’t keen on strangers entering their town, and decide to off them rather violently. The thing that struck me about this film is the look. The picture’s colour is washed out and dim. Adding to the visuals is the fog that seems to have infested the town. It’s a dark picture. So dark in fact that I remember having to turn up my TV’s brightness in order to see just what the hell was going on. According to Gary Sherman, he wanted to avoid using the colour red in any scene so as to make the sight of blood that much more impactful and shocking. Even more shocking (well, not so much) and unusual is the fact that the group of murderers like to take photographic evidence of their victims. The camera flashes are disorienting to both the viewer and the victims, which is pretty neat. Acting wise, James Farentino was great in this one. Even greater was Jack Albertson as Dobbs, the town mortician (“Another masterpiece”), who honestly creeped me out. The other neat thing about this film (other than the fact that one of the townspeople is Robert Englund, pre-A Nightmare On Elm Street) is Stan Winston’s effects. The infamous “needle through the eye” scene is still squeamish for me, not just because an eye is being destoryed (thank you, Lucio Fulci), but because Winston went through the trouble of crafting an animatronic dummy that mimicked breathing and movement. Great stuff! Unfortunately, the film suffers from a few plotholes that are never explained (like the picture taking), and the fact that some effects were just lame (Winston wasn’t on hand to do create these effects, so Sherman had to go with another group). But nonetheless, this is a great blend of zombie mayhem (you’ll see) and murder-mystery that you have to see. The Blue Underground DVD set is long out of print, but the Blu-Ray improves upon the picture and retains the same extras (including multiple commentaries and a great Stan Winston doc). Grab it now!

| IMDB | Purchase on Amazon |