Super is an odd film, it is hard to take it out of context from the other recent films that it resembles. Both Kick-Ass and Defendor came out last year, and they all tackled very similar subject matter. From a film perspective Super is late to the party, and doesn’t really do anything that the other films didn’t do already. However, there is one area where the film stands out as very much the superior, it’s soundtrack!

Like the previous two films mentioned the soundtrack is populated with quirky tracks that epitomize the title character and their awkward journey through super-heroism. Super excels here with music that perfectly captures the tone of the movie and flows from one track to another with relative ease, which is a tall task when you are combining such different types of music. The selected source music tracks are generally fun to listen to and the score elements are universally excellent with Tyler Bates bringing some truly epic tracks that frankly are way better than the film deserves.

My first listen to the album was before I saw film which usually makes it harder to get wrapped up in the soundtrack because you have no visual base from which to tie to the movie. In that raw, first impression I was already taken with how the music promised a lighter tone with some several dark undertones. The track titles referenced god and religion several times and when the soundtrack needed to be epic, it delivered in spades. I would easily say that on a sound track level it was everything an independent superhero film needed it’s soundtrack to be.

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With all the hype and press surrounding big budget studio films, we need to keep in mind the smaller films that don’t have the marketing budget but also need coverage too. This time around that smaller film is director Jon Hewitt’s X.

The film, which tells the story of Holly Rowe, a callgirl on her last night on the job who’s just looking to finish up and get out of the business. Naturally, things don’t go as she planned when she encounters Shay Ryan, a teenage runaway, broke and alone, who just has to get through her first night as a hooker.

Fate throws them together on a job that goes horribly wrong and they’re trapped on an out-of-control roller coaster ride, through the twilight zone of sex-for-sale. Funny, I don’t remember seeing that ride at Disneyland last time I was there. Oh well.

The film stars the terrific Viva Bianca of Spartacus: Blood and Sand and Hanna Mangan-Lawrence, who was in the director’s previous film, Acolytes. IFC has sent us a trailer for the film and we are, of course, going to share it with you right here.

Take a look after the jump. X debuts in select theaters today and then on demand from IFC Midnight, via Comcast, Cox, Cablevision, Time Warner, and Bright House starting April 13th.

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Kill List suffers from a case of schizophrenia. It tries to be a jack of all trades, but masters none of those said trades during the course of the film. Though I personally found the film gratifying, I was sorely disappointed in the disjointed quality of the final product.

The film starts out a fairly interesting character study of a semi-retired hit-man (Neil Maskell)  and his oddly complacent wife (Myanna Buring). Turns out she is quite capable, having been a member of the Swedish army. She understands the demands of his unconventional job, and encourages him to return to the lifestyle in order to keep their family afloat.

I liked the aspect of her not only knowing about, but encouraging, his amoral lifestyle. An old acquaintance shows up for dinner with his mysterious girlfriend, and just like that, he is thrust back into the hitman lifestyle.

After a heated domestic argument ruins the evening, he takes an assignment to off a few pesky people, hence the title, “Kill List”. Even though he’s been out of the biz for a while, it takes precious little time to jump back in the saddle, offing his victims so sadistically that his partner finds it disturbing.

There are hints of a pedophilia/snuff/pornography ring. When Jay watches a video featuring one of the people on the list, his reaction to what he sees upsets and enrages him to the point that he offs those responsible in horrible ways.

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We’ve been waiting months and aside from an occasional clip here or there, we’re finally getting the first official look at James Gunn’s upcoming raunchy, real-life superhero comedy Super, which features a huge (and very eclectic) cast. Now that we’re getting an idea of how the film is going to play out, we can see that tonally, it’s going to be quite different than Matthew Vaughn’s Kick-Ass, which seems like a parallel story on paper.

Not only that, the cast alone, which includes Rainn Wilson, Liv Tyler, Kevin Bacon, Ellen Page, Michael Rooker and Nathan Fillion, should be enough to sell this film to fans everywhere. Here’s the official synopsis:

Rainn Wilson stars as a normal guy named Frank who decides to become a crime fighter when his wife (Liv Tyler) leaves him for a drug-dealer (Kevin Bacon), taking on the identity of the Crimson Bolt and agreeing to let a young overzealous comic shop employee (Ellen Page) to be his sidekick Boltie.

Together, they fight crime in the most violent manner imaginable.

There was a worry for a while whether we’d ever get to see this film or not, as things were quiet on finding a distributor. Luckily, IFC Midnight was able to pick up the slack and they’re bringing the film to theaters on April 1st.

Check out the trailer after the jump and join Rainn Wilson as he exclaims, “Shut Up, Crime!”

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Thanks to Netflix Watch Instantly, a lot of us are getting to catch some movies that didn’t make it to our cineplexes the first time around. Last week I had the opportunity to watch Dogtooth, an independent film that had run the festival circuit with lots of word of mouth, but I never got to see it in my hometown.

The film has been officially nominated for an Academy Award for best foreign language film, and I must say that this is a very bold, unexpected choice for the normally stodgy academy voters.  I have decided to refrain from actually reviewing Dogtooth, because I have no idea how to do so.  It defies genre and logic, yet it is very interesting. Check it out, if you are so inclined.

This week I saw another film I had been hearing about for ages:  Enter the Void.  When I was at Fantastic Fest last fall, the single screening of this film sold out in mere moments.  Following the screening, viewers were giddy, touting the film as a visual masterpiece that had to be seen on the big screen.

I, for one, am very glad that I didn’t see the film on the big screen.  I had a great deal of concern over the strobe-light effects that were reported to be pervasive in the film.  My fears were not unwarranted.  In the comfort of my basement, I broke the film up into two viewings, which worked well for me. I am not sure that I could have sat through the entire running time in a theater.

For the uninitiated, Enter the Void is the latest film offering from controversial filmmaker Gaspar Noé.  His 20o2 film Irreversible is considered one of the most disturbing movies ever made, thanks to a punishing and prolongated rape scene.

Enter the Void is already a cult classic, and deservedly so.  Noé offers up one of the most innovative and visually compelling films you are likely to ever see.  There is no doubt that the man is a mad genius of sorts.  Based on technical merit alone, any cinephile worth their salt needs to watch this.  It will be discussed for decades.

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Ever since the first footage of the film crept it’s way through the tubes of the internets, fanboys everywhere have been clammoring for more of James Gunn’s upcoming super hero comedy Super, and it looks like we’re finally going to have a date to drool over.

In keeping with his constant fan service, Gunn gave us the scoop on his official blog, as well as reaching out for people to request the film in their towns.

It’s true: SUPER will be opening on April 1st, 2011.  That first week we will be in only Los Angeles and New York.  However, on the following week, April 8, 2011, we will be in fifteen to twenty of the twenty-five biggest markets in the United States.  Around that same time, we will also be available on VOD.  And, after that, only God knows – perhaps more cities, perhaps not.  It depends a lot on what you guys demand and want.

There you have it. And yes, if you live in a small town and want to see Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page, Liv Tyler, Kevin Bacon, Nathan Fillion, and Michael Rooker in this hilariously violent super hero comedy, be sure to keep an eye out and demand that it comes to you as soon as you can.

Tiny Furniture is an indie film that enjoyed festival acclaim earlier this year.  It won the Jury Prize for  Best Narrative Feature at the competitive SXSW film festival, and the film has since been acquired by IFC films.  The film opens in Los Angeles and New York on November 12, folllowed by a slow nation-wide roll-out.

Aura (Lena Dunham) graduates from college and promptly finds herself right back at her mother’s Tribeca loft apartment.

She’s recently been dumped by her college boyfriend (who had to “find” himself) and she is rapidly realizing that her film theory degree does not make her an ideal candidate for future employment.  She spends the weeks after graduation aimlessly lying around the apartment, trying to figure out what to do with her life.

She runs into her prententious, obnoxious childhood friend Charlotte (Jemima Kirke) who has nary a thing to worry about because she lives off of her father’s credit cards. Consequently, Charlotte is always playing devil’s advocate to Aura’s greater sensibilities.

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Primal made its North American debut at Fantastic Fest, and was one of four movies featured by IFC Midnight.  The film is available on IFC On Demand until December 22.

In the film six friends are on a trip exploring ancient cave paintings.  Mel (Krew Boylan) decides to take a skinny dip, and becomes “infected” with an ancient entity.  Bad things ensue as the pals quickly realize it is kill (Mel) or be killed.  Primal is a genre bending movie that always has its tongue firmly planted in cheek.

We got to sit down with director Josh Reed and stars Krew Boylan and Wil Traval during the festival for an exclusive interview.

The Flickcast: Josh, you directed the movie, did you write it as well?

Josh Reed: I wrote it from a story that Nigel (one of the producers) and I wrote.

TF: How did you guys come up with the concept?  Did you draw on anything for inspiration?  To me, there were some obvious nods to Cabin Fever, did you guys see that movie?

Krew Boylan: I haven’t seen that.

JR: I hadn’t seen it before, but I have seen it. I’ve seen and really like Cabin Fever, but we’d actually written the initial story, but I hadn’t written the script before I saw Cabin Fever.

TF: So did you have any Australian movies that served as influences?

JR: No, not really.

TF: Well, you have the whole “the water is infected” plot device.

JR: I mean, there were definitely a lot of films that influenced that film, but that specific idea of the water hole becoming infected was more a result of wanting to get that young group of people out camping, and just having fun and messing around and stuff.

Then you have an aspect of things going pear-shaped on a specific one of them, and I guess it gave us a device that we could use later to reinfect another one. It was more that it worked as a really good device for the story. It wasn’t based on any legend or anything in Australia.

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Just when you thought it was safe to try and forget about director Tom Six’s rather unique take on ATM in The Human Centipede (First Sequence), along comes a promo for Six’s next chapter in the saga entitled The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence). Event though some may be offended by the first film or what it contains, we’re going to go ahead and show you the new promo anyway in the interest of presenting you with lots of choices on how to spend your entertainment dollar.

If you recall the first film, it follows two rather unfortunate American girls who are kidnapped by a German surgeon. Then, along with a Japanese man, they are surgically transformed into a gory centipede-like creature. Yes, its just about as disturbing as you can imagine.

According to Six, The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence) will steer away from “realism” this time and instead promises to be “pretty nasty.” Did he not see the first film?

“I had so many ideas that I couldn’t fit them all in the movie,” the director told IFC. “I wanted the audience to get used to this crazy centipede. Now, in ‘Part 2,’ I can use all my ideas. So everything is in it this time. I don’t hold back anything.” I guess he was holding back with part one? This should be interesting. And by interesting I mean even more disturbing.

The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence) is due in 2011 but if you’re curious now (and after the above why wouldn’t you be?) check out the promo after the break.

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Mum has been the word as to the look of James Gunn’s upcoming superhero comedy Super starring Rainn Wilson and Ellen Page. We know what a few of the costumes look like, and we know who is in the flick. But as to the tone and visual style, we haven’t gotten many clues. Until Now.

Just about one week after the deal was struck for IFC Films to purchase distribution rights for the film, the very first clip has surfaced showing off both Wilson and Page in their full superhero garb, and it looks pretty cool.

The clip may not be 100% SFW due to language, but it’s surely 100% hilarious. The premise is a bit simple. After his wife falls under the influence of a drug dealer, an everyday guy transforms himself into Crimson Bolt, a superhero with the best intentions, though he lacks for heroic skills. Include a psychotic sidekick (Ellen Page) and you’ve got the full scope.

Check out the first clip from the film after the jump, and be sure to keep your eyes open as we see more from the film and even get a release date from IFC Film’s Midnight banner head.

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Austin’s Fantastic Fest gets underway next week, and officials have announced a partnership between Fantastic Fest and IFC Midnight, a new genre label for IFC Films.

Four IFC Midnight movies will play at Fantastic Fest, but you will be able to participate right from your living room, because they will be simulcast on IFC’s Video on Demand.  How cool is that?

Here are the films with a brief synopsis. All four are new acquisitions for IFC Midnight films.

High Lane, directed by Abel Ferry

Towering heights and beautiful vistas turn into a haunting mindtrip in Abel Ferry’s gripping French scarefest that will definitely make you think twice about your next mountain climbing trip.  In the film, a group of friends on vacation in Eastern Europe embark on an ambitious mountain expedition along a trail that they discover – way too late – is closed for repair.  The thrill of this foolish challenge quickly turns sour as it becomes clear that not only is the path a lot more dangerous than they thought, but also that they are not alone. Fear exposes old traumas and brings up hidden emotions to the surface, and soon, everyone is fighting tooth-and-nail for their survival.

Red, White and Blue, directed by Simon Rumley

Erica (BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER’s Amanda Fuller) is a tough, troubled nymphomaniac with wounds across her soul.  For Erica, sleeping with multiple men forms the core of her life, until she meets the mysterious Iraq vet Nate (THE PROPOSITION’s Noah Taylor).  Despite his quiet air of danger, Nate’s the only guy who doesn’t immediately want to sleep with her, and the two form a hesitant bond. But in a shocking twist, one of Erica’s earlier sexual encounters, with wannabe rock star Franki (Mark Senter), will have unexpected – and devastating – consequences on both of their lives.

Incidentally we caught the film at SXSW, and called it, “visceral, raw and shocking.”  You can read the full review here.

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In what Deadline is describing as a “major deal’ IFC Films has picked up the rights to James Gunn’s latest film Super. The deal happened late last night during the currently running Toronto Film Festival and is reportedly of the seven figure variety.

In the film, Rainn Wilson plays Frank, a man who’s wife (Liv Tyler) leaves him for a seductive drug dealer (Kevin Bacon). Because of this, Frank decides to don the guise of a superhero called Crimson Bolt to wreak havoc on villains everywhere.

With his trusty sidekick Boltie (Ellen Page) Frank takes to the streets to stop evil doers and in the process tries to regain his self-respect and the affections of his wife. Plus, he uses his plumber’s wrench to good effect and crushes a few bad guys skulls in the process.

No word yet on IFC’s release plans for the film but we’ll bring it to you when we know. In the meantime, for more info on this deal check out the full press release from IFC after the jump.

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