Rating: Summary: If you watch only one DVD this year - this is it! Review: HEY KIDS! LOOK COMICS!Mark Hamill loves comic books! And if you are reading this, you have an love for comic books, too (and/or probably for Mark Hamill - but not in a prison way). As a lifelong comic book fan, and of the multitalented Mr. Hamill, I picked up my copy the day it came out and watched the whole movie (and extras) in one sitting and enjoyed it thoroughly! This movie looks at fandom in an amusing, understanding way, not some mean-spirited "let's make fun of these loser-geeks", which it could have easily turned into. The film centers around Don Swan's (Hamill) fight to stop the Hollywood system from corrupting his most cherished possession -- his childhood innocence -- represented by his devotion to his four color hero, Commander Courage is something every fan can appreciate. Like Johnny Appleseed, Swan dispences copies of Commander Courage issue 1(Pop Tart reprints, mind you) in an effort to spread the joy of the good Commander to everyone he meets and show them what a true hero is. From creating his own costume, to stealing preproduction scripts, Hamill nails the obsession every "fan" goes through on some level when they see their idealized memories raided for the sake of a quick buck. Truly a great effort and a promising directorial debut -- it's fast paced, and the improv-style is hilarious "very Kevin Smith-sh" without the cursing. The Extras alone are worth the price of the DVD. The best part of the film is that the viewer will see themselves in it. As a father of 2 boys,3 & 5, I caught myself in the "let's drag the kids to a Comic Con" and have family fun and bribe them with action figures -- never to be opened. In fact, I just had that happen in NYC on Sunday bringing my son to meet Lou Ferrigno -- only to find he flew back to LA to beat the oncoming snowstorm. Go figure the Hulk is afraid of snow, heck if I knew Hamill was in town for a DVD signing 2 days later, I would have braved the weather just to meet him and say "thanks"! Thanks for Comic Book the Movie, the Joker, the comics, the plays - (saw "Harrigan and Hart" years ago at the Godspeed Theatre in CT and thought it was terrifc), the voice-overs, the movies in particular those "space movies". Hamill is not laughing at us, but with us -- and that is the "certian point of view" some fans have to look at this film to truly enjoy it. One complaint -- They spelled Looney Tunes (forgot the "e") wrong on the bio for Billy West -- I guess Mr. Hamill will be sending my Official No-Prize anyday. 'Nuff Said!
Rating: Summary: Maybe I expected too much Review: I am big fan of the Spinal Tap-Waiting for Guffman-etc. movies and had a lot of hope that Comic Book - The Movie would be a cool addition to my collection. After watching, I am disappointed. There are some funny moments from time to time and Mark Hamil, Donna D'Errico, and Tom Kenny (and his family) are pretty good. The movie doesn't have enough of a story to keep me engaged between funny moments. When the funny moments arrive, they aren't enough to compensate for the rest of the movie. Would I buy it again? Probably, but for less than $10. Get this one used - I'd bet a lot of copies will be in the used video bin in the very near future. In closing, I think Mark Hamil showed a lot of promise here and I hope we see him do more funny stuff.
Rating: Summary: Spinal Tap for Geeks and Nerds Review: I cannot recommend this movie enough. If you are a fan of this genre of entertainment then you will absolutely fall in love with this movie. Mark Hamill, who is often the target of ignorant bashers, proves yet again that his career is doing just fine. Like Spinal Tap (where musicians enjoyed the movie even more than non-musicians) COMIC BOOK - THE MOVIE is probably best enjoyed by those who understand the material. Get this movie now!
Rating: Summary: Destined to become a cult film Review: I love this movie. It is done in a very raw, real way, at times even having the microphone obviously in the shot. I LOVED Donna D'Errico's performance in this movie. I think she may even be the funniest one in the film. Just classic stuff. Roger Rose and Jess Harnell prove to be exceptionally funny as well. These folks need to be in more comedies. I for one would love to see more of them. This movie does not make fun of comic book fans. I have never been into comics, but after watching this movie I can see why so many people are so fond of them!
Rating: Summary: "Comic Book--the Movie" Disappoints this Fan Review: I should have known better when my local Blockbuster Video did not have this movie available for rental, two days after it was released. Hmmm. Oh well, I've been a comics reader and collector for over thirty years, so I could not resist buying a copy. What a waste of twenty two dollars. This shot-on-video film has an overall amateur look and feel. A bare-bones story and plot appears to have been made up as the camera rolled, with no actual screenwriter listed in the credits. Sometimes this works, in movies like "A Mighty Wind" and "Best In Show", which are improvised scenes within the framework of a coherent story. Unfortunately, "Comic Book" does not measure up. The characters are more like caricatures, (the smarmy movie exec, goofball camera man) and I just didn't find them interesting. The exception was Mark Hamill's "Don Swan", who drives the film and actually reminds me of someone who knows his way around a comic book store. There are a couple of amusing bits with film director Kevin Smith and actor Bill Mumy, but most of the celebrity encounters are pointless (Hugh Hefner) or a waste of talent (Sid Ceasar and Jonathan Winters). I have not even looked at the second disc of this DVD, so I cannot comment on the "extras". I love comic books. I wanted to like this film. But my first impulse after watching this was to throw it in the trash can.
Rating: Summary: COMICBOOK THE MOVIE? More like COMIC BOOK the wasted $25.00! Review: I went into this expecting so much more. But I must say, Mark Hamill really let me down. He loves comics and poking fun at others including himself? Yeah right! There was money to be made so he jumped at the chance to appear in this movie. It was very dissappointing :( I must say HOW THE MIGHTY HAVE FALLEN. Save your money.
Rating: Summary: BRUCE!!!! Review: I've never seen this movie, but Bruce is in it, so.... 5 Stars. i never read comic books and don't plan on doing so. Deal with it nerds. Bruce is God.
Rating: Summary: Quite entertaining Review: Mark Hamill is a self-professed geek. But not for Star Wars but for comic books. He got together with a whole bunch of his buddies who do animation voice-over work and various people in the comic industry to make this faux-documentary about a collector/retailer (Hamill) who is making this at the behest of a major film studio I guess to put eventually as an extra on their eventual DVD release of a superhero film they are doing based loosely on Hamill's favorite golden age hero. Hamill wants them to go with more of the original hero and all his nazi-fighting, teen sidekick, good-natured goofiness and the studio wants to do the new updated black military suited, voluptuous sidekicked, ultra-violent modern version of the character. Ego's and opinions collide as they battle to make their case at the San Diego ComicCon. Ok. Doesn't sound all that wild, I admit. But for anyone who is a fan of animation or comics this is a gem of a find. Hamill couldn't be more serious as he extolls the beauty of the comic medium, even as he's playing it up with his exagerrated gay(?) nerd character, and the studio execs couldn't be more slimy. Everyone just seems to be having a great time here, and while on paper this might look like an masturbatory exercise in being self-congratulatory, all the great cameos and voice talent of the principal actors adds up to a very watchable, amusing love-letter to fans. But wait, the movie is actually the weakest part of the 2-disc set. The extras are a ton of interviews with comic industry and voice-over legends that have some really interesting comments about comics moving into the film world. If that wasn't cool enough, they taped a whole panel at comiccon with all the voice-talent guys on stage together just going wild, that made me laugh out loud several times. This is an essential part of a geek's DVD collection and I highly advise just going and picking it up for yourself if you qualify for the title.
Rating: Summary: Comic Book the Movie the ultimate fan's fiction Review: Mark Hamill is obviously a knowledgable and passionate fan of comics. He has made a movie for fans, about fans and starring fans. It's a hillarious look at what happens when a Hollywood studio tries to make a comic book into a film. Keeping the die hard fans happy isn't easy, especially when the world's biggest fan is working for you (but secretly working against you). This is a faux documentary a bit on the lines of Spinal Tap or Best in Show. It's loaded with guest stars like Donna D'Errico, Stan Lee, Tom Kenny, Kevin Smith, Matt Groening, Peter David, Bruce Campbell, Sid Caesar and Jonathan Winters.
Rating: Summary: Clueless producers meet their match when fans strike back Review: Mark Hamill plays a rabid comic book fan hired as a consultant by a production company to lend credibility to its movie about a famous Golden Age comic book character. The production company of course has no qualms about making wholesale changes in the mythos of the character to appeal to modern audiences, much to the horror of Hamill's character, who the producers continually brush off and try to get out of their hair. Eventually they decide to just keep Hamill busy by giving him a camera and letting him shoot bonus materials for the eventual DVD at the famous San Diego Comic-Con, the biggest comic book convention in the industry. It's fun to see Hamill then use all the comic artists, actors, and other celebrities at the convention to help turn the tide against the current, slick version of the movie envisioned by the producers and try to bring about a more faithful treatment of the character. You don't have to be a comic book fan to enjoy the film (in fact, there's lots of good stuff about the trials and tribulations of being the spouse or significant other of a comic book enthusiast throughout the movie), but fans will get the most out of it. Entertaining extras on disc two make for a really nice package as a whole. In the end, I can't say this is a great, great comedy, but it is a good one and worth a look. Alas, it's a shame there wasn't a real-life version of Hamill's character roaming around the sets of the last couple of Batman movies.
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