Rating: 
Summary: Well... really 2 and a half
Review: Anyway when I first heard of this movies I had such high hopes for it... but it reallty took a trip down the toliet. For the first 45 minutes or so it was hilarious, the "accidental" running over Logue, even when he incinuated that Archie was "doin'" the old lady. I was excited about the cast it seemed really cool. But right after the old lady got stabbed it just took a turn for the worse. I'm a comic book fan myself and I don't even buy this. Okay I can buy that Logue would hire a man to steal the comics, I can buy that the old woman got stabbed by accident, I can even buy that no one wanted to call the police for her, but anything beyond that was on the wrong track. I was very disappointed to where it came to in the end. It felt like I was watching two different movies at the same time. I don't know... was this supposed to be dark humor or serious? PICK ONE! The dark humor quickly turned from something funny to something serious, then to something funny and light hearted again. There were a few things I liked about it that DJ was figuring out that there was a life outside of comic books and to get a life, and even how the rivals were going about getting the priceless comic books. I went from liking the movie to surprised then pissed off then indifferent. Not a good reaction. This is only for the hard core comic book fans that want no clear storyline, just mindless insanity and reference to comic books.
Rating:
Summary: Well... really 2 and a half
Review: Anyway when I first heard of this movies I had such high hopes for it... but it reallty took a trip down the toliet. For the first 45 minutes or so it was hilarious, the "accidental" running over Logue, even when he incinuated that Archie was "doin'" the old lady. I was excited about the cast it seemed really cool. But right after the old lady got stabbed it just took a turn for the worse. I'm a comic book fan myself and I don't even buy this. Okay I can buy that Logue would hire a man to steal the comics, I can buy that the old woman got stabbed by accident, I can even buy that no one wanted to call the police for her, but anything beyond that was on the wrong track. I was very disappointed to where it came to in the end. It felt like I was watching two different movies at the same time. I don't know... was this supposed to be dark humor or serious? PICK ONE! The dark humor quickly turned from something funny to something serious, then to something funny and light hearted again. There were a few things I liked about it that DJ was figuring out that there was a life outside of comic books and to get a life, and even how the rivals were going about getting the priceless comic books. I went from liking the movie to surprised then pissed off then indifferent. Not a good reaction. This is only for the hard core comic book fans that want no clear storyline, just mindless insanity and reference to comic books.
Rating:
Summary: DISAPPOINTED
Review: As a huge fan of comic books, I was so excited about this film. But as the movie unfolded before my eyes, all I felt was cheated by what could have been. Do not waste your time or money on this one. Go see a film like Unbreakable to see what a real movie of the genre can be like.
Rating: 
Summary: Donal Logue steals the show...
Review: As mentioned in another person's review, this is a film that speaks to a specific niche(i.e. us comic book fans)so some of the jokes and characters(especially the Qualls and Logue characters)may go over people's heads. Still, it's a great black comedy and will definately entertain all those Kevin Smith fans out there. Logue is hilarious as he vacillates between the classic smug comic geek and the crazed obsessed fanatic. The only small downside is the lack of DVD extras.
Rating:
Summary: Fun, if not funny 0.o
Review: Comic Book Villains is sort of to comic book collecting as High Fidelity is to record collecting (not that CBV is near as good as high fidelity) - the main characters are obsessed with collecting comic books and the story hinges on the rivalries of the comic book obsessed, but they could be anything... baseball cards, Rem books, etc..., which is to say that, while collectors will probably be displeased with 4th leg attitutde towards its titular subject, there's no reason not to watch it if you aren't a collector (there aren't even in-jokes or cheeky parallels between the movie's characters and the objects of their obsession, unless you maybe look to stuff like the general worldview of American Splendor or Jimmy Corrigan). As far as the movie goes, it was pretty fun, and even though you're smirking at the absurdity of people ruining their lives over comic books, it's really not a black comedy (its even slightly uplifting), nor is it surreal, absurd, or any number of things that would be inferred from the title and plot. As with the way you can replace the comic book subject with any other collectible, the thematic elements are also graftable - the absurdity and self-destructiveness of the characters' obsessions just as easily apply to war, sports, wall street, and the human condition in general... which does well to explain the familiarity of this movie and maybe why it's not quite as black or as humorous as it could be. Overall, a fun, thoroughly average, and slightly funny movie that is worth a rental if you aren't expecting much, but not something especially worth purchase.
Rating: 
Summary: Darkly funny and convincing
Review: Comic Book Villians is movie that seemed destined for the Gen-X set, ruthlessly cynical of our own human nature, form the very begenning the movie's central characters Ray(Donal Logue) and Norman(Micheal Rappaport) have already been pushed over the edge by their own greed and emptyness. The movie is told through the eyes of Archie(D.J. Qualls) a levelheaded type who lives on is own and collects comics although not as obsessively as Ray. Venturing almost every afternoon to the Ray's comic book outlet he exchanges factoids and insights with his brood. The town they live in is your typical small, white-bread everybody knows knows everyone kinda mid-western area. The only thing that keeps Arch going is his friendship with Ray. Across town Norman Link and his wife (Natasha Lyonne) have a similar store, although theirs is more profit based and not on the heritage of the famed books. Word spreads one day of a old man who croaked, this would mean little if he hadn't had collected comics his whole life, leading Ray to tears and Norman to expansion options. Everything from Superman's first appearence to every back issue is accounted for. The old man's mom though, refuses to sell. leading to a battle of wits between the two battling entrepeneurs. The heart of the movie is in it's characters, vulgar, witty and darkly obsessive are these men who spend there days in a lustful search for the ultimate collection. the best aspect of the film is Logue's stunningly convincing performance as he tries every sneaky trick to land his hands of the greatest collection ever known. Also effective is Qualls as Ray's hapless friend who remains utterly bemused by his friends obsessive behaviour.
Aesthetically the movie is pleasing to the eyes and ears, the music has a quasi-Batman style speed and haste, suggesting the pure insanity that these characters personify. This movie is not for everyone,it deals with subject matter only interesting for Kevin Smith fans and comic enthusiasts, Logue commands the film but Rappaport remains a bit to inane and whiny, he seems funnier when acting black. Interseted partys will not be dissapointedif nothing more for then the atmosphere of pure dementia which the movie carries.
Rating:
Summary: FUNNY BOOKS
Review: Eileen Brennan, way long ago from LAUGH IN and PRIVATE BENJAMIN, has the best lines in this film when she asks DJ Qualls if he likes funny books. In a movie about obsessive comic book fans and collectors, it sums up the banality of the obsession. COMIC BOOK VILLAINS starts out in a fairly light vein, with some funny scenes and then turns bleakly dark, and by the end of the movie, you feel like you need Prozac. Another lesser known film, STRANGER THAN FICTION, did this funny to horrifying segue, and it worked. Somehow COMIC BOOK VILLAINS doesn't make this transition as easily. Donal Logue as the totally obsessed Raymond starts out rather cool, then almost zany in his obsession, but by the end, his murderous rage totally disengages him from real life. DJ Qualls (The Core) once again plays the nerdy friend to the tee. Qualls will probably always look seventeen, but he's a disciplined performer, and shines in his role. Natasha Lyonne and Michael Rapaport are such caricatures that when Lyonne decides to end their marriage, it seems way out of character. Cary Elwes plays way against type as the hoodlum Carter, but even his metamorphosis from a guy trying to make life work to a crazed kidnapper seems improbable.
Eileen Brennan is glorious as the intended victim, and though she looked very old and frail, her reserve energy boosted the film when she was on screen.
A different kind of film, but not as fulfilling as it should have been.
Rating:
Summary: FUNNY BOOKS
Review: Eileen Brennan, way long ago from LAUGH IN and PRIVATE BENJAMIN, has the best lines in this film when she asks DJ Qualls if he likes funny books. In a movie about obsessive comic book fans and collectors, it sums up the banality of the obsession. COMIC BOOK VILLAINS starts out in a fairly light vein, with some funny scenes and then turns bleakly dark, and by the end of the movie, you feel like you need Prozac. Another lesser known film, STRANGER THAN FICTION, did this funny to horrifying segue, and it worked. Somehow COMIC BOOK VILLAINS doesn't make this transition as easily. Donal Logue as the totally obsessed Raymond starts out rather cool, then almost zany in his obsession, but by the end, his murderous rage totally disengages him from real life. DJ Qualls (The Core) once again plays the nerdy friend to the tee. Qualls will probably always look seventeen, but he's a disciplined performer, and shines in his role. Natasha Lyonne and Michael Rapaport are such caricatures that when Lyonne decides to end their marriage, it seems way out of character. Cary Elwes plays way against type as the hoodlum Carter, but even his metamorphosis from a guy trying to make life work to a crazed kidnapper seems improbable.
Eileen Brennan is glorious as the intended victim, and though she looked very old and frail, her reserve energy boosted the film when she was on screen.
A different kind of film, but not as fulfilling as it should have been.
Rating:
Summary: What could have, my, what could have been.
Review: I am not a comic book fan. I have read a few comic books, but not enough to be called a reader, let alone a collector. I was drawn into the premise of this movie, and also believe that Michael Rappaport has the ability to turn dog[doo] into diamonds, no matter what the role. I am also a fan of Donal Logue, and I have an appreciation for culty films like this. As it turns out, the comic book aspect was not too extreme. "Comic Book Villains" requires a familiarity for the themes of comic books, rather than the comics themselves. There are three types of comic book 'geeks' in the movie: the hardcore collector, represented by Logue's character; the famous book reader, who knows everything about popular comics, but nothing about less-known ones; and the casual reader, represented by DJ Quall's character of Archie. His role is where the problems begin. Every moment that Logue, Rappaport, or Cary Elwes is on screen, the movie shines of brilliant observation and attention to dialogue (even though the funniest conversation is blatently ripped off from Kevin Smith's "Mallrats"). However, Archie was written as the ideal reader, a guy who understands that comics are entertainment, not reality. He epitomizes everything i dislike about this movie. Every scene he is in is either hinting at a message, or explaining a message. The theme Archie brings to the story is furthered by ridiculously pathetic acts of violence and obsession, which ruin the film's last 4th. If one were to watch the ending of the movie and then the beginning, he would not have any idea they belonged to the same picture. Take Natasha Lyonne's character for instance. At the opening of the movie, she is a bright woman who runs a comic book store very casually. A slow change and character ark would have been brilliant for her character. However, after one stupid plot-hole-filled scene, she becomes a vengeful warrior obsessed with getting the mcguffin of the piece, the dead man's comics. And by the end, the film has made such lifeless criminals out of the characters, I couldn't even enjoy watching Logue, Rappaport, or Elwes anymore. The theme of the movie jumps so violently from comedy to black "comedy", that it no longer becomes entertaining. A potentially brilliant film cut down by the director's hatred for comic book readers.
Rating:
Summary: A dark comedy, enjoyed even more if you are into comics.
Review: I heard about this DVD from an Entertainment Weekly article. They recommended it. I knew some of the actors and was familiar with Robinson's work in the comics (some of those books I like and some I didn't). Given I'm a comic reader for 30 years, I figured I'd give it a shot. It is a very dark comedy. The humor comes from the extremes these two collectors will go through to try to latch onto an ultimate collection. The shop owners are very sterotypical extremes of the industry, but any person who has been buying comics for many years will recognize the traits. Robinson also makes a statement on the comic industry as it has gotten into through the 90's and into the new millenium. It also takes shots at some traits of fans. We all know folks like them as well. ...
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