CD Giveaway - 33Miles, "One Life"
Ends Aug 4, 2010
The country-pop sound established in their eponymous debut is a mainstay for this album as well, and even adds a little more southern flavor.
CD Giveaway - Phil Wickham, "Cannons"
Ends Aug 3, 2010
With an opening shot that hits the sonic pinnacle, this collection of spiritual Brit pop/rock is heavily influenced by Keane, Travis, Coldplay, and U2.
Rating: Country: USA Release Date: October 19, 2009 Distributor: Swinging Cane Productions Director: · Ted Sikora Cast: · Perren Hedderson · Jocelyn Wrzosek Related Sites: ·Blogspot: Hero Tomorrow
Grade: B
"Hero Tomorrow" co-writer Milo Miller describes this indie film as a combination of "Spider-Man" and "Taxi Driver." After having watched the film, I find myself in complete agreement, despite being perplexed about character motivations and certain events. But then, I think if I understood "Hero Tomorrow," I might be even more messed up than some of the characters themselves.
The protagonist of the story is David (Perren Hedderson). He's the kind of slacker leech who doesn't live in his parents' basement -- he lives in his friend's parents' basement, eating their food and contributing nothing as he exhausts his credit on buying comic books and spends his time drawing the adventures of his pitch character, Apama. He makes Jay and Silent Bob look like obsessively driven entrepreneurs.
Apama is, as he describes it, an "undiscovered animal." The Native American make-em-ups are meant as an homage, and not indicative of any specific tribe. It's apparent from the beginning that the fictional character isn't going to "the next Wolverine" but that doesn't keep David from trying.
Despite his void of motivation, David actually has a girlfriend -- the gothically cute Robyn (Jocelyn Wrzosek), a fashion designer who works a day job as the counter clerk of a comics shop, from which the film takes its name. With the advent of a masquerade party held by Robyn's fashion industry contacts, Robyn designs a costume based on David's designs, which he wears to the soiree, where things turn comically bad for David.
Not just hitting bottom, but actually digging past it, David moves out in the middle of the night with a fistful of stolen cash and decides to live in the woods, becoming Apama full-time. He goes through a barrage of self-training exercises before taking his act to the streets with less than impressive -- and less than heroic -- results.
There's a lot to like in this Milo Miller / Ted Sikora production. Despite the (intentionally) amateurish attempts at superheroics, there's actually some keen super-effects pulled off by Apama -- or, rather, the Apama inside David's head. These fantasy sequences eventually move beyond being mere daydreams and into an expression of David's frustrations with his own inadequacies. The comic shop setting itself is a huge boost to several independent comics titles like Frankenstein Mobster, and a certain unexplainable sequence about a walking, talking squid (no, really!) taps indie comix icon Harvey Pekar to supply his voice. (This scene also includes an appearance by John Chaffee as the narrator of the sequence, whom we recently interviewed here.)
Bonus features on this DVD release include a twenty-minute making-of featurette in which the creators and cast are interviewed. This feature also includes the technicals behind specific scenes and outtakes. "Audition Pinball" is a brief segment of tryouts, and the "Soundtrack Who's Who" is a montage of clips from the film wherein the musicians and title tracks are identified. You'll also get a commentary track ("...of Doom!") with Miller, Sikora, Pedderson and Wrzosek.
