Each Friday we will be bringing you weekend-viewing movie picks available for streaming on Netflix! From the popular to the obscure, we will browse Netflix’s Streaming library so you don’t have to, and bring you what we consider to be “Must Watch” selections!
Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope
Directed by Morgan Spurlock
Starring a bunch of nerds
Comic-Con Episode IV is a survey of both nerd-culture icons and the fanatics who worship them as they both take part in this annual celebration of all things geek. But it also flirts with the deeper truth of Comic-Con’s origin and what it has now become. There would seem to be a reason most nerds avoid the spotlight of mainstream culture and Comic-Con’s rise in prominence give many of them doubts about its future.
Morgan Spurlock follows seven different people with vastly different motivations as they prepare for Comic-con. There are illustrators looking for work, a couple looking to further their relationship, a collector looking for his next limited-edition toy, a cosplayer looking to have fun, and the last is the owner of one of the largest comic book stores in the United States. All these stories are intercut with interviews with Kevin Smith, Joss Whedon, Paul Dini, Matt Fraction, Seth Rogan, Eli Roth, and dozens more. Oddly, Spurlock himself is the only one absent from the film in either appearance or narration.
If you have been to Comic-Con recently or even several times, the information presented in this movie will be nothing new. They take a necessary spin around the convention center to showcase this near-unbelievable collection of authors, artists, merchandise, and cosplayers. If you have never been to Comic-Con, then this is an intriguing window onto a lifestyle you may only be peripherally aware of.
If I had to sum this film up in one adjective it would be ‘honest’. If you are expecting Spurlock’s typical exposé-style film making then you might be disappointed. This movie plays more like a tribute to the event from the perspective of the industry moguls who grew up as the same sweaty, mouth-breathing fanboys that now plague them.
This week’s Friday ‘Flix Pick was submitted by Nick Burke. Be sure to check him out over at Paper Wasp!