Blogcritics Author: Sean Dwyer

Announcement: Short-content feeds

Phillip Winn — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT

Sunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding.

Movie Review: Nacho Libre

Sean Dwyer — Mon, 19 Jun 2006 16:52:08 EDT

Before heading into the theatre to see Nacho Libre, one might ask an important question: how does a director follow up a movie like Napoleon Dynamite? As one of the runaway independent hits of 2004, the movie has gone on to develop a huge and rabid cult following. By the time the movie hit DVD, Napoleon Dynamite quotes were flying left and right, and Jon Heder had somehow become an unlikely MTV poster boy.Now it’s time for filmmaker Jared Hess to prove that he was not just a one-hit wonder. With a bigger budget and a well-known star, could he still produce the same kind of contagious and weird comedy? Or is it simply unrealistic to expect another breakout hit? Having Jack Black on board as an overweight Mexican wrestler certainly seemed like a stroke of genius and the elements were in place for Nacho Libre to become another cult classic. I mean, how could you possibly take such a concept and make it unfunny? Watch the movie and you’ll find out.Despite the potential for hilarity, somehow Hess finds a way to stifle Black’s creativity and fails to deliver on the film’s premise. Maybe he was trying too hard or maybe it just wasn’t a concept that could work for 90 minutes. Whatever the reason, Nacho Libre is a definite let down. If you go into this movie looking for another Napoleon Dynamite, you’re not going to find it.That’s not to say Nacho Libre doesn’t bear many of the same trademarks to Hess’ last movie. In terms of the visual style, silly humour, and even the basic plot, it’s not hard to spot similarities.Nacho is a young orphan who was raised at a monastery and now works as a cook there. He dreams of one day becoming a wrestler. When a Lucha Libre tournament is advertised in town, he recruits a tag team partner and moonlights as the masked luchadore Nacho Libre. He plans to use the money he wins to help out the orphanage, but he also secretly hopes to impress the beautiful Sister Encarnación. The movie is loosely based on the true story of Fray Tormenta, a Mexican priest who secretly wrestled to make money for his orphanage.One question that may be worth raising here is whether or not Jared Hess has a Mexican background. He certainly has a weird, kitschy fascination with Mexican culture - first with Pedro in Napoleon Dynamite and now an entire movie about luchadores. This movie was cast almost exclusively with lesser-known Mexican actors and real wrestlers. Although it’s nice to see a lot of outside talent being given a chance to shine, I have to wonder if Hess’ only goal was to milk unintentional humour from their accents. I’m not saying the movie is racist, but only that Hess seems to think exaggerated Mexican culture is inherently funny, which is not the case (particularly not when everyone in the movie is Mexican except for Jack Black). He also assumes the campy and playful world of Mexican wrestling will bring automatic laughs, without realizing you need something more to keep people watching.Believe it or not, Nacho Libre was a lot more outlandish than Napoleon Dynamite. The world is very cartoony from the start. For a movie that is supposed to be loosely based on a true story, it’s pretty hard to actually believe any of this really happened. The movie was shot on location in Mexico, but it doesn’t feel like it. Everything looks artificial, as though it was shot on a set somewhere. It never really gets across the feeling of authenticity that Hess was going for.There is nothing to ground the ridiculousness of it all and no straight characters to play off of. The closest we have is Nacho’s love interest, Sister Encarnación (played by Ana de la Reguera), who mostly seems oblivious to Nacho’s bizarre behaviour. It’s hard to identify with the characters in this movie, whereas Napoleon Dynamite connected with viewers because we all knew a nerdy kid like that in high school.Nacho Libre also lacks the full assortment of funny characters that Napoleon Dynamite had (think what that movie would have been like without Pedro, Deb, Kip, and Uncle Rico). In Nacho Libre, the only interesting character is Nacho himself. While Jack Black has some decent moments, he seemed somewhat suppressed in this movie. I think his outrageous and over the top comedic style may have been ill-suited for the tone. Hess wants to get the most out of awkward silences, subtle one-liners, and facial expressions, but Black needs room to work his magic and doesn’t do well with muted characters. (You can briefly see the contrast when he lets loose and explodes into song near the end of the movie.)Nacho’s sidekick Esqueleto (Héctor Jiménez), brought very little to the movie. With the exception of his skinny and disheveled appearance, he was not amusing in the least. The sad truth is that Nacho Libre doesn’t have many truly funny moments. There were, however, a handful of fart jokes and some typical slapstick humour, which served as an unfortunate reminder that this is, in fact, a Nickelodeon movie.I did like the cinematography and some of the music (which is apparently a disorganized jumble of scores written separately by Danny Elfman and Beck, although neither of them wanted to be associated with the project when all was said and done). Mostly though, it just seems like Hess was trying too hard to be quirky and the movie ends up falling flat.Younger viewers may enjoy the movie for its kooky visuals, and die-hard Napoleon Dynamite fans can probably force themselves to laugh at it if they try hard enough, but for everyone else, Nacho Libre will be a disappointment. Knowing that Napoleon Dynamite’s popularity took time to build, this could be a movie that works better with repeat viewings. The problem is, there are no memorable one-liners and no classic characters (save for one) worth making action figures out of. I can’t, in good conscience, award Nacho Libre any more than 2 out of 4 flying elbow drops to the head.

Sean Dwyer is the editor of FilmJunk.com. He also spouts random thoughts over at www.seandwyer.net.

Nintendo DS Review: The Rub Rabbits!

Sean Dwyer — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 11:12:01 EST

"Warning: Continuous stroking, blowing and poking could lead to unwanted attention in public places."With Nintendo continuing to promote the fact that "touching is good," it is Sega's turn to conjure up self-gratification innuendos with their cute yet sensual new DS game, The Rub Rabbits! The Rub Rabbits is Sega's sequel to Feel The Magic XX/XY, which was one of the only halfway interesting launch titles for the DS. It's hard to deny the influence of the WarioWare series on these games, as they both consist of a large collection of zany mini-games recognizable by their surreal art direction. But where Feel The Magic and The Rub Rabbits differ from Wario is that there's an actual storyline tying the games together (albeit a very strange and disjointed story, but an amusing one nonetheless).Once again, you are in pursuit of the girl of your dreams, who, like all the other characters in the game is nothing more than a dark silhouette wearing a dress (or eventually, an outfit of your choice). Each step of the way you must compete in daring challenges to win her heart, from keeping a flower near her nose without pricking her with thorns, to dodging sumo wrestlers on an escalator, to closing all the virus pop-up windows on her computer for her, to blowing blasts of wind to foil other suitors who are parachuting down to steal her from you.The games just get more and more ridiculous, as does the story, which progresses through a series of cut scene panels in between each completed challenge.I definitely like the fact that they tied all the mini-games into a Story mode; at the very least it gives you a bit more reason to keep playing, and makes it even more addictive. I also like that there are 3 save files for the story mode, something the WarioWare games don't offer.On the flip side, one of the minor annoyances is the series of five difficulty levels that you must complete for each mini-game before moving on. While none of the games are really all that difficult, some of them definitely overstay their welcome and cause a fair amount of frustration. Thankfully, you do have the option to skip one (and only one) game in Story mode if it becomes problematic.Although the Story mode is fairly short (it features about 35 games, while Feel The Magic had only 25), there are a handful of bonus features and extra game modes that still make it a worthwhile purchase.One cool thing is that once you pass certain mini-games, they are unlocked in Battle mode, allowing you to compete against up to 3 other opponents locally.Other silly game modes include "Maniac", which allows you to customize the appearance of your girl, "Hullabaloo." a relay party game kind of like Twister using your DS, and "Baby Making." allowing two people to work together in a cake cutting mini-game that determines your compatibility (and sperm count... just kidding). You can even then exchange your babies with friends and have them play together over a wireless connection.With The Rub Rabbits, there is definitely a feeling that the game was thrown together rather quickly, but it has that "pick up and play" appeal that is sure to draw in casual and hardcore gamers alike. If you're not yet getting sick of these wacky Japanese titles with quirky minimalist artwork, cute music and hilariously simple but addictive mini-games, The Rub Rabbits is definitely for you. (Just be mindful of who might be watching whenever you decide to do a little rubbing.)The Rub Rabbits! is a rated T (Teen) by the ESRB for Mild Violence, Suggestive Themes.This review is also available at Space Junk.

Sean Dwyer is the editor of FilmJunk.com. He also spouts random thoughts over at www.seandwyer.net.

Nintendo DS Review: Electroplankton

Sean Dwyer — Fri, 20 Jan 2006 08:41:37 EST

It seems like everything you read in the video game press nowadays is commending Nintendo for their innovation and willingness to take on brave new concepts with their games. Truth be told, it's not like they have a choice in the matter anymore... it's kind of become their schtick. On the other hand, they do also release a billion Mario-themed games a year, along with their own fair share of rehashed sequels. Are they really the creative trailblazer that everyone wants to think they are?Well, one thing's for sure. No other publisher in their right mind would release something as bizarre and indescribable as Toshio Iwai's Electroplankton. This quirky little release for the Nintendo DS handheld is the strongest argument yet for convincing people that video games should be considered art. But while Electroplankton definitely qualifies as an artistic creation, it almost goes too far -- to the point where it can no longer be considered a video game.In the strictest sense, Electroplankton is a collection of 10 self-contained interactive multimedia installations that use your touch screen and/or microphone input to create music. There is no objective to these mini-games other than what you decide to do with them. In this way they resemble some of the little unlockable playthings in recent GBA games like Mario Party Advance and Warioware Twisted!.I will admit that at first glance, many of these sound modules are fascinating and quite fun to fool around with. An early favourite of mine, "Hanenbow", allows you to ricochet a stream of fish off of leaves to create a cascade of melodies. By adjusting the angles of the leaves, you can create some pretty cool sounds, and with just the right set up, you can even get the leaves to sprout flowers! How pretty!Some of the modules that use the microphone, such as "Rec-Rec" and "Volvoice", provide a fun distraction by warping and reversing any sound samples you can get the microphone to pick up. On the other hand, "Lumiloop" seems a little like filler; just 5 donut shaped organisms that can be spun clockwise or counterclockwise to create different tones."Beatnes" is probably the most fun and the most flexible in terms of creating actual music, and I'm guessing the section that people will want to spend the most time with. A loop of backing music plays while you improvise individual notes and sound effects over top. These are then repeated back at regular intervals so you can build on them... not unlike using a delay pedal on a guitar.The problem with Electroplankton, I think, is not that it lacks the challenges or goals of a typical video game. Rather, the problem is that there is not enough structure to allow people to create real songs with it. The game will attract budding musicians who want to actually use the plankton to compose their own original pieces, but far too much of the end result is left up to randomness. Something like "Luminaria" (a grid of arrows with plankton following the directions of the arrows to strike notes) could be really powerful if it wasn't so unwieldy to control. "Beatnes" is the most structured of all the installments, but since you're only provided with 4 options for backing music (most of which come from NES games like Super Mario Bros and Kid Icarus), your creativity is a severely limited (not to mention, slightly hampered by copyright issues).You also can't play with any of the modules simultaneously or combine their sounds in any way short of recording it on your computer and doing some mixing after the fact. I have to agree with all of the other reviews I've read that said a save feature would be helpful to the creative process. Considering how random some of the music is, it's pretty damn tough to repeat something twice.To top it off, the visuals just aren't all that brilliant in my opinion. For a title that is supposed to be full-blown multimedia art experience, there really isn't all that much to look at aside from your basic on-screen controls. I was thinking Electroplankton would have the equivalent of a Winamp or Windows Media Player visualization -- some kind of psychedelic animated display that reacts to the sounds.Unfortunately the only thing you have to look at are the plankton themselves as they move around the screen, and for the most part they are just simplistic 2-D graphics. "Nanocarp" is one of the few pieces concerned with turning your input into a visual display rather than music, causing tiny fish to react with synchronized movements.I am usually drawn to unique video game concepts like this, and I take a special interest the idea of music being generated semi-randomly by computer software. Is there an underlying pattern to human creativity? How much of music is conscious skill and how much comes from unquantifiable inspiration? Unfortunately, Electroplankton does not really explore fascinating questions such as these, and the artwork it creates is not all that exciting. The game also has an "Audience" mode, which essentially allows you to sit back and let the music play itself. Again, a potentially interesting element, but in some sense I would argue this is nothing more than a glorified wind chime simulator.Is Electroplankton a unique and intriguing premise? Absolutely! Is it worth $40? Not by a long shot. I can't see Electroplankton giving the average person more than a few hours worth of entertainment, but it's still a recommended rental for anyone who is the least bit curious.Electroplankton is a rated E (Everyone) by the ESRB. This review is also available at Space Junk.

Sean Dwyer is the editor of FilmJunk.com. He also spouts random thoughts over at www.seandwyer.net.

CD Review: We Are Scientists - With Love And Squalor

Sean Dwyer — Fri, 20 Jan 2006 05:39:16 EST

Every now and then even the most jaded indie rock aficionados have to let down their wall of sophistication to enjoy a good solid pop album, guilt-free. I've always felt that accessibility should not ruin the experience of an intuitively catchy album -- of course, it's a lot easier if you can jump on board before MTV has a chance to play it to death.The story of We Are Scientists' debut album With Love and Squalor is an interesting one, starting on the campus of the University of Southern California, leading to a performance at SXSW, and culminating with the band's signing to Virgin Music. The thing is, these guys have been on the radar of MP3 bloggers for a full year before their album was released in North America, and now that the album is in stores, the backlash has already started. It seems like blogging has sped up music distribution to the point where a band is now considered passé by the time you can actually buy their music.At any rate, while I can't say this band offers up anything groundbreaking or revolutionary, I think there is still something to be said for the sheer infectiousness of their music. It has been my experience that the albums that take the most time to grow on you often end up becoming timeless classics. With Love And Squalor is probably not one of those albums; it hits you with instant gratification and does not conceal much more below the surface. But sometimes I'm okay with that. All I know is that when I first heard some of the songs on this album, they were absorbed into my brain and have been continually playing on repeat somewhere up there ever since.We Are Scientists will fall well within the comfort zone of most commercial radio listeners; Franz Ferdinand and The Killers are some obvious reference points (check out the song "Lousy Reputation" for their best Killers imitation). But there's a bit more energy and fun in these songs, more edge and more freneticism despite the silky smooth choruses. People are also likely to make comparisons to Les Savy Fav ("Cash Cow") and especially Hot Hot Heat ("Worth The Wait"). The band's hidden strength lies in its razor sharp rhythm section, the bass and drums propelling them through song after song, from the bounding progression of "The Great Escape" to the agile single "Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt".The only sticking point for me would have to be the vocals of frontman Keith Murray, which occasionally seem to hover somewhere in an uncomfortable Oasis/Incubus range ("Can't Lose" may be the best example of this phenomenon). Still, faux British accents notwithstanding, there is a draw to his voice as well, and I can't hold it against him that he is actually able to sing.The other noteworthy thing about this band is that their wacky sense of humour. While it's not immediately obvious in the music itself (probably a good thing), it is more than a little endearing. From their eccentric fashion sense to the "Ask A Scientist" advice column on their website, it's a relief to find that they don't take themselves too seriously. At the very least this should guarantee them a sizeable cult following in the forseeable future.I am pretty confident, however, that We Are Scientists will become a household name before too long. They certainly seem poised for mainstream success, but that really doesn't take away from the strength of this wonderful debut album. Danceable rock music that makes for perfect summer listening in the dead of winter.This review is also available at Space Junk.Editor's note: This work of yours now has another venue for success - and more eyes - at the Advance.net Web sites, a site affiliated with about 12 newspapers.One such site is here.

Sean Dwyer is the editor of FilmJunk.com. He also spouts random thoughts over at www.seandwyer.net.

PS2 Review: Guitar Hero

Sean Dwyer — Sat, 10 Dec 2005 17:59:24 EST

I've always been drawn to video games that use add-ons and gadgets to try something new. Sometimes they're just an excuse to sell another useless peripheral, but other times they end up being a truly unique and rewarding experience.What I haven't always loved, however, are music rhythm games like Dance Dance Revolution. While I can appreciate DDR for giving game nerds some much needed exercise, the fact of the matter is, you look like a goof when you play and the music for the most part just ain't my cup of tea.However, as the legends have foretold, a hero will rise. A Guitar Hero that is. Harmonix have gone ahead and invented one of the best game gimmicks ever: a custom controller shaped like a guitar, for use with a rhythm game that, quite simply, isn't for sissies.Harmonix are no strangers to music games, from the Karaoke Revolution series to the critically acclaimed Frequency and its sequel Amplitude, they've proven themselves to be more than up to the task. With Guitar Hero though, they've really knocked it out of the park... or should I say ROCKED it out of the park.The guitar controller itself is made to resemble a Gibson SG, and comes complete with a strap and whammy bar. It is included with the game, and although you can also play using a regular controller, why would you want to? I suppose it might work in a multiplayer pinch, but the person using a regular PS2 controller would be at a major disadvantage.Here's how the gameplay works: there are 5 fret buttons on the guitar neck, plus a strumming bar and a whammy bar. Fret symbols move towards you on the screen, and you have to hold down the appropriate button and strum as each note reaches you.It actually feels quite similar to playing a guitar for real -- buttons on lower frets can even continue to be held down while you play a higher note. Needless to say, if you can play guitar in real-life, you will be at a much higher skill level in this game than someone who hasn't. Since you're not actually playing real notes, however, your guitar prowess can only take you so far. (On the other hand, I can see this being a great starting point to teach someone to play guitar since it simplifies many of the necessary skills.)One of the additional strategies in the game involves something called "Star Power". As you nail a string of consecutive notes, your score multiplier increases and when you hit notes that are shaped like stars you will build up Star Power. You can extract even more Star Power by using your whammy bar on held notes that are shaped like stars.Once you have enough Star Power accumulated, you simply tilt your guitar upright (detected by gyro sensors inside the guitar) and enter Star Mode for a limited time, where your point multiplier doubles. Part of the strategy is knowing when in the song to use your Star Power in order to maximize your points. First and foremost, with a game like this, you need a solid line-up of tracks to shred to. Guitar Hero has this in spades... literally, from Motorhead's Ace of Spades to songs from guitar gods like Cream, Boston and Hendrix, to modern rock bands like Helmet, Audioslave, Franz Ferdinand and Sum 41. They've got just about every aspect of guitar rock covered.You should be familiar with almost all of these songs to some extent, and although the songs are not original recordings, it's surprisingly hard to hear a difference in most of them. (A couple are a little off... Bad Religion's Greg Graffin has a distinctive gravelly voice that is apparently not so easy to mimic.)Although they probably could have gotten away with just the music and sparse visuals in this game, Harmonix also added full 3D scenes of your fictional band playing on-stage to accompany your performance. The animations are interactive and respond to how well you are doing -- when you're really nailing a solo your character will pull off some sweet moves on stage and the crowd will cheer you on.There are also fluid camera cuts and movement to simulate a live concert video. It might have been even cooler to have the likenesses of the actual bands performing on stage, of course the licensing fees for that probably would have been ridiculous.The thing that stands out most about Guitar Hero is the fact that when you play it, you look and feel like a real rock star. You actually feel like you're playing the notes. If you miss one, the guitar sound will cut out briefly, and an out of tune note will ring instead. You can instantly tell just by listening how well someone is doing at any given point in the game.The incorporation of the Star Power element was a stroke of genius. By forcing people to use the whammy bar and briefly hold their guitar upright, it basically encourages showboating. This is one of the things that makes Guitar Hero an amazing party game.The other cool thing about multiplayer is the fact that each of the two duelling guitarists plays different parts of the same song, sometimes trading licks and soloing back and forth. It calls for some serious back-to-back rock poses. The difficulty levels in the game are well-balanced, and Guitar Hero does a good job of progressing from the tutorial through to the harder songs. Even at the beginner level it's not ridiculously easy, although it's still something anyone can pick up with a little practice. The Hard and Expert levels get pretty insane though, leaving the hardcore guitar heroes with plenty to work towards.In the career mode you work your way through sets of songs and move up to bigger venues as you strive to achieve the pinnacle of stardom. You earn money for each performance, which you can use to unlock extra goodies that include behind the scenes videos, new guitars, new characters and new playable songs. None of the new playable songs are really anything noteworthy... mostly coming from unsigned indie bands, although Freezepop do make an appearance. It just wouldn't be a rhythm game on the PS2 without them!Guitar Hero is an experience like nothing you've ever played before and one of the most addictive games of the year. If you're a fan of rock music, you will love it. The only drawback is the extra cost of the controller (the game package itself will run you about $80), but if you can afford it you will not regret the purchase. I'm already thinking about all the great things they could put into a sequel. Guitar Hero officially owns my soul... soon it will own yours too.This review is also available at Space Junk.Guitar Hero is a rated T (Teen) by the ESRB for Mild Lyrics.(***** out of *****)

Sean Dwyer is the editor of FilmJunk.com. He also spouts random thoughts over at www.seandwyer.net.

DVD Review: Ringers: Lord of the Fans

Sean Dwyer — Tue, 29 Nov 2005 06:37:46 EST

In this day and age, just about everyone is a fan of something, whether it be an NBA team, musical group, TV show, or even just their favourite food. Whatever the case, fandom is a pretty natural and accepted part of our culture-driven lives, and an important aspect of how we define ourselves. There are always those people who feel the need to take things a little bit further than the norm... maybe they buy Yankees season tickets, collect Pearl Jam bootlegs, or take part in vigorous online discussions analyzing every episode of Desperate Housewives. And then there are science-fiction and fantasy fanatics, who quite often belong in a whole other category of their own.Ringers: Lord of the Fans is an attempt to document a group of people that may very well have started the entire concept of cult fandom; a community of followers who both immerse themselves in a work of fiction and express themselves through it. Way before Star Wars came along and made imaginary worlds cool, J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings was captivating the minds of readers and inspiring an underground movement. Sci-fi and fantasy weren't very mainstream in those days, and it was difficult for enthusiasts to come across other like-minded individuals.Fortunately, the ideas were so compelling that they persisted, and the genre has blossomed into the huge market that it is today. The thing is, Ringers doesn't delve into the idea of this original subculture as much as it claims to, and for a movie that is supposed to be all about the fans, we don't really get to know any of them very well.Narrated by Dominic Monaghan ("Merry" in the LOTR films), perhaps part of the problem with Ringers is the fact that it has a hard time separating itself from Peter Jackson's blockbuster movies in order to explore the roots of the phenomenon, which is, of course, the books. While the temptation to tie things in with the enormously successful movies is hard to resist, the end result is that this feels like something that should have been an extra on one of the Lord of the Rings DVD box sets, rather than a standalone feature.The movie starts off with a fairly condensed history of the publishing of Tolkien's books. There is a Terry Gilliam-esque cut-and-paste animated sequence that whisks us through much of this time period, glossing over many of the details of the cultural climate. All we learn is that some critics called Tolkien's work "juvenile". Then we head to the 60s and 70s where the film touches on hippie culture, and Tolkien's influence on music including such bands as Led Zeppelin and Rush. Geddy Lee himself is interviewed for the film, as is Lemmy from Motorhead, who is so unintelligible at points that he needs subtitles.One of the centerpieces of the film is Leonard Nimoy's bizarre Ballad of Bilbo Baggins video, which is amusing but only mentioned in passing with a very short clip (an interview with Nimoy himself would have been great, unfortunately he declined to do one). The movie often intercuts weird modern day re-enactments of young adults from the 60s and 70s dancing and hanging out, which I guess were supposed to give the movie a kitschy feel but just seemed like filler. From here it moves on to cover the animated Lord of the Rings films from the late 70s and 80s, and finally Peter Jackson's monumental movie trilogy. Perhaps the biggest disappointment for me was the fact that Ringers isn't all that funny. Many people thought the Star Trek fan documentary Trekkies was mean-spirited and degrading, but personally I found it both intriguing and endearing. When compared with a movie like Trekkies, Ringers seems rather dull, spending the vast majority of its time recapping dry historical facts and interviewing experts rather than trying to understand the wacky fans. By contrast, Trekkies spends a lot more time with only a handful of specific fans and focuses on their personal stories rather than Star Trek itself.In Ringers, the fans' stories all kind of run together since they are mainly relegated to short clips of testimonials recorded from a booth at Comic Con. We do briefly meet the people who run the low budget home-made theme park "Hobbiton U.S.A." and get a few interviews with people lined up outside of The Two Towers premiere (reminiscent of the Star Wars fan doc Starwoids), but that's about it. It doesn't help that interviewer Cliff Broadway doesn't seem to know what he wants to get out of the fans to begin with, and asks obvious questions like "If Middle Earth were a real place, would you want to visit?"Extra features on the DVD include deleted scenes, commentary from the production team, and a couple featurettes. Rock & Ringers is just a slightly extended version of the music segment already seen in the film, while The Ring Comes Full Circle is a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the documentary itself, which feels a little self-important.Maybe the film is trying to accomplish too much at once, but for whatever reason, Ringers: Lord of the Fans is neither as fascinating nor as quirky as I was hoping it would be. Fervent Tolkien and Lord of the Rings followers will probably not learn anything new, and anyone hoping for a comedic look at fandom in the vein of Trekkies will likely be disappointed. Ringers is not a complete waste of time, but certain not something you'll need to see more than once.This review is also available at Space Junk. ed: JH

Sean Dwyer is the editor of FilmJunk.com. He also spouts random thoughts over at www.seandwyer.net.