Sidekick
Directed by Blake Van De Graaf
By Thomas Quinlan

Toronto may have been used in the past as a film location for superhero movies (X-Men, anyone?), but Sidekick might just be the first superhero film actually located in Toronto... and it’s damn proud of it! Riffing off a premise similar to M. Night Shyamalan's Unbreakable, Sidekick stars Perry Mucci as Norman Neale, a corporate IT guy and general comic book enthusiast who is convinced hunky co-worker Victor Ventura (David Ingram) has superpowers. He decides to take on the Professor X role in order to train Victor to become Victory Man and land himself the coveted role of sidekick in the process. Sidekick takes the concept another step further and imagines what would happen if the super-powered individual wasn’t cut out to be a hero. It’s a good idea and the story is well executed. Plus, opting for an understated superpower like telekinesis keeps the FX costs down, which is important for a low-budget indie flick like this. However, Sidekick ends up suffering from some wooden acting, with the notable exceptions of stars Ingram and Mucci, as well as Mackenzie Lush as love interest Andrea Hicks, and of course, superstar attraction Daniel Baldwin as Neale’s mentor and comic book store owner Chuck. The appearance of the latter will hopefully give the movie a higher profile, thereby enabling it to capitalise on the success of the TV show Heroes, which shares a similarly grounded approach to the superhero storytelling. While Sidekick is not a perfect production, it’s hard to hate on a film that proudly presents Toronto’s first superhero. Plus, the DVD contains a great commentary with the three main actors, director Blake Van De Graaf and writer/producer Michael Sparaga. Together with the cast and crew interviews it reveals many of the ideas that went into the creation of the concept and construction of the movie, while the deleted scenes, outtakes and actor auditions are interesting but unnecessary. (Maple)
I’m Alan Partridge: Series One
Before Little Britain and The Office, it was a failed TV presenter named Alan Partridge that made British television so appetising. The creation of comedian Steve Coogan, this BBC sitcom developed from a stand-up routine and a previous series, Knowing Me Knowing You… with Alan Partridge. That show w ...Read More
Accepted - Dir. by Steve Pink
An Evening with Kevin Smith 2: Evening Harder - Dir. by J.M. Kenny
An Inconvenient Truth - Dir. by Davis Guggenheim
Another Gay Movie
Beverly Hills 90210: The Complete First Season
Cars - Dir. by John Lasseter
Clerks 2 - Dir. by Kevin Smith
Family Guy: Volume Four
Home Alone: Family Fun Edition - Dir. by Chris Columbus
Ice Age: The Meltdown - Dir. by Carlos Saldanha
John Tucker Must Die - Dir. by Betty Thomas
Joyeux Noel - Dir. by Christian Carion
Keeping Up With The Steins - Dir. by Scott Marshall
King Kong: Deluxe Special Edition - Dir. by Peter Jackson
Lady Vengeance - Dir. by Park Chan-wook
Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man - Dir. by Lian Lunson
Little Britain: The Complete Third Series
Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels: Director’s Cut - Dir. by Guy Ritchie
Melrose Place: The Complete First Season
Miracle on 34th Street - Dir. by George Seaton
Mission: Impossible 3 - Dir. by J.J. Abrams
Scoop - Dir. by Woody Allen
SCTV: Best of the Early Years
Seinfeld: Season 7
Six Feet Under: The Complete Series
Marc Rothemund - Sophie Scholl: The Final Days
Stella: Season One
Strangers With Candy - Dir. by Paul Dinello
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby - Dir. by Adam McKay
The Addams Family Volume One
The Chairman - Dir. by J. Lee Thompson
The Conformist - Dir. by Bernardo Bertolucci
The Quiller Memorandum - Dir. by Michael Anderson
The Sopranos Season 6, Part I
Transformers — The Movie - Dir. by Nelson Shin
Who Killed the Electric Car? - Dir. by Chris Paine
Wordplay - Dir. by Patrick Creadon
David Read - Vinyl Record Guru
Based on Vancouver Island, Vinyl Record Guru is the brainchild of music industry veteran David Read. With over 25 years in the music business in both Canada and the U.S., and with extensive experience in manufacturing, distribution, retail and as an artist, David has been involved in pressing millions of records.... Read More
Owen Pallett - Final Flight of Fantasy
"I pretty much had a meltdown," Owen Pallett admits, laughing ruefully. "This record took a lot out of me." The 30-year-old violin genius didn't name his third full-length album Heartland for nothing. It's all blood, guts, emotion, and his own money that Pallett's poured into the epic, orchestral release, a project that was four years in the making, and according to some anxious and critical fans, long overdue.... Read More
New and Forthcoming Release Dates In Canada - All information is tentative and subject to sudden change
Check out the hottest new releases in the country this week, including: David Bowie David Bowie: Deluxe, Fear Factory Mechanize, Hot Chip One Life Stand, Watson Twins Talking to You, Talking to Me, Yeasayer Odd Blood... Read More
Social Networking
• Be our friend on MySpace
• Be our fan on Facebook
• Tweet us on twitter
Viewing the December 2006 Issue: • Contents Page • News • Click Hear • Articles --> Front Five  •  Points  •  Year In Review  •  Questionnaire  •  Technology  •  Timeline  •  Videogames • Music Reviews --> Recently Reviewed  •  Aggressive Tendencies  •  Beats & Rhymes  •  Destination Out  •  Frequencies  •  No Future  •  Pop Rocks  •  Wood, Wires & Whiskey  •  Concert Reviews  •  CMJ Reviews • Motion Reviews --> Recently Reviewed  •  Dvd Reviews  •  Film Reviews  •  Music DVD Reviews  •  Videogame Reviews • Music School --> Label Life  •  Meet & Greet  •  Need to Know  •  Take Note  •  What I Play • Contests • Contact --> About Us  • Advertising  • Distribution  • Getting Reviewed  • Getting Published  • Letters To The Editor  • Partnerships  • Subscriptions • Exclaim! Radio --> Aggressive Tendencies Radio  • Beats & Rhymes Radio  • Frequencies Radio  • Destination Out Radio  • Groove Radio  • No Future Radio  • Pop Rocks Radio  • Wood, Wires & Whiskey Radio • Exclaim! TV • Home & Latest Issue • Browse Issues