8. Special (2006)
Here's a low-budget indie movie that sets out to deconstruct and explore the superhero myth, one that most people probably haven't even heard of or had the chance to stumble upon, given that its original release was fairly limited, and it features no big name actors. The premise is a strange but interesting one: a comic book fan convinces himself that he has special powers (such as levitation, walking through walls, and mind-reading) and becomes a costumed crime fighter, taking down criminals of the petty variety, such as average shoplifters. Our hero (Michael Rapaport) doesn't actually have these powers, of course: he's convinced himself that he does because he's testing out a new drug which purports to offer its users the chance to limit their sense of self-doubt, and those are the side effects. The movie isn't necessarily a great one, nor is it fully successful in exploring the themes associated with its key concept. The most interesting aspect of
Special, though, is in the way it looks at those delusions of grandeur that one might feel taking up life as a superhero character, rarely explored elsewhere.