Greg Matolla, USA, 2009, 107 min.

I haven’t had this much fun in a movie theatre since I got an ex-girlfriend to reinact a particular line of Alanis Morissette’s breakout hit You Oughta Know with me while watching The X-Files Movie in 1998!

Ok, ok, that’s probably taking it quite a bit too far.  Still, Adventureland is a  surprisingly refreshing look into the confusing and often hilarious world of post-college love and shitty summer jobs.  It’s an exploration into the  life of James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg), a recent college graduate who must work at an amusement park so he can save money to attend graduate school at Columbia.  A quirky cast of characters helps James navigate through the confusing terrain and find love in Emily (Kristen Stewart), a rebellious NYU college student.  Adventureland deals heavily in the themes of love, jealousy, confusion, regret and nut-punching.  I haven’t witnessed so many brutal nut-punches administered since I roamed the halls of Jonas Salk Middle School in 8th grade and the infamous cock-knocking incident of 1994.  It was glorious and breath-taking!

A warning: anyone going to see Adventureland and expecting a rehash of Greg Matolla’s work in Superbad is bound to be at least momentarily confused, if not downright disappointed.  Adventureland is a far more serious film and, though far from a Dramedy, is not the straight and mindless comedy people are likely to expect. Although there is a seemingly endless cavalcade of genital slams and other elements of sophomoric humor, these moments are brief and fleeting.  Though the film is still funny, it centers more on the complex and awkward relationships between the characters, making it a far superior and more complete film than Superbad.

Adventureland isn’t the frat-boy comedy most people are probably expecting it to be.  It’s better.  Hiding behind all the dick-and-fart jokes and the occasional punch to the nuts is a film that’s trying to say something.  What it’s saying is “see me, you won’t be disappointed.”

Magic Hour – Koki Mitani – Japan

This is an overlong  but funny gangster comedy. To protect himself from being killed by his mob boss, our young hero says he knows the most feared mystery assassin in the business.  He doesn’t, but he does hire an actor to impersinate him, claiming that the mob are actors and the situations are staged. There are some very funny bits, but at 2 1/2 hours there is are alot of things that would have been better left out.

Loose Rope – Mehrshad Karkhani – Iran

This tells the story of two brothers struggling to survive as livestock transporters. To pay off a debt, they buy a cow and have to deliver it to the big city. Things go wrong from there. This film is disjointed and has no clear direction, themes, or symbolism. It’s deliberate pass sets up nothing, and their is no real payoff.  It’s not worthwhile, and it’s pretty gross.

All Inclusive – Rodrigo Ortuzar – Chile

Hidden truths come out during a family’s trip to an all inclusive resort. Unfortunately, those truths feel like they are thrown in just to create drama. The characters are one-dimensional, and things just wrap-up too perfectly for it to feel real. The location is nice, but the sentiment is manufactured and fake.

The Stone of Destiny – Charles Martin Smith – Great Britain

This is an entertaining crowd-pleaser. A young Scottish man decides to steal back the Stone of Destiny from England. His uber-nationalism needs an outlet, and the stone rightfully belongs to the Scots, so its a no-brainer. Unforunately, the stone has been in Westminster Abbey for hundreds of years and it won’t be an easy task. But him and his ragtag group of patriots are going to give it a go. It’s fun, if slight. The characters are plain and the drama is melodramatic, but the film works on a crowd.

The Desert Within – Rodrigo Plá – Mexico

This intense drama of religious fanatacism is brutal, surreal and utterly engaging. During religious prosecution in early 20th-century Mexico, a tragedy befalls a couple and their eight children when the father attempts to bring a preist to his ailing wife. To atone for his sins, he and his childrenset out to build a church of god in the desert, away from all the other people. His unwavering beleif in God is incredible, and it sends his family down a dangerous path. The film has an excellent slow burn pace and a wonderfully surreal edge. It’s masterful film-making telling a strong story.

Landscape #2 – Vinko Moderndorfer – Slovenia

This slick thriller tells the story of an apprentice theif who, while stealing a painting, accidentally gets a hold of some documents that people are willing to kill for. It’s a simple premise that allows for some great tension. The story is tight and the style is perfectly suited to set the tone. It’s a very good film that kept me suprised and entertained.

Lemon Tree – Eran Riklis – Israel

At the Israeli-Pakistani border, a poor Pakistani women tends to her grove of lemon trees that have been there for fifty years. The lemons are her only source of income.  Unfortunately, the Minister of Defense moves in across the border and says that the grove is a security threat becuase it can allow cover for terrorists who want to get close to him. A legal battle ensues. The film does its job and jerks some tears from those easily manipulated.  I found it rather forgettable.

GS Wonderland – Ryûichi Honda – Japan

GS stands for Group Sounds. It was a fad in Japan back in the late 60′s early 70′s. It’s when male musical groups dressed in stupid outfits sing canned songs to screaming teenage girls.  Into this atmosphere walk three would-be musicians and one female singer who want to make it big. Together, with an eager manager, they create the “The Tightsmen” and hit it big when young girls fall for the female group member who has disguised herself as male. It’s cute and colorful, but nothing special. It has its moments, but overall it’s a standard pop studio peice.

I’d Rather be a Shellfish – Katsuo Fukusawa – Japan

A long film about the true story of Japanese soldiers being convicted of war-crimes by the USA after WWII. The story was interesting, and the film had some good cinematography. The problem was that the writing and direction was so overly dramatic. Loud inspirational/sad music. Slow motion on pained expressions. Heavy handed symbolism. It was eye-rolling at times, and that heavy-handedness really ruined the film.

Don’t Look Down – Eliseo Subiela – Argentina

This oddity was a fresh change of pace. It’s a unique film that doesn’t really have a real story. It follows a young man (a stilt walker), who literally sleep-walks into the life of a young eccentric girl after his father dies.  She sets out to teach him the ways of tantric sex, and together they can make him travel the world through his climax. There are some very surreal touches, and the direction and tone are spot on. It was a small film that doesn’t give you many takeaways, but it was beautiful and unique.

For My Father – Dror Zahavi – Israel

A suicide bomber gets a second chance at life when his vest malfunctions. This was a good film with some interesting characters, but the drama is forced. The ending wraps everything up, but it takes the easy way out and avoids some more interesting and heavier outcomes.

The Brothers Bloom - Rian Johnson – USA

The second film by Johnson after the tremendous Brick. It turned out to be  perectly enjoyable studio film. The premise is straightfoward. Two brothers grow up con artists and want to pull off one last giant con before retiring. The story is intentionally hard to follow. Is what is happening real? Or is it part of the con? Rachel Weisz is great as the rich mark and Rinko Kikuchi is great as the brother’s explosive-loving partner, Bang Bang. The film is fun throughout, but the style and unique flair I hoped for was not present. Its better than most, but not great.

Kisses - Lance Daly – Ireland

Two young irish children run away from home in this charming little drama. The film starts in black and white, and shows the troubled home lives of these two 13-year old neighbors. After an intense incident, they both run away from home to try to find the brother of the boy, who had run away years earlier. The film slowly turns into color as they get further away from home. The mood changes from excitement and discovery to dark surrealism. The two young leads are fantastic, and really bring their roles to life. At the end, nothing has changed, but everything is different.

Goodbye Solo - Ramin Bahrani – USA

An immigrant cab driver befriends a crusty old man who he beleives wants to commit suicide. In two weeks, the old man wants to be driven to the top of a mountain and left there. Solo, the cab driver, senses something is wrong and tries to force his way into the old’s man life and put a stop to what is going to happen. It’s a smart, sensitive movie. Bahrani knows what information to reveal and when, and the two leads give perfect performances. This will be an indie hit, and deservedly so. It’s a simple story that is well-told. The film stays away from melodrama and draws the viewer in naturally like a good film should

The Chaser – Na Hong-jin – South Korea

This slick, popular thriller tells the story of a pimp who goes on an odyssey to catch a serial killer who has been murdering his girls because the police are hand-cuffed by their own bureaucracy. It’s a good tense film. It has the right mixture of action, horror and humour. The pacing is good, and it leads right to an ending that you would not expect, but fits perfectly. At times, its overlong and over-dramatic, but it is a big-budget peice of slick entertainment that kept me entertained.