Going in to Youth in Revolt I knew next to nothing about the books that the film was adapted from. Evidently they must have been somewhat popular, as the adventures of Nick Twisp have become somewhat of a cottage industry. But going in blind I had no idea what to expect, though the trailer at lease gave me a hint that the film would be a bit of a satire on the standard romantic comedy.

What I didn’t expect was the film to be a scathing rebuke of teenagers. According to Youth in Revolt, teenagers are self-aggrandizing, narcissistic douche bags of the highest order, who also operate under the false assumption that they are intellectuals and romantics of the highest order. And adults, they simply stand in the way of their happiness. As does responsibility and accountability. To say I ate this premise up would be a major understatement.

Leading the way is the great dual performance of Michael Cera as Nick Twisp an his archangel alter ego Francois Dillinger. But a bevy of character acting heavyweights like Steve Buscemi, Ray Liotta, Justin Long, Zach Galifanakis, Jean Smart, Fred Willard, Mary Kay Place and M. Emmet Walsh turns this film into a tour de force of acting talent and the world of Youth in Revolt into a vibrant and memorable playground of absurdity.

And while Cera doesn’t get to display as much acting range as the trailer might hint at, he does finally get a chance to have a character go through a full fledged arc, evolving and changing through the course of the film. Though that may not exactly be for the better for Twisp, though he’s far too ignorant to realize that anyways, which is exactly why Youth in Revolt is so damn entertaining.

Tags: alter ego, film, Francois Dillinger, fred willard, jean smart, justin long, m emmet walsh, mary kay place, michael cera, movie, Nick Twisp, ray liotta, satire, Steve Buscemi, trailer, youth in revolt, zach galifanakis

Shockingly uninteresting update for this week, as no new films are added. The most exciting update seems to be that two films, The Answer Man and Burning Plain, have been pushed to later release dates. Wheee!

Wait … scratch that. One new addition this week! That being the mockumentary Paper Heart, starring Michael Cera as Michael Cera and Michael Cera’s girlfriend as Michael Cera’s girlfriend. Nice to see he is not simply relying on playing the same character over and over again, but rather simply including others in on the fun.

One interesting thing to note is that we are now scheduled to open six, count ‘em (I know you won’t!) six new films on August 14th. While theoretically we will have the screen space I just don’t see how that will ever happen. That is a ridiculous amount of new movies to release on one weekend. My guess is a couple of them get pushed, though since three of those films have already been pushed once, don’t be surprised if they simply disappear into the ether. Its a shame really, though I know this is only interesting to those of us who rabidly follow these updates. By those I of course mean me and Daniel.

*** – Denotes recommended viewing
All dates subject to change

08/07 The Cove Uptown ***
08/07 The End of the Line Lagoon
08/07 Paper Heart Lagoon (NEW)

08/14 Not Quite Hollywood Lagoon ***
08/14 Adam Edina
08/14 Ponyo Edina ***
08/14 Spread Lagoon
08/14 Soul Power Lagoon
08/14 The Answer Man Edina (NEW DATE)

08/21 Inglorious Bastards Lagoon ***
08/21 Lorna’s Silence Edina

08/28 Cold Souls Uptown ***
08/28 The World’s Greatest Dad Lagoon ***
08/28 Taking Woodstock Lagoon ***
08/28 Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg Edina

08/29 The Adventures of Robin Hood Edina (One Night Only) ***
08/30 The Bride of Frankenstein Edina (One Night Only) ***
08/30 It Happened One Night Edina (One Night Only) ***

09/04 Thirst Lagoon ***
09/04 Afghan Star Lagoon
09/04 My One and Only Edina

09/09 9 Lagoon ***

09/11 The Baader Meinhof Complex Uptown
09/11 Captain Abu Raed Lagoon
09/11 Play the Game Edina

09/18 Bright Star Uptown
09/18 The Beaches of Agnes Edina

09/25 Somers Town Lagoon ***
09/25 Paris Edina
09/25 Other Man Edina
09/25 Burning Plain Edina (NEW DATE)

10/02 A Serious Man Uptown ***
10/02 No Impact Man Lagoon
10/02 The Boys are Back Edina
10/02 Amreeka Edina

10/09 Earth Days Lagoon
10/09 Damned United Lagoon

10/16 Still Walking Lagoon
10/16 New York, I Love You Lagoon
10/16 Coco Before Chanel Edina

10/23 An Education Uptown
10/23 The Horse Boy Lagoon

11/13 Crude Lagoon

12/04 William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe Lagoon

12/25 Broken Embraces Uptown

Tags: A Serious Man, Adam, Afghan Star, Amreeka, An Education, bride of frankenstein, Bright Star, Broken Embraces, Burning Plain, Captain Abu Raed, Coco Before Chanel, cold souls, Crude, Damned United, Earth Days, film, films, Getafilm, inglorious bastards, It Happened One Night, michael cera, mockumentary, movie, Movies, My One and Only, No Impact Man, Not Quite Hollywood, Other Man, paper heart, Paris, Ponyo, release date, somers town, Soul Power, Spread, Still Walking, Taking Woodstock, The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Answer Man, The Baader Meinhof Complex, The Beaches of Agnes, The Boys Are Back, The Cove, The End of the Line, The Horse Boy, Thirst, William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe, World's Greatest Dad