Hey everyone. This is the last update for a little while. I'll be immersing myself in the Chicago International Film Festival for the next twelve days. I'll be back here with up to 31 movies to review for you all, so you won't want to miss that. Keep checking back. Until then, enjoy these three new reviews.



Jackass Number Two
Review by Jon Waterman

***1/2

Johnny Knoxville and the gang are back on the big screen with a whole new batch of wild and crazy stunts and pain-inducing shenanigans. The storyline is the exact same this time around, which means there is none. Instead, just like the television show from whence it came, the audience is treated to a long series of vignettes taking you from one outrageous prank or stunt to the next. It starts off with a suburban running of the bulls and ultimately culminates in an extremely uncharacteristic song and dance routine at the end. No, seriously.

Despite the comparably lame and boring ending, this is still probably going to be one of the funniest movies of the year. I don’t know what it is, but there’s just something about watching these boneheads try to hurt each other and themselves that’s superbly fascinating and hilarious. Call it the “America’s Funniest Home Videos” factor. Except these guys don’t have Bob Saget providing voice over. Their natural reactions to getting a leech placed on their eyeball or having their limo is filled with bees is enough.
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+++++++++


13 (Tzameti)
Review by Jon Waterman

**

Sebastian is a young handyman trying to make a living by fixing up the roof of a seemingly wealthy man’s house. He needs the money to help provide for his parents and siblings who are barely scraping by. When the home owner suddenly dies, he’s left with no one to pay him for the work he’s done so far. What he does have, however, is a letter addressed to the owner. After overhearing a conversation, he believes the contents of this secret envelope are the key to earning a very large sum of money. Sebastian blindly follows the directions given to him and suddenly finds himself in an inescapable underworld where gambling is the game and human beings are the playing pieces.

The concept is strong and the game itself has great potential to be incredibly intense, but the film never really hooked me the way I thought it would. Various crime bosses get together to make some desperate soul compete in their sick game. Each man is given a gun. They stand around in a circle and point the gun at the back of the head of the person in front of them. They all look up at a light. Once that light goes on, the game goes on. The first time around, the suspense is chilling. The referee shouts the rules while looking equally nervous and authoritarian. Bodies hit the floor and you’re thinking this could get pretty good. Then after seeing the same thing happen a few times, the predictability increases and you slide to the back of your seat.
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+++++++++


LOL
Review by Jon Waterman

***

Tim and Ada have been dating for a little while, but Ada is growing tired thanks to Tim’s work load. Then add on that Tim’s friend Chris is visiting from New York for an extended period of time. But Chris has his own girlfriend problems thanks to this new found long distance. Now he’s fighting with Greta much more he ever imagined he would. Meanwhile Tim’s other buddy Alex is working on furthering his music career while exploring a couple different avenues for potential girlfriends. One is within is reach in his hometown Chicago and the other is down in St Louis and he’s only corresponded with her through her adult website. Life can be complicated, but if you can’t laugh (out loud) at yourself, then what’s the point?

Just like Joe Swanberg’s previous film “Kissing on the Mouth,” a brief synopsis doesn’t do it justice, as the movie is really about an underlying concept. “LOL” is shot in a similar style, meaning they take the concept and improvise scenes, shot in virtual consecutive order. There is no script, no real planned plot points. The story develops as its shot and edited, until it takes on a life of its own and reaches its natural conclusion. This film has a more coherent storyline and builds a nice arc for itself within the three young twenty-something guys’ lives. However, the overall concept is relatively basic and isn’t fleshed out in quite the way I think it probably could have been.
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