Adventureland
Directed by Greg Mottola
Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Martin Starr, Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader
Rated R
Release date: April 3, 2009

We’ve always been told not to judge a book by its cover. That practice is a lot easier in theory than in execution, especially with movies. Before its release, the level of expectation of a movie lives and dies by its trailers and advertising. But all the hype in the world doesn’t replace actually sitting through the movie and forming your own conclusion.

Set in a summer in the late 1980s, Adventureland is the story of James Brennen (Jesse Eisenberg), a recent college graduate who, in lieu of his family’s financial difficulties, is forced to forgo his planned summer in Europe to move home and get a job to pay for college. After being turned down for everything else he reluctantly takes a job at a local amusement park where he begins an awkward relationship of sorts with one of his co-workers, Emily (Kristen Stewart).

There is enough material in that description for some really good comedy; the kind of comedy you would expect from writer/director Greg Mottola given that his name and resume is plastered across every advertisement, trailer, and sandwich board trying to sell you this movie. After the success Superbad, which he also directed, it would seem that making another comedy would be the perfect way to respond. Apparently being easier in theory than execution applies to everyone. To make matters worse, he has no one to blame but himself.

The first trailer for Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian has appeared online at the unlikely source of McDonald’s Happy Meal website.

The follow-up to the 2006 Ben Stiller hit takes place at the Smithsonian this time and pairs some familiar old faces with a lot of new ones. Joining Stiller is Amy Adams as Amelia Earhart, Christopher Guest as Ivan the Terrible, Eugene Levy as Einstein and Bill Hader as Custer. It’s again directed by Shawn Levy, whom is of no relation to Eugene.

Check out the trailer here below.

Aside from starring Twilight‘s Kristen Stewart in what I consider to be her “natural” state, I have tons of reasons why I already know I’ll love Adventureland.

First of all, it takes place in Long Island, NY (not far from my neck of the woods in Brooklyn) in the summer of 1987 — a great year, if I say so myself — at an amusement park (love it!). It’s about a recent college grad (Jesse Eisenberg who you might remember from Cursed — I do) who has to take a low-wage job at a local amusement park where he falls in love with his co-worker Em (Kristen Stewart) and ends up having the best time of his life.

The R-rated film is directed by Greg Mottola, who’s directorial debut was the raunchy teen comedy Superbad, which I thought was funny as hell. While Adventureland is also a comedy, it’s doesn’t seem to be the outlandish kind. The movie screams “indie darling” and even has that Garden State wallpaper. Just to hit the point home, the trailer plays “Blister in the Sun” by the Violent Femmes. But another super-bonus point for it is its use of Rush’s “Limelight” in the trailer and within the film itself (we see one of the characters air-drumming while trying to remember the lyrics).

Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Blu-ray
Directed by Nicholas Stoller
Starring Jason Segel, Kirsten Bell, Mila Kunis, Bill Hader, Russell Brand
Universal Home Entertainment
Release date: September 30, 2008

We are now in the midst of a treacherous tidal wave of new cinema: the lewd, crude, and highly sexual cinema. It’s the kind that produces movies that really hone in on the sexual world that we are a part of today. With each film that comes along in this genre, it’s always the newest film pushing the envelope farther and farther from its predecessors. Just refer to 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, and Superbad. Now we can add Forgetting Sarah Marshall, a sexual breakup comedy, to this infamous list. All of these sexual comedies, especially the latter, make past movies of the same genre (American Pie) look like child’s play.

What’s so cool and special about these raunchy comedies are the fact that they’re made possible by the same group of people. This group of people all answer to writer-director-producer Judd Apatow. He has the knack of putting movies out to the public that involve his favorite people to work with. He gives the director here, Nicholas Stoller, his first crack at success. It shows he’s a virgin to directing when the film looses its mirth in the second act.