Daydream Nation (2010)

My friends and I saw this in Palm Springs Film fest. Best teen movie I've seen in a long time. Hard to describe, but not at all like a regular comedy or teen film -- more surreal and druggy, but romantic too. Definitely best thing Kat Dennings has done (sometimes I like her and sometimes she sucks). Basically Kat's character moves to a small town and gets involved with her teacher and another student, but its not cheesy about it. Meanwhile kids keep disappearing. It had an awesome ending and was surprising. Super-stylish too with music that I actually like. I thought it might get super-dark but it actually was positive (not a spoiler). I know its a small movie but its hard to find information about it, and I've been telling friends its so good. Will it play in San Francisco?

Fmovies: At the risk of coming across as a patronizing adult who "doesn't understand!!!", do not bother watching this if you are older than 15. This is truly one of the worst films I have seen all year, in fact possibly ever. Perhaps it's just that, at the ripe old age of 40, I'm too old for "coming of age" movies - I didn't think so, which is why I gave this one a chance, but by the time the credits rolled it was definitely a case of wishing I had dedicated 2 hours to doing something else. Don't let the trailer fool you, it will deceive you into thinking it's an interesting, exciting, smart, sexy story when it's a collection of groan-inducing, contrived clichés, "set against a backdrop of an industrial fire". Did I miss something deeply symbolic with the fire or is it really just completely pointless?

The acting itself is good (and nice to see Andie MacDowell again, where has she been hiding all this time?) but good acting can't save a story that sucks. Its one redeeming feature is the soundtrack, which is great.

Whoa movie, you are sort of a hot mess! But I loved you for your style and your funny dialogue and the way you made me feel dirty and innocent at the same time. The acting was mainly very strong. But Kat, you should try to emote just a little more. However. I respect that you let yourself be such a bitch, and then opened up and made me feel for you. For awhile there you worried me, but you redeemed yourself nicely. Josh Lucas, anytime, anywhere, I'm yours. Blonde hair or not. Reece Thompson, I don't know who you are, but you have promise. In fact, I'd say you were the highlight here (not counting Josh Lucas's abs). In summary, I'm giving this movie a solid 8/10. Next time clean up your act a little and I'll give you an A plus.

Daydream Nation fmovies. I saw this movie as a screener that my boss received (I work at a production company here in Los Angeles). It was the biggest surprise I've had so far this year: the movie was funny, sexy, romantic, and much much more weird than I would have guessed. The movie is all about Kat Dennings' character and what it's like to be a teen in a new town, at a new school, when it feels like the whole world is about to end at any moment. To this end, there's a huge fire burning just outside the town, and kids keep going missing. As if to distract herself from the hysteria Kat Dennings begins an affair with her teacher (Josh Lucas, looking great btw) and things go a little crazy and awkward and funny from there. Overall I really liked this movie and I thought it was refreshing -- dark, but not too dark; funny, but not the usual teen fart-joke humor.

It's a rarity to see a contemporary film about a teenage love triangle handled with such nuance and humor... Mike Goldbach's heart-rending dialogue and dreamy directing style resulted in a delicious, hot, compelling, and generally stunning film. Not since Ghostworld has there been a film that so deftly captures the bleakness and existential angst of teenage life. The performance of Kat Dennings has a slyness that evokes Nabokov's Lolita. There's a twisted complexity to her wisdom that could have -- if handled poorly -- could have come across as contrived or cloying, but thanks to Goldbach's subtle writing, she's a wholly endearing character. The same goes for the rest of the cast. And the soundtrack is an indie wet dream. I cannot wait to see what he does next.

This movie is wonderful. I just saw it at the Toronto International Film Festival, and it's great. Written and directed by a young, first time, Canadian director (although you would never guess that) and shot out in a small town in BC. The film is about a teenage girl, Caroline (the beautiful Kat Dennings), who moves to a painfully small town which she hates. There, she observes her fellow high school students get wasted on drugs out of boredom, and people obsess over a serial killer who has yet to be caught. She becomes involved in 2 very different relationships with men, out of boredom, and the rest of the film explores the insecurities that everyone, young and old, experiences in life. It is beautifully shot, with dreamlike cinematography, and has a great balance of both sadness and humour which reflects everyday life.