A brief overview of this year’s LA Film Fest selections, with a list of the top films that really floored me this year.

Most movies, I pretty much know what I’m getting before I sit down. With all the posters and billboards, the multiple trailers and talk show appearances, omnipresent tv ads and online reviews, it’s generally safe to assign a rough mental score to a film before it’s even released. If that estimated number comes in above a 7 or so, I go see it. If it surprises me by being a 9, I get excited and recommend it to others. If it’s more of a 5, I discuss with my friends the little ways it let me down, tell people it’s watchable but to maybe wait to rent it. I rarely get movies totally wrong; I never think something will be an 8 and it turns out to be a 2. Every once in a while something that looks like a 4 turns out to be a 6, which is nice.

The point is, mainstream films are so heavily marketed and buzzed about, there are rarely any true surprises. That’s one of the reasons this year’s Exit Through the Gift Shop was such a remarkable breath of fresh air (and that’s all I’ll say until everyone has gone out and seen it). And it’s that potential for surprise that makes me such a fan of the Los Angeles Film Festival. With a carefully programmed bill of small, foreign, or pre-release movies, I really am choosing films based on short descriptions, having maybe read a stray comment on a movie blog, or possibly clicked on a brief teaser. For once, I have the chance to be completely floored by something — or, sure, totally bored and disappointed — but either way, when those lights go down, it’s an exciting feeling.

So in the interest of preserving that experience for my fellow film lovers, here are brief thoughts on what I was able to catch at last week’s film fest. No lengthy summaries or detailed analysis, but enough directional guidance so that anyone looking for a little surprise and delight can track down the films that really floored me this year. (Or conversely, know which ones are safe to catch on home video).

Six capsule reviews — ranked from fair to fantastic — after the break…

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The New Year

To be fair, this is the movie I imagine every young indie filmmaker has to get out of their system. It’s the story of a smart, quirky, adorable twenty-something trapped in their not-very-happening home town. This plucky, misunderstood youth is held back by circumstance, not quite believing in themselves, but certainly too special to stay there and settle for a pedestrian life. We all want to see ourselves as this character, so it’s an almost irresistible premise for any creative person.

And this version works as well as it can. The lo-fi film-making and unhurried pace are buoyed by terrific original music and an amazing lead actress named Trieste Kelly Dunn. In fact, she has so much presence, it’s as if she’s in a different film than the rest of the cast, who for better or worse are mostly underdeveloped and not nearly as talented or captivating. A cute, enjoyable film, but mostly worth catching for the promise it shows for a young director and a potentially breakout future indie darling.

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Cafe Noir

Let’s be blunt: if a movie clocks in at over three hours, it’s already starting from a disadvantage. Yes, this Korean art film on the trials of love lost and won and lost again has a lot going for it. In fact, at least half of the film is mesmerizing — beautifully shot and deliberately paced, at times awkwardly funny, at others philosophical á la Waking Life or Slackers, with a few brilliant scenes that could have come from a Todd Solondz movie, none of which are bad things.

But what could have been a skilled two hours becomes an indulgent three. We’re taken down meandering paths like moped rides and dance numbers that drag out minutes beyond their usefulness. At around the halfway point, there’s even a pan down a city street that literally goes on for nearly five minutes. It’s like a dare… will we keep watching? How about now? You thought it was over, but now there’s this! Then this! Are you getting all these cinematic references? The director, a Korean film critic making his debut behind the camera, may have wanted a little too badly to prove his skill in every genre and style all at once. Unfortunately the film is weighed down by his ambitions, which take it from a pleasure to a chore, probably only tolerable to the most studious art-film fans.

(Incidentally, a few nights later I had a dream where I realized that for the second half of the movie, the main character was actually dead and wandering the streets as a ghost or manifestation of death. Though that would have made for a more interesting viewing, I don’t think the film bears out that interpretation, and the dream was just my subconscious trying to justify my staying to watch the full three hours of art-film wankery. Ah well.)

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Monsters

The small amount of buzz around this movie I had heard was that it was made for something like $15 grand, despite being a sci-fi monster movie, with comparisons to Neill Blomkamp’s District 9. Though the money point may be true, go ahead and put those other expectations to rest right now. This movie isn’t anywhere near as exciting, funny, profound, or polished as my favorite movie of 2009.

I don’t say this to be harsh, but to be helpful, because once those standards are set back to normal, it’s actually pretty amazing what Monsters accomplishes with so little resources. The horror is mostly fear of the unknown, the sci-fi less about special effects than the gritty realities of traversing an infested countryside, and the real story more about two characters building a relationship under pressure. Appreciated on that level, it’s a pretty impressive piece of work. Personally, I would have liked it to commit a little more to either the scary side or the human side, as it seems to do both adequately and neither superbly, but still. 15 thousand dollars. I should be glad it was in focus.

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Animal Kingdom

Now we’re into the choice bits, like this confident, slow-burning drama about a family of Australian criminals. Don’t expect a caper movie here though. This is definitely born more from the solid Scorsese/Sopranos side of the gangster family than its wilder Ritchie/Underbelly cousins. Here it’s all about the characters, and boy do they leap off the screen. The protective matriarch. The fiendish elder brother, and his out-of-control younger sibling. The nephew that gets caught in their web. Stellar performances all around, with a bonus Guy Pierce appearance as the investigator trying to break them.

There’s nothing revolutionary about the setup or the conclusion — other than the accents being Aussie instead of Italian, and the stage being more suburban than glamourous — but when it’s executed this strongly, I’m glad they didn’t try to reinvent the wheel. I’d prefer to just sit back and watch a damn well-made wheel go for a strong, steady spin.

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Mandrill

The most pleasant surprise of the festival for me was this Chilean action treat. Think James Bond’s suaveness with some Transporter-style brawling — apparently all real stunts by charismatic lead actor Marko Zaror — with a knowing coat of Shaft-esque camp. It’s self-aware enough to where it never feels cheesy, the action sequences are well-choreographed and understandable (unlike the majority of today’s too-close shaky-cam garbage), and it just oozes charm all around.

It’s a movie that was obviously made with a lot of love by someone who just wants to show us a good time, and good god does it succeed. Plus, by following a present-day badass hitman and intercutting with his real personal life and history, it manages to be sweet and funny and human while never dropping its terrific pace (I’m looking at you, final act of Casino Royale). If we’re lucky enough to get this on screens in the US, I can 100% recommend catching it.

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Four Lions

‘Audacious’ is not a term I get to use often enough when it comes to movies. Sadly, neither is ‘fucking hilarious’. Luckily, Four Lions is both. Here we have a farcical comedy about a group of inept, misguided wanna-be suicide bombers in Britain that by all accounts shouldn’t work. It’s a touchy subject, obviously. It centers around people in society that we’re programmed, justifiably, to hate. And really the concept seems too uncomfortable to be all that ripe for humor.

And yet this genius piece of satire overcomes all of that. It smartly gets into why each of these characters has chosen this path, but not in the heavy-handed way a slew of documentaries before it have done. The writing is spectacular, and if the same jokes were built around any other subject, the film would simply be a gleeful stooge act. Yet by challenging us to laugh at, and possibly even sympathize with these buffoons, a whip-smart, thought-provoking film comes out of this unlikely premise. I don’t expect many people to approve of the idea going in, and I imagine many won’t quite know how to feel coming out, but Four Lions gets to the core of what comedy is capable of: using laughter to get us to think about the unfortunate truths we may not want to face.

Definitely the highlight of the show for me, and a strong contender for my best of the year pick, I very much urge people to see this movie if they can. I’d especially love to hear what more people think of it.