In some respects, ‘Not Suitable for Children’ is too cool for school. The Australian movie is so indie that the Wikipedia article, so far, consists of one not particularly descriptive line. Unsurprisingly, this lack of notoriety has resulted in prospective audiences that are uniformly clad in skinny jeans, flannel shirts, oversized glasses and a mobile fog of “Rockstar” hairspray. In other words, ‘Not Suitable for Children’ could be used as the masthead film of the Hipster Generation.

Indeed, even the basic plot of the movie sounds like a pretentious mishmash of various hyper-realistic pseudocomedies starring Joseph Gordon Levitt, or some other underdeveloped manchild who looks good in a beanie. In this case, the role of intense woolen hat-wearer falls on the lean Ryan Kwanten of “True Blood” fame.

Jonah (no surname) is a single, directionless, twenty-something party animal who lives with his two best friends, Stevie (Sarah Snook) and Gus (Ryan Corr), in the house left to him by his recently deceased mother. Jonah’s primary form of income is derived through hosting massive house-parties fueled by incredible amounts of drugs and alcohol. It is during one of these ragers, that a lump is discovered on Jonah’s testicle. The diagnosis is testicular cancer, and, as an eventual consequence, post-operative sterility.

In view of this prognosis, Jonah sets his mind to conceiving a child before his operation occurs, a few weeks in the future. That’s right, ‘Not Suitable for Children’ is essentially an Australian amalgamation of the American independent comedies, ‘Friends with Kids’ and ’50/50′– favorites amongst the cool kids. And, if the storyline was not enough, the most damning proof of this movie’s Hipsterdom undoubtedly lies in the presence of not one, not two, but three,“The Black Keys” songs featured prominently on the ubertrendy soundtrack.

But regardless of how one might feel about black nail polish and skillfully shaped facial hair, it is impossible not to appreciate how young, fresh, raw, well-made, and yes— cool— ‘Not Suitable for Children’ is. The movie approaches its subject with a wry, fairly unstudied, uniquely Australian wit that’s largely missing from ‘Friends with Kids’ and oozes a charming vivacity that, to a great extent,’50/50′ lacks.

Essentially, ‘Not Suitable for Children’ is stripped of the slick Hollywood self-consciousness that tends to stifle some of the unadulterated honesty that directors of lofi films claim to seek. Comparisons between ‘Not Suitable for Children’ and Diablo Cody’s  2011 ‘Young Adult’ would not go astray.

To be sure, it is amazing that a movie with such a contrived premise— things progress along fairly familiar lines— manages to appear both completely natural and decidedly watchable, despite the odd, unnecessarily abrupt, but nonetheless expected, plot turn. This movie is not trying too hard.

At least part of the credit must go to an incredibly fresh-faced performance by Snook, who is infinitely approachable and breathtakingly vulnerable. Kwanten, too, very capably fulfills his role as the bewildered, blank-faced, Jonah.

Perhaps the most striking thing about the film, is that it is stylistically stunning. Under Peter Templeman’s direction, the streets of Sydney burst with life, and Jonah’s parties are brash and intoxicating. The camera work is frankly beautiful, and manages to provide visual interest without disrupting in the least the narrative flow of the movie itself (the very graphic sex scenes are particularly well-shot. No doubt a labor of love.) A mixture of pushy Winding Refn-like non-diegetic and diegetic music brings everything together. The whole package is neat but powerful.

It’s a bloody cool movie, mate.

Grade: 4/5

Image Courtesy of   Not Suitable For Children

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Although Diablo III has been postponed until 2012, fans of the series can tide themselves over by picking up the first issue of Sword of Justice, which hits the shelves this week. Set in the same dark-fantasy world as the game, SoJ is a five-issue comic series published by DC Comics which takes place during the twenty years that elapsed between the ending of Diablo II: Lord of Destruction and the beginning of Diablo III.

The issue starts with a nice little summary of the overarching story of the Diablo universe.  Sanctuary (the world of mortals) was created by angels and demons as a place of refuge. Despite the best intentions, Sanctuary was almost destroyed twice, and each time it owed its salvation to Tyrael, the Archangel of Justice.

We then segue out of the past and into the present, where a young wanderer is confronted by an old beggar who claims to be able to see the future. He knows that the young man’s name is Jacob and that he is being pursued by hostile men. He tells Jacob to seek out a mysterious mountain.

At first, Jacob doesn’t believe the old man’s ramblings, but after almost dying of thirst in the desert, he stumbles upon the mountain that the old seer described. Inside, there’s a great cave whose walls are carved with scenes from his past, and a shining sword protrudes from the stone.

Seeing the scenes on the wall bring back painful memories for Jacob, and the reader finally starts to understand what the young man is running from. Video game tie-ins often leave a lot to be desired, but SoJ manages to be a compelling read. Scriptwriter Aaron Williams has a done a nice job with Jacob’s characterization, and he has a knack for incorporating subtle humor into the dialogue.

The story he’s crafted appears promising, and it will be interesting to see how SoJ fits in with the storyline of Diablo III when it’s finally released. The art, however, may not be to everyone’s liking. If you’re one of the fans who thinks that Diablo III isn’t dark and gritty enough, then you might want to steer clear of SoJ.

Joseph Lacroix’s work is visually appealing, but his highly-stylized drawings may not appeal to those looking for gritty realism. All in all, SoJ is a promising addition to the world of Diablo. It could have easily become a cliched ‘young warrior finds a magic weapon’ story, but it looks like they’ve managed to create something fresh and new.

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