Son of Rambow (Garth Jennings, 2008)

Son of RambowThe year of Rambo is at hand. Not only did Sylvester Stallone resurrect his ’80s Cold Warrior for a surprisingly robust fourth outing back in January, but now we have this British import that treats a bootleg viewing of First Blood as a kind of imaginative awakening for a repressed schoolboy who both rebels against forced conformity and embraces his creative spirit by playacting a Rambo sequel in front of his friend’s videocamera. The film certainly has its overly sentimental moments, and its scapegoating of pious organized religion is just too easy (as is its wink-wink embrace of the worst ’80s kitsch), but it has such a reckless charm and love of imaginative play as the height of human experience that it’s hard not to like it. (Bijou at the Crossroads, San Antonio, TX)