We're a little more than a month away from the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, and after a few days of poring over this year's slate of selected films, I can't help but feel a little underwhelmed.

Now, don't get me wrong, I think there are going to be some really incredible movies playing at Park City this year, as there always are. But based on the vague and oddly nondescipt descriptions offered by the fest's organizers, I really can't tell at this point which are going to be world-changing and which are going to be as generic and yawn-inspiring as the one-sentence blurbs I've been reading about them. And since I unfortunately won't be attending Sundance (unless some kind soul would be generous enough to toss a press pass my way), I guess I'll have to wait until the early reviews come out to see what films might be worth the effort when they inevitably get bought and distributed.

In any case, here are a few of the ones that sound appealing to me:

Adventureland

The "official" description: "the story of a college grad who gets a job at an amusement park."

My take: Written and directed by Superbad's Greg Mottola, this raunchy, very retro-looking coming-of-age comedy is going to be one of the funniest films of 2009. You simply can't go wrong with Bill Hader, Kristin Wiig, and Ryan Reynolds playing supporting roles, and Mottola's obviously got the chops to do this kind of old-fashioned R-rated comedy right. Plus, you've got to factor in the nostalgia factor -- the film is semiautobiographical, based on Mottola's experiences working at a theme park as a teenager.




Moon

The "official" description: "about the adversity faced by an astronaut (Sam Rockwell) about to return to Earth after three years on the moon."

My take: Not much is known about this U.K.-produced sci-fi film from first-time feature director Duncan Jones, but with reliable Rockwell in the lead, you've got to expect something pretty interesting. Judging by the poster, Moon looks like the kind of cold, creepy sci-fi that I absolutely love - Danny Boyle's Sunshine is one of my favorite films of the last few years - and I'm fascinated by the idea of Kevin Spacey providing the voice for Rockwell's robot co-star. Jones's dad, by the way, is David Bowie - and while being the son of the guy who dreamed up Major Tom doesn't necessarily qualify someone to direct a movie about a spaced-out astronaut, it sure as hell couldn't hurt.

The Missing Person

The "official" description: "a detective genre piece about a private investigator tailing a man on a train who turns out to be someone presumed dead in the 9/11 attacks."

My take: Post-9/11 noir, eh? Sounds good to me. I'm not familiar with writer/director Noah Buschel (he's got one other indie feature under his belt), but The Missing Person's premise is intriguing and certainly promises more than just a run-of-the-mill P.I. tale. Michael Shannon, so great in William Friedkin's Bug, stars.

Black Dynamite

The "official" description: "a high-camp blaxploitation send-up about '70s 'legend' Black Dynamite taking on 'the Man.'"

My take: This trailer is awesome in more ways than I can count.

I've had my differences of opinion with king-of-critics Roger Ebert lately, but somehow the big lug always manages find a way back into my heart. Ebert recently revisited one of my favorite films of all time, Paul Thomas Anderson's Magnolia, and his "Great Movies" review (major spoilers, BTW) not only neatly sums up everything I love about the epic ensemble movie, but also points out some of the dramatic threads that you might have overlooked on seeing it for the first time. Ebert was one of the notoriously divisive film's most ardent early supporters, and his appreciation seems to have grown since its release nearly ten years ago.

Myself, I've only seen Magnolia twice, believing that some movies are so good, they ought not to be worn out. But you know what? I'm thinking it's time to see this daring, heartfelt, beautifully constructed masterpiece again, and I have Ebert's passionate and eloquently written analysis to thank for that.

And, just for the hell of it, here's the film's theatrical trailer, in case you were wondering what the fuss was all about: