SUNDANCE & SLAMDANCE 2010
THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY
loved these films. they made my day:
COMPANY MEN
Brilliant and timely. An inspired cast – Ben Affleck, Chris Cooper, Kevin
Costner, Tommy Lee Jones, Maria Bello – portray with searing honesty the
anger and hopelessness of people who WERE on the fast track, but because of
the economy and corporate downsizing, are now in the ranks of the
unemployed. See this film. It makes the headlines come alive.
Cane Toads
DOCUMENTARY in 3D. Delightful! Who would have thought the story of a couple
hundred (ugly) little toads brought into Australia to get rid of a sugar
cane beetle could be so down right fascinating. But, oops, the toads didn’t
kill the pesky beetles AND now millions are spreading throughout the
country making them Australia’s greatest environmental castastrophy.
GASLAND
DOCUMENTARY.
Special Jury prize US documentary. Bet you’ve heard
about how environmentally sound it is to mine for natural gas. This film
screams, “Wake up!” as it documents what really happens to the environment
when Halliburton et al employ a hydraulic drilling process called
“fracking”. Oops, there goes clean air and water. The filmmaker went across
32 states to unveil what happens when this method is employed. The results
are disturbingly and shocking.
HIGH School
What happens when a high school principal declares war on marijuana? Manic
hilarity. A straight arrow valedictorian begrudgingly teams up with the
school’s resident pothead to get the entire student body stoned. Adrian
Brody is a CRAZY drug dealer and Colin Hanks is the clueless Vice
Principal. Mindless fun.
NOWHERE BOY
This is the thoroughly engrossing story of John Lennon’s early years. It is
perfectly acted by Aaron Johnson – a newcomer – Kristin Scott Thomas and
the rest of the cast and beautifully depicts Liverpool in 1955. A nearly
perfect film.
RESTREPO
DOCUMENTARY.
Grand jury prize for documentary. What does any of us
really know about what it is like for the troops in Afghanistan? Sebastian
Junger (The Perfect Storm) and Tim Hetherington determined to live with and
film a platoon in a remote mountain region for a year. Horrifyingly
realistic, it sends a chill down my spine just to remember again what this
film was all about. Sold for distribution.
THE SHOCK DOCTRINE
DOCUMENTARY. The film is based on the best selling book of the same name.
It seeks to explain the rise of disaster capitalism, which is defined as
the exploitation of moments of crisis in vulnerable countries by
governments and big business. Makes you feel like your head is going to
explode, but it’s subject matter is incredibly relevant to today’s world in
Iraq and Afghanistan.
SKATELAND
A love letter to the 1980s, I thoroughly enjoyed this film. No name stars,
no earth shattering story line, no major city, just a story that really
works about a time when roller skating and disco were king and a 19 year
old boy is trying to “figure out” what he should do with his life.
Spliice
I don’t like horror films or even particularly science fiction but I loved
this film. Adrian Brody and Sarah Polley are brilliant young scientists who
– in secret – introduce human DNA into an animal experiment. Oops, the
resulting “monster” is at times charming … until she turns deadly.
THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT
See this movie. Juliane Moore and Annette Benning star as a lesbian couple
with a high school age boy and girl. Enter Mark Ruffalo, the sperm donor
dad the kids have been searching for … he in turn is attracted to Juliane.
Smart, funny and poignant. sold for distribution - $4.8 million.
TWElVE
Oh, wow, this is from the (brilliant) novel written by a 17 year old about
privileged kids from the Upper East Side of Manhattan and their
relationship with White Mike, a kid with unlimited potential who has
dropped out of high school to sell drugs. Joel Schumacher put together a
convincing and talented cast (Chance Crawford, Emma Roberts, Rory Culkin,
Curtis Jackson, Kiefer Sutherland and Ellen Barkin ) and this film is a
visual treat. Sold for distribution - $2 million.
OK/good/interesting/intriguing/FUNNY …
you fill in the blank:
BHUTTO
DOCUMENTARY. Obviously, a film about Pakistani president Benazir Bhutto’s
life. Interesting in a sort of PBS way.
Drones (SLAMDANCE)
If you like The Office, you’ll get a kick out of this film about the office
drones and the secret that one of them is hiding (spoiler alert: she’s from
outer space).
HOLY ROLLERS
Based on a true story, Hasiddic Jews smuggle Ectasy between Amsterdam and
New York while being seduced by the secular life. Art imitating life.
HOWL
James Franco plays Allen Ginsberg, the beat poet from San Francisco. He’s
amazing. The wonderful supporting cast: David Strathairn, John Hamm,
Mary-Louis Parker and Jeff Daniels portray the trial over the poem HOWL –
is it obscene or is it art?
won’t hurt you, but WEIRD and/or forgettable:
LOVERS OF HATE
VERY enjoyable and surprising. The tale of two brothers – one a smashing
success, the other a loser, both of which are in love with one woman (the
soon to be former wife of the loser). Intriguingly suspenseful and at times
funny, this is a truly unique film.
Obselidia
George, believing he is the last door to door encyclopedia salesman decides
to write The Obselidia a compendenium of obsolete things. If you think this
is weird, it’s not nearly as strange as the film itself. If there was charm
or purpose to this film, I just didn’t “get” it. Forgettable.
OK, so maybe the acting was good or the filmmaking slick, but … yuck
:
Cummings Farm (SLAMDANCE)
So the plot is 6 people who barely like each other casually decide to get
together for an evening of group sex … enough said.
Douchebag
The title says it all – an uninteresting, repulsive douche bag is
ambivalent about his impending marriage (what DOES she see in him??). This
was called an offbeat comedy but I could just hardly wait until it was
over.
JACK GOES BOATING
If the Douchebag guy was disgusting and thoroughly boring, Jack (Philip
Seymour Hoffman) one ups him. A depressing tale o two single people who
meet and then live through their friend’s quickly dissolving marriage.
Completely uninterested in the characters, I couldn’t wait for this to end.
Tedius.
WHAT WERE THEY THINKING? THESE WERE JUST PLAIN UGLY:
THE ROMANTICS
Who knew Katie Holmes, Josh Duhamel, Anna Paquin, Adam Brody, Elijah Wood
and Candice Bergen could be so irritating and boring. About 7 best friends
who attend a wedding and try to figure out “life”. Promiscuity and hi-jinks
abound as the friends slowly get smashed and revel in a nostalgic haze – or
so said the program. It is a beautiful setting though.
Yellow BRick Road (SLAMDANCE)
A horror film that starts out quite well but quickly devolves into a both a
real and a filmmaking nightmare.
Good “buzz” … couldn’t fit them into my schedule, but am putting them on my
netflix list:
A Prophet
Lots and lots of praise for a film some critics thought was the best of the
year … don’t you want to see a crime drama about the brutal prision system
and how it affects a French Arab? Sounds grim, but after hearing people
talk about this film I immediately put on my Netflix list.
BLUE VALENTINE
Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams as a couple in a disintegrating
marriage. Intense and mesmorizing. Sold for distribution.
Buried
Ryan Reynolds in an unlikely tale: as a US contract driver in Iraq he wakes
up buried alive inside a cofic. His captors have given him a lighter and a
cell phone which he must use rustle up a $5 million ransom. Sold for
distribution - $3.2 million.
Casino Jack and the United States of Money
A portrait of Jack Abramoff and how money corrupts our political process.
Catfish
Riveting documentary about a friendship forged via MySpace.
happythankyoumoreplease
Audience Award for dramatic
. Six New Yorkers juggle love, friendship and the specter of adulthood.
Most loved this film.
I’m Pat
Pat Tillman’s family’s crusade to uncover the truth behind his death in
Afghanistan.
Joan Rivers – A Piece of Work
Not my cup of tea, but many enjoyed this documentary.
Kick in Iran
Documentary about the first female professional athlete from Iran to
qualify for the Olympics (in Taekwando).
Life 2.0
An immersion into Second Life and those whose lives have been transformed
by the avatars they created in cyberspace.
Sins of My Father
Documentary about Pablo Escobar’s son – life with the most notorious and
brutal drug lord in Colombia.
SMASH HIS CAMERA
A profile of Ron Galella, the original paparazzo.
Teenage Paparazzo
After a 13 year old budding paparazzo snaps a photo of Adrian Grenier
(Entourage), Grenier takes him under his wing to explore our preoccupation
with the lives of celebrities.
The Mormon Proposition
The Mormon’s involvement in the passage of California’s Proposition 8 to
ban lesbians’ and gays’ rights to marriage.
The Runaways
Lots of buzz but not everyone liked this film. Pretentious was the word I
heard the most.
Waiting for Superman
DOCUMENTARY.
Audience Award for documentary. I really, really want
to see this documentary about the buckling public education system in this
country.
Winter’s Bone
Winner of the Grand Jury Prize in US dramatic competition AND
Screenwriting award
, everyone raved about this film. Takes place in the Ozark Mountains – a
teenage girl searches for her crystal-meth-making father in order to save
her home. Sold for distribution.
