SUNDANCE 2011
THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY
loved these films. they made my day:
ANOTHER EARTH
A movie like no other. Intriguing and complex. Look for the star – Brit
Marling was also a screenwriter and producer – she’s going to have a BIG
career. She plays an MIT astrophysics student who briefly leans out of her
car to look at a newly discovered planet and slams into a minivan, killing
the mother and child and jettisoning any chance of living a “regular” life.
After serving 4 years in prison she returns to her hometown and is
compelled to meet the bereaved man whose life has also been transformed by
the tragic accident. The plot is compelling and surprising so I don’t
reveal any more … AWARDS: Alfred Sloan Feature Film Prize & Special Jury Prize U.S. Drama
MARGIN CALL
Wow. A compelling thriller with Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons,
Zachary Quinto, Demi Moore and Stanley Tucci. Each actor is better than the
next. I hope this will be in the Cineplex near you because it is a wild and
illuminating roller coaster ride through the moral morass of the financial
crisis. A film you won’t soon forget.
IN A BETTER WORLD
Danish/Swedish. Simply not to be missed and SO worthy of the Academy Award
for Best Foreign Film! It juxtaposes life in an African refugee camp to the
world of two 10 year old’s in Denmark, one who is being brutally bullied. I
don’t want to say anything more about it … just put it on your Netflix
list!
ELITE SQUAD 2
Brazilian. Terrific. Mesmerizing. For those who like action/adventure
films, it doesn’t get much better than this. A former special forces
officer who is loved by the public is used as a scape goat for a prison
riot and demoted to a desk job by the government. He doesn’t go quietly. A
real eye opener about the insidious corruption in Rio de Janeiro.
LIKE CRAZY
Jacob, an American and Anna, who is British fall madly in love in college …
and then reality sets in when Anna overstays her visa and is deported back
to London. Enthralling, fascinating, heart breaking and totally original.
The 2 stars are superb. Picked up for distribution, so try to catch this
film when it comes out.
AWARDS: U.S. Dramatic Competition Grand Jury Prize & Special Jury Prize
to the star, Felicity Jones
PERFECT SENSE
Ewan McGregor and Eva Green (think Bond girl) are captivating in a sci-fi
film like nothing you have ever seen or imagined. It all starts when Susan
(Eva), an epidemiologist, encounters a strange patient who,inexplicably
suffers an uncontrollable crying fit … and then he looses his sense of
smell. Susan, who is mending from a broken heart, meets the chef (Ewan)
from a local restaurant and then seem to click but their relationship is
challenged by the spread of a totally weird worldwide epidemic. Really
fascinating and thought provoking.
homework
Terrific. Freddie Highmore as George is all grown up and empathetic as a
talented but unmotivated high school student who just doesn’t fit it. Emma
Roberts, the school beauty becomes his unlikely best friend. Drama ensues
and it is all well done and believable. I say see this movie.
the details
Tobey Maguire is an obstetrician who – after 10 years of marriage to his
wife Elizabeth Banks – is restless. So, with frantic energy he transforms
his backyard into showplace … one whiich raccoons begin to systematically
destroy. Various antics ensue to outwit the raccoons. A crazy neighbor -
Laura Linney in a terrific role - murder, adultery and a surprise ending
are seamlessly strung together for an improbable, very funny film. Received
distribution.
LITTLE BIRDS
Watch for the names Juno Temple and Kay Panabaker who play 15 year old best
friends. Both are outstanding. Stuck in physically and psychologically
crappy homes on the shores of the Salton Sea all they want to do is escape,
but when they follow 3 troubled boys to the big city (LA) things go from
bad to worse. Heart wrenching and all too real tale of innocence lost.
FLYPAPER
Patrick Dempsey and Ashley Judd in a mad cap heist movie unlike anything
you have seen before. Funny, quirky and utterly unique.
SALVATION BOULEVARD
Pierce Brosnan, Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris, Greg Kinner, Marisa Tomei is
a thoroughly enjoyable parady of Christian fanaticism. Love, death, sin and
salvation. Brosnan is the charismatic preacher and Harris the compelling
atheist with poor Kinner stuck somewhere in the middle.
JUST OK to good/intriguing/thought provoking … fill in the blank:
gun hill road - Very good
A (macho) father who has been in prison for years returns to his estranged
wife and son who has – unbeknownst to him - come out as a transgender
woman. The father’s challenge is to find a way to reconnect with his family
AND re enter his Bronx neighborhood without falling back on his old
criminal ways and going back to prison. The Michael/Vanessa character is
sympathetic and gives a mesmerizing performance. The first time actor who
played this role was undergoing a gender change during filming. Amazing.
THE WOODS – INTERESTING
An experimental film set in a world where cities have crumbled and the
streets run red with Hawaiian Punch. Escaping the chaos, Daniel, a strange
charismatic character, leads 8 grown up children out of the city and into
the woods forge a utopian society. Oh, and of course they bring generators
and all their electronic toys. Fun.
THE LEDGE – INTELLECTUALLY PROVOCATIVE
Charlie Hunnam (who is excellent), Liv Tyler, Patrick Wilson and Terrence
Howard tells the back story of why a young hotel manager is up on a ledge
ready to end his life to save his true love. The dialog about religion (one
character is a religious fanatic) is thoughtful and compelling.
MAD BASTARDS - GOOD
Australian. Based on a true story about a mad bastard (a very scary, drunk,
angry fellow) trying to get back in touch with his 13 year old son who is
on the fast track to following in his father’s unsteady footsteps.
Fortunately for the family the grandfather provides the wisdom and glue to
keep the family on track. Developed from Aboriginal stories. The cast
included many first time actors from the Aboriginal community. Amazing
sound track. Hopeful and beautifully shot.
INCENDIES – PASSABLE BUT TEDIOUS
French/Arabic. This film was nominated for an Academy Award in the Best
Foreign Film category. Twins, a boy and a girl are asked in their mother’s
will to find their father - who both believed was dead – and a brother
neither knew existed.
won’t hurt you, but WEIRD and/or forgettable:
OK, so maybe the acting was good or the filmmaking slick, but … yuck
:
I MELT WITH YOU
Thomas Jane, Jeremy Piven and Rob Lowe + 2 are 40 somethings who escape
“real life” once a year by going to a (spectacular) house for a long
weekend with their old college pals where they drink, snort and shoot up
everything in sight. Turns out they are all in extreme pain which leads to
disturbing revelations, suicide and murder. The acting is spectacular and
heart breaking but it leaves you feeling like you are covered in slime.
THE FUTURE
Miranda July is half of a 30 something couple who realize that in one month
– after they pick up a terminally ill cat for adoption – their life will
totally change so they quit their jobs and pursue interests (an affair on
her part, a door to door salesman position for him). Narrated by a cat …
need I say more?
the bad & UGLY
A Few Days Of Respite
French with subtitles, but there isn’t much dialogue and what there is is
trite, you could easily watch this without the sound to get the general
gist of the film. Two gay men escape Iran because Iran hangs homosexuals.
One of them meets an older woman who he briefly works for and sleeps with …
ultimely they are caught and sent back to Iran where they are (presumably)
executed. I could hardly wait for this film to end.
LORD BYRON
A fat, drunken womanizer who is restless in his middle age goes on a
religious/spiritual adventure. Bizarre and boring. I was SO happy to see
the closing credits.
BENAVIDES BORN
Like a mediocre Lifetime movie. It had the possibility of being Rocky but
ended up being a melodramatice snooze. A Mexican American high school girl
in a small Texas town gets admitted to the University because of her
talents as a weight lifter but blows it by taking steroids. Hope this
doesn’t give it away too much but she storms into the admissions office and
the dean agrees to admit her if she goes to Junior College and gets great
grades.
Good “buzz” but I could only see 5 films a day:
Another Happy day
Screenwriting Award
Circumstance
Audience Award, dramatic
Martha marcy may marlene
dramatic directing award
pariah
best cinematography, dramatic
being elmo: a puppeteer’s journey – Special jury prize U.s. documentary
The audiences loved this film.
BUCK – AUDIENCE AWARD DOCUMENTARY
True story of the man who was the inspiration for The Horse Whisperer.
HOT COFFEE
Documentary about the lawsuit involving McDonad’s too hot coffee and how
corporations have spent millions distorting this case to promote tort
reform.
HOW TO DIE IN OREGON – GRAND JURY PRIZE U.S. DOCUMENTARY
An exploration of both sides of the argument about assisted suicide.
IF A TREE FALLS: A STORY OF THE EARTH LIBERATION FRONT
DOCUMENTARY EDITING AWARD
PAGE ONE: A YEAR INSIDE THE NEW YORK TIMES
THE REDEMPTION OF GENERAL BUTT NAKED
DOCUMENTARY CINEMATOGRAPHY AWARD
RESURRECT DEAD: THE MYSTERY OF THE TOYNBEE TILES
DOCUMENTARY DIRECTING AWARDS
ALL YOUR DEAD ONES
WORLD CINEMATOGRAPHY AWARD
HAPPY, HAPPY
GRAND JURY PRIZE FOREIGN DRAMA
KINYARWAND
WORLD CINEMA AUDIENCE AWARD
RESTORATION
WORLD CINEMAR SCREENWRITING AWARD, DOCUMENTARY
TYRANNOSAUR
WORLD CINEMA DIRECTING AWARD & SPECIAL JURY PRIZE U.S. DRAMA &
DRAMATIC BREAKOUT PERFORMANCE FOR PADDY CONSIDINE
