Sundance… When faced with the task of blogging a summary of this trip, I find myself drawing a blank. Not because of lack of memorable moments, but because there were so many amazing moments. From walking down main street and shmoozing to watching films and sitting in on Q and A’s I’ve learned about film and the philosophies each director presents to us. Also I grew tight with many of my fellow bloggers on this trip gaining connections we never had developed before, especially through Tom’s tickling. All together I think this experience has been priceless and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

I met incredibly awesome and interesting people that either shared words of wisdom or just simply encouraged me on my life journies in environmental studies. Some stand out experiences were seeing Steven Soderbergh and Gregg Araki in their discussion pannel. Another gratifying experience was meeting 3 of the members of Broken Lizard some of the largest comedic influences on my life, I never thought I would have Farva’s arm around my shoulder. Also it was rewarding meeting Pedro from Napolean Dynamite, though I was disappointed he didn’t have his signature meak accent.

The best times I had were with my friends just messing around Park City. Seeing Burger pet every woman in a fur coat or boots had me cracking up on the bus rides, and eventually I even pet a pair of furry ear muffs. Also our long stints in the hot tub provided hours of enjoyment and we always had a good time ragging on each other. Also one memorable trip on the bus involved about 60 people in a small bus with an occupancy limit of about 20 had all of us basically grinding each other. Tom had an unlikely run in with a very hilarious young man who insisted Tom was tickling him, hence his title Tom the Tickler.

So I fiercly enjoyed most of my movies and I walked away usually learning a lesson or 3.

Big River Man- An epic journey following Martin Strel’s swim down the entire Amazon River facing many physical and mental challenges along the way

The Carter- An entertaining look into the life of Lil Wayne, but that’s all it was entertaining, nothing breath taking about this self centered documentary

Shrink- An amazing movie that looks into Kevin Spacey’s career as shrink to the stars, but he lost faith in his ability to help people.

Adventureland- A happy feel good look into the life of working as a carnie in ‘87 instead  a dream trip to Europe

Why We Laugh- An extremely boring look into the exciting lifespan of Black comedy, least entertaining movie I saw by far.

Heart Of Stone- A heart touching movie about a principle’s struggle to dissolve the gang violence that had been tearing up the school in Newark, New Jersey.

The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle- One of the most charming films that I’ve seen in years bringing waves of different plot points and arose the problem of what would you do if you were a man who suddenly became pregnant with a little blue fish

Bronson- A unique look at Britain’s infamous most violent prisoner, Charles Bronson. It had a unique feel but I think it lost some of its touch by the end.

In The Loop- A movie that is a charming extremly well written satire that had James Gandolfini casted perfectly as a US military official, I wish i didn’t see it at 9 15 in the morning so I could have been more alert to pick up on the many jokes hidden in the script.

The Killing Room- An intense thriller that reminded me of the result of Saw and The Cube making sweet love, add a splash of Nick Cannon and this movie was pretty darn solid.

Dare- Another movie where the plot was something that I had never really seen before, a love triangle between a girl, her best guy friend, and a Jock, producing some really funny moments

Animation Shorts- I loved the majority of these with animators Don Hertzfeldt and Mike Judge. Some of these were visual feasts and had very humerous moments

King Surfer- A really good movie about children in South Africa that engage in the perilous activity of train surfing, where many fatalities have resulted from this “sport”

Slammin Salmon- Every moment from this broken lizard film was oozing with pure hilarity. The best moments definitly come from the boxer/owner Cleon “Slammin Salmon”.

Sex, Lies, and Videotape- A look into the voyeuristic view of human kind, a movie that totally changed the indie movement, and skyrocketed Steven Soderbergh to fame.

Tags: sam mitchell

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