Sundance is over, and it’s kind of a kick in the butt to get back into reality. I loved this false world I was living in, at the same time that it was real life. It was one man’s livelyhood on the line for his film, and another woman’s family backing her entire production costs. Real life and great worlds blended together to create a phenominal experience, and I want to share it with you now.

Friday Jan 16th

“Before Tomorrow” Sundance

Probably one of the most amazing films I have ever seen, it told the story of a family, and later a grandson and his grandmother. It definitely was amazing as my first film, and so beautifully shot. It had me and my seat neighbors in tears at the finale. (more…)

My ten day stay in Park City was an experience I won’t soon forget. Though I have no other winter terms to compare it to - yes, God help me I’m a freshman - it was the perfect blend of an exciting and relaxing trip. I dedicated myself to doing nothing but movie hopping, and the result was a (to me) staggering 25 films viewed during the trip. Thinking them all over there were definite front runners. Movies that resounded to me as a viewer for their original plot lines, jokes, filmmaking and informative q and a. For my own amusement, I tried to rate my 25 films from favorite to least, for there were also some movies that completely missed the mark! (more…)

Seeing movies at Sundance is fun - the excitement, full crowds and premieres are great - but what makes the moviegoing experience even more special at the festival is seeing the people involved in the film for the Q and A. After almost every movie, the director, cast and some crew would mount the stage to answer any queries that the audience had about their film. Besides the fact that the audience inevitably asked the same questions,  “so what exactly inspired you to make this movie?” To which the only answer is “the story just really spoke to me…bla, bla” there was also an element of seeing the spirit of the film through the creators that made the experience special.

When the director comes on stage the general character of the movie is instantly explained. For example, the writer, director of The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle, was as crazy, eclectic, and inspired as the movie itself. In the movie janitors stumble upon and try modified cookies, that subsequently make them give birth anally to florescent blue fish. The plot is very unique but not mindless and self-indulgent like independent movies of its kind can be. It was fresh and exciting, a surprising breathe of fresh air, like David Russo himself.

The director of Adam, as sensitive love story involving a schoolteacher and her neighbor who had Aspergers, was grounded, sensitive and eloquent. He explained the great care with which he broached the topic of an autistic love story, and his vision was clearly expressed in the memorable movie. (more…)

This Is Her

At Sundance we all willingly pay a jacked up priced to sit in the theater and watch innovative new cinema, but what about the sixth finger, the extra nipple, if you will, that comes along with the film we paid for? Ah yes, you know what I’m referring too, the short film preceding the feature that often leaves me saying, “um…ok, now play the movie.”  I have seen more short films in the past seven days then ever in my life, so I now feel I have some sort of reference point when it comes to judging what I mostly consider little nuggets of uselessness.

Ok, so that may be harsh, I have in fact seen some shorts that I liked as much as a feature, or in one case even more then the main film that came after, but there does seem to be a theme of the shorts being more personal then relatable to the audience. I was constantly frustrated by watching shorts programs because, for most films, I felt empty and slightly peeved after they ended, and for the ones I really enjoyed I just wanted them to continue. I wanted the characters to be developed instead of just revealing a glimpse and then rolling credits. For instance in shorts program five I was very intrigued by the little boy who was obsessed with rabbits in Netherland Dwarf, but I still felt slightly uneasy when the film ended because my time with the character was cut short.

Many shorts I saw felt completely indulgent on the part of the creatures. For instance Horsefinger3: Starfucker, the short before Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Undead, was ten or so minutes of stupidity where an actor gets turned on by a girl wearing huge horse hooves on her arms. She dresses him in a porky-pine outfit was they have sex and then finds that he has fur under his skin. In my opinion a silly little film such as this just wastes time. But there are always those who think it is absolute brilliance so its objective I guess. (more…)