Tuesday, January 24, 2012 2:13PM - By Christie Ko
This film has Criterion Collection written all over it. It has everything I wanted it to have: stunning imagery, complex, well-developed characters, a blend of folktale and modern-day storytelling, and a truly masterful incorporation of the real and the imaginary. A brilliant, inventive, and beautiful coming-of-age journey, Beasts of the Southern Wild is by far my favorite film to-date from Sundance 2012.
Monday, January 23, 2012 4:37PM - By Brendan Walsh
The Sundance Film Festival is full of emotional relationship dramadies, but so many of them feel like writers and directors working out their emotional issues from their own relationships. By using their movies as a cathartic opportunity to whine about their breakups, they miss the chance to connect with audiences and speak to the human condition and shared experiences. But that is not the case with Lee Toland Krieger’s Celeste and Jesse Forever. The film, which stars The Office‘s Rashida Jones and SNL’s Andy Samberg, is not about the pain of ending a long, substantial relationship, but about the way we’re forced to move on and grow as a result. Check out the rest of the review, after the jump…
UPDATE: Watch Mali Elfman and Brendan Walsh review Celeste and Jesse Forever.
Sunday, January 22, 2012 5:53PM - By Christie Ko
I think it’s fair to say we as Americans have an obsession with the rags-to-riches story and a fetish-like desire for judging rich and famous people with a mixture of envy and disgust. The Queen of Versailles, Jackie Sieger, has everything, is pretty out-of touch with reality, and benefited greatly from the sale of sub-prime mortgages. And yet somehow, she is completely and utterly likeable. This Sundance 2012 tragicomic documentary is an equal-parts moving and funny post-recession commentary on the folly of the American Dream.
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Sunday, January 22, 2012 3:39PM - By Christie Ko
If you’re lucky, you don’t spend much time at the hospital, but all of us at some point in our lives will find ourselves needing medical care. And when we’re sick or injured, we want to believe that the health care system we have in place has our very best interests in mind. Escape Fire: The Fight to Rescue American Health Care, debuting at Sundance 2012 paints a picture that may make you rethink what it means to be “healthy” and how much you trust your doctor’s advice… Continue Reading
Sunday, January 22, 2012 2:16PM - By Mali Elfman
This is a tough one. It’s an important film. I understand why it’s playing at Sundance. I have nothing but respect for the filmmakers and their message. The film is very well made and put together. But it’s by no means an “easy watch.” It’s very hard to review a film that has so much heart and good intentions and seemingly very little agenda other than to show another perspective and to try and help a group of defenseless, peaceful people who want nothing more than the right to stay in their homes.
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Sunday, January 22, 2012 1:50PM - By Mali Elfman
Yet another one of my Top 5 Film Picks coming through. This film was exactly what I was hoping for: witty, funny, meaningful, enlightened and brilliantly acted by Frank Langella. The film takes a high concept premise and a character driven plot and turns it into a wonderfully executed experience.
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Sunday, January 22, 2012 1:05PM - By Mali Elfman
Wish You Were Here was absolutely perfect way to kick-off Sundance Film Festival 2012! It’s innovative, well made, beautifully acted and like all the best Sundance films, there’s really no way to explain it to those who haven’t seen it without ruining it. But, I will do my best to tell you about the wonders of Wish You Were Here without destroying any of this amazing film!
Too lazy to read? That’s okay! Watch my video review at the bottom of the post!
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Sunday, January 22, 2012 1:42AM - By Brendan Walsh
With over a week remaining, it may be a bit early to say so, but it’s entirely possible that Gareth Huw Evans’ The Raid is the single coolest film screening at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. This high octane action flick packs a wallop that doesn’t let up, blow after blow. The international films at this festival always remind us that there is some amazing, innovative film making going on across the globe, and this terrific action thriller is proof positive. To find out more, check out the rest of the review after the jump…
UPDATE: Watch Brendan Walsh’s review of The Raid below.
Friday, January 20, 2012 5:45PM - By Brendan Walsh
Thursday marked the beginning of 2012′s Sundance Film Festival, with a small handful of premiers that will eventually ramp up to the deluge of screenings and events in the coming days. Among the films that premiered was Todd Luiso’s Hello, I Must Be Going, a cute little indie romance flick that’s just about what you’d expect from an “indie” film at Sundance. For more on the film, check out the rest of the review after the jump…
UPDATE: Check out the video review of Hello I Must Be Going by Brendan Walsh:
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