Film School Rejects » Sundance 2008

This Week in Counter Programming: Sunshine Cleaning

Neil Miller — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 15:30:23 +0000

Editor’s Note: This weekend the folks at Overture Films will be releasing Sunshine Cleaning in select markets. Therefore we’ve chosen to re-post our review of the film from Sundance 2008. Please enjoy below. We would also like to present this film as this week’s selection for This Week in Counter Programming, as it makes a great counter-option if you aren’t into seeing The Last House on the Left or Race to Witch Mountain.

If you are like me, then you would probably walk through fire in the honor of either Amy Adams or Emily Blunt. Over the past 2-3 years, these two beauties have been seeping their way into some of the best roles that we’ve seen in a long time. I first spotted Amy Adams in Junebug in 2005, and it was her breakout performance. The next year Emily Blunt broke out as the neurotic assistant in The Devil Wears Prada. From there, these two ladies have been in everything from Enchanted to Dan in Real Life and they have been awesome every step along the way.

So it makes sense, at least in my mind, that they would eventually end up in the same movie. The fact that they would end up here at Sundance playing two sisters who try and solve their problems by creating a cleaning company that cleans up the scene after someone has died, no matter how they died. In Sunshine Cleaning, that is exactly where we find them. Adams plays Rose, the older sister, a single mom who is constantly reminded that while she was the head cheerleader in high school, she didn’t make much of herself since. Emily Blunt plays Norah, the pot smoking, freeloading younger sister who is doing everything she can to avoid adulthood. Together they take care of Rose’s son (Jason Spevack) and their father (Alan Arkin) and attempt to keep each other out of trouble as much as possible.

The crime scene cleanup gig comes by way of Rose’s married-man detective lover (Steve Zahn) who tells her that there is good money in cleaning up what is left after the body is gone. Eventually though, Rose and Norah find that they may have dived in a little too quick, and it puts them in a tough spot — where they will need to help pull each other along to survive this thing we call the real world.

Written by newcomer Megan Holley, Sunshine Cleaning is a very well done dark comedy. It combines a deep story about family with some very entertaining moments of dark comedy. As you might imagine, Alan Arkin provides plenty of the comedic moments as the eccentric old father — a role that is very familiar for him — leading around his grandson and teaching him about life and other important things, like investments.

But while Arkin’s delivery creates the comedy, the impressive talent of Amy Adams and Emily Blunt are the pillars upon which this film stands. Even while they are scraping up blood and guts, they are still able to be very sweet and endearing. They can also thank the screenwriter for crafting a story that is original, intelligent and complex without being overbearing. We are drawn into the relationship between these two sisters and as the film moves along, we discover that there is so much more to this story than just two young women struggling to get by.

The only issue I can take with the film is that it may send the wrong message to audiences. You look at a cast like this and the broad concept of this film and you expect it to be funny — and it certainly is. But that is not all there is to it. Director Christine Jeffs and her cast have created a moving, dramatic story that is visually interesting, and wholly entertaining. Some may be quick to label it a “chick flick”, but I have a strange feeling that it is a little more than that.

Review: Towelhead

Neil Miller — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 01:00:02 +0000

Editors Note: This review of Towelhead was written at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. We have reposted it due to Towelhead’s theatrical review on September 12th.

Ok, I was wrong. I know that I said yesterday that nothing clears out a room full of stuffy movie critics like some graphic sexual deviance. That was just Downloading Nancy. Today, we all caught a glimpse of Towelhead, a new sexual rite of passage drama from Alan Ball (American Beauty). It is clear to me in the wake of this film that Ball returned to the form to deliver us a film that will make us uncomfortable, but is also deeply entertaining.

The story of a young half-Lebanese girl (Summer Bishil) whose mother (Maria Bello) doesn’t think she is growing up properly, so she sends her away to live with her father (Peter Macdissi). Once she arrives, she begins to experience the throws of puberty and is forced to deal with her own sexual passage into adulthood while living with a strict father. As she deals with her budding sexuality combined with her growing curiosity about what she is feeling, she encounters a host of odd people in her new town. One of whom is the bigoted, perverse Army reservist (Aaron Eckhart) who lives two doors down with his wife and son. But when she becomes a little to friendly with him, he takes advantage of her, setting her off on a journey through sexual obsession and deviance unlike anything you would ever expect from a 13 year old girl.

At times it can be a very uncomfortable movie to sit through, much like American Beauty before it. As he did previously, writer/director Alan Ball explores some sexual themes that are tough for most people to endure, such as child molestation and pre-teenage sex, but he does so with a great amount of style and grace. The themes are there, but the filmmaker never crosses the line into being inappropriate. American Beauty had more nudity, but in my opinion, Towelhead carries heavier themes and a more disturbing theme.

Yet, just because it deals with some pretty fucked up themes, that doesn’t mean that it can’t be funny at times and lighthearted as others. Alan Ball won his Oscar based on his ability to put us at ease with such situations in American Beauty and Towelhead is in that same vain. The performances are equally as impressive as well. Peter Macdissi (Three Kings) is absolutely fantastic as the father. He shows the ability to take his character from goofy to overbearing and demanding so quickly, giving him a depth that is very rare. While the story centers around the girl’s relationship with her own sexuality, the relationship between her and her father is the most compelling. Aaron Eckhart is also very good in a role that is somewhat risky as a pedophile. You don’t necessarily see it coming, but he pulls it off quite well.

That’s the theme throughout the entire cast. Young Summer Bishil, Maria Bello and Toni Collette (who plays the girl’s other, more nurturing and protective neighbor) are all great in their roles. It just goes to show, as is always the case, if you combine a solid cast with a great script from an immensely talented director then you are going to have a film worth watching — even if it is about a 13-year old girl’s sexual deviance.

Sundance Review: ‘Transsiberian’ Is Gritty, Intense At Times

Neil Miller — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:30:50 +0000

Editor’s Note: Since Transsiberian is due out in theaters today, we have decided to re-post this review that was written during the Sundance Film Festival in January, to help refresh your memory. Also, we would recommend checking out our interview with director Brad Anderson.

If you have to ask yourself what it means when they say “Dramatic Competition” at the Sundance Film Festival, you may want to check out Brad Anderson’s Transsiberian, which has quite a bit to offer to audiences looking to get a little Americans in bad situations abroad tension in their lives.

The last time we saw Brad Anderson, he was directing Christian Bale in one of his more incomparable roles in The Machinist. With Transsiberian, Anderson gives us the tale of married couple Roy (Woody Harrelson) and Jessie (Emily Mortimer) who are traveling from a church-led mission in China to Moscow along the Transsiberian railway. Along the way, they meet up with young freeloaders Carlos (Eduardo Noriega, The Devil’s Backbone) and Abby (Kate Mara, Shooter) who are traveling to Amsterdam. All seems to be going fine, but when Roy accidentally missed the train at one stop and is separated from his wife, all hell seems to break loose. Jessie soon finds out that Carlos and Abby aren’t your average tourists, but may be a pair of drug runners. Add to this the fact that a Russian Narcotics Agent (Ben Kingsley) is hot on their trail, and Jessie is forced to take action and try to survive as she and Roy are pulled deeper and deeper into a web of deception, violence and drug trading.

The real moral of the story here is that if you are an American tourist traveling through Russia, don’t trust anyone. The film delivers the very tense and often frightening reality of Roy and Jessie’s situation very well. It build throughout the entire film, leaving the audience engaged in how deeply the trouble will run. The cinematography is what really sells it, at least for me. Brad Anderson and cinematographer Xavi Giménez create a very grim, dirty vision of Siberia, drawing us into a country that was once alive, but is now dead and buried beneath six feet of corruption.

The performances were solid as well, with none more impressive than that of Emily Mortimer. As Jessie, she is forced to deal with some very intense situations and ends up trapped between the truth and finding a way to survive. It is an interesting character study, as we never know what we would do if we ended up trapped and in trouble in a place like old Russia. Woody Harrelson also delivers a good performance, shining through in the end as the goofy, but sometimes annoying Roy. His is in many ways a walking cliche, that born-again righteously oblivious midwestern American guy — and in this instance, that is ok. Eduardo Noriega is also creepily reminiscent of someone like Oliver Martinez in Unfaithful — creepy, smooth talking foreign dude who is just looking for a hole in which to stick it.

The films only downfall is that it begins to slow down about a third of the way through. In some ways it feels akin to Babel, but with a bit more intrigue and action toward the end. Well, to be completely honest, it is a lot more interesting than Babel, which bored me to death. To say the least, Transsiberian is worth a look for anyone who enjoys deep drama, an engaging story and a relatable situation — if you have ever tried to traffic drugs through the middle of Russia, that is.

Sundance Review: ‘Smart People’ is Vivacious and Hilarious, But Also Very ‘Smart’

Neil Miller — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 03:30:10 +0000

[Editor's Note: This is my review of Smart People that was written during the Sundance Film Festival in January. But, since the film just hit theaters today, I thought I would republish it, just to refresh your memories -- and because the film rocks, as you will read below.]

Do you have a pen? I need you to take a moment and write down a name. The name is Mark Poirier. He is an up and coming screenwriter a few projects in development, including 2008’s Hateship, Friendship, Courtship and 2009’s Bong Hits for Jesus — and the guy’s writing is absolutely brilliant. For those of you still locked into 2007 at the movies, it is Diablo Cody brilliant. Smart, funny and full of life. Those are characteristics that may or may not describe his future projects, but they certainly describe the project that just premiered here at Sundance.

Poirier penned Smart People, one of the early beautiful surprises of this year’s fest. It stars Dennis Quaid as Lawrence, a jaded, down-and-out Carnegie Melon professor who is, to say the least, the world’s most pompous asshole. He is self absorbed, condescending and for the most part just completely disheveled. Years after the death of his wife, he is left with his witty, snarky Young Republican daughter (Ellen Page, Juno), his closed off yet brilliant poet of a son (Ashton Holmes, Peaceful Warrior) and his lazy, freeloading adopted brother (Thomas Hayden Church, Sideways). When an act of pomposity lands Lawrence in the hospital, he meets a former student turned sexy doctor (Sarah Jessica Parker, Sex and the City) and begins his journey toward being able to fit into society with all of the dumb people as well.

As I said in the beginning, keep an eye on this Poirier guy. His script for Smart People is the most intelligent and fresh script of the entire festival so far. It is so reminiscent of Juno and Little Miss Sunshine that it is almost painful. Of course, it helps that Ellen Page brings her soon to be trademarked brilliance to her role as Lawrence’s uptight, overly responsible daughter Vanessa. She gives her character a strong outer shell, covering her innocence with strong wit and sarcasm. Think Juno McGuff, if she were a card-carrying Republican.

Page represents half of the best part of this movie. The other half is Thomas Hayden Church, whose Chuck develops a very unlikely relationship with young Vanessa. He is able to break through her icy outer layer and get her to open up a bit, only to send all the wrong signals and just continue to confuse her already dysfunctional 17 year old existence.

It is sad in a way, that the relationship between the silly, endearing troublemaker Chuck and the future “Bushie” Vanessa overshadows the story of Lawrence and his passage from (as his brother calls it in the film) being “socially retarded” to possibly finding love, but it absolutely does. Hayden Church has not been this great since Sideways. Akin to his role in that film, he finds ways to be outlandish and silly while being immensely endearing. He also finds a way to show off his bare ass a few times — which isn’t my cup of tea, but it does provide for good comedy.

Overall, the film is good comedy, indeed. It is hysterical at times, but shows incredible heart all the way through. It sports and excellent cast that is directed very handily by first time feature-maker Noam Murro. Murro was able to take Poirier’s brilliantly crafted story about life’s most unlikely relationships and turn it into something altogether arresting. This is a film that could play well with all walks of life, from the movie geek that can appreciate the smart dialogue and well-articulated characters to the average moviegoer that can easily fall in love with a heartfelt tale about a dysfunctional family. Seeing it, in an effort to be as cliche as possible, would make us all “Smart People”.

Sundance Review: ‘Be Kind Rewind’ is Michel Gondry for Regular Folks

Neil Miller — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 19:00:29 +0000

(Note: This review was written during the Sundance Film Festival in January, but we are reposting it to coincide with the film’s release this weekend.)

There are many people, especially out there in the world of regular folks (read: that area between where New York City ends and Los Angeles County begins) that know the name Michel Gondry, but couldn’t tell you what the hell kinds of movies he has made. It’s sad really, as Gondry is one of the most visionary directors of the past decade. With films like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Science of Sleep, Gondry always delivers a sense of clever oddity that is very refreshing.

With his latest film Be Kind Rewind, Gondry has made his most accessible film — something that almost anyone can enjoy. It is the story of two friends, Jerry (Jack Black) and Mike (Mos Def) who accidentally erase all of the video tapes in the neighborhood video store where Mike works. While Mr. Fletcher (Danny Glover), the store’s owner is away on a trip they are under the watchful eye of Ms. Kimberly (Mia Farrow), a close friend of Mr. Fletcher. And now Ms. Kimberly wants to watch Ghostbusters and they’ve accidentally erased the tape. So rather than allow Ms. Kimberly to find out and ultimately tell Mr. Fletcher about what happened, they decide to make her Ghostbusters on their own — she’s never seen it, so she would never even notice, right?

She may not notice, but her thug wannabe grandson surely did. But instead of wanting their money back, he and his friends decide that Mike and Jerry’s version of Ghostbusters is better — and they want more movies. This sets off a domino effect that leads to lines around the corner of the once struggling and soon to be condemned old video store, filled with people who want their favorite movies, but in the “Sweded” variety.

“Sweding” is the fictional name the Jerry gives to the process of them making all of their own movies. And now, joined by the cute, vivacious Alma (Melonie Diaz) they set out to remake movies like Rush Hour 2, Robocop and Driving Miss Daisy for the people of their neighborhood. It is a charming story of two friends just trying to do what they can to save the video store from being turned into condominiums. Have we seen that story before? Absolutely. But not quite like this.

The winning qualities of this film lie in the vision of Michel Gondry and the wonderful cast that he has assembled to tell this fun, quirky story of friendship. Fans of Gondry will see his thumbprint all over this film, from his very cool visual style to the very engaging characters. The difference here is that it never gets too weird. There is no moment in Be Kind Rewind that will have the average moviegoer scratching their head. It is a Gondry movie that is simplified, streamlined, sold out and polished for the mainstream — and it is absolutely brilliant.

The cast makes the transition from odd to accessible work, as Jack Black and Mos Def are a great combination on screen. Black’s spastic nature combined with Mos Def’s cool, yet geeky persona make for a tandem that is entertaining and engaging — which is all that we really need them to be. Melonie Diaz is also very funny, in a quirky, cute nerdy girl sort of way. She is the geeky girl next door that every movie geek hopes to some day find and marry — quickly. It all just adds up to a movie that deserves the wide release that it will get next month — because more people really need to discover the always fresh, always entertaining world of Michel Gondry.

Vanity Fair Honors The 10 (Supposed) Fresh Faces of 2008

Michelle Graham — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 21:09:11 +0000

I’m sorry, have we gone back in time? Variety claims that their Hollywood issue is graced by the 10 Fresh Faces of 2008, but if that’s the case than people like Anne Hathaway (Devil Wears Prada – 2006. Brokeback Mountain – 2005) and Jessica Biel (The Illusionist – 2006) should not be appearing. Yes, Jessica Biel has 2 movies due out in 2008, but her face is no longer fresh, that was lost long ago, around the time of the 7th Heaven scandal actually. As for Anne Hathaway, she may have started in kids’ movies all those years ago (ah, the Princess Diaries, such great romances) but she definitely hit the big time and cast off her childish roots when she appeared topless in Brokeback.

However, apart from griping about the inclusion of some obviously less-than-fresh faces amongst Variety’s shining stars, there are some definite keepers here, not least of whom is Juno herself, Ellen Page. This girl is building up quite the resume! Action? Check, she was in X-Men 3. Menace/thriller that all men will remember forever? Check, that was her in Hard Candy. If the girl were any more rounded, she’d resemble Violet Beauregarde. To top it off, her latest Sundance entry, Smart People, is also looking like potential box-office gold, so she’s more than earned her spot on the cover.

Of course, with Amy Adams also on the cover, it’s difficult to tell which of the pair is going to run the gauntlet of success faster. The remaining 6, America Ferrera, Emily Blunt, Alice Braga, Zoe Saldana, Elizabeth Banks and Ginnifer Goodwin all have their high points prior to 2007/2008, but this year has been good to them all, and the next looks even more promising.

The Ten Best Films of Sundance ‘08

Neil Miller — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 05:38:12 +0000

The following list of films may not match up with the grades that I gave all the movies over the last 12 days, but it does have the advantage of perspective. Now that the Sundance Film Festival has pretty much come to a close, I am able to look back on all the films that I saw, picking out my personal favorites delivering them to you in this tidy, hopefully informative list. I had the honor of seeing a lot of great films this year in Park City — many of which I will be following throughout the year until they are released for everyone to see. As for these ten films, these are the ones that you too should be eyeing up between now and their release dates.

(Click on the title of each film to read my full review)

10. Sunshine Cleaning

Its easy to fall in love with a dark comedy that stars both Amy Adams (Enchanted) and Emily Blunt (The Devil Wear’s Prada) — it’s a movie that is easy to look at, despite the fact that it deals with cleaning up crime scenes. Alan Arkin lends a great supporting performance in a film that is funny, dark and full of warmth in the end.

9. Choke

Based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk (who, I am finding, has a ton of fans), Choke is a hysterical comedy that stars Sam Rockwell (Confessions of a Dangerous Mind) and Kelly Macdonald (No Country for Old Men). It is funny, tragic and riddled with all the reasons that people love Chuck Palahniuk’s work. Fox Searchlight bought this one up quick, so you should be seeing a release sometime soon.

8. Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?

Like Michael Moore, Morgan Spurlock is always entertaining. He has found a good rhythm making films that tackle tough subjects in a way that is easy to watch. From a breakdancing Osama Bin Laden to serious chats with “those people” that supposedly want us all dead, this is one of the most entertaining, engaging and insightful documentaries that you will see all year.

7. Towelhead

Director Alan Ball has now made two great movies about sexuality and personal revolutions. In Towelhead, he shows us the story of a young half-Lebanese girl (Summer Bishil) who struggles to find her place among her father’s whacked out neighborhood. Being pursued by her Army-reservist, child-toucher neighbor (Aaron Eckhart) and constantly watched and scolded by her demanding father (Peter Macdissi), she finds herself struggling to find her way. The performances are great, the story is compelling and it is, in many moments, very funny.

6. Smart People

It seems like everything Ellen Page touches lately turns to gold. Even though she has a supporting role in Smart People, playing the daughter of a very intelligent, but struggling college prof (Dennis Quaid), she still manages to steal the show. Along with Thomas Hayden Church, who plays her loser adopted Uncle, Page’s storyline completely outshines the love story between her character’s father and his doctor (Sarah Jessica Parker). The film is very funny, very endearing and incredibly well-written.

5. Be Kind Rewind

Michel Gondry is a director who has a lot of fans, but not a very wide appeal. Be Kind Rewind is by far his most accessible outing to date, a film that could reach just about anyone and have them laughing — hard. Jack Black, Mos Def and Melonie Diaz are all great in the movie as three kids who make homemade remakes of classics like Ghostbusters, Robocop and even Rush Hour 2. With a wide release date in late-February, this is one film that is worth at least one, if not two viewings.

4. Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson

I wasn’t very interested in the life of Hunter S. Thompson prior to seeing Alex Gibney’s brilliant doc about the Gonzo journalist, but now I am absolutely hooked. Thompson’s brand of journalism is exactly what many bloggers do today — news that is honest and often very subjective. The doc is an illuminating look at one of the single greatest journalists of our time.

3. American Teen

We’ll call this the first of the High School movies that made the list. In fact, all three of my top films dealt with high school age people. American Teen is however, the only one that deals with real people. Director Nanette Burstein has delivered a documentary that blows away reality shows like Laguna Beach by showing us what life is like in the quirky midwestern town of Warsaw, Indiana. It is (again) a very funny, beautifully crafted doc that is incredibly relatable and immensely entertaining.

2. The Wackness

Considering the fact that I saw it on the second day of the festival, you would have thought The Wackness could have been swept under the rug by this point — but its hard to disregard a movie that was so fresh, so intelligent and so brilliantly delivered by a wonderful cast and a very talented young director. It could be a breakout role for Josh Peck, sending him from Nickelodeon to more time spent on the big screen and it could certainly put director Jonathan Levine on a lot of A-Lists. Overall, The Wackness gets easily filed in the “Not To Be Missed for Any Reason” category.

1. Assassination of a High School President

Another film that should not be missed when it comes out is Assassination of a High School President. It is reminiscent of 2005’s Brick, but also reminiscent of the great John Hughes movies of the 80’s, combining a serious noir detective story with the quirks and oddities of life in an upscale, private Catholic school. Here we get everything we need in a high school movie — hilarious characters (no matter how big or small their part), a great lead performance from Reece Thompson and Mischa Barton in a sexy schoolgirl outfit. And for those not interested in Mischa, this film also packs one of the most intelligently written scripts that I’ve seen in years. If you miss this one when it releases, you should really re-examine your taste in movies — you may have lost the capacity to love an intelligent, sexy high school movie.

So there you have it, my Ten Best Films of Sundance 2008. Unexpectedly, this year was all about very funny coming-of-age stories. In a year that is being overpowered by the striking writers, we’ve seen some brilliant screenplays transposed into some equally as brilliant films.

As a bonus for our readers, I have also asked Peter at /Film and Alex at FirstShowing (my two condo-mates) to give up the goods on their favorites of the festival:

Alex Billington’s “Best of the Fest”

#1 – The Escapist
#2 – Assassination of a High School President
#3 – Hell Ride
#4 – American Teen
#5 – The Wackness
Honorable Mentions: Baghead / The Great Buck Howard / Hamlet 2

Peter’s List Coming Soon…

To look back at all of my coverage from Park City, check out our Sundance 2008 Homepage.

The Five Worst Films of Sundance 2008

Neil Miller — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 05:20:23 +0000

This may come off as a slightly pretentious and harsh article, considering the nature of the Sundance Film Festival and the labors of love that are the films that end up there, but it does not change the fact that I saw some duds over the past 12 days. I was overwhelmed by the amount of fantastic films that I had the fortune of screening in Park City — and while I found so many to love, there were also a few that put me to sleep. That’s not too bad either, considering plenty of other journalists just took to walking out. Me, I was always down for a nap.

So here you go, the five films that made me wish I didn’t wait in line for a half hour. Feel free to click the title of each film to read my full review. As well, pictures have been left out of this article to protect the innocent…

5. Sugar

I may catch a lot of flack for this one, as the audience reaction to this film was very positive. My only explanation for that is that the audiences at Sundance have an unnatural amount of patience and I just don’t. Its easy to see the story, the message and the heart in this film, but the delivery is so bleeding slow that it had me questioning my own love of movies.

4. Adventures of Power

The story of a wannabe air drummer who goes from New Mexico to the Big Apple to save his crazy town with his “skill”, this movie had all the enthusiasm and none of the magic. Within the first 5 minutes of the film I saw Napoleon Dynamite in his 30s, a very funny concept that could have worked. From there though, it was nothing but a downward spiral of missed opportunities.

3. Blind Date

I gave Stanley Tucci’s film a chance, I really did. That was ultimately the issue — the fact that I didn’t walk out half way through like all the other critics.

2. Funny Games

Never have I held witness to such an incoherent, self-indulgent piece of poop as this movie. If there is one thing I can’t stand, it is when a film becomes aware of itself unnecessarily. The film starts out with some shock factor then gets burned by its own talkey nature, very slowly.

1. Downloading Nancy

What more can I say about Downloading Nancy? With all apologies to the filmmakers, I find this film to be absolutely useless. I can handle a film that covers disturbing material, I can handle a film that deals with the weirdos of the world, but I absolutely cannot handle a film that fails to deliver one ounce of entertainment value. If you liked this film, you need serious and immediate professional help.

Dis-Honorable Mention: The Year of Getting to Know Us

This film, one that I screened very late in the festival, was so bland, uneventful and misguided that I couldn’t even muster up the energy to write a review for it. Jimmy Fallon could not deliver a dramatic line of dialog if his life depended on it — every time he tried, it just sounded awkward, sending shivers down my spine.

To look back at all of my coverage from Park City, check out our Sundance 2008 Homepage.

Sundance Blog: That’s a Wrap on Sundance 2008

Neil Miller — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 05:11:25 +0000

Hey there kids! This will, as you can expect, be my final blog entry for Sundance 2008. It is time to close the book on what was the most amazing experience of my young movie blogging career. Last year’s Comic Con was a bunch of fun, but it could not hold a flame to the experiences of Park City. Chief among my experiences were the fantastic people that I met along my journey. And I’m not talking about celebs like Colin Farrell, Olivia Thirlby, Jason Reitman, Quentin Tarantino or Morgan Spurlock — I am talking about the die hard movie fans. We rode buses together and chatted it up before and after screenings — for these folks, there was always something to talk about.

I also met a lot of you, readers of FSR. I was astounded by the amount of people who had not only heard of, but have read our little home for Hollywood’s outcasts. It is one of those experiences that energizes me, pushing me to work harder, find better stories and continue to push all of our writers to deliver the type of content that keeps people coming back here day in and day out. Never did I imagine that I would be sitting on a bus in Park City, Utah, talking to a complete stranger only to have them realize who I was — and then to watch them turn into a complete fanboy, over me — I’m just a dude with a blog from Ohio. It was altogether humbling, extremely energizing and wonderfully unexpected.

And lets not forget the films that I saw. Going into the festival I had my eye on films like Choke and Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?, both of which were great. But I was caught off guard in all the best ways by a little documentary about growing up in the midwest (American Teen), a funky, fresh mid-90’s drug comedy (The Wackness) and a smart, funny John Hughes meets noir high school detective story (Assassination of a High School President), among others. From a documentary about the man who brought Gonzo journalism to the world (Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson) to a quirky, accessible comedy from director Michel Gondry (Be Kind Rewind), there were so many beautiful gems at this year’s fest.

And sure, I will agree with some of my collegues — your first time at Sundance is always your most memorable. The freshness of the experience usually overwhelms you, clouding your ability to judge the quality of the festival. Overall, I am told that this year pales in comparison to years like 2004 (that features Garden State, Napoleon Dynamite and Super Size Me) and 2006 (where Little Miss Sunshine made a big splash). So maybe my view of the entire experience is clouded, but that doesn’t change the fact that I found more than a handful of films that I absolutely loved. These are films that I have committed to following throughout the year, as they deserve to be seen and you need to be excited about them. Plus, these are all films that may need a little help here and there. If I have learned anything about Sundance it is that once you get past some of the glowing star-vehicles, driven into the fest by one big name, you find some real gems that are destined to die in limited release — but it doesn’t have to be that way. That is why going forward, FSR will be committed to following many of these titles as part of our new, soon to be easy to browse indie section. Stay tuned for more details on that over the coming months.

So there you have it — Sundance has been an inspiration to me, an awakening experience, if I may. It has opened my eyes to the fact that in order to truly live up to the Film School Rejects name, we must better serve all of those breakthrough rejects — the ones that fight their way through the film festival circuit to attain stardom — we will do what we can to bring you the next round of Kevin Smiths, Jason Reitmans and Michel Gondrys.

Our next step in this process? Covering the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas from March 7 to March 15. Planning for the trip began yesterday, and hopefully we will have even more writers on scene in Austin to bring you even more in-depth coverage. So as we close the book on Sundance, we look forward to our time in Austin — we look forward to the year ahead. The only question is — are you ready?

Sundance Blog: This Trip Has Derailed

Neil Miller — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 20:55:32 +0000

A Michigan Wolverine and an Ohio State Buckeye — Taken by a crack photographer and his iPhone

It is true that the Sundance Film Festival does not officially end until Sunday evening, but for me it is all over but the cryin’. I promised in yesterday’s blog entry that I would be seeing a midnight showing of Anvil!: The Story of Anvil!, but that didn’t happen. In fact, that would make for the third film in as many days that I was really interested in that I missed for one reason or another. I wanted to see Donkey Punch a few days back, but had an interview scheduled at the same time; I also wanted to see Bottle Shock yesterday, but missed it thanks to the public transportation system’s inadequacies. That brings me to an idea for a list, not a big, in-depth official top ten list, but a list none-the-less. It is the Five Films that I am Pissed that I Missed at Sundance 2008. Keep an eye out for that later today.

So for those not paying attention, you will notice that I saw zero films yesterday, all I did was go to parties — and let me tell you, there is nothing wrong with that. I spent the afternoon working, covering the 2008 Sundance Awards and some key acquisitions, including the Sony Pictures Classics deal to pick up The Wackness. The latter was very disappointing, as I had hoped for The Wackness to get picked up by a studio that would know what to do with it. Oh well, at least we can hope for SPC to get their act together this year so that folks all over can get some much deserved Wackness in their lives.

After the work was done it was time to party! We headed over to the official awards after party, which was pretty lame. Although, we did have a lot of fun looking important (to the point where two ladies approached Alex and myself thinking that we were filmmakers) and scoping out the room for actual important people. The only celebrity sighting of note was Quentin Tarantino. We decided not to say hi to him though, as he has had enough controversy this week — and we are pretty sure he is afraid of Peter.

With our rounds made and our three drink tickets spent on Stella Artiose beer, we headed to a house “gathering” with some publicists. The details of this “gathering” are still coming in, but what I can tell you is that all of these ladies were awesome to hang out with, including the ones who had rejected me for interviews earlier in the week — I still have great affection for them. As well, we are pretty sure that Alex did snow angels at 2am with no jacket on — we will get pictures when they become available.

But that is all speculation. When it comes to hard facts, I know that I regained consciousness some time around 11am this morning, well after the first movie had started over at the Eccles Center. So today I will be seeing the Dramatic Audience Award winner The Wackness one more time, heading out to a final dinner with all the cool kids and coming home to pack. Tomorrow I fly back to good ole’ Columbus, Ohio. Then it is back to the daily grind — movie news, movie news, movie news.

Until tomorrow…

For more news, reviews and buzz from the streets of Park City, check out our Sundance 2008 Homepage.

2008 Sundance Award Winners Announced

Neil Miller — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 03:48:10 +0000

The Sundance Film Festival is about all kinds of different things. On one level, it is a marketplace where filmmakers bring their films to be sold to the highest bidder. Think about movies like Choke (which sold for $5 million) and Hamlet 2 (which sold for an astounding $10 million). These films come here to get picked up and move on to commercial success with limited to wide releases around the world.

As well, there is another aspect of the festival, another form of acclaim — the Sundance Awards. Here the Festival Juries and the Festival Audiences select their favorite films of the week. Sometimes these two forms of acclaim overlap and sometimes they don’t. This year, the Grand Jury Prize in the Dramatic Competition went to Frozen River, a film that until now I had heard very little about. The Dramatic Audience Award was a different story, as it turned out to be a film that I cannot shut up about: The Wackness. Another notable winner is American Teen, whose director Nanette Burstein took home the Documentary Directing Award. This is absolutely fantastic news, as her doc was one of my personal favorites of the fest. Take a look at the complete list of winners below.

Complete list of Sundance 2008 Award Winners:

Grand Jury Prize: Documentary
“Trouble The Water”; directed by Tia Lessin and Carl Deal

Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic
“Frozen River”; directed by Courtney Hunt

World Cinema Jury Prize: Documentary
“Man on Wire”; directed by James Marsh

World Cinema Jury Prize: Dramatic
“King of Ping Pong” (”Ping Pongkingen”); directed by Jens Jonsson

Audience Award: Documentary
Fields of Fuel”; directed by Josh Tickell

Audience Award: Dramatic
“The Wackness”; directed by Jonathan Levine

World Cinema Audience Award: Documentary
“Man on Wire”; directed by James Marsh

World Cinema Audience Award: Dramatic
“Captain Abu Raed”; directed by Amin Matalqa

Directing Award: Documentary
Nanette Burstein for “American Teen”

Directing Award: Dramatic
Lance Hammer for “Ballast”

World Cinema Directing Award: Documentary
Nino Kirtadze for “Durakovo: Village of Fools” (”Durakovo: Le Village Des Fous”)

World Cinema Directing Award: Dramatic
Anna Melikyan for “Mermaid” (Rusalka)

World Cinema Screenwriting Award
Samuel Benchetrit for “I Always Wanted To Be A Gangster” (”J’ai Toujours Reve D’Etre Un Gangster”)

World Cinema Documentary Editing Award
Irena Dol for “The Art Star and the Sudanese Twins”

Excellence in Cinematography Award: Documentary
Phillip Hunt and Steven Sebring for “Patti Smith: Dream of Life”

Excellence in Cinematography Award: Dramatic
Lol Crawley for “Ballast”

World Cinema Cinematography Award: Documentary
al Massad for “Recycle”

World Cinema Cinematography Award: Dramatic
Askild Vik Edvardsen for “King of King Pong” (”Ping Pongkingen”)

Documentary Editing Award
Joe Bini for “Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired”

Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award
Alex Rivera and David Riker for “Sleep Dealer”

Special Jury Prizes

Special Jury Prize: Documentary
“Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo,” directed by Lisa F. Jackson

Special Jury Prize: Dramatic, The Spirit of Independence
“Anywhere, U.S.A.,” directed by Chusy Haney-Jardine

Special Jury Prize: Dramatic, Work by an Ensemble Cast
Sam Rockwell, Anjelica Huston, Kelly MacDonald and Brad Henke for “Choke”

Jury Prize in Short Filmmaking
“My Olympic Summer,” directed by Daniel Robin
“Sikumi” (”On the Ice”), directed by Andrew Okpeaha MacLean

Jury Prize in International Short Filmmaking
“Soft,” directed by Simon Ellis

Shorts Jury Honorable Mentions in Short Filmmaking
“Aquarium,” directed by Rob Meyer
“August 15th,” directed by Xuan Jiang
“La Corona,” (”The Crown”), directed by Amanda Micheli and Isabel Vega
“Oiran Lyrics,” directed by Ryosuke Ogawa
“Spider,” directed by Nash Edgerton
“Suspension,” directed by Nicolas Provost
“W.,” directed by The Vikings
Alfred P. Sloan Prize
“The Sleep Dealer”; directed by Alex Rivera

Sundance/NHK International Filmmakers Award
Alejandro Fernandez Almendras for “Huacho”
Braden King for “Here”
Aiko Nagatsu for “Apoptsis”
Radu Jude for “The Happiest Girl In The World”

For more news, reviews and buzz from the streets of Park City, check out our Sundance 2008 Homepage.

Talking Points: Did you attend the Sundance Film Festival this year? What were your favorite films?

Sundance: ‘The Wackness’ Wins the Dramatic Audience Award

Neil Miller — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 03:27:35 +0000

I am not sitting at the awards ceremony for this year’s 2008 Sundance Film Festival, by Kim Voynar at Cinematical certainly is. And she is reporting that one of my personal favorite films from the festival, The Wackness has won the American Dramatic Audience Award.

This doesn’t come as any surprise to me, as there was an incredible amount of buzz all over the place for The Wackness this year. It seemed like every time I was talking to someone on a bus, on the street or in a theater about what they had seen that they liked, the answer generally included this film.

After receiving the award, director Jonathan Levine had this to say: “I just accepted an award from William H. Macy in a cowboy hat; that is fucking weird.”

Well said, indeed.

Read my Review of The Wackness here. Also, see where I reported that it was purchased by Sony Pictures Classics here.

Keep an eye on our Sundance 2008 Homepage for more from Park City.

Sundance: Sony Pictures Classics Wants Some ‘Wackness’; Fans Should Be Scared

Neil Miller — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 02:12:48 +0000

Allow me to preface this: I could not be happier to hear that director Jonathan Levine’s dark teen drug comedy The Wackness is about to be purchased by a studio for distribution. After waiting all week and talking to Levine on Thursday about the tedious waiting game, it was becoming very frustrating to see that this film had not been picked up by a visionary studio like Fox Searchlight or Focus Features — two companies that could very easily find a way to market this film and put people in the seats. With great marketing, this could just as well have ended up being this year’s Juno.

So I am sad to hear from our friends at indieWIRE that Sony Pictures Classics is in the process of closing a deal for The Wackness. This is probably one of the worst things that could have happened for the film, especially considering the way SPC has handled their films over the last 12 months. Take this into consideration: Academy Award nominated animated film Persepolis has made a total of $913k since its release on December 21. So far, it has played on no more that 30 screens. We are not talking about a crappy animated hack-job either — the movie got nominated for a fucking Oscar.

But wait, that’s not all. Sony Pictures Classics also buried the return of Francis Ford Coppola, Youth Without Youth. I know the film got critically panned, but you mean to tell me that you can’t make more than $200k in seven weeks of release? All it needed to say in the marketing campaign was “From the Director of The Godfather” and you instantly have a good chance at getting people to go see it. Try again, SPC.

And these are just the two most recent victims of Sony Pictures Classics bad handling of great movies. This doesn’t include great films like American Hardcore, Interview, My Kid Could Paint That, The Lives of Others, Art School Confidential and Volver, all great films released in the past two years that have not made over $15 million in their entire theatrical release. Hell, the last time they made more than $15 million with a film was 2005’s Capote, which was an entirely separate beast, driven mostly by Earth’s core hot critical acclaim.

Compare that to Fox Searchlight, who in 2007 took the juggernaut that was Juno to an $88 million dollar box office, 28 Weeks Later to a $28.6 million gross and Waitress to a $19 million gross. They even flubbed up the marketing on The Darjeeling Limited and still made $11.8 million. Are you starting to see a pattern?

So sure, there may be some marketing challenges in the quirky and sometimes very edgy nature of The Wackness, but I would feel much more comfortable — as a fan of the film — had it ended up with a more capable studio. We can still hold out hope that Sony Pictures Classic will have some divine intervention in their publicity and marketing campaign for this film — leaving them with an unexpected hit, but I seriously doubt it. They have proven time and time again that they are not willing to put the money into the marketing of their films and not able to be creative enough to build buzz. They are a studio that wouldn’t know what to do with a great film even if it came with a set of instructions.

Here’s holding out hope that they use The Wackness as a key to walk through the doorway to success in marketing, but I wouldn’t count on it.

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Keep an eye on our Sundance 2008 Homepage for more from Park City.

Sundance Blog: It’s Quiet Now

Neil Miller — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 22:53:55 +0000

By Friday almost everyone who thinks they are anyone special has probably gone home — except us. Yesterday morning we found out that we missed a kick-ass time at the bar with all of the web guys, Quentin Tarantino and Elvis Mitchell. Oh well, from my experiences this week I’m suspicious about categorizing any moments around Mr. Tarantino as being “fun”, but more on that later.

My Friday started early with an 8:30 am screening of Sugar, directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, who co-wrote and co-directed Half Nelson. The movie had a bit of charm but it got bogged down by a bunch of tedious plot points and ancillary characters that didn’t mean much to the story. It had me wanting to go to bed, but the audience seemed to like it — but then again, they had all had their Starbucks already.

From there it was off to a screening of Hamlet 2, the film that set the record this week for the biggest price tag in Sundance history — $10 million f’ing dollars. Now, I’m not sure it is worth that much, but it was pretty damn funny. It may end up being one of those films that some people get and some people just don’t. Personally, I got it — along with Devin from CHUD and Quint from Ain’t It Cool. In fact, our rows were the loudest during the screening.

After that, disaster struck. For the first time all week the wonderful Park City transit system failed miserably. Pete, Alex and myself had to head back to festival headquarters to pick up tickets for showings later that evening, but we were pressed for time. Theoretically, we should have made it to our screening of Bottle Shock, starring Eliza Dushku, but thanks to a packed bus and a somewhat confused driver, we missed the movie. On the bright side, this is only the first time this happened all week — I’m told its usually worse.

The other bright side, as we were walking back to headquarters to do some work we ran into Olivia Thirlby, of Juno and The Wackness fame (or at least, she will soon be famous for her performance in The Wackness). She stopped and talked to us for a few moments, and while it was incredibly awkward she was very friendly and sweet — she’s one of those “good people” in Hollywood that you always hear about but very rarely ever meet.

After some work (notice all the damn reviews that I got done), it was on to the last screening of the night, the Jimmy Fallon starred The Year of Getting to Know Us, a dark comedy about a man coming to terms with his douchebag father and his whack-job mother after his father suffers from a stroke. I can think of no better way to have let all the air out of the day besides this movie — it was a painful pill to swallow. Even worse, it was like one of those pills you don’t really need but you take it anyway. Jimmy Fallon just can’t do drama without sounding like an idiot — it seriously comes down to that. The only enjoyable thing about the film is that Lucy Lui is still very sexy.

On to today, which will be the most quiet day of the festival for me. With press screenings done for the fest, I will only be seeing one film — Anvil!: The Story of Anvil, which I missed the other day. I continue to hear nothing but good things about it. I will also be attending the Awards Ceremony Party to rub elbows with whatever stars are still hanging around Park City. At this point, I’ve got my fingers crossed for Jonathan Levine, director of The Wackness, to take home some hardware this evening. As for tomorrow, that will be a day of seeing movies that I’ve probably already seen, as they screen all of the award winning films all day. Depending on which films win, this could be an awesome re-hashing of the best that I’ve seen so far this week or it could be a chance to catch up on the great films that I didn’t see — I don’t know, just about anything could happen, so stay tuned.

Below you will find my list of reviews for the week so far:

- Hamlet 2 – B+
- Sugar – C+
- Assassination of a High School President – A+
- Quentin Tarantino Presents Hell Ride – B-
- Adventures of Power – D+
- American Teen – A+
- Funny Games – D
- The Escapist – C
- Choke – B
- Towelhead – A
- Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden? – A
- Downloading Nancy – F
- Phoebe in Wonderland – C
- Incendiary – B
- Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson – A
- Sunshine Cleaning – B+
- Smart People – A
- Be Kind Rewind – A
- The Merry Gentleman – C+
- Transsiberian – B
- The Great Buck Howard – B
- Blind Date – D+
- The Wackness – A
- The Yellow Handkerchief – B
- In Bruges – A-

As well, please feel free to explore my other blog posts for the week:

- Day 9: Interviews, Snow and Surprises
- Day 8: Alcohol and High Altitude Don’t Mix
- Day 7: Surrealism
- Day 6: Screenings, Screenings, Screenings
- Day 5: Sarah Jessica Parker! OMG!
- Day 4: In The Trenches
- Day 3: Let’s Get to Work, People!
- Day 2: Hey Mom, I Hung Out with Colin Farrell
- Day 1: Leavin’ On a Jet Plane

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Keep an eye on our Sundance 2008 Homepage for more from Park City.

Sundance Media: Quentin Tarantino Flips Out at Sundance!

Neil Miller — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 22:30:05 +0000

Once again I look to my good friend Peter at Slashfilm to find a pretty awesome video online. In this particular case it is a video that was posted to a site called ekstrabladet. And I must preface this with the fact that we work hard to stay away from gossip and the acts of the always dubious paparazzi, but this is pretty funny. Quentin Tarantino had a little interaction with a random person who was also holding a video camera.

In the video, you will notice that Tarantino gets a little riled up and turns to a bit of violence. Yet, in all fairness the camera operator really never explains what the hell he is doing, other than being a pest. For some this may confirm that Tarantino is sort of a dick, but for others they will understand his actions. From where I sit, there is fault on both sides — either way the interaction is silly and in ways funny. Just sit back an imagine Quentin doing the hand motion saying “What’s going on here? What’s going on here?” It’s hilarious when you think about it… Either way, I am interested to see how you all react to this one.

[See post to watch Flash video]

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Keep an eye on our Sundance 2008 Homepage for more from Park City.

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