Based on having not seen its predecessor, I walked into Jose Padilha’s Elite Squad: The Enemy Within with the expectation that I’d be completely lost and the hope that I’d be completely entertained. One of those two came to fruition. Needless to say, the film stands apart from 2008′s Elite Squad, carrying over (based on what I’m told) only themes and energy. Having experienced round two, I can only expect to find the original to be an entertaining ride. That is, if it’s anything like The Enemy Within, it’s probably one hell of a movie.

Sundance 2011 marks my first time at the festival, and the overwhelming task of having the chance to see literally hundreds of films and shorts makes it a daunting and exciting task to look forward to in my first adventure in snow-capped Park City. Many of these films will only be seen at this one time at the festival and then possibly never again due to various rights, distribution, unseen film politics, or just plain shoddy filmmaking (sad to say). So besides all of that hub-bub, here are the 11 films I can’t wait to see as the year’s festival kicks off from this Thursday, January 20th to the following Sunday of the 30th.