Ahoy, squirts! Quint here. I've never been to Sundance. I've always wanted to go (Sundance, Sitges, Cannes and ShoWest are tops on my list of events to experience before I leave this earth), but have never found myself in a position to do so.
Every year we do get a whole bunch of reviews that usually begins the talk of some of the hottest films of that year. If you're going to Sundance and want to send us some reviews please email harry@aintitcool.com and we at AICN will do our best to get them up for the readers ASAP.
I've spent the last night and all of today compiling a scattershot of shorts, premieres, dramatic competition films and documentaries that I'm either very interested in or am dying to see.
In doing this preview I've enlisted the help of the craziest Austin-based film nutball I know. We call him Rav and he's got his ear closer to the ground on foreign and independent film than anyone I know. He keeps trying to drag me to see movies made in random people's closets because the caterer worked on a film with Lars Von Trier or the assistant cameraman on KRULL finally made his directorial debut on a 200 minute long HI-8 movie shot upside-down with midgets... actually, that would be pretty interesting... Anyway he loves this stuff, so I had him over tonight and we went over the Sundance list and talked about the films on the schedule. Below you're going to find the titles and descriptions of the films we pulled and why we desperately want to see them. Keep in mind that this isn't an end-all/be-all list of the films playing Sundance, just what jumped out to me and Rav as looking super great or having the potential of being super great! I look forward to hearing about any surprises once Sundance gets going. Let's begin, shall we?
SHORTS
THE MEANING OF LIFE
That's right. I'm starting with a short animated film. It's at the top of the "dying to see" list for me because it's the new film from Don Hertzfeldt the twisted genius behind some of the funniest animations ever made, including BILLY'S BALLOON, AH L'AMORE and REJECTED. Hertzfeldt draws every single frame by hand, so it takes a few years to complete a 13 minute short like THE MEANING OF LIFE. I really can't wait for this one. "Tuesday's coming. Did you bring your coat?" "I live in a giant bucket!"
A BUCK'S WORTH
So this is a 6 minute short film.... get this... Tom "Frankenstein/Francis Dollarhyde" Noonan and Philip Baker Hall (yes, Jimmy Gator from MAGNOLIA) voice PUPPETS. And check out the one sentence summary:
"Jim Peck feels his social order upended when a homeless man requests a dollar from him--at gunpoint."
WITH PUPPETS! PUPPETS with the voices of Tom Noonon and Philip Baker Hall! Rav declared his undying love for director Tatia Rosenthal just on general principle for this one.
HUSK
This is a horror short about 4 people whose car breaks down in the middle of nowhere. They see a house in the country and go for it, cutting through the cornfield, and something begins picking them off. As a horror nut, I'm desperate to see this, even if it's a 27 minute long short film. That's too long for a short, but maybe it'll play more like a TALES FROM THE CRYPT episode than a festival short.
BILLY'S DAD IS A FUDGE-PACKER
Honestly, this short got my attention based only that title, the hand's down best title of ANYTHING playing Sundance this year. Here's the summary:
"Young Billy is guided toward the "right" life path"
and Alex Borstein (FAMILY GUY's Lois) is in there somewhere.
ELEPHANT PALM TREE
Unlike BILLY'S DAD IS A FUDGE-PACKER, it wasn't the title that jumped out at me for this short, it was the one sentence description. I literally had to re-read it to make sure I read it right. I'm not going to say anything more about this short after this description as it speaks for itself:
"When a menopausal Miss Jamaica is shat on by an elephant, she decides to ask her cheating husband for a divorce."
ARE YOU THE FAVORITE PERSON OF ANYBODY?
Rav: Here we have a short by Miguel Arteta. With no real plot description this four minute short looks to be something to catch as it stars Mike White and John C. Reily. Shouldn’t that be enough? It’s also written by Miranda July who has a feature in the festival (see ME, YOU AND EVERYONE WE KNOW below!).
SPELLING BEE
This is a 15 minute comedy starring Anna Farris (who I met once a few years ago and she's a total sweetheart, even if she was being stalked by a big bald dude at the time) and Charlie Sheen about a Spelling Bee. Don't know much more than that, but I figured it'd be worth seeing just to see those two together especially since the director, Phil Dornfeld, has been working with the Zucker Bros for a while.
FLOTSAM/JETSAM
Rav: And now we have the Zellner bros.’ latest short, they are always a delight. The Virile Man cracked me up. This one apparently has Linklater’s animation maestro Bob Sabiston outside of a computer actually acting. I can’t wait to see this.
9
This is the last short I'm looking at and it's also one of the coolest looking of the bunch. It's called 9 and it's a computer animated short from a guy by the name of Shane Acker, who worked for Weta Digital on RETURN OF THE KING. It's about a rag doll that has to face a monster that has been hunting his brethren and stealing their souls. Check out the trailer here, it's friggin' amazing looking!
FEATURE LENGTH & DOCUMENTARY FILMS
THE BALLAD OF JACK AND ROSE
Rav: Okay it seems the little girl from the beginning of The Lost World is all grown up now and re-emerging opposite Daniel Day Lewis in Rebecca Miller’s sophomore effort. It’s going to be interesting to see Camilla Belle in a more grown up role. I don’t know what to make of this film, it’s got an awesome cast though the trailer just rubbed me the wrong way. You can watch it by clicking here. Although the trailer doesn’t show Jason Lee, Beau Bridges, or Jena Malone, so perhaps there’s a bit more there. Even if there’s not I am sure Ellen Kuras’s cinematography will be another award winner, as she never fails to be consistently amazing with her camera. It also features another child actor re-emerging into the scene Paul Dano (the kid from L.I.E.) has a role.
BRICK
This a film from new director Rian Johnson starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Lukas Haas, Matt O'Leary and Richard Roundtree... yes, THAT Richard Roundtree. He's a bad mutha-shutyomouth! Solid cast with a great premise. The super-cool Trevor Groth wrote a synopsis of the film on the Sundance website which really got me stoked to see this film. Here's a piece of it:
Brendan Fry is a loner at his high school, someone who knows all the angles but has chosen to stay on the outside. When the girl he loves turns up dead, he plunges into the school's social strata like a fist through a honeycomb to find the "who" and "why," with the same single-minded devotion to his self-appointed task as the hard-boiled heroes of old.
The film is rife with familiar character types in deliciously unfamiliar roles: the sociopathic sexpot is the queen of the drama geeks; the chief of police is the vice principal; the trusty operative is a nerd in coke-bottle glasses; the heavy (brilliantly portrayed by Lukas Haas) is a 26-year-old drug dealer who lives in his mom's basement; and of course the femme fatale is now the head cheerleader.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt unleashes an inspired performance as the fast-talking, ultracool protagonist. Johnson displays a complete understanding of cinematic language, paying homage to the classics but also creating his own style by injecting the film with contemporary exuberance, humor, and locale.
This sounds like it could be a whole lotta fun and would be on my list if I was in Park City this year.
CHUMSCRUBBER
Rav: Now we have the second bill of the Sundance Camilla Belle double-feature. So we’ll see what she’s up to in this ensemble drama with Jamie Bell. This film is shot by Larry Sher, who last year transformed what would have been a mediocre indie movie into a great work with Garden State. So this is another one of these films that even if everything doesn’t work, it’ll surely be something to look at. Arie Posin directed a very enjoyable short I saw a few years back at another festival, it’s really wonderful to see him given such a great project with a great cast and crew. The film is produced by Lawrence “Tarantino’d” Bender as well as also stars Jason Isaacs, Lauren Holly, Ralph Fiennes, Glenn Close, Rory Culkin, William Fichtner, John Heard, Carrie-Ann Moss, and Rita Wilson. So don’t miss it.
CRONICAS
This is a film produced by Alfonso Cuaron and Guillermo del Toro written and directed by newcomer Sebastian Cordero. The script won an award at the '02 Sundance festival and returns as a feature film starring John Leguizamo. The story centers on a reporter (Leguizamo) looking into the brutal rape and killing of children in a small town in Ecuador. The deeper he gets into the story, the more he puts his life in danger. This looks to be an intense movie and since I know for a fact Guillermo del Toro is a mad genius/disturbing pervert, so this has got to be pretty intense if he put his name on it!
DEAR WENDY
Rav: From our Camilla Belle double-feature, to our Jamie Bell Double Feature, Sundance rules! The Celebration was amazing and one of the only perfect Dogme 95 films, though flawed It’s All About Love was one very beautiful piece of work. Dear Wendy reunites Vinterberg with Von Trier who takes writing duties on this sort of gun-obsessed crazy feature. Bill Pullman and Jamie Bell star, as well as the DP from All About Love is back. Theres a great trailer up for it at http://www.dearwendy.dk/ . It seems to be like Von Trier and Vinterberg teamed up to make their own narrative “Bowling For Columbine.” From all the production stills with cowboy hats for the longest I had convinced myself this project was a western/period piece. Its not and It looks to be something really wonderful.
DIRTY LOVE
Rav: Written by Jenny McCarthy. What??? Shit, I guess they package voice recognition software in Final Draft now. Okay if she nails this, Holy Crap, Jenny McCarthy is a screenwriter. If not I am sure its going to make one hell of a midnight movie, it stars the screenwriter herself, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Carmen Electra, and Kathy Griffin. Don’t expect too much as it’s directed by McCarthy’s husband who also is responsible for that mediocre McCarthy monstrosity that was “Diamonds”
THE DYING GAUL
This film is "a psychological thriller in the Hitchcock tradition. It plays like a Greek tragedy, thick with intrigue, betrayal, and revenge" according to John Cooper's synopsis. Sounds cool to me. I know it stars Peter Sarsgaard and 6 FEET UNDER's Patricia Clarkson, so the talent's in front of the camera. Directorial debut from the guy who wrote THE SECRET LIVES OF DENTISTS.
ELLIE PARKER
This movie got my attention because it is the only chance you'll ever see Naomi Watts in a movie co-starring Chevy Chase. Heheh... It's about an actress in LA and her ups and downs. Mostly interested because of the star-power. It's written and directed by Scott Coffey, also an actor. Interested in seeing what this flick ends up being.
GAME 6
This film follows a playwright (played by Michael Keaton) who butts heads with a theatre critic (played by the always awesome Robert Downey Jr.) as his life is falling apart. Somehow the Boston Red Sox play into things. The cast on this is fantastic. Keaton, Downey and then you have Griffin Dunne ("I'm sorry I called you meatloaf, Jack!"), Catherine O'Hara and Bebe Neuwirth. I'm definitely interested to watch that group of people interact. Directed by Michael Hoffman, who directed SOAPDISH, ONE FINE DAY and THE EMPEROR'S CLUB.
GRIZZLY MAN
Hey, we got a documentary here! Finally! Directed by Werner Herzog, this one sounds funky. It's all about Timothy Treadwell, an author and outdoorsman who along with his partner lived with grizzly bears, studying them... before eventually getting killed and devoured by them. Very interesting subject matter. Curious about this one.
HAPPY ENDINGS
Rav: I’m such a sucker for Don Roos, I can say I paid $7 for a ticket to Bounce and loved it. I’m absolutely in love with The Opposite of Sex, so whatever he does I’m so totally there. It also doesn’t hurt that he’s got a great cast lined up for this one, Steve “24 Hr Party People” Coogan, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Lisa Kudrow, Laura Dern, and Edward Furlong. Also Tom Arnold is somewhere in the movie *scratches head* Huh? It’s the opening night film, so I’m sure we’ll be hearing a ton about it soon.
HUSTLE & FLOW
Rav: So I’m not the biggest fan of John Singleton lately, Baby Boy was crap, and I couldn’t bother myself with viewing 2 fast 2 furious. With this one he is just producing for an up and coming talent. This film has Terrance Howard in it, he can be really bad (Glitter) or fairly decent (Ray), lets hope for the decent. But what this film could be legend for is it’s an DV indie drama at sundance starring DJ Qualls (that geeky kid in Road Trip) and if he actually nails a great performance in this film it could be the most amazing random thing ever. Taryn Manning from Crazy/Beautiful and 8 Mile is also in it. Apparently this is also the project that Anthony Anderson raped a girl on, if you were looking for a little piece of IMDB trivia.
I AM CUBA, THE SIBERIAN MAMMOTH
Rav: Okay if you’ve ever listened to Paul Thomas Anderson’s brilliant Drunken commentary to Boogie Nights, then you may have heard of “I Am Cuba.” The shot in Boogie at the party where it tracks around everyone and eventually winds up jumping in the pool was ripped off of it. Well the film more or less intended to be a propaganda film, has proven itself a classic with its technical achievements and powerful performances from non-actors. This here is a comprehensive brazilian documentary about the film. I would kill to see this documentary as I can’t begin to imagine the background the film has.
INSIDE DEEP THROAT
Another documentary! I'm on a roll! This is probably the doc with the highest profile out of all the Sundance docs as it's an NC-17 film produced by Brian Grazer and backed by Universal. It's all about the controversy and success of the classic porno flick DEEP THROAT. Looks like fun and where else at Park City will you get to graphic sex with a theater full of arty-farty snobs? I don't think Larry Clark has a new movie out this year, so the answer is nowhere else!
THE JACKET
Here's another high profile film, a thriller starring Adrien Brody, Keira Knightley, Kris Kristofferson, Jennifer Jason leigh and Brad Renfro. The trailer can be seen here! Looks like it could be a winner!
Rav: Mmmmmmm Keira Knightley. I missed a Test Screening of this a couple months ago while I was living in LA, I’d fuck a monkey to borrow a time machine and correct my mistake.
KUNG FU HUSTLE
I've already ejaculated my love of this film onto this page a few times already, so I'll spare you another round. Click here to see a couple KUNG FU HUSTLE trailers. If you're going to Sundance... Don't miss this movie!
LAYER CAKE
This film ends the BUTT-NUMB-A-THON '04 flicks run at Sundance this year (see OLDBOY for a BNAT '03 player!). LAYER CAKE screened at BNAT this year and it wowed the audience. If you think you know what a great British Gangster movie is, do yourself a favor and see this movie. Great acting, great characters and a brilliant fucking ending.
LONESOME JIM
Rav: I haven’t seen his first film Tree’s Lounge, but I wasn’t the biggest fan of Animal Factory. Although,I am also a total rabid ultra-psycho-geeky fan of his acting (Who isn’t?), Steve Buscemi just plain rules. So of course I am looking forward to everything he touches. He’s also got a great cast in place with this one, Casey Affleck, Liv Tyler, and the character actor god Kevin Corrigan. It seems to be a quirky story about a guy moving back in with his family. Should be really good, he’s also got a great production designer working on it, austinite Chuck Voelter who worked with him before on 13 Moons.
LOVERBOY
Directed by Kevin Bacon, this film sounds a little demented. It's about a mother who loves her son too much... could that be in a sexual way? God, I hope not, but it's definitely an emotional smothering type thing. Interesting cast, hopefully good movie! Stars Bacon, Kyra Sedgwick, Matt Dillon and the awesome Oliver Platt.
MARILYN HOTCHKISS BALLROOM & CHARM SCHOOL
This film has the worst title of the fest (maybe ever), but it has an amazing cast and a kind of a harsh premise. Robert Carlyle, Marisa Tomei, John Goodman (!!!), Mary Steenburgen, Danny DeVito and Sean Astin. Here's a bit of the synopsis:
"Robert Carlyle is Frank Keane, a baker by trade but now a man consumed by his wife's death. When fate intervenes, he pulls over to help a stranger in a car wreck, a man near death (John Goodman) who urgently discloses a planned reunion, a meeting with a lost childhood love at a school for ballroom dance. So simply one man's dream becomes another man's destiny."
THE MATADOR
David Tattersal has photographed STAR WARS, (Young) Indiana Jones and a couple of very good lookin' Frank Darabont movies (THE MAJESTIC and THE GREEN MILE) and he's the reason this one gets a mention. Plus it's got Pierce Brosnan (in a black speedo, sunglasses and cowboy boots smoking a cigar, supposedly... you know you can't turn that down!), Greg Kinnear, Hope Davis, Phillip Baker Hall (not a puppet this time) and Dylan Baker, who is always awesome. A traveling salesman meets a hitman and they begin to like each other. Not so hot on the premise, but the cast and photography look to be top notch.
ME, YOU AND EVERYONE WE KNOW
Rav: Again I’m not exactly familiar with Miranda July’s work, but I loved Center of The World. Considering she’s working with O’Reily, White, and Arteta now as well as IFC is financing her probably means she is someone to watch. It’s also got a seven year old dating someone over the internet, so it must be quirky and fucked up. Run go watch it and report back!
MIRRORMASK
This is one I'm insanely curious about. I love the worlds of Neil Gaiman. I haven't read his book which this movie is based on, but I've heard good things (even if it does sound suspiciously like a retread of Stephen King and Peter Straub's THE TALISMAN). It's a fantasy about a 15 year old girl who must find the titular Mirrormask in order to revive the Light Queen who will restore balance between good and evil. The Jim Henson Company help with the film and from what I've seen it looks a little like a Gilliam film, and that's not a bad thing. I'm itching to get word back on this flick, so you Sundancers let us know how it is!
MYSTERIOUS SKIN
Rav: The word on Gregg Araki’s new work is that it blows everything he’s done before away and actually may bring him the title of “great filmmaker.” As well as unbelievably cement Joseph Gordon-levitt (the kid from the tv show Third Rock From The Sun) as a real dramatic actor. I hear it has pretty good production design too. I hate all you fuckers seeing it at sundance, I wanted to see this like yesterday. Also, DENTLER PLEASE SXSW SXSW SXSW!
Harry tells me that MYSTERIOUS SKIN opens the same day as REVENGE OF THE SITH, which is bad news for Lucas. Bye-bye box office, it's surely going to Araki!
9 SONGS
Rav: Okay I love love love Michael Winterbottom and will totally watch this movie the first chance I get. Though word hasn’t been so hot on this one, most seem to describe it as a high class porn movie. It’s the first sexually explicit film to apply for a ratings cert. in Britain, was given an X in Australia, so who knows. From previous reviews it seems to be Sex, rock concert, sex, rock concert, sex, rock concert, repeat, repeat, repeat until 9, although it only clocks in at 65 minutes, so if it sucks at least its short. But its Winterbottom Sex so its gotta at least be interesting well-shot porn.
OLDBOY
Another film that this site has loved up on for over a year now. Foreign DVDs have been out for a while now, but if you're attending Sundance and haven't seen this film somehow, get into any theater playing this movie. You won't regret it! Revenge has never been so brutal and an ending has never been as "Holy FUCK!" Chanwook Park is the man... and he has another film at Sundance this year called THREE... EXTREMES... actually, it's an anthology film with short films by Chanwook Park, Takashi Miike and Fruit Chan. Look below for more on that one...
ON A CLEAR DAY
This is one I overlooked until Rav pointed it out again. It seemed a lot more of the typical Sundance drama on the surface... a man in his '50s is laid off and realizes he's too old to start a new life, but too young to not do anything. Inner demons have to be fought, you know the story. The cast is what caught Rav's eye and I must admit I'm really looking forward to seeing these guys interact: Peter Mullan, Brenda Blethyn (who was great in the under-released PLOTS WITH A VIEW) and Billy Boyd.
PRETTY PERSUASION
Rav was going to write this one up, but unfortunately this movie stars Evan Rachel Wood and Rav hasn't mastered the art of typing one-handed yet. So, he handed it off to me. This film is a satire about a teenage girl (Evan Rachel Wood) and how she goes after what she wants using as much of her sexuality as she can. It eventually leads to a sexual harassment suit being filed against one of their teachers. Where it goes from here I don't know, but again it's got a stellar cast: Wood, Selma Blair, Ron Livingston (!!!) and James Woods top the cast list.
REEFER MADNESS
A musical version of REEFER MADNESS starring Neve Campbell, Steven Weber and Alan Cumming? This has got to be odd. I'm expecting CRY BABY meets HALF-BAKED meets CHICAGO! Directed and adapted by Andy Fickman from his own play that was a big deal in West Coast theatre, I'm told. This could be a whole lotta fun.
REEL PARADISE
Steve James (HOOP DREAMS) documents John Pierson's fight to bring cinema to Fiji. Pierson's an interesting cat just by himself and a fight trying to spread the joys of cinema to those who normally would go without is sure to be an interesting watch!
RORY O'SHEA WAS HERE
Rav: Okay do you watch South Park? This looks to be TIM-MAY: THE MOVIE except with a little bit of heart. It could be the greatest or the worst movie ever made. I’m looking forward to it. Here’s the domestic trailer. And is it me or is the nerdy disabled guy a stolen-sperm clone of Mike White?
THE SQUID AND THE WHALE
This is another one that I'm dying to see. It's produced by Wes Anderson (RUSHMORE, LIFE AQUATIC, etc), directed by Noah Baumbach (co-writer of THE LIFE AQUATIC) and stars Jeff Daniels, Laura Linney and Jesse Eisenberg. The film is about a Brooklyn family with troubles. It's trying to tear itself apart with two teenage boys watching it happen. If the film is able to keep the quirk of THE LIFE AQUATIC, then it could be something dramatic, fun and entertaining. I'm pulling for this one.
STRANGERS WITH CANDY (THE MOVIE)
Rav: I’m so curious about this movie, I have a feeling that this is going to be much more than a television spin-off movie. Even if you weren’t the biggest fan of the series, you’re bound to become interested when you see the cast for this comedy central movie. Matthew Broderick, Dan Hedaya, Ian Holm, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Allison Janney, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Justin “I was the fucking bomb in mulholland drive yo” Theroux join the original series cast. If you missed the series, it was about a 46 year old junkie ex-con (Amy Sedaris) returning to high school to start her life over after getting out of prison. The film is supposed to be a prequel showing how she came to return to high school. Watch out for this one, it’s screening in the midnight section. Hopefully Paramount or Fox Searchlight will acquire it quickly as I am dying to see this movie. (Or hopefully Matt Dentler’ll bring it to SXSW this year!!!!PLEASE!).
SUGAR
I don't know about this film. It's probably the iffiest of those that I'm listing. It's here because I would go see it if I was at Sundance because it's one of the only horror features playing and the premise sounds smart:
Formally stunning and compositionally complex, Sugar, Reynold Reynolds's and Patrick Jolley's first feature, is a striking postnarrative, Gothic horror masterpiece. When a woman rents a miserably tiny room, she finds mountains of belongings from the previous tenant, "Anthony," as well as messages on the machine from the landlord, his mother, and a calm, threatening Irishman. As she cleans up the place, she begins to experience uncanny visions, nightmares, and the feeling that Anthony is much closer than she imagined.
What I'm worried about is just how arty this film goes. Sure, it shouldn't be exploitation-level with that premise, but if the filmmaker takes himself too seriously with it, the film could become quickly very dull. One woman, one room, one horror movie. Could be great or terrible. Not too much gray area with a premise like that.
THREE... EXTREMES
Ah, here we are. I've seen this and can vouch for it... at least for 2/3rds of it. This is a horror anthology from Asia with 3 of Asia's top genre directors with about 30+ minutes each. The first two are really good. Fruit Chan's DUMPLINGS kicks off the flick and is the highlight for me. Chris Doyle cinematography, great use of sound and an overall twisted story. The second segment is directed by OLDBOY's Chanwook Park and is stylish, disturbing and very entertaining. The third and last segment is directed by cult favorite Takashi Miike. His is the weakest segment... overlong, but it still has a couple amazing moments. Definitely worth checking out if you can!
3-IRON
Rav: I’ve seen this film, Kim Ki-Duk’s latest, its about a transient boy that breaks into peoples homes and takes in their life for a few hours, usually that consists of masturbating in their bedrooms, he then meets a woman in one of these homes who is dealing with a bad relationship and they get to know each other sort of. I’m always amazed at the emotion this man can convey with little-to-no dialogue. This film doesn’t disappoint.
THUMBSUCKER
Rav: I was really excited about this movie a couple years back when it was slated to star Scarlett Johansson and Elijah Wood. The cast was shifted around quite dramatically, though now its finished and premiering at sundance this year. Elijah was replaced by this actor named Lou Pucci, he had a part in Personal Velocity but I can’t remember him that well, its been a while, I hope he was good. Meanwhile Scarlett was replaced by Kelli Garner, the high school girl Howard Hughes’ corrupts in The Aviator, perhaps this is an upgrade as Scarlett has gone all Michael Bay Weitzy lately. The cast also filled out quite nice with Tilda Swinton, Keanu Reeves, and the Tarsem double-vince-bill of Vaughn/D’Onofrio. So this looks to be an interesting one.
The film (which contains graphic sexuality) flows between controversial imagery and story lines: a minstrel in blackface who aspires to be an invertebrate by injecting snail enzymes into his cheek; a Shirley Temple dictator in Nazi garb; a naked man with cerebral palsy lying on a giant seashell, being fondled by a naked woman wearing a monkey mask; talking snails getting repeatedly salted; and watching over all, an enthroned Glover in a full-length fur coat.
Based on terrifying true events, Wolf Creek is sure to do for Australian horror films what The Texas Chain Saw Massacre did for the American genre.
This story begins with three road-trippers heading into the Australian outback. After several days of driving (marked by roadkill, a near bar fight, and spooky tales of local UFO sightings), they finally arrive at Wolf Creek National Park and set up camp. The following morning, while preparing to leave, they realize their watches don't work and their car won't start. As panic sets in, they notice strange lights heading straight for them. This is where the real "fun" begins, and the trio must face one of the most frightening bogeymen in the history of film.
Upon departing his presidency, Eisenhower issued a stern, cogent warning about the burgeoning "military industrial complex," foretelling with ominous clarity the state of the world in 2004 with its incestuous entanglement of political, corporate, and Defense Department interests.
THE UPSIDE OF ANGER
Written and directed by Mike Binder (creator and star of HBO's THE MIND OF A MARRIED MAN) this flick proclaims it's a return to "classic melodrama" while also calling itself a comedic drama. It's got a great cast: Joan Allen, Kevin Costner, Erika Christensen, Evan Rachel Wood and Alicia Witt. It's about an alcoholic mother that is left to raise her 4 kids by herself and the wackiness that ensues. Binder's humor is very dry, but very smart. Could be a winner.
WHAT IS IT?
Here's what you need to know: Crispin Glover directing and acting and this bit from the synopsis:
Tell me you wouldn't masturbate a bum to see this movie? Crispin Glover is a lunatic. An amazingly entertaining lunatic. Now if he'd just make a film version of his song CLOWNY CLOWN the world can dump all its nuclear arsenal and hold hands in peace and love.
WOLF CREEK
This is the big horror movie that got snagged by Dimension films a couple weeks ago. I hope it's better than the big Sundance horror movie last year, OPEN WATER.
Sounds good to me! I really, really, really hope it's as good as it sounds! That'll make one horror nut very happy!
WHY WE FIGHT
This could be an amazing documentary. Filmmaker Eugene Jarecki (THE TRIALS OF HENRY KISSINGER) dissects the human urge to make war centered around a statement Eisenhower made before leaving office:
I really dig the idea of examing what it is in human nature or in the mind of mankind that drives us to war. This could be really great.
That's all I got. Wheeeewwww, that's a long one. Thanks for sticking in there, squirts! Thanks to Rav for helping me with that big bear of an article, losing many hours of sleep in the process. All work and no sleep makes Rav a dull boy! You can drop Rav an email here if you wish. He doesn't bite... just kinda nibbles...
The above was a scattershot of interesting looking shorts, features and documentaries, but I'm always open to hearing about other films. Any of you Sundance people can email harry@aintitcool.com with reports on what is good, not so good and super-shitty. Lots of curious minds want to know!
Looks like a great year at Sundance! We'll keep you posted when the word starts trickling in Thursday or Friday!!! 'Til then, this is Quint bidding you all a fond farewell and adieu.
-Quint
