Hey folks, Harry here with another report in from SUNDANCE... Before I get to it though, you should realize that Moriarty and John Robie did arrive safely in Park City, Utah. They are currently wandering the streets marveling at the puffy cold white stuff that some folks call snow. Being from California and Florida... well these two, have been making snow angels and an igloo to live in just off Main Street. Moriarty's dentures seem to be acting up in the cold so he's taken them out. Robie seems to be quite shocked at some shrinkage that has occurred in the snowy climate. But I do know they saw DONNIE DARKO and apparently don't see necessarily eye to eye on it... They are being coy till they send in their reviews. Also they were searching for the Dude and his posse of Dudettes for... some a-dude-acation... whatever that means. Meanwhile, our own oily reviewer Castor777, buy no other brand, has dripped in with the word on two flicks... MARGARITA HAPPY HOUR which he wasn't jazzed on, and WITHOUT A TRACE which he dug quite a bit. Here ya go...
Hey Harry,
Well it's late and I gotta get some sleep since I'll be
going back for more Sundance, including the Julianne
Moore award and everything. But I wanted to give ya 2
quick reviews of the films I saw tonite. The rating
system at Sundance is 1-5 (1 for poor, 5 for excellent)
so I'll include the rating I gave the film as well -
Margarita Happy Hour (3)
Well I'll be honest, if I had saw this film 2nd I
probubly would of gave it a 2. Regardless though, this
was a movie I just had trouble relating to (which is
understandable, since their's only one male lead) and
it just was going on a lil longer than I wanted it
too. This is a slice of life picture, a genre that I'm
not too crazy about to be honest. The acting in the
film is well done by all means. But the camera work
was a little bit amatuerish which can be expected by a
new director. There are a few rather good scenes in
this film that are well written with descent dialogue,
but it's the pacing that makes it feel a little bit out
of place. When I saw the film, the cast and crew were
sitting right behind me actually and it seemed to me
that they were proud of their work and were enjoying
themselves on their first experiance with the
audience. Having them there made the film better by
all means, and let me tell ya; it's a wierd feeling
when an actress takes off her shirt onscreen and then
you realize she's sitting right behind you. After
seeing it I feel that I could tell anyone in the area
to see the film if there isn't much else you could get
tickets to, but the film after it made me forget quite
a bit about it and I'm a lil unsure at the moment.
Without a Trace (4-5)
I really don't know what I want to write about this film. To put it simply, it's a mexican road trip with two females. But saying that makes everyone instantly think of Thelma and Louise. But personally, I thought it was much better than T&L and sat through it until a quarter pass midnight without even yawning. The first thing that comes to mind of what I liked most about the film is the cinematography which is simply gorgeous. The movie itself is well directed, well acted, and has it's share of both tense and humorous moments. I liked both characters a lot and they had very good chemistry between them which is vital for a film like this. Throughout most of the film I was ready to go ahead and reach in my pocket and tear a 5 on the slip (which most of the audience seemed to have done) but I ended up giving it a 4. It really takes it's time during the ending of the film and it just felt like it was trying to end with a certain message that I obviously didn't fully pick up. But that's not to say it's a bad film by any means, and I recommend it to all people currently around Salt Lake City.
So there you have it Harry. I plan on returning Sunday night with Donnie Darko and Chopper and hopefully Green Dragon and Home Movie.
Cya,
Castor777
