Two updates in a span of a few hours about Sundance? What can we say, it seems to be busier than ever in Park City this year, and so here are details on even more of the films that are earning attention of attendees:
The first sale of the Sundance Film Festival was by Paramount Vantage who scooped up the rights to “Waiting For Superman,” the latest documentary from Davis Guggenheim (“An Inconvenient Truth,” “It Might Get Loud”). The film is a hard look at the US educational system and it earned rave reviews after it’s premiere on Saturday. Variety called the film “exhilarating, heartbreaking and righteous” while The Hollywood Reporter opined that its “moving and effective.” In addition to the standard talking heads that are normally found in this kind of doc, there are apparently some animated sequences as well and a closing credits song by John Legend. There is no release date yet, but this will undoubtedly hit theaters in the fall with for an awards season run.
“Hesher” has been on our radar, mostly for Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s promising performance as a long-haired, anarchist who helps a kid deal with loss. But early reviews on this are definitely mixed. Todd McCarthy over at Variety said the film was filled with “gratuitous provocations” that has an ending that doesn’t quite make the journey worth it. But Larry Gross over at Movie City News called the film an “impressive surprising piece of work,” that is a hybrid of “Harold & Maude” and “sex, lies & videotape” and features a “career best” supporting performance by Natalie Portman. We’re kind of curious to see this ourselves and we hope someone snags the rights for it. You can find some footage and director Spencer Susser talking about the film below.
“Jack Goes Boating” is a relationship dramedy about two people who find each other in New York City while the couple that set them up are facing problems in their marriage. Written and directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman and co-starring Amy Ryan, we were already eager to see this film and positive trade notices have now pushed this into “must see” territory. The Hollywood Reporter says the film is “small, slender yet fond slice of life”, while the picture recalled “the warm ‘little people’ dramas of ’50s” according to Variety. Those descriptions are like porn for us, but that said, responses from screenings on Twitter have been mixed. Unfortunately, the picture is repped by Overture, who as we reported this morning, are on the verge of a buyout. We sincerely hope this film doesn’t get lost in the shuffle. You can find some footage of the film below and the poster to the left.
The first trailer for “Cyrus” left us Playlisters pretty divided and the two recent clips (see below) that have hit the web aren’t going to end the arguments. While we agree that is has the vibe of a mature take on territory covered in “Step Brothers,” reviews coming in on the film suggest that the Duplass brothers may have nailed it. Variety calls the film “keenly observant,” “raw” and “naturalistic.” Anne Thompson notes that its “a bizarre, intimate, unpredictable family drama that is believable, real and often hilarious” while Screen Daily says the “broad farce soon turns darker and more intriguing.” We’ll see for ourselves when Fox Searchlight releases the film later this year.
A clip of Derek Cianfrance’s “Blue Valentine” starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams has surfaced over at MTV. The film is about a 10-year marriage on the verge of collapse and the clip shows the couple arguing over the Manhattan bridge with Gosling’s character threatening to jump if Williams doesn’t tell him what’s wrong. No THR or Variety reports yet, but one review from ScreenDaily has surfaced and it’s a thumbs up. They call the film, “heartbreaking romantic drama which skilfully juggles between the couple’s past and present,” adding that the film will, “cater to discriminating audiences who appreciate intelligent portrayals of adult relationships. “
Interesting news about Michael Winterbottom’s “The Killer Inside Me.” Jeff Wells has noted that Screen Daily has called it, a “staggeringly violent” adaptation of Jim Thompson’s 1952 novel that “reaches a new extreme in the cinematic depiction of a psychopathic murderer. It is hard to watch — and for some will be impossible — regardless of any psychological logic behind its many killings.” Damn, that sounds good! Casey Affleck stars and he’s damn good as a creepy figure as evinced by his Academy Award nominated turn in the “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford,” so maybe more awards season plaudits will come his way when this one is finally released? Jessica Alba and Kate Hudson co-star. Also, apparently Alba walked out of the screening mid-way Too brutal even for her?
Finally, “The Runaways” biopic premiered last night and reviews are now starting to trickle and they are definitely mixed. The one thing everyone agrees on is that the film is disappointingly conventional even with Floria Sigismondi at the helm. Variety says it’s an “enjoyable making-and-breaking-of-the-band saga,” while IndieWire goes in the complete opposite direction saying its a “by-the-numbers, enervated biopic lacking any of the grit or rebellious spirit of punk rock, with both Stewart and Fanning fatally miscast in the lead roles.” Ouch. However, everyone says Michael Shannon is awesome and we’ll be watching this just to see him chew up and spit out the likes of Stewart and Fanning.