Month: January 2014
Sundance Film Review: Cold in July
Director Jim Mickle returns to the Sundance Film Festival after terrifying people last year with his cannibalistic horror “We Are What We Are.” This time around, we’re transported to 1989 in a small town in East Texas. After hearing a window break in the middle of the night in his home, Richard Dane (Michael C. Hall) shoots and kills the intruder. Upon hearing the invader’s father (Sam Shepard) has just been released from prison, it doesn’t take long for the parolee to bring his own wave of revenge to the Dane’s home. However, just when you think Mickle’s tale is about two fathers fighting against each other, a cyclone of mysteries, twists and turns band the adversaries for a greater purpose. … read more
Sundance Film Review: The Skeleton Twins
The tone is set in Craig Johnson’s dramedy immediately as we’re introduced to twins Maggie (Kristen Wiig) and Milo (Bill Hader). As Milo lies in a blood-soaked bathtub with two slit wrists, Maggie, on the other side of the country, is questioning whether or not to take a handful of pills, but a call informing her of her brother’s situation makes her think otherwise. However, all is not fine when the pair is reunited and Milo moves in with his estranged sister and her overtly courteous husband, Lance (Luke Wilson). Johnson takes on an array of taboo topics including suicide, infidelity, molestation and successfully walks a fine line between dark realities and comic relief. … read more
The Boys are Back in Town: Nitro Circus Live Hits...
Gregg Godfrey showed he’s the old vet by back flipping a tricycle right out of the gate while Crum took a more laid back approach, launching the La-Z-Boy. Tyler Roberts rode his cooler over the ramp and Chanler Godfrey front flipped a mini bike. Jolene Van Vugt, aka the toughest chick in the world, took her Barbie car for a 50-foot ride. This is the most talented and badass family around. … read more
Salt Lake Comic Con: George Takei @ The Leonardo 01.17
With two big events on the horizon—the Fan Xperience in April and the second annual Salt Lake Comic Con in September—Farr and Brandenburg also managed to capture the attention of George Takei, Star Trek alum, meme enthusiast and outspoken advocate for equality. Together, they created a comic con pre-event in which fans could meet their favorite USS Enterprise helmsman. … read more
Sundance Film Review: We Come as Friends
A young Sudanese girl wonders why she is beaten at school when she wears her native clothing; Texas evangelists set up a colony on Sudanese land to save the souls of the naked, godless locals and build a “New Texas.” We Come as Friends is a powerful, troubling and possibly life-changing look into the real people involved in this monumental disaster, and the real consequences of economic and cultural imperialism. … read more
Slamdance Film Review: Skanks
If I had a nickel for every documentary about an original musical from a community theater in Birmingham, Alabama, I’d have one nickel and one hilarious documentary.
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Slamdance Film Review: Kinderwald
John (Frank Brückner) and Flora Linden (Emily Behr) are raising their two children, Caspar and Georgie (Leopold and Ludwig Fischer Pasternak) while John works in a coal mine in Pennsylvania in the mid-1800s. (Their names, along with the word “kinder,” are half the lines of the film.) When the two boys go missing, the couple entreats the surrounding community to help find them to no avail, which brings them some unwanted attention. … read more
Slamdance Film Review: Crimes Against Humanity
As the previews of Crimes Against Humanity suggest, Lewis (Mike Lopez) is an asshole. The opening scene includes him not so passive-aggressively berating his girlfriend, Brownie (Lyra Hill), for not having a job. Crimes Against Humanity functions as an interesting character study of Lewis and Brownie; of an irreverent prick and an unconfident, pitiful mess, respectively. … read more
Sundance Film Review: Fishing Without Nets
Fishing Without Nets reflects the new generation of filmmakers who think outside the box in terms of perspective, focusing on characters Hollywood keeps on the sidelines and revealing rich stories where the white guy doesn’t swoop in to save the day. … read more
Sundance Film Review: Happy Valley
If you haven’t heard about the sexual abuse scandal erupting from the Penn State University football program, then that rock you live under must be mighty hefty. Director Amir Bar-Lev embedded himself within a town that was once revered as a wholesome community until tragedy stuck due to the multiple sexual molestation charges brought up against the Penn State University’s Assistant Coach, Jerry Sandusky. Bar-Lev lightly touches on Sandusky’s case and verdict, but the primary focus is set upon the head coach, Joe Paterno. Records indicate Paterno was made aware of an incident with Sandusky and a minor and emailed his superiors, but nothing ever came of his report. … read more