Festival Coverage
Sundance Film Review: Hits
The notion of instantly becoming a celebrity in America runs rampant, and reality programming and viral videos aren’t helping the situation. In the small town of Liberty, New York, Katelyn Stuben (Meredith Hagner) constantly envisions the interview she’ll have on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” after she wins the next season of “The Voice.” … read more
Sundance Film Festival: Nick Offerman: American Ham
On March 2, 2013, in the renowned Town Hall Theatre in New York, celebrated television star and coveted “man’s man,” Nick Offerman, graces the stage shirtless, hairy and prepped to offer his “10 Tips for a Prosperous Life.” Changing up the general stand-up routine with multiple musical interludes with acoustic guitar in hand, Offerman offers no mercy to the weak and slothful. … read more
Sundance Film Review: Happiness
More than a decade ago, King Jigme Wangchuck approved the utilization of television and Internet in the Kingdom of Bhutan. With the modernization process coming to an end, the small village of Layla is the last to be updated. Inside this rural region is 8-year-old Peyangki whose single mother has decided to send him to a monastery to become a monk. … read more
Sundance Film Review: The Sleepwalker
You know there is an issue with a film when you realize nothing significant has happened after an hour and it’s only 92 minutes long. Such is the case with Mona Fastvold’s monotonous entry, “The Sleepwalker.” As Kaia (Gitte Witt) and Andrew (Christopher Abbott) work on remodeling her childhood home, they are unexpectedly interrupted by the arrival of Kaia’s sister, Christine (Stephanie Ellis). … read more
Sundance Film Review: The Signal
As they drive across the country to California, friends and computer whizzes Nick (Brenton Thwaites), Jonah (Beau Knapp) and Haley (Olivia Cooke) make a stop in the Nevada desert to track down the notorious hacker, Nomad. As they search an abandoned shack, they suddenly encounter an unfathomable abduction. … read more
Sundance Film Reviews: I Origins
It’s extremely rare when a science-fiction film comes along and makes you ponder as you walk out of the exit, “What if that really happened?” Such is the case with director Mike Cahill’s chilling exploration into the existence of the human species. When Dr. Ian Gray (Michael Pitt) becomes infatuated with the mysterious Sofi (Astrid Bergès-Frisbey) after a one-night-stand, the two randomly find each other and become a couple. … read more
Slamdance Film Review: Cheatin’
Cheatin’ is a bit bizarre, but entertaining nonetheless. It’s an animated narrative film that tells the troubled love story of Ella and Jake, which has no dialogue, just grunts and squeals from the animated characters. … read more
Slamdance Film Review: I Put A Hit On You
After Harper proposes—with a ring for herself instead of a ring for him—and Ray turns her down, Harper goes on a drinking binge in her apartment to get over it. Oh, and did I mention that Harper puts out a hit on Ray via the Internet in her drunken stupor? And that a potential killer answers the ad? Yeah, that happened, too.
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Slamdance Film Review: Wizard’s Way
If I’m being completely honest, I’m a little done with the “found footage” types of faux documentaries. That being said, Wizard’s Way is able to move beyond the cliché it starts in because of the superb character portrayals provided by Kristian Scott as Julian “Windows” Andrews and Socrates Adams-Florou as Barry Tubbulb.
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Slamdance Film Review: Sometimes I Dream I’m Flying
Opening with an incredible visual metaphor—a slow-motion horse race with close ups on the legs and muscles of the horses, representing ballet dancers—and moving through the film with gorgeously-shot scenes, Sometimes I Dream I’m Flying visually feels much more like a feature narrative than a documentary.
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