Woke up this morning to another stunning snowstorm, with about six new inches of powder on the ground. Nothing beats that early morning quiet when everything is covered with a blanket of white. And with the sun out for a bit and temperatures climbing into the high 20s, snowballs can be on the menu as soon as I find someone to nail.

More quick takes on movies: ANVIL: THE STORY OF ANVIL (4-stars) is a surprisingly touching doc about friendship, dreams, and the neverending quest for success by a once-marginally famous Canadian metal band of the early 80s. Hilarious in spots and completely absurd in others (even though it's all true), this is way more than just a portrait of a real-lfe "Spinal Tap," and I would think a sure thing to get picked up.

SUNSHINE CLEANERS (3-stars) is wonderfully acted by a cast including Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Alan Arkin, Steve Zahn and Mary-Lynn Rajskub. It's a story about two squabbling sisters--one living with a kooky dad who's always got a new business scheme working, the other working as a maid trying to support her troubled son and having an affair with a married local cop and former sweetheart--who start a company cleaning up after murders and violent crimes. An entertaining dramatic-comedy, but the storyline did not grab me, and enough already with the crazy Alan Arkin/young relative relationshiip stuff.

The world premiere of U2-3D (4-stars) was a trip. The scene at the Eccles was completely nuts, and not only were directors Catherine Owens and Mark Pellington in the house, but so were all four members of U2 and Al Gore. With the aid of $50 digital 3-D glasses (wonder if these will be what our local IMAX screen will utilize when it opens there?), the viewer is plopped down in the middle, above, through, and around an impressive collection of performances from their South American tour a couple of years ago. Not real gimmicky for a 3-D film, the movie lets the songs and the technology speak for themselves. Featuring many of their greatest hits and a rare obscure album track or two, my only complaint would be that the set felt a liittle short--I was ready for more and hoping for "I Will Follow,' "Desire" or "11 O'Clock Tick Tock." A minor quibble--I'll be back for an encore to bring the girlfriend and the kids once it opens Orlando.

--Matthew

Two days into Sundance and it's already apparent that there's not enough city buses and shuttles to handle the hordes of festivalgoers and winter vacationers. Traffic anywhere around Main Street is a nightmare, and I don't recall ever seeing so many buses flashing the "Full" sign. I've taken to walking to venues whenever possible, and the slight increase in temperature ( teens-to-mid-20s) makes that even more of an option. Some of the drivers are already in mid-festival cranky form, but the tunes have been interesting as we've already heard a so-loud-it's-distorting Violent Femmes' "Blister in the Sun" ( a bus sing-a-long!) and a pretty cool Depeche Mode instrumental remix on the first "Techno Bus" of the year. Motor on...so far docs are trumping narratives, but more on that later.

--Matthew

But definitely white, frozen, and beautiful as this year's Sundance Film Festival kicks off. Arriving late morning yesterday to a 15 degree slap in the face at the Salt Lake City airport, we soon found ourselves in single digits and dropping as we got to Park City. In fact, after being in the -6 to -9 degree range the previous two nights, the locals delighted in predicting -10 for our first evening in town. Let's see...leave Orlando at nearly 80 degrees, find ourselves facing -10 in Utah. Nothing like a little 90 degree swing in one day. Whatever it ultimately got down to, it's simply as cold as I can ever remember here. And after a virtually snow-free fest last year, it's already snowed twice. This morning was particularly picturesque as it was coming down pretty heavy and 5 huge deer were hanging out in the cross-country skiing area behind our condo (and out the dining room windows). Not something you see too often in Central Florida...

Another rarity was actually sitting down to two good meals in one day in Park City, something that never happens once the films get crankin'. Hit Bandits Grill & Bar (didn't this used to be "Reds BBQ"?) for lunch and had the yummy tri-tip steak sandwich, while I also had my first experience at Butcher's Chophouse & Bar with a very late night lamb chop dinner. Both establishments are highly recommended. Meanwhile, I was surprised to see the extremely popular Main Street Noodle & Pizza joint closed for a private rental for the first half of the festival--geez, I can only imagine how much that cost.

On the film front, I'm happy to report my first two were both winners. Continuing a trend that started last year when my first screening of the festival was ONCE, YOUNG@HEART (5 stars) was everything I expected and more. Stephen Walker's doc about a renowned geriatric chorus (average age: 80) that covers everything from The Clash to The Zombies to Dylan to James Brown to Coldplay and Sonic Youth is highly entertaining, funny, and incredibly moving as the group of senior citizens comes together for 7 weeks of rehearsals before performing a new show. Somehow they find the time and energy to also shoot delightful videos for tracks by The Ramones, Talking Heads, Bowie and The Bee Gees. This is a must-see, and I'd be shocked if there's a more inspirational and touching film in the festival.

Director Tom McCarthy's follow-up to his acclaimed THE STATION AGENT, THE VISITOR (4 stars) is an outstanding drama about a lonely, widowed Connecticut college professor (Richard Jenkins, the father on "Six Feet Under") who returns to NYC to deliver a paper for a colleague at an educational conference. When he arrives at his rarely occupied apartment, he finds an illegal alien Muslim couple (he's from Syria, she's from Senegal) crashing at his place. The relationships and situations that develop (no spoilers here) are wonderfully acted and beautifully told, and this is a film with resonance that demonstrates no sophomore slump whatsoever.

Let's hope this fine film trend continues...it's off to the Library for numero tres.

--Matthew