Sundance '08: A Quick Take on "Baghead","Flow: For Love of Water","Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired","Anvil: The Story of Anvil", "Frozen River"

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Ah well, better late than never, here's my last round of quick takes on some of the films I saw at Sundance:

Jay and Mark Duplass' "Baghead"

The Duplass Brothers return with their latest digital verite film about four struggling LA actors who decide to write their own script so they can get decent roles. "Baghead" offers more of the Duplass' witty, observational humor about the way twenty-something humans interact while also toying with some surprising genre elements.


Irena Salina's "Flow: For Love of Water"

A terrifying look at how the world's water supply is in danger of pollution and severe shortage, this film, while a tad conventional in it's execution, is a must see which will hopefully wake up people to what is going to be the "oil" of the 21st Century.


Marina Zenovich's "Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired"

A very well-edited look at the notorious Roman Polanski sex case that led to the director's eventual flee from America, the film offers a shocking portrait of how the media impacts the judicial system and how ridiculously unfair Polanski was treated while also not whitewashing the real crime that he did commit.


Sacha Gervasi's "Anvil: The Story of Anvil"

A sweet, funny look at Canadian heavy metal band, Anvil, who unlike their peers, Metallica and Anthrax, didn't sell a million albums but none-the-less never gave up their pursuit to rock the house. The obvious temptation to make "Anvil" out like real life "Spinal Tap" yo yo's demeans what are just some normal, working class guys who are good at what they do and refuse to give up their dreams.


Courtney Hunt's "Frozen River"

A unique look at a middle-aged woman living in economically deprived upstate New York who gets caught up in illegal immigrant smuggling, "Frozen River" takes some unbelievable plot turns but works anyway, with a great lead performance by Melissa Leo as she struggles to take care of her children after allying with a Native American woman in the same boat.



Sundance 08: From Sun to Snow...

Still catching up post Sundance, with more mini-reviews of the films I saw there coming up.

In the meantime, check out more on the crazy weather we experienced getting out of Utah.


The Weather in Park City, Utah this past Sunday:

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The Weather in Park City, Utah this past Monday:

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See Eug's video clip of the iW crew trying to get from Park City to Salt Lake City in the midst of a blizzard.



Sundance '08: A Quick Take on "King of Ping Pong", "Ballast", and "The Order of Myths"

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Sundance is busy as usual for team iW. When we're not busy throwing chili parties, getting our car towed, or covering the biz, we actually see movies.

Here's some quick thoughts on the triple feature I did on Saturday:


Jens Jonsson's "King of Ping Pong"

A film about yet another oddball teenager loner, that aside from it's Swedish landscape, feels like a mish mash of American independent film cliches about teenage angst and retro quirk details like ping pong and old pop songs. There's some good stuff in here but it never quite congeals.

Lance Hammer's "Ballast"

Fantastic. A subtle, naturalistic film about an African American woman and her son in the Deep South who deal with the repercussions of a death, "Ballast" features cinema verite camerawork and non-professional actors to tell a story that starts out minimal and builds into a powerful drama about dealing with the aftermath of a family tragedy.

Margaret Brown's "The Order of Myths"

A documentary about the two segregated Mardi Gras celebrations in Mobile, Alabama, "Myths" takes a balanced view of race relations in the South, how far they have come yet how much more needs to be done. Without ever resorting to mockery or caricatures, "Myths" offers a sensitive portrait of a complex issue.



The Mountains of Park City

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As team indieWIRE finished some logistical prepping (i.e. James going to the local outlet mall to get a pair of shoes with teeth to handle all this snow and ice) we saw this big bank of clouds hovering over the surrounding mountains.



Hits and Misses at Sundance Past

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With Sundance 2008 starting this week, The Onion's AV Club takes a look at some of the past Sundance premieres that changed filmmaking as well as flops that never made it big out of Park City.

One note though to AV Club writers Noel Murray and Scott Tobias: "Stranger Than Paradise," which definitely is an inspiration to a generation of independent filmmakers, didn't premiere at Sundance but Cannes.



Zellner Brother's "Goliath" Trailer

The Austin based filmmaking duo The Zellner Brothers have a new feature film premiering at Sundance called "Goliath." I am SO THERE.

According to the press release:

Goliath tells the starkly funny story of a man working at a dead-end job and going through a nasty divorce. Able to cope with the job and divorce, he becomes emotionally distraught when he discovers his beloved cat has gone missing.

I really love their work.. Check out their previous short that also deals with a pet: "Foxy and The Weight of the World":