Sundance Tagged Articles at Cinematical

If you can't make it to Park City, Utah, in January for the Sundance Film Festival, don't worry -- Sundance will come to you! Sort of! If you live in one of eight specific cities! Still, it's a good start, and a pretty nifty idea.

They're calling it Sundance Film Festival U.S.A., and it will work like this. On Jan. 28, while the festival is taking place in Utah, eight filmmakers from the fest will travel to theaters around the country to show their movies to local audiences, followed by the customary Q&A. For the local audiences, it will be a decent approximation of what a real Sundance screening is like, minus the insane crowds and absence of parking. Several of the chosen cities are even in snowy climes, so you won't have to miss out on that aspect of Sundance attendance. If you're lucky, for the full effect, maybe you'll even run into a journalist complaining about the weather.

The selected theaters are: Michigan Theater, Ann Arbor, Mich.; Coolidge Corner Theatre, Brookline, Mass.; BAM, Brooklyn, N.Y.; Music Box Theatre, Chicago; Downtown Independent, Los Angeles; Sundance Cinemas, Madison, Wisc.; Belcourt Theatre, Nashville; and Sundance Kabuki Cinemas, San Francisco. Tickets will be sold through the individual theaters. Each location will get a different film, and we won't know what those films are until after the festival announces its programming in December.

Dispatching filmmakers to appear with their movies live and in person is a cool innovation, and a good way to spread the Sundance vibe beyond the confines of Park City. But it makes me wonder if the next logical step is to simply beam the films via satellite to theaters around the country, the way they do with concerts and special events. As big as Sundance is getting, and as small as Park City is staying, I'm glad to see the festival expanding its reach any way it can.

Cory McAbee is not your average indie filmmaker. He's more of a self-taught Renaissance man who paints, writes, composes music, and also directs mind-bending films. At Sundance earlier this year, I had a slot to fill in my schedule and I thought Stingray Sam sounded interesting. Science fiction meets the Western? Sign me up.

What I didn't know was that I would be treated to a bizarre musical that was sliced up into a serialized format, complete with dance numbers, elaborate 60-second long handshakes between partners, and social commentary on everything from the U.S. prison system to tobacco companies. It's great stuff, and the songs will stick with you long after the movie ends.

Cory is no stranger to film festivals, having been at Sundance with three different films. I spoke with Cory at Fantastic Fest, where he was screening Stingray Sam. Check out the full interview after the break.

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Cinematical has just received this exclusive poster for Rudo Y Cursi, which recently premiered back in January at the Sundance Film Festival and will hit theaters this May courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics. Written and directed by Carlos Cuarón (brother of Alfonso Cuarón) and starring Diego Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal (who reunite here after co-starring in Y tu mamá también), Rudo Y Cursi follows the story of two rival siblings inside the world of professional soccer.

The film, which marks the first from Cha Cha Cha Films (Guillermo del Toro, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and Alfonso Cuarón) has already scored box office records when it opened in Mexico earlier this year, while watching its fantastic soundtrack (which includes a Cheap Trick cover performed by Bernal) top the charts. CHUD's Devin Faraci says from Sundance: "Rudo Y Cursi is charming and fun, but never slight. The film gives a vibrant and real-feeling look into a slice of life in Mexico and into the world of soccer, a game that comes across as wild, political and sometimes more than a little nuts."

Rudo Y Cursi hits theaters in limited release on May 8. Click below to view the full poster.

(Warning: This one goes up to eleven...)

1. Moon -- Most were admittedly intrigued by the prospect of Sam Rockwell alone and yet potentially not on a lunar station going into the fest, and this seemed to be the first film to live up to its promise as a modest yet straight-up sci-fi endeavor (that just happened to have a Kevin Spacey-voiced robot, and just tell me you wouldn't want one of those waking you up and telling you to pay it forward all the friggin' time).

2. 500 Days of Summer -- I'd liked the vague stuff I'd been hearing about this one going into the fest as well -- namely, "Zooey Deschanel, Zooey Deschanel, Zooey Deschanel" -- and I certainly liked the teaser trailer that made its way out just hours before the film's formal premiere. Does it look like Fox Searchlight's particular brand of indie hipster quirk that's just begging to get too popular for its own good by about Labor Day? Sure, but if it's as adorable as it seems, that's a chance I'm willing to take, Zooey.

The sad irony of the new Doors documentary When You're Strange is this: While it'll almost definitely appeal to old-school fans of the legendary band, it's that precise fan-base that'll probably finish with the flick and think ... yeah, but I knew all that stuff already. Informationally speaking, there's next to nothing here that a loyal Doors fan doesn't already know, which in a way makes When You're Strange come off as little more than a glorified DVD supplement.

The big selling point of the film is that When You're Strange contains a ton of archival video footage that's never been seen before. And if you're a serious fan of this excellent band, then of course you'll want to see the scratchy old clips of Jim Morrison, Ray Manzarek, Robby Kriger, and John Densmore as they ascend the ladder of rock stardom. So while this recently-unearthed material may prove to be a gold mine for the fans, the documentary is also saddled with a generally flat voice-over narrative that doesn't add much to the final product. If the selling point of this documentary is this previously-unseen video footage (and it is), then just lose the Cliff's Notes narration and simply chart the band's trajectory using only the videos and the music.

Among the items on the prop list for Grace are: one (1) baby bottle filled with blood and one (1) dead baby. Now that you know that, a review might be superfluous -- you already know whether or not you want to see this movie.

If you are the sort of person who might enjoy an effed-up gore-fest about a woman who delivers an undead baby, you can rest assured that Grace lives up to its potential. It's at least as effed-up as you'd expect, and first-time writer/director Paul Solet (expanding on his 2006 short) proves himself adept both as a visual storyteller and as a guy who can make you crap your pants.

Jordan Ladd stars as Madeline Matheson, a young woman who has finally, after years of trying, conceived a child with her dull husband, Michael (Stephen Park). Madeline's intrusive mother-in-law, Vivian (Gabrielle Rose), knows exactly which doctors Madeline should go to, which birthing practices she should follow, and even what food she should be eating (Vivian disapproves of Madeline's vegan lifestyle). But Madeline favors the New Age-y philosophies of her old friend Patricia (Samantha Ferris), a midwife with a medical degree who does holistic childbirth -- plopping out babies in pools of water while a CD of pan-flute music plays, that sort of thing.

After a slow several minutes of exposition and mood-setting, Solet kicks things into action with a series of crises that put Madeline's pregnancy at risk. An emergency-room stand-off between Patricia and the old family doctor that Vivian selected (Malcolm Stewart) is tense and unsettling, but that's only the beginning of Madeline's troubles. Eventually she gives birth to a stillborn baby girl -- except that the infant only stays dead for a few moments before reawakening. And I believe you know the tendencies of humans in horror movies who are brought back from the dead.

Our Cinematical compatriots attending this year's Sundance Film Festival won't get their first look at Marc Webb's 500 Days of Summer until later this evening at the earliest, but in the meantime, Trailer Addict has offered up our first look at what may or may not be the musical reminiscence of a fractured relationship between Joseph Gordon-Levitt's Tom and Zooey Deschanel's Summer.

It's a peculiar trailer for what I'm sure is a peculiar movie, but I like what (admittedly little) we're seeing and hope that we only get verification from Park City that this project is indeed something unique and charming, and not merely quirky, a four-letter film festival word if ever I've heard one.

Fox Searchlight had distribution of the film going into the fest, and they're already eyeing a limited roll-out starting in, yes, the summer -- on July 24th, to be exact. If they manage to turn this into the type of sleeper success that they crank out time and time again, let's hope that the film deserves it.

We at Cinematical knew times were tough, but we had no idea how dire the economy really was until yesterday, when desperation drove Defamer's Stu VanAirsdale to STEAL MY JOKE. What's worse, he apparently involved other members of the Defamer staff in his heinous theft.

Defamer, the indispensable L.A.-based snarksite, published an item at 12:32 p.m. yesterday about how the press lounge at the Sundance Film Festival reflects the down economy: The complimentary beverages are all Shasta. Not Coke or Pepsi, but Shasta. "Shasta, the official cola of the recession!"

Yes, clever, very pithy. I recall Stu laughing when he heard me say it earlier that morning. I had just introduced myself to him as a Defamer reader and fellow blogger, and we'd had a friendly chat as we shared one of the large tables at which important film journalists such as ourselves assemble our piles of words. Another colleague, Erik Childress (keeper of the Criticwatch files), came over with a Shasta, which led to the discussion of Sundance only being able to attract Shasta-level sponsors, which led to my observation that "Shasta is the official soft drink of the recession."

So you can imagine my shock and dismay when I saw that line repurposed at Defamer yesterday. Strangely, the post was written by Kyle Buchanan, who is in Park City but who was not present for the scintillating Shasta discussion. Perhaps Stu mentioned the item to Kyle, who posted it without realizing part of what Stu had told him was STOLEN? I don't know. It is but one of the mysteries in this scandal.

Another mystery: How dare you, Stu VanAirsdale? And a third mystery: Have you no shame, Stu VanAirsdale?

James did a fine job of breaking down Duncan Jones' new Moon, but I'd feel like a jerk if I didn't also mention how much I enjoyed it. A true-blue, full-bore science fiction film, Moon is packed with cool concepts and nifty execution, but what I keep remembering is how stellar Sam Rockwell is in an extremely multi-dimensional performance. General buzz out here is that Moon is a winner, and you can expect more info on this fine flick once we learn, for example, who's going to be releasing it.

Later in the evening I headed over to a public screening of Grace at The Egyptian, which was preceded by a freaky-fine short film called Rite. Turns out that the short and the feature sort of complement one another quite well ... but here's some "festival buzz" you simply can't buy: Once Grace had ended and the floor was opened for Q&A participants, one of the festival volunteers raised his hand and offered the following information: "Must have been a good movie because we had TWO people faint during the screening!" But what would make one faint? Well, Grace is about a new mother whose baby is ... well, sort of undead. Master Snider will be reviewing Grace for this very blog, but you can catch my early thoughts over at FEARnet.

I clear out the horror file today with The Killing Room and Dead Snow, but of course I'll be back to cover some comedies, dramas, and docos soon enough. I just can't help seeing the spooky stuff first!

Woohoo, let's check one horror remake off the list for 2009! Yes, I was fortunate enough to experience the 3-D splatteriness of My Bloody Valentine at the jam-packed BNAT 10 last weekend -- and while I was equal parts skeptical and intrigued, I'm pleased to opine that this is one fun little gore-fest. Feel free to check out my review at FEARnet and / or Devin's over at CHUD for some specific thoughts. (Big fan of the original Valentine? Then check out this interview re: the new DVD!) Oh, and here's the newest teaser trailer:



Hmm, what else happened while I was down in Austin? Ah yes, Rob Zombie was officially locked in to directing Halloween 2, which excites me in the same way that would Uwe Boll directing a remake of The Thing. With all due respect to Robby Z. and his legions of fans ... I just hate his movies. Despite actively trying to enjoy each flick (more than once!), each one feels like a sweaty barbecue with the world's most disgusting inbreds. Not scary, just ugly and unpleasant. And since Halloween 2 holds a strange little place in my heart, I think I'll just forget about this project until it hits the screens this October.

Hey cool: Looks like that geek-friendly Outlander flick is finally touching down on January 23. Sounds good. Also in January? Sundance and Slamdance! My red-penciled genre flicks are as follows: Dead Snow, Grace, The Killing Room, and Moon (from Sundance), plus Conjurer, I Sell the Dead, Mum & Dad, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Undead, and Zombie Girl: The Movie (from Slamdance). Oh, and all the dramas and comedies and such...

True or False: There is such a thing as too many Bruce Campbell interviews. (Answer: False.) And Happy Horrodays! Here's a list of cinema's ten scariest Santas! Last and probably least: Anyone out there want to see Steven Seagal as a vampire slayer? This might cure you.