The unbelievable strangeness inherent in truth has made for some incredibly destabilizing documentaries about the blurred lines of fact and fiction. Films like “Dear Zachary,” “Catfish,” “Exit Through The Gift Shop” and “The Imposter” all blow themselves up in the middle all featuring “oh shit!”-like twists so disarming, so surprising they make one question the very reality and existence of what you’ve been watching. So, prepare to be fooled, thrilled and surprised with a new classic of this upending subgenre with “Untitled Amazing Johnathan Documentary,” a doc that uses the integral subject of magic and artifice to create a riveting meta-story about the illusory nature of truth, trust and the self-examining questioning of what you thought to be real.
‘The Lodge’: Arthouse Horror Chalks Up Another Win In This Claustrophobic Family Drama [Sundance Review]
Arthouse horror is on a tear right now, and it’s no secret. One of the most inspiring movements in American cinema right now, modern classics like “Hereditary,” “Get Out,” “The Witch,” “It Follows,” et al. have reinvigorated a genre blunted by the cheap slasher films of the ’80s and ’90s and sparked something of a movement, thoughtful, emotionally bruising and sometimes glacially paced horror. Who knows, look back in 10 years, and cinema historians may find an even deeper correlation that we can see to our toxic, uncertain times, and this cinema of unease and collective trauma.
‘Blinded By The Light’: The Transformative Power Of Bruce Springsteen Fuels This Excellent Crowdpleaser [Sundance Review]
Heartwarming, life-affirming cinema always has the perilous potential for turning mawkish. But uplifting music, free of the sometimes overwrought dimensions of moviemaking, is usually free of such burdens. Zeroing in on the advantages of the latter and mostly avoiding the pitfalls of the former, filmmaker Gurinder Chadha succeeds in achieving that exuberant, ineffable feeling when music can change your life. In her inspiring new drama “Blinded by the Light,” Chadha (“Bend it Like Beckham“) taps into the anthemic spirit of the always-stirring songs of Bruce Springsteen.
‘The Death Of Dick Long’ Is A Hilarious, Southern-Fried ‘Fargo’ From Co-Director Of ‘Swiss Army Man’ [Sundance Review]
A pitch-black comedy akin to a white trash version of “Fargo,” “The Death of Dick Long,” is the sophomore directorial effort of Daniel Scheinert—the self-described redneck half of directing duo DANIELS, who created the terrifically inventive “Swiss Army Man” (filmmaking partner Daniel Kwan sits this one out). And, just like Joel and Ethan Coen‘s crime thriller, Scheinert’s film is infused with the playful embrace of cultural stereotypes that come with the genre. Here, it’s the South (and Alabama, in particular), and Scheinert’s latest is a dark, but gut-bustingly hilarious, good time at the movies, all due to his gift for infusing tonally perfect humor with sincere and seriously drawn narrative momentum. In fact, there are no dull moments in this ridiculously brutal, often severely dumb, but enjoyable, film about two dim-witted guys who are in over their heads trying to cover up the accidental death of their friend Dick Long.
Sundance Tries to Break Tide With ‘Mostly White Male' Critics, Says 63% of the press this year is from underrepresented groups; But is Positive discrimination still discrimination?
I attended this afternoon's Sundance Film Festival press conference, with exec director Keri Putnam, before introducing the panel, saying that organizers had noticed “a disturbing blind spot” in the festival's history of giving out press credentials: “Diversity isn’t about who is making the films,” Putnam said. “It’s about how they enter the world.” She said, adding that they were admitting “mostly white male critics.” Which, consequentially influenced the kind of films that were being championed by these 'mostly white male critics.
Read moreDespite Uproar from Fans, Sundance Still Planning to Show Michael Jackson Child Abuse Doc ‘Leaving Neverland’
I am not sure if I will be able to catch Dan Reed‘s Michael Jackson-Pedophilia doc "Leaving Neverland" in a few weeks at Sundance, mostly because it's a four-hour doc and it's a risk cramming that lengthy a film into a day's schedule, but also because I was never completely on-board with the mob that claimed Michael Jackson was a sexual predator. There was just something about the guy that felt asexual rather than sexual. The doc will relive the experiences of two men —James Safechuck and Wade Robson — who are claiming to have been molested by Jackson when they were minors.
Read moreFilm Columnist Claims Sundance Rejected His Press Pass Due to Past Criticism of the Festival's Programming
The name Jeffrey Wells started trending late yesterday on Twitter. If you don't know who that is he is the *ahem* outspoken writer of Hollywood Elsewhere, a film column site which is the very opposite of politically correct. I am friends with Wells. We tend to share guest houses at whichever film fest we go to. He's an all-around good guy, to me at least, but I do know that he's irked his fair share of people over the years and I do know that he has accumulated a herd of haters in the process.
Read moreSundance 2019 Line-Up is Woke but Lacking in Big Names
The just-announced 2018 Sundance Film Festival slate has a competition slate that is 53% female (nine of the 17 directors). It looks like another progressive-minded festival edition is on tap again this year. I have no problem with that, especially if it means the same quality as last year's films, which was an abundance of riches that included stuff like "Eighth Grade," "Hereditary," "Leave No Trace," "Sorry to Bother You," "Won't You Be My Neighbor," "Mandy," "The Tale," "Wildlife," "Three Identical Strangers," "Private Life," "Tully," "The Guilty," "The Kindergarten Teacher," and "RBG." What a great edition.
Read more'On Her Shoulders' Tackles Nobel Peace Prize Winner Nadia Murad [Capsule Review]
Sundance has been known to include many films about what’s happening in the middle east throughout its yearly Documentary competition and premieres sections. However, Alexandria Bombach’s documentary “On Her Shoulders” is a unique addition. With the well-honed eyes of her camera lenses, Bombach tackles the incredible story of, just last month's Nobel Peace Prize winner, Nadia Murad, a 23-year-old Yazidi woman who was kept as a sex slave for ISIS when she was just 19.
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