Reprinted from Twitch

Ahhh, another snowy year at Sundance (particularly snowy this year) has come to a close. A lot of excellent films have been packed up in their canisters and sent to their new distributors. Even more will move along in the festival season, hoping to find a friendly home on some form of new-fangled download-to-your-alphanumeric-pager distro-strategy. But before these movies make it to screens of various sizes near you, I’d like to take you on a quick tour of all the titles I was able to catch this year. I’ve included my letter grade, a few words of what I thought, whether the film has yet to land distribution, and also my initial impression via my immediate tweet after seeing the film.

As you might notice, the films I saw at this year’s festival included a whole lot of B grades. Frankly, the quality of films this go-around was a bit lower than in past years. There weren’t a lot of bad films (I avoided both Lay the Favorite and Price Check after hearing rotten reports). It just seemed that filmmakers (or maybe the fest) was playing it a bit safe. While there are obvious exceptions (Compliance), no fewer than a dozen of the films I saw can be best summed up in one word: charming. I’ll avoid too deep of an analysis on this trend as to the role of the economic downturn or the perception that distributors are avoiding challenging films. But it is safe to say that this trend led to a generally less risky batch of films — and therefore a generally less rewarding crop. But there were certainly some gems to be found amongst the rhinestones. Now, here are my thoughts:

28 HOTEL ROOMS – Next – My Grade: B

28 HOTEL ROOMS is a mostly successful experiment; an interesting yet ultimately limited way to tell a love story. Messina great.
This story of a long term affair takes place over a number of years, exclusively in the hotel rooms that the affair goes down in. It’s pretty indie, but it works, mostly on the strength of Chris Messina. No need to rush out and see it but it will probably do a decent turn on pay cable.

ABOUT THE PINK SKY – World Dramatic Competition – My Grade: B

Keiichi Kobayashi’s moody B&W Japanese school girl drama ABOUT THE PINK SKY might be too small a story for many to really connect.
I wasn’t particularly impressed by this somewhat mundane story that employs a heavy handed style to the detriment of its narrative.
My Review of ABOUT THE PINK SKY

AI WEIWEI: NEVER SORRY – US Docu Competition – My Grade: B

This doc chronicling the controversial career of Chinese activist/artist Ai Weiwei is a pretty by the book doc about an incredibly anti-establishment artist. It is well worth watching for anyone interested in modern art or Chinese politics – but there’s no harm waiting to watch it at home (no theatrical plans yet, anyway).

THE AMBASSADOR – World Docu Competition – My Grade: B

THE AMBASSADOR is a fascinating look at corruption in Africa (shocker!) if you can stomach the “performance art” of Mads Brügger.
There is no doubt that it is pretty fascinating to see this white Danish dude work his way through the layers of corrupt African bureaucracy, but I couldn’t help asking myself if he was doing it to make a political statement, or just to say, “hey look how stupid these people are.”

ARBITRAGE – Premieres – My Grade: B+

ARBITRAGE is excellently written/directed/performed thriller about wealthy privilege. Might Gere be thinking about statues?
I really enjoyed this financial thriller that is far more thriller than it is financial. Instead of focusing on the details of the finance plot, Jarecki spends time making the story and characters interesting. The film sold to Lionsgate/Roadside for $3M.
My Review of ARBITRAGE

BACHELORETTE – Premieres – My Grade: B

BACHELORETTE is a wilder more hit/miss Bridesmaids. Isla Fischer is great. It’s also the PARTY DOWN mini sequel. Casey+Henry4eva!
It’s almost funny just how obviously this film is going after the Bridesmaids crowd. It mostly disappoints but there are some pretty funny moments, especially Isla Fisher’s reee-diculously dumb character who rivals Inspector Clouseau in idiocy at times.

BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD – US Dramatic Competition – My Grade: A

BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD is the kind of remarkable film that rekindles your passion for independent cinema. Pure magic.
Without a doubt, my favorite film of the fest, this beautifully whimsical film is a must see when it comes to a theater near you from Fox Searchlight ($1M), likely sometime next fall.

My Review of BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD

BLACK ROCK – Midnight – My Grade: B-

Katie Aselton’s survival-thriller follow-up to The Freebie needed a lot more comedy and another script pass. It did, however, sell to LD Entertainment for $1M+.

My Review of BLACK ROCK

CALIFORNIA SOLO – Premieres – My Grade: B

CALIFORNIA SOLO is a sweet but forgettable tale of an aging rocker dealing with all kinds of aging rocker problems.
Robert Carlyle plays an over-the-hill rocker with an immigration problem almost as bad as his drinking problem in this respectable little indie that won’t likely make more than a ripple.

CELESTE & JESSE FOREVER – Premieres – My Grade: B+

CELESTE & JESSE FOREVER is a heartwarming contemporary romcom with plenty of laughs, well deserving of a strong distributor.
I rather liked this very commercial rom-com starring Andy Samberg and Rashida Jones that Sony Pictures Classic (odd choice?) bought for $2M. It should make some good late summer counter programming.

COMPLIACE – Next – My Grade: B

Feel like a survivor after COMPLIANCE. Extremely uncomfortable. I hated experience of watching it but am starting to respect it.
This was, without a doubt, the most controversial film of the festival. When all is said and done, Compliance will likely be the film that we remember from Sundance 2012 (along with Beasts and The Surrogate). It is the kind of extremely tough film that requires you to continually remind yourself, “this is a true story.” That’s simply the only excuse for the filmmaker to put the audience through such an ordeal. Magnolia has signed on for an undisclosed amount to bring it to screens of some sort in the next year or so.

THE END OF LOVE – US Dramatic Competition – My Grade: B

THE END OF LOVE may be the Mark Webber show, but it’s his 2 year-old son who steals the spotlight. Yet another Sundance charmer.
The story here is all about Webber “directing” his son (or rather the scenes around his son) to tell a very competent and touching story – even if it feels a bit manufactured at times.

FILLY BROWN – US Dramatic Competition – My Grade: A

FILLY BROWN is exactly the hard hittin hip-hop drama I hoped. Gina Rodriguez straight kicks ass. Sundance must see!
I loved Youssef Delara and Michael Olmos’s hard hitting hip hop story. Huge congrats to the guys. I seriously hope this one finds a good distributor soon.

THE FIRST TIME – US Dramatic Competition – My Grade: B

THE FIRST TIME is a very talky teen romance. While not always 100% sincere, in the end it works. It’s, wait for it… charming.
The tweet says it all. There are a whole lot of scenes of teens sitting around talking about falling for each other – but ultimately the performances by Dylan O’Brien and Britt Robertson win us over.

FOR A GOOD TIME, CALL – Premieres – My Grade: B+

FOR A GOOD TIME, CALL is the smart & silly girl power raunch-com you’ve been waiting for. Perfect summer counter programming.
I had a lot of fun with this film about girls starting a phone sex business, mostly on the strength of stars Lauren Milller and Ari Graynor. Focus liked what they saw, buying worldwide rights to the film for $3M.

HELLO I MUST BE GOING – US Dramatic Competition – My Grade: B

HELLO I MUST BE GOING is an ultra charming comic romance, best in its comic moments. Great direction & Melanie Lynskey is a star.
Todd Louiso’s awkward comedy is pretty funny but runs a bit too long in its more sincere moments. Melanie Lynskey does a fantastic job in a role that seems like it was written for her (it wasn’t).

I AM NOT A HIPSTER – Next – My Grade: B

I don’t have a lot to say about this heartfelt indie about a rocker who just isn’t that likable as a protagonist. This might the film from Sundance 2012 that I forget first.

THE IMPOSTER – World Docu Competition – My Grade: B+

THE IMPOSTER is a truly stranger than fiction docu, ripe for remake. Wondering if the extreme stylization adds to the intrigue?
This is a fascinating docu that is super stylized and well worth tracking down if it ever makes it to a screen near you – more likely on demand than in a theater.

KID-THING – Next – My Grade: C+

The Zellner Bros’ KID-THING has some wonderfully mundane humor but too much of the plot fails to resonate to ultimately recommend.
While those mundane moments of goat milking are fantastic, I just couldn’t get on board with the central plot of a little girl riding around being a spoiled brat.

LIBERAL ARTS – Premieres – My Grade: B+

LIBERAL ARTS is an episodic but heartfelt film abt feeling adult. Radnor def has a gooey center but I’m starting to root for him.
LIBERAL ARTS perfs: Jenkins (duh) & Zac Effron (rly?) particularly great. Janney & Radnor solid. Real story is Lizze Olsen is the weak link.
Josh Radnor didn’t exactly win me over with Happythankyoumoreplease. But his sophomore effort shows a lot of promise, mostly on the strength of its supporting performances (except, sadly, a pretty weak Lizzie Olsen). The film sold to IFC for just north of $1M.

NOBODY WALKS – US Dramatic Competition – My Grade: B

NOBODY WALKS is a small somewhat pessimistic view of love & relationships. Like the LA love but not a particularly memorable film.
Another Sundance indie that no one needs to rush out and see, Ry Russo-Young’s John Krasinski/Olivia Thirlby/Rosemarie DeWitt drama is, unfortunately, not as good as that cast deserves. Magnolia saw something they liked, however, buying the film for mid to high six figures.

RED LIGHTS – Premieres – My Grade: C

If you accept a world where magicians are criminally persecuted for faking tricks, RED LIGHTS is still a mediocre genre thriller.
As if to confirm that Robert De Niro is allergic to decent films, Rodrigo Cortes’s Buried follow-up was my least favorite film of the fest, mainly because it just feels like a failure of execution by Cortes. It seems like he just didn’t understand what the writer was trying to do (the film is written by Rodrigo Cortes). Just to lock in my impression of the company, Millennium Entertainment bought the film for one of the highest totals of the fest: $4M.

ROBOT AND FRANK – Premieres – My Grade: B+

Yes, it’s another “charming” Sundance film, but this Alfred P. Sloan winning near-future dementia dramedy is a great film because of tight writing and fantastic performances by Frank Langella, Susan Sarandon, James Marsden, and the voice of Peter Sarsgaard. Sony/Samuel Goldwyn picked up the film for $2M and change.

ROOM 237 – New Frontiers – My Grade: B+

ROOM 237 has some pretty incredible theories about THE SHINING. Some are wacko but film nerds will love it.
This isn’t necessarily an expertly crafted docu, but the crazy theories professed by the Kubrick/The Shining scholars interviewed, make this one of the most entertaining films of the festival.

SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED – US Dramatic Competition – My Grade: A-

Adored SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED! A heartfelt & hilarious love story w/ perfect amount of wackiness, awesome cast, & a great script.
This wacky little sci-fi-ish comedy was one of my top films this year. Both Aubrey Plaza and Mark Duplass are great, but the funniest part, for me, was Jake Johnson. This one is going to get a release from Film District after their $1M+ purchase.

SAVE THE DATE – US Dramatic Competition – My Grade: C+

Not even a the stellar cast of Lizzy Caplan, Allison Brie, Martin Starr, and Mark Webber could elevate this rom-com that just never gets the audience involved with any of its characters.

SHUT UP AND PLAY THE HITS – Midnight – My Grade: A-

LCD Soundsystem’s SHUT UP AND PLAY THE HITS is a near perfect concert doc w/ many cool narrative elements & a slammin performance.
I loved both the rocking performances and the innovative storytelling and editing in my favorite docu of the fest. Check out the review (also my favorite of the fest).

My Review of SHUT UP AND PLAY THE HITS

THE SURROGATE – US Dramatic Competition – My Grade: B+

THE SURROGATE is certainly a touching tale. Hawkes (& Hunt) are incredible, but don’t think I’m quite ther on Best Pic Oscar buzz.
Fox Searchlight took home the biggest sale of the fest with this $6M buy. Hawkes seems pretty damned likely to see awards buzz but I just don’t feel the story goes on enough of a journey to quite be considered a home run. There wasn’t a ton of buzz, but William H. Macy deserves some serious kudos as well.

UNDER AFRICAN SKIES – Docu Premieres – My Grade: B

Joe Berlinger’s Paul Simon Graceland doc UNDER AFRICAN SKIES is an interesting & music-filled chronicle of the album’s birth.
Joe Berlinger’s journey with Paul Simon through the history of his album Graceland is a great history lesson for music fans but fails to really get on top of the racial issues it tries a bit too hard to tackle.

V/H/S – Midnight – My Grade: B+

V/H/S is a bunch of very good filmmakers having fun with a particular medium. Even w/o coordination, interesting themes emerge.
More than anything, the filmmakers involved with this found footage anthology subscribe to my favorite precept of horror filmmaking: Make it Fun! Magnolia/Magnet agreed, picking up the film for $1M+. This couldn’t be a better match.

My Review of V/H/S

WISH YOU WERE HERE – World Dramatic Competition – My Grade: B

WISH YOU WERE HERE is a tense relationship drama w/ a crime plot backdrop. Fantastic performances although a few plot shortcuts.
There are some unfortunate problems with Kieran Darcy-Smith’s drama – but they’re not because of the performances by Joel Edgerton, Felicity Price, or Teresa Palmer. Entertainment One picked up the film for an undisclosed sum.

WUTHERING HEIGHTS – Spotlight – My Grade: B

True, Andrea Arnold’s WUTHERING HEIGHTS is no FISH TANK, but still fair bit to like, in particular the emotionally charged editing
I finally got a chance to see Andrea Arnold’s Fish Tank follow-up. It’s not particularly entertaining and it’s hard to like the characters, but it’s an interesting adaptation of a book I have no interest in reading.

YOUR SISTER’S SISTER – Spotlight – My Grade: A-

Great performances & a smile-inducing story make Lynn Shelton’s YOUR SISTER’S SISTER is a wonderfully worthy follow up to Humpday.
Mark Duplass, Emily Blunt, and Rosemarie De Witt give excellent and fun performances in this somewhat stage play-esque story with plenty of laughs and plenty of heart. IFC has been on top of this one since TIFF.

Some of the notable films I didn’t catch were Antonio Campos’s mostly praised thriller SIMON KILLER which sold to IFC, James Ponsoldt’s Mary Elizabeth Winstead starring sober-up drama SMASHED, Eugene Jarecki’s War On Drugs Grand Prize Doc winning THE HOUSE I LIVE IN, and Mike Birbiglia’s Best of Next winning SLEEPWALK WITH ME.

A final word of mention for the two Sundance 2012 films I came in having seen The Raid, and Oslo, August 31st. Both films are excellent. Both films were in my Top 10. Both films deserve an A. Go see ‘em.

It’s time again to reprint my Twitch Sundance Previews in one easy to scroll through place. Be sure to check out all the originals and lots of reviews and wraps at TwitchFilm.com

 
Sundance 2012 Preview: Dramatic Competitions
Sundance 2012 Preview: Documentaries
Sundance 2012 Preview: Premieres & Spotlight
Sundance 2012 Preview: Midnight & Next
Sundance 2012 Preview: Short Films

 
To kick things off, we’ll be taking a look at a few of the notable films from each of the Dramatic Competition sections. It’s the nature of Sundance (especially the competition sections) to be a bit of a crapshoot guessing at which films will be the hits. Who would have guessed it would be Like Crazy not Little Birds or Another Earth instead of Another Happy Day that would get Park City buzzing last year. We’ll have wall to wall coverage of everything buzzing this year. For now, here are a few films that caught our eyes.

On to the Dramatic Competition.

SAVE THE DATE
With a cast that includes Lizzy Caplan, Alison Brie, Martin Starr, Mark Webber, Geoff Arend, and Melonie Diaz, this indie romantic comedy about love on the rebound from director Michael Mohan (One Too Many Mornings) has all the marks of a Sundance hit waiting to pop off.

SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED
To say Mark Duplass is a popular man around Park City is to sell the talented filmmaker/comedian short. At this year’s festival alone, Duplass has two starring credits, three producing jobs, and one writer nod. One of those starring roles is alongside Aubrey Plaza, Kristen Bell, and Jeff Garlin in director Colin Trevorrow‘s feature debut about magazine employees who investigate a classified ad regarding Time Travel.

FILLY BROWN
Youssef Delara (English as a Second Language) and Michael D. Olmos have teamed up to direct this story of a young Latina hip-hop artist struggling to come up in LA’s Echo Park neighborhood. Newcomer Gina Rodriguez stars alongside such Latino heavyweights as Lou Diamond Phillips and Edward James Olmos (father of director Michael).

SMASHED
Indie sweetheart Mary Elizabeth Winstead stars as a woman trying to sober up in James Ponsoldt‘s relationship drama about a couple whose marriage revolves around the bottle.

NOBODY WALKS
Ry Russo-Young has got herself some mean Mumblecore cred after co-starring in Joe Swanberg‘s Hannah Takes the Stairs and Alex Ross Perry‘s The Color Wheel. That Tiny Furniture writer/director Lena Dunham has teamed up to co-write Russo-Young’s latest directorial effort only ups the ante. The movie stars Olivia Thirlby, John Krasinski, Dylan McDermott, and Rosemarie DeWitt in this tale of (get this) romance in LA’s Silver Lake neighborhood.

THE COMEDY
I’m really not sure what to expect from Rick Alverson‘s Brooklyn hipster comedy that stars indie vet Kate Lyn Sheil (Silver Bullets, The Color Wheel, You’re Next, Green) alongside Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim (yep, that Tim & Eric!).

THE SURROGATE
Ben Lewin‘s coming of age story of a 38 year-old man confined to an iron lung has one hell of a cast led by John Hawkes, Helen Hunt, and William H. Macy.

WRONG
Quentin Dupieux follows up his quirky hit Rubber with this story of a man searching for his lost dog, encountering a pizza-delivering nymphomaniac, a jogging-addict, a French Mexican gardener, and a pet detective along the way. Jack Plotnick, Steve Little, and William Fichtner star.

ABOUT THE PINK SKY
Keiichi Kobayashi directs Sundance’s lone feature contribution from Japan; a black and white story of a school girl who finds a wallet loaded with yen.

FATHER’S CHAIR
Luciano Moura (Nascimento from the Elite Squad films) stars as a man traveling across Brazil in search of his runaway son.

WISH YOU WERE HERE
Animal Kingdom and Warrior star Joel Edgerton stars as a man struggling to cope with a friend’s disappearance in Kieran Darcy-Smith‘s nonlinear feature debut.

THE LAST ELVIS
Armando Bo‘s feature debut tells the story of a Buenos Aires Elvis impersonator (played by real life Elvis impersonator John McInerny) coming to grips with the truth that he might not really be The King.

MY BROTHER THE DEVIL
Sally El Hosaini directs her debut feature about two brothers struggling to find their way in London’s Arab gangland.

DETROPIA
Jesus Camp, Boys of Baraka, and 12th & Delaware directors Heidi Ewing & Rachel Grady return to Park City with this docu about the decay of America’s Motor City.

CHASING ICE
Jeff Orlowski chronicles National Geographic photographer James Balog’s attempt to visually capture climate change by photographing Earth’s shrinking glaciers. This one is sure to have some stunning cinematography.

THE INVISIBLE WAR
This Film is Not Yet Rated director Kirby Dick‘s latest is an exposé on sexual assault and rape in the US Military. Hide your children, hide your wife.

THE OTHER DREAM TEAM
This docu directed by the producer of Douchebag and Like Crazy chronicles the 1992 Lithuanian Olympic Basketball team.

THE HOUSE I LIVE IN
Eugene Jarecki told the tale of the Military Industrial Complex in his docu Why We Fight. His latest takes a hard hitting look at the War on Drugs.

THE ATOMIC STATES OF AMERICA
Don Argott and Sheena Joyce‘s (director and producer of The Art of the Steal) doc based on a book by Kelly McMasters examines the effects of nuclear energy in the US and those living in the shadows of the silos.

THE AMBASSADOR
Mads Brugger snuck into North Korea with a pair of Danish-Korean comedians to expose the government’s fascist hypocrisy in 2010′s Sundance World Docu Competition winning The Red Chapel. In his latest, Brugger heads to central Africa on a purchased diplomatic passport to see just how much money can buy in a deeply corrupt economy.

THE IMPOSTER
Family members question the identity of a boy who is found in Spain three and a half years after going missing from San Antonio, Texas in Bart Layton‘s doc.

CHINA HEAVYWEIGHT
Up the Yangtzee director Yung Chang is back with this documentary about rural Chinese boxers.

INDIE GAME: THE MOVIE
Lisanne Pajot and James Swirsky take a look at the world of indie game developers in their debut feature.

SOMETHING FROM NOTHING: THE ART OF RAP
Rapper/actor Ice-Tt and filmmaker Andy Baybutt teamed up to make this docu chronicling the history of hip-hop, featuring Afrika Bambaataa, Grandmaster Caz, Nas, Mos Def, Eminem, Chuck D, KRS-One, Run-DMC, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, and Snoop Dogg.

UNDER AFRICAN SKIES
West Memphis Three doc trilogy Paradise Lost director Joe Berlinger headed to South Africa with Paul Simon on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the release of his seminal Graceland in order to examine the impact of that album on apartheid and the birth of a nation.

WEST OF MEMPHIS
Amy Berg turns from sexual abuse by priests in her Oscar nom’d Deliver Us From Evil to one of the most controversial crimes in years in her West Memphis Three chronicle.

BONES BRIGADE: AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Stacy Peralta‘s last doc Crips and Blood: Made in America tackled a tough subject and failed to piece it all together in a cohesive way. With his fourth film, Peralta returns to the light hearted subject matter that made his first two films (Dogtown and Z-Boys and Riding Giants) so successful. This film focuses on the skateboarding crew that Peralta helped build in the skateboarding explosion of the 1980s – including: Steve Caballero, Tommy Guerrero, Tony Hawk, Mike McGill, Lance Mountain, and Rodney Mullen.

ARBITRAGE
Nicholas Jarecki directs Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon, Tim Roth, and Brit Marling (she’s baaack!) in this thriller set in the high stakes world of hedge fund management.

FOR A GOOD TIME, CALL
Ari Graynor and Lauren Ann Miller play two girlfriends who move in together and start a secret business in Jamie Travis‘s feature directorial debut. Justing Long, Mark Webber, and Seth Rogen co-star.

LAY THE FAVORITE
Stephen Frears (The Queen) returns to the place he launched 1991′s The Grifters with this big cast sports book romantic comedy starring Bruce Willis, Rebecca Hall Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Joshua Jackson.

PRICE CHECK
Parker Posey plays a manically ambitious grocery store manager in this Michael Walker comedy. Eric Mabius and Sundance rock star Josh Pais co-star.

RED HOOK SUMMER
Clarke Peters (of The Wire and Treme fame) stars in this multi-generational dramedy from none other than Spike Lee.

LIBERAL ARTS
Actor/director Joshua Radnor follows up falling in love with Kate Mara in Happythankyoumoreplease by falling in love with Lizzie Olsen in this sophomore effort. Richard Jenkins and Zac Effron co-star.

CELESTE AND JESSE FOREVER
Rashida Jones co-wrote (with Will McCormack) and stars alongside Andy Samberg, Chris Messina, Ari Graynor, Emma Roberts, and Elijah Wood in Lee Toland Krieger‘s (The Vicious Kind) relationship comedy.

BACHELORETTE
Leslye Headlund makes her directorial debut with this knot-tying comedy featuring an all-star cast of Kirsten Dunst, Lizzy Caplan, Isla Fischer, James Marsden, and Adam Scott.

THE WORDS
Bradley Cooper plays a plagiarizing writer in Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal‘s psychological drama co-starring Jeremy Irons, Dennis Quaid, Olivia Wilde, and Zoe Saldana.

RED LIGHTS
Rodrigo Cortes made a splash at Sundance two years ago with Buried. He returns with this supernatural thriller starring Cillian Murphy, Sigourney Weaver, Robert De Niro, Lizzie Olsen, and Toby Jones.

PREDISPOSED
Jesse Eisenberg killed it as a drug dealing Hassidic Jew in the woefully underappreciated 2010 Sundance dud Holy Rollers. Now he’s back as a drug dealing piano prodigy in Philip Dorling and Ron Nyswaner‘s comedy co-starring Melissa Leo, Tracy Morgan, and Isiah Whitlock Jr.

THE RAID
You’ve heard plenty about it – and if you are at Sundance then you are in for a real treat. Gareth Evans‘s Indonesian actioner will kick Park City in the head with its nonstop silat swinging martial arts. Iko Uwais, Joe Taslim, and Yayan Ruhian star. Don’t fear, rest of the world. Your chance to see one of the best action movies in decades is coming very soon.

YOUR SISTER’S SISTER
Emily Blunt, Rosemarie DeWitt, and Mark Duplass star in Lynn Shelton’s TIFF hit follow-up to Humpday.

OSLO, AUGUST 31ST
Joachim Trier‘s Anders Danielsen Lie starring Reprise follow-up about addiction is, without a doubt, a masterpiece.

WUTHERING HEIGHTS
People have been expecting amazing things out of Andrea Arnold after 2010′s sleeper Fish Tank. But people haven’t been saying too many amazing things about her adaptation of Emily Bronte’s classic. The fact it was accepted to Sundance is a good sign.

WHERE DO WE GO NOW
Nadine Labaki‘s Caramel follow-up about women banding together for peace in Lebanon was that country’s Oscar submission for Best Foreign Language Feature.

THIS MUST BE THE PLACE
It seems like there was more buzz over the weird stills that came out of Paolo Sorrentino‘s Sean Penn-as-aging-80s-rocker drama than from the actual movie when it premiered at Cannes. Now Sundance audiences will get a chance to make up their own minds.

V/H/S
Certainly one of our very most anticipated films of the festival, this anthology of found footage horror includes segments directed by Adam Wingard, Glenn McQuaid, Radio Silence, David Bruckner, Joe Swanberg, and Ti West and features performances by most of those guys along with Sophia Takal, Kate Lyn Sheil, Calvin Reeder, and Lane Hughes. Can’t wait!

JOHN DIES AT THE END
Chase Williamson, Rob Mayes, Paul Giamatti, and Doug Jones star in legendary Bubba Ho-Tep director Don Coscarelli‘s interdimensional horror-drug-adventure-comedy.

BLACK ROCK
Katie Aselton follows-up her relationship comedy The Freebie with this remote island thriller written by hubby Mark Duplass and starring Kate Bosworth and Lake Bell alongside her.

THE PACT
Caity Lotz and Casper Van Dien star in Nicholas McCarthy‘s feature follow-up to last year’s haunted house hit short.

SHUT UP AND PLAY THE HITS
Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace direct this doc chronicling the final concerts by LCD Soundsystem. Turn. It. Up.

EXCISION
Richard Bates‘s feature debut is a psycho-sexual teen comedy about an outcast teenage girl out to pop her cherry. The film stars AnnaLynne McCord, Traci Lords, Ariel Winter, and (wait for it…) John Waters.

GRABBERS
Jon Wright‘s Irish madcap drunken fishing monster flick looks like a classic midnight rollicker.

TIM & ERIC’S BILLION DOLLAR MOVIE
Oh boy. Love’ em or hate ‘em, Tim & Eric are certainly one (err, two) of a kind. Their first feature, B$M, promises to be a movie.

KID-THING
The Zellner Bros. of Red Vs. Blue and Fantastic Debates fame have written, directed, (David) produced, and shot (Nathan) this indie about a mischievous girl who finds a woman stuck down a well.

COMPLIANCE
Craig Zobel made a splash a few years ago with his part-reality/part-scripted The Great World of Sound. He returns with this fast-food restaurant interrogation drama starring Ann Dowd, Dreama Walker, and Pat Healy (of The Innkeepers fame).

THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID
Carrie Preston (Arlene from True Blood) directs Anne Heche in this female driven comedy.

28 HOTEL ROOMS
Chris Messina and Marin Ireland star as love-struck adulterers in Matt Ross‘s mosaic-like debut feature.

I AM NOT A HIPSTER
Find out what happens when a misanthropic indie musician gets a surprise visit from his three sisters and estranged father in Destin Daniel Cretton‘s feature debut.

It’s Such A Beautiful Day

Moving Stories

Here is a reprint of the SLAMDANCE Preview I ran on Twitch before the festival. Be sure to also check out Andy’s Awesome Round Up from the fest.

Sundance ain’t the only film game in town during Utah’s busiest week of the year. Our Park City Preview Week wraps up today with a look at what’s in store from the Slamdance Film Festival.

We had a chance to speak briefly with Slamdance co-founder and president Peter Baxter. We asked Mr. Baxter for his thoughts on about the competition slate:

 

“The documentary and narrative competitions are very strong this year. In many ways both represent the dramatic times in which we currently live. The filmmakers have drawn inspiration from the daily challenges of life that has provided a great sense of innovation and experimentation. It’s exciting because you are left thinking these emerging filmmakers really are leading us into the next wave of indie film.”

 
While it often plays second fiddle to the much larger Sundance fest, Slamdance is a great opportunity for the smallest of the small independent films to find an audience. Mark Jackson‘s Without from last year’s fest is the perfect example of such a film. Audiences raved about the film, giving particular kudos to star Joslyn Jensen‘s performance. Critics took note, and the film showed up on many year-end best of lists. What will be this year’s Without? Here are a few of candidates that caught our attention:

DOPPELG ÄNGER PAUL (OR A FILM ABOUT HOW MUCH I HATE MYSELF)
This oddball comedy directed by Dylan Akio Smith and Kris Elgstrand tells the story of a middle aged dude who forges a relationship with a man he believes to be his doppelganger.

BINDLESTIFFS
Andrew Edison‘s farce about three virgins who are suspended from high school and head to the inner city to “attempt to live out the plot of The Catcher in the Rye – a book they neither have read nor understand,” promises to be one of the funniest offerings of the fest.

ROLLER TOWN
Canadian comedian Andrew Bush‘s feature directorial debut is this wacky sounding adventure about a group of roller skaters who team up to stop the mob from installing video games in their roller rink.

I WANT MY NAME BACK
Whatever happened to The Sugarhill Gang (you know, Rapper’s Delight)? Find out in Roger Paradiso‘s doc about one of hip-hop’s pioneering acts.

DANLAND
Alexandra Berger follows ‘Porno Dan’ on his three year odyssey to build his adult movie empire in this feature debut documentary.

WE ARE LEGION: THE STORY OF THE HACKTIVISTS
Brian Knappenberger takes into the bowels of Anonymous and their 4Chan beginnings in this look at the intersection of civil disobedience and hacker culture.

NEIL YOUNG JOURNEYS
Fresh from its premiere at TIFF, Jonathan Demme‘s road-trip-with-Neil-Young doc will screen at the Slam along with a special conversation over coffee with both the luminaries.

WITH GREAT POWER: THE STAN LEE STORY
Demme and Young aren’t the only celebs on hand for the Slam. Stan Lee is also talking over coffee about his illustrious career and this Slamdance doc by Will Hess, Nikki Frakes, and Terry Dougas.

NO ROOM FOR ROCKSTARS
Director Parris Patton hits the road with The Warped Tour to tell the story of some of the musicians who undergo this grueling tour for the fun and the fame.

UNCONDITIONAL
This narrative feature by Bryn Higgins tells the story of 16 year-old British twins who fall for the same strange man in his 20s. A darkly comic psycho-romance ensues.

WILD IN THE STREETS
Sean Bean narrates this documentary by Peter Baxter about an English town that spends two days each year playing a game that dates back to medieval times where half the town has to get a ball from one side of the town, 3 miles to the other team’s goal. No holds barred.

I’ve just finished my AFI Fest 2011 Preview Series over at Twitch consisting of three 10 to Watch features. Check them out with the links below and don’t forget to let me know if you’re heading to the fest!

Twitch’s AFI Fest 2011 Preview: 10 to Watch – Galas & Specials

Twitch’s AFI Fest 2011 Preview: 10 to Watch – World Cinema

Twitch’s AFI Fest 2011 Preview: 10 to Watch – New Auteurs, Young Americans & Midnighters

I’ve also got my interview with AFI Festival heads Jacqueline Lyanga and Lane Kneedler up on Twitch. Check it out here:
AFI Fest 2011: Twitch Chats with Jacqueline Lyanga and Lane Kneedler

Top 10 films you should see at AFIFest that I’ve already seen
10. Kill List
9. Carre Blanc
8. I Melt With You
7. Beyond the Black Rainbow
6. The Lady
5. Shame
4. The Artist
3. Bullhead
2. Melancholia
1. Oslo, August 31st (My review)

My Tentative Schedule

Thursday 11/3
7:00p J. Edgar
Friday 11/4
5:00p Hanaan
Saturday 11/5
1:15p Kinyarwanda
4:00p The Invader
7:00p Carnage
Sunday 11/6
1:30p Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
6:00p My Week With Marilyn
9:30p Secret Screening
Monday 11/7
1:15p Into the Abyss
4:00p Pina
7:00p An Evening with Pedro Almodovar – Law of Desire
Tuesday 11/8
1:30p Coriolanus
4:30p Jiro Dreams of Sushi
7:00p Jeff Who Lives at Home
10:00p The Zone
Wednesday 11/9
8:15p We Need to Talk About Kevin

Fantastic Fest 2011 is all wrapped up but plenty of nostalgia lives on. Movie fanatic Nirvana is the best way to describe Austin’s September celebration of all thing cinematic. Crazy incredible flicks, copious libations, and truly good times with great friends were had over the 8 sleepless days. We had WALL TO WALL coverage over at Twitch including over 70 reviews. You can check out the full recap in Twitch’s Super Festival Wrap and some other good stuff in Fantastic Fest in Photographs and our Great Fantastic Fest Open Preview. But here for your (well my) convenience is a list of everything I saw and my initial tweeted impression. Enjoy!

LET THE BULLETS FLY – My Grade: B-
LET THE BULLETS FLY features some great performances but it’s a bit long & subtleties too easily lost in translation.

SLEEPLESS NIGHT – My Grade: B+
SLEEPLESS NIGHT is a polished French actioner w/ solid fight seqs & a good story. Great intensity but could lose few mins.

POLVORA NEGRA – My Grade: D
When FantasticFest is over, I’ll remember nothing about POLVORA NEGRA.

MILOCRORZE – My Grade: B+
MILOCRORZE is charming, stylish & super schizophrenic. Ishibashi is exactly the kind of filmmaker I hope to discover at FantasticFest!
The future samurai world part of MILOCRORZE has some of the coolest costume/makeup/production design I’ve seen. Drank it up.

UNDERWATER LOVE – My Grade: B
UNDERWATER LOVE: It’ll make you wet. …anyone? Sorry.

THE CORRIDOR – My Grade: A-
Wow. THE CORRIDOR is the first absolute must see of FantasticFest! Pass. It. On.
Review

SNOWTOWN – My Grade: B
SNOWTOWN is an extremely impressive piece of cinema but wld have been just as effective & less exhausting w/ 30 mins trimmed.

ZOMBIE ASS – My Grade: B-
ZOMBIE ASS is basically live action tentacle porn w/ lots of fart jokes. So if that doesn’t sound awesome, u’ve been warned.

BEYOND THE BLACK RAINBOW – My Grade: B
BEYOND THE BLACK RAINBOW is a gorgeous color poem to 1980s sci-fi psychadelia but plot/trippedoutedness balance a bit off.
BEYOND THE BLACK RAINBOW could be edited into the greatest Chemical Brothers video of all time.

THE DAY – My Grade: B+
THE DAY is an excellent post apocalyptic actioner on a tiny budget. Lookin fwd to big things from new talent Luke Passmore.
Review

SMUGGLER – My Grade: D
Rly disappointed w/ Ishii’s SMUGGLER. Perfectly good crime actioner ruined by more disgusting torture porn. Whats wrong ppl?
Review

VERSUS – My Grade: B+
VERSUS is even more fun a decade later. Best Japanese zombie action extravaganza I’ve seen at FantasticFest (& I’m approaching dbl digits).

TAKE SHELTER – My Grade: A-
TAKE SHELTER a fascinating journey into a man’s soul. Brilliant filmmaking & acting. Exactly what I’d hoped to see.

PENUMBRA – My Grade: C+
It’s not unfair to call PENUMBRA an Argentine “Apartment of the Devil.” I liked it but wanted a bit more pace & originality.

CLOWN – My Grade: A-
CLOWN is pure Danish hilarity with way more heart than I expected. One of my faves so far at FantasicFest.

CARRE BLANC – My Grade: B
CARRE BLANC is a bold dystopian vision from to-watch newcomer Jean-Baptiste Leonetti.

HOW TO STEAL 2 MILLION – My Grade: C
HOW TO STEAL 2 MILLION is def not the best African film this year (see Viva Riva), but it is an impressive by-the-book debut.

MELANCHOLIA – My Grade: A
Put me down in the huge-fucking-fan category for MELANCHOLIA. Thought it was brilliant even if it is long. Potential Top10.

RETREAT – My Grade: B-
RETREAT features some impressive performances but doesn’t go quite crazy enough to make a lasting impression.

HEADHUNTERS – My Grade: B
HEADHUNTERS is a Norwegian action caper with a weird mix of heart & humor. Many like it but it was too uncomfortable for me.

LOVE – My Grade: C-
Had an extremely hard time staying awake 4 Angels and Airwaves film LOVE. It’s pretty but too much/not enough a nod to 2001.

MOVIES ON FIRE: 80s HONG KONG ACTION – My Grade: B+
I was skeptical about going to Hong Kong On Fire final film tonight but @Marshy00 prevailed. Forever grateful. Action PACKED.

BULLHEAD – My Grade: A
Wow Wow Wow BULLHEAD! Wow Michael Roskam! Wow Matthias Schoenarts! Late to the party bus but taking a seat at the front.
BULLHEAD is a brilliant crime epic fully deserving of Belgium’s Oscar submission. This year’s Animal Kingdom?

A BOY AND HIS SAMURAI – My Grade: B+
A BOY & HIS SAMURAI is a charming Jp family comedy, a clever commentary on modern gender roles but a bit short of fantastic.

It’s about that time of year. The Hollywood tentpoles have been taken down and the circus is moving on. Autumn is beginning and that means the award hopeful films start to fill the cinemas. The unofficial beginning of awards season for North American audiences is the Toronto International Film Festival which kicks off TOMORROW! I’ll be going and I’ve just completed my preview series TIFF 11 for ’11 at TWITCHFILM. Check out all six parts at Twitch!
TIFF 11 for ’11 Part 1: The Big Launches
TIFF 11 for ’11 Part 2: The Fantastic Side of Things
TIFF 11 for ’11 Part 3: Pacific Rim Offerings
TIFF 11 for ’11 Part 4: Big Screen Reality
TIFF 11 for ’11 Part 5: The Films That Could
TIFF 11 for ’11 Part 6: The Best from Other Fests

 
 
 
 

THE DESCENDANTS
It’s been seven years since Alexander Payne debuted Sideways at TIFF before going on to score a five-pack of Oscar noms and win Best Adapted Screenplay honors. Payne is looking to replicate that success with his long awaited return to the director’s chair. The film stars George Clooney as a father reexamining his priorities after his wife is involved in a tragic boating accident off Waikiki. Between the meaty role for Clooney and Payne’s writing and directing chops, this will surely be one of the early awards faves when it rolls out Thanksgiving weekend.

Trailer

50/50
Jonathan Levine showed his knack for balancing comedy and romantic drama with his 2008 Sundance hit The Wackness. With his latest feature (his 3rd including the tragically unreleased All The Boys Love Mandy Lane), Levine takes this formula to the next level, creating a remarkably enjoyable battle with cancer. The film stars Joseph Gordon Levitt as a 27 year old with a dire prognosis. Bryce Dallas Howard and Anna Kendrick take turns as romantic interests in both of their best roles to date. Seth Rogen plays the comedic relief while Anjelica Huston turns in an Oscar-ready performance as the over bearing mother. Screenwriter Will Reiser based the film on his own battle with the deadly disease and shows remarkable talent in his first produced feature. Dropping from Summit on September 30th, this is one of the fall’s first must-sees.
Trailer 1 | Trailer 2

A DANGEROUS METHOD
Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung battle via wits over an attractive patient in David Cronenberg‘s return to the big screen after a four year absence. Michael Fassbender plays Jung and Cronenberg fave Viggo Mortensen is Freud. The girl in the middle? The lovely Keira Knightley. The film hits theaters during the crowded Thanksgiving frame.
Trailer

THE SKIN I LIVE IN
Everyone loves Pedro Almodóvar, especially Sony Pictures Classics who are releasing their sixth consecutive feature by the Spanish auteur. This time Almodóvar trades Peneolpe Cruz for Antonio Banderas who plays a plastic surgeon obsessed with creating the synthetic skin that could have saved his tragically killed wife. The film is set to roll out to theaters on October 14th.
Trailer | Teaser 1 | Teaser 2

WUTHERING HEIGHTS
If anyone missed Andrea Arnold‘s Fish Tank last year then stop reading right now, open up a new tab, log in to Netflix and add it to your queue. Arnold’s story of a girl trying to find her way to adulthood portrayed an honesty too often lacking in coming-of-age stories. Her adaptation of Emily Bronte’s 19th century classic promises the same treatment.

MONEYBALL
Bennett Miller has directed one narrative feature and has one Oscar nom to show for it. Six years after Capote, Miller returns looking for the statue with his Aaron Sorkin/Steve Zaillian scribed baseball drama starring Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Robin Wright and old pal Philip Seymour Hoffman. Look for it to open wide September 23rd.
Trailer

360
Fernando Meirelles‘s last effort Blindness was so critically destroyed I must admit I never bothered to watch it. Did anyone out there give it a thumbs up? Rachel Weisz, Jude Law, Anthony Hopkins, Ben Foster and, surprise, Eminem star in this tale of love around the world (or something). One bright spot might be that the film is written by Peter Morgan who has penned such recent Oscar bait as The Queen, Frost/Nixon and The Last King of Scotland.

THE IDES OF MARCH
It’s the Hollywood heartthrob team up we’ve all been waiting for – and I’m not talking about co-stars Paul Giamatti and Philip Seymour Hoffman. No this presidential candidacy drama stars Ryan Gosling alongside TWO-TIME People Magazine Sexiest Man Alive winner George Clooney. Gosling heads into this awards season looking for his first Sexiest Man Alive title – but he’ll have to dethrone the king who also donned the director mantle for this one (a minor achievement after those two awards). The film also stars Marissa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood, both sexy in their own right, but I mean, they’re no Clooney.
Trailer | Clip

PAGE EIGHT
Since Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is M.I.A., we’ll just have to make do with this year’s other British spy thriller to close out TIFF. Directed by David Hare, the film stars Bill Nighy, Rachel Weisz, Michael Gambon, Judy Davis, Ralph Fiennes and new Brit babe on the block Felicity Jones.
Trailer

MACHINE GUN PREACHER
Gerard Butler and director Marc Forster teaming up tell the story of an ex-biker-gang member who saves African orphans with his own unique form of vigilante justice (spoiler: it’s a machine gun) might sound to some like a fate reserved for a dark corner of Hades. But just remember, one man’s dark corner of Hades is another man’s tolerable Marc Forster movie.

TWIXT
I really don’t know what to expect from Francis Ford Coppola‘s latest narrative experiment, but I’m pretty excited to see what he can do with Elle Fanning playing the undead muse to a ponytailed Val Kilmer‘s frustrated novelist. This one is gonna be strange.
Trailer

Other award hopeful flicks looking to score big with auds at TIFF include Maggie Gyllenhaal and Felicity Jones starring in Tanya Wexler‘s clitoral tickler HYSTERIA, Roland Emmerich‘s Elizabethan period drama (yes, you read that correctly) ANONYMOUS starring Rhys Ifans and Vanessa Redgrave, and butter carving competition comedy BUTTER which stars Olivia Wilde, Jennifer Garner, Hugh Jackman, Alicia Silverstone, Rob Cordry and Kristen Schaal and is directed by Jim Field Smith who directed She’s Out of My League.

THE RAID
While you can’t see the trailer quite yet (look for an update very soon), having had the opportunity to see a few minutes of this wall to wall actioner, I can tell you it is not likely to disappoint. Directed by Merantau‘s Gareth Huw Evans, the film stars Indonesian martial arts star Iko Uwais as a cop fighting his way from floor to floor up a criminal infested apartment block. Sounds kinda like a video game, doesn’t it? I can’t wait!
Trailer Soon!

KILL LIST
Ben Wheatley follows up his Fantastic Fest Best Next Wave Feature winning Down Terrace with this psychological thriller that pits a British ex-military assassin against his own psyche. With great performances from Neil Maskell, Michael Smiley and MyAnna Buring, this is a film that is sure to leave you thinking.
Trailer | Teaser 1 | Teaser 2 | Review 1 | Review 2

KILLER JOE
William Friedkin is responsible for such classics as The French Connection, The Exorcist and To Live and Die in LA and here he turns his attention to an extremely off beat action thriller with at least a hint of black comedy. Emile Hirsch plays a white trash meth addict who hires Matthew McConaughey to murder his mom. But things take a turn for the bizarre when McCaunaghey’s Killer Joe takes a shining to Hirsch’s sister played by Juno Temple. Mayhem ensues.
Trailer

YOU’RE NEXT
Adam Wingard of A Horrible Way to Die fame returns with this incredible looking ultra-violent home invasion-er starring Sharni Vinson , Joe Swanberg, A.J. Bowen , Nicholas Tucci and Barbara Crampton.

THE DAY
The apocalypse is here in this Midnight Madness thriller starring Lost‘s Dominic Monaghan, Frozen‘s Shawn Ashmore, 40 Days and 40 Nights‘s Shannon Sossamon, Battle LA‘s Cory Hadrict and The Last Exorcism‘s Ashley Bell. The film is directed by veteran 1st AD Douglas Aarniokoski.

SNOWTOWN
I’ve heard many good things about Justin Kurzel‘s Australian murder rampage drama based on true events. The film won a special mention prize at this summer’s Cannes Critics Week and top prize at the Adelaide Film Fest.
Trailer

INTRUDERS
Juan Carlos Fresnadillo has been near the top of most development executives’ lists of available directors since 28 Weeks Later knocked it out of the park a few years back. His Clive Owen starring follow-up is finally ready for prime time. One look at the trailer for this supernatural thriller and you’ll be lining up.
Trailer | Teaser

LOVELY MOLLY
The latest from Blair Witch Project co-director Eduardo Sanchez is this psychological horror about woman played by newcomer Gretchen Lodge battling with addiction and a deeply troubled past.

SLEEPLESS NIGHT
This twisting French action-thriller follows a cop played by Tom Sisley as he figts his way through a danger filled nightclub to save his son. The film is directed by Frederic Jardin.

TRESPASS
Oh boy! Now this one is exciting. Nic Cage + Nicole Kidman with a little Joel Schumacher sprinkled on top means this home invasion thriller will either be a complete train wreck or an absolute piece of brilliance. I can’t wait to find out. Animal Kingdom‘s Ben Mendelsohn co-stars.

JUAN OF THE DEAD
It’s a Cuban zombie crisis in Alejandro Brugues‘s sophomore outing (after 2007′s Personal Belongings). Will JFK: Zombie Hunter (I smell a sequel) show up in time to save the day or will the proletariat undead rise up and crush the bourgeois living.

A few other flix falling into the fantastic category include Nacho Vigalondo‘s sci-fi romantic comedy follow up to Timecrimes EXTRATERRESTRIAL, a 1921 set Rebecca Hall and Dominc West starring ghost story thriller THE AWAKENING, and music video director Alexandre Courtes‘s mental institution horror debut THE INCIDENT.

SMUGGKER
Seeing Katsuhito Ishii‘s name show up in the TIFF program represents a real treat for fans of Japanese cinema. Ishii has only a handful of features under his belt – but titles like The Taste of Tea and Funky Forest have been some of the most interesting films out of Japan in the last decade. His latest is a comedy about an actor-turned dead body smuggler played by Satoshi Tsumabuki navigating a danger filled underworld. With no Takashi Miike films on offer at this year’s TIFF, it is up to Ishii to fill the void for top notch Japanese wackiness.
Trailer | Teaser

FROM UP ON POPPY HILL
Animation legend Hayao Miyazaki‘s son Goro Miyazaki‘s first feature Tales from Earthsea was a bit of a disappointment when compared to his father’s body of work. Hopes are higher for Goro’s second feature from Studio Ghibli, not coincidentally because it was written by his father. Set around the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, the film follows a pair of teens caught up in Japan’s race to modernize.

HEADSHOT
Thai auteur Pen-ek Ratanaruang (Last Life in the Universe, Invisible Waves) returns with this story of a hitman who sees the world upside down after taking a bullet to the noggin.
Trailer

ARIRANG
Fresh off its Cannes premiere, Kim Ki-duk‘s autobiographical documentary arose after a suicide scene in his previous film Dream led to near-fatal accident for one of Kim’s actors. Kim retreated to the woods and created this film playing every single role in the production.
Trailer

THE SWORD IDENTITY
Hot off the tails of writing Wong Kar Wai‘s The Grandmasters, Xu Haofeng arrives on the scene in a big way with this Ming Dynasty costumer.
3 Clips

HIMIZU
Sion Sono is quite possibly the hottest name in Japanese cinema right now after 2008′s supermovie Love Exposure and last year’s ultra-creepy Cold Fish. His latest follows a personal breakdown between a young couple in the wake of March’s Tohoku earthquake. Talk about a quick turnaround!

COUNTDOWN
South Korean actress Jeon Do-youn (The Housemaid , Secret Sunshine ) stars alongside Jung Jae-Young in this debut caper flick from director Huh Jong-ho.

A LETTER TO MOMO
Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade director Hiroyuki Okiura returns with his second animated feature. This adventure story about a young girl searching for the truth about her deceased father screens as part of the TIFF Kids series.
Trailer

I WISH
Hirokazu Kore-eda has carved out a niche as Japan’s master of human spirit dramas with his films After Life, Nobody Knows and Still Walking. His latest is about a 12-year old boy creatively trying to reunite his parents after a new bullet train line links opposite ends of their island of Kyushu.

BUNOHAN
This contemplative Malaysian actioner by Dain Said tells the story of three brothers – one a kickboxer, one a business man, and one an assassin – struggling with their relationships with each other and their father over a disputed plot of family land.
Trailer

KOTOKO
Japanese genre master Shinya Tsukamoto (Tetsuo, Gemini, Vital) returns to TIFF with this psychological thriller about a woman played by actress/pop star Cocco whose baby is taken away after she is accused of child abuse.

With so many great looking movies from Asia at this year’s festival, we couldn’t possibly fit them all in here. A few more to keep an eye out for are Joseph Israel Laban‘s Filipino drug mule drama Cuchera, Blue Spring and Nine Souls director Toshiaki Toyoda‘s mail bomber drama Monsters Club, and Johnnie To‘s latest HK crime drama Life Without Principle. Uncle Boonmee director Apichatpong Weerasethakul also has a 2 minute short called Empire playing as part of the Wavelengths 1: Analogue Arcadia program.

PEARL JAM TWENTY
This premiere of Cameron Crowe‘s (Elizabethtown) twenty year retrospective of ridiculously influential Seattle rockers Pearl Jam is such a big deal to the band that they have even scheduled their current tour around it – playing two shows in Toronto the opening weekend of the fest. There could be no one better to direct this doc than Crowe whose relationship with the band members goes back to pre-PJ times when he cast them in his seminal Seattle scene drama Singles. This film will be a must-see for anyone with that sentimental flannel still hanging in their closet.
Teaser

COMIC-CON: EPISODE IV – A FAN’S HOPE
Nerd Alert! Anyone who has been to San Diego’s Comic Con is well aware that that event is one of the most… interesting happenings on the planet. Morgan Spurlock of Super Size Me and Greatest Movie Ever Sold fame takes his turn pulling back the curtain on SDCC – before quickly dropping it back down at the sight of those pale, emaciated looking legs.

PARADISE LOST 3: PURGATORY
The third part of Joe Berlinger & Bruce Sinofsky‘s ( Metallica: Some Kind of Monster) 18 year epic tale of injustice facing the imprisoned (then) teenagers known as the West Memphis 3 premieres on the heels of the WM3′s release from prison this summer. The filmmakers have announced that the film will screen unedited at TIFF before a version edited to reflect this summer’s conclusion premieres at NYFF.

GIRL MODEL
Veteran doc directors Ashley Sabin & David Redmon‘s latest film takes an in depth look at the unregulated practice of plucking young teenage girls from rural Russia and bringing them to Japan to work as models.

FROM THE SKY DOWN
Davis Guggenheim‘s follow-up to Waiting for Superman sounds remarkably similar to Cameron Crowe’s Pearl Jam Twenty; a retrospective look at how one of our generation’s most successful rock bands has continued to thrive with a particular focus on the band’s most influential album from 1991. In Guggenheim’s film the album is Achtung Baby and the band is U2. This film opens the fest Thursday – but unlike Pearl Jam, U2 has unfortunately not scheduled dates in Toronto next week.

THE ISLAND PRESIDENT
This fascinating sounding doc takes us inside the presidential offices of Mohamed Nasheed, formerly imprisoned and newly elected president of the Maldives – an island nation facing catastrophe if the sea levels continue to rise. Presented in TIFF’s Mavericks program, the screening will be followed by a discussion with director Jon Shenk (The Lost Boys of Sudan) and Mr. Nasheed himself.

THE LAST GLADIATORS
Oscar winner Alex Gibney has directed so many great documentaries in his career that it is really easier to just point you to IMDB page than to try and list them here. His latest delves into the NHL with a particular focus on Cup winning Canadiens enforcer Chris “Knuckles” Nilan.

LAST CALL AT THE OASIS
Superstar filmmaker Jessica Yu (Protagonist, Ping Pong Playa’) looks to bring attention to the looming world fresh water crisis with her latest doc.

INTO THE ABYSS
Murrrrrder is on the menu for the prolific Werner Herzog as he delves deep into the details of a Texan triple homicide committed by two kids out looking to steal a car. Herzog has made the uncharacteristic decision to forgo his trademark voice-over commentary and let the subjects and victims’ families speak for themselves on this one.

I’M CAROLYN PARKER: THE GOOD, THE MAD, AND THE BEAUTIFUL
Successful dramatic director Jonathan Demme (Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia) turned his cameras on New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and ended up following one family from the Lower Ninth Ward. He became so close to the family that he cast two if its members in his 2008 drama Rachel Getting Married. That family’s matriarch Carolyn Parker became the subject of this commentary on what it takes to rebuild. Demme is also screening his follow up to 2006′s Neil Young: Heart of Gold, NEIL YOUNG JOURNEYS at this year’s fest.

SAMSARA
The team behind Baraka and Chronos Ron Fricke & Mark Magidson deliver their latest 65mm montage of photographic humanity to the world of cinema with Samsara, a Tibetan word meaning “the ever turning wheel of life.”

Other docus on display at TIFF include forgotten musician story PAUL WILLIAMS STILL ALIVE by Stephen Kessler, Mathieu Roy Harold Crooks‘s big picture societal collapse doc SURVIVING PROGRESS, a documentary by Nick Broomfield & Joan Churchill on an even scarier subject SARAH PALIN – YOU BETCHA!, and an interesting sounding look at prostitution in Thailand, Bangladesh, and Mexico from Michael Glawogger called WHORE’S GLORY.

TRISHNA
I’m a pretty enormous fan of anything the prolific Michael Winterbottom does from his immigration epic In This World to this summer’s English countryside laugher The Trip. His latest sets Thomas Hardy’s tragic love story Tess of the D’Urbervilles in contemporary Jaipur with Freida Pinto and Riz Ahmed as the lovers.
Trailer

RAMPART
Oren Moverman scored a hit with his 2009 directorial debut The Messenger which was nominated for both Best Original Screenplay and Best Actor for Woody Harrelson. Both Woody and Ben Foster are back in Moverman’s latest which centers around the LAPD’s infamous corruption scandal of the same name. Sigourney Weaver, Robin Wright, Ned Beatty and Ice Cube co-star.

JEFF, WHO LIVES AT HOME
Jay & Mark Duplass (The Puffy Chair, Cyrus) are back with this wacky family comedy starring Jason Segel, Ed Helms, Judy Greer and Susan Sarandon.

DAMSELS IN DISTRESS
Greta Gerwig and Adam Brody star in American indie director Whit Stillman‘s (Metropolitan, The Last Days of Disco) hiatus-breaker about a group of privileged undergrads at a liberal arts university.

THE LADY
Michelle Yeoh stars as Burmese leader and political prisoner Aung San Suu Kyi in Luc Besson‘s sweeping epic.
Trailer

EDWIN BOYD
Director Nathan Morlando marks his feature debut with this Scott Speedman and Brian Cox starring story of the Canadian Butch Cassidy who cut a swath across Canadian banks after the Second World War.

GOD BLESS AMERICA
Comedian-turned-director Bobcat Goldthwait has established himself as one of the most interesting indie directors after impressive outings Windy City Heat and Sleeping Dogs Lie. His latest is this bloody black comedy about a teenage girl and middle aged man who cross the country on a Badlands-esque killing spree. Character actor Joel Murray whose long resume includes playing Rumsen on Mad Men and Tara Lynne Barr star.

HICK
Chloe Moretz plays a teenage runaway with a .45 who teams up with Blake Lively in the road trip sophomore effort from Derick Martini (Lymelife). The impressive list of co-stars includes Juliette Lewis, Alec Baldwin, Rory Culkin and Eddie Redmayne.

PEACE, LOVE, & MISUNDERSTANDING
Martha Marcy May Marlene‘s rising star Lizzie Olsen plays alongside Jane Fonda and Catherine Keener in this family drama about a girl meeting her hippie grandmother for the first time. Longtime pro Bruce Beresford (Tender Mercies, Driving Miss Daisy, Black Robe) directs an all-star cast that also includes Kyle MacLachlan, Rosanna Arquette, Chace Crawford and Nat Wolff.

TAKE THIS WALTZ
Sarah Polley‘s follow-up to 2006′s critically acclaimed Away from Her is this bittersweet drama that stars Michelle Williams as a woman caught between her husband Seth Rogen and new man Luke Kirby. Sarah Silverman co-stars.

YOUR SISTER’S SISTER
Lynne Shelton‘s Humpday impressed many with its quirky and honest look at male friendship. Star Mark Duplass is back in Shelton’s latest that casts that same gaze on a maybe-not-so-platonic relationship between a man and his dead brother’s ex and her sister. Emily Blunt and Rosemarie DeWitt fill out the cast.

This section could go on to describe pretty much every other film at the loaded festival. Just a few more worth a mention are Todd Solondz‘s (Welcome to the Dollhouse, Happiness) latest quirkfest DARK HORSE which stars Justin Bartha, Selma Blair, Mia Farrow and Christopher Walken, the directorial debut from Oscar-winning Precious writer Geoffrey Fletcher about a pair of teenage assassins played by Saoirse Ronan and Alexis Bledel and co-sarring James Gandolfini and Danny Trejo called VIOLET & DAISY, Glenn Close‘s Oscar bait cross dressing period drama from director Rodrigo Garcia ALBERT NOBBS which co-stars Mia Wasikowska and Jonathan Rhys Meyers, and Gerardo Naranjo‘s (Drama/Mex) Mexican beauty pageant/drug war drama MISS BALA

DRIVE
Well this is simple enough. GO SEE IT!! Nicolas Refn has shown up on the Hollywood scene in a big big way after shocking European audiences with The Pusher Trilogy and Bronson. Drive is a love letter to 70s heist cinema through the lens of someone whose vision of Los Angeles was obviously formed on 80s depictions of a crime filled metropolis. But Refn has his own style in abundance and it never feels dated even for a second. It’s a bit of a slow burn – but when the action pops off… oh boy, watch out. The film stars Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Albert Brooks, Oscar Isaac, Christina Hendricks and Ron Perlman. It comes out in the states next Friday September 16th.
Review

LIKE CRAZY
Now this is just starting to read like my likely 2011 Top 10 list. Drake Doremus‘s long distance romancer was just about everyone’s favorite film of Sundance 2011, winning the top dramatic prize and scoring an acting award for Felicity Jones who is truly the film’s big revelation in her role opposite Anton Yelchin. Jennifer Lawrence co-stars. I just dare you not to fall in love.
Trailer

OSLO, AUGUST 31ST
Norwegian filmmaker Joachim Trier returns at long last with his follow up to 2006′s Reprise. Again starring Anders Danielsen Lie, this drama has a ‘brilliant but heavy’ buzz after premiering at Cannes.
Trailer

SHAME
The nets have been buzz buzz buzzin after Steve McQueen‘s Hunger follow-up left audiences extremely impressed at both Venice and Telluride. The film, centered around sex addiction, stars Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan.

LE HAVRE
The immigration dramedy from Finnish master Aki Kaurismaki was a front runner for Cannes’s Palme d’Or – but lost out in the end to The Tree of Life.

MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE
Sean Durkin‘s psychological identity thriller about a girl trying to get a grip on reality after escaping a cult has made the rounds, playing to grand applause at Sundance, Cannes, Melbourne and Sydney. Up and coming Superstar Lizzie Olsen stars alongside impressive performances from John Hawkes and Sarah Paulson. Fox Searchlight rolls the film out October 21st.
Trailer | Teasers

MELANCHOLIA
Lars von Trier‘s latest about the apocalypse gets another run out after a controversial premiere at Cannes. Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Alexander Skarsgaard and Kiefer Sutherland star in this film that launches stateside November 11th.
Review | US Trailer | UK Trailer | Teaser

THE ARTIST
It’s been nothing but good buzz for Michael Hazanavicius silent b&w comedy about the early days of cinema. French star Jean Dujardin lit up audiences at Cannes and Telluride. John Goodman, Malcolm McDowell, Missi Pyle and James Cromwell fill out the cast. The Weinsteins are rolling the dice on this one, releasing it slowly starting Thanksgiving.
Review | Trailer

THE KID WITH A BIKE
Belgian auteur brothers Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne have long impressed art house audiences with their honest and touching portrayals of modern life. Their latest, which premiered at Cannes, is the story of a young boy struggling to understand his abandonment by his parents.

RESTLESS
Gus Van Sant‘s latest delicate love story revolves around death obsessed pair Mia Wasikowska and Henry Hopper navigating the travails of young adult doldrums by crashing strangers’ funerals. The film opened the Cannes Un Certain Regard section and Sony Classics is rolling it out September 16th.
Trailer

WHERE DO WE GO NOW?
Lebanese director Nadine Labaki impressed audiences with her 2007 hair salon debut Caramel. Her latest might be a bit more serious as it is set against the backdrop of sectarian violence where a village of women must come together to answer the film’s titular question.

Other films making a second (or third) splash on the festival circuit at TIFF this year include Julia Leigh‘s controversial Emily Browning (Sucker Punch) starring sex drama SLEEPING BEAUTY, the continually impressive Michael Shannon tour de force psychological drama TAKE SHELTER directed by Jeff Nichols, Paddy Considine‘s directorial debut Sundance hit TYRANNOSAUR starring Peter Mullan, and Lynne Ramsay‘s Tilda Swinton and John C. Reilly starring family drama WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN.

That wraps things up for our Toronto preview series TIFF 11 for ’11. Of course we couldn’t cover everything so be sure to check out the festival website for more, keep your eyes glued to TWITCHFILM for news and reviews, and follow us on twitter @twitchfilm and @RylandAldrich for up to the minute updates and quick reviews. Let us know what you’d like to see!

The LA Film Fest has wrapped up downtown – good thing because I’m pretty sick of Stella Artois. Here are the links to all my coverage of the fest at Twitch

LAFF 2011: A Chat with LAFF’s David Ansen and Doug Jones – My interview with the festival’s top two programmers.

LAFF 2011 Preview: The Low Down on What’s Up Downtown – My full preview – full text also after the jump.

Review: Linklater’s BERNIE is a Funny Mess

Review: Refn’s DRIVE is the No Nonsense Action Film You’ve Been Waiting For

LAFF 2011: Opening Weekend Wrap on a Raucous LAFilmFest – From Drive to drag queens, my thoughts on the fest’s opening weekend include details of the screenwriter and director panels.

Review: SENNA is This Year’s Most Exciting Doc

Review: NATURAL SELECTION is Indie Gold

LAFF 2011 – Narrative Feature Competition Wrap – Mini-Reviews of An Ordinary Family, Mamitas, How to Cheat, and The Dynamiter.

LAFF 2011 – Documentary Feature Competition Wrap – Mini-Reviews of Paraiso for Sale, Somewhere Between, Once I was Champion, and Unraveled.

LAFF 2011: Final Wrap on The Beyond and Fantastic Films of LAFilmFest – Mini-Reviews of Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, The Innkeepers, Entrance, Karate Robo Zaborgar, Eternity, and Attack the Block.

The Los Angeles Film Festival kicks off its second year in downtown LA on Thursday with a great slate of films for the eastside crowd. We already had a great chat with festival big wigs David Ansen and Doug Jones – and now we take a look at some of the films on offer. Be sure to check out the LAFF site and catalog for more info on the all the features, shorts, music videos, events, and panels we can’t cover here. We’ll be back with more coverage all through the fest. Now check out some of the flicks that caught our eye.

DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK
Guy Pearce and Katie Holmes star in LAFF’s closing night film directed by Troy Nixey and produced and presented by Guillermo del Toro. The film has had a bit of a rocky road to theaters originally slated to come out last January but pushed to later this summer after all the shake ups at Miramax. The cellar-dweller horror was originally intended to be a PG-13 offering but was given an R for “pervasive scariness.” Here’s hoping it doesn’t fall too much in the middle.

THE ARCANE ENCHANTER
Guillermo del Toro takes the reigns as LAFF’s guest director and presents this 1996 Pupi Avati Italian horror film never released in the USA.

BERNIE
LAFF opens this year with the world premiere of Richard Linklater’s latest that stars Jack Black as an undertaker with a sweet exterior and a dark secret. Shirley MacLaine co-stars and the pair will also team up for an event later in the fest called “DON’T YOU KNOW WHO I AM?!” – a game show styled evening that will task the two actors with answering questions about each others’ careers. Both the film and event should be a good time.

ATTACK THE BLOCK
This late add was met with a collective woo-hoo! by everyone in LA who hasn’t yet had a chance to see Joe Cornish’s Brit-teen alien invasion fave. If you can’t score a ticket, you can look forward to seeing the film when it lands in theaters from Screen Gems on July 29th.

ON THE ICE
I’m still pushing the hell out of Andrew Okpeaha MacLean’s debut feature about a couple of ‘Arctic thugs’ from way up in the northern reaches of Alaska. This story of friendship and what happens when its bonds get pushed to their limit has been making its way through the fest scene since its premiere at Sundance, winning Berlin’s prize for best first feature along the way. It will hopefully find a home with a distributor sometime soon. For more, see my full review. It screens FOR FREE at LAFF so you have no excuse not to check it out.

DRIVE
After all the great buzz at Cannes, Nicolas Refn’s Ryan Gosling starrer is looking like the hardest ticket to get at LAFF. Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Christina Hendricks, and Ron Perlman co-star alongside the stunt driver turned getaway man. Those without a ticket will have to wait until September 16th to catch this one.

THE BROKEN TOWER
James Franco presents this film he directed about American Poet Hart Crane as part of his “An Evening with James Franco” event. Michael Shannon co-stars.

ETERNITY
Thai director Sivaroj Kongsakul has already been compared to Pen-ek Ratanaruang (Last Life in the Universe) and Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Uncle Boonmee) – whom both of which he has previously worked. This gorgeous looking debut feature love story shared the top prize at Rotterdam before making its way to LAFF.

TYRANNOSAUR
Peter Mullan stars in Paddy Considine’s directorial debut about violence and redemption. The film was one of the major critical hits at Sundance.

THE SEDUCTION OF INGMAR BERGMAN
Part concert, part play, part film – no one knows quite what to expect from this live performance of a yet-to-be directed Guy Maddin film about Ingmar Bergman coming to Hollywood in the 1950s. The band Sparks performs live accompaniment on the Ford Amphitheater stage.

NATURAL SELECTION
Robbie Pickering’s critically acclaimed debut won just about everything there was to win at SXSW and continues its path to world domination with its LA premiere at LAFF. The film stars Rachel Harris as a Texas housewife who hits the road to find her dying husband’s illegitimate son. I can’t wait to see this one.

PAGE ONE: INSIDE THE NEW YORK TIMES
Andrew Rossi’s Sundance hit already has a firm grip on a spot in my top ten list. It follows David Carr and the gang at the NYTimes Media Desk as they question what it means to be a journalist in these tumultuous times. This film is a must see for anyone interested in news media, journalism, or just fans of documentary film.

THE INNKEEPERS
The House of the Devil director Ti West returns with this SXSW big buzz film about a haunted inn. Check out Todd’s complimentary review here.

AN ORDINARY FAMILY
Mike Akel earned a lot of fans with his touching 2006 debut mockumentary Chalk. Much of that cast returns for this competition family dramedy about a religious family reunion turned on its head when an estranged brother returns with his new boyfriend.

BEATS, RHYMES & LIFE: THE TRAVELS OF A TRIBE CALLED QUEST
Michael Rapaport’s Tribe doc is a portrait of one of Hip-Hop’s most influential groups and a fascinating look behind the scenes of the members’ individual egos. The film plays at the Ford Ampitheater and is preceded by DJ sets from KCRW DJs Dan Wilcox, Anthony Valadez, and Garth Trinidad.

ENTRANCE
Dallas Hallam’s and Patrick Horvath’s Silverlake hipster horror plays in the Beyond section and sounds like it could be seriously scary.

THE FUTURE
Miranda July’s second feature about adult angst follows up its successful festival run by screening at LAFF before its July 29th opening.

A BETTER LIFE
Chris Weitz is best known for directing About a Boy and Twilight: New Moon – so you would be excused for thinking the subject matter of his latest film is a bit out of his comfort zone. This film, playing as a gala screening, is an immigration drama set in LA and starring prolific Mexican actor Demián Bichir (who you might remember as Fidel Castro in Soderbergh’s Che films).

ELEVATE
Anne Buford’s directorial debut is a Senegalese Hoop Dreams that follows a group of teens who come to the USA with NBA hopes.

ANOTHER EARTH
LAFF presents the LA premiere my less favorite of Fox Searchlight’s two Brit Marling acquisitions. Mike Cahill’s clumsy sci-fi romance opens July 22nd.

SENNA
Asif Kapadia’s thrilling documentary about Brazillian Formula One racer Ayrton Senna was one of the sleeper docu hits at Sundance.

THE GUARD
Continuing the popular trend of Sundance hits playing LAFF ahead of a July opening, Brendan Gleeson and Don Cheadle star in this black comedy by John Michael McDonagh.

SOMEWHERE BETWEEN
Linda Goldstein Knowlton brings her personal touch as a mother of an adopted Chinese baby to her competition identity doc that follows four all American teenage girls adopted from China as babies.

HOW TO CHEAT
Amber Sealy writes, directs, and stars in this indie relationship dramedy screening in competition.

WILD RIVER
LAFF is offering a special screening of Elia Kazan’s 1960 depression-era story digitally remastered in color Cinemascope.

ELITE SQUAD: THE ENEMY WITHIN
I loved it at Sundance and now LA is getting an awesome chance to catch Jose Padilha’s high octane sequel to his 2007 hit. Padilha’s Hollywood follow-up can’t be far behind.

TERRI
John C. Reilly takes on the role as the Principal who cares in Azazel Jacob’s film about a troubled teen. The film launches in limited release July 1st.

ONCE I WAS A CHAMPION
I’ve heard very good things about Gerard Roxburgh’s feature docu debut about late UFC fighter/philosopher Evan Tanner and his personal battles. The film screens in the docu competition.

THE DYNAMITER
Matthew Gordon’s debut feature is an indie coming-of-ager set in rural Mississippi and premiering in competition.

MAMITAS
Compared to both Quinceañera and Raising Victor Vargas, Nicholas Ozeki’s adaptation of his award winning short is an LA latino coming-of-age romance playing in competition.

THE YELLOW SEA
Twitch has been following Na Hong-jin’s SK crime thriller for a while and I’m very excited to finally get a look in LAFF’s Beyond section after successful screenings at both Cannes and Seattle.

HIGHER GROUND
Vera Farmiga’s directorial debut found many fans at Sundance and plays LAFF ahead of its August 26th release. The 60s period film co-stars John Hawkes and Joshua Leonard.

DETECTIVE DEE AND THE MYSTERY OF THE PHANTOM FLAME
This outdoor Ford screening of this Andy Lau starrer should be a fun way to experience HK legend Tsui Hark’s latest big budget actioner that Todd called, “equal parts Sherlock Holmes (Guy Ritchie style) and Scooby Doo (original cartoon style), all of it filtered through a gorgeous Chinese historical epic lens.”

L!FE HAPPENS
Kate Bosworth, Krysten Ritter, Rachel Bilson and Jason Biggs star in Kat Coiro’s Silverlake dramedy.

UNRAVELED
Marc H. Simon’s competition docu is an intense and personal look at financial villain Marc Dreier as he reflects on his crimes prior to his sentencing.

THE DESTINY OF LESSER ANIMALS
This interesting sounding Ghanaian film tells the story of a police detective who embarks on a journey into the underworld to find a counterfeit passport and escape his country.

KARATE-ROBO ZABORGAR
Noboru Iguchi’s (Mutant Girls Squad, RoboGeisha) latest offers more of his wonderful wackiness and not surprisingly screens in the Beyond section. Check out Charles’s and Ard’s reviews for more.

MYSTERIES OF LISBON
Raúl Ruiz’s Victorian epic clocks in at a staggering four and a quarter hours. From the accounts of those who have taken the plunge, it is a masterfully told tale of seduction and deceit.

HAUNTERS
Writer of South Korean hit The Good, the Bad, and the Weird, Kim Min-suk takes a turn behind the lens in this supernatural debut about a man who can control people with his eyes.

PROJECT NIM
James Marsh’s latest doc is no Man on Wire, but it is an interesting and heartbreaking look at a group of people who coalesce around an anthropological experiment involving a chimp named Nim. The film screens for free.

BOYZ N THE HOOD
It has been 20 years since John Singleton’s South Central classic scared the shit out of white America. The cast and crew gather to rewatch and discuss the film in honor of the Blu-Ray release.