Season 2, Episode 9 (1/27/07)

Hi all!

Last night during our volunteer shift, John Henry returned to Park City to do a Q&A about his film (and his work on 7th Heaven). You can see the attached photos from his Q&A. (He still wouldn't take his sunglasses off!)

After all of the excitement of having John Henry in the house, I was able to catch the second movie during our shift which was called "The Good Night" (as opposed to "The Good Life" which I reviewed earlier in the festival). "The Good Night" starred Martin Freeman (from "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," the British version of "The Office," etc.) as a guy whose life is rather unremarkable, but whose dreams at night are quite lucid. He studies up on how he can escape more into his dreamworld where there is a fantasy woman played by Penelope Cruz. Danny Devito and Gwyneth Paltrow also star in the film. 3 1/2 stars (out of five).

This morning, I went to a screening of "Dark Matter," which is a fictional account of actual events about a Chinese student studying in the United States, whose ideas of dark matter and string theories in relation to the universe are contrary to his advisor's. It was a little slow at first, but it got better as it went along. Aiden Quinn played the advisor and Meryl Streep played a fellow faculty member who tries to ease the Chinese students' transition into American life. 3 1/2 stars.

This afternoon, I saw my last official Sundance movie (I may be able to see another one tonight on my volunteer shift). I decided that I needed a light, fun comedy to end the fest, so I chose to see "Smiley Face," a Gregg Araki-directed picture starring Anna Faris (from the "Scary Movie" franchise). The story is about a woman who unknowingly eats an entire batch of pot cupcakes and all of the adventures that happen to her throughout the day. Anna Faris was hilarious, but the movie seemed to run out of steam and just sort of ended with a dud. There were also some good cameos from Adam Brody, Marion Ross, and John Krasinski (from the US version of "The Office.") 3 1/2 stars.

One more shift to go and an early morning flight out of Salt Lake City...

Until the next episode...

Your Sundance correspondent,


Ted


John Henry Q&A:




Entertainment Weekly cover with John Henry: