The Sundance Missives - Season 3, Episode 3

Hi everyone!

I got up early this morning to see a highly anticipated film called "What Just Happened?" It had a star-studded cast, including Robert DeNiro, Sean Penn, Bruce Willis, Stanley Tucci, Robin Wright Penn, Catherine Keener, etc and was directed by Barry Levinson. Despite all that, it wasn't very good. Although, that's just my opinion - someone in the audience called it a "masterpiece" during the Q&A. (Maybe I just didn't get it.) It was about a Hollywood producer (DeNiro) who is dealing with a studio about a film that didn't have a good test screening, as well as other problems with his job and family. It's probably a movie that a Hollywood insider would love (since they love seeing stories about their lives), but it just seemed like a lot of it had been done before. (The disgruntled director, the uncooperative actor, the difficult studio head). I wasn't very impressed with the story, but the acting was good (especially Catherine Keener as the studio head and Bruce Willis as a ficticious (?) version of himself as the difficult actor). 2 1/2 stars. Barry Levinson was there for the Q&A.

From there, I headed to "Sunshine Cleaning" starring Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Alan Arkin, and Steve Zahn (who looked much better in this film than his normal). It involved two sisters (Adams and Blunt) who start a specialized cleaning service that takes care of crime scenes. Their lives are not going so well and they do this cleaning for the extra money. They also start to get involved with some of the families of people involved in the crime scenes. The story had some touching moments, but it wasn't always riveting. The movie is set in Albuquerque, New Mexico and it had some gorgeous views of the surrounding mountains. 3 stars (out of five). Emily was there for the introduction, but Amy is off filming a movie.

I was then going to try to see "Be Kind Rewind" with Jack Black and Mos Def, but all of the volunteer tickets were given out, so I headed to a nearby theater to see "Phoebe in Wonderland." I didn't know much about it before going in, but it was a good flick. It stars Felicity Huffman and Bill Pullman as parents of Phoebe (Elle Fanning). This film made me realize how much more I like Elle in comparison to her older sister, Dakota. She doesn't totally annoy me when she's on screen. (And she costarred in my favorite movie from last year's festival, "The Nines" which is being released on DVD at the end of the month.) Phoebe has a form of Tourette's syndrome, which makes things difficult at home and at school. She did an admirable job of portraying this and Felicity Huffman was great as the struggling mother. 3 ½ stars (out of five). Elle, Felicity, Patricia, Bill, as well as the first time director, Daniel Barnz, were there for the Q&A afterwards.

After seeing three movies, I needed to take a quick nap before my volunteer shift. When I did get to the theater, Isabella Rosselini was leaving after the screening of the short film that she directed. She's not as tall as I thought she would be. Our first screening was another shorts program, which included a short directed by Kirsten Dunst. She attended the screening, but I didn't see her. I really, really wanted to go up to her and tell her how much I didn't like Spider-man 3. Oh well – maybe I'll see her on the street tomorrow. Our last screening tonight was called "Chronic Town" and before the show I saw one of the actors, Dan Butler (who was Bulldog on "Frasier"). Those were my celebrity sightings (and near sightings) for today.

Till the next report…

Your Sundance correspondent,

Ted

The Sundance Missives - Season 3, Episode 2

Hi all!

The first volunteer shift went quite smoothly last night. The computer worked fine (the fax machine - not so much) and it was a relatively quiet night. Our first screening was from the Sundance Collection - a 1992 film called "The Living End" (which I've seen before). I don't think the Sundance Collection movies are as well attended since they are not "new." Then the second screening was for a "Frontier Shorts Program" which was made up of experimental or edgy short films. The theater was about 1/3 full for that and about a quarter of those people ended up leaving early. It's not for everyone.

I got up this morning and got a ticket for a movie and then headed down to Main Street. The Paul Mitchell Salon is once again giving free haircuts, so I got mine done. I just went as myself (not as John Henry), so I didn't get anything except a good shampoo and haircut this year. I really need my entourage around me!

The movie I saw this morning was called "Momma's Man" and it was about a guy who visits his parents in New York and ends up staying for an extended period of time (while neglecting his wife and baby back in California). From the description, I thought it might be somewhat comedic, but it was just kind of sad. The main character was just annoying and despicable with his lying to his wife, to his parents, and to his job back home. The parents were played by the director's real-life parents and it was mostly filmed in their New York apartment. That part was kind of cool, but overall the movie was slow and tedious. 2 1/2 stars (out of 5).

This afternoon's movie was "The Great Buck Howard" which starred John Malkovich as Buck Howard, a mentalist (not a magician) who had his hey day in the 70s, but who is still traveling around doing his act. He hires a law school dropout (Colin Hanks) to be his road manager and the story is told through the manager's perspective. Buck Howard is a demanding and unpredictable boss and is somewhat unaware that he's not as popular as he once was. It was very entertaining and John Malkovich was hilarious (much as he was in "Being John Malkovich"), but the story was a little lacking for me. I didn't think that enough was resolved by the end of the film. Despite that, I'd still give it 4 stars.

Tom Hanks, who produced and had a small role in the film, introduced the screening and was very funny in describing what all of the cast and crew were wearing. The director (Sean McGinly), Colin, and Emily Blunt (who played a love interest of Colin's character) were there for a Q&A afterwards. Apparently the director had worked as a road manager for the Amazing Kreskin and based a lot of the story (but not all) on his adventures.

Had another smooth volunteer shift tonight – the fax machine even worked. There was some drama with some unruly producers and writers of one of the shorts, but I didn't have to deal with any of that.

Off to bed…

Your Sundance correspondent,
Ted