Season 2, Episode 2 (1/20/07)

Hi everyone!

We survived our first night of box office work at the Prospector Square Theater. Just like last year, the first night was plagued with computer problems. However, since my box office mate, Karen, and I are old pros, it didn't freak us out like it did last year. Let's just hope the computers are up and running tonight.

Since we are working until 2am, it can be rather ambitious to get up for an 8:30am screening. Unfortunately, that may be the only to time for me to see some of the movies I want to. Today was one of those days when I went to an early screening of "The Savages." It is a funny and heartwrenching story of two siblings (Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman) who must come together to care for their distant father who is starting to suffer from dementia. The acting was superb and it kept me interested even on very little sleep. 3 1/2 stars (out of five). The cast and director were supposedly at the premiere last night, but they couldn't be bothered to wake up for this early screening. Boo! Hiss! Must have been some party!

I was still feeling ambitious, so I then went to see "The Good Life," about a young guy who lives in a small Nebraska town and has to take care of many people in his life, including his recently widowed mother and an old friend who runs an old movie theater and is suffering from dementia. (It's Dementia Day at Sundance!) Again, the acting was great in this one, but it really could have used some editing down. It starred Mark Webber (who I hadn't heard of before, but he was also in "Weapons" that I saw yesterday), Zooey Deschanel, Patrick Fujit, Chris Klein (he was made to look very ugly in this movie, but he is very pretty in real life - see attached photos), Bill Paxton, Drea de Matteo, Donal Logue, and Harry Dean Stanton. Mark, Zooey, Patrick, and Chris were all there for a Q&A after the film. Way to support your film! (I'm still upset with you, Laura and Philip!) 3 stars for "The Good Life."

After that, it was time for a necessary nap. Now, I'm refreshed and ready to head into work again. Maybe I'll sleep in tomorrow.

Until the next episode...

Your Sundance correspondent,

Ted

PS - In the attached photos, I'm not sure why Zooey looks so frightened in the picture with me. She was really very pleasant and smily when I talked to her.


"The Good Life" cast, Steve Berra (Director), Patrick Fujit, Zooey Deschenal, Mark Webber, and Chris Klein:



"The Good Life" Chris Klein:



"The Good Life" Patrick Fujit:



"The Good Life" Zooey Deschanel:



"The Good Life" a frightened Zooey and Ted:

Season 2, Episode 1 (1/19/07)

Hi all!

Well, I had a fun-filled day of training yesterday. It was good to get a refresher about everything that we need to do. Now if we can just remember how to put it into action during our first shift tonight.

I saw a couple movies last night. Last night was the opening night film of the festival. Since only one film is showing, they try to keep the volunteers from over-running the place by giving us our own screenings of two other films from the festival. They showed two films that I would not have picked out of the guide to see on my own, but I'm glad I saw them because they were both really good.

The first movie was called "Chasing Ghosts" and it is a documentary about people who were very serious about arcade gaming in the early 80s. The title refers to the object of Pac-Man. It showed parts of the lives of people who were ultra-competitive and lived to get the highest scores on a wide variety of arcade games. It also focussed on where they are in they're lives at the present time. It was a very fun and funny documentary. 4 stars (out of five).

The second movie was a French film entitled "Angel-A." It's about a desperate guy living in Paris who is about to throw himself into the Seine when he encounters an angel who helps him to see the beauty of his life. Ok, that description made it sound very trite, but it really wasn't an episode of Touched By An Angel. Even though it was filmed in black and white and had elements of "It's a Wonderful Life" and "Splash," it had a very modern feel to it. The film was directed by Luc Besson and it certainly was unlike any of his other movies that I've seen. Again it wasn't something that I was planning to see, but I'm glad I did. 4 stars.

Today, I saw a couple of interesting films. I saw "Weapons" which starred Paul Dano (from "Little Miss Sunshine") and Nick Cannon. It was very violent and intense and the story was told a rather non-linear fashion. The camerawork was very shaky which was a little annoying (and could probably give some people motion sickness). The director and many of the actors were there for a Q&A session afterwards. I'll give it 3 1/2 stars.

Then I went to see the North American premiere of "Delirious," starring Steve Buscemi, Michael Pitt, and Alison Lohman. This movie was a little bit of everything - comedy, drama, suspense. The story involved a young homeless guy (Pitt) who befriends a papparazzi photographer (Buscemi) and falls in love with a Britney Spears-type character (Lohman). Well-acted and a good story. 4 stars. Steve Buscemi was there, along with some other cast members (David Wain, Gina Gershon).

My first shift starts in about an hour. Wish me luck!

Your Sundance correspondent,

Ted

PS - I've attached a few photos from today's films.



Cast of "Weapons" Adam Bhala Lough (Director), Paul Dano, Nick Cannon, Mark Webber:





"Weapons" star Nick Cannon:





"Delirious" stars Steve Buscemi and Gina Gershon: