Sundance Film Festival 2007 – January 24
Hey everybody…god damn dizzle it has been a fantastic Sundance Film Festival this year. So far I have seen some great movies…in fact this is the first year that I haven’t seen a single bad movie!
I will do a full review when I get done tomorrow, but here is quick run down of the films I have watched as well as highly recommend that you see.
First of all, I saw the movie Weapons. This was a pretty hard hitting film that started off with a bang to say the least. Highly recommend this movie for people that enjoy action style films. Definitely a hard “R” rated film as well.
Next I saw the movie On the Road with Judas. This was a phenominal film. The most original movie of the Film Festival so far…and that is saying a lot. This was Leeroy Jenkin’s favorite flick so far. I thought that the script was as good as anything I have ever heard…including anything by Quentin Tarantino – who is my favorite director/writer – but overall the story was a little slow for my taste. Still a fantastic movie, simply not my absolute favorite. I highly recommend seeing this if you are a fan of movies like Being John Malkovich or Adaptation. This is definitely Rated “R”.
The 3rd movie I have seen is called Finishing the Game. This movie was absolutely HILARIOUS. It was about the search for the new Bruce Lee after he was tragically killed on set during the shooting of the movie Game of Death. This movie is this year’s Napolean Dynamite – But actually Funny. Absolutely recommended for anyone that loves a good comedy and can handle some adult language. Rated “R”.
The 4th movie I had a chance to see was called The Signal. This was my favorite film of Sundance so far. This was a Horror/Comedy sort of like Shawn of the Dead, but much scarier. This movie will get picked up for distribution and is better than Saw, 28 Days Later, and Blair Witch Project. This was such an enjoyable film and the Q&A afterwards was great. These directors were great…and you could tell that they were enjoying every second of having their project shown at the Sundance Film Festival. Definitely check this out when it comes out…HARD RATED “R”.
The last movie I have seen so far is called Trade. Trade is a very good movie about the realities of Human Trafficking. It stars Kevin Klein – who does some of his best acting EVER – and takes you through the kidnapping and auctioning process that is apparently happing by the Hundreds of Thousands. In any case – It was my 2nd least favorite of the movies I have seen so far, but I still HIGHLY recommend it. As I said previously this Film Festival has been WAY above average, and I have not seen a movie that I haven’t loved so far – (That is probably due to me knowing how the fuck to chose movies to see though, more than anything else)
The last movie I have tickets for is called Red Road. This is the movie I was most excited to see prior to watching any of the movies. Now that I have pretty much gotten through the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, all I hope is that this is as good as everything else we’ve had a chance to watch.
Well….that’s it for now. I will do a full review on all of the parties, movies, and celebrities I met after I get back to my hometown tomorrow. Believe me, this is going to be a Sundance Film Festival that has numerous movies released for wide distribution.
Till next time – Shit Chang! I Like You!
- The Naydoo
Let’s Do This. LEEEEEROOOOOY JEEEEEEENKINS!!
Fantastic Film Festival. Thanks for coming into town Naydoo and hanging out with a brotha in the cold. Naydoo has taken off back to the tropics and will be sippin some Curacao…but I will finishing the festival off with a bang.
I will be going to The Good Life and Chapter 27 and will be reporting the details on those over the next couple of days.
However, let me speak about the films so far:
1)Weapons – Simply not a strong enough movie for me to really recommend. This movie was actually based on a single event rather than a story or plot and I think the director/writer had to drag it out to make this idea into a movie. This made the movie feel much longer than it was. On a 1-10 scale (Pulp Fiction being a 10 and Mixed Nuts (Fuck You Steve Martin) being a 1), I would probably rate it a 5.
2) Finishing The Game – It was a fantastically funny movie. The world premier was a midnight showing at the Egyptian – and had a fun and lively crowd. The movie was able to keep most of us awake most of the time and the Q&A was very intersting. My parachuttin pants brotha – Hammer was in attendance. My rating here would be a 7.5 out of 10.
3) The Signal – This is the type of movie you live for with the Midnight showings at the festival. This was a horror movie that was shown in three parts (transmissions) with each part written and directed by a different person. This movie was scary, funny (not unintentionally) and smart. Although the idea of “machines” causing problems for us is not new, the way they presented it was fresh and original. The crowd at the Egyptian for the World Premier was fantastic and the Q&A was great as well. By the way, I also enjoyed the Short before this one as well…Set the tone perfectly. Rating 8.5 out of 10.
4) Trade: This was a difficult movie to watch. It was not enjoyable in the true sense of the word because the subject matter was so intense. This movie had a “Traffic”-like feel to it – however, the movie was not at that same level. The pace was slow and the plot predictable. I know it sounds like I didn’t like it – but that is not the case at all. I highly recommend it and give it a 7 out of 10.
5) Red Road – I got to be honest with you – this is the worst movie I have seen at Sundance. I feel betrayed by David Courier!! Give me my money back David! Now you might be asking who the fuck this guy is?? He is the asshole who wrote the film festival guide for Red Road. What movie did he see???? Here are some quotes from the movie:
“Red Road is a bristling, atmospheric thriller that rumbles with intensity”
“Filmmaker Andrea Arnold keeps the audience guessing and the tension building as Red Road crescendos to an explosive finale.”
Bullshit!!! None of this is true. The movie is not intense, it is not a thriller, there is no tension and the finale is not explosive. Here is what I would have wrote:
“Filmmaker Andrea Arnold keeps the audience bored and the impatience building as Red Road crescendos when there is a hard core pornographic sex scene”
Honestly, I didnt know if I should walk out or whip it out. Do not go see this ever!! My Rating 2 out of 10.
6) On The Road With Judas – I saved this for last because it was definitely my favorite movie of the festival. This was truly original – the screenplay was fantastic and the direction of the film was simply amazing. JJ Lask should be on everyone’s radar after this! If you are a fan of movies by Spike Jonze, Michel Gondry’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, or Wes Anderson you will fuckin love this movie. My rating 9.5 out of 10.
Anyway kids – remember, Leeroy Loves You!