Top 5 Sundance Movies

My favorite flicks of the snow-covered fest, from those I screened:

Catfish
What starts off as a documentary about an innocent art collaboration between a New York City photographer, Niv, and an eight-year-old Michigan girl, Abby, becomes something much more complex in a roller-coaster tale of trust, truth, fragile human connections, and forgiveness in a twisty tale of modern love that couldn’t be more relevant in today’s digital age of Facebook status updates versus face-to-face relationships.

See below for Campus Movie’s interview with the filmmakers:



The Extra Man
Kevin Kline plus quirk overload based on a story by Jonathan Ames? ’Nuff said.

Meet the filmmakers:



Get Low
A bunch of seasoned professionals shine doing what they do best (Robert Duvall, Sissy Spacek, Bill Murray) — plus newbie Lucas Black, who smolders with a young Ewan McGregor vibe — in this rollicking Depression-era tale of regret, self-purgatory, confession, and redemption. Duvall’s hermit-chic beard gives the Unibomber a run for money.

Watch a quick clip here:



The Runaways
It might not cover all the ground you want it too (and the historical accuracy is certainly tweaked for time), but once you see the costumes — piles of sequins, a to-die-for leather jacket, homemade T-shirts, and sky-high metallic platform boots from space — you just won’t care. (Bonus points for this flick because it meant Joan Jett was on my flight to Salt Lake. Joan effing Jett!)

See the trailer:



It’s a Wonderful Afterlife
Even the director (the endlessly quotable, hilarious Gurinder Chadha) joked that James Cameron wouldn’t be jealous of the low-budget, blue-tinged spirits seen here, but the silly, campy fun more than makes up for it in this rom-com gone Bollywood. Think Shaun of the Dead plus Bend It Like Beckham crossed with an episode of Barney Miller. Keep an eye out for the hilarious Carrie reference, starring petite treat Sally Hawkins — you’ll never look at curry the same.

See the trailer:



Honorable Mentions: Wasn’t able to score a screening of Winter’s Bone but it was the talk of the festival; in The Kids Are All Right, the always-brilliant Julianne Moore, Annette Bening, Mark Ruffalo, and Mia Wasikowska (keep your eye on this girl!) find themselves coping (poorly) with an unusual family affair.