Dirty Sundancing

The Sundance Film Festival is officially underway in Park City, Utah. Once again, looking at the line-up, most of the films playing the fest feature celebrities. What began as a tribute to low-budget, truly independant films made below the Hollywood radar and outside the system has become a showcase for less expensive studio productions and celebrity vanity vehicles.

I recently reviewed a real uunoriginal shitkicker called November that played Sundance last year. Why would this silly little movie be selected for a big, prestigious film festival? Because it stars Courtney Cox. I mean...come on...

I've never been, but each year the festival seems to create kind of a bubble among the attendees. Films come out of Sundance with amazing buzz - films that played to packed, delighted audience in Park City - a year later in the cold light of a direct-to-DVD release, tend to suck massive amounts of ass. (Pretty Persuasion, anyone? Or that hand-held stream-of-conscious shit about being lost in the woods from a few years back? Anyone still watching that movie? What about a certain Braffsterpiece with the initials G.S.? That do anything for ya?)

Of course, this isn't always the way. Napoleon Dynamite was a huge hit in Utah before becoming a huge hit everywhere due to its intense hilarity.

And, I have to say, looking over the line-up, there are a number of films playing that I would like to see this week, instead of months from now. Here are some of the highlights:

Art School Confidential

Holy shit, everyone gets to see the new film by Terry Zwigoff this week? And it's written by Daniel Clowes, the same guy who wrote the comic book and script for Ghost World? I need to see this movie immediately.

Awesome: I Fuckin' Shot That

The Beastie Boys' own MCA (going under his directorial pseudonym, Nathaniel Hornblower) gave 50 fans DV cameras and had them record a massive, sold-out Beasties concert. The film is the edited-together result of this experiment. I have no idea whether or not it will be cool, but it's kind of a neat idea.

Don't Come Knocking

A new Wim Wenders movie written by Sam Shepard, starring Sam Shepard and Jessica Lange. This is the first time Wenders and Shepard have worked together since 1984's absolute stone-cold classic Paris, Texas. A must-see.

The Illusionist

A period piece about a turn-of-the-century Vienna magician, played by Ed Norton. Already, I'm intrigued (although, as Ain't It Cool News dutifully points out, Christopher Nolan's exceedingly cool-sounding film The Presitge will also cover turn-of-the-century magicians). When you consider that another main character will be played in this film by Paul Giamatti, my intrigue-um-edness only increases. I never saw director Neil Burger's acclaimed previous film, Interview with the Assassin, but it's a previous Sundance hit.

Lucky Number Slevin

This is an old-fashioned noir from the director of the undervalued Gangster #1, a far better, more stylish and classy British gangster movie than last year's cartoony Layer Cake. (He also made Wicker Park, which I didn't see but which apparently is no good). So, already, I'm hyped to see it, as I love old-fashioned film noir. But check out this cast: Morgan Freeman, Stanley Tucci, Bruce fucking Willis and Ben Kingsley! Oh, yeah, and some guy named Josh Hartnett. Oh, well...

One Last Dance

A revenge thriller from Singapore, that for some reason stars Harvey Keitel. I just think the premise is intriguing: An assassin is hired to hunt down and kill everyone involved with a high-profile kidnapping. The only catch is...he's personally involved in the kidnapping.

The Science of Sleep

The director of a bunch of cool music videos and my favorite film of 2004, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, returns to his native homeland (France) to make another film about trippy bad dreams. A man is held prisoner by characters in his dreams, and must figure out a way to make himself wake up. Sounds...a lot like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I still have to see it, of course, because the guy is a total visionary.

This Film is Not Yet Rated

A behind-the-scenes look at the Motion Picture Association of America and the bass-ackwards way they determine movie ratings. Sounds really interesting...Along with An Unreasonable Man, an in-depth (2.5 hours!) look at Ralph Nader, the most intriguing documentary playing at this year's fest. (Although, now that I think of it, The World According to Sesame Street, about Sesame Street producers adapting the show for South Africa and Bangladesh, sounds pretty cool too).

Man Push Cart

Again, I know nothing about this film but the premise...but WHAT A PREMISE:

A night in the life of a former Pakistani rock star who now sells coffee from his push cart on the streets of Manhattan.

Sounds awesome.