Most Anticipated Sundance Films

Certainly no stranger to procrastination, I find myself on the flight to Salt Lake finally banging out a list of movies I'm most looking forward to. (God bless in flight wifi.)

Will these end up being my favorites? Unlikely. Keep in mind I purposely try to avoid reading too much about any title in advance because I like to be as surprised as I can going into the film. That's part of what I love about Sundance - lack of influence in advance. Few set expectations. 

In no particular order, the titles that I am looking forward to:

Nobody Walks -  He probably only has a small part, but I would watch Justin Kirk in a dramatic reading of the fine print on the bottle of my prescription generic adderall.  Hottest. Minnesotan. Ever. (And yes, I am including Josh Hartnett.)

Smashed - In the middle of probably the only ten days all year I won't be boozing it up, I'm excited to watch a relationship drama where alcoholism takes center stage.  Add to this cocktail the fact that Mary Kay Place co-stars? I'll drink to that.



Detropia - By the directors of Jesus Camp. Even though their sophomore effort (12th & Delaware) was only "very good" as opposed to the masterpiece of their first, I have incredibly high hopes.

The House I Live In - directed by Eugene Jarecki, one of the most articulate directors I've ever watched at a Q&A (when I saw his doc Why We Fight).  This is about the war on drugs.  Sundance isn't all parties and red carpets, y'all. I'm gonna learn shit.

The Ambassador - I have no idea what this documentary is about.  As I was choosing my films, I stopped reading the description and starred the hell out of it in my film guide after I read it was by the director of The Red Chapel.

Searching for Sugarman -  Not much to say other than the description in the film guide made it sound like a fascinating and satisfying story. 

Shorts Program III -  Just kidding. Not really. Judge me all you like -  I have no damned time to see shorts. Just wanted to check if you were paying attention. (That said, I do usually try and squeeze in the doc shorts and animation spotlight.)

Liberal Arts - Josh Radnor's newest. Screw you, haters -  I loved Happythankyoumoreplease.; This one looks great, too. <makes a face>

About Face - I was really hoping last year's Misrepresentation documentary would be the complex but overdue look how media/advertising shortchange woman and girls that it completely failed to be.   Even though  the structure and purpose of this film seems to be only vaguely related, I am looking to this film to introduce a level of artistry, subtlety and thoughtfulness to the topic of women in fashion.

Shut Up and Play the Hits - there's just nothing quite like the feeling of learning all about an awesome band through a music documentary released after they broke up.  (I'm talking to you, Who Took the Bomp)