While I won't be heading down to the 2009 Sundance Film Festival this year, I will be sorting through the humongous pile of festival entries to share with you some of the films I think look most promising. From quirky documentaries to talented young filmmaker debuts to a potential runaway hit, Sundance is filled with entertainment possibilities. Here are today's selections:
Brooklyn's Finest
Directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day), Brooklyn's Finest just became this year's first sale at Sundance. Apparently "Senator Distribution nabbed North American rights . . . on Saturday night, 24 hours after its world premiere at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. . . Senator says it will release the film in the fourth quarter for awards consideration." According to Senator president Mark Urman, the company "went into aggressive pursuit right after Friday's screening." Wow! All of this spells good things for the cop drama which features a stellar cast (Richard Gere, Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawke, Wesley Snipes, Ellen Barkin). The plot is described as: "Three unconnected Brooklyn cops wind up at the same deadly location after enduring vastly different career paths." The guy responsible for the screenplay has a unique and intriguing story himself (you can read about it here). No clips available just yet, but now that it's been purchased I'm sure we'll hear and see much more about this film in the future.
Two more great-looking movies, with talented folks like Zooey Deschanel, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Mickey Rourke, if you read more.
The Informers
Well, the long-awaited movie adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis's collection of short stories is upon us. The movie, starring a whole lot of people from the '80s and early '90s (most notably Mickey Rourke, continuing his amazing career comeback) is about LA in the '80s in all its beautiful, indulgent, moral-decaying glory. The Informers also includes Kim Basinger, Winona Ryder, Billy Bob Thornton, Chris Isaak, and the late Brad Renfro (his final role). I have mixed feelings about this movie, but then again, any trailer that includes a song by A Flock of Seagulls deserves a chance in my book.
FYI: The trailer for The Informers below is not suitable for work due to some topless ladies. Proceed with caution:
500 Days of Summer
Oh, man. Could these two be cuter together? I think not. I was so excited when this casting news first came out and I'm even more thrilled that the movie's premiering at Sundance (to not-bad reviews so far) and has a release date (July 24) and now has a super cute teaser trailer (see below!). At first glance, the movie's description sounds like a little tale of unrequited love (boy loves girl, girl doesn't believe in love) but here's the part that got me really curious: "energized by dance numbers, split screens, and two dynamic performances from Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel." Dance numbers? Why not?! Check out the trailer below and for additional clips, click here.
Photos courtesy of Sundance
French Connection
i always love to hear about the movies that are premiering at Sundance ,and it's always so great to hear about how there are sometimes bidding wars for a film. i'm so happy to hear about Brooklyn's Finest - since that's a great cast - and i love zooey - so i'm sure that her film will be great too.
1After watching the trailer and clips, I'm really looking forward to watching 500 Days of Summer.
2I love hearing about the films at Sundance too, Ilanac13...Brooklyn's Finest sounds amazing. And I'll watch 500 Days of Summer just because I'm obsessed with Zooey Deschanel. It looks pretty cute too.
3I'm excited about 500 days of summer. Ever since I saw Joseph Gordon Levitt in Brick I have been really interested in his work. I will definitely spend a summer night seeing it.
4I'll have to wait months for 500 Days of Summer. I wish I can go to Sundance now
5I want to see 500 Days Of Summer.
6Yay, I can't wait for 500 DOS!! Especially since Zoey's name is Summer (just like me!) =) BONUS!!!
7yeeepppp love her
8Man, I wanna see every one of these!
9500 Days of Summer looks so good!
10Check out my reviews of The Informers and 500 Days of Summer for Paste Magazine here: http://mdunaway.wordpress.com/2009/02/08/sundance-narrative-film-roundup... . I think we had similar reactions!
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