2009 Sundance Film Festival

Ever since I heard about Adam, which premiered at Sundance this year, I've been dying to see a preview for it — and now it's finally here! This sweet-looking romance stars Hugh Dancy and Rose Byrne (Damages) as two twentysomethings who live in the same apartment complex. They become interested in each other and might be on the path to love if not for one little thing: Adam (Dancy) suffers from Asperger's syndrome, which means he has trouble navigating dating and other social situations.

I was worried that this movie might be a little too sentimental, but the trailer is charming, with a few moments that made me laugh out loud nestled between the emotional scenes. The reviews out of Sundance were generally positive, with one critic describing it as "extremely touching and sweet."

The movie also stars Peter Gallagher, Amy Irving, and Mark Linn-Baker and will hit theaters July 29. To watch the trailer, read more

The buzz about Sundance has been largely positive this year and it sounds like the entries were, on a whole, some of the best the festival has rounded up in a long time. On Saturday the festival's closing Awards Ceremony was held and the winners were announced. Some of last year's outstanding Sundance entries just made it onto the list of Oscar nominations, including Frozen River (which won the Grand Jury Prize last year) and Man on Wire (which won the top Sundance prize in the international documentary category). So this year's Sundance wins just might be next year's Oscar nominees, too.

Here's a rundown of some notable awards:

• The big winner this year is Lee Daniels's Push: Based on the Novel by Sapphire, winning both the Jury Prize and the Audience Award in the U.S. Dramatic category.
• The movie boasts several breakout performances including a young newcomer Gabby Sidibe and the comedian Mo'Nique who won the Special Jury Prize for Acting. This movie tackles some extremely heavy material — including incest and pregnancy by one's own father — but many reviewers say that as difficult as it is to watch it's worth the viewing. It still does not have a distributor.
• We Live in Public won the U.S. Documentary Grand Jury Prize and "portrays the story of the Internet's revolutionary impact on human interaction as told through the eyes of maverick web pioneer, Josh Harris, and his transgressive art project that shocked New York." I've heard this described as sort of an underground, technological Jonestown. Creepy.

For more news about this year's Sundance awards, read more

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:

An Education
Actress Carey Mulligan is getting a lot of attention at Sundance this year, as she's promoting not one but two films that both are receiving good buzz. I've already mentioned one of those films, The Greatest, but the other film seems truly destined for big things: An Education. The cast includes Peter Sarsgaard, Alfred Molina, and Emma Thompson and the screenplay comes from About a Boy scribe Nick Hornby. The movie, about a girl coming of age in 1960s London, has already been picked up by Sony Pictures Classics and critics are raving.

A gallery of photos from this hot flick and a rundown of another big Sundance film follow after the jump. Just read more

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.

Today's spotlight is kind of fun in that both of these selections have some provocative points of view regarding motherhood and make for a nice — if a little weird — themed post. Check them out:

Motherhood
"Mommy blogging" is a pretty popular thing to do, what with many new moms wanting to document each and every step of their parental journeys. This movie, starring Uma Thurman and Minnie Driver, looks like it takes a darkly humorous look at the life of one such mommy blogger. Motherhood follows Uma's character Eliza who "has to throw her daughter's sixth birthday party, battle for a parking space, chase her toddler son, navigate playground politics, repair a botched birthday cake, contemplate a fling with a sexy messenger half her age, juggle a career-changing opportunity, find time to have a breakdown, briefly run away from home, and realize what is truly valuable in her life — all in one day." Sounds kind of funny, actually

You can check out a clip of Motherhood in which Minnie Driver's character is pretty peeved at Uma's character for blogging about her here.

To see another one of my Sundance finds that has to do with a very, very different kind of motherhood, just read more

A mention of Chris Rock's name doesn't exactly conjure up thoughts of heartfelt documentaries, but that may change soon. Premiering at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival this week is a project close to his heart. Inspired by his daughter Lola, Good Hair exposes his discoveries while trying to answer the question: "Daddy, how come I don’t have good hair?” If you've never heard it yourself, labels of "good hair" and "bad hair" are often provided by strangers, stylists, and even loved ones in the Black community based on the texture, thickness, and the styling ease of one's hair. Even though it's not always said in a derogatory way, Chris Rock gathers stories and observations to find out exactly what this is, why it is, and what it means for the esteem of the people who receive these unwanted titles.

What's your take on this phenomenon? Watch a Sundance "Meet the Artists" clip where Chris Rock discusses his reasons for making the film and then share your thoughts when you read more

If there were a time to embrace velvet, it would be right about now. Some of you have written off the plush fabric, but some of you are holding out for a super stylish piece. Model and actress Devon Aoki showed off her velveteen bag with pride at the Sundance Film Festival. Donning a rather bohemian look, Devon looked like she picked up her no-fuss bag at a local vintage shop. A plushy bag doesn't look so bad, ay?

Source

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:

The Missing Person
Michael Shannon is getting all kinds of attention for the creepy role he plays in Revolutionary Road, which is one of the reasons this movie is already earning some early buzz out of the festival. Also starring Amy Ryan, The Missing Person looks like a slow-boiling noir that follows "a private detective prone to sardonic wit, gin, and the endless repercussions of what happens when you mix the two." Intrigued?

You can check out the trailer for this one and see some more of my picks (which include Ashton Kutcher and cutie Michael Cera) if you read more

Some of our favorite rarely-seen famous faces were out at Sundance Film Festival yesterday. Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt premiered their anticipated – and completely precious looking — romantic comedy 500 Days of Summer. Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor continued to hit up the parties in support of I Love You Phillip Morris. It wasn't all movie veterans — relative newbie John Krasinski debuted Brief Interviews with Hideous Men at the festival while Kristen Stewart hit a red carpet that wasn't for Twilight — check out all the Sundance news here. With so many celebrities in Park City and DC for the inauguration, LA must be pretty quiet this week.

To see more from the festival including Ewan McGregor, Robin Williams, Hugh Dancy, Seth Green, Lisa Kudrow and others just read more