Ladies, gentleman, and filmsters, this is my first year attending the film festival that started it all and I am talking about the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. This year there are hundreds of films showcasing at the event and while most film lovers wouldn’t mind seeing most of them, there are a few films that standout from the rest. Since tonight is the opening night of the festival, I decided to share with everyone my personal list of my 10 most anticipated films playing at Sundance 2013.
10. A.C.O.D. – What draws me to this film is simply the all star cast with people like Amy Poehler, Adam Scott, Richard Jenkins, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and several others I am seriously pumped to see the film. The film which is labeled a comedy also seems to have a pretty hysterical premise about a guy who isn’t aware he participated in a study about childhood divorce and is now being studied again as an adult by those who originally conducted the study.
9. Jobs – Unfortunately I won’t be seeing Jobs at Sundance due to the fact that its the closing night film. I am however very curious to see Ashton Kutcher play a serious role and also take on the life of Apple founder Steve Jobs. This film is one that I am sure will get a lot of praise but also one that we can almost guarantee will ge a big release a few months after Sundance 2013. Anyone who gets to see this film at the first airing will be lucky and I am definitely looking forward to reading the reviews.
8. In a World… – This film stars most of cast of Children’s Hospital, however, this film is a drama. That will be interesting to see these actors take their roles seriously but also it will be quite interesting to see with an interesting premise as well.
7. Before Midnight – It pains me to admit this but I just recently got introduced to the lovely and talented Julie Delpy. After seeing films like 2 Days in Paris as well as 2 Days in New York, I was very curious to see what else this actress has done. I stumbled across Before Sunset and Before Sunrise which I heard a lot about and let me say “wow these are amazing films!” These films which focus solely on the relationship between Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy is engaging, heartfelt, and powerful. Seeing that Before Midnight features the same two leads and Richard Linklater in the director’s chair, I have no doubt that this third film will be nothing but amazing.
6. Wrong Cops – I was one of the few who saw Quentin Dupieux’s Rubber and just ate it up. I found the film to be often hilarious and such a smart mockery of films today. The film is usally one that most don’t “get” and that’s completely fine because I feel it works more as a film for those who love and appreciate film-making as an art form and get the tongue-in-cheek jokes about Hollywood and cliched film-making.
5. LoveLace – I have been following this film for a while now. This film focuses on the life and scandle of Linda Lovelace and it has been in production for several years. The film was originally suppose to star Lindsay “I can’t stay out of the news” Lohan before Amanda Seyfried, but because I am a huge fan of Seyfried I am interested in see what she does with the role and how the director and writers handled this story.
4. The East – I fell in love with Brit Marling when I first saw her in Another Earth at SXSW. I was able to talk to her briefly after the film and also met her again while she was in Philadelphia. In The East, Marling teams up with Sound of My Voice director Zal Batmanglij again to tell a story of contract worker who is part of an anarchist group. While not a mainstream plot by any means, it is sure to make a solid story especially for an indie gem that you would find at Sundance.
3. The Way, Way Back – Any film that Steve Carell is apart of I am usually excited to see and The Way, Way Back is no different. This film which makes its premiere at Sundance sounds like a very unique film about an unexpected friendship and has a terrific cast to boot.
2. A Spectacular Now – This film is directed by James Ponsoldt who also directed Smashed which was my favorite film of 2012. A Spectacular Now stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead who gave a real tour de force performance in Smashed as well as Shailene Woodley who we haven’t seen do much since her amazing performance in The Descendants two years ago. While this film is based on a book with the same title, I have faith in both Ponsoldt and Winstead so this film is one of my most anticipated films at the fest.
1. Don Jon’s Addiction – Joseph Gordon-Levitt is the new face of Hollywood, but I for one have always loved him as an actor. Several of his earlier films such as Mysterious Skin, Brick, and The Lookout are terrific underrated gems. His newer films are great as well as he is definitely one of the best actors of our generation. Now, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is directing and writing his first feature length film that he wrote specifically for Scarlett Johansson. I can’t wait to see this film because if Joseph Gordon-Levitt can write and direct as well as he can act well ladies and gentleman we might have our generation’s Woody Allen on our hands.
