Sundance Channel Blog

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Film

Article: Top 10 films to jumpstart your ambition

Posted August 24th, 2012, 4:08 PM by Dan Heching

Photo credit: Screened

We hate to admit it, but life is tough. To persevere, rise above and truly succeed, a very simple choice must be made every day: Am I going to do what it takes to take care of myself and those around me, or am I not? It may feel like that decision gets harder and harder in light of new challenges that present themselves day after day, but the choice always remains our own. The brand new Sundance Channel series GET TO WORK examines this process, following down-and-out unemployed citizens as they try to pick their lives back up, find work and unlock their forgotten potential.

Article: Top 10 films about sexual extremes

Posted August 23rd, 2012, 3:08 PM by Em And Lo

Photo credit: Listal

It’s mid-August and Hot Summer Nights is in full swing on Sundance Channel. Some of the upcoming movies featured in this “steamy” series focus on sexual extremes: There’s sex addiction in John Waters’ outrageous comedy A DIRTY SHAME and also in the autobiographical tale I AM A SEX ADDICT; AUTOEROTIC follows the sexual obsessions of four Chicago couples; the compelling (but unfortunately named) documentary SEX MAGIC: MANIFESTING MAYA follows the polyamorous life of a sex guru; and INDIE SEX: EXTREMES looks at independent cinema that pushed the boundaries of sexual content in film.

Article: Review Revue: PREMIUM RUSH, SLEEPWALK WITH ME, LITTLE WHITE LIES

Posted August 23rd, 2012, 1:08 PM by Dan Heching

Going to the movies should never, ever be stressful (unless, of course, you’re planning on seeing the latest Lars von Trier flick). You want to see something new and relevant so that you can talk it up with your know-it-all friends. But you don’t want to sit through the one film that everyone thought would be great but… isn’t. So here is our formula, simplifying the should-you-see-it conundrum:
5 new releases x 2 critical samplings = what you should go see.

Simple enough, right? This week we have a road-trippin’ couple, a bike messenger in a serious rush, a sleepwalking Mike Birbiglia, some weepy French friends and a badass undead army vet.

Article: Now Playing on Sundance Channel: L.A. CONFIDENTIAL, THE DARJEELING LIMITED, Tony Scott's DOMINO

Posted August 23rd, 2012, 11:08 AM by Sundance Channel

This week we’ve got a crime thriller that’s both sexy and surprising; a Sundance Film Festival favorite that’s both witty and bawdy; a Wes Anderson exploration of brotherly love; and a tribute to one of Hollywood’s most successful directors of the past few decades, Tony Scott.

Article: Film Intelligence: R.I.P. Tony Scott, Hollywood's lost top gun

Posted August 22nd, 2012, 4:08 PM by Matt Singer

Every week there are dozens of film news stories. We read them all and bring you the five most important ones in the single most important blog post you’ll ever read (today [at this moment]). This week: a tragic end, Bible stories, toxic avengers, and small children crying for our amusement.

Article: CROSSETT: Small-town David vs. corporate Goliath

Posted August 22nd, 2012, 2:08 PM by Jeff McIntire-Strasburg

Environmental regulations kill jobs. If companies didn’t have to spend money on such nonsense, they could afford to hire more people. That’s a consistent narrative coming out of the right-wing media in this country, and one that’s heavily promoted by various nonprofit organizations funded by Charles and David Koch (aka the Koch brothers). The brothers and their company, Koch Industries, have also paid out millions in lobbying expenses and contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to politicians willing to fight various forms of environmental regulation.

Article: Top 10 sexiest scenes directed by Tony Scott

Posted August 22nd, 2012, 12:08 PM by Em And Lo

British-born Hollywood director Tony Scott (brother of fellow filmmaker Ridley) died this past Sunday when he jumped from a bridge in Los Angeles. We didn’t know the man so we can remember him only through some of our favorite moments that he directed on the screen (well, at least, our favorite sex-related moments)…

Article: Why THE U.S. VS. JOHN LENNON matters more than ever

Posted August 22nd, 2012, 11:08 AM by s.e. smith

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, leading Republicans feared that John Lennon was going to be a threat in the 1972 election, thanks to his pop culture stardom and anti-war activism. They went on a quest to deport him in the hopes he wouldn’t influence the youth vote in the United States. Now here we are, 50 years later, and we’re still facing some of the same problems when it comes to fair and free elections. Except that instead of deporting the people who lead movements, the government has taken the war directly to the voters.

Article: Are movie stars better at promoting indies?

Posted August 21st, 2012, 4:08 PM by Michael Musto

Indie films are usually small-scale labors of love compared to all those soulless blockbusters and sequels — but does that mean the stars of these films promote them with any more elan?

Article: When does Oscar season start? It's already started

Posted August 21st, 2012, 1:08 PM by Dan Heching

This time last year, a little film called THE HELP hit theaters, and almost immediately the chatter started. Traditionally speaking, it seemed just a little early for Oscar buzz to begin — even in better times, August is a nadir-point in box office revenue, when studios are known to shed the clunker titles they still haven’t released before the “more serious” fall and holiday seasons kick in. Still, THE HELP, a delightful film based on a popular page-turner, got an extremely healthy helping of Oscar buzz right from the start, and it carried Octavia Spencer all the way down the red carpet and into the golden boy’s arms.

Article: Legal Download: Pregnancy on demand

Posted August 21st, 2012, 9:08 AM by Matt Singer

The world of film is changing. For one thing, there’s not much actual film anymore. The future is digital; more and more, it’s streaming on our computers, too. Every week in Legal Download, we survey the landscape of online movies to bring you a snapshot of what’s available. This week, put down your birth plan and tell your Lamaze instructor you’re going to be late, because it’s time to talk about pregnancy movies.

THIS WEEK’S THEME: Pregnancy

Article: Top 10 summer thrillers that will give you chills

Posted August 17th, 2012, 2:08 PM by Dan Heching

Photo credit: The Movie Waffler

Looking for a great way to beat the heat? Summer has always been a time for everything to run high: temperature, hormones, blood pressure, nerves. And a summer thriller is the perfect way to make them all go over the top. This is the season that has seen some of the best horror and thriller classics of all time, like ROSEMARY’S BABY, THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT and THE SIXTH SENSE. And those titles are in great company with the following list.

Article: Top 10 tangled love triangles in film

Posted August 16th, 2012, 4:08 PM by Em And Lo

Photo Credit: Listal

The tangled love triangle is such a cinematic trope that we could probably put together a list for every year (or a list of Top 10 love triangles with bad ’80s haircuts… or Top 10 love triangles starring Reese Witherspoon…). We decided to limit this list to love-triangle films we actually enjoyed (and not in a guilty-pleasure kind of way) — which is why you won’t find the Bella-Edward-Jacob affair here, despite the ubiquity of “Team Edward” and “Team Jacob” merchandise. Same goes for PEARL HARBOR (2001), which attempted to make the love triangle a heroic response to war; or WILD THINGS (1995), which accessorized the love triangle with hot tubs and champagne (and was really more of a lust triangle, anyway); or INDECENT PROPOSAL (1993), which theorized the love triangle as a financial and real estate decision; or MY BEST FRIEND’S WEDDING (1997), which was a terrible movie despite championing off-key karaoke.

Article: Review Revue: PARANORMAN, COMPLIANCE, ROBOT AND FRANK

Posted August 16th, 2012, 1:08 PM by Dan Heching

Simple enough, right? This week we have a serious creep, a kid born from a tree, RPatz cruisin’ in a limo, a jewel thief assisted by a robot and some unmentionable activity in the back of a fast-food joint.

Article: Now Playing on Sundance Channel: BROKEDOWN PALACE, 3SOME, NIGHTS AND WEEKENDS

Posted August 16th, 2012, 1:08 PM by Sundance Channel

This week we’ve got movies to satisfy every kind of thrill-seeker, from the drug-smuggling, Thai-prison drama BROKEDOWN PALACE to the über-realistic relationship saga NIGHTS AND WEEKENDS to the just plain hot Spanish sexcapade 3SOME.

Article: Film Intelligence: Kristen Stewart nixed, Henry Selick stopped, INDIANA JONES digitized

Posted August 15th, 2012, 4:08 PM by Matt Singer

Article: COMPLIANCE filmmaker Craig Zobel asks: What would you do?

Posted August 14th, 2012, 4:08 PM by Dan Heching

People are strange. In a way, that is the origin point for Craig Zobel’s beautifully acted thinkpiece COMPLIANCE, an examination into how we tend to behave around and submit to authority, even when we should probably question the source. The “we” is up for discussion, since the movie outlines things I would never dream of “complying” with. But the fact is, COMPLIANCE is inspired by true events, something I learned from the film’s first title card. “I wanted it to fully sink in,” Zobel tells us. “The more I asked myself the question, ‘In that situation, how would I have reacted?’ the more I recognized there was something very human about this kind of reaction. It became hard for me to simply dismiss them all as just a bunch of stupid people.”

Article: WATERSHED: Must-see documentary on the once-mighty Colorado River

Posted August 14th, 2012, 2:08 PM by Jeff McIntire-Strasburg

We got some rain this weekend, but I can still count the number of this Summer’s rainfalls on one hand. While our drought situation will affect everything from food to gas prices, it’s still only one year: Unless these conditions really becomes the “new normal,” we Midwesterners will probably continue to assume that water will be available to meet our needs (as we currently define them). Back in my old stomping grounds of the desert Southwest, though, drought conditions have been in place for more than a decade. While the warnings I remember hearing about water literally running out for places like Las Vegas haven’t come to pass, the Colorado River system is severely strained: The river that defines the region generally does not make it all the way to its delta in the Gulf of California before it dries up.

Article: Legal download: Long takes on demand

Posted August 14th, 2012, 10:08 AM by Matt Singer

The world of film is changing. For one thing, there’s not much actual film anymore. The future is digital; more and more, it’s streaming on our computers, too. Every week in Legal Download, we survey the landscape of online movies to bring you a snapshot of what’s available. This week, try to read the column without blinking in order to replicate the experience of watching movies with reallly long takes.

THIS WEEK’S THEME: Long Takes

Article: The shark attacks that inspired JAWS

Posted August 10th, 2012, 11:08 PM by Matthew Rodriguez

“In the summer of 1916, panic struck the Jersey Shore,” reads the opening sentence of this Smithsonian magazine article. No, the panic was not caused by the arrival of overly tanned, puffed-hair and muscular visitors, but instead by shark attacks in the waters off the shore. During that summer, a shark attacked five victims. In an interview with George Burgess, a shark-attack expert in charge of the International Shark Attack File at the Florida Museum of Natural History (sounds like a role for Nicolas Cage), he explains that when these attacks happened people thought a sea turtle was responsible before the press ultimately identified it as a great white.

Article: No snoozing — SLEEPWALK WITH ME is here!

Posted August 10th, 2012, 4:08 PM by Nina Hämmerling Smith

Comedian Mike Birbiglia turned a kind of serious problem — chronic sleepwalking — into one helluva funny story, about relationships, marriage and stand-up comedy. SLEEPWALK WITH ME won the Best of Next! Audience Award at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Check out the trailer:

Article: Trailer alert: Sundance favorite YOUR SISTER'S SISTER

Posted August 10th, 2012, 3:08 PM by Sundance Channel

Filmmaker Lynn Shelton had a comedy hit at this year’s Sundance Film Festival with YOUR SISTER’S SISTER, a surprising and compelling exploration of the rivalry between contrasting sisters. There is Iris (Emily Blunt), a flighty professional whose best friend, Jack (Mark Duplass), is still grieving the loss of his brother one-year prior. Iris, who used to date Jack’s brother, invites Jack to her family’s remote cabin in the woods to find himself. Unbeknownst to Iris, her older sister, Hannah (Rosemarie DeWitt), a lesbian fresh out of a seven-year relationship, is laying low at the cabin, and a rowdy night of tequila drinking between Jack and Hannah kicks off a bizarre stretch of days — made even more hilariously awkward when Emily pops in for an unexpected visit.

Article: Top 10 most awkward family moments

Posted August 10th, 2012, 2:08 PM by Dan Heching

Regardless of the season, it’s always important to make time for family. And with family comes some of the most awkward, amusing, cringe-worthy or downright creepy moments on film. This selection, including the much-loved SIDEWAYS, covers some of the best and most guffaw-inducing moments imaginable, from a talk about the birds and the bees to lying to mom to something perhaps even a bit weirder…

Article: Top 10 funny sex scenes

Posted August 09th, 2012, 4:08 PM by Em And Lo

Photo Credit: Everyday Should Be Saturday

Funny sex scenes — at least, those that are meant to make you laugh — are often our favorite kind. Ironically, they tend to portray much more realistic onscreen sex than their serious, sultry counterparts. In funny sex scenes, you get weirdness, kink, awkwardness, jealousy, fantasy — oh yeah, and condoms. For some reason, the only time you see latex onscreen is when the sex is supposed to be funny. Here are ten of our favorite funny sex scenes — though not all of them were initially intended to be funny (we’re looking at you, Clive Owen). By the way, if you’re wondering where AMERICAN PIE and PORKY’S are: We took the liberty of limiting this list to scenes that made us laugh. And we’re not — nor have we ever been — 14-year-old boys.

Article: Check out the trailer for Sundance winner AI WEIWEI: NEVER SORRY

Posted August 09th, 2012, 1:08 PM by Nina Hämmerling Smith

The trailer for AI WEIWEI: NEVER SORRY, which documents Chinese artist-activist-dissident Ai Weiwei’s politically charged art installations and dramatic run-ins with the authorities, is out now, and you’re going to want to watch this one. Directed by Alison Klayman, AI WEIWEI won a Special Jury Prize for Spirit of Defiance at this year’s Sundance Film Festival:

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