Sundance
Sundance Film Review: Family Life
Directors Alicia Scherson and Cristián Jiménez present Family Life as an anxious film: We watch Martín spin his lie to Paz while we become enamored of her. … read more
Sundance Film Review: The Workers Cup
Despite their various backgrounds, the men in The Workers Cup share a passion for football, and we feel how much it means to them on a palpable level. … read more
Sundance Film Review: Sami Blood
Sundance chose well by including this film in the “Spotlight” section, as Sami Blood continues to delight and does the Sami people justice. … read more
The Tower Theatre: Keeping it Indie Since 1928
The Tower Theatre opened in 1928, and for the first 30 years of its operation, it looked more like a medieval fortress than it did a movie theater. … read more
Stepping Up: How the Utah Film Center Helps Turn Dreams...
In an effort to help films—like upcoming documentary STEP—with financial needs, the Utah Film Center pioneered the Fiscal Sponsorship Program. … read more
Sundance Film Review: Yoga Hosers
My introduction to Kevin Smith began early in my life. My older brother rented Clerks and threw it into our VCR (yep. That long ago) without really considering the fact that his eighth-grade kid brother was in the same room. The Mallrats soundtrack was the first CD that I ever bought with my own money, and Weezer’s “Suzanne” still manages to fill me with high school nostalgia. … read more
Sundance Film Review: Captain Fantastic
Regardless of a filmmaker’s talent, making a meaningful drama about a quirky family is like navigating a minefield. Celluloid families are typically plagued with some degree of syrupy sweetness or sappy tragedy, but Matt Ross’s Captain Fantastic captures the emotional core of what makes all families tick and his stellar cast promptly follows suit. … read more
Sundance Film Review: Certain Women
Typically, shooting a film against the big sky country of Montana evokes images of tough guys doing tough things. While the tough things are still present, Kelly Reichardt’s introspective film focuses on the women who ultimately pick up the pieces after the tough guys break themselves apart. … read more
Sundance Film Review: Under the Shadow
When Gullermo Del Toro used Pan’s Labyrinth as an allegorical scalpel to dissect the horrors of the Spanish Civil War, he opened a door to possibilities that few filmmakers have had the talent and imagination to explore. … read more
Sundance Film Review: The Land of the Enlightened
Shot on 16-mm. film, The Land of the Enlightened vibrantly fuses documentary filmmaking with fictive storytelling dynamics. The film illuminates the lifestyles of a handful Afghans amid continued U.S. occupation, and also examines the feelings and tensions of sustained U.S. presence in the country. What’s more, this film treats its viewers to the stunning natural beauty of Afghanistan. … read more
Sundance Film Review: Carnage Park
Writer/director Mickey Keating has tried his hand at many different horror subgenres, including sci-fi body horror with Pod and slow descents into madness with Darling. Carnage Park demonstrates his knack for imagining uniquely terrifying scenarios and then inflicting them upon his characters. … read more
Sundance Film Review: The Lobster
In a dystopian future, David must find a partner in 45 days, or else he will be transformed into an animal of his choice. Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Lobster bears witness to the process by which David seeks a mate against this impending consequence. Mind-warping twists abound in this film—The Lobster does not disappoint. … read more
