My 5 Favorite Films of SUNDANCE 2011
It was yet another fantastic year up at The Sundance Film Festival, Ben and I tore it up this year, watching a ridiculous amount of movies... I personally watched 26 of films. Some of them were absolutely terrible, others were mediocre, then there were the films that were completely awesome. This is my list of five favorite films at Sundance this year. All of these will eventually hit theaters, and when they do I highly suggest you check them out. I thought these were the best and most entertaining of all the movies I saw.
Take Shelter
This is one my favorite films that I’ve seen up at The Sundance Film Festival. This movie simply blew me away! It a fantastic story, the acting was top notch greatness, and it’s subject matter was fascinating. I think this movie is flawless, and Michael Shannon intensely explodes up on screen in this film, giving an Academy Award winning performance. It also has one of the most satisfying endings in a film that I’ve seen in a very long time.
The Woman
I actually saw this movie twice while up at the festival this year, and enjoyed the hell out of it both times. As horrifically violent and hard to watch as this movie was, it was pretty damn entertaining. This hardcore sadistic film has so many different layers to it, and takes on some pretty heavy themes such as abuse, legacies, and the hardship of being an adolescent. There are several moments where the movie crosses the line, but that’s one of the reason why it was so fascinating to watch. I’ve never seen a movie cross the line like this one did.
Hobo With a Shotgun
This movie was awesomely psycho, ruthlessly savage, and it didn’t hold back anything. It surprised the hell out of me and the rest of the audience with what the filmmakers ended up doing in this film. It showed no mercy to anyone. I had an absolute blast watching it. When compared to other modern day grindhouse films like Death Proof, Planet Terror and Machete, Hobo With a Shotgun beats them all. It was an all around better film, that was much more bold, daring, and a lot more fun.
I Saw the Devil
I enjoyed the hell out of this utterly disturbing revenge film of death. This movie was a seriously jacked up film that was just an all around ultra violent movie. I honestly think it might be one of the most violent films I’ve ever seen, but it was done extremely well. I loved the story, and I promise you’ve never seen a revenge movie like this before.
My Idot Brother
This was the funniest comedy at the Sundance Film Festival this year. Paul Rudd was awesome, and he gave one of the best performances of his career. One of the main things I liked about the film was the comedic timing and the situations that are set up. The scenes that play out in the film end up turning out completely different than what you would expect. During the film I found myself saying, “oh, I see what they’re going to do here.” then all of a sudden the situation is turned on it’s head, and I’m completely surprised. There was also a lot of great snappy dialogue that I enjoyed.