Sundance: Best of the Fest | Movie News

Strike Back below!

by: Chris Bumbray Feb. 5, 2010

And so, with my just posted reviews of HOWL, and SKATELAND, my Sundance 2010 coverage comes to an end. This was a very special film festival for me, as it was my first year attending Sundance, which has been a life-long dream of mine. Of course, the two guys I have to thank for all of this are Mr. Mike Sampson, and Joblo himself, and, of course, all of you for reading the reviews, and posting in the talkbacks. I hope you've all dug the coverage. I truly had an incredible time, with my days full of excellent films, and great conversations with writers from other sites. As for the evenings, well- let’s just say I had a blast, and that when folks come to Park City, they come to party!!!

Of course, not all Sundance films are created equal, and the following list is my personal top five picks of the festival. Of course, I saw loads of other great films, with the only real duds being JACK GOES BOATING, and the dreadful Joel Schumacher, rich teens-on-drugs film, TWELVE- which was so bad I stormed out after forty minutes (explaining why I didn’t write a review, as I don’t review films I’ve only seen part of).

HESHER

The first great film I was able to catch at Sundance, and one that I have a feeling a lot of you will love when Newmarket puts it out later this year. Chalk up another win for Joseph Gordon Levitt, who makes a great anti-hero.

CYRUS

Here we have a brilliant comedy courtesy of the Duplass’ Bros., featuring a career best performance from Jonah Hill, and a great role for John C. Reilly. Fox Searchlight will be putting this out in the summer, and I’d be willing to bet it’ll be a big sleeper hit.

CATFISH

Mark my words: this will be THE water-cooler film event of the year. Do yourself a favor- avoid all the reviews (except ours of course), and go in fresh.

THE KILLER INSIDE ME

This is a polarizing film to be sure, but also a great one, anchored by a chilling performance from Casey Affleck. Look for my interview with director Michael Winterbottom, which should be hitting the site Monday.

ANIMAL KINGDOM

Easily the best film of the fest, and, like I said in my review, the best film I’ve seen since THE HURT LOCKER. If you love films like CHOPPER, BRONSON, LOCK, STOCK, & TWO SMOKING BARRELS, LAYER CAKE, etc., you're in for a treat.

While those five were arguably the best, I saw loads of other great films. If you have the time, give my other reviews a browse, and take note of some of the gems that'll be coming out over the next year...

Additional Sundance reviews: HOWL - SKATELAND - THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT - - FROZEN - WELCOME TO THE RILEYS - SYMPATHY FOR DELICIOUS - BLUE VALENTINE - BURIED - HOLY ROLLERS - TUCKER AND DALE VS. EVIL - THE RUNAWAYS - HIGH SCHOOL- JACK GOES BOATING- - HAPPYTHANKYOUMOREPLEASE - NOWHERE BOY - MOTHER AND CHILD - GET LOW