Our Final Sundance 2010 Recap & Favorite Films of the Fest

The 2010 Sundance Film Festival has finally come to an end and Brandon and I are on our way back to sunny Los Angeles. It was truly an incredible year for the both of us. It was Brandon's first time attending Sundance and my fourth. He saw 35 films and I saw 26, so between the two of us, we saw a grand total of 61 films at Sundance. If you've been following our coverage over the last two weeks, we've been bringing you reviews, blogs, interviews, videos, and more from Park City. And as a final recap we present our Favorite Films of the Fest as well as a rundown of everything we wrote, including every last review we published.

Brandon's Sundance 2010 Experience: That's It, That's All

I'm sitting here in what was dubbed "The Blogger Condo" as one-by-one the bloggers who made the condo what it was file out and head home. The kitchen is clean (sort of). The bathroom is clean. The living room is rearranged, but fairly clean. And I'm here, having just finished my last review, waxing on what I've learned throughout Sundance 2010. This is my final Sundance Experience blog (you can find the previous blogs here and here) collecting my thoughts as a first-time attendee of Sundance. Here's a few important nuggets of info (and tips for future attendees) that my brain has managed to soak up over the past ten days.

Sundance 2010 Day 8: Winding Down for the Last Few Days

It's currently Day 8 here at Sundance (although technically I'm writing this the morning of Day 9). That means we've got two more full days of the festival left (or maybe three including Sunday?), and hopefully some more good films, but I don't know. The festival is starting to wind down, lots of people are already heading home, and the crowds are starting to dissipate. While there are still films premiering (tomorrow I'm seeing Joel Schumacher's Twelve), at this point it's starting to feel like the festival is already over. It feels like I've been here for month and I'm ready to go home. But, of course, we'll have more coverage for you.

Sundance 2010 Day 6: This is Why I Prefer Going in Public

I love the Sundance Film Festival for many different reasons, but one of them is that the experience of seeing films here is second to none. What I mean is that I love attending the world premiere screenings of films in wonderful theaters like Eccles (the local high school auditorium), the Racquet Club, the Library, and of course, the world famous Egyptian Theater (which is where that marquee seen above comes from). This is also the exact same reason why I don't like attending press screenings. The experience just isn't the same. In fact, it's pretty dull in comparison. And after a bad experience today, I really don't like the press screenings.

Brandon's Sundance Experience: Time Keeps on Slippin'

Previously, on Brandon's Sundance Experience, I had not yet seen a single film at the fest. Now I've seen 22. And over the course of six days, I've slept maybe ten hours. Here in Park City, you see, sleep is a mirage. A myth. The stuff of legend. At this very moment, I'm forgoing sleep in order to write this. So, if you happen to find me face-down in a grey slush puddle somewhere in Park City, please do not wake me. I need the rest.

So what have I learned thus far at Sundance? Planning is necessary, but only two days in advance. Flexibility and patience are prerequisites for attending the fest. The volunteers are incredibly helpful. And

Sundance 2010 Day 4: Park City at Midnight Reigns Supreme

I can't believe it's only Monday! It feels like Sundance began more than a week ago. I've seen 12 films so far and I'm not at all tired yet, but I am wondering what's next. I've seen some great films, some good films, and a few mediocre films, but nothing terrible (thankfully). However, over the last three nights (since the fest kicked off) I've seen three different films from the Park City at Midnight category and they've all be fantastic. Looking back at the fest so far, the line-up in the midnight category is the strongest of the fest this year. I've enjoyed most of the films I've seen in the other categories, but nothing has been just incredible.

Sundance 2010 Day 1: Robot Love, Ginsberg, & Lots of Snow!

There's nothing like being at the Sundance Film Festival when it's snowing. It's beautiful and it's very cold but it's part of what makes my Sundance experience complete. It might have to do with my upbringing in Colorado (where it snowed often), but that's a story for another day. This is my fourth year attending Sundance and I'm unquestionably excited about so many great films showing here (more on those below). And, as you know, Brandon Tenney is joining me this year to help round out our coverage on FirstShowing. The fest officially kicked off today, but only one feature film actually premiered - James Franco's Howl.

Back Again: The 19 Best Movies That You Didn't See in 2009

Although it's now 2010, that doesn't mean we can't look back at some of the best movies you didn't see last year. Back by popular demand, it's our third annual list of the 19 Best Movies That You Didn't See in 2009 (you can find the older lists here: 2008, 2007). Featured below is a hand-picked selection of the best independent and mainstream films that were either quietly dumped by distributors, ignored by audiences, or just not marketed well. So to give these films some extra time in the spotlight, and to support some of the best filmmakers out there, we've put together this 2009 recap just for you. Read on for the complete list!

Brandon's Sundance Film Festival Experience: Where to Begin

This year's Sundance Film Festival, held in the picturesque town of Park City, Utah, also happens to be my first trip to one of the landmark celebrations of independent cinema. The mere prospect of such an experience and the potential being projected on the myriad screens around the city is enough to cause any cinephile to lapse into a diabetic coma. That is to say, it's pretty cussin' sweet. Some romanticize the fest — something that, even after two days, appears all too easy to do — while others do their best not to lap up the sweet nectar too quickly. These folks are measured and resolute. Warriors set about a battlefield centered

Alice in Wonderland is the Most Anticipated 3D Film of 2010?

The latest MovieTickets.com Weekly Poll (we feature these occasionally) asked ticket buyers which 3D film they're anticipating the most in 2010. MovieTickets claims there are only 14 3D films currently scheduled for this year (although I'm sure that number will go up) and listed the top five results. In the #1 spot is Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, which is actually surprising to me because I thought no one like the second trailer. As always, we have to be weary of these polls because it's not a true representation of what the public thinks, but it is interesting to see the results, especially in the wake of Avatar and the rise of 3D.

The IMPAwards Winners: The Best & Worst Posters of 2009

Every year the IMPAwards movie poster website (the best database for posters) hosts the Internet Movie Poster Awards, their own "best of the year" awards, that have become the most popular awards for movie posters on the web. The "Imp" as he's known has made his picks for 2009's best & worst posters and they're picks as always. What I love about these awards is that they have numerous categories in order to feature a lot of great posters. But the true king this year, the Best Poster of the Year (for 2009), was the beautiful UK poster for Terry Gilliam's Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. Read on to see some of 2009's big winners!

Ricky Gervais Slays the Golden Globes - Favorite Moments?

There's no doubt that awards shows are long-winded and usually boring. Every now and then, though, there comes a host who dares to lead an awards show with great humor, gravitas and yet, seemingly, without care. This year at the 67th Annual Golden Globes, comedian Ricky Gervais was that host. Along with all the traditional topical jokes at the industry's expense, Gervais slammed just about everyone from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to NBC to Mel Gibson and yes, even his own penis. Not an hour into the show, he quipped: "One thing that can't be bought is a Golden Globe. Officially." Discuss more highlights below.

Update: Spider-Man, Spider-Man, Does Whatever a Reboot Can

Last night, a pumpkin bomb of massive proportions was dropped on us all. Sony officially announced that Sam Raimi's Spider-Man franchise was no more. This spawned a huge debate between fans and non-fans alike both on our own comment board and, most especially, on Twitter. I was even compelled to share — and defend — my own jubilance as a fan of comics more than the movies. (Check out my thoughts in comment #71 of the above article.) But when the night was all said and done, the only thing that we could all agree on was that there weren't a whole lot of things we could all agree on. Read on for more new reboot updates!

Reitman Responds to Up in the Air Cancer Subplot Concerns

Earlier today, an article on Jeffrey Wells' Hollywood Elsewhere titled "Bingham vs. Cancer?" started making its way around the web. A reader wrote in speculating that writer/director Jason Reitman had removed a subplot in his film Up in the Air that was about cancer, spinning off of an early scene in the film where an airline stewardess mistakenly asks George Clooney if he "wants the can sir" (he actually thinks she's saying "cancer" the first few times). Reitman decided to host a conference call with: Peter Sciretta from SlashFilm, Kris Tapley from In Contention, and myself earlier this afternoon in order to respond properly to this claim.

Weekly Moviegoer - Favorite Cinematic Experiences of the Decade

The 2000s were a very interesting time for moviegoing. The popularity of DVDs (and ultimately Blu-Ray) soared and the quality of TVs and home theater equipment increased significantly, causing attendance at cinemas to decline tremendously. At the same time, usually in response, we saw a number of interesting, if not all respected, advances and new trends in theaters and film exhibition come about in the past decade.

To look back on the last ten years of moviegoing, I've compiled a big list of my ten favorite experiences, both general and specific. While these are all fairly subjective and personal reflections, I've tried to use each