SUNDANCE 2007

Sundance Interview: Luc Besson and Rie Rasmussen of Angel-A

One of my own inspirations is the great Luc Besson, who's directed 10 films including The Fifth Element and The Professional. His latest, and last US release, Angel-A, will be coming out in limited release on March 23rd and expanding throughout April. I had a chance to see the movie at Sundance in its first US premiere, which made my Best of the Fest, as well as sit down with Luc Besson and the gorgeous star of the movie, Rie Rasmussen. We talked about the atmosphere Luc brings to the set, as well as whether he may return to direct more movies and much more. Read on for the full transcript of the downloadable audio version.

First Annual Sundance Awards and Complete Review List

Oh, how much I miss Sundance! I've put together this final wrap-up for anyone who's looking for an archive of all the Sundance reviews and coverage from FS.net. I already miss being out in Park City and can't wait to get back next year. Most importantly, I can't wait until these films open publicly in theaters around the country - as I want to hear feedback from everyone else, too. They are some of the best films of the year and they need to be seen by more than just those who attended Sundance. To see if any of the films you're looking forward to are actually ever going to come to theaters, check out the counter-part to this - Sundance Films Coming Soon To Theaters.

Included within is Alex's Best of the Fest, a complete Sundance 07 review list, links to all the daily coverage and interviews.

For more photos from the fest, check out Alex's Flickr set.

Sundance Films Coming Soon To Theaters

The big list of Sundance movies that were bought at the fest or already have distributors. This is the list of films (so far) that you'll be able to actually see from Sundance. If you want to know if you'll ever get to see any of the movies that premiered at Sundance, then look no further!

Sundance Review: Smiley Face

Smiley Face is a quirky midnight movie that premiered at Sundance from director Gregg Araki, who's had a few previous films at Sundance, including Mysterious Skin. Smiley Face is supposed to be a stoner's film all around that focuses on a stoner girl - Jane (Anna Faris) and her rather ridiculous day-long adventure. We start with Jane on a Ferris wheel thinking about orange juice with a historical document in her possession - and no previous knowledge as to how this happened or how she got there.

Sundance Review: Manda Bala (Send a Bullet)

Manda Bala, the winner of the Grand Jury Prize for Documentary at Sundance, is a Brazilian Fahrenheit 9/11 that condemns a corrupt politician and troubled political system in Brazil through referencing kidnappings and scandals. Unlike Chasing Ghosts, the other documentary I saw at Sundance, Manda Bala is very theatrical, very powerful, and very well-made.

Sundance Review: Slipstream

I'm not sure if this can be called a review, rather a reaction, because my mind was so immensely skewed and twisted after see this movie. Slipstream is a jarring, misconstruing story about Felix Bonhoeffer (played by Anthony Hopkins), who is a script writer from Hollywood, and his degrading mind. In Slipstream, which was written and directed by Anthony Hopkins as well, they're filming the movie that Bonhoeffer had written, and it gets out of hand - an actor dies from heat exhaustion on set.

No Buys of The Good Life or The Go-Getter Yet?

Unless I missed the news, which I don't think I have, neither The Good Life nor The Go-Getter have been bought yet since their premieres at Sundance. Why is this such a big concern? These two movies are two of the best hidden gems from Sundance that hardly have any buzz and are incredibly underrated for being as amazing as they are. They need the exposure, the recognition, and most importantly, they need to be seen!

Sundance Interview: Nathan Fillion on Waitress and Firefly!

Alex Billington from FirstShowing.net and Nathan Fillion at Sundance.

In between seeing 31 movies at the Sundance Film Festival, one of which was Waitress co-starring Nathan Fillion, I took a few minutes to sit down with Nathan and fire away some questions about Waitress, 'Firefly', and his Sundance experience. Read on for the full transcript of the downloadable audio version.

Sundance Review: The Savages

When you think of the name The Savages, you'll think of maybe a brutal drama - or at least I did. However, The Savages is a dramatic comedy that is actually about a family - a brother and sister and their aging father - who's surname is Savage. Clinically depressed Wendy (Laura Linney) and her PhD-toting brother John (Philip Seymour Hoffman) must come together to take care of their aging father Lenny (Philip Bosco), who was recently diagnosed with dementia.

Sundance Review: The Good Night

My interest in The Good Night comes purely from the cast, of which I love Martin Freeman and Simon Pegg, and the interesting plot. Written and directed by Jake Paltrow, brother of the film's star Gwyneth Paltrow, The Good Night is about former pop star Gary (Freeman), who starts having dreams about a perfect girl (Penélope Cruz) when the relationship with his wife (Paltrow) begins to lose its pleasure.

Sundance Review: Son of Rambow

Another film that ramped up its buzz at the festival after the first few screenings, Son of Rambow makes a triumphant debut and lasting impression. In Son of Rambow, young Will Proudfoot (Bill Milner) and his family a part of a religious group that keeps him out of the regular activities of normal life, including being unable to watch any television or any movies. When Will unexpectedly meets the school's rambunctious and most disliked "bad kid" Lee Carter (Will Poulter), he is forced into, under threat of being beat up, his snobby little world. After Lee Carter makes a bootleg of Rambo: First Blood that showed at the local cineplex, Will watches it and instantly becomes obsessed with mimicking Rambo.

Sundance Review: Padre Nuestro

Although at the time of writing this review the film has won the Grand Jury award, I was not aware of that at the time of my screening. Despite the award, I still think that Padre Nuestro is not the greatest film of the festival, and although one of the most original, is still too hopeless to be counted as a masterpiece. In Padre Nuestro, a film almost entirely in Spanish, two adolescents, Juan (Armando Hernandez) and Pedro (Jorge Adrian Espindola), meet on a truck while illegally traveling from Mexico to New York City.