Movies

One of my favorite things about attending Sundance is the opportunity to meet and see filmmakers who are genuinely excited to bring their film to the public. Among this year’s entries is Mystery Team, a dark and clever comedy from the Derrick Comedy group, a troupe of comics on the verge of a major breakout.

Since our arrival in the snowy mountains of Utah I, along with many other temporary transplants from around the world, have been puzzled about one thing: the weather. It has been uncharacteristically warm and sunny in Park City, almost to the point of robbing us of that frigidity that makes it feel like Sundance. No one has been able to explain it, not even the weatherman. At least, not until now.

If there is one thing that we can take away from director Lynn Shelton’s awkward sex comedy Humpday, it is that there is nothing more uncomfortable to watch yet strikingly hilarious than two straight men who set out to have sex on camera.

In general, I have a rule about walking out of movies. I just don’t do it. And while writer/director Emily Abt’s melodramatic soap opera Toe to Toe didn’t have me reaching for acid to pour on my face, it will go down as the first film of Sundance 2009 that had me eying both my watch and the exit door.

Heading into Moon, the Sam Rockwell led low-budget science fiction film from first time director Duncan Jones, I was both excited and skeptical. It is easy after all, to be skeptical of any low-budget, ambitious science fiction film. Thankfully, it turned out to be a pleasant surprise.

There is something so unintentionally funny, yet terrifying about the monster that is Mike Tyson. We all know him as one of the most controversial…

The idea behind arriving to Park City two days prior to the start of the ’09 Sundance Film Festival was to rest up and get comfortable. Unfortunately, that didn’t exactly happen as planned. However, the movies have begun and Sundance is off to a wonderful start.

It seems fitting that the 2009 Sundance Film Festival would open with a film like Adam Elliot’s Mary and Max. It is a film festival built on the celebration of unique and innovative films, and in that regard this year’s opening night selection is right at home.

Foreign Objects travels the world of international cinema each week to look for films worth visiting. So renew your passport, get your shots, and brush up on the local age of legal consent, this week we’re heading to… Norway!