Festival Sum-up

The Sundance Film Festival has finished for the year; the folks longing to be stars and the folks longing to see stars have all gone home to Tuscon, Glendale and Jacksonville, eager to recount stories of close encounters with famous faces to family and unsuspecting neighbors. I remain in Salt Lake City, mainly because I live and work here.

Most critics seem to agree that this year's festival was rather lackluster-- devoid of any truly outstanding cinematic achievement destined to be remembered for years to come. Usually, there seems to be at least one film a year that offers something special: whether it be the potentiality of a break-out hit with mainstream appeal, the showcase of some new, effortless talent, or just a really good and entertaining movie (Reservoir Dogs, Supersize Me and Sex, Lies and Videotape all started out as Sundance submissions).

Sundance '08 didn't seem to offer any clear cut winners. Despite earlier rumblings of a studio buying spree (courtesy of the upcoming writers strike driven content famine), only a handful of films were purchased by major players-- some of which left bloggers and film geeks scratching their heads in confusion (Sony Picture Classics gets The Wackness?).

Don't get me wrong; there were definitely entertaining movies on display. Time Crimes was fun. I thought Pretty Bird was appropriately nutty. I was deeply moved by The Greatest Silence and with the exception of a few awful entries, I don't regret seeing a single film on my list. That being said, I can't shake the feeling that this year's program just wasn't up to snuff and that, for the most part, Sundance-goers left Park City with not a lot more than their swag-bags and Harry O's hangovers.

Do the Dance! The SUNdance! (Awful, awful title)

We've almost reached the end of the Sundance Film Festival. Here's what I've seen since we last communicated through the impersonal cyber terminal I like to call Internet:

Adventures of Power
The Last Word
Pretty Bird
Time Crimes


That brings the grand total to eleven films so far. I did have a ticket to Fields of Fuel today at 10:00, but I spaced and ended up missing the screening. I need to stop drinking those Costco-size bottles of Nyquil.

Sundance Update!

Remember that list I posted? The one with all the films I wanted to see at Sundance? Well, screw that list (in no particular order) because it has completely changed. I've seen only a couple of movies on that sucker and several more I'd never even considered. Here is what I've seen so far:


Animation Showcase
Blind Date
The King of Ping Pong
Love Comes Lately
Sunshine Cleaning
The Wackness
The Yellow Handkerchief


As you can see, quite a bit different. There are still more to come too; I'm planning on seeing at least ten, which may not be a lot by some standards, but it's as much as I can manage on my meager earnings. I need to get one of those passes next year.

As for my thoughts on all that I've seen, those will come. Or they may go to impressions limbo. A lot of my promises end up going there.

I did it.

I can die in peace now.

I've seen Uwe Boll's cinematic masterpiece, In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale.


Look closely! Contrary to popular belief, tickets are indeed being sold for this movie film!

I did not dare make the journey alone for fear the film might literally disembowel me with it's greatness-- much as it did a man in Chicago mere days earlier. No, a good friend of mine was along for the ride. We figured the strength of two might protect us from a literal mind blowing experience, one so awesome it would result in instant death.


This employee most certainly had his mind blown.

Upon arrival, we immediately purchased tickets. With only forty-five minutes to spare, who could say if they were already sold out? Luckily there were at least two seats remaining in the auditorium. A tragedy had narrowly been averted.


I've got a golden ticket!

With tickets in hand, we set off to see the film. Would it be as good as we had hoped? Would it be all we had dreamed?


Is this the movie? No silly! it's America's favorite arcade past-time!

Rest assured, humble readers, In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale: An Uwe Boll film production was everything we had hoped it would be. And more. Words cannot describe it. I wouldn't dare.

A review of this miracle film is forthcoming.

Sundance Film Festival Two-thousand and Eight

It's finally here, kids-- one of the better reasons to live in or visit Utah: the Sundance Film Festival. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the concept, the Sundance Film Festival is a ten day explosion of independent cinema. I look forward to what comes out of Sundance every year, and I especially excited about some of the loot on display this time around.
This year I'll mostly be stomping around Park City proper, seeing as I'll be working out of a satellite office for a few days in the mall across from the historic Egyptian theatre. If you're in town, drop by and say hello. If not, well, you are a horrible person.

Despite my enthusiasm for the festival, I am not looking forward to the parking. Heck, I hate parking in all it's forms. You could say I'm an equal opportunity parking hater. But don't quote me on that.

Films I'm looking forward to checking out (in no particular order):

Absuristan
Adventures of Power
Assassination of a High School President
August
Be Kind Rewind
Bottle Shock
Drummer
The Escapist
Fields of Fuel
Great Buck Howard
Hamlet 2
Henry Poole is Here
I.O.U.S.A.
In Bruges
King of Ping Pong
Last Word
Madame Tutli-Putli
Mysteries of Pittsburgh
Phoebe in Wonderland
Pretty Bird
Sunshine Cleaning
What Just Happened?

I won't likely get to all of them, but I'll see how many I can hit. If anybody else gets the chance to visit the festival, let me know what you saw and what you thought. It will make for good times.

It's Evolving!

Despite being relatively "fresh on the scene", Night of the Blog will be evolving over the coming weeks. Unfortunately, I don't think it will evolve into a level 35 Raichu or a level 42 Blastoise. It will more likely be a stomach-churning, slimy primordial evolution not at all dissimilar to a biology textbook entry on ancient creeping things or the massively unfunny Ivan Reitman film with the 7-Up guy (known in some circles as Orlando Jones). Regardless, the blog's eventual evolution should be a gas (freudian slip?) so keep those bookmarks fresh! Whatever that is supposed to mean.
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Story Time! (or lazy filler episode)

There isn't a lot to say right now, so I thought I'd share a story from an earlier, now defunct blog:

Friday Bloody Friday

I made a huge mistake yesterday. Whilst perusing the pages of WiiGamer.com I came across a notice for a special at Toys R Us-- one that featured a Gameboy Micro at a drastically reduced price. It was a momentary lapse of judgement. Despite the
fact that it was almost midnight, I resolved to trek to the store in a scant four hours to retrieve my very own Gameboy Micro.



Little did I know the hell that would be unleashed.

As it turned out, when I arrived at my neighborhood friendly Toys R Us at 4:10 in the mornin' a group of over a hundred had already congregated. Their huddled masses should have been warning enough, but I decided to benture onward and I found my place in line. By the time the store neared opening at five o'clock, another two hundred lost souls had followed my lead and added their poundage to the queue. Many others hovered nearby like vultures, waiting for some poor soul to turn his attention elsewhere so that they might swoop in and claim a position near the sliding glass doors. It was a pitiful sight.

The clock strikes five. The crown twitches in fervored anticipation. A moment later a hulking assistant manager turns the kep and the doors are forced open by the clawing hands of ravenous mothers and frothing grandparents. Several employees are trampled, their fate unknown. I soon find my way into a store alive with the motion of bodies like some demonic wasp nest, barely disturbed by innocent hands but ready to lash out at any unsuspecting fool. I follow the shoddily constructed path to the video games section partitioned off by the fallen corpses of the weak and susceptible. Terrified by these hellish surroundings I hurriedly scan my surroundings for help. I spot a greasey hired hand and ask him what has become of the coveted Gameboy Micros. Much to my defeat, he announces with ominous inflection that they are gone. They are all gone.

I hang my head in shame as I exit the building and leave cess pool of activity behind me. I had failed and not only that, I had gotten up far too early to do so. The warning signs were clear: given my own work history with retail I had great knowledge of the common atrocities committed on Black Friday-- I knew of the evils it produced and the devils it spawned.

Looking back a day later and it is no small wonder that I escaped unscathed with my life. It is one mistake I vow never to repeat. I only hope that others can learn from my harrowing experience so that they might be spared similar depravity and sorrow. Let Black Friday to the hound as the bargains therein found are not worth the sacrifice of mortal soul to fiendish corruption.