Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with the annual Sundance preview. The big difference this year is that I'm actually on my way to Park City in a little less than a week. So, going through the Sundance schedule this year while compiling the preview I was also pulling titles to try to figure into my schedule while attending the fest myself. It's not exactly a different process, but there's a certain excitement added to it knowing that I'm going to be seeing many of these films over the next few weeks. As always, Rav will join me below with his thoughts on certain titles. Rav has a love for film unrivaled by anybody I know. He'll be joining me at Sundance and reporting as well. (You can email him at Ravkill@msn.com) I'd like it made clear that the below are not all the films playing, just the ones that have jumped out to Rav and me. There are always surprises and being on the ground this year we'll hear the buzz first hand and try to pass it on as soon as we can. Enjoy the line-up!

ACADEMY

Quint: This an experimental film running 75 minutes. It has used algorithmic technology to show an entire feature film, in an intelligible way, in 1 minute. So, director R. Luke DeBois took every one of the 75 films that have won Best Picture, broken them down into 1 minute using this technology and arranged them back to back. Could be a great journey of cinema history or it could be a huge mess, but it's certainly interesting.

ADRIFT IN MANHATTAN

Rav: At first glance the plot of this film sounds quite sappy and rife with indie cliché. It’s a film about the lives of three strangers who only meet each other on their separate subway routes. So, at closer inspection now, the plot still sounds really sappy and it’s potentially something that may not even hold your attention at 3AM on IFC after popping six caffeine pills. Nonetheless I have a good feeling about this one, I’m hoping the description is just holding back and that there is a wonderful film waiting there. It’s a part of the official competition, so who knows maybe this film will be an unexpected hit. It’s cast includes Heather Graham, the forgettable Baldwin that’s not a crazy Christian or Alec, and Victor Vargas. I’m hoping to see it at the eccles on the 25th.

Quint: This one I’m trying to fit into the schedule, if only for my neverending crush on Rollergirl.

AN AMERICAN CRIME

Quint: This one sounds pretty messed up, which puts it right down my alley. Catherine Keener plays a suburban woman looking after a young girl in 1950s America. The burden of looking after the girl on top of her own 7 children push this woman over the edge and some unthinkable events occur. Also in the cast are Ellen Page and James Franco.

Rav: The plot sounds really cool and it’s always fun to watch Catherine Keener go crazy. It’s also directed by Tommy O’Haver who did Billy’s Hollywood Screen Kiss which is legitimately a really good movie, he also directed that Colin Hanks/Ben Foster movie Get Over It which I really love but am embarrassed to admit it in public because it features that thong song guy in a main role. He also did Ella Enchanted which I missed because I thought the trailers made it look like ass, how was it?

ANGEL-A

Quint: Luc Besson's new movie. Possibly one of his last directorial efforts. Rav has seen it already.

Rav: It’s good. Though I hope minimoys is better. I doubt it.

AWAY FROM HER

Rav: Sarah Polley directed it, Julie Christie is in it, Atom Egoyan produced it…do you really need to know more? I’m skipping it at sundance, but I’ll be looking forward to seeing it when Lions Gate releases it in May.

Quint: Try as I might, I can’t fit this one into my schedule. The talent is there. If you see this at Sundance, feel free to send in a review to harry@aintitcool.com.

BLAME IT ON FIDEL

Rav: I love that this is alphabetically next to Broken English on this preview, it’s a talented sperm baby double feature! Cassavetes vs. Gavras! If you haven’t caught on yet, Blame it on Fidel is directed by Julie Gavras, the daughter of Costa. It played a couple of the fall festivals to rave reviews, but didn’t collect many awards. I’m looking forward to it mainly because I keep forgetting what it is. Everytime I go to make my schedule I start convincing myself that it’s a bad documentary about some lady bitching about fidel for an hour. In actuality it’s narrative and about family of political activists in 70’s Paris. It also stars another talented sperm baby Julie Depardieu who wowed audiences earlier this year in Poltergay. (I haven’t actually seen Poltergay, I just wanted to work in the title somehow)

Quint: This one’s on my list… and I tried to see Poultergay at AFM, but it only screened once!!! The trailer was brilliant… imagine Frighteners illegally marrying Beetlejuice. Anybody seen this movie? Why am I talking about this movie in a description for a sweet looking foreign family drama?

BROKEN ENGLISH

Rav: Aka. Talented-Sperm-Baby-Movie-Number-Two! This is Zoe Cassavetes first feature film. I find her brother Nick’s films hit-and-miss, but always interesting in some way. As crappy as John Q was it still has fueled many conversations with friends debating its merits. I’m also looking forward to Alpha-dog this weekend. Her sister Xan knocked it out of the park a couple years ago with her Z Channel documentary, if Broken English is anywhere near as good then we are in for a treat. The film is also a part of the dramatic competition and has a wonderful cast including Parker Posey, Drea de Mateo, Gena Rowlands, Peter Bogdanovich, and Justin Theroux.

Quint: I’ve been reading Peter Bogdanovich’s book WHO THE HELL’S IN IT off and on over the last year. His chapters on Nick Cassavettes and Gena Rowlands are heartbreaking. It’ll be interesting watching this movie with that running through my brain. I’m missing the press screening of this movie, but am arranging to see it at one of its Festival screenings.

BUGMASTER

Quint: Director Katsuhiro Otomo, most known for his animation work like AKIRA and STEAMBOY, directs this live action Japanese manga adaptation about a healer that can manipulate "bugs," which are supernatural beings in touch with both life and death. Think midiclorians without the childhood raping scenario. The description says Otomo blends CG animation with live action, so I'm expecting a kind of f'd up WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT, but with that bizarre Japanese Manga quality.

Rav: The festival seems to be lacking in the cool-kickass-asian-movie category this year, I was really hoping for a screening of Chan Wook Park’s cyborg movie. Nonetheless this looks like a real treat, I don’t know what to expect, I love it when Mamoru Oshii does live action, but I’m skeptical until proven otherwise about animation directors doing live action features. Narnia Sucked. Though I’ve been told that apartment horror movie he did rocks. I hope I get to see bugmaster.

CHAPTER 27

Quint: This is that Jared Leto/Lindsay Lohan flick about Mark David Chapman, the man who murdered John Lennon. We supposedly get a front row seat to the insanity behind the man and his obsession with The Catcher In the Rye as he waits for 3 days outside the Dakota, striking up conversations with Lennon fans. This one has me very curious.

Rav: LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! LINDSAY LOHAN! It doesn’t really have the same ring to it that Man-in-suit! does. All that aside it does look like a good movie, I hope I get to see as we leave town the day after it premieres.

CHASING GHOSTS

Quint: I love that title for a documentary involving classic arcade video games. This sounds like a documentary version of THE WIZARD, focusing on the 1982 Video Game World Championship, which featured a kid by the name of Lincoln Ruchti who is the only person on record who ever got a perfect score on PacMan. This one promises to be incredibly nostalgic to anyone who grew up in the 1980s.

Rav: Monki was going on about this to us the other night. I’m going to skip it…But I’m going to tell Monki I saw it and that it’s awesome…Don’t rat me out please. shhhhhhh

CHICAGO 10

Quint: This one looks really cool. It's about the famous conspiracy trial in the 60s, where protestors were put on trial after a Vietnam rally at the Democratic National Convention turned ugly. Check out this cast: Hank Azaria, Dylan Baker, Nick Nolte, Roy Scheider (!!!), Jeffrey Wright, Liev Schreiber and Mark Ruffalo. The main thrust of the film is animated and from the picture it looks like a rotoscope style animation, like WAKING LIFE or SCANNER DARKLY. This film opens the festival, so you know it's gotta be great.

CLUBLAND

Quint: Sundance seems to be going Australian film crazy this year. Clubland is a premiere film. It sounds like Brenda Blythn plays a Roseanne type comedian whose career is on the slide. She has two kids, one of them “intellectually disabled,” whose father was a one-hit wonder over decades ago and now works as a security guard. Enter a beautiful love interest for the normal son and a Roseanne-like woman battling her for the affection of her son. It sounds just quirky enough to make me smile. It’s on the list.

CROSSING THE LINE

Rav: This is a documentary that I am dying to see, it’s about an American soldier that defected to North Korea in the early sixties. They started using him in propaganda films against the USA, as the years went by he became a bit of a star there always playing the evil American in any of their film productions. The doc is directed by the same team that did the two most outstanding North Korean documentaries ever made, The Game of their Lives and A State of Mind.

DEDICATION

Quint: This looks like the messed up black comedy sleeper of the festival. I’m really excited to see this flick about a children’s book author who is inspired by an old porno and begins creating Marty, The Beaver. There’s a great cast, which Rav will tell you more about, but I’m particularly interested in seeing Tom Wilkinson, one of my favorite working actors, in this.

Rav: I love Justin Theroux as an actor and I’m eager to see how he performs as a director. This film has a great cast Dianne Wiest, Billy Crudup, Mandy Moore, and Tom Wilkinson. I can’t wait to see it.

DELIRIOUS

Quint: Get this… Steve Buscemi as a sleazy paparazzo who takes Michael Pitt (the lucky bastard who got to make sweet barely-fake love with the ravishing Eva Green in THE DREAMERS) under his wing and shows him the ropes of his profession. Who doesn’t want to see this movie?

Rav: Tom Dicillo always at least makes a film worth watching, I think Living in Oblivion and Box of Moonlight are both fucking brilliant pieces of cinema. Though he hasn’t done much lately, that denis leary movie was quite mediocre, but it had a few gags that made it worth while and Elizabeth Hurley is nice to look at while she is overacting. This one has a great cast he’s reunited with Buscemi, but he’s also joined by the likes of David Wain, Gina Gershon, Michael Pitt, and Alison Lohman. I’m very excited to see this one, even if I don’t have a ticket for the midnight screening on the 20th. I’m sure it will get picked up rather quickly.

EAGLE VS. SHARK

Quint: A bit of absurdity from New Zealand. A computer geek and a shy, plain girl hook up due to a party crashing. The computer geek is hosting an animal/video game party, where it appears the characters play video games while dressed up as different animals. She shows up as a shark with some strong video game skills and thus the crazy romance starts. Don't know anybody attached to this, but I love zany New Zealanders.

EXPIRED

Quint: A romantic comedy about a Meter Maid and a Parking Officer who have a love affair starring Samantha Morton and Jason Patrick, with Teri Garr and Illeana Douglas co-starring. This looks like a first feature film by a known documentary director. I’m trying to see this, but like Fay Grim below, it just might not fit into the schedule this year.

FAY GRIM

Rav: I haven’t seen Henry Fool, so I am purposely avoiding Fay Grim at Sundance. Nonetheless I really like the Hal Hartley stuff that I have seen. I’ll catch fay when Magnolia Pictures releases it in the US in May.

Quint: This is one that I don’t think is meant to happen. I’ve tried to fit it in my schedule at 4 different points, but it never works out. I love me my Jeff Goldblum, too. Damn.

FIDO

QUINT: This is playing in the midnight series and is one of the few I've seen (thanks to the American Film Market). I highly, highly, highly, highly recommend this to any attendees that consider themselves horror fans... or comedy fans. Or both. It's a zombie movie set in a world you could imagine Brad Bird thought up. Totally unique and terrifically made black comedy starring Carrie-Anne Moss, Dylan Baker, Tim Blake Nelson and an invisible Billy Connolly as the title zombie character, Fido. Click here for my review!

FINISHING THE GAME

Rav: Finishing the Game is a mockumentary following the clusterfuck that ensued after the death of Bruce Lee and the studio’s attempt to finish Game of Death as best as they possibly could by casting Lee stand-in’s. It’s directed by Justin Lin and seems to be back to his Better Luck Tomorrow roots. I wasn’t the biggest fan of Annapolis, in fact not a fan at all the movie fucking blew, but I’m probably the worlds biggest Tokyo Drift fag and it’s gotten me into so many embarrassing conversations. I’m so there for this movie, it’s probably my second-most-anticipated movie at sundance.

Quint: I really want to see this, but it’s another that’s not screening for the press. I secured one festival ticket for it and talked it over with Rav. It was a coin flip on who was going to attend and in the end Rav wanted it more. It’s okay, because that screening opens up a spot where I can see one of the most buzzed films of the festival, at least of the buzz I’ve heard so far. Maybe I can work Finishing the Game in later in the fest.

THE GO-GETTER

Quint: A traumatic loss prompts Lou Taylor Pucci (THUMBSUCKER) to steal a car and travel the highways of America. He develops a telephonic relationship with the car's forgiving owner as he drives and meets many different people. This flick has a great cast, including Pucci, Zooey Deschanel, Jena Malone, Judy Greer and Maura Tierney.

Rav: Jena Malone…That’s enough, I’m Sold. (I know that’s probably really sad)

THE GOOD LIFE

Quint: This is a take on the small town life, where one is alienated if they don't follow the local high school football games. The lead in the film is one such person, who struggles with an uncaring family and is just plain miserable in this small town. His one escape is the town's single theater, on it's last legs, and run by Harry Dean Stanton. Here's another great cast, including Mark Webber (STORYTELLING), Zooey Deschanel (again), Bill Paxton, Chris Klein, Patrick Fugit (ALMOST FAMOUS), Drea de Matteo, Bruce McGill and Donal Logue.

THE GOOD NIGHT

Quint: Feature film debut from Jake Paltrow (Gwyneth's brother), who cut his teeth working crew on films like DEAD PRESIDENTS and SYDNEY (aka HARD EIGHT). The film is about a man who literally finds his dream girl. She only exits in his dreams and the man tries desperately to carry on the most satisfying relationship he's ever experienced. The premise is promising and the cast is great (Penelope Cruz, Martin Freeman (!!!), Danny DeVito, Simon Pegg (!!!) and Gwyneth Paltrow). Count me in!

Rav: The first time I heard the name Jake Paltrow was when he was announced as the writer of the film adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk’s Survivor many’a’year ago. Soon after he wrote what was buzzed to be a great script the 9/11 tragedy occurred and fox canned the project. I’d always been curious about that script as for a time there people like Nicole Kidman and Sam Mendes were rumored to be involved with it. Since then paltrow has directed a lot of tv, finally this is his first script to come to fruition. If it’s any good lets hope they resurrect his version of survivor, that book really needs to get made into a film. The good night has a great cast and also Jake is also from talented sperm, so all in all it’s a good bet.

GRACE IS GONE

Rav: This is the feature debut from James Strouse, he penned Lonesome Jim that Steve Buscemi movie from a couple years back. It’s about a broken family responding to the death of the wife/mother who was killed in the current Iraq war. John Cusack stars as the father who takes his two daughters on a road trip to cope with the situation. With bush ordering more soldiers to Iraq this week it may be a very timely film and quite effective. This one is also in the dramatic competition, I expect it to standout if only for the fact that John Cusack consistently turns in compelling performances, even in shitty movies.

GREAT WORLD OF SOUND

Quint: David Gordon Green is a producer on this film about an odd couple who start a record label and travel the country signing new talent. Of course there’s backstabbing and deceit and glorymongering along the way. I have this penciled in, but if I see it I will have to sacrifice my chance to see Green’s own film, SNOW ANGELS.

IF I HAD KNOWN I WAS A GENIUS

Rav: A few friends of mine are involved with this movie so I feel compelled to mention it. I don’t know what to make of it, but the cast has me intrigued it’s such a weird mix it includes: Whoopi Goldberg, Keith David, Tara Reid, Sharon Stone, and Pink. It’s sure going to be a weird blend, I hope it comes out good.

INTERVIEW

Quint: When I interviewed Steve Buscemi a while back for LONESOME JIM, he talked about gearing up to make this film, describing his John Sayles-like plan of taking high paying, big studio jobs and turning that into his small passion films. INTERVIEW is directed by Buscemi, starring Buscemi and the ravishing Sienna Miller. It’s a remake of the murdered Dutch filmmaker, Theo Van Gough’s, film of the same name, about a passionate verbal duel between two fundamentally opposed characters. I have not seen Gough’s original (couldn’t find a copy in Austin), but the premise is great and Buscemi is great. I’ll be there.

JOSHUA

Rav: Hellhouse is probably the most entertaining documentary about Crazy Christians ever made. Every Halloween I want to try and track down that haunted house and make a road trip over to it with friends, for some reason I never get around to doing it. Joshua is the narrative debut of George Ratliff the director of Hellhouse, I hope his filmmaking talent translates just as well for him. He’s assembled a wonderful cast of Sam Rockwell, Vera Farmiga, and Michael Mckean. This one is also in the dramatic competition.

Quint: I’m seeing it, too.

KING OF CALIFORNIA

Rav: This one stars Michael Douglas as a crazy old kook searching for buried treasure that may or may not be underneath a cost-co. Evan Rachel Wood plays his daughter. We ran a trailer for this about a month ago, check it out here http://www.king-of-california.de/ I’m really looking forward to this one. I hope to be there at the eccles on the 24th, even though I have no ticket, I may try looking underneath a Costco for one. Oh Alexander Payne produced it too!

Quint: I can check all the criteria boxes for this. Interesting cast. Check. Interesting story. Check. Does it look entertaining? Check. Is Alexander Payne a producer. Check.

LONGFORD

Quint: Jim Broadbent stars in this based on a true story drama about a religious man who believes good is in everybody and treats everybody as an innocent. His faith is tested when he’s summoned to a prison by Myra Henley, an accomplice in the notorious “children murders.” You not only have Broadbent, you have Samantha Morton (a repeat offender at this year’s Sundance) and Andy Serkis (I hope he’s playing the psychotic boyfriend and perpetrator of the children murders… psychotic Andy Serkis is always a pleasure). It’ll play HBO later this year, so I might opt to see something a little more uncertain, but right now this is on the list.

NIGHT BUFFALO

Quint: Dramatic competition flick that 20th Century Fox just picked up for Latin American distribution. No US distribution yet. Diego Luna (Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN) stars as one of two men who share a girlfriend. One of the two friends is hospitalized after a series of schizophrenic nightmares. Upon his release, they all try to reconcile but it appears tragedy is in the cards. Based on a novel by Guillermo Arriaga (AMORES PERROS, BABEL) who also adapts his work for the first time.

THE NINES

Quint: Written and directed by John August (GO, BIG FISH, CORPSE BRIDE) and starring Ryan Reynolds, Melissa McCarthy and Hope Davis. Looks like it’s the same 3 actors in 3 different mini-stories, playing different characters each time. One is about a TV star who is under house arrest and his only contact with the outside world is his chipper publicist and cranky neighbor. The second is a Project Greenlight-type show about the making of a sitcom and the third is about a family with car trouble who find themselves stranded in the woods. Sounds like a fun experiment and an interesting first outing for August as a director.

NOISE

Quint: When I talked about the most buzzed film of the fest so far, this is the one I was referring to. I’ve gotten many emails about this film and Sundance insiders tell me it’s one not to miss. It’s a thriller out of Australia with nobody I recognize attached to it. Here’s the description:

A young police constable, Graham McGahan, suffers from a chronic hearing problem and applies for worker's compensation. To his chagrin, he is stationed at a police caravan near the crime scene. Living on the periphery of the investigation, McGahan crosses paths with the various people affected by the tragedies and uncovers an unraveling nightmare of guilt and suspicion.

I’m sold.

ON THE ROAD WITH JUDAS

Rav: I don’t know what to expect out of this film, it’s by a first time director. It’s part of the dramatic competition and it stars one of my favorite character actors Kevin Corrigan.

RESURRECTING THE CHAMP

Quint: So, Sam Jackson is in this. That’s an immediate viewing. The picture on the Sundance page shows he’s in his full CAVEMAN’S VALENTINE mode, complete with Stiveson wig. Rod Lurie (THE CONTENDER) directs Sam Jackson as a homeless man who was once a boxing champ. The champ is discovered by an up and coming sports reporter, Josh Hartnett, and the emotional journey begins. You have a cast rounded out with the great Alan Alda, Peter Coyote and hello David Paymer hello…

ROCKET SCIENCE

Rav: This is a high school comedy directed by the troupe that did that wonderful documentary Spellbound a few years back. Discovering Spellbound at the drafthouse one very early morning is one of my favorite memories from all the years that ive attended south by southwest. I’m hoping that the screening of rocket science on my first day of sundance will be just as good. This is also in the dramatic competition…I think. Maybe. *Shrugs* Well if it isn’t it probably should be, that’s where the rest of documentary-turned-narrative-filmmaker’s movies are.

THE SAVAGES

Rav: The Slums of Beverly Hills is one of my favorite comedies from the nineties. This long overdue followup film from Tamara Jenkins stars Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman as a brother and sister trying to care for their ailing father. I heard some good word about the script for this film from a friend of mine about a year ago, I’ve been looking forward to it ever since. This is one of the first movies I’m seeing at the festival and it’s one of the ones I’m most looking forward to seeing.

Quint: That cast alone has my ass in a seat.

THE SIGNAL

Quint: This is the big midnight film for me. A complete out of left field unknown, but one of the only horror movies playing the festival. The plot is a little CELL-like, with the TV and radio waves carrying a signal that turns people violently insane. The description has these words together: “blending bloody gore with psychological satire.” I’m seeing the midnight premiere of the film and I can’t wait!

SLIPSTREAM

Rav: This sounds all sorts of kooky…But Anthony Hopkins directed it.

Quint: The cast, the story and Hopkins as writer/director, make this a hot ticket this year. The cast: Hopkins, Christian Slater, John Turturro, Michael Clarke Duncan, Lisa Pepper and Jeffrey Tambor to name a few. This is all set in a noir-ish period where a screenwriter (Slater) finds his mind divided into two realms: the real world and the imaginary world. The barrier begins to break down as characters from his murder mystery start to appear in his everyday life. If everything else fails, the film is shot by Dante Spinotti, so I’m at least guaranteed a beautiful looking film. I’m very excited about this one.

SMILEY FACE

Rav: Araki is coming off of the best film of his career and he follows it up with a Anna Faris comedy? I’m intrigued.

Quint: Anna Faris is a cutie patootie. And she’s incredibly stoned through this whole movie, apparently… not in real life, her character… unless she went Brando and decided on the method approach. Promises to be very entertaining and there won’t be a shortage of prettiness on the screen.

SNOW ANGELS

Rav: I fucking love David Gordon Green, he’s like Terrence Malick, except he’s young, works more than once every half-a-million years, seems to not be an insane privacy maniac, and he doesn’t have to recut his movies the week after he releases them . I’ll see anything he makes, I’m seeing this the first screening possible at the festival and I’ve intentionally not read any of the descriptions so you probably know more about this movie than I do.

SON OF RAMBOW

Rav: This was one that practically came from nowhere and as soon as I saw it in the schedule it leaped into becoming my most anticipated film of the festival. This is another film that I’m avoiding reading too much about the plot, all I know is the publicity still has a little kid dressed as Rambo and it’s directed by Garth Jennings of Hammer & Tongs (Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy). I love that they’ve gone so indie with their follow-up to hitchhikers, I can’t wait for this press screening.

Quint: This one promises to be a love letter to fans of 80s films… Don’t read this part Rav… Okay, he’s gone. I honestly haven’t read much on the film myself, knowing I’m going to see it in a week and a half, but it seems a little like Hammer & Tongs decided to spring off hearing about that Raiders of the Lost Ark remake from the ‘80s, but this time focusing on a kid wanting to remake Rambo. I can’t wait, plus I’ve lined up an interview with Garth Jennings… so I hope it doesn’t suck or that’ll be awkward.

STARTING OUT IN THE EVENING

Quint: This is another one of the 3 or 4 titles I’ve had to sacrifice to the scheduling gods. You have Frank “Skeletor” Langella, Lauren Ambrose and Lili Taylor about 3 New York literary types in different stages of life. Langella is an old novelist, his daughter, Taylor, in her middle ages and Ambrose is a young bookish grad.

TEETH

Rav: This movie caused a ruckus in Austin last year when some of the neighbors of a filming location became convinced that what they were shooting was some illicit porno. The film commission had to caution the neighborhood that it very much wasn’t a porno…just a horror movie about a girl with teeth in her vagina that eat’s men’s penises. Let me say that again. It’s not a porno, just a horror movie about a girl with teeth in her vagina that eat’s men’s penises. One would think that this is perfect fare for the midnight movies section of sundance, but this is where the unbelievable occurs. This is a dramatic competition entry. So I’m expecting some very touching, very compelling, wonderfully directed dick-chomping-romp-of-a-good-time.

Quint: I’m so there. Sounds like a Troma movie, but taken totally seriously. I’m not just there, I’m there with bells on for this one.

THE TEN

Rav: It’s only fitting that I’m writing this entry in a coffee shop where I’m sitting next to a bible-study group in progress. And they are probably the dumbest group of Christians I’ve had the pleasure of eavesdropping on in a public setting. This has me even so much more excited to see this comic imagining of the ten commandments. Everytime I hear about this film I imagine David Wain (The State, Wet Hot American Summer) channeling Woody Allen’s Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex…, it’s got an ensemble cast that includes Paul Rudd, Adam Brody, Rob Corddry, Jessica Alba, Winona Ryder, Liev Schreiber, Justin Theroux, Gretchen Mol, Oliver Platt, Famke Janssen, and Ken Marino This is one of the hot tickets at Sundance this year, I’m expecting to have to stand in many’a’wait-list line before getting into this. For those not going to Sundance you shouldn’t worry, with this much talent behind it there’s no way that it won’t be snatched by a distributor for record-money in record-time.

Quint: They’re not screening this one for the press, but I’m doing my best to get a hold of Festival screening tickets. I was invited to the set of this one, but couldn’t afford to get up to New York at the time. I’m a geek for most of the people in the cast, from Corddry to Oliver Platt. If I can, I will see this movie.

THE UNFORSEEN

Rav: …is unseen

Quint: A name of a producer on this documentary drew my eye: Terrence Malick. Then I saw it was co-produced by Sundance’s own Robert Redford… THEN I saw it was all about Austin. It’s weird having Terrence Malick be an Austin filmmaker. You can’t help but run in to Robert Rodriguez or Richard Linklater at film events, but with Malick being so reclusive I always forget he’s an Austinite, but his passion for the city must be strong. This documentary is all about the fight to balance expansion with the environment. In Austin, the big hot button issue is Barton Springs, a natural spring (cold as fuck, by the way) and a popular recreational point. The documentary follows a man who has tried over and over again to build subdivisions all along the Hill Country and endanger Barton Springs’ water purity. So, Austin. Malick. Save Our Springs. Count me in. I’ll be missing home by this point, so it’s sure to keep me sane.

WE ARE THE STRANGE
directed by M. Dot Strange

Rav: This movie looks dot fucking insane. I’m dot scared just as much as I’m dot intrigued.

WEAPONS

Quint: I’m seeing this for one reason: Paul Dano stars. I love LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE and his performance in that movie is my favorite. Add on his previous work, way back to the very uncomfortable LIE, then he gets my butt in a seat. The movie’s about “violent youth culture” and Paul Dano carries around a big gun while Nick Cannon takes a dramatic turn as straight laced youth who goes mental when his sister is beaten.

Rav: Nick Cannon is Wack’n’black yo yo!

YEAR OF THE DOG

Rav: Mike White has been one of my favorite comedy screenwriters ever since Chuck & Buck and Dead Man on Campus. With every new film he’s grown and matured becoming a major talent. I can’t wait to see how he fares as a director. This one stars Molly Shannon coping with the loss of her dog.

ZOO

Rav: Perhaps the one film at the festival that’s going to give Teeth a run for its money in the weird-ass-sexual-event-film-competition. This film is a documentary that has to do with some good ol down home country horse-fucking. It’s directed by Robinson Devour who did that sweet little Patrick Warburton movie “The Woman Chaser” a few years back and in 2005 was also at Sundance with Police Beat which I haven’t seen, but I’ve heard features an amazing punk-guy performance from the world famous Zach Carlson. Whatever the case, you can never go wrong with a horse-fucking-movie.

Quint: I wish I could see this. A buddy showed me this viral video of a dude that was killed when a horse penetrated him… too deeply, I guess. He didn’t die on the spot, but he didn’t survive the encounter. Apparently, that happens more often than you’d think. Sounds like it’d make for an entertaining documentary, if not a totally fucked up one.

And that’s it. 13 pages of titles and we’ve only really scratched the surface. I didn’t really touch on short films this year and it looks like I’m only going to be able to make one shorts program, the Animated Shorts, and even with that I don’t have a guaranteed ticket. I’d like to point out two shorts before I leave, though. One I have not seen, but it’s the reason I’m going to the Animation Shorts. It’s Don Hertzfeldt’s new short, EVERYTHING WILL BE OKAY. If you have not see Hertzfeldt’s work, do yourself a favor and track down REJECTED and BILLY’S BALLOON. The man’s a genius. The other is a film I have seen, a short 15 minute black and white film shot on 35mm called BITCH, by Lilah Vandenburgh. It’s playing in Shorts Program III and I can vouch for it. Funny, kinetic and just plain entertainingly crazy. I’ll have a full review during the fest. If you have a short film playing the fest and want me to consider it for inclusion in my coverage, you’ll need to email me at quint@aintitcool.com very quickly. If I can get it in my hands before I leave for Park City on the 17th, I will watch it and review it. I should have an Ain’t It Cool mailbox in the press room at Park City as well, so if you have a copy on hand, feel free to drop it off and I’ll get to it as soon as I can. That goes for anybody else who has a screener. Right now I’m pushing the limit with 40 films in 7 days, while trying to figure out times to move between theaters, spots for at least 6 interviews and when I can catch a moment to write, eat and sleep. Thanks for sticking with Rav and me through this whole monster of a preview. I hope to see many of you between the snowdrifts next week. Good luck to everybody who has a film at Sundance! -Quint quint@aintitcool.com