Sundance Movie Notes

I haven’t gotten to see as many movies as I’d like while here, but here’s a rundown of the other movies I did catch.

Be Kind Rewind: I love Jack Black and have been a long-standing fan of Tenacious D, but even I’ve started to realize he’s a bit overexposed lately. But usually, all it takes is for me to sit down and watch him again to remind me why I dig his frenetic indignant energy. I had tepid expectations at best for this Michel Gondry film, which seemed like it was going to be a series of lame SNL-style spoofs, but it’s much more about the fun people have when being creative and general downtrodden community spirit. It’s also almost startling to see how well Jack Black can fit himself into the role of a somewhat creepy junkyard dweller who looks like a serial killer.

The Escapist: Brian Cox leads a team of cons trying to escape from prison after he finds out his long-lost daughter is on the brink of death. It’s a strong drama, and it’s Brian Cox in a prison movie. There is absolutely no reason not to see it.

The Linguists: An interesting, if a bit dry documentary about a pair of language experts who travel around the world trying to locate the last speakers of various colloquial languages in order to catalog and learn from them.

Goliath: A depressing little low-budget comedy about a freshly-divorced middle-class man’s life slowly deteriorating along with his mind while obsessed about finding his missing cat. It feels a bit like a short film stretched out too long, but it does have its good points.