Sundance: Our 16 Most Anticipated Films

Our coverage for the 2010 Sundance Film Festival starts in 2 days and one of the most important articles we can write to inform everyone about Sundance is our most anticipated films list. This list was super hard to narrow down, there are SO many films I am looking forward to at Sundance this year. My first list was called “Sundance 2010: Our 112 Most Anticipated Films” but Jeremy said that was a bit of overkill, so we narrowed it down to these 16. Check them out below:

16. SYMPATHY FOR DELICIOUS:

Mark Ruffalo makes his directorial debut with SYMPATHY FOR DELICIOUS which is a film about a former DJ who is paralyzed, turns to faith healing and starts to cure the sick…except he cant cure himself. I love this plot synopsis, not sure how much I love that Orlando Bloom stars, but we will see. It also features Ruffalo, Laura Linney, and Juliette Lewis. It has a solid cast, and a solid plot, lets see if Bloom can deliver some good acting, and Ruffalo can pull it all together as a first time director.

15. SKATELAND:

First off let me say that I absolutely love movies that are based in the 80’s, maybe it has something to do with my Patrick Swayze obsession but I just cant get enough of them. I was stoked to see another 80’s film at this years festival because I fell in love with ADVENTURELAND at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. SKATELAND is from first time writers/director Anthony Burns so we have no idea what to expect but an 80’s film that revolves around a roller rink…count me in.

14. BLUE VALENTINE:

Independent films about two people falling in love starring incredibly gifted actors. What more do you want at Sundance? BLUE VALENTINE, with Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams leading the charge, is definitely one of those films. You can just feel the power seeping off of this movie. With an award-winning screenplay (it won the 2006 Chrysler Film Project, which resulted in $1 million in funding) in tow, BLUE VALENTINE looks to be a very powerful film worth checking out.

13. DADDY LONGLEGS:

Movies like DADDY LONGLEGS are the reason I go to Sundance. Little indie nuggets that I absolutely fall in love with. Not saying that is always the case, but after watching this trailer I definitely think this film has what it takes to steal my heart(awww). More so because I can relate to being divorced and not getting to spend as much time with your kids as you would like. Be on the lookout for this film.

12. I’M HERE:

I pretty much work under the assumption of “Spike Jonze is involved, it has to be great”, so even though we know almost NOTHING about this short of his that is premiering at Sundance…you usually cant go wrong with something of his which is why its sitting pretty in our most anticipated films. Photo credit goes to /Film who get the exclusive for this.

11. TUCKER & DALE VS. EVIL:

A horror comedy starring my twin brother, Tyler Labine (OK, we just look A LOT alike) and Alan Tudyk as two hillbillies who are constantly in the wrong place at the wrong time. I can easily see this film being the BLACK DYNAMITE of this year’s festival. I have a feeling its going to do very well in the midnight screenings, and with a good crowd this movie will be a riot. Lets not even mention how much I’ve missed Labine since REAPER ended.

10. THE TILLMAN STORY:

The documentaries featured every year at the Sundance Film Festival are always worth watching out for, and 2010 seems to be no exception. Take THE TILLMAN STORY, for instance, an emotionally engaging story that needed to be told brought to life by powerful interviews from Pat Tillman’s friends and family. This film, from director Amir Bar-Lev (MY KID COULD PAINT THAT) looks to be not only one of the better documentaries at this years Sundance, it looks to be one of the most moving films of the entire festival.

09. RESTREPO:

Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington packed up their stuff and headed to Afghanistan armed with video camera’s. They went into the heat of the war with Second Platoon of Battle Company—part of the Second Battalion of the U.S. army’s 503rd Infantry Regiment (airborne). What they returned with is a stunning first hand account of what the soldiers are going through on a daily basis over there. They fronted their own money to make a feature length film out of the footage and RESTREPO is born.

From everything I have heard about this film, it will bring you to tears at how real and in the face of action everything is. CANT WAIT to see this.

08. THE VIOLENT KIND:

I haven’t seen anything The Butcher Brothers have done previously, but I am excited as hell for THE VIOLENT KIND. The plot goes a little something like this…one night at a secluded farmhouse deep in the Northern California woods, a small group of hardened young bikers and their girlfriends are tormented when one of the girls becomes savagely possessed, and a gang of “Rockabillies” seemingly from the 1950’s descends upon them to collect what is growing inside her.

Lets also not fail to mention the film stars the gorgeous Tiffany Shepis…so you will probably see me at every screening. I am only half kidding.

07. ENTER THE VOID:

Let’s be blatantly honest. You either love or you loath Gaspar Noe’s first endeavor into feature film making, IRREVERSIBLE. If you are anything like me (I think the film is a cinematic masterpiece), you are frothing at the mouth to see what Noe has in store for his follow-up. Jump to 2010’s Sundance Film Festival where ENTER THE VOID makes its North American debut. It is already creating controversy and being called “stunning” and “ambitious.” Whatever you think of Noe or his previous work, this latest film is sure to be anything but boring.

06. FROZEN:

Okay, if Ryan Reynolds stuck in a coffin for 94 minutes didn’t do it for you, how about Emma Bell, Shawn Ashmore, and Kevin Zegers stuck in a ski lift for 90 minutes or so?  That’s the premise of HATCHET director Adam Green’s latest thriller.  Like OPEN WATER in -10, FROZEN centers on three skiers who are stranded hundreds of feet up in the air after their lift stops and everyone else goes home.  We ran the trailer for this a few weeks back, but this seems more like a film that you want to go into (pardon the pun) cold.  Nonetheless, early word from Butt-Numb-A-Thon is that this film is pretty thrilling, and I’m always going to be curious to see what Green has in store for us next.

05. CYRUS:

The Duplass Brothers are 2 of my favorite people in the business, and I am glad they are finally getting a shot at a big(ger) budget film with more well known actors (not that I don’t absolutely LOVE Greta Gerwig!) and being distributed by a studio that knows exactly how to handle the film. Mix that with the fact it stars Jonah Hill, John C. Reilly, and Marisa Tomei… this film is an almost guaranteed hit. Actually I am counting on it!

PS: If you are going to see this one, you better get tickets ASAP because it only plays 3 times at Sundance.

04. THE COMPANY MEN:

Just looking at the cast list for THE COMPANY MEN should have most of you ecstatic to see it, as it features Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, Kevin Costner, Chris Cooper, Maria Bello, Rosemary DeWitt, and Craig T. Nelson.  That’s quite a lineup, particularly when you consider writer/director John Wells is making his feature film debut directly behind the camera on this one.  The film sounds like UP IN THE AIR by way of TRAFFIC, as it centers on three men trying to cope after going through corporate downsizing.  Seems like the film is perfect fodder for a few of these actors to really show their stuff and possibly earn a couple of Oscar nominations come 2011.  We’ll have to wait and see on that.  For now, we’re just excited enough to be seeing it next week.

03. HOWL:

James Franco is known for comedy, but for any of you that watched MILK knows the guy definitely has some incredible acting chops. Add in the fact that he will be playing one of my favorite poets Allen Ginsberg and this film is set to be one of the best films at Sundance. That is all that needs to be said about this film so I will leave you with a portion of the Ginsberg poem the film is based around:

       I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by
              madness, starving hysterical naked,
       dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn
              looking for an angry fix,
       angelheaded hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly
              connection to the starry dynamo in the machin-
              ery of night,
       who poverty and tatters and hollow-eyed and high sat
              up smoking in the supernatural darkness of
              cold-water flats floating across the tops of cities
              contemplating jazz,
       who bared their brains to Heaven under the El and
              saw Mohammedan angels staggering on tene-
              ment roofs illuminated...

02. HESHER:

Anything Joseph Gordon-Levitt is in is promptly thrown to near the top of my “most anticipated” list any more. He is, without a doubt, one of the best actors working today, and he’s only 29-years-old. As much as we love him in the lighter films a la (500) DAYS OF SUMMER, it is the darker films like BRICK and THE LOOKOUT that really pique our interest. HESHER is no exception, and, with a cast that also boasts Rainn Wilson, Natalie Portman, and Piper Laurie, it is easily one of the films at Sundance this year we cannot wait to feast our eyes on.

01. BURIED:

94 minutes of watching Ryan Reynolds trapped in a coffin. To some, this might sound like some sort of strange torture technique. To us, this sounds like an awesome premise for a suspenseful and even emotional movie. The early buzz on BURIED is that it is a highly intense film that leaves your claustrophobic inner child wanting to rush to the bright lobby of the theater. Reynolds is a very gifted actor, and it seems like it is dramatic roles like this that are sure to have him quickly breaking from the comedic and comic book roles he’s been handling until now.

So, thats the list. Sad and jealous that you arent going to be seeing these for a while? Well first off, I am sorry. Second off, I cant wait to rub it in at the pure awesomeness of all these films. Check out http://wearemoviegeeks.com/sundance for all of our festival coverage.