solace in cinema : A vast wasteland of movies

I've been following the Sundance festival quite closely on a couple of different blogs, and listening to podcasts of people reporting from the fest. When you're watching 4-5 films a day it's difficult to find the time and the energy to write up reviews, trust me, i've been there, but some blogs/podcasts really have gone the extra yard to tell us their thoughts on what's happening over there in Utah. Filmspotting are doing daily casts from the festival, and Firstshowing are blogging their way through it.

There seems to be a lot of interesting films this year, and more than a couple that i'm been waiting for:

Son of Rambow
I was really praying for this to be good, and apparently it's not just good, it's amazing. Garth Jenning's and Nick Goldsmith's (AKA Hammer& Tongs) follow up to 'Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' garnered a group of really positive reviews, and was then subject to a studio bidding war. When it was all said and done 'Son of Rambow' was picked up by Paramount Vantage for a staggering $8 million.

Son of Rambow is the name of the home movie made by two little boys with a big video camera and even bigger ambitions. Set on a long English summer in the early 80's, Son of Rambow is a comedy about friendship, faith and the tough business of growing up. We see the story through the eyes of Will, the eldest son of a fatherless Plymouth Brethren family. The Brethren regard themselves as God's 'chosen ones' and their strict moral code means that Will has never been allowed to mix with the other 'worldlies,' listen to music or watch TV, until he finds himself caught up in the extraordinary world of Lee Carter, the school terror and maker of bizarre home movies. Carter exposes Will to a pirate copy of Rambo: First Blood and from that moment Will's mind is blown wide open and he's easily convinced to be the stuntman in Lee Carters' diabolical home movie. Will's imaginative little brain is not only given chance to flourish in the world of film making, but is also very handy when it comes to dreaming up elaborate schemes to keep his partnership with Lee Carter a secret from the Brethren community. Will and Carter's complete disregard for consequences and innocent ambition means that the process of making their film is a glorious rollercoaster that eventually leads to true friendship. They start to make a name for themselves at school as movie makers but when popularity descends on them in the form of the Pied Piper-esque French exchange student, Didier Revol, their unique friendship and their precious film are pushed, quite literally, to breaking point.

It's always sounded a lot like it was inspired by the Lost Ark remake that some kids made back in the 80's, and that's never a bad thing.

Click the poster above to see a bigger version of the poster.

Listen to Filmspotting's review here 

Hounddog
'Hounddog' is the much discussed southern drama that features an apparantly disturbing scene where Dakota Fanning (aged 12) get's raped, although from what i've now read and heard it seems the scene in question is very short and dealt with sensitively (As sensitive as such a scene can be). It seems like people have been drumming up controversy by focusing on the scene, in order to gain more publicity for the film, but according to Filmspotting, the film is almost unwatchably bad.

Like a lily growing in the swamp, Lewellen, a precocious southern girl, radiates splendor amidst the murk that surrounds her. She is being raised by her abusive father and disciplinarian grandmother, and finds comfort, joy, and strength in music–she is obsessed with Elvis Presley and breaks into his songs whenever the mood strikes. In addition to music, playing in the woods with her friend, Buddy, brings a few other moments of childhood happiness. Their playing drifts toward innocent sexual games, however, and it becomes evident that Lewellen has a painful history that she keeps buried inside. When another tragedy strikes, will her spirit finally break, or will her inspiring resiliency carry her on?

If i'd heard good things 'Hounddog' still sounds like a hard film to sit through, but given the current opinion I think i'll be skipping it.

There's another review over at /Film here 

Fido
I'm not sure if it's just because of my love for 'Day of the Dead' and Bub, that I've been keeping an ear to the ground for this film, but it really does sound quite good.

Timmy Robinson's best friend in the whole wide world is a six-foot tall rotting zombie named Fido. But when Fido eats the next-door neighbour, Mom and Dad hit the roof, and Timmy has to go to the ends of the earth to keep Fido a part of the family. A boy-and-his-dog movie for grown ups, "Fido" will rip your heart out.

Firstshowing gave it an 8 out of 10 here 

See a clip from 'Fido here.

From the look of the 9 out of 10 review Firstshowing gave 'King of California' it sounds like I might have to eat my words. I'm also keeping an eye out for 'Snow Angels' (8 out of 10 from First Showing) which is the new film from David Gordon Green who directed 'George Washington', and 'The Undertow' both of which I really loved. 

Apart from the aforementioned Firstshowing and Filmspotting, /Film has some excellent coverage of the festival, as does the IFC blog

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This entry was posted on Friday, January 26th, 2007 at 11:00 am and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.