Sundance Film Festival Coverage - THAT'S A WRAP!

That's a wrap! Today brings my coverage of the 2023 Sundance Film Festival to a close. 

This was such an incredible year of films that I will not soon forget. Overall I screened 46 films this year! 21 features and 25 short films. My absolute favorite this year was the horror film "Talk to Me". I can't stop thinking about this film and really can't wait to watch it again. "Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls" was another favorite this year, along with a ton of great documentaries like "Still: A Michael J. Fox Move", "Little Richard: I Am Everything", and "Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields Story". "Fairyland", "Cat Person", and "Theater Camp" were some other favorites this year. 

Thank you for reading and following along on socials throughout the festival, and thank you to Sundance for having me back for another year! 

See you all next year! 

Sundance Film Festival Coverage - DAY 8

Another day of the Sundance Film Festival is here! Today is our 8th day covering the festival, and we are having an incredible time! 

Today I'm kind of staring to wind things down with 5 features on the schedule for today! A lot of viewing a head, so let's get to it!

First up: "Shortcomings"

Very enjoyable film filled with lovably flawed characters trying to navigate life despite the roadblocks they put up for themselves. 

This film is also Randall Park's directorial debut and I would say he knocked it out of the park! Very well done and great laughs throughout. 

Next up: "Landscape with Invisible Hand"

I had no idea what to expect going into this film and it was such a fun sci-fi adventure!

When aliens take control, humanity has to find a way to either survive on their own or join the aliens. This was such a unique film with such a creative story. We need more films like this. 

Next up: "You Hurt My Feelings"

Perfect casting and very evenly paced making this dramedy really a great watch. 

Julia Louis-Dreyfus is excellent in this! The emotional journey is still filled with laughs throughout. I expect we'll see this in theaters soon as it's another A24 film coming out of the festival. 

Next up: "Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls"

This film was absolute perfection! I had so much fun watching it and can't wait to watch it again. So ridiculous, creative, and funny. 

For his first feature, Andrew Bowser wrote, directed, producer, and starred in the film. This is such a difficult task to accomplish AND HE NAILED IT! The creatures built by Kreature Kid were absolutely incredible as well. A must watch! 

Next up: My Animal

A coming of age romantic horror film from our friends up north. I would've loved a little deeper of a story, but it was still enjoyable. 

I think a lot of people will enjoy the spin on the monster film. The remote filming locations throughout Canada add the element of horror with the dark isolation and mountains of snow. 

Sundance Film Festival Coverage - DAY 7

 Day 7 of our Sundance Film Festival coverage!

As we make our way into a week of coverage, so far I have watched 10 feature films and 15 short films. Still a lot more to watch over the next 4 days. With no time to waste, let's get to it!

First up: "Life Without Dreams"

This was such a weird short film, but somehow still very captivating. 

One quote from the film that really stuck with me was "When you look up at the night sky, you aren't looking up, you're looking out". A very intriguing introspective piece. 

Next up: "I Am Home"

Only a 3 minute short film, but it gets it's message across. 

No matter how much the world changes around us, and how different we may look on the outside, we're all the same and are made from mother earth - mud, love, and patience. 

Next up: "Rest Stop"

A sweet, coming of age story of a young girl traveling across the country, admiring her moms desire to reunite their family. 

Beautifully shot and beautifully acted. To have to see and feel how she grows, watching her mother struggle and sacrifice in the name of family is a lot for a child actor to have to emote, and they were perfect. I'd love to see more of this story. 

Next up: "Cat Person":

Emilia Jones and Nicholas Braun like you've never seen them before, and they CRUSHED it. 

A dark thriller that keeps you guessing at every turn. Is it a sweet love story? Or is there something horribly wrong? Down to the final minutes this movie keeps you guessing. I look forward to watching this again. 

Next up: "Judy Blume Forever"

One of my absolute favorite authors as a kid and this documentary was so much fun!

I loved learning so much about her career and life and realizing I have a lot more of her books I still need to read. If you were a Judy Blume fan like myself, you'll enjoy this documentary when it hits Prime Video soon!

Next Up: "Infinity Pool"

This movie is insane! A hallucinogenic fueled nightmare that you can't look away from. 

Mia Goth is quickly becoming one of the Queens of Horror after "Pearl' and "X", and in this film she continues her rule. Clearly the Cronenberg family knows how to psychologically terrify us with this film coming from David's son Brandon. 

Next up: "Talk to Me"

An original, fun, terrifying film. This film will definitely make it into my regular rotation. 

A group of friends conjure spirits using an embalmed hand and of course shit goes sideways. So insanely good!! I know it's only January, but this will be one of the best horror films of the year. A24 just picked up the film, so hopefully it will be available to everybody very soon! This is a must watch film! 

Sundance Film Festival Coverage - DAY 6

 Day 6 of Sundance is here! We have a busy day ahead!

Today is going to be a very long day in the features, but I am incredibly excited for what I have on the slate for today. 

First up: "Fairyland"

A beautiful, sweet, emotional rollercoaster of a film. You'll smile. You'll cry. The film is based on Alysia Abbott's memior and finds such a perfect balance between her story and her dads.

Emilia Jones and Scoot McNairy deliver such impactful performances that elevate every scene. I hope this is a film that everybody has the opportunity to see this year. I'll definitely be picking up her memoir to reach more of her story. Beautifully done, especially for Andrew Durham's directorial debut. 

Next up is the very highly anticipated documentary: "Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields"

This was a fascinating documentary about somebody who since I was a kid was one of the biggest stars in the world, and yet I knew so little about her career and the many struggles she's faced literally since her childhood. 

The pain and trauma in Brooke Shield's career is so real. Between this documentary or the Brittany Spears doc and so many like it, it's just so repulsive how women have been, and are continually treated, especially in an industry where everybody things the woman owes them everything because she's famous. It's heartbreaking that so many women have these stories to tell. No woman, no human deserves to go through that. I'm glad to know that Brooke Shields is in a good place now. Look for it on Hulu Soon. 

Next up: "Theater Camp"

This was such a fun film! Great original story and great laughs throughout. Molly Gordon, Ben Platt, Noah Galvin, and Nick Lieberman did an incredible job. 

The kid actors were all excellent in this (very happy to see Alan Kim again since his role in Minari) and the rest of the cast was great as well. The original songs were so good and I hope we get at least some form of soundtrack from it. Hopefully it will hit theaters later this year. 

Next up: "In My Mother's Skin"

From it's opening scene, this horror fairy tale had me hooked. I didn't fully know what to expect by this film, but it was creepy all throughout. 

When this film hits Prime Video in the coming months, don't be deterred by the subtitles. The story is strong and the horror and gore is done incredibly well. I'll definitely re-watch it since I'm sure there are things I missed, but very happy with the first watch. 

95th Oscar Nominations (COMPLETE LIST)

 The 95th Oscar Nominations are here! 

This years list of nominees is such an incredible array of talent. I absolutely love seeing “Everything Everywhere All At Once” scoop up 11 nominations! Brendan Fraser’s and Ke Huy Quan’s nominations brought tears to my eyes. Two actors who thought their careers were over, now nominated for Oscars. I’ve heard very little about the remake of “All Is Quiet on the Western Front”, but after 9 nominations I’ve got my homework cut out for me! Here is the complete list of this year’s nominees. 

Performance by an actor in a leading role

• Austin Butler in "Elvis"
• Colin Farrell in "The Banshees of Inisherin"
• Brendan Fraser in "The Whale"
• Paul Mescal in "Aftersun"
• Bill Nighy in "Living"

 

Performance by an actor in a supporting role

• Brendan Gleeson in "The Banshees of Inisherin"
• Brian Tyree Henry in "Causeway"
• Judd Hirsch in "The Fabelmans"
• Barry Keoghan in "The Banshees of Inisherin"
• Ke Huy Quan in "Everything Everywhere All at Once"

 

Performance by an actress in a leading role

• Cate Blanchett in "Tár"
• Ana de Armas in "Blonde"
• Andrea Riseborough in "To Leslie"
• Michelle Williams in "The Fabelmans"
• Michelle Yeoh in "Everything Everywhere All at Once"

 

Performance by an actress in a supporting role

• Angela Bassett in "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever"
• Hong Chau in "The Whale"
• Kerry Condon in "The Banshees of Inisherin"
• Jamie Lee Curtis in "Everything Everywhere All at Once"
• Stephanie Hsu in "Everything Everywhere All at Once"

 

Best animated feature film of the year

• "Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio" Guillermo del Toro, Mark Gustafson, Gary Ungar and Alex Bulkley
• "Marcel the Shell with Shoes On" Dean Fleischer Camp, Elisabeth Holm, Andrew Goldman, Caroline Kaplan and Paul Mezey
• "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish" Joel Crawford and Mark Swift
• "The Sea Beast" Chris Williams and Jed Schlanger
• "Turning Red" Domee Shi and Lindsey Collins

 

Achievement in cinematography

• "All Quiet on the Western Front" James Friend
• "Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths" Darius Khondji
• "Elvis" Mandy Walker
• "Empire of Light" Roger Deakins
• "Tár" Florian Hoffmeister

 

Achievement in costume design

• "Babylon" Mary Zophres
• "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" Ruth Carter
• "Elvis" Catherine Martin
• "Everything Everywhere All at Once" Shirley Kurata
• "Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris" Jenny Beavan

 

Achievement in directing

• "The Banshees of Inisherin" Martin McDonagh
• "Everything Everywhere All at Once" Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert
• "The Fabelmans" Steven Spielberg
• "Tár" Todd Field
• "Triangle of Sadness" Ruben Östlund

 

Best documentary feature

• "All That Breathes" Shaunak Sen, Aman Mann and Teddy Leifer
• "All the Beauty and the Bloodshed" Laura Poitras, Howard Gertler, John Lyons, Nan Goldin and Yoni Golijov
• "Fire of Love" Sara Dosa, Shane Boris and Ina Fichman
• "A House Made of Splinters" Simon Lereng Wilmont and Monica Hellström
• "Navalny" Daniel Roher, Odessa Rae, Diane Becker, Melanie Miller and Shane Boris

 

Best documentary short subject

• "The Elephant Whisperers" Kartiki Gonsalves and Guneet Monga
• "Haulout" Evgenia Arbugaeva and Maxim Arbugaev
• "How Do You Measure a Year?" Jay Rosenblatt
• "The Martha Mitchell Effect" Anne Alvergue and Beth Levison
• "Stranger at the Gate" Joshua Seftel and Conall Jones

 

Achievement in film editing

• "The Banshees of Inisherin" Mikkel E.G. Nielsen
• "Elvis" Matt Villa and Jonathan Redmond
• "Everything Everywhere All at Once" Paul Rogers
• "Tár" Monika Willi
• "Top Gun: Maverick" Eddie Hamilton

 

Best international feature film of the year

• "All Quiet on the Western Front" Germany
• "Argentina, 1985" Argentina
• "Close" Belgium
• "EO" Poland
• "The Quiet Girl" Ireland

 

Achievement in makeup and hairstyling

• "All Quiet on the Western Front" Heike Merker and Linda Eisenhamerová
• "The Batman" Naomi Donne, Mike Marino and Mike Fontaine
• "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" Camille Friend and Joel Harlow
• "Elvis" Mark Coulier, Jason Baird and Aldo Signoretti
• "The Whale" Adrien Morot, Judy Chin and Anne Marie Bradley

 

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)

• "All Quiet on the Western Front" Volker Bertelmann
• "Babylon" Justin Hurwitz
• "The Banshees of Inisherin" Carter Burwell
• "Everything Everywhere All at Once" Son Lux
• "The Fabelmans" John Williams

 

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)

• "Applause" from "Tell It like a Woman"
  Music and Lyric by Diane Warren
• "Hold My Hand" from "Top Gun: Maverick"
  Music and Lyric by Lady Gaga and BloodPop
• "Lift Me Up" from "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever"
  Music by Tems, Rihanna, Ryan Coogler and Ludwig Goransson; Lyric by Tems and Ryan Coogler
• "Naatu Naatu" from "RRR"
  Music by M.M. Keeravaani; Lyric by Chandrabose
• "This Is A Life" from "Everything Everywhere All at Once"
  Music by Ryan Lott, David Byrne and Mitski; Lyric by Ryan Lott and David Byrne

 

Best motion picture of the year

• "All Quiet on the Western Front" Malte Grunert, Producer
• "Avatar: The Way of Water" James Cameron and Jon Landau, Producers
• "The Banshees of Inisherin" Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin and Martin McDonagh, Producers
• "Elvis" Baz Luhrmann, Catherine Martin, Gail Berman, Patrick McCormick and Schuyler Weiss, Producers
• "Everything Everywhere All at Once" Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert and Jonathan Wang, Producers
• "The Fabelmans" Kristie Macosko Krieger, Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner, Producers
• "Tá"r Todd Field, Alexandra Milchan and Scott Lambert, Producers
• "Top Gun: Maverick" Tom Cruise, Christopher McQuarrie, David Ellison and Jerry Bruckheimer, Producers
• "Triangle of Sadness" Erik Hemmendorff and Philippe Bober, Producers
• "Women Talking" Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner and Frances McDormand, Producers

 

Achievement in production design

• "All Quiet on the Western Front" Production Design: Christian M. Goldbeck; Set Decoration: Ernestine Hipper
• "Avatar: The Way of Water" Production Design: Dylan Cole and Ben Procter; Set Decoration: Vanessa Cole
• "Babylon" Production Design: Florencia Martin; Set Decoration: Anthony Carlino
• "Elvis" Production Design: Catherine Martin and Karen Murphy; Set Decoration: Bev Dunn
• "The Fabelmans" Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Karen O'Hara

 

Best animated short film

• "The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse" Charlie Mackesy and Matthew Freud
• "The Flying Sailor" Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby
• "Ice Merchants" João Gonzalez and Bruno Caetano
• "My Year of Dicks" Sara Gunnarsdóttir and Pamela Ribon
• "An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe It" Lachlan Pendragon

 

Best live action short film

• "An Irish Goodbye" Tom Berkeley and Ross White
• "Ivalu" Anders Walter and Rebecca Pruzan
• "Le Pupille" Alice Rohrwacher and Alfonso Cuarón
• "Night Ride" Eirik Tveiten and Gaute Lid Larssen
• "The Red Suitcase" Cyrus Neshvad

 

Achievement in sound

• "All Quiet on the Western Front" Viktor Prášil, Frank Kruse, Markus Stemler, Lars Ginzel and Stefan Korte
• "Avatar: The Way of Water" Julian Howarth, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Dick Bernstein, Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers and Michael Hedges
• "The Batman" Stuart Wilson, William Files, Douglas Murray and Andy Nelson
• "Elvis" David Lee, Wayne Pashley, Andy Nelson and Michael Keller
• "Top Gun: Maverick" Mark Weingarten, James H. Mather, Al Nelson, Chris Burdon and Mark Taylor

 

Achievement in visual effects

• "All Quiet on the Western Front" Frank Petzold, Viktor Müller, Markus Frank and Kamil Jafar
• "Avatar: The Way of Water" Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett
• "The Batman" Dan Lemmon, Russell Earl, Anders Langlands and Dominic Tuohy
• "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" Geoffrey Baumann, Craig Hammack, R. Christopher White and Dan Sudick
• "Top Gun: Maverick" Ryan Tudhope, Seth Hill, Bryan Litson and Scott R. Fisher

 

Adapted screenplay

• "All Quiet on the Western Front" Screenplay by Edward Berger, Lesley Paterson & Ian Stokell
• "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery" Written by Rian Johnson
• "Living" Written by Kazuo Ishiguro
• "Top Gun: Maverick" Screenplay by Ehren Kruger and Eric Warren Singer and Christopher McQuarrie; Story by Peter Craig and Justin Marks
• "Women Talking" Screenplay by Sarah Polley

 

Original screenplay

• "The Banshees of Inisherin" Written by Martin McDonagh
• "Everything Everywhere All at Once" Written by Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert
• "The Fabelmans" Written by Steven Spielberg & Tony Kushner
• "Tár" Written by Todd Field
• "Triangle of Sadness" Written by Ruben Östlund

The 95th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 12, 2023, at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood and will be televised live on ABC and in more than 200 territories worldwide. Hosted by Jimmy Kimmel!

95th Oscar Nominations LIVE stream

 Award Season is running strong and the 95th Academy Awards are right around the corner. Tomorrow morning Oscar winner Riz Ahmed and actress Allison Williams will announce the nominees for the 95th Oscars LIVE from The Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. (VIDEO PLAYER BELOW)

As usual we will provide a live stream of the nominations starting at 5:30AM. There will be two nomination sections as there has been the past several years with the second session starting at 5:41AM. Here is the schedule for the category announcements: 

5:30 a.m. PST

(Not listed in order of presentation and subject to change)
Actor in a Supporting Role 
Actress in a Supporting Role 
Animated Feature Film 
Animated Short Film 
Costume Design 
Live Action Short Film
Makeup and Hairstyling 
Music (Original Score) 
Sound
Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
Writing (Original Screenplay)

5:41 a.m. PST
(Not listed in order of presentation and subject to change)

Actor in a Leading Role 
Actress in a Leading Role 
Cinematography 
Directing 
Documentary Feature Film 
Documentary Short Film 
Film Editing
International Feature Film 
Music (Original Song) 
Best Picture
Production Design 
Visual Effects

Stay tuned following the announcements for the complete list of nominees

Sundance Film Festival Coverage - DAY 5

 Day 5 of the Sundance Film Festival is here!

Today we have a lot of Horror Features planned and more short films today too! 

Our first movie on the slate today: Run Rabbit Run

Holy shit! This film had me on the edge of my sear. An absolute horror/thriller gem! 

Dana Reid did such a brilliant job directing and pulling out such incredibly performances from Sarah Snook (Succession) and Lily Latorre. Hannah Kent wrote such a creepy, terrifying script. This is a must see film. One of my favorites of the festival so far!

Next up: "Air Hostess - 737

This was an incredibly strange short film that ended up working in the end. 

For me, the editing in this film is the unsung hero. While most of the air hostesses spiral is a misdirect until the final few minutes of this 16 minute film, the editors sharp cuts keep you reeling from moment to moment, and keeps you eager to see what keeps snapping us back to reality. 

Next up: "Magazine Dreams"

This movie is a heavy one. While there are some minor pacing issues, you feel every single emotion and every beat of the brutal nature of this film. 

While "Magazine Dreams" may fly under the radar long term, Jonathan Majors delivers a masterclass in acting that personally I think could earn him an Oscar nomination next year IF he's giving the chance for the film to be seen. Absolutely mind blowing performance. 

Next up: Birth/Rebirth

Interesting film, but definitely not a horror as it's labeled. Much more of a sci-fi thriller. 

This film took a lot of creativity to essentially give a while new spin on the idea put forth in Reanimator, but it was really slow and just didn't pay off for me in the end. Still an interesting watch. I believe you'll be able to find it on Shudder soon.