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Aaron's Sundance 2012 Journal: Day 2[teaser]People up here are much more talkative than, I assume, they normally are. It's just the environment of the festival that brings it out of them. They're ready and willing to share any experiences or advice they have with perfect strangers, although sometimes, the discussion really is unwarranted...[/teaser] I started off my morning waiting for the bus into town. Since it wasn't going to be by for another 30 minutes or so I decided to walk across the street to the local Starbucks. At least wait in someplace warm, right? It's around 7:30 in the morning and I'm sitting at my table half asleep and not really paying attention to everyone around me. Suddenly this man sitting on the couch in front of me does a complete 180 to stare me down. He then launches into a stream of expletives about this horribly written article he's just read in the newspaper. "Can you believe it?!" he said, and then he went on to tell me how incensed he was that the writer in the newspaper commented on the Elizabeth Smart wedding by saying that the affair wouldn't rival that of the royal wedding a few months ago. Surprised, I nodded my head and chuckled. Then the guy ended with, "I don't normally read the Tribune. I read the New York Times." The great thing is that the polite, helpful, and friendly people outnumber the cranky self-privileged up here. I know it's hard to believe after seeing all the reports about parties and celebrity watching up here, but what you don't hear about on the entertainment news is that many of the people that travel up to Sundance are just looking to take in a few great movies. I was still laughing about the guy in Starbucks when I met two very nice ladies at the bus stop. They were waiting for the same bus I was. They asked me if I ski, since I'm from Utah. They were surprised when I answered no. I think this is akin to asking everyone in California if they surf. One of the ladies was a curator for the film portion of a museum in Connecticut. These are the kind of people I love talking to at the festival. They want to know what you've seen and what you've liked, especially when they find out you're a critic. My first movie of the day was entitled 'Celeste and Jesse Forever.' I met up with resident HDD reviewer Luke Hickman who had no idea that he actually had to have a hard ticket to the movie. After seeing our press badges they let us in through a door around the corner, away from the general public. I don't know if they were supposed to do that, but they did. We had another friend from Utah with us, Blogcritics.org writer Brooks Bird. He didn't have a hard ticket either. Luke walked in, they looked at his press badge and let him in. I gave them my ticket and they let me in. As we walked in to find seats we noticed Brooks wasn't behind us. He'd been stopped because he had a ticket, whereas Luke had snuck his way in. We still don't know how it all worked out, but it made for a good laugh. Brooks had to run outside and procure a ticket from the movie's publicist waiting outside. We sat front row for the screening. The front row in the Eccles theater is great, because the screen is pushed back on the stage just enough that you don't have to crank your head straight up to see. Also, when you're in the front row you're dead center for the question and answer session that follows the movie. The entire cast, minus Emma Roberts, was there to talk about the movie. Andy Samberg hammed it up most of the time. Elijah Wood was asked where he "channeled his gay" from, which made him laugh to the point that it was hard for him to answer the question. Rashida Jones talked about her process in writing the movie and how much she cares about it and how they shot the entire movie in 22 days. All in all, a great little Q&A session. Once we walked outside we found out that Snowpocalypse had arrived in Park City. The snow was coming down hard and fast. It didn't stop. Park City would soon be buried in over a foot of snow. Good thing I spent most of my time in warm theaters. However, a personal emergency arose when my wife, who was coming up to visit me, had slipped off the road in her car. She's okay now, and was helped back onto the road, but it was a trying few hours. I was stuck about an hour away from her and couldn't do anything for her. Much of the rest of the day was uneventful in the way of stories or anecdotes. I went to see 'The Pact' which is an absolutely laughable, and utterly terrible horror film that was crafted from a short film that played at the festival last year. The short film, while rough, was much more subtle and worked much better than this full-length hilarious atrocity. Then it was on to 'The Raid.' Wow! Just wow! Now that's a movie. Everything you've been expecting and hoping about 'The Raid' is true. It's a symphony of punching, kicking, head-butting, shooting, stabbing, and ax chopping. It's 100 minutes of pure unfiltered awesome. The premise is just like a video game. There's a crime lord at the top of an apartment building, only the entire complex is full of thugs, criminals, and murderers all beholden to their criminal landlord. So this swat team must fight their way through every floor in order to get to the boss man. It's unlike anything you've ever seen. It's one of those movies where you're flabbergasted while watching it because you have no idea how they filmed this without actually hurting, maiming, or even killing some people. It's completely and utterly insane. It's everything I'd thought it would be. I finished off the night with 'Filly Brown' starring Lou Diamond Phillips. It's a sleep-inducing Lifetime movie of the week only with more swearing. Blech. It was time to head back to my car that was parked at a Park and Ride in the adjacent town. After I got off the bus I noticed that my car had been buried in about a foot and a half of snow. I left it there and a relative picked me up. Snowpocalypse ate my car. Day 3 is chock-full of movies once again. I think I'm going to end up skipping my 10:00am screening of 'The End of Love' because I need sleep, desperately. The first movie I hit up will be a teen comedy called 'The First Time' followed up by a supernatural thriller starring Cillian Murphy and Robert De Niro called 'Red Lights.' Later that night I'll catch Stephen Frears' new film 'Lay the Favorite' and then cap off the night with a late showing of 'Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap.' It's only been two full days, but I feel like I've been here for 10. I wouldn't have it any other way.Posted Mon Jan 23, 2012 at 02:00 PM PST by: -
Aaron's Sundance 2012 Journal: Day 1by Aaron Peck Today I got up bright and early, 6:00 am to be exact, and packed up my car for the short two-hour drive from my home in Logan to Park City. Being a local is nice. No airplanes, taxis, or hotels to deal with. I’m simply here for the movies and that’s it. So begins my fourth year at the Sundance Film Festival. [teaser]These daily journals of my festival experience have less to do with movies and more to do with the goings-on of a film festival like Sundance. Yes, I will be discussing my thoughts on some of the movies here (but for more in-depth film analysis check out my individual reviews on The Bonus View), but I’d like to take you on a journey with me through the festival.[/teaser] Nine complete days of movies requires a lot more than just standing in lines – although that’s a big part. There’s a certain spirit at a festival like Sundance. A love of film and stories that doesn’t exist in your normal everyday theater. The people here are actually excited to view films that not many people will end up seeing. Sure, some films will be bought and distributed, but compared to the ‘Transformers’ of the world, their audiences will still end up being miniscule. Even the movies that gain traction and notoriety at the festival will come out of it and still get relatively limited releases. Still, the journey of finding and seeing new films is an enjoyable one. At a festival like Sundance you get to see films before they’ve been touched by marketers or studios. These are full, unaltered cuts. These are the exact movies, for better or worse, which the directors intended you to see. Those are the main reasons I keep coming back to the festival. There’s just something about being around groups of honest-to-goodness film lovers that makes watching unknown movies that much better. I got to Kimball Junction (a city just outside of Park City) at around 8:20 am and boarded my first bus to travel into Park City. If you ever find yourself in Park City during the festival you’ll be amazed by the bus drivers. I always am. Park City has a city-wide free bus service and the drivers couldn’t be nicer. You’d think that they’d get mad being asked the same questions over and over by out-of-towners, but they’re always courteous and polite. They never get enough credit as far as I’m concerned. On the second bus I boarded, as I was heading over to claim my credentials from the Festival Headquarters, one of the bus drivers noticed my Utah State University beanie and launched into a conversation about going to the same school. That’s the way it is around here, if you stay off Main Street where all the celebrity hype is, you’ll meet some of the nicest people ever. Festival Headquarters was abuzz with all sorts of journalists, volunteers, and people lugging around boxes of sponsor booze. With my credentials finally in hand I headed over to the Press Ticketing Station where press members can request tickets to public screenings. I had my heart set on seeing the premiere of ‘Your Sister’s Sister’ (starring Emily Blunt, written by Mark Duplass) tonight, but premieres are usually hard to get into. However, with a bit of luck I was able to secure a ticket to tonight’s premiere without any hassle. I also got a ticket for the 9:00am screening of ‘Celeste and Jesse Forever’ (starring Andy Samberg and Rashida Jones). I hadn’t even seen my first film yet when I decided to switch up my schedule and catch the documentary ‘The Ambassador’ instead of ‘This Must Be the Place’ (starring Sean Penn). I made the decision based primarily on the fact that I thought fellow HDD writer Luke Hickman would be there. Was he? No. He ditched out on even coming up to the festival today. Guess he couldn’t handle it or something. I immediately regretted my decision to switch movies because ‘The Ambassador’ a story about a Danish journalist who pays a lot of money to become a Liberian diplomat, turned out to be a road to nowhere. That’s the nature of the festival though. Sometimes you switch up your plans and it works out, and sometimes you sit through 90 minutes of “I wish I had that time back," – actress Brie Larson just walked by while I was writing this part of the journal. After 'The Ambassador' it was onto a deeply frustrating, but very good documentary called 'The Queen of Versailles.' Billionaires whining because they lost all their money and they couldn't finish their 90,000-square-foot home. It was disgusting and fascinating all at the same time. Finally, it was on to the last stop of the day the premiere of 'Your Sister's Sister' starring Emily Blunt, Mark Duplass, and Rosemarie DeWitt. While sitting in line I started chatting with a woman next to me who wanted to know the movies I'd already seen. This is what's great about Sundance (and probably any film festival for that matter). Strangers will talk to you in line and suddenly you're embroiled in deep conversations about film. It's completely unique to the film festival experience. While we were waiting in line actress Malin Akerman walked up beside us. People swarmed her for pictures. She obliged. From there the entire screening was full of notable faces. I spotted Ron Livingston in a breezeway as we were ushered to our seats. Andie McDowell walked in after I'd found my seat and sat two rows directly behind me, and may I say, she smelled amazing. The stars from the movie came in next. Emily Blunt walked in, right past me and found a seat about three rows behind me as did Mark Duplass and Rosemarie DeWitt. Quite possibly my favorite thing about Sundance is the question and answer sessions after the movies are over. The entire cast and crew get up and the audience lobs questions to them. From here we found out that the great little character piece 'Your Sister's Sister' was largely improvised – only about 20 percent was actually scripted. They shot the movie in a little under two weeks. Four hours after meeting each other Duplass and DeWitt filmed a sex scene and a very intimate drunken conversation together. This was one of the more informational and interesting Q&As I've ever been to. It's events like this that really set the film festival experience apart from plain old movie-going. I finally caught a bus back to where I'm staying and wrote reviews into the wee hours of the morning only to get up at 6:00am tomorrow and do it all over again. I'm planning on seeing a new comedy starring Andy Samberg and Rashida Jones called 'Celeste and Jesse Forever'; a fledgling horror film called 'The Pact'; a coming-of-age drama about a young hip-hop artist in L.A. called 'Filly Brown'; and my most anticipated movie of the festival, 'The Raid.' Make sure to join me for Day 2!Posted Mon Jan 23, 2012 at 01:25 PM PST by: -
'American Pie,' 'American Pie 2,' and 'American Wedding' Blu-rays Detailed[teaser]The trio of raunchy comedies coming to Blu-ray in March has now been fully detailed. [/teaser] As previously reported, Universal is working on 'American Pie,' 'American Pie 2,' and 'American Wedding' for a Blu-ray release on March 13. All three boundary-pushing comedies starring Jason Biggs, Seann William Scott, and Eugene Levy currently hold at least a 6 star rating on IMDb.com. The Blu-ray/DVD/Digital Copy combo packs will feature 1080p video, DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtracks, and supplements for 'American Pie' will include Spotlight on Location featurette; Commentary with director Paul Weitz, producer Chris Weitz, writer Adam Herz, and cast members Eddie Kaye Thomas, Jason Biggs, & Seann William Scott; Universal Records soundtrack presentation; and Classic Quotes. 'American Pie 2' will include The Baking of American Pie 2; Good Times with Cast and Crew; Four audio commentaries: - Director J.B. Rogers; Writer Adam Herz; Cast members Jason Biggs, Mena Suvari, and Thomas Ian Nicholas; and Cast member Eddie Kaye Thomas; Original casting tapes from American Pie; and 3 Doors Down "Be Like That" music video. 'American Wedding' includes Stifler Speak; Two audio commentaries: - Director Jesse Dylan and Seann William Scott; Jason Biggs, Alyson Hannigan, Eddie Kaye Thomas, and Thomas Ian Nicholas; Enter the Dominatrix: Inside the Bachelor Party; Grooming the Groom; Cheesy Wedding Video; and Nikki's Hollywood Journal. Suggested list price for each Blu-ray is $19.98. You can find the latest specs for 'American Pie,' 'American Pie 2,' and 'American Wedding' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where they're indexed under March 13.Posted Mon Jan 23, 2012 at 12:00 PM PST by: -
TiVo Premieres Get Multi-Room Streaming and More in New Update[teaser]You'll also find user interface tweaks and search improvements across the board. [/teaser] Some lucky users have had the latest update to the TiVo Premiere for a while, but they can't lord it over you anymore - the update has gone live for all TiVo users. Update 20.2 brings plenty to the table for Premiere, Premiere XL and Premiere Elite boxes, but first and foremost is a nice facelift. Both the Grid Guide and Live Guide are finally in HD. They now also feature a picture-in-picture view of the show you're watching in the upper right hand corner. Search has also been improved and now includes selections from Netflix, Amazon, Blockbuster and Hulu Plus. The really big news though is the option of multi-room streaming, which TiVo doesn't really highlight as much as they should. If you have two Premiere boxes on the same network, you can stream a show directly from one to the other - no need to transfer. Source: EngadgetPosted Mon Jan 23, 2012 at 11:00 AM PST by: -
'The Human Centipede 2: Full Sequence' Announced for Blu-ray[teaser]The sequel to the independent horror film (in which you definitely don't want to be the monkey in the middle) is coming to Blu-ray on Valentine's Day! [/teaser] In an early announcement to retailers, MPI Independent Films has revealed 'The Human Centipede 2: Full Sequence' is coming to Blu-ray on February 14. Nate Boss' review for the first sequence can be viewed here. The Blu-ray will feature 1080p video, a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack, and supplements include: Commentary with Tom Six and Laurence R. Harvey; Interview with Tom Six; 3 Featurettes (Set Tour of Warehouse, Foley Sound Effects, and Making the Poster); and Deleted Scenes. Suggested price for the Blu-ray is $29.98. You can find the latest specs for 'The Human Centipede 2: Full Sequence' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under February 14.Posted Mon Jan 23, 2012 at 10:00 AM PST by: -
Time Warner Cable - Now Streaming to Your iPhone[teaser]The company has finally rounded out its mobile apps to include the iPhone. [/teaser] When creating mobile apps, companies have an order that they tend to stick with. it comes out for the iPhone, then Android phones and then the iPad. Sometimes it gets switched around, but the iPhone is almost always the first. Time Warner Cable, as it turns out, does things differently. TWC TV, Time Warner's streaming app, is finally available on the iPhone, ten months after the same app was released on the iPad. Downloading it to your phone will allow you to manage your DVR, search through programming and, of course, watch TV on your phone. There's no word from Time Warner on when the Android version of the app will be updated to include live streaming. Source: EndgadgetPosted Mon Jan 23, 2012 at 09:00 AM PST by: -
'Kate and Leopold' & 'Bounce' Announced for Blu-ray[teaser]Two catalog Miramax romantic comedies are coming to Blu-ray in April. [/teaser] In an early announcement to retailers, Lionsgate says 'Kate and Leopold' and 'Bounce' will hit Blu-ray on April 10. 'Kate & Leopold: Director's Cut' - Hollywood mega-talents Meg Ryan ('You've Got Mail') and Hugh Jackman (the 'X-Men' trilogy) star in this romantic comedy about a modern 21st century woman who falls for a dashing 19th century man. Co-written and directed by James Mangold ('Walk the Line'), the film also stars Liev Schreiber ('X-Men Origins: Wolverine') and Breckin Meyer (TV's "Franklin & Bash"). The film's theme song, Sting's "Until," received an Oscar® nod for Best Original Song (2001). The Blu-ray premiere includes audio commentary with Mangold, deleted scenes with commentary, a behind-the-scenes featurette, a costume featurette and a photo gallery. Two strangers find love amidst unusual circumstances in 'Bounce.'' Oscar® winners Gwyneth Paltrow (Best Actress in a Leading Role, 'Shakespeare in Love,' 1998) and Ben Affleck (Best Original Screenplay, 'Good Will Hunting,' 1997) create sparks in their onscreen pairing. Written and directed by Don Roos ("Happy Endings"), the romantic drama also stars Natasha Henstridge ('The Whole Nine Yards'), Tony Goldwyn ('Ghost') and Jennifer Grey ('Dirty Dancing'). The Blu-ray premiere also includes audio commentary with the writer/director and producer, scene-specific commentary with Roos, Affleck and Paltrow, deleted scenes with commentary, a gag reel, a music video and behind-the-scenes and "making of" featurettes. Suggested list price for each Blu-ray is $14.99. You can find the latest specs for 'Kate and Leopold' and 'Bounce' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where they're indexed under April 10.Posted Mon Jan 23, 2012 at 08:00 AM PST by: -
Save $5 on 'Real Steel' on Blu-ray[teaser]Print out a $5 off coupon for the robotic boxing underdog story on Blu-ray/DVD/Digital Copy Combo Pack! [/teaser] Today we have another coupon to save $5 'Real Steel' available on Blu-ray this week. The #1 movie in the country for two consecutive weeks during its theatrical run, 'Real Steel' is directed by Shawn Levy ('Night At the Museum' franchise, 'Date Night' and 'What Happens in Vegas'), produced by Steven Spielberg ('Saving Private Ryan,' 'Schindler's List'), with a screenplay by John Gatins ('Coach Carter,' 'Summer Catch'). Set in the not-so-distant future where boxing has gone high-tech and 2000-pound, 8-foot-tall steel robots have taken over the ring, the film stars Hugh Jackman ('X-Men' franchise, 'Australia') as Charlie Kenton, Evangeline Lilly (TV’s Lost, 'The Hurt Locker') as Bailey Tallet, Dakota Goyo ('Thor') as Max Kenton, Kevin Durand ('I Am Number Four,' 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine') as Ricky, and Anthony Mackie ('The Adjustment Bureau,' 'The Hurt Locker') as Finn. Simply visit this page to print out your coupon from the Steel Gets Real website. This coupon is valid in the United States and Canada only and the offer is valid from the release date through January 29.Posted Mon Jan 23, 2012 at 07:00 AM PST by: -
'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)' Blu-ray Announced and Detailed[teaser]David Fincher's remake of the first entry in Stieg Larsson's 'Millennium Trilogy' is coming to Blu-ray in March. [/teaser] In an early announcement to retailers, Sony is bringing 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)' to Blu-ray on March 20. The film that follows journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig), aided in his search for a woman who has been missing for forty years by a young hacker named Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mooney), was recently nominated for two Golden Globes: Best Actress - Drama (Rooney Mara) and Best Original Score (Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross). The Blu-ray will feature 1080p video, a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack, and the only supplement appears to be a commentary by David Fincher. Suggested list price for the Blu-ray is still undetermined at this time. You can find the latest specs for 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under March 20.Posted Mon Jan 23, 2012 at 06:00 AM PST by: -
Bonus View Digest - January 20, 2012We've had another very eventful week at The Bonus View. We had dozens of readers show up for our second annual Golden Globes Live-Blog, which was a great success. There were a ton of contests, and people walked away with brand new Blu-rays to add to their collections just for joining in on the chat! If you didn't get in on this Live-Blog we'll be doing another one when the Oscars roll around, so stay tuned! We'll have just as many contests and we hope to see just as many of you there with us. [teaser]This week was shortened by the holiday weekend, so instead of making our way through our normal format of specific categories, I'd instead like to direct your attention to a few of my favorite posts this week.[/teaser] This week was full of mid-season TV premieres, so we've got a few series premiere recaps for you to enjoy. Want to know if 'Alcatraz' or 'The Finder' are worth your time investment, then check out their respective premiere recaps from Aaron and Josh. This week's most commented on post was the Weekend Roundtable where we all took turns discussing our worst theatrical experiences. Whether it is talkers, texters, or annoying teenagers, everyone weighed in on what was their worst experience at the cinema. Need a place to vent about a terrible movie-going experience; this is the place for you. Join in on the comment section and share it with us, believe me, it helps. The Sundance Film Festival swings into full gear this week and Aaron and Luke will be there taking it all in. To kick off Aaron's Sundance coverage he posted a detailed listing of all the films he plans on seeing. Can he actually see the 30-plus films he's planning on before burning out? Follow along with the coverage to find out. This week we actually had a book review from DVDTalk reviewer Adam Tyner. Check out his review of 'The Hammer Vault.' E continued updating us on his HTPC progress with Part 3 of revamping his home theater system. That's what happened this week on The Bonus View. We want to thank you again for making our Golden Globes Live-Blog a huge success. Have a great weekend everyone!Posted Fri Jan 20, 2012 at 11:00 AM PST by:
