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Under discussion:

In Bruges  (2008)

Karina is now in Utah, where she’ll be spending the next week and a half covering the Sundance Film Festival. I’ve stayed behind in New York, as I’ve got other obligations. But just because I’m not at the Festival doesn’t mean I can’t pretend — or at least participate. So, starting today I’m going to be reviewing trailers for movies that will be playing at the festival. As of yet, I haven’t found enough trailers to carry me through next Friday, but with hundreds of movies set to screen in Park City over the next ten days, they have to be around somewhere (feel free to direct my attention to some).

First up is a trailer you may have already seen. It’s been out for at least a month, but I figured it made sense to start with it, since the movie, In Bruges, opens the festival tomorrow night. Plus, I’ve embedded the video that begins with an introduction from Oscar-winning writer-director Martin McDonagh. This way, it feels like you’re really at the Sundance premiere, where movies are almost always introduced by their makers. Of course, here there’s no Q&A afterward, but feel free to direct your questions at the computer screen and imagine McDonagh giving you a reply. Isn’t make believe fun?

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Under discussion:

Momma's Man  (2007)

Yesterday, I made a list of five films amongst Sundance’s four competition slates that I’m particularly excited to see. Today, here’s a look at another film films that I’m looking forward to, culled from the Spectrum, New Frontier, and Park City at Midnight sidebars. This list was MUCH harder to weed down to five, and as you’ll see, I had to cheat a bit. Here we go…

Momma’s Man (Directed by Azazel Jacobs, Spectrum)

Excerpt From the Official Synopsis: “Humorous and poignant, Momma’s Man wrestles with universal themes, but its strength lies in its deeply personal details. Writer/director Azazel Jacobs cast his own parents and shot the film in their apartment, where he grew up.”

Why I???m Interested: Jacobs “own parents” are Flo Jacobs and experimental filmmaker Ken Jacobs; in the film’s press notes, he says he cast his own family because he “couldn’t picture anyone else in their bed, in their kitchen, or in their place (although Peter Falk and Shelly Duval would be in my movie-movie version of it).” If the notion of the guy who made Star Spangled to Death channeling Columbo isn’t enough for you, I don’t know what would be.

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