| 1 | Lay the Favorite | Premiere | True Story | Funny, accessible |
| 2 | Nobody Walks | US Dramatic | smart, rigorously composed, sexual intensity | |
| 3 | Wish You Were Here | World Dramatic | Flash forwards/backwards | Polished, fast moving, thrilleresque |
| 4 | Bachelorette | Premiere | Outrageous comedy | Insanity ensues, Ballsy performance by Kirsten Dunst |
| 5 | Arbitrage | Premiere | Financial thriller | Great cast, I’ll see anything with Brit Marling |
| 6 | Red Lights | Premiere | Made “Buried” | Intense ride. “One of the biggest in the festival” |
| 7 | Celeste and Jesse Forever | Premiere | Trevor top 4 | Fresh Perspective on relationship comedy. Rashida wrote, Adam Samberg good |
| 8 | For a Good Time Call | Premiere | Love story, buddy story | Seth Rogen’s wife |
| 9 | Chasing Ice | US Doc | Visually Sumptuous | Must bee seen on big screen, cold only be shown as a film |
| 10 | Safety Not Guaranteed | US Dramatic | TT4 | Funny romcom, Aubrey Plaza hilarious. |
| 11 | The Ambassador | World Doc | In on the joke so not too heavy | Hypocrisy of the world diplomatic core and the rape of Africa by the West. |
| 12 | GOATS | Premiere | Good Cast | |
| 13 | Price Check | Premiere | Parker Posey – great role | don’t miss |
| 14 | Filly Brown | US Dramatic | ||
| 15 | Hello I Must Be Going | US Dramatic | Trevor top 4 | Rediscovers he lust for life. Will launch Malanie Lynskey’s career, remarkable performance. |
| 16 | The Surrogate | US Dramatic | Trevor top 4 | Humor-tinged romance |
| 17 | Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie | Midnight | Funny or Die’s first feature | Same guys as The Terries? |
| 18 | House I Live in | US Doc | R’s Top 3 | Blemish on the should of America, heart wrenching |
| 19 | Beasts in the Southern Wild | US Dramatic | Trevor top 4 | Weird, original |
| 20 | Shadow Dancer | Premiere | Taught thriller | |
| 21 | The Imposter | World Doc | Where is the truth? | Keeps you guessing |
| 22 | Black Rock | Midnight | Stay up for it” | |
| 23 | Searching for Sugar Man | US Doc | R’s Top 3 | Predicted to win the audience award. Grab audiences |
| 24 | Queen of Versailles | US Doc | R’s Top 3 | Cultural critique of USA, Delicious |
| 25 | 5 Broken Cameras | World Doc | Moving, gorgeous, work of art, outrageous | |
| 26 | Robot and Frank | Premiere | ||
| 27 | 2 Days in NY | Premiere | ||
| 28 | Pursuit of Loneliness | NEXT | B&W | No other film like it. Naturalistic, conceptual |
| 29 | Red Hook Summer | Premiere | Spike Lee | Back to his roots – made with his NYU students. Shocking, big, dramatic turn |
| 30 | Declaration of War | Spotlight | Not the movie you have in your head |
Sundance Picks Top 30 List
Sundance
Comments Off
Jan 162012
Jan 132012
 |
|
| TITLE | Lay the Favorite |
| LOGLINE | A dramedy centered on a thirtysomething woman who becomes involved with a group of geeky fiftyish men who have found a way to work the sportsbook system in Las Vegas to their advantage. |
| PROGRAMMER QUOTES | A true story. “Funny, accessible” |
| GARDNER SAYS | Number 1!
No, not because it has the highest Producer to Twitter ratio, because Frears is a f**ing amazing director in charge of a wonderful cast. Plus Laura Prepon and Zeta-Jones are smoking hot and hanging with “geeky fiftyish men.” |
| DIRECTOR | Stephen Frears |
| SCREENWRITERS | D.V. DeVincentis, Beth Raymer (memoir) |
| PRODUCERS | EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS Agnes Mentre, Richard Jackson, Curtis Jackson, Brand Andersen, Brandon Grimes PRODUCERS Anthony Bregman, Randall Emmett, George Furla, D.V. DeVincentis, Paul Trijbits |
| CAST | Rebecca Hall, Bruce Willis, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Joshua Jackson, Laura Prepon |
| IMDB |
Lay the Favorite (2012)Cast: Bruce Willis, Laura Prepon, Catherine Zeta-Jones Director: Stephen Frears Genre: comedy
|
[02] Nobody Walks
Film, Got a Ticket!!!, US Dramatic
Comments Off
Jan 132012
 |
|
| TITLE | Nobody Walks |
| LOGLINE | A family takes in a young artist into their home awakening suppressed impulses in everyone and forcing them to confront their own fears and desires. |
| PROGRAMMER QUOTES | “Smart, rigorously composed, filled with sexual intensity.” |
| GARDNER SAYS | Looks intense. I fear I will be expecting Krasinski to spout “That’s what she said.” |
| DIRECTOR | Ry Russo-Young |
| SCREENWRITERS | Lena Dunham, Ry Russo-Young |
| PRODUCERS | EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS Audrey Wilf, Zygi Wilf PRODUCERS Jonathan Schwartz, Andrea Sperling, Alicia Van Couvering COPRODUCER Warren Fisher |
| CAST | John Krasinski, Olivia Thirlby, Rosemarie DeWitt, Justin Kirk, India Ennenga, Dylan McDermott |
| IMDB |
Nobody Walks (2012)Cast: Jane Levy, John Krasinski, Olivia Thirlby Director: Ry Russo-Young Genre: drama
|
[03] Wish You Were Here
Film, Sundance, World Dramatic
Comments Off
Jan 122012
 |
|
| TITLE | Wish You Were Here [Twitter] |
| SYNOPSIS | Four friends lose themselves in a carefree South-East Asian holiday. Only three come back. Dave and Alice return home to their young family desperate for answers about Jeremy’s mysterious disappearance. When Alice’s sister Steph returns not long after, a nasty secret is revealed about the night her boyfriend went missing. But it is only the first of many. Who amongst them knows what happened on that fateful night when they were dancing under a full moon in Cambodia? |
| PROGRAMMER QUOTES | ”Polished, fast moving, thriller-esque” |
| GARDNER SAYS | Lots of flash forwards and backwards, loved the trailer. |
| DIRECTOR | Kieran Darcy-Smith |
| SCREENWRITERS | Kieran Darcy-Smith, Felicity Price |
| PRODUCERS | Angie Fielder |
| CAST | Joel Edgerton, Teresa Palmer, Felicity Price, Antony Starr |
| IMDB |
Wish You Were Here (2012)Cast: Felicity Price, Joel Edgerton, Teresa Palmer Director: Kieran Darcy-Smith Genre: mystery, drama
|
Jan 122012
 |
|
| TITLE | Bachelorette |
| LOGLINE | Three friends are asked to be bridesmaids at a wedding of a woman they used to ridicule back in high school. |
| PROGRAMMER QUOTES | “Outrageous comedy” “Insanity ensues.” “Ballsy performance by Kirsten Dunst.” |
| GARDNER SAYS | Doubt it will get an Oscar, but I like almost everyone involved in this one. |
| DIRECTOR | Leslye Headland |
| SCREENWRITER | Leslye Headland |
| PRODUCERS | EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS Chris Henchy, Paul Prokop PRODUCERS Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, Jessica Elbaum, Brice Dal Farra, Claude Dal Farra, Lauren Munsch |
| CAST | Kirsten Dunst, Isla Fisher, Lizzy Caplan, James Marsden, Adam Scott, Kyle Bornheimer |
| IMDB | [http://www.imdb.com/title/nm2853516/] |
[05] Arbitrage
Got a Ticket!!!, Premier, Sundance
Comments Off
Jan 112012
 |
|
| TITLE | Arbitrage |
| LOGLINE | A troubled hedge fund magnate desperate to complete the sale of his trading empire makes an error that forces him to turn to an unlikely person for help. |
| PROGRAMMER QUOTES | “Financial thriller.”"Outstanding cast”HOT |
| GARDNER SAYS | After ANOTHER EARTH(My #10 pick and eventual favorite film of Sundance 2010) I will see anything with Brit Marling.I will be going to this one. |
| DIRECTOR | Nicholas Jarecki |
| SCREENWRITERS | Nicholas Jarecki |
| PRODUCERS | EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS Brian Young, Mohammed Al Turki, Stanisław Tyczyński, Ron Curtis PRODUCERS Laura Bickford, Kevin Turen, Justin Nappi, Robert Salerno |
| CAST | Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon, Tim Roth, Brit Marling, Nate Parker, Laetitia Casta |
| IMDB |
Arbitrage (2012)Cast: Richard Gere, Tim Roth, Brit Marling Director: Nicholas Jarecki Genre: thriller, drama
|
[06] Red Lights
Got a Ticket!!!, Premier, Sundance
Comments Off
Jan 112012
 |
|
| TITLE | Red Lights |
| SYNOPSIS | Psychologist Margaret Matheson and her assistant study paranormal activity, which leads them to investigate a world-renowned psychic. |
| PROGRAMMER QUOTES | “Intense ride.” “One of the biggest films in the festival” |
| GARDNER SAYS | My love for paranormal films and fake psychics must be rooted in Scooby Doo.From the director of Sundance acclaimed “Buried”
I will be going to this one. |
| DIRECTOR | Rodrigo Cortés |
| SCREENWRITERS | Rodrigo Cortés |
| PRODUCERS | EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS Cindy Cowan, Lisa Wilson, Irving Cowan PRODUCERS Adrián Guerra, Rodrigo Cortés |
| CAST | Cillian Murphy, Sigourney Weaver, Robert De Niro, Elizabeth Olsen, Toby Jones, Leonardo Sbaraglia. |
| IMDB |
Red Lights (2012)Cast: Robert De Niro, Cillian Murphy, Sigourney Weaver Director: Rodrigo Cortés Genre: thriller
|
 |
|
| TITLE | Celeste and Jesse Forever [Facebook] |
| SYNOPSIS | A divorcing couple tries to maintain their friendship while they both pursue other people. |
| PROGRAMMER QUOTES | “A fresh Perspective on relationship comedy.” “Andy Samberg is very good” |
| GARDNER SAYS | Rashida Jones co-wrote it and she’s always funny. |
| DIRECTOR | Lee Toland Krieger |
| SCREENWRITERS | Rashida Jones, Will McCormack |
| PRODUCERS | EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS Rashida Jones, Will McCormack PRODUCERS Jennifer Todd, Suzanne Todd, Lee Nelson |
| CAST | Rashida Jones, Andy Samberg, Chris Messina, Ari Graynor, Emma Roberts, Elijah Wood |
| IMDB |
Celeste and Jesse Forever (2012)Cast: Emma Roberts, Elijah Wood, Rashida Jones Director: Lee Toland Krieger Genre: drama, comedy
|
[08] For a Good Time Call
Got a Ticket!!!, Premier, Sundance
Comments Off
Jan 102012
 |
|
| TITLE | For a Good Time Call |
| SYNOPSIS | The story of two women who start a phone sex line. |
| PROGRAMMER QUOTES’ | “Love story / buddy story” |
| GARDNER SAYS | This could be great, unless you aren’t a fan of Rogen humor. Lauren Miller (Seth Rogen’s wife) is one of the writers. Sundance veteran Ari Graynor (“ An American Crime,” ”Holy Rollers” and “Celeste and Jesse Forever”) is supposedly great in it too.I’m going Sunday! |
| DIRECTOR | Jamie Travis |
| SCREENWRITER | Katie Anne Naylon, Lauren Anne Miller |
| PRODUCERS | EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS Daniel M. Miller, Ari Graynor PRODUCERS Lauren Anne Miller, Katie Anne Naylon, Jenny Hinkey, Josh Kesselman, Jennifer Weinbaum |
| CAST | Ari Graynor, Lauren Anne Miller, Justin Long, Mark Webber, James Wolk, Nia Vardalos |
| IMDB |
For a Good Time, Call… (2012)Cast: Seth Rogen, Justin Long, Ari Graynor Director: Jamie Travis Genre: comedy
|
[09] Chasing Ice
Got a Ticket!!!, Sundance, US Documentary
Comments Off
Jan 092012
 |
|
| TITLE | Chasing Ice [Facebook] |
| SYNOPSIS | When National Geographic photographer James Balog asked, “How can one take a picture of climate change?” his attention was immediately drawn to ice. Soon he was asked to do a cover story on glaciers that became the most popular and well-read piece in the magazine during the last five years. But for Balog, that story marked the beginning of a much larger and longer-term project that would reach epic proportions. |
| PROGRAMMER QUOTES’ | “Visually Sumptuous” “Must bee seen on big screen.” “Could only be shown as a film.” |
| GARDNER SAYS | Oops, this is my highest rated documentary. From what everyone said, it has to be seen on a big screen. |
| DIRECTOR | Jeff Orlowski |
| SCREENWRITER | Mark Monroe |
| PRODUCERS | PRODUCERS Jeff Orlowski, Paula DuPré Pesmen, Jerry Aronson |
| CAST | |
| IMDB |
|
