Estimated read time: 6-7 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
PARK CITY — The Sundance Film Festival is days away from opening, which means you're planning on doing one of two things: run to Park City as fast as you can or stay as far away as possible.
If you're planning on fighting crowds in PC, here are 10 films to try and see. If you are one of the people avoiding the scene, here a 10 films that may push you towards the madness of the film festival instead of away from it.
A.C.O.D. (NR)
In director Stuart Zicherman's comedy "A.C.O.D." Adam Scott stars as the adult son of an ill-behaved, divorced mother and father. Scott decides to try and negotiate a truce between his parents before his younger brother's wedding.
Scott has caught my attention with his stellar work in "Park and Recreation" and he's supported with a solid cast. Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Richard Jenkins, Catherine O'Hara, Jessica Alba and Scott's "Park and Rec" co-star Amy Poehler also star in the film.
Austenland (NR)
Jerusha Hess co-wrote "Napoleon Dynamite," "Nacho Libre" and "Gentleman Broncos" with her husband Jared Hess. She is now going out on her own with her directorial debut "Austenland."
The film, based on the novel of the same name, follows Jane Hayes (Keri Russell) who, because of her obsession with the BBC production of "Pride and Prejudice," feels she cannot find the perfect gentleman. In an effort to find her Mr. Darcy Jane travels to a Jane Austen theme park where she's surrounded by like-minded Austen fans.
It will be interesting to see what Hess does without her husband and if the dry, off-beat humor of "Dynamite" and "Libre" will be present in the romantic comedy.
The East (PG-13)
Zal Batmanglij's follow-up to his surprise hit "Sound of My Voice" is "The East" and it's premiering at Sundance.
"The East" is centered on an ex-FBI agent, Sarah Moss (Brit Marling), who has been hired to infiltrate a mysterious anarchist collective.
If "The East" is anything like "The Sound of My Voice" it will be a well-paced thriller that keeps you tense the whole way through. What's nerve-racking is that "The East" is surprisingly similar to "The Sound of My Voice" from the description.
We'll have to wait and see the direction Batmanglij takes the film.
jOBS (NR)
This one may just be morbid curiosity, but none-the-less, the curiosity will get the better of me.
"jOBS" is the story of college dropout, Steve Jobs, who started a tech revolution in his parents' garage. The biopic is said to focus more on a younger Steve Jobs and the birth of Apple Computers.
While a film about Jobs sounds like a slam-dunk, Ashton Kutcher is playing the late computer-giant and that's a question mark. Kutcher hasn't always been credited for his acting chops, but he could very well surprise us and that's what makes "jOBS" so intriguing.
Kill Your Darlings (NR)
"Kill Your Darlings" is the true story of a young Allen Ginsberg, Lucien Carr and Jack Kerouac. These "boys" were credited with creating the "Beat" movement and the film focuses primarily on Carr murdering David Kammerer and how it affected the group.
The movie will be intense and probably hard to watch at times, but with a cast including Daniel Radcliffe, Dane DeHaan, Ben Foster and Michael C. Hall it's hard to ignore.
Manhunt (NR)
"Manhunt" is a documentary of a team of mostly female CIA analysts who are credited with finding Osama bin Laden.
It will be interesting to contrast "Manhunt" with the recently released film "Zero Dark Thirty" which is also about the search for bin Laden and received five Oscar nominations including Best Picture.
Mud (PG-13)
"Mud" comes from the director of former Sundance darling "Take Shelter." This new film stars Matthew McConaughey as the charismatic outlaw Mud.
Two young boys stumble upon Mud who quickly takes to the boys and recruits them to his cause.
"Take Shelter" was a powerful and different film and many are hoping for the same thing from "Mud." Also, when given the right material McConaughey can be fantastic and this seems like one of those moments.
Prince Avalanche (NR)
David Gordon Green, the director of studio comedies like "The Sitter" and "Pineapple Express" now has an indie film premiering at Sundance.
"Prince Avalanche" stars Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch as Alvin and Lance. The two leave the city for the summer to repaint traffic lines down the center of a country highway ravaged by a wildfire.
Rudd has proven himself as a solid comedic actor, even if some of his films fall short, and it will be interesting to see what Green does with the material.
Sound City (NR)
"Sound City" is a documentary directed by The Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl. The film tells the story of the fabled recording studio Sound City.
Sound City eventually fell victim to digital recording, but not before a myriad of iconic musicians fell in love with its historic walls.
In addition to a great soundtrack, "Sound City," has appearances from artists like Stevie Nicks, Neil Young, Tom Petty, Trent Reznor, Rick Springfield and Paul McCartney, among others.
The Way, Way Back (NR)
"The Way, Way Back" tells the story of a 14-year-old boy's summer vacation with his mom and her overbearing boyfriend. While the boy struggles to fit in with his own family he finds an odd mentor in a carefree employee at a local waterpark.
Two of the writers of "The Descendants" wrote and directed "The Way, Way Back" and it stars Steve Carell, Sam Rockwell, Maya Rudolph and AnnaSophia Robb.
With a solid cast and the writing team from the Academy Award winning "Descendants" this film has a lot of potential.
Do any of these films intrigue you? Is there anything else playing that you're excited for? Let us know on the comment boards, Facebook or send me an email.
