Monthly Archives: January 2008

Dispatch direct from Sundance
By Cathleen Rountree, critic and film journalist
So, here is the final word on Sundance 2008
2008 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES AWARDS
“Frozen River,” “King of Ping Pong,” “Man on Wire” and “Trouble the Water”
Earn Top Jury Prizes
Audience Favorites Feature “Captain Abu Raed,” “Fields of Fuel,” “Man on Wire”
and “The Wackness.”
The jury and [...]

Dispatch direct from Sundance
By Cathleen Rountree, critic and film journalist

Parties and Panels
Something I haven’t yet mentioned, the parties I’ve attended as well as the informative and worthwhile film panels.
Sundance parties are particularly legendary, even infamous. I’d heard many stories and before this year, felt a little left out. But press credentials go a long way [...]

Sundance: Day 6, Tuesday, 1/22/08
Dispatch direct from Sundance
By Cathleen Rountree, critic and film journalist
Yesterday I happened to be working in the Festival pressroom when the news of Heath Ledger’s death broke. Industry insiders felt shock and deep sadness at the loss of this talented and much-too-young-to-die 28-year-old. A tragic waste of life.
Yesterday I interviewed two [...]

Dispatch direct from Sundance
By Cathleen Rountree, critic and film journalist
Opening Night Film:
“In Bruges,” directed and written by Irish playwright Martin McDonagh, opened the Festival in Park City on Thursday night. The settings and cinematography are lush, and the talents of Brendan Gleeson and Ralph Fiennes aptly recognized. But in their company, Colin Farrell’s disappointing performance [...]

Dispatch direct from Sundance
By Cathleen Rountree, critic and film journalist
Meeting Bono

“U2 3D”: the event of Sundance ’08. Swaggering up the roundabout in front of the Eccles Performing Arts Theatre at Park City’s high school at 9 P.M.–– beefed-up bodyguard his shadow –– Bono, sporting Hunter S. Thompson transparent orange-tinted wraparounds, shook 20 hands, one of [...]

Dispatch direct from Sundance
By Cathleen Rountree, critic and film journalist

A broad spectrum of music-based documentaries and narratives echo through Sundance this year, including “Patti Smith: Dream of Life” (see yesterday’s post), “CSNY: Dèjá Vu,” “Anvil!: The True Story of Anvil,” and “U2 3D” (which I’ll rock to tomorrow at midnight). In addition to these, today [...]

Dispatch direct from Sundance
By Cathleen Rountree, critic and film journalist
Continuing docs.
“Bigger, Stronger, Faster” (U.S.), director, Christopher Bell; co-written with Alexander Buono and Tamsin Rawady. With Barry Bonds, Marion Jones, and Roger Clemens in the news and, worse, Chris Benoit’s “’roid rage” slaying of his wife and 7-year-old son, and subsequent self-hanging last year, Bell examines [...]

Dispatch direct from Sundance
By Cathleen Rountree, critic and film journalist
Greetings from Sundance ‘o8 in 20-degree Park City, Utah, where the first of 10 days of enticing, thought-provoking, exhilarating, sobering, revelatory, and epiphanic domestic and world narrative, documentary, experimental, and short films begins today.
During the two-hour direct flight yesterday morning, I devoured the catalogue descriptions of [...]