Sundance has finally finished, but I still have two final films to give you my thoughts on! I think I set a personal record this year for films watched at 22 (I'd have to check, but I think my previous best was 20). It was great to be able to see so many from the comfort of my home, but I definitely missed the atmosphere of the Sundance venues and seeing things with my fellow film lovers. ON THE COUNT OF THREE Two best friends make a suicide pact that by the end of the day, this will be their last day on earth and that they'll each kill the other. This film has a very dark concept and certainly isn't for everyone. There is a lot of heavy subject matter covered here, but surprisingly the film does have its moments of levity to it while the two men live a Groundhog Day type day of zero consequences since they have no tomorrow. Still, each has their own demons to sort through that led them to this point and decide whether or not life is worth living. At times, this was a really hard watch, but director Jerrod Carmichael walks the thin line perfectly of handling the seriousness of the topic, while not being completely weighed down by it. On the Count of Three features great performances by Carmichael (doing double duty here by acting as well as directing) and Christopher Abbott and overall was one of the standouts from the festival. RATING: 8.5/10 THE WORLD TO COME In the mid 1800's, two women who are neither particularly happy in their own marriages, strike a bond of friendship that soon turns into forbidden love. The story is beautifully told in a series of journal passages by Katherine Waterston's character, Abigail, who is a poet at heart. The cinematography here is wonderful and all around the production design is fabulous; the film visually looks fantastic. I think I would have liked a bit more of a build-up in the friendship and for all of the characters to be a bit more fleshed out, but all of the cast (Waterston, Vanessa Kirby, Christopher Abbott and Casey Affleck) turn in very fine performances. RATING: 7.5/10 Well, that's a wrap! See you next year Sundance...hopefully in person.

The festival is winding down but I have a few more reviews to share before going over some of the award winners today. So here are my thoughts on a couple new movies I was able to see yesterday. TOGETHER TOGETHER Together Together examines the unlikely friendship that forms between a single man who desperately wants to become a father and the surrogate he hires to carry his baby. This film felt so refreshing to just exist on its own terms and not try to be something conventional; it never crosses into romantic comedy territory and it never gets too melodramatic. Instead it's all about a platonic friendship that arrises out of an unusual circumstance and how to navigate the boundaries of such a shared intimacy. I loved the film's insights into these two characters' different stages of life and the mindsets they've formed through their individual experiences. While I would have loved a more conclusive ending, I still completely appreciate this film's beautiful simplicity. RATING: 7.5/10 LAND A grieving woman makes a new life for herself living off the land in the Wyoming wilderness in Land. It's truly unfortunate that Land comes out so close on the heels of Nomadland because comparisons are just going to be inevitable. It feels like we've seen this before and done better which again is bad luck for Robin Wright who definitely puts her heart into this-- both in front of and behind the camera-- as she stars in her directorial debut. While the film does feel overly familiar, it also features some stunning cinematography and breathtaking locations. Ultimately though, while it's a promising start for Wright as a director, the film needs something more to stand apart from other movies that have treaded the same territory. RATING: 6/10

Luckily, this day's slate for me wasn't as jam-packed as the day before but I was still able to see three more movies. Check out my quick thoughts on them below! SUPERIOR An estranged twin sister disrupts the monotonous life of her twin as the past she's trying to escape catches up with her. This film felt like the possibilities were endless as to where the story could go, but feels like it chose the most boring path possible that it could pursue. I love the look of the film and the twins are perfectly cast, but ultimately it just didn't rise above average. RATING: 4.5/10 JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH Judas and the Black Messiah tells the true story of William O'Neal, a man ordered by the FBI to go undercover as a member of the Black Panthers to give them dirt on Illinois Chapter leader Fred Hampton, or face time in prison. This is a very good movie with even better performances. LaKeith Stanfield and Daniel Kaluuya give some of the best performances of their career; even if we don't get as much into the psyche of these two men as I would have liked. I think the film would have benefited from showing a bit more of William's inner turmoil and if it had been edited a bit more tightly all around. RATING: 8/10 PRIME TIME Prime Time tells the story of a young man who attempts to take a tv station hostage on New Years Eve 1999 in the hopes of relaying an important message to the world. The film starts out really strong and is totally compelling. The mystery of what this kid wants to say and what the people around him are going to do is fascinating. Unfortunately all that intrigue fizzles out by the end as the diversions go on and on past the point of interest. RATING: 5.5/10

Sundance Day 4 I watched more movies in a day than I've ever done for the festival, and by the end of the day my brain was a pile of mush. I'd like to watch some of these on their own to see if I feel differently when I can give them a bit more attention, but as it was, these were my initial reactions to the films I saw. MARVELOUS AND THE BLACK HOLE I really wanted to like this movie, and honestly I'm not sure where the disconnect for me was because all of the pieces were there for this to be a lovable Sundance indie (joining the ranks of Sing Street and The Way Way Back). I think the big problem is that I've seen this done before and done better. Still, it's amiable enough that many people out there will really like it. RATING: 7/10 HOW IT ENDS This end of the world comedy is a simple exploration of dealing with regret, and its execution is as quirky as they come. The film basically is a series of cameos as one woman tries to make peace with her inner self (literally) before the world ends. Compared with a lot of the movies I've been watching for the festival, this felt light and fluffy like cotton candy and equally as colorful. Its lightheartedness was pretty refreshing for me and I loved its message. It's not the tightest or most memorable film I've seen, but I enjoyed watching it during a day where I watched a LOT. RATING: 7/10 MAYDAY Mayday is a Wizard of Oz-esque parable where one young woman enters an alternate dream reality where life is turned upside down. She joins a small group of woman soldiers at war with all the men they come across. This film started so strong, and the cinematography and color grading is absolutely gorgeous. It's a beautiful film to watch. But...it loses its momentum fast and the middle section feels really clunky. I just kept wondering what exactly was the point of it other than to make a thin allegory of feminism. Overall Mayday was disappointing despite some good performances from Mia Goth and Grace Van Patten. RATING: 6/10 THE BLAZING WORLD While the last film was a version of Wizard of Oz, this one is a gothic horror version of Alice in Wonderland. The Blazing World tries to channel the dark fairy tale aesthetics of Guillermo del Toro a la Pan's Labyrinth, and while it's not nearly as successful, I have to give it credit for its effort and ambition. And The Blazing World is certainly ambitious. I loved its attempt at creating its own fairy tale, I just wish it could have really stuck the landing. RATING: 7/10 PRISONERS OF THE GHOSTLAND Of all the movies that would have really benefitted from being seen with an audience during this festival, this one stands out the most. This film plays out like an Eastern version of Mad Max with an unhinged Nicolas Cage as our unlikely hero. He gets a few moments here to add to his legendarily over-the-top canon and it makes me wish he was operating at that level the whole film. But as it is, it definitely has some moments of sluggishness when he's not around but you still gotta admire the filmmakers' aspirations. RATING: 7/10 STRAWBERRY MANSION Strawberry Mansion was all about a reality in which dreams are audited by the government and one man's discovery that we are being fed subliminal advertising during our sleep. I really loved the concept of this movie, and I appreciate the attempt to translate this idea onto the screen, but this movie was nearly unwatchable aside from the visuals. It's about as interesting as someone relaying a crazy dream to you that makes no sense and in which you completely have no investment in what happens. You never connect with these characters because the movie doesn't seem to want you to. In the right hands (ie Michel Gondry, Spike Jonze, or Charlie Kaufman), this could have been incredible, but with the style here it just doesn't translate. RATING: 3/10 VIOLATION One woman's crusade for revenge against her brother-in-law is chronicled in Violation. Now don't get me wrong, I love a good female revenge story (see The Nightingale), and this film has moments of utter brilliance, but I found myself feeling a lot more sheer frustration and incredulousness at the actions depicted here. I love the non-linear storytelling and the way things unfold, as well as the acting by lead Madeleine Sims-Fewer, but I feel like we're missing a few earth shattering revelations to justify the level of brutality that is enacted here. The first half of the film is great, but the second gets bogged down in the details that just aren't as compelling. RATING: 5/10

Sundance Day 2 is now a wrap, so let's take a look at what movies I was able to see. A few other films had their premieres which I hope to be able to cover later, such as How it Ends and On the Count of Three, but luckily I was still able to catch four movies yesterday, two of which were on my most anticipated list. CRYPTOZOO In this fantastical story, mythical creatures called cryptids live among us but hide out of fear of not being accepted by the human world. A group of cryptid protectors makes a sanctuary for them and search the globe to offer them a refuge, but they're not the only ones looking... While the animation is beautiful, the story is just bizarre and overlong. I think this may have worked a lot better as an animated short. Cryptozoo purports to be an animated feature film for adults, and truly there will be some out there who embrace this fully, but this was not my cup of tea. RATING: 3/10 JOHN AND THE HOLE John and the Hole is a dark fable of sorts about a young teenage boy who, for no apparent reason, decides to trap his family in a bunker he found in the nearby woods. This oddball thriller was incredibly unique and captured my attention throughout. The film mostly relies on its young star Charlie Shotwell to do the heavy lifting, but it's far more interesting when it focuses on his family played by Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Ehle and Taissa Farmiga. But even for all the interesting concepts the film poses, it doesn't really want to commit to exploring anything in real depth. Most frustrating of all, it features that noncommittal typical vague indie movie ending when the viewer desires something far more satisfactory for their patience. RATING: 6/10 IN THE EARTH A scientist searches for a cure to a deadly virus inside an unusual park, where he happens upon a very peculiar individual. I didn't really know what to expect with In the Earth based on its Sundance description, so what I got was a lot different than what I imagined. In this case, having no expectations was a wonderful thing and I really got to experience the film in all its surprising glory. And goodness, what a fever dream roller coaster it was. In the Earth is a thrill ride and worth knowing as little as possible going in. The first half hour or so took awhile for me to get into, but from there it really grabs hold of your attention and doesn't let go. A word of warning to those with epilepsy, there is extreme usage of strobe lights towards the finale. RATING 8/10 KNOCKING Molly, a recent mental patient, moves into a new apartment where she swears she can hear someone knocking. But no one will believe her, so she's not sure what's real and what's not. There's slow burn horror, and then there's never being able to ignite a flame. Unfortunately, while I had really high hopes for this one (even going so far as predicting it could be this year's Hereditary), Knocking was exceedingly dull and unsatisfactory. The story framing creates zero tension and I just never found myself invested in Molly's journey. When the definitive answer finally comes to what is going on, I found that I just really didn't care either way. Somehow despite being such a short horror film, the pacing seriously drags and it felt a lot longer than it was. RATING 2/10

After a year without Marvel movies in theaters, Disney is making up for lost time. Today we're getting our third of the year with Eternals, with Spider-man: No Way Home still to come next month. Eternals introduces us to a new band of heroes: immortal beings who watch over the earth, but never interfere with the events they witness (in case you're wondering why they didn't help out with fictional events like Thanos erasing half of the galaxy, or real events like World War II...) If you enjoy constant dumps of exposition you're going to love this movie. Eternals attempts what Guardians of the Galaxy succeeded at-- introducing a whole new band of characters into the Marvel universe outside of the initial Avengers team and expanding the scope of its cinematic world. Unfortunately, Eternals is not so fortunate in achieving that same end. Let's just get this out of the way...Eternals is riddled with problems and is without a doubt a bottom of the barrel Marvel movie. For starters these characters are boring, thinly drawn and utterly lifeless. There are so many of them and yet I couldn't bring myself to care about a single one. That's a big problem in a movie that proclaims its stakes are so high yet feel so pointless in the grand Marvel scheme of things. I do not have any desire to spend time with them again in any future installments. It's not that they didn't assemble a nice cast, the talent is there--but no one seems to want to be there. You'd think with Chloe Zao coming off her work that won her an Oscar in Nomadland would inspire more enthusiasm than this, but alas. The other big problem here is that it's bloated and overlong. A good half hour needed to be trimmed from this to keep the proceedings more lively. Some scenes are redundant, others are dull. But most of all it's a convoluted mess that over and over seems to break the cardinal film sin: show don't tell. If you have to constantly tell your audience that it's okay these heroes exist and never helped before...maybe you need to ask yourself if this is really a story worth telling. RATING: 3/10

In 2016, Pablo Larraín gave the world Jackie starring Natalie Portman. Five years later he brings us the story of another style icon and public figure with Princess Diana in Spencer. The two films share quite a lot of similarities and not just that they serve as a showcase for really great performances by their lead actress (as well as a fashion montage of both of their iconic wardrobes to boot). Like Jackie, Spencer gives us an up-close and personal look at the princess, but here it's throughout the course of a Christmas holiday weekend with the royal family. The tradition goes that Christmas is spent at one of the Queen's many houses, Sandringham a castle close to Diana's childhood home. The year is 1991 and Diana's marriage is on the rocks. Every second she's struggling to pull it together as she finds all the expectations around her to be suffocating. Spencer is often shot and scored like a horror film which truly highlights the emotional turmoil Diana experienced. The film states at the very beginning that it is a "fable based on a true story", letting the audience know that it plans to take some liberties in telling its tale. Much of the film is certainly told as a metaphor and not intended to be taken literally. Still, I can't help but feel uncomfortable knowing that pretty much all of the subjects of the film besides its lead, are real people who are still alive and well. Whether or not it was a true depiction of her inner self, it certainly isn't a flattering one. Kristen Stewart gives a fantastic performance to be sure and is exactly what this movie calls for her to be, but whether or not Diana was as fragile as she portrays her to be, no one but those closest to her would know. So everything we're seeing is certainly a fantasy, but you can tell that's the way Larraín wants it. There is no doubt that Spencer has grand ambitions in the story it wants to tell. Larraín makes many bold choices here, some of which I felt really worked (like the dinner scene with the pearls), and others that did not (all of the uses of overbearing jazz music whenever she took a stroll in the dark). But one thing is true, and that is that I can't stop thinking about it. The more I think about it the more I admire it. So many scenes and shots just stayed with me and were as haunting as intended. Spencer is an arrestingly beautiful film from the incredible cinematography to the reflective screenplay, gorgeous costume design, and stellar performances. It's one of the best that 2021 has to offer. RATING: 8/10

Sundance's midnight section debuted last night with an ode to 80's schlock horror with Censor. Censor follows Enid, a film censor who had a traumatic life event when she was a child that she doesn’t have a clear memory of. One day at work she comes upon a film that closely seems to mirror her past, so she does some investigating to find out if this filmmaker has the key to her memories. Censor, which is set in the 1980’s, is a love letter to trashy horror films of that era. It is both stylish and very cold, just like its protagonist. It keeps you at arm's length and leaves you almost unsure of what your opinion is of the movie until the very end. Luckily for me, the ending made everything that came before mostly worth how subdued it was. For a debut film, writer-director Prano Bailey-Bond is incredibly self-assured but perhaps plays it a little too safe throughout. She plays her cards very close to the chest which unfortunately takes away some of the tension because the viewer isn't quite as invested as they would be had a few more risks been taken. For having such a short runtime, the film did manage to feel a bit slow in taking its time, but it all feels very deliberate and composed...again just like its protagonist. Niamh Algar carries the film on her shoulders and gives a compelling performance, but since the film keeps us at a distance it's hard to care about her too much. Still, the ending was quite effective and brought my score up just a bit. RATING: 7/10

Sundance is underway with the first film in the dramatic category: CODA. Newcomer Emilia Jones plays Ruby Rossi, a girl who is the only member in her family with the ability to hear. She is a CODA, or child of deaf adults. She helps out with her family’s fishing business and is essential in their lives as both a daughter and an interpreter. But Ruby’s real passion and talent is to sing. Inspired by her enthusiastic choir teacher (Eugenio Derbez), Ruby is able to envision another life for herself, but separating herself from her family depending on her may be harder than she imagines. Coda was such a delight and a great way to start the festival. It was so warm and funny and the emotions felt so real. Coming of age films are some of my favorite films, especially at Sundance, but this one adds a family dramedy layer that gives it even more weight and heart. You feel for Ruby’s journey and you can understand everyone’s side in this. More than a couple of scenes towards the end made me tear up and really pulled at the heartstrings. Emilia Jones knocks it out of the park in her debut role, but the acting all around is stellar too. There’s not a false note in the cast and everyone gets their moment to shine. It also must be said that Jones has a lovely singing voice and I can't wait until the soundtrack is available. All in all, Coda is a winning film that has it all: humor and heart. See it as soon as you can. RATING: 8.5/10

Marvel is back with their second big screen release of the year, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Unlike Black Widow, Shang-Chi does not feature a previously introduced character as its lead, so this movie feels like an all-new adventure exploring uncharted territory. Much like Black Panther, Shang-Chi takes us into a whole new world with incredible action unlike anything in the franchise so far. Shang-chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings follows Shang-chi (Simu Liu), a man trying to run away from his heritage, so he now goes by Sean. He lives in San Francisco and works alongside his best friend, Katie (Awkwafina), wasting his potential as a valet. His mother passed away some years ago and he is now estranged from his father and sister. After some assassins attack Sean and Katie while riding the bus one day, Sean must reveal his hidden incredible abilities. He was trained as a martial arts master by his father and mother since he was a small child. Once he learns the assassins were sent by his father, he must reunite with his sister, Xialing (Meng'er Zhang), and confront their past...which includes finding a way into their mother's magical world. Together they must save it before their father destroys it. Shang-Chi has a lot going for it. As already mentioned, the action is fantastic; some of the action sequences here are the best that Marvel has ever done. In particular, the aforementioned bus sequence, as well as the action sequence quickly after he reunites with his sister keep your eyes glued to the screen for every second. The leads here are likable too, even if Awkwafina feels incredibly shoehorned into the last act. Not all of the humor here works, but it felt a lot less unobtrusive than in some other Marvel films. I also appreciated the hero/villain conflict between the father and son all throughout and leading to the last act, I just wish the finale wasn't so dependent on the CGI extravaganza that surrounds it. All in all though, Shang-chi is top-tier Marvel because it feels so unique. It doesn't feel as paint by numbers as some of the others and for that...it feels refreshing. RATING: 8/10