Sundance 2021 Reviews Day 3

Okay, here's some quick thoughts on all the movies I saw on day 3 of the Sundance Film Festival 2021.

MASS

Two sets of parents both affected by the same tragedy, (one's son killed the other's during a school shooting), meet face to face for the first time to hash out their shared trauma. This is a simple premise that really plays out essentially in one long conversation, but the execution is so perfect and all the performances are top notch. This is such a powerful movie because these conversations are so raw, real, devastating and incredibly important. All performances were great, but Ann Dowd in particular blew me away. RATING: 9/10

THE SPARKS BROTHERS

Edgar Wright directs this documentary about the two brothers who formed the band Sparks. You can tell this is a big passion project for him and his enthusiasm for the band is contagious. The documentary is a lot of fun, but I can't help but feel this was more made for huge fans than people who are uninitiated. Wright clearly was very attached to the material I think he may have had a hard time knowing what to trim as it feels very long. RATING: 7/10

EIGHT FOR SILVER

In the late 1800's, a town realizes they might all be cursed after terrible things start happening to its residents. Eight for Silver is one of my favorite horror films to come out of this years festival (along with In the Earth), as it gives us such a fresh twist on a certain sub-genre of horror. It's best to go into this and let the movie reveal itself to you, but it's a lot of fun and very well done. The cinematography and practical affects in particular are the real standouts here. RATING: 8/10

COMING HOME IN THE DARK

A family's life is changed forever while on vacation when they're confronted by two strangers with dark ulterior motives. This felt like a spiritual sequel to Killing Ground, a similar film that came out a few years ago also in the Midnight section...but unfortunately it isn't nearly as good. Though the film does have a bit of a twist that helps elevate it from being another Funny Games ripoff, but its ending isn't satisfying enough to take this journey. RATING: 6/10

IN THE SAME BREATH

This documentary takes a look at the beginnings of Covid-19 in Wuhan, China, and the efforts the Chinese government took to cover it up. While still in the middle of this pandemic, it was fascinating to see where it all began and how things went so wrong. I think this was such a brave film to make and a very important one. Still I can't help but think there were so many things that could have been covered, I almost would have preferred this as a series than a one time documentary. RATING: 8.5/10