Set in the 1960s this is the car equivalent of the Race to the Moon, a bunch a clean-cut white Americans with a lofty goal, money to spend, and an enemy across the Atlantic. Ford Motor Company needs a hit and comes up with a goal to enter European racing. The big prize, 24 Hours of LeMans. They turn to former champ Carroll Shelby and give him a blank check to Git R Done.
Speaking of Larry the Cable Guy, this ended up being like a live action remake of Disney Pixar Cars, with Carroll Shelby playing Lightning McQueen and Christian Bale as Mater.
The live action looked good at some point, but the CGI just didn't translate back into the 1960s setting. The colors reminded me of La La Land, along with the strange ending. I almost didn't make it through to see the end.
A throwback of a film, this one was famously promoted as a tax shelter investment. Written by Lawrence Kasdan (Empire Strikes Back, Big Chill) it's a modern film noir. Starring William Hurt, Kathleen Turner and Mickey Roarke.
Having figured out the film festival setup, I enjoyed watching "The Last Thing He Wanted" starring Anne Hathaway, Ben Affleck and Willem Dafoe. A lot of star for this entry in Narrative Film. Produced by Netflix, you should be able to see it likely for a short theater run then streaming.
Based on a novel by Joan Didion, it's the story of a woman who goes into El Salvador during the Contra era to help her father but becomes enmeshed in global intrigue.
In other Sundance news the story of the year is that acting stars are being replaced in importance by producing stars. The grand jury prize went to Minari, a story about a Korean immigrant family in Arkansas. Brad Pitt is one of the Executive Producers.
The top documentary is Boys State, about the mock government activity for high schoolers. It was picked up for $12 million. Soon to be streaming.
Another Sundance favorite was "Crip Camp" produced by Higher Ground Productions (Barack and Michelle Obama). Wonder how that got selected?
There's definitely the Haves and have-nots at Sundance. With 100 flims you can't see all the winners and you are certainly not getting invited to the parties with Eva Longoria and Kerry Washington. In fact our film didn't even merit a Q&A! It was still fun, particularly buying a ticket out of the wait list area, like an old scalper at a rock concert.
Each of these movies has something in common: all were teen friendly, with an hero/heroine you could root for. Each one was very quotable, because people rewatched good movies back then, even in that pre-VCR day. They all had future stars that would go on to do big things and multiple movies hence the sequels that are at least as familiar as the originals.
But each of these was original in its own way: Purple Rain: a predominately black cast with the best soundtrack ever, The Terminator: science fiction where the villian become the hero. Ghostbusters: Saturday Night Live alum humour crosses over into movies. Karate Kid and Sixteen Candles: ordinary kids do extraordinary things.
These was not only in the pre -VCR days but also pre- CGI/ FX. The production values are quaint by modern standards.
Let's see how WW84 stacks up against these 1984 classics.
Version 9.0 "completes the saga" is the tag line. Three different trilogies in 3 different decades makes stitching the stories together a challenge but the good thing is that it was done in a way that should give a little something to everyone.
Explaining the story is probably too much trouble. Suffice to say, there's Luke and Leia, and all your favorites. As a friend said of his restaurant, "everything is the same, only better".
See you again in December 2022 for the next version!
It's an old fashioned murder mystery a la Agatha Christi with the quirky investigator Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig). It's uncertain how he is involved but he does get to participate in all investigation facets with the real police. He says he got an envelope of cash to be "hired" but that he doesn't know who hired him or why?
Never mind those niceties - it's a star studded cast with Christopher Plummer as Harlan, a sucessful mystery novelist. In a bit of poetic justice, he commits suicide (maybe?) and therefore there must be in investigation - "I have eliminated no suspects!"
The best part is that there is a act with a will-reading, made for the movies but never happens in real life. Some interesting legal terms come in to juice it up a bit.
