When I'm Alone I Always Sound Like Myself: January 2010

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Films I Wish I Could See At Sundance

Restrepo

In 2008 Sebastian Junger (The Perfect Storm) and Tim Hetherington dug in with the men of Second Platoon for a year. Afghanistan's Korengal Valley, a stronghold of al Qaeda and the Taliban, has proven to be one of the U.S. Army's deadliest challenges. It is here that the platoon lost their comrade, PFC Juan Restrepo, and erected an outpost in his honor. Up close and personal, Junger and Hetherington gain extraordinary insight into the surreal combination of backbreaking labor and deadly firefights that are a way of life at Outpost Restrepo. Ever wonder what it's really like to be in the trenches of war? Look no further. Restrepo may be one of the most experiential and visceral war films you'll ever see. With unprecedented access, the filmmakers reveal the humor and camaraderie of men who come under daily fire, never knowing which of them won't make it home.

http://www.restrepothemovie.com/#/videos

Lucky

Dreaming of winning the lottery is as American as apple pie. Millions of Americans spend billions of dollars each year hoping to come up a winner. But what happens to the lucky few who actually pull a winning ticket? Lucky crisscrosses the country, examining a handful of past lottery winners as they navigate their newly found riches and a couple of extremely determined hopefuls.

Obselidia

Believing he’s the last door-to-door encyclopedia salesman in the world, George decides to write The Obselidia, a compendium of obsolete things. George believes that love, among other things, is obsolete. In his quest to document nearly extinct occupations, he befriends Sophie, a beautiful cinema projectionist who works at a silent movie theatre

http://www.obselidiathemovie.com/

Bass Ackwards

After ending a disastrous affair with a married woman, a man embarks on a lyrical, strange and comedic cross-country journey in a modified VW bus.

http://www.bassackwardsfilm.com/

Skateland

It’s 1983, and Skateland, the roller rink and local hangout of a small town, is becoming a fading memory of an earlier time, when disco and roller-skating were king. The party scene is getting stale, and 19-year-old Ritchie's romantic life is as cloudy as his future. He struggles to make sense of it all, and decisions do not come easily to the carefree young man. When tragedy strikes his friends and family, Ritchie must face the music—and make the biggest decision of his life. Without the benefit of a studio budget or name casting, Anthony Burns and Brandon and Heath Freeman capture the '80s in startling detail. The result: a cinematic scrapbook of a time and place, a visceral visual, and an aural experience that reclaims the decade for those of us lucky enough to have lived through it once. While the atmosphere is time specific, the themes of the joys and pains of growing up are universal.

http://www.freemanfilm.com/skateland/