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February 14, 2008
Best of Sundance 2008
Nearly a month has passed since the Sundance Film Festival, and it seems clear the press has decided to write this one off. Granted, of the thirty-odd movies I saw in Park City, none changed my life forever, but I had relatively good luck (granted, I skipped most of the movies other journalists felt obliged to cover, thereby dodging duds like Choke, Downloading Nancy and What Just Happened?). At any rate, I figured now was as good a time as any to share the top 10 films I saw at Sundance:
1. Man on Wire
Rare is the documentary that opens my eyes, rather than merely elaborating on some topic to which I’m already predisposed. As it turns out, Philippe Petit embodies a quality all but absent in my condition — the French high-wire walker brings an artistic sensibility to acts of civil disobedience, best embodied by the 1974 stunt in which he illegally stretched a line between the Twin Towers and performed for onlookers 110 stories below. James Marsh’s spellbinding film recreates his coup with Rififi-like precision. Reexamining it now, after the buildings were compromised by something infinitely more sinister, lends Petit’s accomplishment an unexpected new resonance.
Continue reading "Best of Sundance 2008"
Posted by Peter Debruge at 04:47 PM | Comments (0)
Step Up 2 the Streets
(out of four)
With more dancing and less Channing Tatum than the original, Step Up 2 the Streets offers the illusion of edgier fare than High School Musical, but uses much the same formula to separate youngsters from their allowance. In this contempo fairy tale, an orphan girl and her bashful love interest learn self-expression through street dancing. Rather than mixing classical and modern styles the way Step Up did, this hip-hop-powered sequel is all about new moves, which should keep the kids coming back after the pic's initial Valentine's Day crush.
Continue reading "Step Up 2 the Street" at Variety.com
Posted by Peter Debruge at 10:32 AM | Comments (0)
February 01, 2008
Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert
(out of four)
"You know, I didn't expect so much screaming," confides one father between flashy production numbers in Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert. But the ear-piercing pandemonium emanates less from the audience than from within this quickie concert docu, spiffed up via 3-D presentation, since the fancy specs and all-access shooting style actually serve to discourage target aud's natural sing-along tendencies. Mixing concert footage with behind-the-scenes interstitials, pic looks poised to rack up awesome returns during its one-week, digital 3-D run, at least in per-screen terms. Seems Disney has discovered yet another way to print money.
Continue reading "Hannah Montana" at Variety.com
Posted by Peter Debruge at 11:28 AM | Comments (0)