Day One | Sundance 2021
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Concise opinions about the films I watched during Day One of Sundance 2021, including links to the respective reviews.
Movies present in this article:
CODA
Human Factors
Cryptozoo
How It Ends
How It Ends - SPOILER-FREE Review | Sundance 2021
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Directed by: Daryl Wein, Zoe Lister-Jones
Written by: Zoe Lister-Jones, Daryl Wein
Starring: Zoe Lister-Jones, Cailee Spaeny, Olivia Wilde, Fred Armisen, Helen Hunt, Lamorne Morris
Runtime: 82 min
Synopsis: On the day an asteroid is scheduled to obliterate Earth, freewheeling Liza (Zoe Lister-Jones) scores an invite to one last wild gathering before it all goes down. Making it to the party won’t be easy, though, after her car is unceremoniously stolen, and the clock is ticking on her plan to tie up loose ends with friends and family. With a little help from her whimsical younger self (Cailee Spaeny), Liza embarks on a journey by foot across Los Angeles as she seeks to make peace with her regrets—and find the right company for those last few hours.
Read MoreCryptozoo - SPOILER-FREE Review | Sundance 2021
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Directed by: Dash Shaw
Written by: Dash Shaw
Starring: Lake Bell, Michael Cera, Angeliki Papoulia, Zoe Kazan, Peter Stormare, Grace Zabriskie, Louisa Krause, Thomas Jay Ryan
Runtime: 95 min
Synopsis: Cryptozoo is a hand-drawn, gritty and fantastical parable about society versus the individual. A zoo that rescues mythological creatures in psychedelic 1960’s San Francisco races the U.S. Military to find and save a Baku, a Japanese dream-eating cryptid, to prevent the military from using the Baku to eat the dreams of the counterculture and suppress the anti-Vietnam War movement.
Read MoreHuman Factors - SPOILER-FREE Review | Sundance 2021
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Directed by: Ronny Trocker
Written by: Ronny Trocker
Starring: Sabine Timoteo, Mark Waschke, Jule Hermann, Wanja Valentin Kube, Hannes Perkmann, Daniel Séjourné
Runtime: 102 min
Synopsis: To escape mounting tensions at the advertising agency they co-own, French-German couple Nina (Sabine Timoteo) and Jan (Mark Waschke) whisk their kids, Max (Wanja Valentin Kube) and Emma (Jule Hermann), away to their seaside vacation home. The couple has signed a new politically charged client, forcing them to confront their clashing priorities. But what’s meant to be an idyllic off-season retreat turns sinister when burglars tear through the house, unseen by anyone except Nina.
Read MoreCODA - SPOILER-FREE Review | Sundance 2021
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Directed by: Siân Heder
Written by: Siân Heder
Starring: Emilia Jones, Eugenio Derbez, Troy Kotsur, Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Daniel Durant, Marlee Matlin
Runtime: 111 min
Synopsis: CODA follows 17-year-old Ruby (Emilia Jones), the only hearing child in a deaf family, as she finds herself torn between pursuing her love of music and her family's reliance on her as their interpreter and connection to the hearing world.
Read MoreDay Zero | Sundance 2021
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2021 might turn out to be an even more challenging year than its predecessor, but January had a massive surprise in store for me. I was lucky enough to get approval to cover this year’s (online) edition of Sundance, arguably one of the most important, influential film festivals of today. I don’t have enough words to describe how delighted I am for having the opportunity to (finally) attend an international festival, even if it’s only virtually. This article is the first of many I’ll be publishing throughout the next few days, not only here on my website but also the respective Portuguese translations on Echo Boomer. I’ll explain my upload system and share a list of my most anticipated movies without elaborating too much.
Read MoreMalcolm & Marie (2021) - SPOILER-FREE Review
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Directed by: Sam Levinson
Written by: Sam Levinson
Starring: Zendaya, John David Washington
Runtime: 106 min
Synopsis: Writer-director Sam Levinson teams up with Zendaya and John David Washington for an achingly romantic drama in which a filmmaker and his girlfriend return home following a celebratory movie premiere as he awaits what's sure to be imminent critical and financial success. The evening suddenly takes a turn as revelations about their relationships begin to surface, testing the strength of their love.
Read MorePalmer (2021) - SPOILER-FREE Review
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Directed by: Fisher Stevens
Written by: Cheryl Guerriero
Starring: Justin Timberlake, Ryder Allen, Alisha Wainwright, June Squibb, Juno Temple
Runtime: 110 min
Synopsis: After 12 years in prison, former high school football star Eddie Palmer (Justin Timberlake) returns home to put his life back together - and forms an unlikely bond with Sam (Ryder Allen), an outcast boy from a troubled home. But then, Eddie's past threatens to ruin his new life and family.
Read MoreThe White Tiger (2021) - SPOILER-FREE Review
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Directed by: Ramin Bahrani
Written by: Ramin Bahrani
Starring: Adarsh Gourav, Rajkummar Rao, Priyanka Chopra Jonas
Runtime: 126 min
Synopsis: Balram Halwai (Adarsh Gourav) narrates his epic and darkly humorous rise from poor villager to successful entrepreneur in modern India. Cunning and ambitious, our young hero jockeys his way into becoming a driver for Ashok (Rajkummar Rao) and Pinky (Priyanka Chopra Jonas), who have just returned from America. Society has trained Balram to be one thing - a servant - so he makes himself indispensable to his rich masters. But after a night of betrayal, he realizes the corrupt lengths they will go to trap him and save themselves. On the verge of losing everything, Balram rebels against a rigged and unequal system to rise up and become a new kind of master.
Read MoreMini-Reviews - 2020 Edition
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As we know, 2020 has been a horrible year everywhere for everyone and everything, including the beloved art of filmmaking. Countless delays, complete removals of the year’s schedule, and a total stop in filming production. It couldn’t be any worse for cinema. Movie theaters are struggling to survive, blockbusters are gradually moving to home viewing… 2020 is the year everyone hoped to never live through.
Obviously, everyone’s lives and jobs are being affected, but even though the number of films released this year is inevitably shorter than in previous ones, time is still hard to find if someone wants to watch every single film like me. Therefore, this article will contain concise opinions on some films I can’t afford writing a full review right now.
This article will be updated each time I add a new entry, as well as its date of publication, so these mini-reviews can be seen by every reader of mine.
Read More