Sundance 2015 – batch 2

We have already seen the horror film idea where Halloween visitors are actual monsters in a Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode. But in Hellions, that old idea is executed with a creative twist, where it is intertwined skillfully with a nightmare teen pregnancy. The non-linear, dream-like story meanders a bit, but does so with stunning visual style. C+

 

The mindless Christian superstitions that plagued early 17th century New England were used to justify countless barbaric executions for witchcraft. In elegant horror fable The Witch, that same religion-addled culture enables family members on a small Puritan farm to assume that occult forces or god’s-will forces are causing various tragedies. That leads to a form of paranoia where they eventually turn against each other and maybe even go supernatural themselves.

But more engaging than the horror story is the look and sound of this film, with beautiful subdued colors and odd-sounding but authentic early American dialect delivered intrepidly by a first-rate English cast. The hardships and grinding minutiae of running the farm are presented with gritty detail, and the camera finds original and memorable ways to frame it all.

The Q/A after the screening revealed the degree to which the details of the period, locale, and culture were accurately recreated, down to the clothing, the farm equipment, the accents, and the dialog.

This film was smarter than its genre. B+

 

Kickstarter-funded geriatric rom-com I’ll See You In My Dreams features some Hollywood veterans as well as a Freaks and Geeks alum. The culture clash within that sentence is representative of the film itself, with some tragedy thrown in to give perspective to the romance and comedy. Blythe Danner, finding perhaps her best role late in her career, portrays a widow who is content hanging out with her old-folks-homies. Then she discovers a common interest with young-but-uncool pool cleaner Martin Starr, and then discovers a cool-at-any-age Sam Elliot. Nicely paced comedy and romance ensues, and the comedy includes a strong endorsement for medical marijuana.

Loss is a fact of life, especially so in the golden years, and that’s part of the movie as well. The film makes the point that it’s OK to take risks at any age, and not dwell on who you were but rather who you are.

In the Q/A after the screening, Ms. Danner was asked (based on a vocal performance in the film) if she had any plans to release her own vocal CD. But she said that won’t happen. B+

 

Gritty comedy romp Dope is an unlikely but brilliantly blended mix of high school nerd culture and ghetto thug culture. It tells an uplifting tale centered on three friends just tying to avoid the criminals in their ‘hood so they can complete their senior year and get into a good college. Stuck in a rough school full of thugs and drugs, the three defy stereotype by killing time as a punk rock trio, by riding BMX bikes, by favoring ‘90s hip hop over modern rap, and most of all by pursuing good grades. They are the high achievers among peers who are just high. They also fight bad guys with Bitcoins instead of Glocks.

Sundance audiences enthusiastically applauded the film. It has elements in common with the John Hughes teen movies of the ’80s, including snappy teen-age dialog, occasionally frenetic pacing, cool music (including tracks by Pharrell Williams), awkwardly charismatic leads, and going a bit over the top in places, if that’s where the best comedy is. A

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