Sundance - tired

I'm definitely feeling the 5-6 hours of sleep a night and 4 movies a day. it adds up pretty fast. I saw another 4 movies today and I'm not really in a state of mind to write about all of them right now, so I am apologizing to anyone who happens to be keeping up on this that my reviews of todays films will be delayed.

Sundance Day 3 - Feeling high

WEDNESDAY

Once again I went to bed too late and got up early. Coffee is an incredible thing. The Fulton family with whom we are staying are also incredible. I woke up to the coffee already made and cinnamon rolls and eggs to boot. Super groovy.

Class was pretty good, but a bit slow. We went through a good amount of the movies that have screened so far and people who had seen each one got up and said some words about them. I liked hearing what everyone had to say, but it dragged on for a really long time. I think we're watching some short films tomorrow in class. That'll be rad.

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MOVIE REVIEW #5 - Martha Marcy May Marlene

Well, this movie was intense. The main actress is Elizabeth Olsen who is the younger sister to the Olsen twins. She is an absolutely phenomenal actress. In this movie she escapes from an abusive cult and moves in with her sister and her sister's husband. The movie is a look at the condition of a person after they have been through lots of traumatic experiences and even been brainwashed to some extent. It's a hard movie to watch. There are so many painful and uncomfortable parts, but they brought forward the reality of this girl's pain.

I thought the acting in the movie was amazing and that almost every shot looked beautiful, but I don't know if I would ever feel inclined to watch it again. It's a tough piece of drama, but it was very well executed and made me think quite a bit. I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about the ending.

My rating for Martha Marcy May Marlene - 3/5

MOVIE REVIEW #6 - Little Birds

To start off, I will say that Juno Temple is a babe. She also proved that she could be a great actress and not just a piece of eye candy in a terrible big-budget comedy. That said, it still wasn't a great movie. Most of the movie was just one bad choice after another that climaxed with an incredibly dramatic scene that finally knocked some sense in to the protagonist.

I really did appreciate the cinematography, acting, and soundtrack. The story just wasn't compelling enough for me.

My rating for Little Birds - 2.5/5

MOVIE REVIEW #7 - Higher Ground

This is Vera Farmiga's (Up In The Air, Spiderman 2) directing debut, and holy shit, it is an absolute gem. The first 20 to 30 minutes of the movie make it seem like it could just be poking fun at the hippie Christianity movement of the 70s, but the depth of the religious struggle of the protagonist Corinne makes this movie completely real. There is almost nothing this movie doesn't touch on in regard to Christianity. Corinne goes through every phase: religiously brainwashed child, rebellious teen, hippie charismatic Christian, oppressed religious wife, and a doubting but hopeful individual who wants something more than a church and Bible; she's looking for deep feeling and spirituality.

I haven't mentioned this yet, but Vera Faminga not only directed the movie, she played the main character of Corinne. That is absolutely huge. The role she plays is so moving and emotional, I can't imagine trying to direct on top of giving a performance like that. I could honestly see her up for an Oscar next year for best actress in a leading role.

This is the best overtly evangelical film I have ever seen. It makes Christianity look dumb at times, and it also portrays the great love of Christ. A perfect balance. Vera Faminga, you are a wonderful filmmaker and I hope you find what you're looking for.

My review of Higher Ground - 4.8/5

SHORT FILM REVIEW #1 - Protoparticles (Protoparticulas)

I really enjoyed this little short. It was quirky but also kinda thought provoking. And I'm always a sucker for a dude in a space suit. It's just so cool lookin'. It's quite possible no one will ever see this movie except for the few hundred at Sundance, but I hope for the filmmaker's sake that someone sees the unique idea and helps him to develop more.

My rating for Protoparticles - 4/5

MOVIE REVIEW #8 - All Your Dead Ones (Todos tus muertos)

This is a Colombian movie about a farmer who goes out to do his normal work and finds a pile of about 50 bodies in his cornfield. The premise of this film was genius and some of the shots were stunning and haunting, but the movie itself just wasn't good. It was really slow, and they had all the tools to make one of the best thrillers of the year and ended up making a political commentary instead. It's just an unmoving story, but man, a couple of the shots in that movie were super rad. Too bad they didn't use this concept in a better way.

My rating for All Your Dead Ones - 2/5

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Celebrity spottings of the day:

- Juno Tower at the Little Birds Q&A

- Vera Farmiga at the Higher Ground Q&A

I went to All Your Dead One at midnight. was that a bad idea? probably. do I regret it? no way. I'm running on very little sleep, but I'm having a blast.

Sundance Day 2 - Bigfoot and Homework

TUESDAY

I think this is an accurate description of how the day started:

After our morning class where we watched a really great short called "Between The Shadows," we set off to Main Street to do a little sightseeing before our first film at 3pm. We ate lunch at Main St. Deli and then I went and got a picture of the iconic Egyptian Theater:

Still with nothing to do, a couple of other people and I walked all the way to the bottom of hill where I proceeded to take this picture:

I think that one is a really good representation of what Main Street Park City is like. One big hill with a lot of cool places.

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MOVIE REVIEW #3 - Homework

I read a review from Sundance that said this movie was kind of a bore after seeing "Like Crazy." Well y'know what? I didn't see Like Crazy, and I thought Homework kicked all sorts of ass. I'll admit that I'm a sucker for teen angst romantic comedies, and Homework was exactly that. Freddie Highmore did a great job playing a fatalistic high-schooler, and the rest of the movie kind of just fell in place around him. He was it. He was the reason I kept watching and the movie never lost its focus.

Homework was bought by Fox Searchlight. I really hope that it gets major distribution and shows up in a theater in Indiana so I can go see it again. Also, the soundtrack was phenomenal. Flaming Lips and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah are just a few I can remember off the top of my head.

My rating for Homework: 4.5/5

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After Homework was over I booked it out of the theater as fast I could to go see Guster play at the ASCAP Music Cafe. I got there just as they were starting the fourth song of their set and I got to see them play about 6 more. They played incredibly well and the venue was really intimate. I don't think I would have ever normally gotten the chance to see them in that small of a room. Probably the highlight of my day.

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MOVIE REVIEW #4 - Letters From The Big Man
This was definitely a WTF? movie. I seriously have no idea.... but then again I think I have too much of an idea. I thought that this was going to be a kinda crazy, kinda goofy, kinda dramatic movie about a lady who meets Sasquatch. Well, a lady does meet Sasquatch, but other than that I'm pretty sure that absolutely nothing else happens in this movie. It's just not very good. They have great locations and kick-ass Sasquatch costume, but other than that it's just boring and unmoving.

I commented above that I had too much of an idea what was going on; what I meant by that was that I feel that all the themes in the movie are just rattled off. People just outright say them. I kept waiting and waiting for the movie to take some kind of a turn and get really cool, but it just never happened. Definitely a disappointment, but at the same time I'm still glad I saw it because that Sasquatch was pretty cool lookin'.

My rating for Letters From The Big Man - 1.5/5

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After I got out of the bigfoot movie I found some Banksy art in an alley. I was giddy.

Sundance Day 1 - "What if there were two?"

MONDAY

I woke up this morning, took a shower, called my mom, and then went up to grab some breakfast. After eating a muffin, drinking some coffee, and updating my iCal with all the Sundance movies, the group left the house to head into Park City. I put up that picture of the house at night, but here's one from this morning:

We got to Park City and drove around for a bit so we could get a feel for the town. Not gunna lie, it's kinda confusing. Luckily there are people standing at pretty much every corner who can tell you where to go. We ended up at the Eccles theater for our first movie: Another Earth. here's us a picture of line.... or maybe it's more of a picture of the mountains.

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MOVIE REVIEW #! - Another Earth

The movie reviews I do on here are not going to be that in-depth. I don't really feel like I have the time to do in-depth reviews. anyway, with that said, Another Earth was possibly the best movie we could have started with. It was a unique and exciting story with great acting performances and possible one of the best endings I have ever seen in a movie. Seriously mind-blowing.

The tagline of the movie is, "What if there were two?" and the plot pretty much consists of the fact that there are two Earths and everything about them is the exact same. Each of us exists on this other Earth. We were born at the same time and have done all the same things. What would you do if you met you? It's a really strange thing to think about and could have gone horribly wrong, but director Mike Cahill handled it perfectly. He made the movie intriguing instead of hokey.

My rating for Another Earth: 4.5/5

MOVIE REVIEW #2 - Take Shelter

Phenomenal acting. All the characters are so believable even though the story itself wanes in and out of reality.

The movie is about a guy who starts to have these semi-apocolyptic dreams about storms. He starts to build a big storm-shelter in his back yard. He becomes obsessed with it. His obsessions cause him to lose almost everything. That's a pretty cut and dry description. The movie itself has tons of character depth and complex psychological issues.

Take Shelter was bought by Sony Picture Classics before the movie even showed at this world premier, so you might be seeing it in theaters in the next year or so.

My rating of Take Shelter: 4/5

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Celebrity spottings of the day:

- Anton Yelchin outside of the Eccles Theater.

- William Mapother answering Q&A after Another Earth

After the movies we went to the first session of the Windrider Forum. Windrider is a program that meets in a church here in Park City and hosts students from Fuller Seminary, Biola, Tayloru, BYU, and one other that I can't remember. They fed us and then we watched the short film The Butterfly Circus. Afterwards we had a Q&A with the director of said film and also heard from Heartland Film Festival founder Jeff Sparks. It was a good time. I'm looking forward to everything else that Windrider has going on for us this week.

I'm still having a hard time believing that I got to see two world premiers of movies today.

Sundance Day 0 - Arrival

SUNDAY

we arrived in Park City last night under cover of darkness with large mountains looming around us. our flights were chill and uneventful. did you know that Frontier Airlines gives you warm cookies for free on the plane? because that was kinda awesome.

we pulled up to the house we're staying at and even in the dark we could tell that the place was huge. here's a crappy night photo from my camera:

As soon as we got in the house we got settled and jumped in the hot tub. Jamison and I also ran around in the snow in our swim trunks. if you want to see photos of such ventures, check out my friend Tim's blog. I mean, I'll have photos from my phone, but he's the real photographer of the group.

I will leave you with the view that I woke up to this morning:

Sundance 2011

I'm headed to Sundance Film Festival today. I'm going to blog about it while I'm there. maybe not every day, but at least every couple of days and give some reviews of the best movies i see. I'm really looking forward to this experience. should be a blast.

obsessed

been listening to nothing but Pantha Du Prince for days now.

Christmas

well, 1 hour until the clock strikes Christmas and all I can think about is all the stuff that I wanted to accomplish this year and I didn't. kinda bummed. I really need to manage my time better. I need to say no to some things. I need to plan and budget more or I'm going to end up in more trouble than I already am.

so here's to one more week of unrefined and unstructured living.... then it's time for New Years Resolutions.

Finals

almost every semester I go through a finals freak-out and every semester it's really not as bad as I think it's going to be (except for my freshman semester... that was miserable). Right now I'm finishing up work for my last final. It's exciting to think that in just one more semester I'll be done. Bonkerz.

Top 10 Albums... of my life.

Introduction

This is a list of the top 10 albums of my life so far. This has nothing to do with the quality or acclaim that these albums received, this list is devoted to albums that had an impact on me. If an album greatly altered how I listen to or write music, it probably made the list. So here we go...

Honorable Mention: Jimmy Eat World - Bleed American (2001, DreamWorks)

The reason this didn't quite make the list is because as much as I love it, it didn't really change anything for me. I heard it, I loved it, and I still love it, but this list is more for albums that have changed me musically: either in the way that I listen or the way I write. But I had to mention it, because it's just that good.

10. Saves The Day - Stay What You Are (2001, Vagrant)

I don't remember if this was 6th grade or junior high, but that doesn't matter too much. This is the album that got me really interested in music that wasn't Christian music. Reliant K and The O.C. Supertones had been my staples before this. My friend Shane Stuttle played "At Your Funeral" for me and I couldn't get it out of my head. This is about the same time that Kazaa and Bearshare were in their prime, so I think this is one of the first albums I stole (sorry dudes). Saves The Day was the key band is my transitional phase out of solely Christian music and into a whole world of awesome. I owe a big "thank you" to them.

9. No Age - Nouns (2008, Sup Pop)

Aaron Bragg showed me No Age. I didn't know what I thought at first… and then Teen Creeps came on. Sold. There are few times that a song has gotten me that stoked that fast (but I think "Party Hard" by Andrew W.K. would take the cake for that). No Age taught me to not care too much about how the recording sounds. If the song's good, then it's going to come through.

8. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (2005, Self-released)

It took me a while to like Clap Your Hands. I wouldn't call them the most accessible band, but ever since I got into it, I haven't been able to get off of it. I first heard them my Junior year of high school but didn't really get into it until a year or two later. Ever since then I have never stopped coming back to it. I can listen to this album any time and I will always get stoked on it. I'm not sure what it is about it, but there is definitely a light, poppy feel to the album that is well balanced by some darker, moodier moments. It just feels right and makes me want to write pop music that still feels deep.

#7. Modest Mouse - The Moon and Antarctica (2000, Epic)

This wasn't the first Modest Mouse album I ever heard. One of my friends bought Good News For People Who Love Bad News as soon as it came out (2004) because he had heard a lot of hype about it. He put it in my CD player and we started listening. He hated it and I wasn't that into it either. Not long after that I heard the song "Paper Thin Walls." I was really surprised when I found out it was a Modest Mouse song. So I gave Moon and Antarctica a shot and really enjoyed it, and the more I listened to it the more it grew on me. It has become my favorite Modest Mouse album, but I must admit I like everything Issac Brock gets his hands on (if you haven't seen the movie 180 South then

you should probably do that). This album really showed me that being an honest songwriter will make a big impact on your music comes across. There is a lot of passion in Issac's songs and that's what makes them timeless to me. It becomes more than just the music, but also the feeling behind it.

#6. Dan Deacon - Bromst (2009, Carpark)

This is the most recent release to make it on here. I myself am amazed that this landed at the #6 spot. The more I thought about it the more I realized how much this album changed how I think about music. I was into electronic music before this, but I had never realized the potential of it until I heard this album. Bromst blew my mind instantly. I had heard the song "Crystal Cat" off of Dan's Spiderman Of The Rings, so I thought i knew what to expect from Bromst, but I had no clue. This album showed me how much power one man can have with just a laptop, a creative mind, and a ton of music theory under his belt. I was entranced as soon the album started and literally jumped out of my seat in excitement when the song "Snookered" reached its climax. I knew that this is what I wanted to do. I wanted to make fun electronic music that was also smart and complex. Of course nothing I've done has come anywhere close to being Dan Deacon quality (and stylistically not the same either), but the way this album opened me up is something I will never forget. Also, if you haven't seen the "making of" video for this album, do that now. It rules.

#5. Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam (2007, Domino)

This is the first album I ever heard by Animal Collective. It was sometime in my freshman year of college that I heard it and I don't remembering paying much attention to it. Then in the summer of 2008 I decided to take a trip up to Chicago and go to Pitchfork Music Festival. I was really stoked on a lot of the bands playing, but the headliners Saturday were Animal Collective and I wasn't sure what to expect. I felt like I went into a trance where colors and sounds all blended in to something beautiful and unique and pulled me in. After that night all I wanted to do was to get to know Animal Collective better. I was upset that I hadn't given them the time of day before seeing them live, but I'm kinda glad that a live experience was my first real connection with them. I got to see first hand a form that I never knew music could take.

#4. Arcade Fire - "Funeral" (2004, Merge)

The first Arcade Fire song I ever heard was "Neighborhood #4 (Power Out)" and that was sometime in 2006 (yeah, i was behind the curve). I think Shane Stuttle showed it to me, but don't quote me on that. I got instantly stoked on it. This album took me absolutely zero time to warm up to. As soon as I got my hands on it I was listening to it non-stop. With every album I like I always assume that I'm going to eventually just stop caring about it, but this is a list of albums that have overcome that, and this is no exception. Honestly I don't have much to say about how this album changed how I listen to or make music, but it's one of my favorite albums of all time and I have a tattoo of the album art. I don't think albums get much better than this.

#3. mewithoutYou - "A->B Life" (2002, Tooth & Nail)

I remember the first day i heard mewithoutYou, I was riding in the car with Luke Collins and he played me "Memphis Will be Laid to Waste" by Norma Jean and then "Gentlemen" by mewithoutYou. I remember when Aaron Wiess came in at the end of "Memphis…" and I was in awe. I had never listened to anything like that before. I can't even remember having heard hardcore music before that time. It was awesome. Then when he played "Gentlemen" it was just like all the awesomeness of the end of "Memphis…" was spread out through a whole song. Totally kick-ass. That day a lot of things changed for me. My ear for music got turned in a whole new direction.

#2. Wolf Parade - "Apologies To The Queen Mary" (2005, Sub Pop)

There's nothing bad to say about this album. I think it's almost perfect. The first song I ever heard was "Grounds For Divorce" and that was sometime in 2006 I believe. It was an instant love affair and I started listening to this album all the time. But like me and most albums, the love slowly faded. Then in 2008 Wolf Parade released "At Mount Zoomer" and I bought it the day it came out. It was a disappointment. So I dusted off "Apologies…" and fell back in love. From then on I knew this album was extremely special. The more I listened to it, the more I loved it. If I would have made this list last year, this album barely would have snuck on, but now it's almost at the top (and even at this moment I'm debating whether it deserves #1). This album just did everything right. Fast and slow songs, fun and meaningful lyrics, dance tunes and rock tunes, and most of all: uniqueness.

As a sidenote I would like to say that Wolf Parade has definitely disappointed me a good bit since this album, but all of that was fully redeemed with the song "Yulia" off of Expo 86 and their "Semi-Precious Stone / Agents of Love" digital release.

#1. Animal Collective - "Feels" (2005, FatCat)

I've already told you how I got into Animal Collective with the #5 slot that was given to "Strawberry Jam," so we don't need to go through that story again. So after that summer when I saw Animal Collective live, I got back home and started exploring the Animal Collect discography. I liked a lot of it, but "Strawberry Jam" really was… well… my jam. But then I met a girl named Eliza Dhonau. She loved Animal Collective a whole lot and listened to "Feels" all the time. I fell in love with this album while hanging out with her. I find this album has perfect aural balance. It's twisted and dark, but also light and happy. For me, all the songs have a perfect structure to them and flow from beginning to end without ever getting to the point where I want to change the track (well, other than "Bees," that's the one song that I'm not in love with).

I once had a conversation with Austin Fleming about how the song "The Purple Bottle" is a perfect song. I don't know if he still thinks that, but I definitely do. Everything about that songs just feels right to me.

Another reason I love "Feels" is the shift that takes place mid-album. The first four songs could almost be an album on their own, and then then next four work incredibly well together but still compliment the album perfectly. Then the last track, "Turn Into Something" is almost another thing entirely, but it still flows somehow.

As I am writing this I am listening to "Banshee Beat," which is quite possibly my favorite song on the album currently. It has a lot of repetition in it, but the steadiness of the beat and tone of the guitar just puts me in a trance that I don't want to ever end. If that song was 15 minutes long I would still love it.

So, am I just another dude who sucks Animal Collective's dick and loves everything they do? Yes. I am. I'm perfectly alright with that.