Something for Everyone

Sundance Redux: 8 can't-miss movies from America's best film festival (that you can watch at home)

January signifies new beginnings, but for movie goers it means the end of the holiday blockbusters and the beginning of a void before next year’s touted box office hits open in theaters. Very few Oscar-worthy films debut during January.

However, the first month of the new year marks the Academy Awards nominations and the beginning of the film festival season, with The Sundance Film Festival opening Thursday in Park City, Utah. Most of the films premiering at Sundance won’t hit theaters until later in the year, and some won’t hit theaters at all, going directly to cable or download.

However, most of the big hits and crowd pleasers from last year's festival are available on pay-per-view and/or DVD — many are being released for the first time this week. Among my favorites from the last edition of Sundance:

Music documentaries soar

Sundance 2013 will be remembered for is its music documentaries. Twenty Feet From Stardom will likely be up for Best Documentary when the nominations are released Thursday morning. Telling the story of backup singers in their own words, as well as through the comments of Bruce Springsteen, Bette Midler, Mick Jagger, Sting and other superstars who they backed up, the movie is funny, sad and poignant, with soaring vocals. Stardom will be released on DVD today.

History of the Eagles, released in two parts, was another huge hit with both critics and audiences. The Eagles, Part One focuses on the band's early years. Part Two covers the 1994 reunion, with flashbacks of how each band member handled the breakup and concludes with their current tour. I found Part 2 more enjoyable because it focused on the universal theme of second acts, redemption, living clean and sober lives. Available on DVD, it is a must watch for Eagles fans before the band's Houston appearance at the Toyota Center Feb. 21.

Muscle Shoals was a sleeper Sundance entry, debuting at the tail end of the festival. It was made by a first time filmmaker who wanted to tell the story of the many artists who got their start or recorded at the Muscle Shoals recording studios in the small Northwest Alabama town. Steve Winwood, Alicia Keys, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Bono and legends like Aretha Franklin and Etta James all make an appearance. But the story of the studio unknowns is what makes the movie special. It is available on pay-per-view.

Snowboard and basketball

Training to compete in the 2010 Winter Olympics, snowboarder Kevin Pearce suffered a near fatal brain injury in Park City. At first glance, The Crash Reel is about Pearce’s recovery and desire to compete again. But it also exposes how far snowboarders (and many other extreme sport athletes) will go and the physical risks they take to stay at the top. As Pearce decides he wants to compete again after being told that even a small bump will kill him, you have to wonder if the brain injury impacted his judgment or he should be admired for his courage and tenacity. A huge hit at Sundance, The Crash Reel is available on DVD on Feb. 4, just before the Winter Olympics begins in Sochi.

Whether you're a basketball fan or not, who couldn’t appreciate the feel-good story of Jeremy Lin as he became an overnight phenomenon in 2012? Linsanity traces Lin's childhood in Palo Alto, where he broke Asian stereotypes by failing at piano concerts and excelling in basketball, and emphasizes his hard work, deep religious faith and dedication to the sport. Linsanity opened in Houston last year and is available on all pay per view outlets.

A sleeper that is a wake up call

On its face Inequality for All does not seem like fun Saturday-night viewing. But former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich makes a passionate and entertaining rgument on behalf of the middle class, and demonstrates how the widening income gap has a devastating impact on the American economy. The filmwon a Special Jury Prize at Sundance 2013) and is on the short list for an Academy award nomination for Best Documentary. The DVD was released on Jan. 7 and is available for download.

Drama and comedy

Fruitvale Station follows the true story of 22-year-old Oscar Grant, who, on New Year’s Day 2009, was killed by a police officer at the Fruitvale subway station in Oakland as he lay unarmed and handcuffed. The shooting, recorded by numerous cell phone, is the opening scene, before the film flashes back to the partially-fictionalized last day in his life. The film was the runaway hit of Sundance 2013, winning both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award, and could garner some Academy Award attention. It is available on DVD today.

To end on a lighter note, one of my favorite non-documentaries was a comedy, A.C.O.D., an acronym for Adult Children of Divorce. Starring a talented cast of Adam Scott, Jessica Alba, Amy Poehler and Jane Lynch, the film looks divorce through the eyes of Carter (Adam Scott), a successful young adult who must revisit the pain of his parents’ divorce as the family is brought together for his younger brother’s wedding. While some reviewers did not like the movie, I found it laugh out loud funny, smart, irreverent, little sad but remarkably on point. As one reviewer said last year “who knew divorce could be so funny?” A.C.O.D. is available on DVD today.

Fruitvale Station

Photo courtesy of The Weinstein Company

Fruitvale Station

unspecified

Movie Review

Sheriff Bob Odenkirk is back in over-the-top new action movie 'Normal'

Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures

Bob Odenkirk in Normal.

Screenwriter Derek Kolstad, who wrote the first three John Wick movies, has essentially had a blank check to do what he wants in the movie landscape since 2014. In recent years that has meant writing the action series Nobody for Bob Odenkirk, who has turned from a comedian into an unlikely action star in his sixties. Kolstad and Odenkirk are teaming up again in Normal.

A film that tries to evoke Fargo in multiple ways, Normal finds Ulysses Richardson (Odenkirk) serving as a temporary sheriff for the small town of Normal, Minnesota after the previous sheriff died. Knowing he’s just a steward until a new sheriff is elected, Ulysses takes a live-and-let-live approach to the job, letting the deputies (Ryan Allen and Billy MacLellan) do the grunt work and trying to stay out of everyone’s way, including Mayor Kibner (Henry Winkler).

A bank robbery attempt by two non-citizens upsets his best-laid plans in more ways than he can imagine. Not only is he forced to confront a crime not often seen in a town like Normal, but the robbery uncovers secrets that turn the film into an all-out bloodbath. Soon, almost everyone in town becomes involved in what comes to resemble a war, along with — you guessed it — Yakuza henchmen from Japan.

Directed by Ben Wheatley and written by Kolstad, the film is a slight twist on the everyman-turned-hero character Odenkirk played in the two Nobody films. While Ulysses is in law enforcement, he prefers to use words instead of weapons, and it’s only when he’s pushed to the brink that he crosses that line. Naturally, his skills are beyond what anyone would expect of him, allowing him to match up well with people half his age.

The film is not a comedy in the traditional sense, but instead aims for laughs by catching the audience off-guard with its ultraviolence. Some characters are dispatched in shockingly unexpected ways, with one of the only natural reactions to the jarring nature of their deaths being laughter. That’s not necessarily the case for other killings, which range from blasé to sadistic, and the only reason they count as entertainment is because the filmmakers have primed the audience to accept them as such.

After a relatively solid setup, where Wheatley and Kolstad seem to take their time getting to know the main characters, the second half of the film is pure action that dispenses with good storytelling. Like many action movies, there are double crosses, surprise revelations, and more, but the filmmakers don’t seem to care about making sense of any character arcs. All they care about is delivering mayhem, and they succeed on that front.

Odenkirk has perfected the mild-yet-intimidating nature of his action characters, and it is satisfying to see him get the better of those who have done him wrong. He doesn’t run or jump like fellow 63-year-old Tom Cruise, but — with the help of fast-paced editing — he still makes for a credible action hero. The only other actors of any note in the film are Winkler, who’s a nice presence with his sardonic personality, and Lena Headey, whose small role doesn't match up with her experience.

You have to have a certain mindset to enjoy a film like Normal, but if you can abide its over-the-top bloodiness, it’s a serviceable action film. Few would have expected Odenkirk to take on these kinds of roles at this late stage of his career, but he’s making the most of his opportunities.

---

Normal opens in theaters on April 17.

movies film