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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.

Linsanity

Courtesy photo

Linsanity

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Music feature

Texas country star Cody Johnson's new album goes to 'Banks of Trinity'

Photo by Cameron Powell

Cody Johnson.

There's a moment at every Cody Johnson show where the Texas-born-and-bred country star asks the crowd, “How many of you tonight are watching me and this band live for the very first time?” he told The Associated Press. “And every night, I would say at least 80% of the crowd raises their hands.”

It's not the kind of reaction most veteran artists receive. “And I’m thinking, you know, 20 years is a long time to work for something. But when you see that … What’s the next 20 years look like?” he asks.

The rancher, rodeo competitor, and onetime prison guard started his two-decade career playing honky tonks and dive bars. That led to slow and steady growth for the country traditionalist, but in the last few years, something has shifted. He landed his fifth career No. 1 song with “The Fall.” He was named Entertainer of the Year at the 2026 Academy of Country Music Awards, the show's highest honor. That was a month after he headlined Stagecoach Music Festival. For an artist with legions of fans, it looked like he was accessing new heights.

“I feel like I’m closing a book and I’m opening another one and it’s all blank pages,” he says of this period. “Let's get to the next chapter." On June 26, that new era began with the release of his latest album, Banks of the Trinity.

Traveling to the Banks of the Trinity
It hasn't been an easy road. Last fall, Johnson had to cancel a bunch of tour dates after upper respiratory and sinus infections caused a burst eardrum that required surgery — an intimidating medical procedure for anyone, but especially nerve-wracking for a musician. “I was scared,” he said simply. But “in a roundabout way, it’s one of the best things that’s ever happened to me.”

It forced him to take three months off, which allowed him to be home during the birth of his son. It also rejuvenated his approach in the studio. Before the incident, he thought the album was complete. It was not. The additional time resulted in the inclusion of a few songs that now feel inextricable from the record: “Thank Somebody Country,” “Take Me Back (Leave Me There),” “Cricket on a Hook,” and the resilient “I Have” among them.

“What a blessing to have that kind of song fall in your lap when you’re kind of up against the ropes,” he says of the latter. “I mean, we thought we had the record done. It wasn’t done.”

A title track with real resonance
At the heart of Banks of the Trinity is its title track, which recalls Eagles' cover of “Seven Bridges Road” meets bluegrass and Southern gospel.

Lyrically, it's an ode to Johnson's childhood. “I grew up on the banks of the Trinity [River.] Fishing for catfish, not so much out of pleasure or sport but for necessity to put food in the freezer. Deer season for me was not a trophy thing,” he said.

And while that track inspires a feeling of nostalgia within the listener, he doesn't consider this album a throwback collection. He says it's about showcasing his evolving sonic diversity.

"The rest of the album for me is a musical journey from track one to track 16,” he said. “There’s a little bit of a flavor for everybody. It does kind of hit Motown. It does kind of hit bluegrass. It does hit progressive country. It does it old country. It does a little rock here and there.”

It's the result of a new kind of freedom, one that is at least partially due to his recent accomplishments, including taking home the top prize at the ACM Awards.

“I just did the thing that I’ve aspired to do in my career my entire life,” he says. “A really good place is a really good way to describe where I am.”

And now that the album is out, he's ready to take a breather.

“I will be shirtless with no shoes on a beach at an undisclosed location,” he jokes about the days after record release. “'Cause I have already done all the prep work. I've been working on this album for two years. I’ve done all of the interviews. I’ve shook all the hands. Me and my wife and kids are gonna disappear for 10 days and I’m gonna become, I guess, every Kenny Chesney song ever.”

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