Sundance Notes volume 2

Last night was somewhat typical of recent Sundances. I pulled on my boots and landed at Chimayo (a popular restaurant on Main Street) at 11pm, talking my way into them providing dessert for me. And while I couldn't get anyone from Netflix to join me, I did notice i was sitting next to Angelica Huston; ours were the only two tables closing the place.

I figured i'd stop by a friend's place for a bit, and found myself sipping whisky at midnight and talking movies. I was prepared to head off to bed by 1am, but inexplicably someone's girlfriend showed up with some friends in tow. She was a model-beautiful filmmaker, and her pals were actors on Saturday Night Live. So we stayed up until maybe 2:30. This is a kind of "Sundance Moment" that I most prefer. Talking movies and stuff with people who really care and love them. Anyway, it was highly entertaining.

While I was trying to talk my way out of the 8am screening, peer pressure prevailed and we all went to Phoebe In Wonderland at Eccles. And i'm so glad we did. While I loved the Wackness yesterday, I think Phoebe is a fantastic and remarkable movie. The director's FIRST film, and it is wonderful. That's all I'll say, but there are stellar performances by Bill Pullman, Felicity Huffman, Patricia Clarkson and most importantly, 9-year-old Elle Fanning (Dakota's sister, and she should win an Oscar for this).

I grabbed some expensive pizza and water and snarfed down lunch before the noon show of North Starr. In a weird way, I was glad I didn't like it. I REALLY didn't like it. I'm impressed the guy who made it managed to pull off his first film, I walked out after 45 minutes. I rode on the bus back to Main Street and found a small group of like-minded audience members who also bailed when i did. We commisserated and shared empowering stories of exiting the half-full 1200 seat theater I guess mostly populated by the director and his many friends...

Disappointed with that, I headed over to see Gonzo: the life and work of Hunter Thompson. I had really been looking forward to this for weeks; I've always been a bit of a Gonzo fan and was excited to learn more. I will say this, I learned a lot about him and generally enjoyed it, but it was long and i don't think i'd give it more than 3.6 stars.

Dinner at Chimayo with a bunch of friends, then now back to the room for a quick blog and early bedtime. Netflix folks are beginning to show up in greater numbers today, coming in for the weekend. I'm putting the movies I've seen here into a Top 10 List on my page at Netflix. Then, it's right to bed. 8am movie tomorrow.

I'm no athelete, but i suspect Sundance is as close as I will really get to a marathon. G'nite.