That's a wrap

SOMEWHERE BETWEEN SALT LAKE CITY AND LOS ANGELES

Well folks, this is it for me from the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. Over the past five days I've caught twenty-five films, including shorts, and am now in serious need of sleep and relaxation. Hopefully you've enjoyed at least some of my ramblings and have caught a slight glimpse into this year's 25th anniversary festival. For those wanting a quick summary of all the films, here goes...

Documentary

• Afghan Star - Follows several contestants on "Afghan Star, " an "American Idol"-like television program in Afghanistan. A great window into post-Taliban Afghanistan through the eyes of a pop music contest.
• Art & Copy - If you have any interest in the inner workings of the world of advertising and how campaigns are created, this documentary is for you.
• Boy Interrupted - "The boy who wanted to die." A mother chronicles her own son's bi-polar disorder that ultimately leads to his own suicide at the age of 15. Intense but well done.
• Burma VJ - Get close up and personal with the events of the 2007 revolutionary uprising in Burma. Through the eyes of a dozen undercover reporters with handheld video cameras, an amazing story takes shape. Excellent.
• It Might Get Loud - If you like electric guitars, this is the film for you. It brings together Jack White, The Edge and Jimmy Page to give their version of the instrument's history and what it means to them as music artists. Excellent.
• Joel Stein's Completely Unfabricated Adventures - Documentary short covering Orange County's toilet to tap program for recycled drinking water. Plays like a more-fun-than-usual educational film.
• Lies - Short film with three lies put to animation. Nothing to write home about.
• Over the Hills and Far Away - Fantastic documentary about a family's quest to "cure" their son of autism by traveling across Mongolia on horseback in search of shamanic healers.
• The Archive - Excellent short film about the man who owns the world's largest vinyl record collection - more than 2.5 million of them.
• The Kinda Sutra - Fun short film giving a humorous slant on what we were told as children about where babies come from.
• The Yes Men Fix The World - The Yes Men document several of their own "culture-jamming" activist projects, including coming forward as Dow Chemical to take full responsibility for the largest industrial disaster in the world. Well done.
• Theresa's Story - Short film overcutting two versions of a child telling a story. Most of the world won't be ready to understand this film.
• Tyson - Can world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson come across as a human being who now sees the damage he's done to himself and those he loves? Experience some emotionally raw moments with the boxer in this excellent film.
• We Live in Public - Does the Internet bring us closer, or make us feel more alone? Internet media pioneer Josh Harris conducts social "experiments" on himself and others to show the impact of overly-public lives, with debilitating results.

Narrative

• Brooklyn's Finest - Antoine Fuqua brings "Training Day" to New York. It's a classic return to a familiar genre that will leave you bleeding. Powerful stuff, though not as good as it's predecessor.
  
• Cold Souls - Paul Giamatti as Paul Giamatti, a man who choses to have his soul put in storage to lift emotional weight from his shoulders. If you like "Being John Malkovich," this film is for you.
• Dead Snow - Undead Nazis unleashed on Norwegian students vacationing in the snowy mountains. Possibly the most awesome film I've seen in months. Sure to become a cult classic.
• Endgame - Chronicles what lead up to the fall of apartheid in South Africa. Very historical.
• I Love You Phillip Morris - Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor make out and get it on. But beyond that it's actually a pretty fun, comic film that keeps you guessing.
• Sex, Lies and Videotape - Screened this year for its 20th anniversary. Go rent it.
• Spread - Ashton Kutcher is a young man in LA looking to find fame and fortune... by trading sex with powerful women for a place to stay and free meals. Better than I expected and not half bad.
• The Messenger - Two military men form a strong friendship when assigned to notify next of kin when soldiers die in combat. Not much to write home about, though not a bad film.
• This is her - Excellent short film about a woman who delves into her own future to draw lines between herself, her husband and the "bitch" who will one day steal him away and ruin her life.
• Treevenge - Christmas trees have had enough and now they're fighting back. Don't watch this until your own Christmas tree is safely recycled. You'll never look at Christmas the same way again. Brilliantly fun.
• Unmade Beds - Two people in their early 20s float adrift in London looking for personal connections. Unless you're into European cinema, you'll hate this film.