CINEMAST’S 10 MOST ANTICIPATED FILMS AT SUNDANCE 2017

Article by Adam Mast

The Sundance Film Festival is right around the corner and Team Cinemast is ready to brave freezing cold temperatures all in the name of great movies! What are we most looking forward to at this year’s iconic festival? We thought you might want to know so here’s a little run down!

*For a more info on the following films, simply click the movie title.

ADAM’S 10 MUST-SEE FILMS AT SUNDANCE 2017!

A GHOST STORY

Following his well received updating of Disney’s PETE’S DRAGON, director David Lowery (AIN’T THEM BODIES SAINTS) goes back to his independent roots with the haunting story of a spectral figure (Casey Affleck) who observes the life of his living (and mourning) soul mate (Rooney Mara) from another plane of existence. A GHOST STORY is one of the most anticipated films in Sundance’s increasing popular “Next” category.

BAND AID

Sundance has a proud history of bringing independent musicals to the mainstream (see ONCE, WHIPLASH, and SING STREET) but director Zoe Lister-Jones takes a slightly different approach to the movie musical with this story of a bickering couple who form a band and attempt to solve their many issues through the majesty of song. If this concept doesn’t sound awesome already, then perhaps the inclusion of “Portlandia” star Fred Armisen is extra incentive to see BAND AID.

THE BIG SICK

WET HOT AMERICAN SUMMER co-creator\co-star Michael Showalter directs this tale of a culture clash in the form of a relationship between a Pakistan-born man and his American girlfriend. This is a true story based on the real life experiences of screenwriters Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon, and while it looks to have a serious edge, its safe to say that with Showalter and producer Judd Apatow behind the camera, THE BIG SICK will  provide plenty of laughs along the way.

BUSHWICK

Nothing beats a great Sundance “Midnight” movie and BUSHWICK looks to be one of the strongest of the lot at this year’s fest. Directed by Cary Murnion and Jonathan Millot (COOTIES) and written by Nick Dimici (COLD IN JULY) and Graham Reznick, this thriller finds a woman (Brittany Snow) seeking shelter in the basement of a loner war veteran (Dave Bautista) as bullets fly throughout the militia-stationed battle zone that is Brooklyn’s Bushwick neighborhood.  Any movie that features an ass kicking Dave Bautista is a movie worth seeing.

CITY OF GHOSTS

This documentary follows a handful of anonymous activists who band together after their homeland is taken over by ISIS. With rare and personal insight, this harrowing tale of courage follows these individuals as they wage war with one of the most deadly threats the world has ever known. CITY OF GHOSTS was directed by Matthew Heineman, the talented filmmaker behind the Oscar-nominated CARTEL LAND.

THE DISCOVERY

Charlie McDowell (THE ONE I LOVE) returns to Sundance with this provocative story that imagines a world in which the afterlife has scientifically been proven. At the heart of the film is a well respected physicist (Robert Redford), his troubled son (Jason Segel), and a mysterious woman looking for answers.  The DISCOVERY sounds like quite an intriguing ride. It features a great cast, and if any of you have seen THE ONE I LOVE, then you know that McDowell loves to inject a bit of a “Twilight Zone” vibe into his work. Yes please.

MUDBOUND

Dee Rees returns to Sundance for her first time since bringing PARIAH to the fest back in 2011. MUDBOUND features Carey Mulligan, Jason Mitchell, Jason Clarke, Jonathan Banks, and Garrett Hedlund and weaves its story around two men who return home to rural Mississippi after World War II only to enter a battlefield of an entirely different ilk. As demonstrated in PARIAH, Rees has a true knack for gritty, honest storytelling and with a solid cast in tow, MUDBOUND looks to be a powerful motion picture experience.

RAW

Julia Ducournau‘s RAW made a huge splash at the Cannes Film Festival last year and now, it makes its Sundance debut. RAW has been called a grisly, viscerally charged horror show. It’s about a young vegetarian who develops a relentless craving for meat after a series of bizarre initiations at a veterinary college lead to an awakening of sorts.. They had me at “grisly, viscerally charged horror show.”

WILSON

I loved Craig Johnson‘s SKELETON TWINS and the fact that his name is attached to WILSON is enough reason to see it. Throw cast members Woody Harrelson and Laura Dern into the mix and there was no way I was leaving this movie off the list. WILSON is about a neurotic, middle-aged man who gets a new lease on life when he discovers he has a daughter. If you’ve seen SKELETON TWINS, then you know Johnson has a slightly twisted sense of humor and I suspect that same sense of humor will be on full display in this picture. WILSON looks to take a conventional concept and turn it completely upside down.

WIND RIVER

What a couple of years Taylor Sheridan has had?! He wrote the exceptional screenplay for SICARIO in 2015 and then he followed that up with a fantastic script for 2016’s outstanding HELL OR HIGH WATER. With WIND RIVER, Sheridan tries his hand at directing for the first time in the form of a mystery revolving around the discovery of a dead body on a Wyoming Indiana Reservation at the peak of a harsh winter. This thriller stars Jeremy Renner, Elizabeth Olsen, and Jon Bernthal.  If  Sheridan directs with even half the confidence he writes, then it’s safe to say that WIND RIVER is going to be a winner.

OTHER NOTEWORTHY TITLES AT THE 2017 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL:

BEATRIZ AT DINNER, FUN MOM DINNER, REMEMORY, THE LAST WORD, THE POLKA KING, WHERE IS KYRA?, 78/52, BAD DAY FOR THE CUT, THE LITTLE HOURS, XX, THOROUGHBREAD, RESERVOIR DOGS (25TH ANNIVERSARY SCREENING), BRIGSBY BEAR, CROWN HEIGHTS, GOLDEN EXITS, LANDLINE, THE HERO, THE YELLOWBIRDS, CASTING JONBENET, NOBODY SPEAK, LONG STRANGE TRIP, OKLAHOMA CITY, RUMBLE, and TOKYO IDOLS

For the full program guide and ticket info, check out the Sundance Site

For a look at John’s 10 Must-See Films at Sundance 2017, CLICK HERE!

About Author

Adam Mast

Adam Mast has been a lifelong film enthusiast dating back to age 6 when his parents took him to see a little movie called JAWS at a drive-in theater in Northern California. This would lead him to several writing stints for various publications and outlets. Mast would also have a hand in several film projects of various shapes and sizes. In 2014, Mast would join forces with colleague John Pugh to create Cinemast.net as a means discuss film from a fan and analytical perspective. Together, Mast and Pugh would also create the 501 (C)(3) nonprofit, Film and Media Alliance of Southern Utah (FMASU) in 2017. FMASU’s mission is to encourage, inspire and educate filmmaking talent and to preserve film history. Adam currently resides in southern Utah with his amazing wife, Tonja, and their four wonderful children.

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