Sometimes, being insane in your filmmaking isn’t enough.  To make something special, a filmmaker requires a spark of creativity to light the flames of a madness explosion.  Hobo with a Shotgun is a Hiroshima of creative insanity.  Director Jason Eisener has not only paid homage to 70s exploitation films, he’s made a film that could easily have stood amongst it ranks.  Every time you think the movie can’t become any more crazy, any more grotesque, or any more disgusting, it takes out its penis and starts masturbating in public while raving about how cans of Progresso soup are running a shadow government.

In my review of Higher Ground, I noted that religion is a tricky topic but that it was easy to mock it.  Salvation Boulevard can barely even manage that.  The story features a mega church and celebrity pastor and there’s great fun to be made at the absurdity of these elements in modern evangelical Christianity.  Instead, co-writer and director George Ratliff uses this setting as the thinnest of backdrops for a chase movie that goes absolutely nowhere.

Depicting marital infidelity is too easy a conflict.  Warring couples have been done to death and they tend to hit the same predictable notes of anger, betrayal, and sadness but usually you don’t care because the film always makes sure you know that the cheater is bad and the other party deserves our sympathy.  I find it far more challenging to write convincing couples who struggle with the work a relationship requires.  Co-writer, director, and star Joshua Leonard has met the challenge with his new film The Lie.  Coupled with a fantastic performance from Jess Weixler, Leonard crafts a story that is both heartwarming and bitingly funny.  It takes about twenty minutes for the film to find its rhythm, but once The Lie finds its groove, it’s an absolute joy.

The Details is a darkly comic tale that can never quite seem to get a handle on its tone.  The film plays with notions of fate but only a fate that will deal out punishment and retribution no matter how much good you do or if you even receive a kindness.  That’s not a problem for a black comedy, but The Details grinds to a halt as its main character receives valuable life lessons or as he heads into another predictable comic set-up. Director Jacob Aaron Estes’s best attempt to tie it all together is with an insufferable Danny Elfman-esque score.  Stars Tobey Maguire and Laura Linney do a great job handling the comedy, but even their scenes eventually feel repetitive.  The Details has a lot to offer, most notably frustration.

I’ve never understood the popularity surrounding Reagan because I’ve never known too much about him.  I know that conservatives love the guy.  When I mentioned in my Hot Tub Time Machine review that the movie cracks a joke at Ronald Reagan’s expense, an angry commenter noted that he refused to see the flick solely on that basis.  With the exception of Jesus, Reagan is the only person a conservative politician must love unconditionally.  Conservatives have built a mythology around the man to the point where Grover Norquist has a foundation dedicated to naming things after our 40^th President.  Eugene Jarecki’s documentary Reagan does a good job of not only demystifying Reagn’s life and explaining why it’s been so easy to build a myth around it.

One of the things I’ve really enjoyed at Sundance is talking with strangers about movies.  Whether I’m on the bus, waiting in line, or sitting in a theater before the film starts, I’ve found friendly people who are willing to just geek out about movies.  These Amazing Shadows is the cinematic equivalent of talking movies with your fellow film-lovers.  Paul Mariano and Kurt Norton’s documentary jumps around excitedly as it points out great films that are in the National Film Registry, but it goes far beyond the popular stuff like Star Wars and Blazing Saddles.  They look at experimental films, culturally significant movies regarding sex and race, and even popular bumpers.  Mariano and Norton also examine the art of film preservation and the discovery of uncensored versions of movies that were edited under the Production Code.  These Amazing Shadows lacks clarity and cohesion on certain points, but it’s a must-see for any film nerd.

Arguably the most important newspaper in the country, The New York Times is an American institution.  However, that status hasn’t protected it from the same difficulties faced by virtually all other major print publications.  Andrew Rossi’s documentary Page One: A Year Inside the New York Times takes an even-handed look at the challenges the Times faces not only in terms of competition from online publications, but where it stands in relation to organizations like WikiLeaks and NBC.  The film also spends time with various personalities at the paper including witty and sarcastic editor Bruce Headlam and badass/media reporter David Carr.  The documentary offers a fascinating look at these issues and individuals, but never finds a way to tie them all together.

Quite a few more acquisitions were made at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival today. Fox Searchlight picked up most of the worldwide rights to Homework starring Freddie Highmore and Emma Roberts, and the worldwide rights to Martha Marcy May Marlene starring breakout Sundance star (and sister to Mary-Kate and Ashley) Elizabeth Olsen. IFC Films acquired the U.S. rights to Matthew Chapman’s thriller The Ledge starring Liv Tyler, Patrick Wilson and Terrence Howard. Regarding the acquisition, Chapman had this to say:

“Having watched THE LEDGE play to audiences in Sundance and seeing  their reactions, I believe that with the help of IFC Films we will reach the widest audience possible, which was always my intention.”

On the documentary side of things, Sundance Selects grabbed the North American rights to the Buck, a documentary about the real life “Horse Whisperer” Buck Brannaman.  Hit the jump to read the full press releases.

Confidence is a crucial quality in a filmmaker.  Unlike the artistic expression of a painting or a novel, a film requires marshaling a small army to execute thousands of decisions in order to achieve a filmmaker’s vision.  Kevin Smith is not a filmmaker who exudes confidence.  After the noble failure of Jersey Girl, he retreated to the safety of Clerks II and then followed it up with the simple-yet-enjoyable Zack and Miri Make a Porno and the widely-despised Cop Out.  His new film, Red State, is a radical departure for Smith and yet he lacks the confidence to properly execute the action-horror-thriller he’s devised.  Visually and aurally impressive and featuring a phenomenal performance from Michael Parks, the film never completely comes together as it’s undermined by poorly-timed humor, clumsy exposition, and a refusal to trust the audience with ideas more complex than “fascism is bad.”

Religion is a tricky topic.  It’s incredibly easy to mock it or to preach it.  But an honest exploration of faith requires complete commitment and a willingness to let non-believers scoff and the holier-than-thou scorn.  Vera Farmiga’s directorial debut Higher Ground manages the impressive task of fully committing to its characters’ faith.  Unfortunately, it never transforms that commitment into a more fulfilling experience.  Despite an earnest approach to the Christian faith, Farmiga never finds anything interesting to say about it.

Take every awful indie coming-of-age movie cliché, cram it into one film, fill it with terrible dialogue and bored-looking actors and you are starting to approach the disaster that is Gavin Wisen’s Homework.  If someone were making a parody of the modern art-house coming-of-age film, this would be it.  Despite a relatively-short 84 minute runtime, Homework is an interminable slog as we’re forced to suffer yet another movie about a privileged teenage who’s life is so perfect that he’s forced to conjure his own misfortune.

Steve James’ documentary The Interrupters takes a strong subject, features compelling central figures, and is completely destroyed by its unwieldy runtime.  While James’ 1994 film Hoop Dreams was almost three hours in length, it never felt long because the story had momentum and a clear goal.  By contrast, The Interrupters feels redundant and aimless.  It’s endlessly frustrating to watch an honorable documentary be destroyed by poor pacing.  James’ desire to pay tribute to a group of modern-day heroes stops him from telling their story in the best way possible.

Paul Rudd is a talented actor who has recently become typecast as “The Cynical Straight Man”.  He’s recently been seen throwing sarcastic comments next to a wacky friend in movies like Role Models, I Love You Man, and Dinner for Schmucks despite showcasing his versatility in movies like Anchorman and The Shape of Things.  My Idiot Brother gives Rudd the chance to play the complete opposite of his unfortunate typecasting and the result is a warm, funny, and completely winning performance.  Bolstered by a strong supporting cast, My Idiot Brother goes for broad laughs but with Rudd as the film’s heart, those laughs always feel earned.

We should be able to relate to movies on an emotional level, but that connection shouldn’t be contingent solely on an individual’s personal experience.  Like Crazy works, but only in a manipulative fashion that preys on the viewer’s nostalgia of young love.  While lead actors Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones give solid performances, the love between their characters is left as vague as possible so that the viewer can project their own feelings onto the picture.  If thoughts of your first love make your heart skip a beat, Like Crazy will likely send you reeling.  If, however, you’re like me and aren’t impressed by watching other people deal with their relationship issues, Like Crazy will leave you cold.

If you’re going to make a grim and brutal film, please make sure the grimness and brutality have a point.  Paddy Considine’s Tyrannosaur is nothing more than a collection of cheap dramatic shots combined with the hope that the visible pain of two characters will be enough to carry a belabored narrative that suffers from pacing and predictability.  While lead actors Peter Mullan and Olivia Colman deliver strong performances, they’re stuck playing flat characters that are defined by their suffering and almost nothing else.  Tyrannosaur wants to shock you into believing it has a powerful tale to tell, but at the end you’re not electrified as much as you’re annoyed.