Sorry to Bother You 📞
Plus, your guide the films of this year's Sundance Film Festival
🏔 Happy Thursday! Welcome back.
Today’s recommendation is for a sci-fi fantasy dark comedy starring Lakeith Stanfield and Tessa Thompson that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Speaking of, I’ve descended from the mountaintop of Park City, Utah to tell you about the best movies I saw at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.
Don’t forget: You can see every movie I ever recommended right here.
Today's movie // Streaming on HuluSorry to Bother You
In an alternate present-day (dystopian) version of Oakland, black telemarketer Cassius Green (Lakeith Stanfield) discovers a magical key to professional success — which propels him into a macabre universe of corporate intrigue involving the CEO (Armie Hammer) of the massive corporation WorryFree. [Trailer]
Why you should watch it: Sorry to Bother You is overwhelming, mesmerizing, confusing, terrifying, and perhaps, almost too smart for its own good. That being said, there’s never been a more stunning takedown of capitalism than this movie. It’s heartening to see something like it exist. Mostly because a movie like it has never existed. If any movie is postmodern, it’s this one.
Riley leverages provocative imagery that we have seen in our world — protests getting violent as they clash against authorities — and some that I sure as hell hope we never see — something involving horses. However, it’s all to serve his deeply relevant message. Sorry to Bother You is a wonderfully odd, madcap descent into madness that you’ll never want to leave.
Directed by Boots Riley
Runtime 112 mins
Year 2018
Genre Dark Comedy
📺 Buy or rent: Prime Video // iTunes // YouTube
On the road2020 Sundance Film Festival
I was fortunate to cover the 2020 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah — and with press credentials (!!!) — for the first time this week. And to tell you that it was a dream might be an understatement.
For those of you that don’t know, the Sundance Film Festival, which has been around since 1978, is the first major festival of the calendar year and acts as a major platform for independent movies and has launched the careers of filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino (Reservoir Dogs), Paul Thomas Anderson (Hard Eight), and Steven Soderbergh (Sex, Lies, and Videotape).
Over the course of the festival over 118 films were shown and I had the honor of seeing fourteen of them. Here are some of the most notable:
🌱 Minari (dir. Lee Isaac Chung) was easily my favorite movie of the festival. The movie stars Steven Yuen (Okja, Sorry to Bother You (!!!)) and Korean actress Han Ye-ri as a married Korean-American couple that moves their family to Arkansas in the 1980s so Jacob (Yuen) could pursue his dream of starting a farm. It’s beautifully empathetic and full of observations about identity, family, culture, and the American dream. [Full review]
When you can watch it: A24 acquired Minari before the festival. Expect it this year in time for Oscar season.
🩰 And Then We Danced (dir. Levan Akin) premiered last year at the Cannes Film Festival and it’s easy to see why Sundance also showed the film. The movie follows a young Georgian dancer (Levan Gelbakhiani) as he strives to get an audition to join the national ensemble, but becomes distracted when he finds himself attracted to a new dancer in the troupe. Though it comes on the heels of perhaps the greatest decade for gay coming-of-age movies, And Then We Danced usurps the usual pitfalls to deliver a surprisingly sweet and groundbreaking drama — Georgia is largely behind the rest of the world for LGBTQ+ rights.
When you can watch it: And Then We Danced will be released in theaters on February 7th.
👴🏻 The Father (dir. Florian Zeller) was my final film of the festival and perhaps my most emotional. Anthony Hopkins plays an elderly father suffering from dementia as his daughter (Olivia Colman) struggles to take care of him. But this isn’t your typical drama. The movie puts you in Hopkins’ shoes and makes you feel what it’s like to suffer from the disease. Scenes often repeat themselves — sometimes in different ways — and different actors portray the same characters to show the effect of memory loss. It’s deeply moving and painful to watch, but essential.
When you can watch it: Sony Pictures Classics acquired the movie before the festival. Anthony Hopkins will likely nab another Oscar nomination, so expect to see it before the end of the year.
🏜 Palm Springs was the exact kind of movie I needed. After watching one devastating drama after another, I wanted something light. Palm Springs more than delivered with its hilarious brand of humor thanks to Andy Samberg giving the best performance of his career and Christin Milioti finally getting the breakout she deserves. The pair play two wedding guests stuck in a time loop doomed to repeat the same day over and over. However, Palm Springs updates the premise with new and interesting rules and a strong beating heart at the center. It’s one of the best broad romantic comedies in years. [Full review]
When you can watch it: Neon and Hulu acquired Palm Springs for a record-breaking $17 million ($17,500,000.69 to be exact — no joke). You’ll likely see it in the summer.
🚤 The Night House (dir. David Bruckner) filled my need for a full-on horror movie — maybe too much. To say it was terrifying doesn’t fully represent just how well-executed the scares are — even the jump scares. Rebecca Hall plays a recent widow dealing with a haunt in the lakehouse her late husband built for them. As it intensifies, she falls into a mystery that points to her husband not being the man she thought he was. The movie relies on atmospheric dread and a knockout performance by Hall to be my favorite horror movie of the festival. [Full review]
When you can watch it: (Fox) Searchlight Pictures acquired The Night House for a whopping $12 million. It’s an unusual move for them to acquire a horror movie, but this was one of the hottest titles for distributors this year.
Other movies I enjoyed: Herself, Never Rarely Sometimes Always, Worth, Beast Beast
To check out all of my reactions, check out this Twitter thread. For all my reviews, go to smashcutreviews.com.
This week has been a literal dream and it’s in part because of your support that I was able to do it. So, thank you for being a part of this little community!
Thanks for reading! Please continue to share the newsletter with your fellow movie lovers. Have a terrific weekend!
See you next Monday!
Karl (@karl_delo)