Prisoners of the Ghostland - SPOILER-FREE Review | Sundance 2021

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Prisoners of the Ghostland - SPOILER-FREE Review | Sundance 2021

Directed by: Sion Sono

Written by: Aaron Hendry, Reza Sixo Safai

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Sofia Boutella, Nick Cassavetes, Bill Moseley, Tak Sakaguchi, Yuzuka Nakaya

Runtime: 103 min

Synopsis: In the treacherous frontier city of Samurai Town, a ruthless bank robber (Nicolas Cage) is sprung from jail by wealthy warlord The Governor (Bill Moseley), whose adopted granddaughter Bernice (Sofia Boutella) has gone missing. The Governor offers the prisoner his freedom in exchange for retrieving the runaway. Strapped into a leather suit that will self-destruct within five days, the bandit sets off on a journey to find the young woman - and his own path to redemption.

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The Dog Who Wouldn't Be Quiet - SPOILER-FREE Review | Sundance 2021

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The Dog Who Wouldn't Be Quiet - SPOILER-FREE Review | Sundance 2021

Directed by: Ana Katz

Written by: Ana Katz, Gonzalo Delgado

Starring: Daniel Katz, Julieta Zylberberg, Valeria Lois, Mirella Pascual, Carlos Portaluppi

Runtime: 73 min

Synopsis: Sebastian politely faces his neighbors, who complain about his dog’s cries, and similarly reacts to his employers, who forbid pets in the workplace. A series of peculiar and challenging moments like this follow as Sebastian changes jobs and reconnects with his mother. At one point, along with the new responsibility of being a father, Sebastian must contend with an unknown pandemic - one that requires the bizarre preventive measures of walking crouched down and wearing expensive bubble headgear. At times disaffected, at other times cautiously optimistic, “everyman” Sebastian shows surprising resilience through it all.

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Land - SPOILER-FREE Review | Sundance 2021

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Land - SPOILER-FREE Review | Sundance 2021

Directed by: Robin Wright

Written by: Jesse Chatham, Erin Dignam

Starring: Robin Wright, Demián Bichir, Kim Dickens

Runtime: 89 min

Synopsis: From acclaimed actress Robin Wright comes her directorial debut Land, the poignant story of one woman's search for meaning in the vast and harsh American wilderness. Edee (Wright), in the aftermath of an unfathomable event, finds herself unable to stay connected to the world she once knew and in the face of that uncertainty, retreats to the magnificent, but unforgiving, wilds of the Rockies. After a local hunter (Demián Bichir) brings her back from the brink of death, she must find a way to live again.

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Together Together - SPOILER-FREE Review | Sundance 2021

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Together Together - SPOILER-FREE Review | Sundance 2021

Directed by: Nikole Beckwith

Written by: Nikole Beckwith

Starring: Ed Helms, Patti Harrison, Tig Notaro, Julio Torres, Anna Konkle

Runtime: 90 min

Synopsis: When 26-year-old Anna (Patti Harrison) becomes a gestational surrogate to a single, middle-aged app designer named Matt (Ed Helms), she expects only a transactional bit of good karma and the payday that will allow her to finish her college degree. But as Matt’s unbridled enthusiasm for impending parenthood leads him to persistently insert himself into her life and invite her into his, the initially annoyed Anna finds herself reluctantly charmed. The pair of self-described loners gradually open up to each other, give in to the intimacy of their admittedly finite shared experience, and forge an unlikely friendship.

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Marvelous and the Black Hole - SPOILER-FREE Review | Sundance 2021

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Marvelous and the Black Hole - SPOILER-FREE Review | Sundance 2021

Directed by: Kate Tsang

Written by: Kate Tsang

Starring: Miya Cech, Rhea Perlman, Leonardo Nam, Kannon Omachi, Paulina Lule, Keith Powell

Runtime: 81 min

Synopsis: Thirteen-year-old Sammy (Miya Cech) is struggling to cope with the death of her mother. After she is caught vandalizing one of her school’s restrooms, her father, fed up with her wild behavior, enrolls her in a summer course - if she fails, she’ll be sent to a boot camp for delinquent youth. After storming out of her first class, Sammy meets Margot (Rhea Perlman), a surly magician. Margot forces Sammy to be her assistant for a performance, and although Sammy seems uninterested, she seeks Margot out after the show and asks to become Margot’s pupil. Margot agrees, and as their unlikely friendship grows, we learn that she and Sammy understand each other more than they expected.

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Mass - SPOILER-FREE Review | Sundance 2021

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Mass - SPOILER-FREE Review | Sundance 2021

Directed by: Fran Kranz

Written by: Fran Kranz

Starring: Jason Isaacs, Ann Dowd, Martha Plimpton, Reed Birney

Runtime: 110 min

Synopsis: Imagine the most dreaded, tense, and emotionally draining interaction you could find yourself in and multiply it by 10. That is exactly what two sets of parents - Richard (Reed Birney), Linda (Ann Dowd), Jay (Jason Isaacs), and Gail (Martha Plimpton) - are facing. Years after a tragedy caused by Richard and Linda’s son tore all their lives apart, Jay and Gail are finally ready to talk in an attempt to move forward.

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Prime Time - SPOILER-FREE Review | Sundance 2021

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Prime Time - SPOILER-FREE Review | Sundance 2021

Directed by: Jakub Piątek

Written by: Jakub Piątek, Łukasz Czapski

Starring: Bartosz Bielenia, Magdalena Popławska, Andrzej Kłak, Małgorzata Hajewska-Krzysztofik, Dobromir Dymecki, Monika Frajczyk

Runtime: 93 min

Synopsis: New Year’s Eve 1999. Twenty-year-old Sebastian (Bartosz Bielenia), armed with a gun, hijacks a TV studio and takes two hostages—a famous TV presenter and a security guard. His plan? No one seems to know, including Sebastian himself. His demand to deliver his message, whatever that may be, via live broadcast is repeatedly thwarted by an uncertain police force and an egotistical network chairman. As the night wears on, Sebastian and the hostages bond in unexpected ways, while those in power fumble to restore order.

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Passing - SPOILER-FREE Review | Sundance 2021

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Passing - SPOILER-FREE Review | Sundance 2021

Directed by: Rebecca Hall

Written by: Rebecca Hall

Starring: Tessa Thompson, Ruth Negga, André Holland, Alexander Skarsgård, Bill Camp

Runtime: 98 min

Synopsis: Irene Redfield (Tessa Thompson), a refined, upper-class 1920s woman, finds breezy refuge from a hot summer day in the grand tearoom of New York City’s Drayton Hotel. Across the room, she spots a blond woman staring her down. Irene wants to steal away, but before she can, Clare Kendry (Ruth Negga) rushes over to stop her. It turns out the two were in high school together, and while both are African American women who can “pass” as white, they have chosen to live on opposite sides of the color line. Now, their renewed acquaintance threatens them both.

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