Variety's critics review Sundance

'Beasts of the Southern Wild'William H. Macy and John Hawkes in "The Surrogate" Dreama Walker in "Compliance" Variety's senior film critics Justin Chang and Peter Debruge weigh in on the 2012 Sundance Film festival. Peter Debruge: If you were to look at Sundance's dramatic competition lineup this year, you might think the state of American independent cinema is defined by movies aspiring to be Fox Searchlight releases: twee young-love fables ("The First Time"), a zany time-traveling romance ("Safety Not Guaranteed") and tales of actors and directors trying to find themselves ("The End of Love," "Nobody Walks"). How great, then, that Searchlight zagged and picked up two total formula-busters: unlikely crowdpleaser "The Surrogate," featuring indie stalwart John Hawkes as a sex-seeking, polio-stricken poet, and Benh Zeitlin's grand jury prize winner "Beasts of the Southern Wild," a fiercely original, vividly realized lightning storm of a movie that doesn't fit inside any sort of conventionally commercial box. Coming off a year of low-performing indies, perhaps it's more responsible for emerging directors to be operating in audience-conscious terms, a la Mike Birbiglia's appealing "Sleepwalk With Me," though I prefer to think of Sundance as a showcase for daring outsider work, and the examples were few and far between at this year's fest. Justin Chang: What's especially satisfying about seeing "Beasts" in the winner's circle is that it was one of the few dramatic entries to demonstrate anything in the way of a visual imagination, to aim for the mythic rather than settle for the mundane. Any film that can hold its own with early Terrence Malick is clearly doing something right. For similar reasons, I was disappointed by the lack of love for Antonio Campos' very different "Simon Killer." Yes, this dark descent into a grungy Parisian underworld is an often tough, unpleasant experience; it's also an incredible and hypnotic piece of filmmaking, one that I could easily see holding its own at a festival like Cannes. And frankly, in light of the generally upbeat view of love and sex espoused by some of the movies you mention -- even those I enjoyed, like "Safety" and "Surrogate" -- Campos' toxic, ice-cold view of human sexuality went down like a refreshingly nasty tonic. PD: Ah, sex -- always a popular topic at festivals and, as it happens, central to two of the strongest films I saw here. Former Sundance winner Ira Sachs' "Keep the Lights On" plays like a gay "Scenes From a Marriage," sharing intimate, brutally honest glimpses from a troubled nine-year relationship. The film is true to itself in a refreshingly genuine, repeatedly heartbreaking way, even if the unsentimental depiction sabotages its crossover potential with nongay audiences. "The Surrogate," by contrast, uses crowdpleasing sentimentality to deliver an unconventionally sex-positive story, one in which intercourse serves as a form of human connection for someone who has experienced very little physical contact beyond his parents and caregivers. On the other extreme was "Compliance," which sparked more discussion and controversy than any other film in the fest, with good reason: Though undeniably provocative in its mind games, "Compliance" basically amounts to a feature-length rape scene. JC: Allowing that the representation of an immoral act need not be immoral itself, I found "Compliance" utterly compelling and productively disturbing, not to mention competition-worthy (instead, it was slotted in the fest's low-budget Next sidebar). But lest you assume I like all my movie sex dank, perverse and nonconsensual, I hasten to add that I share your admiration for "The Surrogate's" disarmingly frank and grown-up treatment of the subject, in particular its insight into the ever-present tension between sex and religion. It was a running festival theme, also addressed in films as different as "Love Free or Die," a documentary about openly gay bishop Gene Robinson, and "Young and Wild," a hot-blooded romp about a Catholic girl's burgeoning sexuality. PD: While the narrative features were more uneven, too often limited by narcissism or cutesiness (less the case in the international selections), Sundance's doc offerings boasted a reliably solid range of social-justice and eco-conscious entries. I was particularly impressed by three films that dealt with race in interesting ways. Sam Pollard's classroom-ready "Slavery by Another Name" reveals the shocking methods by which white Southerners perpetuated slavery-like conditions for nearly a century after the Civil War. Eugene Jarecki's must-see, grand jury prize-winning doc "The House I Live In" extends this inquiry into the present day, examining how drug-related laws perpetuate racial inequity in this country. And, while not a doc, Spike Lee's "Red Hook Summer" bites off more than any other film in the fest, tackling issues of religion and representation among inner-city African-Americans. JC: I didn't manage to see "Red Hook Summer," though it certainly sounds meatier and more ambitious than much of the rest of the Premieres section, which served up one mediocre comedy after another, including "2 Days in NY," "Bachelorette" and, from the usually reliable Stephen Frears, "Lay the Favorite." Amid all this star-studded dross, it was a relief to encounter "Shadow Dancer," a tense, beautifully understated IRA thriller that confirms James Marsh as one of the smartest filmmakers working today in either fiction or nonfiction. As for the fest's typically stellar docu lineup, my favorite had no social-justice orientation whatsoever: Rodney Ascher's mesmerizing cine-essay "Room 237," which served up a hilariously obsessive, frame-by-frame analysis of Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining" and the abundant layers of meaning tucked away therein. In a year whose official Sundance slogan was "Look again," I can think of no other film in Park City that so consistently and enjoyably forced me to do just that. Contact Justin Chang at justin.chang@variety.com

Marvel reveals five new Avengers images

[brightcove]1213024251001[/brightcove]Marvel has thrown a bone to all those Avengers obsessives counting down the days until the film's April release by unveiling a handful of new images.The new shots include a closer look at Samuel L Jackson's Nick Fury than we've previously been privy to, and what looks like a fairly intimate encounter between Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner).Check out the images in full below:The Avengers aren't showing any signs of going away soon, as this week Captain America actor Neal McDonough stated that Thor 2 will be immediately followed by Captain America 2 and a Nick Fury movie.The Avengers opens on 27 April 2012.

Hugo Leads Oscar Nominations

First Released: The month of january 24, 2012 9:18 AM EST Credit: Vital Caption Asa Butterfield in Vital Pictures HugoLOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Martin Scorseses Paris adventure Hugo leads the Oscars with 11 nominations, included in this best picture and also the latest director slot for that Oscar-winning filmmaker. Also nominated for the best picture Tuesday: the quiet film The Artist the household drama The Descendants the Sept. 11 tale Very Noisy & Incredibly Close the Deep South drama The Assistance the romantic fantasy Night time in Paris the sports tale Moneyball the household chronicle The Tree of Existence and also the The First World War epic War Equine. The nominations setup a best-picture showdown between your top films in the Golden Globes: best musical or comedy recipient The Artist and finest drama champion The Descendants. The Artist went second with 10 nominations, included in this writing and pointing nominations for French filmmaker Michel Hazanavicius, a best-actor recognition for Jean Dujardin along with a supporting-actress slot for Berenice Bejo. Due to a guide change needing films to get a particular quantity of first-place votes, the very best-picture area only has nine nominees as opposed to the 10 which were within the running the final 2 yrs. Dujardin, who won the world for the best actor inside a musical or comedy like a quiet-era star whose career goes kaput using the arrival of speaking pictures, is going to be facing Globe dramatic actor champion George Clooney for that Descendants, where the Oscar-winning celebrity plays a father attempting to hold his Hawaiian family together following a boating accident puts his wife inside a coma. Other best-actor challengers are: Demian Bechir being an immigrant father inside a Better Existence Gary Oldman as British spymaster George Smiley in Mess Tailor Soldier Spy and Kaira Pitt as Concord As gm Billy Beane in Moneyball. Globe those who win Meryl Streep (best dramatic actress as Margaret Thatcher within the Iron Lady) and Michelle Williams (best musical or comedy actress as Lana Turner during my Week with Marilyn) obtained Oscar nominations for the best actress. Two-time Oscar champion Streep padded her record because the most-nominated actress, raising her total to 17 nominations, five a lot more than Katharine Hepburn and Jack Nicholson, who're tied for second-place. Streep went two-for-four on her behalf first nominations, winning supporting actress for 1979s Kramer versus. Kramer and finest actress for 1982s Sophies Choice. But she's lost her last 12 occasions, and also the Globe win on her place-on personification of Thatcher appears like her best chance yet to interrupt that losing streak. Together with Streep and Williams, best-actress nominees are: Glenn Close like a 1800s Irishwoman masquerading like a male butler in Albert Nobbs Viola Davis like a black maid going public with tales of whitened Southern companies within the Help and Rooney Mara like a traumatized, vengeful computer genius within the Girl using the Dragon Tattoo. Octavia Spencers win in the Globes as supporting-actress for that Help, by which she plays a fiery maid whose mouth constantly will get her in danger, could offer her front-runner status for the similar prize in the Academy awards. Exactly the same may hold true for supporting-actor nominee Christopher Plummer, who won a Globe for his role being an seniors father being released as gay in Beginners. An esteemed film and stage actor, Plummer went the majority of his 60-year career unacknowledged in the Academy awards until generating a supporting-actor nomination 2 yrs ago as Leo Tolstoy within the last Station. If he wins this time around, the 82-year-old Plummer would get to be the earliest acting recipient ever Jessica Tandy now holds that position on her best-actress win in Driving Miss Daisy at 80. Also in contention for supporting actor: Kenneth Branagh as Laurence Olivier during my Week with Marilyn Jonah Hill like a statistics whiz in Moneyball Nick Nolte like a derelict father making amends in Warrior and Max von Sydow like a mute mystery guy in Very Noisy & Incredibly Close. Bejo, the romantic partner from the Artist creator Hazanavicius, was nominated on her role like a new star from the seem era within the late 20's and early `30s. The Assistance co-star Jessica Chastain also was nominated on her role as Spencers lonely, desperate boss. Also up for supporting actress are Melissa McCarthy as crude but caring person in the marriage in Bridesmaids and Jesse McTeer like a lady appearing like a male laborer in Albert Nobbs. McCarthy is really a rare funny lady competing in the Academy awards, which rarely recognition performances in mainstream comedies for example Bridesmaids. Copyright 2012 through the Connected Press. All privileges reserved. These components might not be released, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Gotham needs another mayor?

Kyra Sedgwick with Asger Leth Co-stars Sam Worthington and Elizabeth Banks Thursday night's Gotham screening of Summit's "Man on a Ledge" turned into an audience on the edge of its seat at the Tribeca Grand Hotel. "I was very surprised when the movie ended, everybody cheering for the movie at the end," Anthony Mackie said at the Cinema Society-hosted after-party in the recently opened restaurant ACME. "It goes back to the day of action-suspense movies that you can figure out and enjoy, and when you leave the movie it's money well-spent, as opposed to going to the movie and not knowing what the hell is going on when it's over." Director Asger Leth was psyched to film his first feature in NY City, which he calls "the most enigmatic place on earth." Not that he doesn't love his native Denmark. "But it's like when I'm away I read the Danish newspaper everyday and I'm looking at all the political problems that they have and they're yelling at each other and thinking it's a big deal. I'm like, 'Guy, our country's smaller than Brooklyn. Brooklyn doesn't even have a mayor!'"

National football league 2010 nfl playoffs hit 30-year high

The NFC Championship Game featuring the NY Titans and Bay Area 49ers came 57.six million audiences to Fox. Kaley Cuoco and Take advantage of Lowe in "Came Billings: Untouchable" The Nfl is on the rankings roll heading in to the Super Bowl, as Sunday's set of conference championship games averaged 53.7 million audiences -- a 30-year high. Fox's primetime NFC Championship between your NY Titans and Bay Area 49ers -- won 20-17 by NY in overtime -- came an astonishing 57.six million audiences, based on Nielsen, peaking with 69 million within the 10:30 p.m. ET half-hour. It stands because the No. 3-ranked game on record for that semifinal round from the National football league 2010 nfl playoffs, behind just the NFC Championship in 1982 (68.7 million for Dallas-Bay Area) and 2010 (57.9 million for Minnesota-New Orleans). And also the first game during the day, where the Gambling beat the Baltimore Ravens 23-20 to capture the AFC Championship, averaged 48.7 million audiences on CBS, which makes it probably the most-viewed mid-day AFC title game in 3 decades. Average viewership on Sunday of 53.7 million is easily the most for that conference titles since 1982, once the Dallas-Bay Area game was preceded by North Park-Cincinnati (51.six million). The conference championship contests are television's two most-viewed programs since last year's Super Bowl. NBC certainly needs to enjoy the Titans-Patriots game in Super Bowl XLVI, so it will broadcast on February. 5. Since the NFC Championship went so late, Fox's special episode of "The American Idol ShowInch did not hit the environment until 10:57 p.m. ET in much of the nation still it averaged about 20 million audiences. Internet introduced on Monday it would repeat it tonight instead of a "Glee" repeat. In other rankings news over the past weekend, Lifetime came a substantial 5.8 million audiences because of its premiere of "Came Billings: Untouchable" on Saturday. Telepic, starring Take advantage of Lowe and Kaley Cuoco, is fundamental cable's most-viewed original movie in 2 years. Contact Ron Kissell at ron.kissell@variety.com

Foes dubious over Netanyahu's lifeline

TEL AVIV -- Just in the nick of time, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week ordered his government to look for a way to save Channel 10, which is set to shutter Jan. 27 due to debts that have grown to NIS 60 million ($15.8 million).By Debra KaminThe move was looked on with a jaundiced eye by his fiercest detractors, who insist the channel's closure is part of a personal vendetta on Netanyahu's part.Channel 10 -- set up in 2002 by industrialist Yossi Meiman; Estee Lauder cosmetics heir and owner of Central European Media Enterprises Ronald Lauder; and producer Arnon Milchan -- is one of only two independent stations in Israel. Its closure would mean the Hebrew-language incarnations of such hits as "Beauty and the Geek," "Survivor," and "The Real Housewives" would go dark, and it would also give rival Channel 2, jointly run by media companies Reshet and Keshet, a monopoly over evening news coverage.The station has been bogged down with financial troubles since its launch, and its founders seem unwilling or unable to continue bailing it out. Meiman made most of his money from gas deals with Egypt. But the pipeline between the two countries has been blown up 10 times and, since last year's uprising, he's gone deeply into debt.Lauder reportedly threatened to stop financing Channel 10 in September, although it's not known whether he made good on that.Options for saving the channel have been discussed: the government could forgive the debt completely; the station could renegotiate its debt payment plan. A third solution, recently proposed in the Israeli parliament but not yet voted on, would allow Channel 10 not to pay the public agency that oversees commercial webs what it owes for Israeli-produced programming.However, Channel 10 employees and Netanyahu's opponents say the looming closure is not about money, but rather an attempt by the prime minister and his right-wing coalition to quash any form of criticism, even at the expense of democracy."Netanyahu wants Channel 10 to close," says a high-level performer on Channel 10, who asked that his name be withheld in hopes of keeping his job should the stationed be saved. "It has nothing to do with money; he wants to minimize any negative coverage of his work."It's no secret the prime minister is unhappy with Channel 10. He is suing the station and its reporter, Raviv Drucker, over an investigative report on foreign donors' funding of his trips abroad.But when a parliamentary committee led by Netanyahu's coalition nixed a one-year grace period for the channel, his critics cried foul. That move, coupled with a slew of "anti-democracy" laws, which include a ban on calls to boycott Israel or its West Bank settlements, has led some to declare the government is mounting an attack on democracy.At several major intersections across Israel, a new billboard has cropped up: In large letters, next to a photo of the prime minister, is the list of Netanyahu's perceived affronts to Israeli freedoms. Channel 10's imminent closure heads the list, followed by the names of several controversial laws.Others, however, say the conspiracy theories are overblown. "Yes, Netanyahu happens to be suing Channel 10, but if the same thing had happened on Channel 2, he would have sued Channel 2 as well," says Lahav Harkov, Knesset reporter for the Jerusalem Post. "It happens to be that Channel 10 is closing at the same time that there are bills that are changing the courts so it's convenient for the opposition to lump them all together, blame Netanyahu for all of it and say, 'democracy is dying.' But each of those issues has a background, and I just don't think it's fair to lump them all together. Most of them aren't even connected." Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

'LOL' Trailer: Miley Cyrus and Demi Moore Laugh Out Loud (LOLz)

Forgive us for thinking Miley Cyrus' next movie, 'LOL,' only stood for "laugh out loud." Behold, 'LOL' is short for Lola, Cyrus's character in this coming-of-age rom-com starring Demi Moore, Thomas Jane and Ashley Greene. Based on a French film of the same name, 'LOL' follows Lola, a high school teenager dealing with typical high school problems. (Boys! Underage drinking! Bad grades! Annoying moms! LOL!) The former Mrs. Kutcher stars as Cyrus's mother, Anne, who's just looking out for what's best for Lola. Also, there's an inexplicable trip to Paris, as well as the inevitable "let's have a party when my mom's out of town and trash the entire house without cleaning up before she comes home" scene. However, the one thing you won't see in this movie is Cyrus's character smoking pot. According to US Weekly, that sequence from 'LOL' was carefully edited after a video of Miley smoking a bong popped up online last year. You can check out the trailer for the film below. 'LOL' is scheduled to hit theaters some time in 2012. [via Vulture] [Photo: WireImage] Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook