Sunday, May 5

Sundance 2024 Film review: Despite muscular plot, ‘Love Lies Bleeding’ falters under weight of weak script

This post was updated Jan. 30 at 9:19 p.m.  Warning: Spoilers ahead. In need of bulking, “Love Lies Bleeding” fails to lift the weight. Directed and co-written by Rose Glass, the crime-thriller follows Lou (Kristen Stewart), a withdrawn gym manager, and Jackie (Katy O’Brian), a hitchhiking bodybuilder, as their destructive romance rapidly begins to unlock hidden secrets about Lou’s family and past. Read more...



Sundance 2024: ‘I Saw the TV Glow’ actors discuss film’s script, connections to upbringing

“I Saw the TV Glow” is breaking through the static of the horror genre. After making their narrative film debut at Sundance 2021 with their lo-fi horror film “We’re All Going to the World’s Fair,” writer-director Jane Schoenbrun returned to this year’s festival with “I Saw the TV Glow.” The filmmaker’s A24-produced sophomore entry centers on lonely teenagers Owen (Justice Smith) and Maddy (Brigette Lundy-Paine) who find solace in their favorite television show, “The Pink Opaque.” Smith, Lundy-Paine and cast member Ian Foreman spoke with the Daily Bruin’s Graciana Paxton at the Sundance Film Festival about the ways in which the coming-of-age horror explores media obsessions, isolation and identity. Read more...



Sundance 2024: Post-apocalyptic romance ‘Love Me’ tells technological tangle tale

Love and humanity transcend water and space in “Love Me.” The post-apocalyptic romance premiered in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Directed by filmmaking duo Sam and Andy Zuchero, the movie follows the blossoming romance between a buoy (Kristen Stewart) and a satellite (Steven Yeun) after meeting online in a world where human life no longer exists. Read more...


Sundance 2024: Female filmmakers discuss importance of diversity, representation in panel

Female filmmakers are taking revolutionary directing practices from Park City, Utah, to Hollywood. At this year’s Sundance Film Festival, directors Lana Wilson, Fawzia Mirza, Sydney Freeland and Ally Pankiw participated in “Independent Women: How Indie Filmmakers are Bringing Transformative Approaches to Hollywood,” a panel hosted by Acura and Women in Film. Read more...


Sundance 2024: With neon ’90s visuals, ‘I Saw the TV Glow’ is a haunting exploration of identity

All that glitters is gold – or pink – in Jane Schoenbrun’s “I Saw the TV Glow.” The writer-director’s stunning sophomore narrative effort follows teenagers Owen (Justice Smith) and Maddy (Brigette Lundy-Paine) as the two seek to overcome feelings of loneliness and otherness through their shared love for a fictional ’90s late-night program, “The Pink Opaque.” With striking visual language, Schoenbrun fires on all cylinders, maximizing both style and substance through clarity of voice and a deeply original script in the beautifully haunting “I Saw the TV Glow.” And glow it does, as the neon pinks, blues and greens that inform the film’s vivid aesthetic deliciously ooze from the screen. Read more...