The Five Buzziest Films At Sundance 2010

List of the Day

It’s the question that you hear in every line for a film, at every party, on every bus and ski lift in Park City during Sundance: “Seen any good movies so far?” Eventually you start noticing patterns in the answers and it affects your choices the rest of the week. From my extensive scientific research eavesdropping on conversations and noting what tickets for press screenings go quickest, here are my picks for the Five Buzziest Films at Sundance. And I hope to catch them all before I leave.

5. Cyrus
Directors: Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass
The Duplass Brothers (Puffy Chair, Baghead) are back, this time with actors you might recognize—John C. Reilly, Jonah Hill, Marisa Tomei, Catherine Keener. Two men battle for the same woman—but one of them is her son.

4. Tucker & Dale vs. Evil
Director: Eli Craig
A gory tale of wrong assumptions, Tucker & Dale has surprised festivalgoers with just how funny a movie about a pair of hillbillies can be.

3. Blue Valentine
Director: Derek Cianfrance
“Devastating” and “depressing” are the most common descriptors for this Ryan Gosling/Michelle Williams romantic meltdown movie. It might not be feel-good, but from all accounts it’s just plain good. I’ll be seeing this today.

2. Exit Through the Gift Shop
Director: Banksy
In “the world’s first street art disaster movie,” graffiti legend Banksy turns a documentary on its head. “It’s the story of how one man set out to film the un-filmable. And failed.” It’s the most fun movie everyone who’s seen it says they’ve seen at Sundance. And seeing walls that Banksy has tagged this week in Park City is pretty damn cool.

1. Catfish
Directors: Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman
This documentary follows photographer Yaniv Schulman as startling facts come to light about his online interaction with an eight-year-old painter and her attractive older sister. Someone on the bus raves, “It’s the most original film I’ve seen in a long time,” and everyone else I’ve talked to agrees. Unless they add screenings, I’ll have to take them all at their word.