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Film School Rejects' 10 best movies at Sundance '08

Posted Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 3:52 PM Central

by Tim Briscoe

What? You didn't make it out to Park City, Utah for this year's Sundance Film Festival? Yeah, me neither.

We can all live vicariously through the likes of Film School Reject's Neil Miller who posted his top 10 films from Robert Redford's just-finished cinema showcase.

Wait, wait... Before you dismiss this list consider some of Sundance's greatest. Reservoir Dogs, Clerks, Hairspray (the original), Napoleon Dynamite, Donnie Darko, and Memento all got their start at this festival for American independent film.

  1. Sunshine Cleaning - The enchanting Amy Adams stars with Emily Blunt as sisters to start an unusual business -- cleaning up evidence from crime scenes.
  2. Choke - An adaptation of author Chuck Palahniuk's (Fight Club) novel about a sex-addicted con man. Sam Rockwell stars in the lead for actor-turned-director Clark Gregg's debut.
  3. Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden? - Director Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me and FX's 30 Days) likes to prove documentaries don't have to be boring. This time he hunts down the Al-Qaeda terrorist.
  4. Towelhead - Based on Alicia Erian's novel of the same name, this drama from Alan Ball (American Beauty) tells the hardships of an Arab-American girl. Aaron Eckhart, Maria Bello, and Toni Collette co-star.
  5. Smart People - All all-star cast including Dennis Quaid, Sarah Jessica Parker, Thomas Haden Church, and current "It" girl Ellen Page highlight this comedy/drama.
  6. Be Kind Rewind - In this comedy, Jack Black and Mos Def perfect the fine art of "sweding" after they accidentally erase all the tape in their video store.
  7. Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson - A portrait of the late gonzo journalist from director Alex Gibney ( Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room).
  8. American Teen - A shocking documentary chronicling wild high school life in small town Warsaw, Ind. Nanette Burstein (The Kid Stays in the Picture) directs.
  9. The Wackness - Josh Peck (TV's Drake & Josh) stars in this tale of a small-time drug dealer in 1994. The movie is perhaps best known for the Mary-Kate Olsen and Ben Kingsley makeout scene (yuck!).
  10. Assassination of a High School President - This dark comedy has Mischa Barton team up with Reece Thompson to tackle a high school conspiracy. FSR's Miller calls it "one of the most intelligently written scripts that I’ve seen in years."

As you can probably guess from the previous alumni list, many of the films from Sundance get picked up for national distribution. We can expect to see most of these movies in theaters (at least in minor release) at some point later this year.

Be Kind Rewind is already scheduled for Feb. 22. Smart People arrives in theaters on Apr. 11. Choke is down for Aug. 1. Towelhead on Aug. 15. Subsequent DVD releases will occur roughly four to five months after theatrical release.