(rock music)
What movies will you be obsessing over
in approximately nine months from now
when they finally get released.
Well, I went to the Sundance Film Festival to find out.
And I saw the best new movies
that you have to cram into your eyeballs.
So, buckle up, because today's episode of The Dan Cave
is all about the best films that we saw
at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.
Blindspotting.
Now, according to the official Sundance Film Festival
description, Blindspotting is a buddy comedy
in a world that won't let it be one.
It's the story of Collin, a black man,
whose finishing out the final few days
of his parole sentence and his lifelong best friend Miles,
a white dude, as they struggle to adjust
to a changing Oakland in a hilarious
and ultimately heart-wrenching fashion.
It's a whip-smart comedy that gets deadly serious
about racism, police brutality and gentrification.
10 dollar green juices, you've got to be kidding me.
Plus, it uses freestyling better
than any movie since Teen Witch.
Top that, they just did.
♪ Top that ♪
Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind.
Do you still miss Robin Williams as much as I do?
The legendary actor and comedian passed away in 2014
but his legacy will outlive us all.
This new documentary traces Williams' life and career
from his childhood all the way to his dark final days.
Your face will hurt from smiling
and your heart will hurt from his absence
but, most of all, you'll just be fascinated
to learn more about this dynamic man
for whom spreading joy was his life's blood.
So, rest in peace Robin and thank you again
for all the laughs.
Mandy.
Tell me, do you like any of the following scenarios.
Nicolas Cage smelting his own battle axe
to fight LSD demon bikers, psychosexual murder cults
engaging in Lovecraftian weirdness.
Nick Cage getting in a chainsaw fight
after snorting a comically large pile of cocaine.
If you said yes or wait, what, to any of those,
then Mandy is gonna be extremely up your alley.
A literal and figurative cult classic in the making,
Mandy is a wild, psychedelic experience
from start to finish.
And it's full of blood, bad vibes
and one of the greatest scenes
of Cage-rage ever committed to film.
I seriously cannot recommend this enough, it was bonkers!
Eighth Grade
People like to talk about how high school sucks
but it's nothing compared to the emotional
war zone that was middle school.
That was like Vietnam with acne.
Written and directed by comedian Bo Burnham,
Eighth Grade is one of the most uncomfortably hilarious
and hilariously uncomfortable movies that I have ever seen.
It tells the story of Kayla, an awkward 13-year-old girl,
who's discomfort and anxieties amplified
by her crippling social media addiction.
If you thought your middle school experience was grueling
well, just imagine what it would have been like
with Snapchat and Instagram in the mix.
Anyway, please like and subscribe or else I'll die.
Gucci!
I Think We're Alone Now.
This film starring Peter Dinklage is kind of like
that Twilight Zone episode about the last man on Earth
who finally has time to read all the books
that he wants to read but then he breaks
his dumb glasses 'cause his eyes are stupid.
Anyway, this is a lot like that except
instead of breaking his glasses,
the Dinkmeister's forced to spend time
with another very talkative survivor played by Elle Fanning.
It's a slow-burn post-apocalypse drama
with one hell of a twist ending
but, most of all, it's a case study
in that hell is only other people, if we want it to be.
That being said, if it is the apocalypse
and I'm just trying to have some like chill out time
by myself, please leave me alone.
Yeah, I'm talking to you, Elle Fanning.
Stop it!
Assassination Nation
Billed as the 100% true story of how the town
of Salem, Massachusetts lost its mind.
Assassination Nation is one of the wildest cinematic
rides I've taken in ages.
It's been called Mean Girls meets The Purge
which doesn't quite do it justice
but is a pretty decent, sort of, mash-up explanation.
When a mysterious hacker leaks the text messages,
search histories and nude photos of half the town,
everybody goes insane, arming themselves to the teeth
and exacting mob justice on anyone they deem guilty.
It's a hilarious, poignant, horrifying story
of toxic masculinity, the hypocrisy of self-righteousness
and just how quickly a mob mentality can turn violent.
It's an uncomfortably timely film
but it'll have you cheering in your seat
when you see the four girls in the film
center exact their sweet and bloody vengeance.
The Death of Stalin
Perhaps the blackest black comedy I've ever seen.
Veep creator Armando Iannucci's latest film
examines the immediate aftermath and ensuing
Machiavellian hunger games that erupted
in the wake of Joseph Stalin's death.
In a scathing satire starring Steve Buscemi,
Simon Russell Beale and Andrea Riseborough
and a host of other amazing actors.
The film is all about bumbling bureaucrats,
mischievous ministers and sleazy schemers,
as they vie for control of the Soviet Union
in hilarious fashion.
Well, as hilarious as you can make it when you're dealing
with political imprisonment, wanton executions
and the nightmarish conditions that Stalin created.
And, considering the fact that it's already been banned
in Russia, well, you know it's gotta be good.
Wolves in the Walls
Quite possibly the best thing I saw at Sundance this year
was this VR film based on the eponymous short story
from Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean.
It puts you in the role of a young girl's imaginary friend.
She's been hearing creepy sounds late at night in her house.
The sounds of wolves, and as the title suggests,
it sounds like they're coming from inside the walls
and the only problem is nobody believes her.
And it's up to you to help her find the proof.
While it's mostly a passive narrative experience
there are some delightful moments of interactivity
that'll make you feel as though you're living
in Gaiman and McKean's creepy, cute world.
For anyone who wished they could explore
the world of Coraline, this is for you.
More importantly, this movie is the standard
to which other VR filmmakers should strive to reach.
If I had a headset, I would drop it like a mic
but that's way too expensive.
And, those are some of the very best films
of the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.
For full reviews, interviews and much more,
make sure you check out our Sundance tag page on nerdist.com
But, tell me, what movies are you most excited to see?
Let me know in the comments below
and give me a snowy thumbs up while you're there.
Now, be sure to like and subscribe
or else you might miss next week's show
about the story of an English teacher
who uses unorthodox methods to connect
to his private school students
and the mutant mercenary trying to murder them all
in Deadpoolets Society.
Until next time, keep on diggin'.