| Pretty Bird | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Paul Schneider |
| Written by | Paul Schneider |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Igor Martinovic |
| Edited by | Annette Davey |
| Music by | Wim Mertens |
Production company | Sound Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 120 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $3.75 million |
Pretty Bird is a 2008 American comedy film. It competed in the Dramatic Competition at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival [1] and was released on DVD in the United States on June 29, 2010.
A sweet-natured guy enlists his best friend, and an engineer who lost his job and has an attitude problem, to help him create and market his idea for a rocket-powered belt. The entrepreneur never loses his confidence the idea will work even though he runs into problems that include finding investors and disagreements with his engineer.
Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 20% based on reviews from 5 critics. [2]
Robert Koehler of Variety criticized the film as being "overly calculated" and predictable, noting that the only bright spot in the film was its soundtrack. [3] Duane Byrge of The Hollywood Reporter wrote ""Pretty Bird flaps one comic wing and one dramatic wing, but this slight-framed bird never soars and ultimately crashes under the weight of its excessive thematic ballast". [4]
The Wackness is a 2008 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film written and directed by Jonathan Levine. The film is a semi-autobiographical account of Levine's life growing up in New York City in the 1990s. It stars Ben Kingsley, Josh Peck, Famke Janssen, Olivia Thirlby, Mary-Kate Olsen, and Method Man. It revolves around a troubled teenage drug dealer who trades pot for therapy sessions with a drug-addled psychiatrist.
Downloading Nancy is a 2008 drama film directed by Johan Renck, starring Maria Bello and Jason Patric. It is loosely based on the death of Sharon Lopatka, who sought out someone who would torture her to death. The film premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, where it was nominated for a Grand Jury Prize.
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson is a 2008 documentary film directed by Alex Gibney. It details Hunter S. Thompson's landmark writings on music and politics. Friends and family provide interviews to help describe the mythos of Hunter and his life.
Hamlet 2 is a 2008 American comedy film directed by Andrew Fleming, written by Fleming and Pam Brady, and starring Steve Coogan, Catherine Keener, Amy Poehler, and David Arquette. It was produced by Eric Eisner, Leonid Rozhetskin, and Aaron Ryder. Hamlet 2 was filmed primarily at a New Mexico high school from September to October 2007. The film premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival and was distributed by Focus Features.
Moon is a 2009 science fiction film directed by Duncan Jones and written by Nathan Parker from a story by Jones. The film follows Sam Bell, a man who experiences a personal crisis as he nears the end of a three-year solitary stint mining helium-3 on the far side of the Moon. Kevin Spacey, Dominique McElligott, Kaya Scodelario, Benedict Wong, Matt Berry, and Malcolm Stewart also star. It premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival and was released in selected cinemas in New York and Los Angeles on 12 June 2009. The release was expanded to additional theatres in the United States on 10 July and to the United Kingdom on 17 July. A follow-up film containing an epilogue to the film's events, Mute, was released in 2018. A third installment, a graphic novel called Madi: Once Upon A Time in the Future, was released in 2020.
The Winning Season is a 2009 American sports comedy film written and directed by James C. Strouse, and starring Sam Rockwell. It premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival and had a limited theatrical release on September 3, 2010. The film was distributed by Lionsgate in the United Kingdom, and the United States after they brought the rights to the film at Sundance. Plum Pictures and Gigi Films produced the film.
Four Sheets to the Wind is a 2007 independent drama film written and directed by Sterlin Harjo. It was Harjo's first feature film, and won several awards at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival and American Indian Film Festival.
Redemption Road is a 2010 American film directed by Mario Van Peebles and starring Michael Clarke Duncan and Luke Perry.
After Tiller is a 2013 documentary film directed by Martha Shane and Lana Wilson that follows the only four remaining doctors in the United States who openly perform abortions in the third trimester of pregnancy. In 2015, After Tiller won the News and Documentary Emmy Award for Best Documentary. The title of the film refers to George Tiller, a doctor who performed abortions and was murdered in 2009.
The Battered Bastards of Baseball is a 2014 documentary film about the Portland Mavericks, a defunct minor league baseball team in Portland, Oregon. They played five seasons in the Class A-Short Season Northwest League, from 1973 through 1977. Owned by actor Bing Russell, the Mavericks were an independent team, without the affiliation of a parent team in the major leagues. The title is from a line in Jim Bouton's 1970 book Ball Four: "Us battered bastards of baseball are the biggest customers of the U.S. Post Office, forwarding-address department."
Alive Inside: A Story of Music and Memory is a 2014 American documentary film directed and produced by Michael Rossato-Bennett. The film premiered in the competition category of U.S. Documentary Competition program at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 18, 2014. It won the Audience Award: U.S. Documentary at the festival. The documentary explores diseases that impair neurological function, such as Alzheimer's disease and dementia, and proposes a treatment option that is claimed to improve a patient's quality of life. It discusses that the elderly community are on the decline in social status and that western society neglects old age to idealize youth. It includes a series of interviews with individuals of neurology, geriatrics, and music. The documentary tells the story of patients and their experience with music therapy and creating personalized playlists for elderly patients with dementia and Alzheimer's disease based on their music preferences.
Captivated: The Trials of Pamela Smart is a 2014 American documentary film directed by Jeremiah Zagar. The film premiered in competition in the category of U.S. Documentary Competition program at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 17, 2014.
E-Team is a 2014 American documentary film co-directed and produced by Katy Chevigny and Ross Kauffman. The film premiered in the competition category of U.S. Documentary Competition program at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 18, 2014. Rachel Beth Anderson and Ross Kauffman won the Cinematography Award: U.S. Documentary at the festival, as well as the Candescent Award.
No No: A Dockumentary is a 2014 American documentary film directed and produced by Jeff Radice. The film premiered in competition category of U.S. Documentary Competition program at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2014.
Rich Hill is a 2014 American documentary film co-produced and directed by Andrew Droz Palermo and Tracy Droz Tragos about Rich Hill, Missouri. The film premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the U.S. Grand Jury Prize for a documentary.
Watchers of the Sky is a 2014 American documentary film directed by Edet Belzberg. The film premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2014 in the U.S. Documentary Competition. It won the two awards at the festival. It went on to win the Jonathan Daniels Award at the Monadnock International Film Festival and the Ostrovsky Award for Best Documentary Film at the Jerusalem Film Festival.
Web Junkie is a 2013 American-Israeli documentary film co-written, directed and produced by Hilla Medalia and Shosh Shlam. The film premiered at the 2013 Jerusalem Film Festival on July 10, 2013.
Freedom Summer is a 2014 American documentary film, written, produced and directed by Stanley Nelson Jr. The film had its world premiere at 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 17, 2014.
Love in the Time of Money is a 2002 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Peter Mattei, and starring Steve Buscemi, Vera Farmiga, Rosario Dawson, Malcolm Gets, Jill Hennessy, and Adrian Grenier. The film, executive produced by Robert Redford, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 11, 2002. It had a limited release in the United States on November 1, 2002.
Dead Pigs is a 2018 comedy drama film written and directed by Cathy Yan in her directorial feature film debut. It stars Vivian Wu, Haoyu Yang, Mason Lee, Meng Li, and David Rysdahl. The film had its world premiere in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition section at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival on January 19, 2018. It was released worldwide on Mubi on February 12, 2021.
