Author: Derrick Murray

While the feature film lineup from Sundance has garnered quite a bit of success and Oscars buzz lately, documentaries are where the festival really shines. In the current Oscar race, 4 out of 5 documentary nominees debuted at Sundance, making it the go to festival for docs. 2025 was no different, delivering some of the most fascinating and engaging documentaries so far and setting the precedent for the rest of year. From deaf students to colon cancer to stand your ground laws to on the ground trench warfare, the documentary lineup had it all this year. So let’s take a…

The 2025 Sundance Film Festival wrapped up its virtual run late Sunday evening 2/2/2025, thus concluding the festival run. I had a lofty goal of getting to at least 60+ film between on the ground and virtual, and was unfortunately stifled by a really nasty virus I picked up in Park City. I shorted up some of my in person days due to illness, and returned home basically bedridden with barely a mind alert enough to pay attention to cinema. Sundance also had some issues with online leaks for some films, causing them to remove the films from their virtual…

The days are long and the movies are constant. Thus is life at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, rushing from line to line, theater to theater in the freezing cold surrounded by gorgeous snow covered mountains and city streets. I’ve been very busy trying to catch as many films as the daylight will allow, so let’s do a quick review recap of some films I saw over the last few days to keep an eye one! There’s a lot of movies, so I’ll keep these reviews shorter than usual. “Twinless” Easily a festival favorite for me, “Twinless” broke my heart…

The Sundance Film Festival is in full swing, and we are on the ground covering the latest in cinema debuting here in freezing Park City. There are simply too many films to see and not enough time to watch them, let alone review them in real time. But when I get some down time – which is admittedly scarce – I will do my best to offer some quick reviews of the films I’ve seen. So let’s take a quick look at some big films I’ve been able to see here at Sundance! “Jimpa” I am a huge fan of…

The Midnight section of the Sundance Film Festival is usual ripe with horror and thriller gems that endure throughout the year upon their release. Some of the my favorite horror films have their premiere at Sundance, so you can imagine my excitement getting to be on the ground this year and experiencing midnight films at the festival. Thankfully, “The Ugly Stepsister” keeps the hot streak alive, delivering exactly what you would want from a grim(m), gruesome body horror reimagining of a classic fairy tale. The disney-fication of Grimm’s original work is nowhere to be found here, and “The Ugly Stepsister”…

The Sundance Film Festival is fast approaching, and Nerdbot is on the ground this year, bringing you the latest from independent voices from all over the world. With over 90 films to see over roughly 11 days, even for someone like me who tries to see everything simply cannot. There’s so many great films this year, and I’ve got a few I want to highlight and to put on your list and we head into Park City! So here are a few feature films I recommend checking out when you can! “Touch Me” Back at Sundance with her second feature,…

There are always more movies to see, and this year I am proud to share that I will be attending the Sundance Film Festival in person. That’s right, Nerdbot will be on the ground, seeking out some of the best independent voices working in cinema. Sundance is unique as the first major festival of the season, setting the precedent for what we can expect for the rest of the year in film. International cinema, drama, thriller, comedy, directorial debuts and fascinating documentaries all make up the 2025 line up, and we’ve got some docs that we want to put on…

“Better Man” may be conventional on paper, but its unconventional packaging delivers a wallop of entertainment often missing from these kinds of things.

While I remain a staunch advocate for the theatrical experience as the primary way to enjoy cinema, I’ve long missed a lot of these special screenings of classics – both cult and populous – that have become prevalent as of late. These screenings celebrate milestones of cinema, be it restoration, special format or anniversaries. “Se7en” celebrates all three, being restored for theatrical viewing, formatted for IMAX, and turns 30 this year. A seminal entry into the thriller genre and David Fincher’s distinct directorial career, “Se7en” remains one of the best of its kind, with no amount of time passed hinders…

As the growing number of films I see each year grows, so does the challenge of creating a best of list. Even in years where it seems like there are a ton of 3.5 star films, it is still incredibly difficult to get the some 50+ films I really enjoyed down to 25. I was originally shooting for 20 films this year, a small increase over 2023, and decided to increase it even more for a few reasons. One, there were just too many films left on the honorable mentions list that it made more sense to just include them…