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Although Chicago readily and enthusiastically claims Roger Ebert as one of its favorite sons, the late, great film critic spent most of his formative years in the bustling university metropolis of Champaign, Illinois. For years, Champaign has played home to Ebertfest, an annual hometown celebration where he selects several of his favorite under-the-radar films from recent years to be screened for the locals at the historic Virginia Theatre. And although this is the first Ebertfest without the man, the show will go on as planned. 

Reviews can be dangerous. Personally, I tend not to read too many of them until after I've seen a film—and even then, only after I've processed my own thoughts. What's the point in seeing a film if you're just going to walk out of the theater and think, Well that was a disaster, but I know I'm supposed to love it or being profoundly moved by something but knowing that critics felt just the opposite so, I'll keep this absolute joy to myself. Come on, now. If there's a discussion to be had about the film before its release, it's always more interesting to learn about the person or people behind the film and how that person made this specific piece of art and what it meant for them, so you can at least learn the intentions behind the work.

Amidst the delirium of award season, the annual Sundance Film Festival creeps up every January to remind us each year that the scope of Hollywood is changing and being infiltrated with a host of new talent and emerging artists from around the world. The festival is a beacon for A-list talent as well as those new to the world of cinema who are getting their first premieres and chance at large-scale recognition. With an enormous slate of films, the festival will commence on Thursday and feature new work from those you already know and worship and those whose names are on the tip of our tongues.

We first fell in love with Brie Larson when she starred as Kate, Toni Colette's angsty and savvy teenage daughter on The United States of Tara. Since then, she's gone on to guest star on comedies such as The League, but it's her roles in Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World and 21 Jump Street that have turned audiences onto the charismatic young talent. Although blessed with an aptitude for comedic timing, there's something about Larson that makes us hungry to see how she fares in something meatier or more in dramatic world.

“Our goal was identification, not objectification—and the humor if it speaks to the fact that it’s really fun to be drunk and it's not wrong to say that! There’s a reason people drink and we wanted that to be a part of the spirit of the film,” admits writer/director James Ponsoldt, whose sophomore feature, Smashed, takes the typical uninviting portrait of addiction and spews it out into a unique amalgamation of dry wit and raw emotion. There's always a genuine sense of comedy hiding in the cracks of everyday struggle, and here, we see a story that's more about illustrating the lighter side of pain rather than a moral tale about the dangers of alcoholism and the punishment one must bare in the face of redemption.