Top 5 Sundance Movies I Want to See

Every year, it's exciting to see the movies that garner buzz at Sundance, and sometimes, those movies continue to get attention throughout the year (such as Winter's Bone, that rode its positive reception all the way to the Oscars).  This year was especially strong, featuring movies starring relative unknowns and instantly recognizable (even red and furry) stars.  Here are the movies coming out of Sundance that I'm most excited to see.

1. Like Crazy                                                                                                                      
This romance is the breakout hit of the festival this year.  Director Drake Doremus is back for the second year straight, but this touching love story is more likely to reach a wide audience than his last offering, Douchebag.  Felicity Jones (The Tempest) and the phenomenal Anton Yelchin (who has been so great in Charlie Bartlett, Star Trek, Terminator Salvation, and New York, I Love You) star as college-aged lovers separated by an ocean when Jones' character's visa expires and she is sent back to England.  Much of the dialogue was ad-libbed, creating a genuine romance that garnered reactions similar to (500) Days of Summer when it first premiered at the festival in 2009.  Fox Searchlight picked it up for $4 million, but a release date has yet to be set.

2. Martha Marcy May Marlene                                                                                                        
Try saying that one five times fast.  Elizabeth Olsen (the twins' younger sister) and Oscar-nominee John Hawkes star in this drama about a girl (Olsen) who escapes a cult and tries to readjust to life in the outside world.  Nightmares of her experiences and paranoia that she may be taken back to her former life prevent the title character (who is known by the various names within the cult) from connecting with her sister and brother-in-law.  Olsen is already considered one of the year's breakout stars, and if the film catches, maybe Hawkes could get a second straight nomination for playing the charismatic cult leader.

3. Homework                                                                                                                                    
I'm a bit of a sucker for high school romances (I swooned during the staged-y love stories of American Teen), and this one deserves special attention for its talented leads: no-longer-a-little-boy Freddie Highmore (Finding Neverland, August Rush) and Emma Roberts (so great in last year's It's Kind of a Funny Story).  Highmore plays a slacker who falls for beauty queen Roberts and tries to get his life in order, more or less.  The supporting cast includes Alicia Silverstone and Blair Underwood.

4. Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey                                                                                         
It's a documentary about the man who plays Elmo on Sesame Street.  If you really need to know more, your inner child may be dead.  This doc should serve as a nice companion to Thanksgiving's The Muppets, and it'll be interesting to see the difference between the man who can walk down the street without being recognized and the puppet that everyone in the world knows (fame is a strange thing, no?).  With a feel-good story of dreams coming true, this will probably be one of the most commercially successful documentaries of the year.

5. Win Win                                                                                                                                                                    
Look back one post to see the trailer for the latest flick from the great Tom McCarthy.  In addition to a great director, we've got a cast that includes the ever-amazing Paul Giamatti, Amy Ryan, and Jeffrey Tambor.  It's set for a March 18 release.