8 more intriguing Sundance picks

Apparently eight REALLY isn't enough.

Last week, I thought I might get away with giving eight recommendations — of sorts — for things that I thought looked interesting from the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, which kicked off this week if you somehow missed it.

But I really heard it from readers who clearly planned to attend the festival and who thought that a few more suggestions were needed.

By the way, I'm not guaranteeing that the selections (which included the romantic comedy "500 Days of Summer" and the thriller "Five Minutes of Heaven") were going to be good, just that they sounded interesting.

Also, I'm not guaranteeing that I'll see them all — at least not during this year's Sundance.

But here you go — here are eight more films at Sundance '09 that have caught my eye:

"Bronson" (Jan. 19, 21 and 24 in Park City; Jan. 22 in Salt Lake City)

I've become a fan of violent British gangster films — such as Guy Ritchie features and "Layer Cake" — and I'm hearing good things about this one.

"The Cove" (Jan. 20, 22 and 24 in Park City; Jan. 21 in Salt Lake City)

This dolphin-centric documentary might not be as family friendly as the hit "March of the Penguins," but it's an interesting subject.

"The Missing Person" (Jan. 20 and 21 in Park City; Jan. 18 in Salt Lake City)

A noir thriller featuring two of the best character actors working in film and television today, Michael Shannon and Amy Ryan.

"Once More With Feeling" (Jan. 19, 20 and 23 in Park City; Jan. 24 in Salt Lake City)

A romantic fable about a psychiatrist (Chazz Palminteri) who wants to be a crooner? Now that's an original idea for a movie!

"The Only Good Indian" (Jan. 18, 24 and 25 in Park City)

I'm also a big of Westerns, and this revisionist tale about Native American intrigue could be good.

"Predisposed" (Jan. 20, 21 and 24 in Park City)

As she proved in last year's "Frozen River," Melissa Leo is one of the most fascinating actresses you've never heard of before. (This is playing in one of the shorts programs, by the way.)

"Thriller in Manila" (Jan. 21 in Park City)

Sort of a companion piece to "When We Were Kings" (1996), this boxing documentary shows Joe Frasier's side of things.

"Why We Laugh: Black Comedians on Black Comedy" (Jan. 19 and 22 in Park City; Jan. 18 in Salt Lake City)

As a fan of filmmaker Robert Townshend ("Hollywood Shuffle"), I'm anxious to see what he does with this documentary feature.

If you go …

What: Sundance Film Festival '09

Where: Various venues in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and the Sundance resort (Provo Canyon)

When: Through Jan 25

How much: $15 ($15 wait-list tickets)

Phone: 435-776-7878

Web: www.sundance.org/festival

E-mail: jeff@desnews.com