Okay, folks. Before I get to Sundance coverage, I'm going to indulge the avalanche of mail that's come in demanding a response to The Moldy... uh, Golden Globes. I have no problem with the American Beauty run. Denzel (now a one-name star) and Hilary Swank could well repeat on Oscar® night. Janet McTeer, who gives a wonderful performance in Tumbleweeds, has got to be a hype win given that I bet no more than 20 percent of Globe voters even saw the film. The only award I really thought was stupid was Toy Story 2. I liked the movie. A lot. But come on! Toy Story 2 over Being John Malkovich is a joke, especially from a supposedly sophisticated non-American group.

Much more interesting to me were the DGA nominations, which do have a real effect on the Oscar nominations. Talk about left field! Michael Mann and Sam Mendes were not surprising. Frank Darabont shouldn't have been surprising but was, after the film was beaten down by overzealous critics. But Spike Jonze and M. Night Shyamalan really caught me off guard. Jonze was brilliant in his restraint, but I was sure that would cost him come awards time. And Shyamalan ...well, I don't see it as a Top 5 directing performance. But there is always one with the DGA and me. Quite interesting. And a pleasant sign from the DGA that they aren’t just going to rely on old favorites. Darabont is the only one of the five to have been nominated for directing a feature film.

And now...

Sundance - Day Six

As I sat and watched Groove, my age smacked me in the face. I had a great time and I didn't have to fight to groove to the tunes. But in the world of Groove, I'm an old man at 35. I guess part of that is that I choose to be an old man at 35. Here I am, writing a daily column, sacrificing nights of carousing with horny young drunk wannabes at the various parties that overshadow the films every night, to give you a view from here. What kind of lunacy is that? Well, I guess it's exactly the lunacy that Groove is all about. Sometimes, you just have to let it all loose, forget the world of rules and groove. Were it only that we old-35ers could all have a guide to that freedom who looks like Lola Glaudini.

Groove is the story of a San Francisco rave. And true to its name, it grooves from start to finish. It's a world where everyone is young and thus, everyone is beautiful. In the world of the night, sensation is more important than anything. And there is balance, from the dance floor to the chill room to the dusty corners of the old warehouse they've take over for just one night.

Groove is the child of trailer cutter turned director Greg Harrison and young female producer Danielle Renfrew. Keep an eye out for the duo, who told a screening audience that they intend to remain a San Francisco-based team for at least a few more films. From a distance, Harrison seems to be Mr. Nice Guy, an older brother to his team, while tiny beauty Renfrew must crack the whip with the best of them. (I make them sound like characters in the movie.) They got a lot out of not so much money. The film never seems to be skimping. If something should be there, it seems to be there.

They shot the picture in some kind of super-duper 16, newly available from Kodak, and it reminds me once again of the glory of film. (There is a great digital video doc on raves called Better Living Through Circuitry that still needs distribution and will make a great double feature with Groove at revival houses someday.) Harrison may have been pressed in terms of production time, but he clearly demanded the highest standard of himself. He has an entire cast of pretty much unknown actors, but unlike many films in this festival, none of them ever hit a clunker. And Harrison has a secret weapon in Cinematographer Matthew Irving. Irving delivers a look that is richer, smoother and more intricately lit (while never showing off) than almost any film that you will find in this genre, including Go.

To be as brutally honest as I can be, I still prefer Doug Liman's Go to this film. They are very similar. And no, there is no question about Harrison stealing from Liman. Groove was happening well before Go was in release. Both films come from the cinematic conceit of a wide variety of people coming together through happenstance and realigning their lives. Though the comparison is a little unfair to director/screenwriter Harrison, the real parent of this film (and Go, for that matter) is Thank God It's Friday. If you saw that film, remember the icons…the button up guy getting high and threatening his relationship, the best dancer, the romance between an outsider and a really nice guy, the leader of the pack, the wannabe star (here wanting to be a DJ, not Donna Summer.)

But don't get me wrong. I think that Groove is probably the Sundance pick-up with the best commercial prospects. I obviously haven't seen every movie, but between the ones I have seen and the buzz around some of the others, and the subject matter of others still, Groove could be the breakout movie. Which makes it all the odder that it was picked up by Sony Pictures Classics. This is not the kind of film that I expect to see as a SPC film. And ironically, it is exactly the kind of film I see as an Artisan film, the company that picked up Chuck and Buck, which would be a solid SPC pick-up. (Amusingly, The Hollywood Reporter seems to have taken some mental suppressant, reporting on Artisan's pick-up of C&B without mentioning the word "gay" or a synonymous word even once. Even people who love it seem to understand that it's a gay film. But I guess that no one wants to have paid - so they claim- over $1 million for the next Trick.) SPC is known for not spending a lot of money on marketing. I hope they break that rule here. It's not that they need a lot of TV ad dollars. But this is a film that should become a must-see on the rave scene over months of hardcore grass roots marketing.

A Great Doc & A Slight Mock

This has been, simply, a remarkable festival for documentaries so far. There are 16 documentaries in competition and every day I hear about another one that I "must see." Well-Founded Fear was my fourth documentary of the festival and it did not disappoint. The film by Shari Robertson and Michael Camerini (just set to launch the new season of the P.O.V. series on PBS this June) is about the system by which people are given asylum in America. Or, more to the point, the system by which so few are given asylum in the U.S. The film is the first to get access to process in which applicants meet with Asylum Officers and tell their stories. Almost every meeting comes down to a decision based on very picky judgement calls. You start to empathize almost as much with the Asylum Officers, faced with making almost impossible choices, as you do with the applicants, until the film gently reminds you that these people may be deported into hopeless lifestyles that make the worst of America look pretty good.

If I have any problem with this remarkable document, it's the lack of an answer to the problem. When I asked about solutions after the screening, Ms. Robertson suggested some changes in the law and a term limit for the Asylum Officers, who become terribly jaded terribly fast. Oddly, the comment reminded me of The Beach, which asks the question whether humans are capable of living in paradise. Is there any system that demands human judgement of other humans that doesn't end up doing much of what it does for the wrong reasons? I have always held that this is the genius of law. It is not human. It is, by its nature, an objective measure. Of course, it too gets bent. But courts are there to interpret with very little room for variation, like scholars analyzing the bible. The Ten Commandments give them a bedrock. But in the immigration business, there is only one Commandment…Well-Founded Fear. Not exactly Thou Shalt Not Kill.

My third film of the day was The Opportunists. One hates to damn with faint praise, so I'll be brief. Screenwriter/Director Myles Connell makes a nice looking film. Christopher Walken will probably score him a Showtime premiere, which is where this film belongs. We've been here before. A down-on-his-luck former thief is drawn back in when he just isn't cutting it in the straight life. This is the kind of film that could be great if it had a half dozen twists and turns. It has none. Connell has apparently directed some "Homicide" episodes. Based on this film, that's where he belongs. On a good hour-long series where the writers need someone to bring great scripts to well-drawn life.

I intended to go to more movies tonight, but I decided to err on the side of sleep. Yes, I may actually get to bed tonight by 2 a.m. so that I can get up for a 9 a.m. screening of Happy Accidents, which is getting great buzz, even from folks who didn't like Next Stop, Wonderland. Six hours sleep may not sound like much of an accomplishment to you…but believe me…it's dreamy.

READER OF THE DAY: Martin To Block writes: "Did you see Girlfight yet? The acting was raw and very believable. Newcomer Michelle Rodriguez looked beautiful in the Q&A session after, a far cry from the scowl she wore in the film. Also enjoyed The Ballad of Ramblin' Jack Elliot. In addition to being a documentary of about Aiyana Elliot's father, it was a spectacular history of American folk music. We sat with Jack's family and their reactions to the film were priceless and heartwarming."

And this from Joe Utah: "I am an average Joe living in Utah ...unbiased by all the Hollywood/NY zombies who only like what the other zombies like. If you want to see a GREAT film, see Shadow Magic. It explains what making pictures is really all about. It was fantastic. Best movie I have seen since The English Patient.

Heather Graham is about as good as Tom Cruise's wife ...which is not too good. Graham has a silly grin and a great body, so I guess that makes her a Superstar in Hollywood - the ability to act seems to be secondary.

I also enjoyed New Waterford Girl. Liane Balaban is a new and vastly improved Winona Ryder. She is amazing in her first film. This girl is going to be a big star. I thought Saving Grace was a funny and a well made movie. It's a movie with a central story about growing pot and the funny thing is I think my mom would love it and she has never touched a single drug in her entire life. Actually, come to speak of it, neither have I."

DAVID NOTE: I actually think Nicole Kidman is a very good, very underestimated actress. And I will put Shadow Magic on my priority list.

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E ME: Will any of you be rushing out to see Golden Globe winners? And for that matter, does a Sundance appearance encourage you to see a film?