Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds
Author: Carrie Kahn
Moving from the arthouse to the multiplex with grace, ease, and only the occasional eye roll. Proud member of the San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle.
Sandler reason enough to see stressful new Safdie brothers’ picture
Fast-talking jeweler Howard Ratner (Adam Sandler) peddles his wares.
“You are the most annoying person I have ever met,” Howard Ratner’s soon-to-be ex-wife Dinah (Idina Menzel) tells him midway through Benny and Josh Safdie’s new film Uncut Gems. By that point, you’ll be bound to agree with her. As played by Adam Sandler in a career defining performance, Howard is not exactly pleasant to spend time with. The film, too, can be equally unpleasant: it’s a frenetic, exhausting experience that may leave you emotionally spent. But Sandler is absolutely riveting, and, annoying as Howard may be, he’s a character unlike any we’ve seen before. Sandler’s brilliant portrayal of him is reason alone to give this frenzied picture a chance.
Abrams is back in command, but is that all there is?
The gang’s all here: (from l.: Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo), Poe (Oscar Isaac), Finn (John Boyega), and Rey (Daisy Ridley) gather aboard the Millennium Falcon.
Let me say up front that what you are reading will be a completely spoiler-free review of the new, ninth and final Star Wars movie, The Rise of Skywalker. So read on without fear. I want to be careful about revealing any of the film’s surprises, since, if you’re a fan of the franchise — especially a Gen X’er one like me — you’ve waited a long time for this finale, and you deserve to watch it fresh. Instead, I’m going to talk about feeling, because feeling is big in this film.
Look! Up in the air! It’s a benignly entertaining ballooning movie!
Aeronauts James (Eddie Redmayne) and Amelia (Felicity Jones) try to break the world’s height record for a gas-powered balloon.
As far as family-friendly holiday movies go, you could do worse than British writer/director Tom Harper’s The Aeronauts. An old-fashioned Victorian costume drama, it’s thrilling without being scary, has no sex, swearing, or violence, and extolls the virtues of science, adventure, and reaching for the stars, as it were. And sure, you may forget about it as soon as you walk out of the theater, but you’ll have a pleasant enough time watching its story unfold.
Hanks and Rhys make Heller’s neighborhood worth visiting
Mr. Rogers (Tom Hanks, l.) is delighted to meet skeptical journalist Lloyd (Matthew Rhys).
I know a lot of folks who rolled their eyes when they heard that Tom Hanks was going to star as the beloved children’s show host Mr. Rogers. “Can’t this man ever play a serial killer?” they grumbled. While it’s true that in the new film A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood Hanks adds yet another saintly character to his resume of real-life hero portrayals (see: Sully, Captain Phillips, Saving Mr. Banks, and Bridge of Spies, to name a few), cynics should unroll their eyes into a forward-facing position long enough to go see this film. First, Hanks actually isn’t even the lead here; Matthew Rhys (The Americans), as a skeptical and unhappy journalist, is. Secondly, and perhaps most critically, Hanks gives a complex and genuinely moving performance.
Damon, Bale come out winners in Mangold’s ’60s racing tale
Race car driver Ken Miles (Christian Bale, l.) and car designer Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) discuss the possibility of building a car for Ford that could beat Ferrari at the famed Le Mans race.
Let me start this review by telling you that I know squat about car racing. Indy, NASCAR, road racing — they’re all the same to me. But what I do know is quality film, and Ford v Ferrari definitely comes out a winner in that regard. Director James Mangold’s dramatization of the battle between auto titans Ford and Ferrari for dominance at the 1966 Le Mans race is one of the most adrenaline-filled, rousing good times you’ll have at the theater this year.
Knockin’ me out with those American lights: AC/DC conflict energizes, despite few flaws
Rivals George Westinghouse (Michael Shannon, l.) and Thomas Edison (Benedict Cumberbatch) run into each other at the Chicago World’s Fair.
I don’t blame you if you’re confused by the phrase “Director’s Cut” above. A director’s cut of a film usually implies that an earlier, theatrically released version preceded it. But, in the case of The Current War, no, you didn’t miss a first release of this picture. It was, however, shown at the 2017 Toronto Film Festival, and picked up for distribution by Harvey Weinstein’s infamous Weinstein Company. When the company folded because of Weinstein’s sexual harassment allegations, many projects were tabled and sold off. When 101 Studios eventually took hold of this title, director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon was granted permission by Martin Scorsese, the film’s executive producer, to make some changes before the film’s theatrical release. So what is opening today is a revised version of what Toronto fans saw two years ago. This version is, thankfully, shorter than the Fest original (why are films this season so long!?), and contains some reshoots. With such a complicated history behind the picture’s theatrical release, the question of course becomes: after all that, is the film worth seeing? My answer is: well, sure, although a few minor flaws keep that “sure” from being a resounding, exclamatory “Yes!!”
Zellweger may find Oscar gold waiting at the end of her rainbow
Judy (Renée Zellweger) belts out The Trolley Song to an adoring crowd in 1968 London.
Remember the controversy back in 2013 because a bunch of Australians had dominated the new screen adaptation of The Great Gatsby, that most quintessential of American stories? Fast forward six years, and now we’ve got Brits helming a new biopic of one of America’s most beloved — and troubled — stars, Judy Garland. Fortunately, Judy fares a bit better than Gatsby, thanks in large part to a dazzling performance by Renée Zellweger in the title role.
Acting, cinematography are highlights of imperfect adaptation of Tartt’s famed novel
Cinematographer Roger Deakins captures the desert at dusk as Las Vegas transplants Theo (Oakes Fegley, l.) and Boris (Finn Wolfhard) become friends.
As a film critic, I try to ignore early buzz on films I’m going to review so I can form my own unbiased opinion when I see the picture. But this month, it was hard to ignore the vitriol that poured on to social media after The Goldfinch premiered at the Toronto Film Festival; hate for the movie was prolific and fierce. So, naturally, going into Monday’s reviewer screening, I was apprehensive: could the picture really be as bad as all that!? I’m here to tell you that, thankfully, it is not. Is it the year’s best film? Far from it, but it’s not nearly as awful as Twitter would have you believe. If you’re a cinema fan — and/or a fan of Donna Tartt’s 2013 Pulitzer Prize winning novel on which the film is based — you will find enough here to keep you interested.
Bell is a winner in charmer of a tale about perseverance and acceptance
Brittany (Jillian Bell) begins to think she needs to make some life changes.
The saying goes that a journey begins with a single step, and there’s no one that’s truer for than Brittany, the heroine of the new dramedy Brittany Runs a Marathon. Jillian Bell, who plays Brittany, gives us a refreshingly complicated character who we alternately root for and are dismayed by, though we always empathize with her. With his first feature film, writer/director Paul Downs Colaizzo has made a well-crafted tale about conquering your fears, achieving your goals, and never giving up on your dreams that somehow doesn’t feel corny or contrived, but only honest, smart, and funny.
Twain-esque fairy tale strains credulity, but yields some rewards
Mark Twain, redux: Our heroes (from l.: Dakota Johnson, Zack Gottsagen, and Shia LaBeouf) make their escape on a raft.
Your enjoyment of The Peanut Butter Falcon will depend largely on your ability to suspend disbelief and wholeheartedly embrace its fairy tale quality. If you can do that, you’re in for a sweet, feel-good treat, but, if, like me, you’re too cynical to ignore its myriad of coincidences and convenient plot turns, you may find yourself distanced from the story, unable to completely immerse yourself in its picaresque adventure.
