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.
Newly minted rock star Jack (Himesh Patel) isn’t sure what to make of the marketing campaign for his album.
The “alternate fiction” genre has grown in popularity in recent years, with books, movies, and TV shows positing questions like, “What if Hitler had never been born?” or “What if JFK hadn’t been shot?” as starting points for fresh and creative stories. Director Danny Boyle and screenwriters Jack Barth and Richard Curtis throw their hat into the ring with Yesterday, a movie that asks, “What if only one person on earth knew who the Beatles were?” The filmmakers have great fun answering the question, but, make no mistake: this is no sci-fi film. What Boyle has given us here is an old-fashioned romantic comedy — and an exceptionally charming one at that — just wrapped in a unique narrative package.
Contemplative, timely film considers a changing SF
Jimmie (Jimmie Fails, r.) and his friend Mont (Jonathan Majors) reclaim Jimmie’s childhood home.
Opening on the heels of two recent, widely criticized national pieces bashing the “new” San Francisco in the New Yorker and the Washington Post, writer/director Joe Talbot’s first feature film, The Last Black Man in San Francisco, couldn’t be timelier. But Talbot has the advantage over those much dismissed east coast writers: he’s a San Francisco native (fifth generation, no less), and, as his film’s protagonist declares about our fair city by the Bay, “You don’t get to hate it unless you love it.” Continue reading “Film Review: The Last Black Man in San Francisco“
Cast is terrific, but this movie becoming a must-see is a long shot
Newly hired speechwriter Fred Flarsky (Seth Rogen, center) goes over his work with Secretary of State Charlotte Field (Charlize Theron, r.) and her aides Tom (Ravi Patel) and Maggie (June Diane Raphael).
Director Jonathan Levine tries his hand at comedy again for the first time since 2017’s tepid Amy Schumer/Goldie Hawn vehicle Snatched, and somewhat redeems himself. Long Shot is a bit smarter and a bit funnier than Levine’s previous picture, but, while entertaining enough, it isn’t destined to become a comedy classic. Continue reading “Film Review: Long Shot“
Wrap up: 62nd annual San Francisco International Film Festival
The San Francisco Film Festival wrapped up last week, concluding with the announcement of its Golden Gate Awards and its two Audience Awards. Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut comedy feature Booksmart earned the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature. Show Me the Picture: The Story of Jim Marshall, Alfred George Bailey’s study of Bay Area photographer Jim Marshall, took the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature. If you didn’t get a chance to catch as many films as you would have liked, never fear: many of the Fest’s offerings will be widely released in the months to come. Below we take a look at four films that you’ll be able to see very soon at a theater near you (and you can also check out our previous Fest spotlights post here).
62nd annual San Francisco International Film Festival opens today, Wednesday, April 10th
The 62nd annual San Francisco International Film Festival begins today, Wednesday, April 10th, and runs almost two weeks, until Tuesday, April 23rd. This year’s Festival boasts 163 films from over 50 countries in 36 languages, and will include twelve world premieres and five North American premieres. The Festival is proud that this year close to 45% of its films are directed by women. More information, complete program listings, and online tickets can be found here.
With so many offerings, figuring out your Fest schedule can be tricky. But never fear! As always, Spinning Platters has your back. We’ll get you started by sharing five Festival film spotlights (two narrative features and three documentaries). And of course be sure to check back here throughout the Festival for more spotlights and updates.
Knightley, Skarsgård helm predictable but entertaining post-War melodrama
In 1946, British Rachael (Keira Knightley) is none too happy to meet the German Stefan (Alexander Skarsgård, l.), despite the fact she and her husband (Jason Clarke) will be sharing Stefan’s Hamburg home.
With Jordan Peele’s Get Out follow-up Us opening today and receiving a ton of buzz, you may not realize there actually are a few other quieter, less high-profile films opening today as well. One of these is The Aftermath, an old-fashioned historical drama that, while somewhat forgettable and ultimately predictable, is a serviceable alternative for those searching for something less intense than Peele’s headline-grabbing horror flick. Continue reading “Film Review: The Aftermath“
Every now and then she gets a little bit nervous / that the best of all the years have gone by
Gloria (Julianne Moore) frequents LA’s dance clubs looking for love.
Chilean director Sebastián Lelio peppers his new picture Gloria Bell with enough ‘70s and early ‘80s pop songs to make a Gen X’er weep, but often it’s hard to distinguish whether the songs are meant to match the film’s themes, or the other way around. But to watch Julianne Moore, as the titular Gloria, in her car, alone, singing her heart out along with Olivia Newton-John’s “A Little More Love” is to experience a sublime and intimate moment with a fully realized and utterly unique character. Scenes like these make Leilo’s reliance on musical crutches forgivable. Continue reading “Film Review: Gloria Bell“
Merchant throws down with charmer of a wrestling tale
Wrestler Saraya (Florence Pugh, center) is embraced by her supportive parents (Lena Headey and Nick Frost).
Florence Pugh, the young British actress best known for Lady Macbeth and The Outlaw King, steps out of those historic costume drama roles and into a costume of another kind in the terrific new wrestling picture Fighting With My Family. Written and directed by British comedian Stephen Merchant (Hello Ladies; Extras) with a whole lot of heart and verve, the film is based on a true story previously chronicled in the documentary The Wrestlers: Fighting With My Family. Merchant’s fictionalized account brings a sports underdog story to life — always a risk for clichés — but does so with such earnest spirit and genuine affection that you can’t help but develop a rooting interest in the film’s indelible characters and immensely enjoy yourself along the way. Continue reading “Film Review: Fighting With My Family“
Film critics Carrie and Chris on who will – and who should – win the 91st Academy Awards
The 91st Academy Awards air this Sunday, February 24th, on ABC at 5:00 pm PST (with the requisite pre-show fashion assessments starting hours before). As they did last year, Spinning Platters film critics Carrie Kahn and Chris Piper share their predictions – and hopes – for the major categories. Guild awards – often harbingers of Oscars to come – have been all over the map this year, so there may actually be some genuine surprises. Tune in on Sunday to see how things play out, and to find out if we correctly read the minds of Academy voters.
After almost two weeks of screenings that ran daily from 8:30 am to midnight, the Sundance Film Festival wrapped up last weekend with its awards presentation. All the winners can be found here, but below I present my personal highlights from my week exploring the Fest’s good, bad, and downright weird. Some of these may be widely released during the year, so I offer my advice on the films you should SEE or SKIP.
1.) Most Over the Top Rip Off of The Office that Feels Like it Was Written At 3:00 am After Smoking Way Too Many Joints: Corporate Animals (Category: Midnight)
Corporate Animals.
Not only does director Patrick Brice (who also directed the much better Sundance offering The Overnight) use a corporate retreat setting for his horror satire, replete with a who’s who of standard office types (Demi Moore as the hard driving boss; Jessica Williams as the dispirited protégée; and Callum Worthy as the eager to please intern, to name a few), but he even casts Office alum Ed Helms as a guide who leads the team on a caving expedition that goes awry, to put it mildly. Trapped deep in a collapsed New Mexico cave (the scenery at least holds its own), the cast is forced to deliver too many stereotypical jokes, especially at the expense of Moore, whose cutthroat boss is little more than a caricature. The group’s descent into cannibalism is played for laughs, but the film isn’t half as edgy as it thinks it is, and the entire exercise feels like writer Sam Bain somehow managed to get his snickering Office fan-fiction greenlit. — SKIP Continue reading “Film Feature: Highs and Lows from the 2019 Sundance Film Festival”
