Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds
With theaters slowly reopening, film lovers may be waiting for the perfect film to get them up off the couch and back into the multiplex. Dream Horse may be just that film: it’s an old fashioned, feel-good movie that should motivate the whole family to undertake a cinematic outing.
Back in 1989, Nora Ephron, in her film When Harry Met Sally, posed the age-old question: Can men and women ever really be friends? Now, thirty-two years later, Billy Crystal, who played the titular Harry, returns in Here Today to tell us that not only can men and women be friends, but that their friendship can yield an uninteresting, unfunny movie. Call this one When Charlie Met Snooze
Two very different Canadian films opened in limited theatrical release this weekend (though not in the Bay Area – yet), but both are available for home viewing via VOD sites. Read on to see if you might want to check out either the comedy (Eat Wheaties!) or the drama (Percy vs Goliath).
Continue reading “Film Review: “Eat Wheaties!” and “Percy vs Goliath””
The 2021 San Francisco International Film Festival concluded yesterday, and announced its awards on Saturday. Those can be found here, but we have a final wrap up, too – nine capsules highlighting some of the Festival offerings – six dramas and three documentaries. Check them out below, and see you next year!
Continue reading “Film Feature: SFFILM Festival Spotlights #4”
Fans of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul know that Bob Odenkirk has a terrific wry, deadpan presence. If you’ve ever wondered what Breaking Bad might have been like had Odenkirk been cast as Walter White instead of Saul Goodman, you may want to check out the new action thriller Nobody.
True story: my friend met her husband on a Sundance shuttle bus. They struck up a conversation, kept in touch after the Festival ended, and, 15 years and three kids later, the rest is history. Maybe lightning struck again for some lucky couple this year, but I’m guessing probably not. As much as Sundance staff strived to make the 2021 virtual Fest feel like those of past years, Zoom “waiting rooms” and video Q and A’s just couldn’t replicate the feeling of being bundled up at 7:30am in a waitlist line, passing the time and distracting yourself from the cold by idly asking your neighbor, “What have you seen so far that you’ve liked?” The cheery, disembodied “Hi from Boston!” chats that flashed on screen in this year’s pre-screening digital lobbies just couldn’t offer the same sort of in-person connection that can only be found by bonding over waitlist numbers 99 and 100 and mushy theater concession tuna wraps. That said, however, the quality of the films shown at this year’s Festival, which concluded last week, still measured up to Sundance’s best. Below we take a look at four documentaries and four features that are worth seeing.
Continue reading “Film Feature: Best of the 2021 Sundance Film Festival”
Thinking back on the year in movies, “unusual” and “complicated” might be 2020’s most fitting descriptors. Yes, we’ve had plenty of content to watch, thanks to streaming services, and plenty of time at home to view it all, but COVID-19 cancelled the multiplex experience. Watching movies at home, without the excitement of the big screen and a crowd of fellow film-lovers nearby, just wasn’t as satisfying, which is why the number of films I reviewed this year dwindled sharply. That said, I did watch enough to pull together my annual Top 10 Best Films of the Year. And a unique year requires a unique Top 10 list: hence my first ever Haiku Top 10! I hope each of these 17 syllable snippets (and their trailers!) will steer you toward checking out these films, each of which moved, inspired, and stuck with me this year. Here’s to a return to in-person cinema in 2021! (And if you’re curious about what was on my list last year, you can check that out here.)
Continue reading “Film Feature: Carrie’s Top 10 Films of 2020”
Bay Area cinephiles were no doubt excited by the news that the Landmark Shattuck and Embarcadero theaters are re-opening today (at reduced capacity, and with strict health and safety protocols in place, of course). The chain has long been a showcase for indie film, and film fans can rejoice at returning to a venue for unique and quirky offerings. One of the theater’s grand re-opening films, The Climb, fits that description to a tee, and makes for a terrific first-time back viewing experience.
With many Bay Area movie theaters still closed, film fans may be looking for viewing experiences that are better suited to small screen, home viewing. On the Rocks, which is available to stream on Apple TV+ today, is the perfect film to watch from the comfort of your living room. Writer/director Sofia Coppola has crafted an intimate, tightly constructed character-driven story that doesn’t need the multiplex treatment to be enjoyed.
Regular readers of this site may know that I have an affinity for survival pictures. The terrific Mads Mikkelsen vehicle Arctic was number one on my Top 10 list last year, and over the past few years I’ve also enjoyed Adrift, Walking Out, The Mountain Between Us, and Everest. The latest entry to earn my approval is Centigrade, the first feature from television director/writer Brendan Walsh (Nurse Jackie) and his co-writer Daley Nixon. That this novice duo has created such a taut, tightly constructed film bodes well for their future cinematic projects.
