Carrie Kahn – Page 22 – Spinning Platters

SFJFF37 Spotlights: The Boy Downstairs / Mr. Predictable / A Classy Broad / Bombshell

The 37^th San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, showcasing over 60 films from more than a dozen countries, opened on July 20th, and runs until next Sunday, August 6th. This year, the Festival boasts over 15 West Coast premiers, and more than 40% of its films are directed by women, including both its opening and closing night films.

With a full week left to go, there is still plenty of time to catch some great new films. Below we spotlight four Fest titles (two documentaries and two features) that you may want to check out. Complete schedule, tickets, and more information are available here. Continue reading “SFJFF37 Spotlights: The Boy Downstairs / Mr. Predictable / A Classy Broad / Bombshell“

Film Review: Detroit

Bigelow’s intense, harrowing film remains fiercely relevant

A city under siege: Detroit, July, 1967.

“It’s hard to believe this could happen in America,” a character says in Detroit, director Kathryn Bigelow’s grim but brilliantly effective new film about the 1967 Detroit riots and their aftermath. But for those of us watching exactly 50 years later, such believing is all too easy — and that’s perhaps the most disheartening take away from Bigelow’s gut-punch of a film.
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Film Review: Lady Macbeth

What’s done cannot be undone: And that’s the way she wants it

Katherine (Florence Pugh) is restless and bored as the much younger wife of a middle-aged man who shows no interest in her.

If Lady Macbeth is remembered for anything after its initial release today, it will be for introducing the mostly unknown British actress Florence Pugh to the world. Just 19 years old when she made the film, Pugh, in the picture’s title role, is reminiscent of a young Kate Winslet, and, based on her work here, is bound to go on to an equally impressive and acclaimed career.
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Film Review: A Ghost Story

Should the spirit move you to see this movie, ignore it

Casey Affleck plays a bed sheet clad ghost in A Ghost Story.

Boo! Sorry if I startled you, but such an opening seems appropriate for a review of A Ghost Story, writer/director David Lowery’s new film about, yes, a ghost – replete in Casper-esque white sheet with eyeholes and all. But this ghost isn’t exactly friendly; in fact, he’s sad. Bereft, even. And lost. He needs closure. And you will be yearning for it, too, if you choose to sit through this pretentious slog masquerading as a profound meditation on grief.
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Film Review: The Beguiled

Coppola returns to form with seductive Southern gothic drama

Union soldier John (Colin Farrell) and Edwina (Kirsten Dunst) find a moment alone.

In its 70-year history, the Cannes Film Festival has only awarded its Best Director prize to a female director twice; the first was in 1961 (to Soviet filmmaker Yuliya Solntseva for Chronicle of Flaming Years, a tale of Nazi resistance in the Soviet Union), and the second was this May, to writer/director Sofia Coppola for The Beguiled. While the Festival sadly took some 50 years before bestowing this honor on another woman, this year’s award hopefully signals a real shift toward providing opportunities for, and recognizing the accomplishments of, women in film. That said, the concern of this review, of course, is the film itself: are Coppola and her new film worthy of the prize? The answer, thankfully, is a resounding yes.
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Film Review: 47 Meters Down

Imperfect shark tale still has some bite

Cage diving with sharks is fun… until the rope breaks and the cage plummets.

Spinning Platters recently hosted its first music trivia event at SOMA StrEat Food Park, but if you missed it, have no fear – others are on the horizon. And to (ahem) tide you over, here’s a brief little summer movie quiz: match the tagline with its corresponding shark attack movie:

TAGLINES MOVIES

1.) Don’t go in the water a.) Sharknado 2: The Second One (2014)

2.) Pray that you drown first b.) The Shallows (2016)

3.) Stay out of the water c.) Jaws (1975)

4.) Shark happens! d.) The Reef (2010)

5.) Who will save you? e.) 47 Meters Down (2017)

6.) Not just another day at the beach f.) Open Water (2003)

Answers are at the bottom of the review*, but, in the meantime, let’s take a look at letter “e”, the newest shark movie on our list. In the pantheon of shark movies, British horror director Johannes Roberts’s 47 Meters Down ranks somewhere above Sharknado 2 and last year’s Blake Lively-Talks-to-A-Seagull picture (AKA The Shallows), but well below the 1975 standard bearer Jaws and the chilling Sundance indie hit Open Water. Continue reading “Film Review: 47 Meters Down“

Film Review: My Cousin Rachel

Hitchcockian thriller will leave you guessing

Philip (Sam Claflin) is unsure what to make of his Cousin Rachel (Rachel Weisz) when she comes to stay.

If you find yourself left edgy and itchy when the film you’re watching doesn’t wrap up nice and neat and tidy, then you’d do well to avoid My Cousin Rachel, a period drama that raises more questions than it answers, and leaves its viewers in a state of ambiguity. Of course if you find such a state more intriguing than frustrating, then you’ll definitely want to add this picture to your summer viewing list. In fact, you’ll want to give it the number one spot.
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Film Review: Wonder Woman

Wonder no more: It’s really good

Brave, fierce, and mighty, Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) is on a mission to rid the world of war and evil.

After witnessing the total failure that was Zack Snyder’s bloated Batman v Superman last year, fans and critics alike have been understandably skeptical about the future of the DC comics’ film franchise. The one bright spot in Snyder’s otherwise paint-by-numbers action flick, was, of course, the brief introduction of Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman. DC Universe die-hards and the movie-going public at large can now breathe a sigh of relief, however. With Wonder Woman, the next installment in the DC cinematic series, director Patty Jenkins has created a thoroughly entertaining, thoughtful, and just plain fun film that should please both DC comics purists as well as those totally new to the Wonder Woman story.
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Film Review: The Commune

Come on and join together: Communal living, for better or worse

Anna (Trine Dyrholm) and Erik (Ulrich Thomsen) face marital strains.

Reuniting for the first time since their excellent 2013 Oscar-nominated picture The Hunt, the Danish directing/writing team of Thomas Vinterberg and Tobias Lindholm have collaborated again on The Commune, a smart, sensitive, and well-acted picture based on Vinterberg’s 2011 play of the same name. While the duo share writing credit on the screenplay, Vinterberg alone takes the director’s reins. Here he returns to a Dogme 95-styled tight focus on story and character that successfully bypasses the trappings of melodrama to offer viewers an emotionally layered and thought provoking look at marriage and family in its many forms.
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Film Review: Snatched

Hawn, Schumer deserve better than middling comedy

Emily (Amy Schumer, l.) and her mom Linda (Goldie Hawn) find themselves in a bit of a predicament when their Ecuador vacation goes awry.

Legendary comedienne Goldie Hawn has not been seen on the big screen since 2002’s The Banger Sisters, so it’s a shame that her return from a 15-year absence is in a mediocre film unworthy of her talents. On paper, the premise for Hawn’s revival movie probably sounded great: an adventure comedy that would pair her with Amy Schumer, the current generation’s hip young blonde comic actress (can a remake of Private Benjamin with Schumer in the lead be far behind?). But the genius of casting the legend as mother to the edgy newcomer only works if the material is fresh, sharp, and funny, and, unfortunately for Hawn and Schumer, Snatched falls short on that front.
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