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.
You still got me: Benjamin Braddock as a German millennial
Tom Schilling’s Niko just wants a cup of coffee.
If you’re looking for a respite from X-Men, Spider-Man, Transformers and other big budget blockbuster men of all types, look no further than German writer/director Jan Ole Gerster’s subtle yet compelling A Coffee in Berlin, an indie about a flailing young man in modern-day Berlin who’s about as far removed from those purposeful heroic types as you can get. Geared toward the millennial set, the picture nevertheless has a universal appeal, and will resonate with those who have ever felt lost, confused, and unsure of their place in adult society. Continue reading “Film Review: A Coffee in Berlin”
No matter how you paint this picture, there’s only one word for it: Bad
Clive Owen pretends like he’s in Dead Poets Society.
Australian director Fred Schepisi has an impressive resume; he’s directed the critically acclaimed pictures Roxanne, Six Degrees of Separation, and A Cry in the Darkness, among others. So naturally it’s disheartening that his newest film, Words and Pictures, is such a disappointment, especially considering it stars two high-caliber actors – – Clive Owen and Juliette Binoche. Unfortunately, writer Gerald Di Pego (Message in a Bottle; Angel Eyes) doesn’t give them much to work with, and Schepisi’s direction seems to echo the mediocrity of Di Pego’s script.
Spinning Platters brings you two final spotlights from the 57th San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF), which closed on Thursday with Chris Messina’s film Alex of Venice at the Castro, with many of the cast there for a fun Q&A. You can check out the Festival award winners here, and be sure to keep your eye out for many of these films as they are released throughout the year.
Alex of Venice (USA 2014, 87 min)
Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Chris Messina in Alex of Venice.
The Mindy Project’s Chris Messina makes his directorial debut with this emotionally rich drama about the dissolution of a marriage. In the Q&A following the film, Messina cited Kramer vs. Kramer, Hannah and Her Sisters, and All the Real Girls as influencing his picture, and, indeed, all the best tonal elements of those films can be felt here. Strong performances from Mary Elizabeth Winstead as workaholic environmental attorney Alex, Katie Nehra as her more free-spirited sister, and Don Johnson as their actor father on the verge of a health crisis solidly anchor the film. Messina, as Alex’s unhappy husband George, and young Skylar Gaertner as Alex and George’s son Dakota round out the cast nicely, with Gaertner’s portrayal just as nuanced and sensitive as Justin Henry’s in Kramer vs. Kramer. A side story about Alex’s father appearing in The Cherry Orchard is a bit of a heavy-handed metaphor, but that’s just one small quibble with an otherwise excellent first feature. Continue reading “Final SFIFF Spotlights: Alex of Venice/Begin Again”
Spinning Platters brings you more spotlights from the 57th San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF), which continues through this Thursday, May 8th. Program notes and tickets available here. There is still plenty of time to catch some screenings, and you can also see many of the films as they open widely throughout the year.
Boyhood (USA 2014, 162 min)
Life awaits young Mason (Ellar Coltrane) in Boyhood.
Stunning, remarkable, and amazing don’t begin to do justice to Richard Linklater’s new movie. Filmed over the course of 12 years using all the same actors, the picture follows young Mason (a captivating Ellar Coltrane) from the ages of six to 18; in one scene he’s maybe 8, and maybe 30 minutes later, he’s 12, in seamless transitions that will leave you astounded. The film could have just as easily been called Childhood or Parenthood (Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette are equally terrific as Mason’s parents), as it’s about nothing less than the ephemeral nature of time and the meaning of life itself. Is life just a series of events – marriages, divorces, birthdays, graduations? What can we count on in life besides change? Breathtakingly original and achingly poignant, Boyhood is sure to be on many critics’ top ten list at year end; I know it will be on mine.
Screenings:
Opens July 18th at the Landmark Embarcadero Cinema
Spinning Platters brings you more spotlights from the 57th San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF), which continues through Thursday, May 8th. Program notes and tickets available here.
The Other One: The Long Strange Trip of Bob Weir (USA 2014, 90 min)
Which is the greater wonder – Bob Weir or the pyramids?
“Mine has been a long strange trip,” says Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir in Mike Fleiss’s fantastic new documentary about the Dead’s “other one.” Jerry Garcia may have been more famous, but Weir was a stellar musician in his own right, and, with his graciousness, intelligence, and unwavering authenticity, perhaps the band’s true heart. Weir, vital and still just as handsome in his 60s (Weir gets some ribbing for being the band’s best looking member), speaks eloquently and thoughtfully about his life and the cult of personality surrounding Garcia and the Dead. Weir’s meditative reflections, along with Fleiss’s brilliant use of still photos, new interviews and old footage, make this picture a must-see for Dead fans and anyone with even a passing interest in music or Bay Area history. Smart, funny, and poignant, this is a film worthy of Bay Area rock’s elder statesman.
Screenings:
Friday, May 2nd, 9:30pm, Kabuki (with Bob Weir reportedly scheduled to appear!)
Coverage of the 57th San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF) continues at Spinning Platters with four more film spotlights. Program notes and tickets available here.
Young and Beautiful (France 2013, 93 min; French with English subtitles)
Isabelle est jeune et belle.
French actress Marine Vacth is riveting in François Ozon’s drama about Isabelle, a 17-year-old high school student who loses her virginity during the summer and is working as a call girl by fall. Isabelle’s story unfolds over the course of four seasons, and we see the effect her choices have on her, her family, and her older male clients. Is Isabelle naively experimenting, working out unresolved father issues, or shrewdly and coldly wielding her newly discovered sexual power almost sociopathically? Is Isabelle even capable of forming real emotional bonds? Ozon’s intense psychological exploration of Isabelle’s choices and motivations isn’t always easy to watch – and Isabelle isn’t always a sympathetic character – but her story is deeply affecting, and you’ll be mulling over the answers to the questions the film raises long after it ends.
Screenings:
Monday, April 28th, 9:30pm, Kabuki
Thursday, May 1st, 3:45pm, Kabuki
Also opens at Landmark’s Opera Plaza and Shattuck Theaters on May 9th
Spinning Platters highlights some films from the 57th San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF), which opens this Thursday, April 24th, and runs through May 8th at various theaters in San Francisco and Berkeley. Program notes and tickets available here.
Deneuve’s compelling performance salvages run-of-the-mill French dramedy
Catherine Deneuve’s Bettie and Nemo Schiffman’s Charly share a tranquil moment in On My Way.
With her new film On My Way, French writer/director Emmanuelle Bercot has made a fairly standard finding-yourself-late-in-life picture (see About Schmidt and Something’s Gotta Give, among others), with the saving grace that the inestimable Catherine Deneuve is its star. Deneuve elevates what could have been a dime-a-dozen quirky French dramedy into a picture worth watching, if only for her performance. Continue reading “Film Review: On My Way”
Jesse and Celine in retirement: Fine acting can’t save voyeuristic, derivative film
Together, yet apart: Jim Broadbent as Nick and Lindsay Duncan as Meg in a moody scene from Le Week-End.
Your enjoyment of Le Week-End, the new collaboration from director Roger Michell (Hyde Park on Hudson, Notting Hill) and writer Hanif Kureishi (Venus, My Beautiful Launderette) will depend on your predilection for eavesdropping on intimate conversations between longtime couples. If being privy to such personal discussions intrigues and delights you, then you may be the audience for this picture. If the dissection of the intricacies of a 30-year-marriage doesn’t sound appealing to you, however, then you may want to pass on this one. Continue reading “Film Review: Le Week-End”
Anderson’s old fashioned adventure tale captivates, delights
Ralph Fiennes as Gustave H. and Tony Revolori as the Lobby Boy Zero contemplate their options in The Grand Budapest Hotel.
Wes Anderson is one of those polarizing filmmakers whose films are either loved or hated. His legions of fans delight in his highly stylized artistry, whimsical storytelling, and quirky characters, while his detractors deride his pictures as pretentious at worst and lightweight at best. Anderson’s newest offering, The Grand Budapest Hotel, however, should satisfy his fans and critics alike, as it melds his trademark fairy tale sensibility with an undercurrent of melancholy and solemnity that keep the picture from being too cloying or precious. Continue reading “Film Review: The Grand Budapest Hotel”
