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.
Film critics Carrie and Chad on who will – and who should – win the Oscars
The 86th Academy Awards air this Sunday, March 2nd on ABC at 5:00pm PST (red carpet coverage starts at 4:00). Here are Carrie and Chad’s predictions – and hopes – for the major categories:
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Nominees: American Hustle/Captain Phillips/Dallas Buyers Club/Gravity/Her/Nebraska/Philomena/12 Years a Slave/The Wolf of Wall Street Carrie: Will Win: 12 Years a Slave; Should Win: Nebraska Chad: Will Win: 12 Years a Slave; Should Win: Her
About this remake: Fresh humor balances romantic comedy clichés
Michael Ealy’s Danny watches the game while Joy Bryant’s Debbie watches him in About Last Night.
Hollywood is big on remakes these days; this week alone, three updates of 1980s movies have opened (RoboCop on Wednesday, and Endless Love and About Last Night today). Whether there is a lack of decent original screenplays right now, or whether aging Gen X studio execs are nostalgic for the stories of their formative days is hard to say, but the phenomenon does beg the question of whether these remakes need to be made at all, and, more importantly, whether they are any good in their own right. The new About Last Night is a particularly special case, since it is not only a remake of a film, but is also a remake of a film based on a play, which makes the new version especially far removed from its source material. Does that matter? Fortunately, in this case, not so much. Director Steven Pink, who apparently has a fondness for the 1980s (he directed the very funny ’80s time travel movie Hot Tub Time Machine) has tweaked the material enough to make his new version modern, fresh, and very funny. Continue reading “Film Review: About Last Night”
A little corniness forgivable in Reitman’s affecting new drama
Josh Brolin’s Frank shows Kate Winslet’s Adele and Gattlin Griffith’s Henry how to make the world’s best peach pie in Labor Day.
Director Jason Reitman returns to the screen this weekend with Labor Day, the new film that he also co-wrote with Oakland writer Joyce Maynard, author of the book of the same name. The film has already received much advance buzz (and laughs) regarding its pie-baking scene (think not of the infamous American Pie apple pie sequence, but of the pottery scene in Ghost, and you’ll have an apt comparison), but the film deserves attention for more than just that brief snicker-inducing scene. Markedly different in tone from his previous breezy, often darkly comic pictures (Young Adult, Up in the Air, Juno), Labor Day is Reitman’s warmest, most straightforward, earnest film to date. The film is not perfect by any means – it is filled with plot points that strain credulity, and contains its fair share of corny dialogue – but if you can suspend some disbelief for two hours, you will be rewarded with an arresting, well-crafted story of almost unbearable tension. Continue reading “Film Review: Labor Day”
Vanessa Hudgens, as Apple, gets some life altering news in Gimme Shelter.
Conservatives have often accused Hollywood of having a liberal agenda, so they should be very happy with Gimme Shelter, writer-director Ron Krauss’s family-friendly film about a pregnant teenager that opens today. The picture has a not-so-subtle religious, pro-life message, and feels less like a major theatrical release and more like a made-for-TV movie that might air on the Family channel or the Christian Broadcasting Network. As a film review is not the place to delve too much into polarizing political debate, I’ll set that issue aside, and will review the film purely for its entertainment value. On that level, though, unfortunately, the film ultimately fails as a compelling dramatic narrative. Continue reading “Film Review: Gimme Shelter”
A hell of a ride: Branagh, Pine infuse Clancy franchise with new energy
Chris Pine is on the run as Jack Ryan in Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit.
With Oscar nominations announced yesterday and the slate of Serious Award-Worthy films soon to be on their way out of theaters, it’s time to make way for some rousing old-fashioned movie-going fun. Kenneth Branagh has helped us on that front with the somewhat awkwardly titled Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, his inspired and highly entertaining reboot of the late author Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan series. Branagh and screenwriters Adam Cozad and David Koepp have created an entirely new story for Clancy’s CIA agent character, the first not actually based on any of Clancy’s books. Koepp’s previous credits include 2012’s Premium Rush, the excellent Manhattan bicycle chase movie, and Jack Ryan:Shadow Recruit benefits tremendously from that same adrenaline-fueled, frenetic, thrill-a-minute aesthetic. Continue reading “Film Review: Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit”
Spinning Platters film critics Carrie Kahn and Chad Liffmann present their Top 10 Films of 2013. Here’s Carrie’s list, presented in alphabetical order.
1.) All is Lost
Robert Redford struggles against the elements in All is Lost.
That a film with just a single actor and virtually no dialog can be absolutely riveting is a testament both to Robert Redford’s brilliant acting and to writer/director J.C. Chandor’s exceptional skill at his craft. Redford says more with his rugged face and worried eyes than most actors do with a wordy, five-star script. Not since Jaws and The Perfect Storm has a film so totally absorbed us in a man-against-sea survival story. And Chandor’s ambiguous ending lends itself to hours of debate and discussion; everyone who has seen this film has a strong opinion, and that a near-silent film can generate such passion makes it special and noteworthy. Continue reading “Film Feature: Carrie’s Top 10 Films of 2013”
Ben Stiller’s Walter works up the nerve to have a conversation with Kristen Wiig’s Cheryl in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.
Ben Stiller, directing his first feature since 2008’s very funny Tropic Thunder, hasn’t made a great film with The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, but it’s a very pleasant diversion with a few genuine laughs, a sweet storyline, and some spectacular cinematography. Stiller’s film is the first to try to adapt James Thurber’s classic 1939 New Yorker short story of the same name since the 1947 Danny Kaye version. Here, though, working from a script by Steve Conrad (who also wrote the generally well-received The Pursuit of Happyness), Stiller doesn’t try to faithfully adapt the story so much as use elements of it to create an updated, brand new version. Continue reading “Film Review: The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”
Mrs. Travers goes to Los Angeles: It’s Mickey vs. Mary in well crafted, absorbing film
P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson) is decidedly unamused by Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) and Disneyland.
I have to admit I was a bit skeptical going into Saving Mr. Banks, the new film from Disney Pictures and director John Lee Hancock, the writer and director of 2011’s feel-good The Blind Side. I was afraid this film might be too treacly and sentimental, and be nothing more than a glorification of Walt Disney and the Disney canon, in much the same way The Internship glorified Google. But my fears were allayed when I found myself utterly engrossed and thoroughly entertained by Hancock’s picture, which features a compelling narrative, complex characters, and excellent performances. Continue reading “Film Review: Saving Mr. Banks”
Woody Harrelson sucking on a lollipop in Out of the Furnace just might be the most frightening thing you’ll see on screen this year.
With both the holidays and the cold weather upon us, now is a great time to go to the movies, but director Scott Cooper’s Out of the Furnace may not be the film to see on a family outing. A bleak, gritty look at life in rural Pennsylvania and New Jersey, the picture blends elements of Winter’s Bone and The Fighter, with dashes of The Deer Hunter and Fight Club tossed in for good measure. Although the film boasts some terrific performances, it feels recycled at best, and derivative at worst. Continue reading “Film Review: Out of the Furnace”
Just in time for the holidays: The joy and Payne of family
David (Will Forte, right) discusses his stubborn father (Bruce Dern, left) with his exasperated mother (June Squibb).
We are heading into the time of the year when studios typically release what they hope are their best films, the ones they want to be fresh in the minds of Academy members for Oscar Best Picture voting. Director Alexander Payne (Sideways, The Descendants) gets into this game with Nebraska, sure to be a contender in many categories come Oscar time. Beautifully shot in black and white and filled with nuanced and sensitive performances, the picture brilliantly melds Payne’s signature quirkiness with charm, emotional honesty, and wry humor. Continue reading “Film Review: Nebraska”
