Chad Liffmann – Spinning Platters

Film Review: “The Sheep Detectives”

A cute (and woollen) murder mystery

Cloud (Regina Hall), Mopple (Chris O’Dowd) and Lily (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) stare at a clue in ‘The Sheep Detectives.’

For a moment there, about halfway into The Sheep Detectives, things get dark. Not Babe: Pig in the City levels of dark, but not-for-small-children serious and scary, even surprisingly existential. The Sheep Detectives is a new charming murder mystery featuring a flock of computer-generated sheep and a talented cast from director Kyle Balda (The Lorax, Minions). The film is reminiscent of the live-action Disney films of the 1990s and early 2000s, when scripts were less focused on maximizing jokes-per-minute, and when movies trusted young audiences with mature material while still having tons of fun! Continue reading “Film Review: “The Sheep Detectives””

Film Review: “Hokum”

Hokum invites us to embrace being scared

Ohm Bauman (Adam Scott) is in a tight spot in ‘Hokum.’

Though the word sounds like the name of an ancient demon stalking the Pacific Northwest woodlands, “hokum” is actually a noun that refers to any media or material (like a film, for example) that is insincere, exaggerated, or manipulative for the sole purpose of pleasing audiences. In the case of the new horror film, Hokum, by Damian McCarthy (Oddity), the idea of art as “hokum” is both explored within the context of the story and in a metatextual sense. Despite a minor reliance on cheap thrills (more on that later) and vague character motivations, Hokum is a terrifying good time due to Adam Scott’s performance and McCarthy’s impressive ability to keep ratcheting the intensity. Continue reading “Film Review: “Hokum””

Film Review: “Mother Mary”

Lowery’s pop-star exploration gets bogged down by metaphors and self-importance

Mother Mary (Anne Hathaway) is dressed up for the shot in ‘Mother Mary.’

Writer/director David Lowery (Pete’s Dragon, A Ghost Story, The Green Knight) is one the finest visual directors working today. Lowery’s deliberately paced stories pack surprisingly emotional gut punches, and he doesn’t let his distinct style get in the way of the story. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for his latest film, Mother Mary, a musical surrealist drama. Inviting audiences to interpret the events of a film’s ending, or major moments, or striking visuals, is one thing, but requiring audiences to fill in the narrative gaps while interpreting the events of a story is a tall task, and a distracting one. Mother Mary has visual panache and vibing music, but lacks a complete story, instead relying on pretentious dialogue and dreamlike imagery to gloss over its shortcomings. Continue reading “Film Review: “Mother Mary””

Film Feature: 69th SFFILM Festival Preview #2

The 69th SFFILM Festival is days away, April 24 – May 4, featuring over one hundred films from more than forty countries. Please visit the SFFILM Festival website for more information about the exciting program, how to purchase tickets, and a calendar of special events and presentations.

In the meantime, here’s a second preview of the Festival, highlighting three films and six shorts: Renoir, How to Clean a House in 10 Easy Steps, Filipiñana, and shorts Corpus Christi, The Veil, Vultures, A Year of Marriage, Cardboard and First Winter.

1.) RENOIR
(Japan/France/Singapore/Philippines/Indonesia/Qatar/USA, 2025. 118 min.)

In Renoir, director Chie Hiyakawa (Plan 75) takes us deep into the emotional hardships of a Japanese family in late-’80s suburban Tokyo. Yui Suzuki is incredible as 11-year old Fuki, whose perspective we follow as she navigates coming to terms with a terminally ill father, an overwhelmed mother, and her own imagination, which often blurs the line between fantasy and reality. At times beautiful, and other times haunting and tense, Renoir is a patient meditation on grief as seen through the eyes of an adolescent.

Screenings (click here for tickets):
– Sat., Apr 25th, 11:30 am PT @ BAMPFA
– Sun., May 3rd, 6:00 pm PT @ Marina Theatre

Continue reading “Film Feature: 69th SFFILM Festival Preview #2”

Film Review: “Everyone is Lying to You for Money”

McKenzie’s impressive directorial debut aims to sort through the crypto hysteria

Ben McKenzie sits down with Sam Bankman-Fried in ‘Everyone is Lying to You for Money’.

Best known for his lead role in the early 2000s teenage soap opera The O.C., Ben McKenzie has since supplemented his acting career with a journalistic approach to economics (a subject he earned an undergraduate degree in from the University of Virginia). Based on his writing debut, 2023’s “Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud,” McKenzie has directed, produced, and starred in a documentary, Everyone is Lying to You for Money, exploring his concern and criticism of the cryptocurrency era. Maintaining a brisk pace and a high-level approach suitable for wide audience consumption, McKenzie’s documentary effectively frames the critical questions we should all, as a monetarily-driven society, be asking about crypto. Continue reading “Film Review: “Everyone is Lying to You for Money””

Film Feature: 69th SFFILM Festival Preview #1

In the meantime, here’s a preview of the festival, highlighting four films: Rose of Nevada, The Fall of Sir Douglas Weatherford, The Queen and the Smokehouse, and Cookie Queens.

1.) ROSE OF NEVADA
(UK, 2025. 114 min.)

Rose of Nevada’s writer/director/cinematographer/editor/composer Mark Jenkin (Bait) has delivered a visceral cinematic allegory. George MacKay (1917) and Callum Turner (Eternity) star as young men in the British seaside village of Cornwall who agree to serve as fishermen on an empty vessel that has reappeared after being lost at sea for thirty years. After hauling in a successful catch, they return to a Cornwall that has changed in very strange ways. Utilizing 16 mm film for a vivid, old photographic feel, and with a focus on textural detail, from peeling paint on a door to slimy barnacles on a boat’s hull, Rose of Nevada evokes a unique sensory experience that takes the audience deep into the narrative’s mysteries.

Screenings (click here for tickets):
– Sun., May 3rd, 8:30 pm PT @ Marina Theatre

Continue reading “Film Feature: 69th SFFILM Festival Preview #1”

Film Review: “Exit 8”

Exit 8 is equally mind-bending and frustrating

A anomalous (?) man smiles in the infinite passageway in ‘Exit 8.’

Based on an indie Japanese video game, Exit 8 finds its protagonist, a young man (Kazunari Ninomiya), on his way to a temporary job, only to get caught in a neverending loop of subway station hallways. The only clue the entrapped man (and the audience) has to what’s going on is through an information sign that warns to look for anomalies, and if one is spotted, to turn back immediately. Successfully spotting the anomalies, which can vary from a small change in a poster design to a horrific creature popping through ceiling vents, enables the protagonist to get to the “next level” (i.e., the next exit), which are numbered from 0 to 8. As a concept, this psychological setup is a great opportunity for sight gags, mind-bending conundrums, and visceral thrills. Unfortunately, Exit 8 tries too hard to be super serious and sincere amid its repetitiveness, to the extent that audiences will be begging for a tonal or structural shift (but maybe that’s the point?). Continue reading “Film Review: “Exit 8””

Film Review: “Hamlet”

Hamlet showcases Ahmed’s way with ‘Words, words, words’

Hamlet (Riz Ahmed) broods in the nighttime glow in ‘Hamlet.’

Set in modern day London amid a wealthy South Asian family, Hamlet is the latest cinematic adaptation of Shakespeare’s iconic tragedy. Clearly filmed on a modest budget, yet using dialogue directly pulled from Shakespeare’s text, Hamlet will be embraced by thespians and fans of the Bard, but generally dismissed by casual moviegoers looking for something more grandiose. Continue reading “Film Review: “Hamlet””

Film Review: “How to Make a Killing”

**Powell impresses in Killing’s toothless satire**

Becket (Glen Powell) scanning the scene in ‘How to Make a Killing.’

Producer Glen Powell found a fitting project for actor Glen Powell. Writer/director John Patton Ford’s new dark comedy How to Make a Killing, on which Powell is an executive producer, is a perfect star vehicle for the actor and a welcome return-to-form after last fall’s disappointing The Running Man remake. Aimed at being charmingly inoffensive to a wide audience, though at the expense of its satirical precision and level of twistedness, How to Make a Killing is an easily digestible distraction featuring likeable actors and nothing more. Continue reading “Film Review: “How to Make a Killing””

Film Review: “Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die”

Verbinski embraces human interaction in this offbeat, comical critique

Future man (Sam Rockwell) is mesmerized in ‘Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die.’

Director Gore Verbinski, who spent nearly five years in Disney franchise filmmaking while helming the Pirates of the Caribbean series, is one of those rare filmmakers who is unafraid to venture off-the-rails when it comes to unique storytelling (Rango) and/or genre-obscuring tonality (The Mexican, The Weather Man). With Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die, Verbinski is once again letting loose and crafting a dynamic, low budget sci-fi adventure that defies categorization. Continue reading “Film Review: “Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die””