Chad Liffmann – Page 18 – Spinning Platters

Film Review: Southpaw

Southpaw throws a flurry of clichéd punches

Southpaw was not what I expected. I believed and hoped that I was walking into a Rocky type fable, or maybe a modern day Raging Bull. There have been a few strong entries into the sport fighting genre in recent years, including Rocky Balboa (2006), Warrior (2011), and hopefully the upcoming Creed (2015). Sure, there are twice as many sub-par entries between the aforementioned titles, but with a superb cast headlined by limitless Jake Gyllenhaal and under the consistently solid (if not above average) direction of Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, The Equalizer), Southpaw seemed destined to be the strong sports drama entry that comes along every handful of years. Alas, it is not. The sure bets going into the final product still shine—Gyllenhaal is superb and Fuqua’s direction is effective—but the story is formulaic and surprisingly, subtly, unnervingly, kinda racist.

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Show Review: ‘Star Trek’ Live in Concert with the SF Symphony

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No less than 10 bursts of applause, the loudest for the opening title and the reveal of the late Leonard Nimoy. That was the atmosphere at last night’s Star Trek in concert event at the San Francisco Symphony, where the live orchestra provided the score to a screening of J.J. Abrams’ 2009 feature film reboot of the nearly 50 year old franchise. There were Starfleet uniforms a plenty in the audience, a themed “red matter” cocktail at the symphony bars, display cases with props from the film, and a pervading admiration and respect for everyone’s own personal connection to Star Trek. What better show of respect than for conductor Sarah Hicks to hold up her hand in the iconic ‘live long and prosper’ gesture before launching into the prologue.

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Film Review: Minions

Oh, so cute! Yet even more minions would’ve served Minions better.

Bob and Kevin and Stuart. Three Three (Minion) Stooges.

I’m not going to get too bogged down with analyzing the storyline or characters here (other than the Minions). The story actually well suits a feature-length treatment for these until-now side characters: After many millennia searching and serving (and inevitably losing) the biggest and baddest bosses they could find, three Minions leave their “colony” to find a new big bad boss. Honestly, I could watch 90 minutes of these adorable yellow pill-shaped creatures reading to each other in a classroom. With a language consisting of 50% Italian, 40% gibberish, and 10% random sounds, unique personalities befitting each standardly-named individual, and an unparalleled sense of loyalty, these little guys are too cute to dislike.

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Spinning Platters Interview: Félix de Givry and Sven Hansen-Løve, ‘EDEN’

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During SFIFF58 a few months ago, I was able to catch Mia Hansen-Løve’s new musical drama, Eden. Despite not knowing much about French touch and the electronic music movement of the 90s in Paris, I lost myself in the euphoric and tragic journey of the film’s central DJ character. Eden is a movie that will etch its aura into your mind, and its 4 hr. soundtrack plays like a history of house music. I was fortunate enough to arrange an interview with writer Sven Hansen-Løve, on whose life the story is loosely based, and Félix de Givry, who plays Paul, the central character of the film. At The Social Study, I sat down with the two French gentlemen to discuss Eden:

Félix, how much did you know about French touch and the electronic music movement before signing onto this project?

Félix: I think I knew a little bit more than normal people know in France. Even more than Americans. But still I was not expert, especially of garage underground scene. I knew about French touch. ‘French touch’ the expression represents so much success that almost everybody knows about the people involved. The most interesting thing for me was to really dig into the scene and the beginning of the scene and the fact that there was so few people, say 200 or 300 people. It was kind of a black hole. It wasn’t documented by the big media at the time and there was not internet yet. Thanks to Sven, I learned a lot about it.

Sven: Yes, the fact that we had the chance to see each other many times. With my sister, too (the film’s director, Mia). It was a good thing for Félix because he could get direct documentation, in a way <<laughs>>.

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Film Review: Mad Max: Fury Road

It’s a mad, mad, mad, Mad Max world!

It’s been 30 years since we last saw Max Rockatansky AKA Mad Max roam the dystopian post-apocalyptic landscape created by the great visionary filmmaker George Miller. During that time, Miller directed only a handful of films, primarily talking animal family films such as Babe 2: Pig in the City and the Oscar winning Happy Feet. Despite it being a work-in progress for many years, Mad Max: Fury Road seems to be Miller’s way of delivering a strict how-to lesson to all the action director wannabes who are flooding cineplexes these days with CG-filled shlock. Fury Road has its fair share of CG, but only when necessary…or when super cool. The practical effects (you know… actual people and actual cars and actual explosions) are unparalleled. Fury Road will set the precedent for what all forthcoming action films will be compared against, and not only for its action. Mad Max: Fury Road manages to showcase some of the greatest frenetic visuals in at least a decade while still delivering a worthy story and characters. It’s style AND substance — a rare treat. ‘What a lovely day!’ indeed.

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SFIFF58 Final Spotlight: The End of the Tour/Golden Gate Awards

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This post must begin with a huge thank you to the entire SFIFF58 staff. Thank you! From the awesome crew that ran the press lounge, those manning the box office, the publicists, and programmers, to the volunteers and event coordinators, your tremendous effort was not overlooked or taken for granted by us covering the festival for Spinning Platters. We can’t thank you enough. We can’t wait for next year! Here’s a last look at one final film (appropriately titled) and the festival winners at this year’s SFIFF Golden Gate Awards:

The End of the Tour
(USA, 2015, 106 min., Big Nights)

Based on Rolling Stone journalist David Lipsky’s Although of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself, The End of the Tour depicts Lipsky’s conversations with author David Foster Wallace during the home stretch of his Infinite Jest book tour. Breaking out of his Apatow-produced shell, Segal proves he is ready for more dramatic roles with his honest and understated portrayal of the late author, who committed suicide in 2008. Comprised mostly of dialogue amidst some gorgeously shot muted midwest colors, The End of the Tour never loses our attention as the two central figures discuss universal topics that we are sometimes too afraid to face, or too afraid to hear.

Info available here.

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SFIFF58 Interview: ‘Vincent’ director/writer/actor Thomas Salvador

For me, one of the many highlights of SFIFF58 was seeing Vincent, the new French “superhero” film from dir. Thomas Salvador. Having previously made only a handful of short films, Mr. Salvador took the plunge into feature films with this new wonderfully understated audience charmer, which he directed, wrote, and stars in. I sat down with the funny, polite, and reserved filmmaker to discuss Vincent, which has one more screening this Thursday, 5/7 at 6:15 (info here):

The trailer for Vincent says ‘the first film of French superhero”. Are superheroes just not as popular in France?

Not really <<laughing>>. The superhero movies have a lot of success everywhere. But as there are many, people are a little bit bored. It’s a real US kind of movies. Like westerns. You can’t imagine a superhero outside of United States. It’s a marketing way to present the film. If we think deeply, it’s not a real superhero movie but it was the marketing way to bring people into the theater. <<laughing>>

Well it’s you now. You’re the first! You’re the first European superhero!

I’m not sure that, maybe there have been other people in French films with something special, special gifts. Maybe I’m the first. I didn’t do this movie for that. I did it because I feel it.

How did you decide on water as the source of power?

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SFIFF58 Spotlights #6: Eden/Results/Democrats/Far From Men/Hill of Freedom/Goodnight Mother

Less than a week left and sadly there are many great titles that have finished screening at SFIFF58. But we here like to keep you in the loop nonetheless, so here’s six more titles to add to your cinema radar (including Democrats, which still has some screenings left!):

Eden
(France, 2014, 131 min, Marquee Presentations)

Whether you’re familiar with the “French touch” influence of the 90s or not, it’s hard to deny the sensory power of this semi-biographical story about a French DJ rising to prominence in the Parisian electronic music scene, paralleling the origins of Daft Punk (who appear as characters throughout). Director Mia Hansen-Løve co-wrote with her brother Sven Hansen-Løve, of whom the story is loosely based. Eden juxtaposes a futile DJ lifestyle with house music’s high energy atmosphere and evolving media formats, set against the pulsating vibrant backdrop of some gorgeously shot clubs and raves.

There are no more upcoming screenings for Eden at the festival.
Info for Eden is available here. *Interview with actor Felix de Givry and Sven Hansen-Løve coming soon*

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Film Review: Adult Beginners

No more and no less than a solid middling comedy.

Bobby Cannavale, Rose Byrne, and Nick Kroll are 'Adult Beginners' — Bobby Cannavale, Rose Byrne, and Nick Kroll are ‘Adult Beginners’

In the age of the coming-of-age comedy, nothing is more prevalent than indie music montages and sad sap protagonists with remarkably expensive looking hipster clothing. Thankfully, Adult Beginners really has neither of these characteristics. The characters in Adult Beginners are past the point of coming-of-age, and therein lies the point. It may be formulaic and glossy in its ultra quick stereotypical depictions of IPOs, swim classes, successful entrepreneurs, awkward home town reunions, etc., but judging the film on these miscues is to miss the (aforementioned) point. What Adult Beginners does well is allow its very talented cast to execute a cute story featuring very familiar circumstances and themes.

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SFIFF58 Spotlights #4: Mr. Holmes/Luna/The Editor/The Taking of Tiger Mountain

The 58th San Francisco International Film Festival has just about reached the halfway point, and there are still so many films to discuss. Be sure to take a look at the program and ticket info here. Here are a few more titles (some that have unfortunately already had their final festival screening) to put on your radar:

Mr. Holmes
(UK, 2015, 105 min, Marquee Presentations)

In director Bill Condon’s new drama, Mr. Holmes, Sir Ian McKellen plays an old, retired Sherlock Holmes, who is trying to battle memory loss while attempting to add some facts and closure to his otherwise inventive, fantastical legacy curated by the writings of Dr. Watson, in particular the unsolved details of the former’s final case. McKellen is extraordinary, displaying the weathered wit and fragility of a dying icon who has been locked into a secluded lifestyle as a result of his investigatory prowess. Even a fire alarm at the Kabuki resulting in the evacuation of the theater 20 minutes in couldn’t steal away the emotional impact of Mr. Holmes’ rumination on fact vs. fiction.

Screenings:

May 5 – 2:00pm at Sundance Kabuki Cinemas

Tickets for Mr. Holmes available here.

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