Chad Liffmann – Page 22 – Spinning Platters

Film Review: Into the Storm

An unnatural disaster.

Should we stay or should we go? It's just so pretty and destructive! — Should we stay or should we leave…the theater.

Into the Storm is one of those movies in which you can easily tell how most of, if not all, the budget was spent. The tornado sequences look great. There’s a lot of debris flying around, making a mess. I’m sure that if I were to compare the destructive tornadoes in 1996’s Twister to those in Into the Storm, the latter would make the former look silly and cartoonish. But taken in its entirety, Into the Storm makes Twister look like a masterpiece (my apologies to those who were of this opinion of Twister already). Into the Storm, aside from a few intense in-the-thick-of-it moments, completely misses the mark. A weak story, awkward acting, and makeshift dialogue derail Into the Storm, and even the tornadoes are welcome interruptions from the sloppy storyline, rather than harbingers of impending doom.

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Film Review: Calvary

Trying to find light in a very dark place.

Chris O'Dowd and Brendan Gleeson are laughin' it up! — Chris O’Dowd and Brendan Gleeson compare serious faces.

Pay close attention to the title. The word is ‘calvary’, not ‘cavalry’. If you go into watching Calvary expecting to see a charging army on horseback, you’ll be sorely disappointed. Calvary, titled after the name of the hill outside Jerusalem where Christ was crucified and also a term used to describe great suffering, is a very dark yet beautiful and at times humorously allegorical tale. The film is also a pointed study on the rocky relationship between Ireland and the Catholic church. It’s a very tightly bound film without much fluff — with no air to breathe, Calvary can sometimes come across as contrived or forced. This winds up benefitting the film, since moments of contrivance are superseded by how these moments challenge our morality and judgmental nature. Calvary expects us to listen closely to what the characters have to say, but also to open ourselves up to heavy discussions on the nature of sin, faith, life and death. It’s a tall order, indeed, but one that the film handles intelligently.

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Film Review: Happy Christmas

Soft and low key, and a healthy dose of reality

Melanie Lynskey and Joe Swanberg snuggle up tight in 'Happy Christmas' — Melanie Lynskey and Joe Swanberg snuggle up tight in ‘Happy Christmas’

Some people enjoy movies because they provide an escape from the hardships of real life. To them, the more out-of-this-world, the better. Other people enjoy realistic movies the most – the movies that capture the intricacies of real human behavior, real emotions, and stories grounded in reality. Happy Christmas will definitely please the latter group of movie watchers, but has a rather good shot at pleasing the former group, too. Director Joe Swanberg (Drinking Buddies) is a rising talent getting known for his acute handling of complex onscreen relationships. Happy Christmas is Swanberg’s most mature film to date, capturing a segment in the life of a few in a way that doesn’t rely on overly dramatic instances to drive the plot. In doing so, the film is actually a pleasant invitation into another family’s life, one in which the characters ring true.

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Album Review: Jenny Lewis, ‘The Voyager’

jenny lewis the voyager

Jenny Lewis is back! And, she’s brought herself with her. The Voyager is Lewis’ first solo record in six years, and appropriately named due to the long journey the new collection of songs took to find themselves together on a record. Since Rilo Kiley officially split in 2011, Lewis involved her talented musicianship in a few endeavors, meanwhile she dealt with a long bout with insomnia and the death of her father. The Voyager is a pronouncement of her strength and resilience. The record enshrouds brutal honesty and confessions within a blanket of summer pop jangles and melodious hooks.

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Film Review: Hercules

Herculean, this movie is not.

I...AM...HERCULES! I'm kinda legendary. Sort of. — I…AM…HERCULES! I’m kinda legendary. Sort of.

Who here wants to see the “real” story of Hercules?! Anyone?…Anyone? Bueller? Just as I expected, this was not something that needed to be told, and it’s even the second revisionist tale of Hercules to be released this year (The Legend of Hercules — 3% on Rotten Tomatoes). This one stars Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and is directed by Brett Ratner (Rush Hour, X:Men: The Last Stand). What this means is that you can expect 120 minutes of passable escapism, primarily due to Ratner’s involvement rather than The Rock’s presence. The widely disliked Ratner is known for his surface-level entertainment films, Red Dragon the only possible exception, and his newest film is no different. Hercules is stripped of mythology and magic, leaving us with a predictable and bland sword and sandals mini-epic.

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Show Review: Pixar in Concert with the SF Symphony

PixarNight

The magic of Pixar Animation Studios has produced 13 films since it debuted its first feature in 1995 with Toy Story. These films have consistently raised the bar for animated storytelling, and with such an impressive list of titles including the Toy Story series, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Up, Finding Nemo, and more, it’s no surprise that one of the hardest questions to ask a movie lover is ‘what’s your favorite Pixar film?’ Part of the magical formula that contributes to the wide success of the studio are the film scores, composed by four incredible talents: Randy Newman, Thomas Newman, Patrick Doyle, and (my personal favorite) Michael Giacchino. The Pixar film scores have garnered 10 Oscar nominations and 1 win, not including original songs. Last night, the San Francisco Symphony held the first night of its Pixar in Concert series, a fantastic musical evening featuring excerpts from each of the 14 Pixar titles accompanied by a montage of each film.

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Film Review: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

It’s always darkest before the ‘Dawn’.

Hail O'Mighty Caesar! — Hail O’Mighty Caesar!

In Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, the follow-up to the surprising and emotionally resonant 2011 reboot, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, we are treated to another slice of the 50-year-old Planet of the Apes universe that had, until now, only been hypothesized. Part of the consuming mystery surrounding the original 1968 Planet of the Apes ending was wondering how the humans had destroyed the Earth and fallen prisoner to ape overlords. Dawn offers just a small, yet undoubtedly significant, step on this inevitable path. And yet, under the confident direction of Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Let Me In), Dawn of the Planet of the Apes has an epic feel that looms large with great performances, memorable and haunting action, and deep social commentary.

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Spinning Platters Interview: James Ward Byrkit, Writer/Director, “Coherence”

coherence2 — Director James Ward Byrkit’s COHERENCE

After Coherence screened to a packed house at the 57th San Francisco International Film Festival, the film’s writer/director James Ward Byrkit (Rango, Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy), sat down with me to discuss the mind-bending thriller, its origins, its unique production, and more…

Where and when did you originally come up with the premise for Coherence?

Well, we came up with the premise in my living room, where the movie is shot. A couple years ago we were trying to think about what a good low budget, or no budget, movie would be. And, since we didn’t have any resources, I had to think of what we actually had. We had a camera. We had some actors who were pretty good, and we had a living room. So we had to find out how to make a living room feel like more than just a living room. And, that led to a whole Twilight Zone type story [laughs].

Coming off the work you’ve done — storyboarding for Pirates of the Caribbean and working on the story for Rango, how did this shift your way of thinking?

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Film Review: 22 Jump Street

School in the summer has never been so awesome.

The unlikely success of 2012’s 21 Jump Street prompted the production and release of the sequel, 22 Jump Street, which ends up being funnier, more ridiculous, and more exciting than it’s predecessor. Phil Lord and Christopher Miller must be on cloud nine right now since the writing/directing duo has experienced unbelievable success with 21 and 22 Jump Street, the Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs series (they wrote and directed the first and produced the sequel), and one of the top rated and grossing movies of the year, The Lego Movie. Lord and Miller find creative ways to inject a constant stream of humor into their films. In the case of 22 Jump Street, they once again exploit the infectious chemistry between Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum and deliver a script that has no shortage of joke types — including slapstick, sight gags, witty banter, and an abundance of self-referential and meta humor. With such a clever script and the chance for us to revisit the budding bromance at its core, 22 Jump Street is comedic gold and perfect summer fun.

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Film Review: How to Train Your Dragon 2

A worthy return to Berk, where the kids are all grown up now.

'Night fury in the sky, I can fly twice as high' — ‘Night fury in the sky, I can fly twice as high’

In 2010, How to Train Your Dragon surprised audiences with its incredible cinematography and emotionally resonant central relationship between a young nerdy Viking, Hiccup, and Toothless, the elusive and dangerous Night Fury dragon. Nearly 4.5 years later we are treated to the follow-up, How to Train Your Dragon 2 (the second installment of an intended trilogy), which thankfully has Dean DeBlois (Lilo & Stitch, How to Train Your Dragon) returning as director. DeBlois successfully incorporates the same sense of discovery, wonder, and emotional gravitas into the sequel that were so prevalent in the first film. How to Train Your Dragon 2 gets just about everything right — it expands the story’s universe without overreaching, lets the characters mature without forcing the issue, and keeps the focus on the powerful central storyline in a way that remains fun and engaging.

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