Spinning Platters Guide to the San Francisco International Film Festival 2011

The 54th annual San Francisco International Film Festival kicks off this Thursday, April 21, bringing with it two weeks of jam-packed film programming until its conclusion on May 5. Special guests and honorees this year include Oliver Stone, Matthew Barney, Zoe Saldana, Clifton Collins Jr., and Christine Vachon. The festival will also feature a live performance of the film scores of Claire Denis by Tindersticks.

For full information, check out the official festival website. But first, look after the jump for our top 15 movies to see this year at the SFIFF.

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Film Review: “The Conspirator”

Robin Wright and James McAvoy in THE CONSPIRATOR. © 2011 - Roadside Attractions

starring: James McAvoy, Robin Wright, Evan Rachel Wood, Alexis Bledel, Kevin Kline, Tom Wilkinson, Justin Long, Norman Reedus, Danny Huston, Jonathan Groff, Johnny Simmons, Stephen Root, Colm Meaney

written by: James Solomon (screenplay/story), Gregory Bernstein (story)

directed by: Robert Redford

MPAA: Rated PG-13 for some violent content.

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Film Review: “Scream 4”

Neve Campbell and Emma Roberts in SCREAM 4. © 2011 - The Weinstein Company

starring: Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Emma Roberts, Hayden Panettiere, Alison Brie, Marley Shelton, Rory Culkin, Mary McDonnell, Adam Brody, Anthony Anderson, Aimee Teegarden, Shenae Grimes, Kristen Bell, Anna Paquin, Nico Tortorella, Erik Knudsen, Marielle Jaffe, Brittany Robertson, Lucy Hale

written by: Kevin Williamson

directed by: Wes Craven

MPAA: Rated R for strong bloody violence, language and some teen drinking.

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Film Review: “Your Highness”

Natalie Portman, Danny McBride, James Franco, and Zooey Deschanel in YOUR HIGHNESS. Photo by Frank Connor – © 2011 Universal Studios. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

starring: Danny McBride, James Franco, Natalie Portman, Zooey Deschanel, Justin Theroux, Rasmus Hardiker, Toby Jones

written by: Danny McBride and Ben Best

directed by: David Gordon Green

MPAA: Rated R for strong crude and sexual content, pervasive language, nudity, violence and some drug use.

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Film Review: “Arthur”

Russell Brand and Helen Mirren in ARTHUR. Photo by Barry Wetcher – © 2011 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

starring: Russell Brand, Helen Mirren, Greta Gerwig, Jennifer Garner, Nick Nolte, Luis Guzmán, Geraldine James

written by: Peter Baynham (screenplay), Steve Gordon (story)

directed by: Jason Winer

MPAA: Rated PG-13 for alcohol use throughout, sexual content, language and some drug references.

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Spinning Platters Interview: Saiorse Ronan and Joe Wright on “Hanna”

Joe Wright and Saiorse Ronan at the WonderCon panel for "Hanna" in San Francisco last weekend. Photo by Kendall Whitehouse.

“Does anyone have a terrible allergy to cigarette smoke?” Joe Wright, the director of Hanna, is hoping the answer is no. It’s a Friday afternoon, and he’s looking a bit rough. Perhaps it’s a combination of jetlag and the looming specter of WonderCon 2011, which will be kicking off in a few hours. While Wright is no stranger to publicity tours, this is the first time he’s working the geek festival circuit. His previous three feature-length directorial efforts — Pride and Prejudice (the 2005 version starring Keira Knightley in an Oscar-nominated lead performance), Atonement (the breakthrough film of Hanna star Saiorse Ronan, whose performance garnered her a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the age of 13), and The Soloist, a contemporary drama starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx — did not take him down this particular promotional path.

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Spinning Platters Interview: Rainn Wilson and James Gunn on “Super”

Rainn Wilson and James Gunn at WonderCon in San Francisco last weekend. Photo by Kendall Whitehouse.

Rainn Wilson and writer/director James Gunn were in San Francisco this past weekend to promote their bold and demented new film, Super (read our Spinning Platters review here), at WonderCon. It was my first time entering the WC fray, and I found myself wishing I’d brought a bag of bread crumbs while navigating the labyrinthine expanse of Moscone South. But eventually I found the designated press room, where I waited patiently with a table of my fellow online press while Wilson and Gunn worked their way down a seemingly endless line of video interviews. One queasy highlight of this was watching Gunn being forced to awkwardly refer to “Jenna Fischer, my ex-wife” each time he was asked how Wilson came to be involved with the project.

But eventually the video interviews concluded, at which point they were escorted directly to our waiting table. “Here are the nerds!” Wilson cried out in relief upon approaching us. As they got seated (and Wilson bellowed “Hello machines!” into our assorted collection of recording devices), we kicked off a lively conversation on topics like how to make a homicidal maniac sympathetic, pioneering the concept of superhero female-to-male rape, and Wilson’s efforts to keep his character as far from Dwight as possible.

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Show Review: Hunx and His Punx with Shannon and the Clams and Grass Widow at Bottom of the Hill, 4/2/11

Hunx plays hard to get with a fan at SXSW last month. Photo by Nev Brown.

Hunx and His Punx played a sold-out record release show for their debut LP, Too Young To Be In Love (Hardly Art), at Bottom of the Hill on Saturday night. Also on hand were Shannon and the Clams (featuring Punx VIP Shannon Shaw), who were celebrating the release of their sophomore album, Sleep Talk. And as if that wasn’t enough, we also got the dependably awesome Grass Widow (recently seen playing with Wild Flag) as the opener. Needless to say, a fun time was had by all.

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Film Review: “Potiche”

Catherine Deneuve and Fabrice Luchini in POTICHE.

starring: Catherine Deneuve, Gérard Depardieu, Fabrice Luchini, Judith Godrèche, Jérémie Renier, Karin Viard

adapted and directed by: François Ozon

MPAA: Rated R for some sexuality.

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Film Review: “Miral”

Freida Pinto in MIRAL. © 2011 - Sony Pictures Classics

starring: Freida Pinto, Hiam Abbass, Alexander Siddig, Omar Metwally, Yasmine Elmasri, Ruba Blal, Willem Dafoe, Vanessa Redgrave

written by: Rula Jebreal

directed by: Julian Schnabel

MPAA: Rated PG-13 on appeal for thematic material, and some violent content including a sexual assault.

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