Features – Page 24 – Spinning Platters

SFIFF Spotlights #4: All About the Feathers/The Double/Club Sandwich/School of Babel/Select Shorts

Spinning Platters coverage of the 57^th San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF) continues with four more film spotlights. Program notes and tickets available at: http://www.sffs.org/festival-home/attend/film-guide

All About the Feathers (“Por Las Plumas”)
(Costa Rica, 85 min, 2013)

Allan Cascante in ALL ABOUT THE FEATHERS

All About the Feathers is a charming tale of an unlikely friendship between a lonely security guard, Chalo, and a fighting rooster he finally purchases, aptly named “Rocky.” The quasi-absurdist narrative, delivered calmly and steadily by first time director Neto Villalobos, is steeped in colorful characters and environments. The film wins our hearts through Charo’s unflinching devotion to his new fowl friend and how such goodnatured care can spark close bonds with others. Odd and hilarious, yet truly touching at its core, All About the Feathers gives us a quirky example of how it’s in our nature to fight being alone.

Screenings:

Tuesday, April 29^th, 6:15 pm, Kabuki

Tickets: http://www.sffs.org/festival-home/attend/film-guide/all-about-the-feathers

Continue reading “SFIFF Spotlights #4: All About the Feathers/The Double/Club Sandwich/School of Babel/Select Shorts”

SFIFF Spotlights #3: Young and Beautiful/Tonnere/No No: A Dockumentary/Chinese Puzzle

Coverage of the 57^th San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF) continues at Spinning Platters with four more film spotlights. Program notes and tickets available here.

Young and Beautiful
(France 2013, 93 min; French with English subtitles)

Isabelle est jeune et jolie. — Isabelle est jeune et belle.

French actress Marine Vacth is riveting in François Ozon’s drama about Isabelle, a 17-year-old high school student who loses her virginity during the summer and is working as a call girl by fall. Isabelle’s story unfolds over the course of four seasons, and we see the effect her choices have on her, her family, and her older male clients. Is Isabelle naively experimenting, working out unresolved father issues, or shrewdly and coldly wielding her newly discovered sexual power almost sociopathically? Is Isabelle even capable of forming real emotional bonds? Ozon’s intense psychological exploration of Isabelle’s choices and motivations isn’t always easy to watch – and Isabelle isn’t always a sympathetic character – but her story is deeply affecting, and you’ll be mulling over the answers to the questions the film raises long after it ends.

Screenings:

Monday, April 28^th, 9:30pm, Kabuki
Thursday, May 1^st, 3:45pm, Kabuki
Also opens at Landmark’s Opera Plaza and Shattuck Theaters on May 9^th

Tickets available here.

Continue reading “SFIFF Spotlights #3: Young and Beautiful/Tonnere/No No: A Dockumentary/Chinese Puzzle”

SFIFF Spotlights #2: Coherence/Heaven Adores You/The Two Faces of January/If You Don’t, I Will

Spinning Platters highlights some films from the 57^th San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF), which runs from April 24th through May 8th. Program notes and tickets available at: http://www.sffs.org/festival-home/attend/film-guide

Coherence
(USA, 2013, 89 min.)

Emily Baldoni in James Byrkit's COHERENCE — Emily Baldoni in James Byrkit’s COHERENCE

This low budget mind bender focuses on a dinner party of four couples on a night where a comet passes over Earth, causing some strange occurrences. Director James Ward Byrkit utilized an experimental production process by which he provided the actors with notes for each scene but no script, allowing for truly real reactions, spontaneous behavior, and improvised lines. Perfect editing and stellar performances create a palpable tension that’s both haunting and personal. The result is a tightly bound science-fiction indie crowd pleaser that delights with its twists and turns, keeping us guessing from the first to last frame…and afterwards.

Screenings:

Tuesday, April 29th, 9:45 PM, Kabuki

Tickets: http://www.sffs.org/festival-home/attend/film-guide/coherence#.U1vag-ZdVU1

Continue reading “SFIFF Spotlights #2: Coherence/Heaven Adores You/The Two Faces of January/If You Don’t, I Will”

SFIFF Spotlights #1: Ping Pong Summer/Last Weekend/Burt’s Buzz/Cesar’s Last Fast

Spinning Platters highlights some films from the 57^th San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF), which opens this Thursday, April 24^th, and runs through May 8^th at various theaters in San Francisco and Berkeley. Program notes and tickets available here.

We’ll be continuing our coverage this week and throughout the Festival. To get you started, here are brief looks at two Festival features and two documentaries. Continue reading “SFIFF Spotlights #1: Ping Pong Summer/Last Weekend/Burt’s Buzz/Cesar’s Last Fast”

Instant Reactions to the 2014 Outside Lands Lineup

The headliners took most festival watchers by surprise.

I took to the internet this morning to start discussing the Outside Lands headliners and lineup with the Bay Area music nerds, and to get some instant reactions from the Spinning Platters staffers. The 2014 Outside Lands lineup doesn’t look like every other festival lineup happening this summer, and that’s no surprise. We’ve always been able to count on the festival to provide different headliners from every other festival. How else can you stand out when everyone else is booking the same ten bands? Continue reading “Instant Reactions to the 2014 Outside Lands Lineup”

SXSW 2014: A Recap in Photos

Washed Out at Hype Hotel was the perfect way to end a long week. Also, kudos to the Hype Machine for only permitting badge/wristband holders to attend night shows, thus effectively keeping overcrowding at bay.

I haven’t been to SXSW in four years. I can’t say I was too sad about that fact, though. Ever since 2007, the festival has changed dramatically, and not necessarily for the better. To paraphrase, I don’t agree with Lady Gaga’s comment, during her keynote, that corporations are what make this festival remarkable or even possible. SX thrived long before big business descended upon Austin in droves, and will be just fine if some decided to pull out in the future.

That being said, I did enjoy seeing Big Freedia and my new Houston hero, RiFF RaFF, perform in the Doritos-sponsored tent. Yes, it was as crass an atmosphere as you could imagine from a brand targeting youth with their mass-produced, processed food; but the free chips and ample lounge seating were a relief after a long day of walking. Damon Albarn’s set was a bit disappointing at Stubb’s, largely due to the incompetence of the crew setting up between gigs, but he brought the real thunder, in the form of original Gorillaz’ members, Del tha Funky Homosapien, De La Soul, and even Snoop, at the Levi’s-sponsored Fader Fort.

Overall, I had a wonderful time. This is partly due to the fact that I was in good company alongside Michelle Viray and Dakin Hardwick, who wrote quite the remarkable review of all the bands we took in during our four-and-a-half-day sojourn. Though it’s not quite possible to see every act on one’s list, having a wristband does help in certain circumstances (like getting into the Hype Machine’s Hype Hotel for evening shows). I still wish we had discovered this guy, though. Without further ado, here is a collection of some of my favorite photos taken last week.

Continue reading “SXSW 2014: A Recap in Photos”

Noise Pop Review: Dr Dog, Moses Sumney, Saint Rich at The Warfield, 3/1/14

Moses Sumney was a sentimental surprise as he kicked off the evening. His emotional acoustic and soulful balladry lifted everyone to the smiling, smooth side of R&B. His performance gave an opening emotional dynamic to the show by allowing a vulnerable, emotional connection to what was yet to come.

Just prior to Dr. Dog was Saint Rich. Saint Rich, a New Jersey skateboarding enthusiast, had an eccentric life stage performance. Complimented with the musical harmony but not to duplicate Dr.Dog.

Closing the exciting Noise Pop Festival was – Dr. Dog. When their fans packed the Warfield, Dr. Dog knew exactly how to respond with current favorites “The Truth” and “Lonesome” while blending in a favorites from the past such as “These Days” and “Oh No”.

Dr. Dog certainly has a loyal fan club in the Bay Area. The simple reason is, each of their albums sequentially build on the one before while remaining true to the original unique sound. Each performance enhances an appreciation of their vintage harmonizing sound. Still true to the east coast vibe; yet, unique enough to remain unclassified from the common pop and indie trend. Just one of many reasons Dr. Dog will remain a Bay Area favorite.

Noise Pop Review: Bleached, Terry Malts, Mystic Braves, and Tropical Popsicle at Rickshaw Stop, 02/28/2014

I have no idea how to describe what just happened. This entire show felt like a crazy collision of surf, classic, psychedelic, and punk rock all interlocking and interweaving together to make Bleached, a veritable Voltron of music. Looked at individually, each of these groups are amazing reminders of angsty, dreamy, teenage Southern California rock days gone by. But their presence on stage here at Noise Pop unequivocally proves that this sound is timeless, and so, too, are the people who listen to it.

Continue reading “Noise Pop Review: Bleached, Terry Malts, Mystic Braves, and Tropical Popsicle at Rickshaw Stop, 02/28/2014”

Noise Pop Review: Throwing Muses, Mark Eitzel at Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, 2/28/14

We were treated to the standard older-band-promoting-a-new-album set, with Throwing Muses playing a large section of Purgatory/Paradise. I know it gets boring playing the same songs hundreds of times over 30-plus years. But sometimes that’s what people want. Luckily we got some of that too. Continue reading “Noise Pop Review: Throwing Muses, Mark Eitzel at Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, 2/28/14”

Spinning Platters Tells You What Noise Pop 2014 Shows To Go To

Spinning Platters is helping you decide which noisey pop you will be enjoying during Noise Pop!

Noise Pop can be intimidating. It’s the best week of live music programming in the Bay Area, and sometimes it’s hard to decide what to go to, because you can’t always be in two places at once. (However, I will be going to two shows on Friday night. I’m a bit insane.) So, if I were deciding what shows you were going to, this is what this shows would be. Disagree? Well, you can decide for yourself by checking the schedule out here. Continue reading “Spinning Platters Tells You What Noise Pop 2014 Shows To Go To”