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.
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 This winds up benefitting the film, since moments of contrivance are superseded by how these moments challenge our morality and judgmental nature.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.
The best talking tree movie since Lord of the Rings is also the most fun Marvel movie yet.
The Guardians of the Galaxy are here to make your summer more fun.
The Guardians of the Galaxy, the superhero team, was an odd choice for a Marvel movie. They’re not famous, which should make them a hard sell to the mainstream audiences that these movies are expected to attract. It could have gone really wrong, but because they’re oddballs operating out in space where they can’t interact with our earthbound heroes, the movie Guardians of the Galaxy is a delightful throwback romp. Continue reading “Film Review: Guardians of the Galaxy”
Chadwick Boseman channels James Brown in Get on Up.
Director Tate Taylor, who most recently brought Kathryn Stockett’s best selling novel The Help to the big screen, tries his hand at true life material in Get on Up, a biopic of the Godfather of Soul himself, the legendary James Brown. The results are mixed; tonally, the picture is a bit uneven, but some fine performances elevate the proceedings, and the soundtrack alone is almost worth the price of admission. Continue reading “Film Review: Get on Up”
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) isa 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.
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.
The 34th Annual San Francisco Jewish Film Festival (SFJFF) opens tomorrow, Thursday, July 24th, and runs until Sunday, August 10th. With 70 films from 18 countries and eight world premieres, the Festival has something for everyone. Below we spotlight a small sampling of the Fest’s offerings: three features and two documentaries. Find the full schedule, tickets, and more information at: http://sfjff.org
112 Weddings (USA 2013, 92 min)
They’re happy now – but what about in ten years?
Who among us hasn’t been to a wedding and thought – even for just a moment: “I wonder where this couple will be in five years?” Documentarian Doug Block apparently wondered the same thing. Having supplemented his filmmaking income as a wedding videographer, Block here interviews a few of the 112 couples whose weddings he shot five, ten, 15, even 20 years ago. The results are by turns uplifting, amusing, poignant, and wrenching, but always fascinating. By interviewing a broad range of diverse couples, Block lets us see the hopes, expectations, and realities of weddings – and, more importantly, of marriage and lifelong commitment. What happens when the party ends, and the couple is left facing issues like mental illness, financial difficulties, child rearing, or chronically ill children? “Happy weddings are a dime a dozen,” says a rabbi Block interviews; “happy marriages are much more rare.” The contrasting footage of youthful, joyous weddings and the present-day, older, more solemn couples is deeply moving and eye opening. Whether you’re married, divorced, contemplating marriage, or ardently against it, you’ll be riveted by this compelling documentary that examines the institution of marriage in a powerful and unique way. “Happily ever after is complicated,” one of the interviewees says. Indeed.
Screenings:
– Saturday, July 26th, 4:30pm, Castro Theater, SF
– Sunday, July 27th, 4:25pm, CinéArts Theater, Palo Alto
– Tuesday, August 5th, 6:15pm, California Theater, Berkeley
Ethan Hawke, Ellar Coltrane and Lorelei Linklater in Boyhood.
There are two types of people who are going to see director Richard Linklater’s newest film, Boyhood. There are those who will not know anything about, or perhaps not even care about the history of the making of the film. They may wonder what all the fuss is about. And then there are people like me who know the whole backstory, and will marvel at how this was all done, and realize that what they’re watching is an impossible movie, one that can’t exist. Yet it does, and it’s wonderful. Continue reading “Film Review: Boyhood”
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.
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 thatlooms large with great performances, memorable and haunting action, and deep social commentary.
