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.
Moving documentary explores life and death of film criticism icon
Roger Ebert became the youngest daily film critic in America when he was hired by the Chicago Sun-Times.
If you have even a passing interest in film history, you owe it to yourself to see director Steve James’s new documentary about renowned Pulitzer-prize winning Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert. While James makes a few questionable directorial choices, the film succeeds as both a compelling biopic about a truly fascinating man, and as a superb primer on the advent of modern day film criticism. Just be sure to bring some tissues, since the film also covers the weightier issues of life, disease, and death, but with exceptional candor and grace. Continue reading “Film Review: Life Itself”
None of this makes any sense, but damn it looks fantastic!
Did he say “you’re entering a world of pain?” He should have.
Transformers Age of Extinction, aka Transformers 4, is basically a tech demo for the IMAX 3D format. Only seconds into the nearly 3-hour movie, many in the audience were gasping with awe. Are movies supposed to look this amazing? And when they do, can we forgive basically everything else about them? Follow along as I “live blog” Transformers 4: Age of Extinction. (I’ve left out spoilers, and made up most of the times since I didn’t actually write this in the movie.) Continue reading “Film Review: Transformers Age of Extinction”
The first time you see the Electric Daisy Carnival at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway is jawdropping. You walk out to the top of the grandstands, and you look out over a sea of lights and motion that’s larger than you could have possibly imagined. The new film, Under the Electric Sky, captures this moment and many others, as it does a terrific job of showing the size and scale of the largest EDM festival going. This is what this movie is here for: it’s a 90-minute propaganda film that serves as a perfect advertisement for Insomniac Entertainment. It’ll definitely make you want to go. Continue reading “Film Review: Under the Electric Sky”
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?
