Films – Page 63 – Spinning Platters

Film Feature: Sundance Film Festival Spotlights #1

Sundance 2015 Spotlights: Five Feature Films

Braving the chill, the dry air, and the self-importance of the L.A. film industry folks who don’t turn off their cell phones during screenings, Senior Film Reviewer Carrie Kahn brings you these first spotlights (more to follow) from the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, UT, which closes this Sunday, February 1st.

From the good, the mediocre, to the downright horrific, some of these films may receive distribution deals and be widely released in the coming year. Lucky for you, we here at Spinning Platters are ready and willing to let you know which films to see and which to miss. We’ll start with five feature films, and our handy Viewing Priority Level (VPL) Guide will steer you in the right direction. Continue reading “Film Feature: Sundance Film Festival Spotlights #1”

Sketchfest Review: But I’m A Cheerleader Hosted By Peaches Christ at The Castro Theater, 1/27/15

At one point in time, Natasha Lyonne was a cult icon that did quirky, low budget indie films. Then, something strange happened. A little TV show about life in a women’s prison became one of the most popular shows on TV, bringing Lyonne up from cult icon to bonafide star. Sketchfest, by some force of magic, was able to get this big star to come to SF and slum it with us for an evening, discussing a film that’s nearly 20 years old.

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Film Review: A Most Violent Year

Top-notch thriller explores the underside of the American dream

Oscar Isaac’s Abel and Jessica Chastain’s Anna discuss their business problems.

Jessica Chastain and Oscar Isaac were overlooked during yesterday’s Oscar nominations, which is a bit disheartening, since they both give tremendous performances in writer/director J.C. Chandor’s newest film, A Most Violent Year (which opened in New York and L.A. in December, making it eligible for this year’s Oscars). Chandor, whose previous pictures include the pulse-quickening, terrific Margin Call and last year’s lost-at-sea thriller All is Lost, is a master at pulling his audience into a visceral time and place, and his skill remains exceptionally sharp, as evidenced here in his latest film.

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Film Review: Blackhat

Blackhat is a real hack job.

Hacker Hemsworth looking as confused about 'Blackhat' as we are. — Hacker Hemsworth looking as confused about ‘Blackhat’ as we are.

Blackhat is a film about a good guy hacker team trying to stop an elusive bad guy hacker. It had a lot going for it, considering it’s directed by Michael Mann (Collateral, Heat), stars ultra-manly Chris Hemsworth (Thor), and as we can all attest to, its cybercrime theme is very relevant. So why is Blackhat such a bad movie? It’s bad because it’s messy, miscast, and poorly put together. Not Michael Mann’s trademark digital lensing nor Hemsworth’s chiseled abs can save Blackhat from plodding through grating dialogue, an unrealistic plot and a pointless romantic subplot. Aside from a solid supporting job from Viola Davis and some beautiful night shots of cities around the world, Blackhat basically fails on all fronts.

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Film Review: Inherent Vice

Weird. Beautiful. Funny. Convoluted. Meandering. Forget it Jake, it’s Pynchon.

Joaquin Phoenix and Katherine Waterston in P.T. Anderson's Inherent Vice — Joaquin Phoenix and Katherine Waterston in P.T. Anderson’s Inherent Vice

Paul Thomas Anderson has made his name with movies that feel very important, and are chock full of big ideas about life. If you come looking for that in Inherent Vice, you’re going to leave disappointed. This movie is essentially a comedy, full of visual gags and walk-o- length comedic performances by a series of excellent actors. The story isn’t much to hang your hat on, but the cast, the dialog and gorgeous images should keep you entertained, as long as you keep your expectations in check.

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Film Feature: Chad’s Top 10 Films of 2014

Spinning Platters film critics present their top 10 films of 2014

Spinning Platters film critics Carrie Kahn and Chad Liffmann each share their ten favorite films of 2014. Here is Chad’s list, presented in reverse order of greatness; you can also see Carrie’s list here.

10.) Snowpiercer

Snowpiercer, Bong Joon-ho’s masterful post-apocalyptic thriller, was forced to fly beneath the radar since it was released on the same day as the horrific yet unfortunately box office dominating Transformers: Age of Extinction. Set in a human-created ice age in which the last survivors on the planet ride around on a crazy-long bullet train, Snowpiercer uses its science-fiction fantasy premise to punctuate some terrifying reflections on the socio-political tensions of modern day society. Chris Evans turns in another solid action hero performance (duh, Captain America) and Tilda Swinton is wicked good as the cruel and quirky “voice”/messenger of the upper class.

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Film Feature: Carrie’s Top 10 Films of 2014

Spinning Platters film critics present their top 10 films of 2014

Spinning Platters film critics Carrie Kahn and Chad Liffmann each share their ten favorite films of 2014. Here is Carrie’s list, presented in alphabetical order. And you can see Chad’s list here.

1.) Boyhood
Patricia Arquette and Ellar Coltrane are outstanding as a mother and son who grow and change together.

Filmed intermittently over 12 years, Richard Linklater’s film chronicling a boy named Mason (Ellar Coltrane) from ages six to 18 in real time is both a technical marvel and a cinematic masterpiece. There has been nothing like it before on screen, and there will no doubt be nothing like it again. Utterly unique in scope and vision, the film lets us watch a life develop in front of our very eyes, with all of its attendant hopes, dreams, achievements, and disappointments. Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke play Mason’s parents, changing and growing right alongside him and his older sister (Lorelei Linklater). An absolutely dazzling achievement that will leave you breathless and awed, Linklater’s picture is sure to be the one to beat for Best Picture come Oscar time. (You can also read Gordon’s full-length review here).

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Film Review: Into the Woods

The cast is great/The film is good/Into the woods/To go to the movies!

The Baker (James Corden) and his Wife (Emily Blunt) venture Into the Woods.

Director Rob Marshall, who was nominated for an Oscar for his film version of the musical “Chicago” back in 2003, returns this holiday season with another big screen adaptation of a Broadway hit musical. This time he takes on Steven Sondheim’s storied (pun intended) 1987 mega-hit Into the Woods, an extraordinarily entertaining mishmash of several of the Grimm Brothers classic fairy tales. Produced by Disney, the film had been the subject of widespread speculation that the darker edges of the Sondheim/James Lapine fantasy might be smoothed too much. Purists need not worry, however; Marshall’s version retains the mature themes and disquieting tone of the original, and has the added benefit of a terrific cast.

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Film Review: Unbroken

Fierce performances, incredible true story balance picture’s limited scope

After 47 days adrift at sea, Phil (Domhnall Gleeson) and Louis (Jack O’Connell) have the additional misfortune of being rescued by a Japanese war ship.

Based on Laura Hillenbrand’s popular book of the same name, Unbroken boasts impressive credentials: directed by Angelia Jolie and co-written by none other than the Coen Brothers, the movie generated much pre-release buzz. While the film succeeds immensely as a riveting survival tale, it often feels a little repetitive and one-note.

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Film Review: Top Five

Rock in top form with Top Five

Rosario Dawson’s Chelsea and Chris Rock’s Andre get to know each other.

With Top Five, Chris Rock gives us his first directing/writing/acting trifecta since 2007’s relatively unknown I Think I Love my Wife. Top Five should fare better, as it has something for everyone; it combines the raunchy humor of today’s most popular comedies with more cerebral humor. If the Farrelly Brothers had directed Birdman, the result might look something like Top Five. While the result often feels a bit disjointed, the film always succeeds in eliciting laughs.

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