Films – Page 66 – Spinning Platters

SFJFF Spotlights #2: My Awkward Sexual Adventure / Joe Papp in Five Acts

More spotlights from the 33^rd Annual San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, which runs until August 12th (still plenty of time to catch a few films). Full schedule, tickets, and more information at: http://sfjff.org

My Awkward Sexual Adventure
(Canada 2012, 103 min)

Jonas Chernick is ready to learn something new in My Awkward Sexual Adventure

Canadian director Sean Garrity has made a charming, very funny picture that combines the sweetness and raunch of The 40-Year-Old Virgin with the wisdom of Star Wars. Winnipeg accountant Jordan (Jonas Chernick) isn’t a virgin, but he’s so bad in bad that his girlfriend Rachel (Sarah Manninen) consistently falls asleep during their intimate interludes, and breaks off their relationship. Desperate to win her back, Jordan makes a deal with Julia (Emily Hampshire), a pretty, smart stripper with big dreams and messy finances. The two work out a quid pro quo agreement – financial lessons for sex tips, with Julia serving as a sensual Yoda to Jordan’s naïve Luke Skywalker. The ensuing results are awkward, yes, but always hilarious and honest. A side plot involving Jordan’s best friend Dandak (Vik Sahay) and an arranged marriage candidate also parallels the main story nicely.

And just a warning: this film does for cantaloupe what American Pie did for apple pie… you may want to opt for watermelon at your next picnic.

Screenings:
– Saturday, August 10, 8:45pm, Grand Lake Theater, Oakland Continue reading “SFJFF Spotlights #2: My Awkward Sexual Adventure / Joe Papp in Five Acts”

Film Review: Blue Jasmine

A Muni bus named 14-Mission: Blanche DuBois on South Van Ness

Jasmine (Cate Blanchett) ponders her life in Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine — Jasmine (Cate Blanchett) ponders her future with the help of a little whiskey

I am willing to forgive Woody Allen the misstep that was last year’s disappointing and forgettable To Rome With Love, since perhaps he needed to get that rote entry out of his system in order to make one of his finest films in years, Blue Jasmine. Sure to become one of his best known pictures, on par with such perceptive and tightly constructed works as Interiors, Crimes and Misdemeanors, and Match Point, this terrific film will no doubt be a strong contender for Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Actress at Oscar time. Continue reading “Film Review: Blue Jasmine”

Film Review: 2 Guns

Quote for the poster: This movie will blow away your expectations!

Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg steal a bit more money than they were expecting in 2 Guns.

There are two reviews I can write about the new Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg vehicle, 2 Guns. The first is for people who have not seen the trailer or read a synopsis. These people are going to be rewarded by a movie with some true surprises, well-hidden character twists, and an all-star cast doing good work. The second is for people who have seen the film’s marketing. For them, I expect the experience to be terrible, as they already know the answers to all the questions the film asks. For them, and this “them” unfortunately included me, it’ll create anger for a ruined experience. Continue reading “Film Review: 2 Guns”

The Matrix, Live with The San Francisco Symphony

On Saturday night, The Matrix, a 1999 sci-fi cult film absorbed by the generations raised on computers, was screened at Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall in downtown San Francisco. The man responsible for the movie’s original score, Don Davis, conducted The San Francisco Symphony in a riveting two-hour-long performance that brilliantly complemented the pivotal moments of the movie displayed directly above their station.

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Film Review: The Wolverine

‘The Wolverine’ is 3/4 the thrilling character driven spinoff we wanted.

Yeah, he's angry, bub! — He’s angry, bub!

Rest assured, The Wolverine washes away most of the sour taste leftover from 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine. The Wolverine is not an origin story, nor is it similar to the usual X-Men fare. Under the consistently solid, if not stellar, direction of James Mangold (Walk the Line, 3:10 to Yuma, Knight & Day), The Wolverine manages to resurrect the energy of a character who was losing appeal due to over exposure and silly effects-laden films. The first three quarters of The Wolverine make up one of the most entertaining comic book adaptations to date. Pardon the expression, but The Wolverine is almost ‘Nolan-esque’. In more ways than one, the story is also filled with parallels to Greek mythology (much of the X-Men universe is), all the while maintaining a strong loyalty to the fan favorite title character. Unfortunately, all comes tumbling down in the final act.

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Film Review: Computer Chess

I have no idea what to make of Computer Chess. This is what’s good and bad about it.

Computer Chess is either a very smart movie that’s way over my head, or one of those movies that is trying to be very smart and missing the mark. It’s to its credit and detriment that I can’t tell. The film is shot by writer/director Andrew Bujalski in black and white, and is meant to look like an old VHS documentary. This effect fades in and out as needed, though, and like many mockumentaries, we start getting treated to standard camera angles and edits as the story calls for it. Continue reading “Film Review: Computer Chess”

Film Review: The To Do List

A raunchy two-joke movie that keeps the humor flowing.

Aubrey Plaza demonstrates her (acting) skills.

If you’re old enough to remember growing up in the 90’s, then The To Do List will supply you with a healthy dose of nostalgia. If you like sexual humor and gross-out comedies, then The To Do List will surely entertain you. If you find the combination of 90’s culture and sexual humor appealing, then this movie is basically a cinematic orgasm. It’s also a coming-out party for Aubrey Plaza, if Parks & Recreation hasn’t yet done the trick. The To Do List turns the stereotypical preachy message that you’d find in most romantic comedies (even the gross ones) over on its head, instead delivering the truth about teenage sexual curiosity and pressures…the unabashed, awkward, and honest truth.

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Film Review: The Hunt

Lasse Fogelstrom and Mads Mikkelsen in The Hunt

As you watch The Hunt, you no doubt will pull your sweater just a little tighter around you to try and ward off the cold of the stark Scandinavian winter depicted in Danish director Thomas Vinterberg’s gripping psychological drama, but you will fail. Nothing can protect you from the emotional chilliness of the close-knit rural community portrayed on screen. Continue reading “Film Review: The Hunt”

SFJFF Spotlights #1: Gideon’s Army / Red Flag

Spotlights from the 33^rd Annual San Francisco Jewish Film Festival (SFJFF), which opens today and continues until August 12th. Information and tickets at: http://sfjff.org

Gideon’s Army
(USA 2013, 96 min)

Public defender Travis Williams makes a point in Gideon’s Army

Director Dawn Porter has made an absolutely stunning documentary highlighting the unheralded heroes of the U.S. legal system, young, underpaid public defenders in the Deep South fighting tirelessly for their clients, who are typically poor, uneducated, and out of luck. A Grand Jury Prize nominee at Sundance this year, the film won the Editing Prize there, “for skillfully crafting an unforgettable narrative through personal stories that luminate the larger issues of race and class in America’s legal system.” Compelling and timely, the film is a definite must see, and you will find yourself alternatively weeping, cheering, and shaking your head with disbelief and awe at these exceptional officers of the court who have made it their life’s work to uphold justice for each and every one of this country’s citizens.

Screenings:
– Friday, July 25, 6:50pm, Castro Theater, SF
– Saturday, August 10, 3:55pm, Grand Lake Theater, Oakland

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Film Review: R.I.P.D.

R.I.P.D. is a good reminder of how similar movies used to be better.

Jeff Bridges and Ryan Reynolds are ready for all terrible CGI creatures coming their way. — Jeff Bridges and Ryan Reynolds are ready for all the terrible CG creatures coming their way.

– What do you call an undead police force?
– The R.I.P.D. The Rest In Peace Department.
– Ha!
– They would be like the Men in Black.
– Yeah. Except instead of aliens, they’d be fighting hell’s escapees.
(…to be continued)

Although R.I.P.D. is based on a comic book series of the same name, first published in 1999 (after Men in Black), I can easily imagine the concept for this movie arising in the above fashion. I haven’t read the source material, and therefore can’t speak to it, but it’s a bit too easy to find the parallels between R.I.P.D. and MIB; every character, plot turn, and joke from the former has a close equivalent in the latter. It’s surprising that we don’t see the MIB writers getting credited for the R.I.P.D. story or screenplay. Perhaps I’m being too harsh. But for the sake of argument, perhaps extra time should’ve been spent polishing what ends up being a cheap clone of a concept already executed to a much more satisfying degree. The characters in R.I.P.D. aren’t well developed, the special effects look gummy at best, and the plot doesn’t take any unexpected turns.

Continue reading “Film Review: R.I.P.D.”