Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds
starring: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Clark Gregg, Cobie Smulders, Stellan Skarsgard, Samuel L. Jackson, Gwyneth Paltrow
written by: Joss Whedon (story and screenplay), Zak Penn (story)
directed by: Joss Whedon
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action throughout, and a mild drug reference
It’s been twenty years since Patty Schemel became the drummer for Hole at the age of 25 in 1992. At the time, the band consisted entirely of co-founders Courtney Love and Eric Erlandson. The bassist and drummer with whom they’d recorded their grinding debut album, Pretty on the Inside, had moved on; Patty was recommended to Courtney by Kurt Cobain, who initially wanted Patty for Nirvana before settling on Dave Grohl. Patty had been a fixture in the Pacific Northwest indie-punk scene since the mid-’80s, but little about those experiences could have prepared her for the mind-melting, generation-defining roller coaster ride through heaven and hell on which she was about to have a front-car seat. Those explosive years, the drug-addled abyss that followed, and her hard-fought redemption are chronicled in shockingly intimate detail in a new documentary called Hit So Hard.
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Interview: Patty Schemel on “Hit So Hard””
starring: Jason Segel, Emily Blunt, Chris Pratt, Alison Brie, Jacki Weaver, Chris Parnell, Rhys Ifans, Brian Posehn, Mindy Kaling, Mimi Kennedy, David Paymer, Dakota Johnson
written by: Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller
directed by: Nicholas Stoller
MPAA: Rated R for sexual content, and language throughout
starring: John Cusack, Luke Evans, Alice Eve, Brendan Gleeson, Kevin McNally
screenplay by: Ben Livingston and Hannah Shakespeare
directed by: James McTeigue
MPAA: Rated R for bloody violence and grisly images
starring: Zac Efron, Taylor Schilling, Blythe Danner, Riley Thomas Stewart, Jay R. Ferguson
screenplay by: Will Fetters
directed by: Scott Hicks
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for some sexuality and violence
This year’s edition of the San Francisco International Film Festival will transpire in theaters around the city from April 19 to May 3. Last year’s SFIFF marked the Bay Area premieres of such critically acclaimed hits as Beginners, Another Earth, and The Future. This year’s reliably diverse lineup looks just as promising, featuring new work from actors like Shirley MacLaine, Jack Black, Diane Kruger, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Greta Gerwig, John Krasinski, Freida Pinto, Emily Blunt, Val Kilmer, Lili Taylor, James Franco, Susan Sarandon, and Common, filmmakers like Richard Linklater, Michael Winterbottom, Lynn Shelton, Andrea Arnold, Lena Dunham, and little-known local winemaker Francis Ford Coppola, and documentaries on subjects ranging from Diana Vreeland and Marina Abramovic to ACT UP and the epidemic of sexual violence against women in the military. The festival will also feature several events, notably tributes to Kenneth Branagh and Judy Davis (both of whom will attend), a Midnight Mass tribute to the late Ken Russell featuring a Peaches Christ-hosted screening of Tommy, and perhaps most awesomely, a program of Buster Keaton short films with live musical accompaniment by Merrill Garbus and her tUnE-yArDs crew.
After the jump, we break down the 20 films we’re most excited to see this year into three categories: World Cinema, New Directors, and Documentaries. All film descriptions are courtesy of the San Francisco Film Society.
Continue reading “The Spinning Platters Guide to the San Francisco International Film Festival 2012”
written by: Lee Hirsch and Cynthia Lowen
directed by: Lee Hirsch
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for intense thematic material, disturbing content, and some strong language – all involving kids
starring: Lily Collins, Julia Roberts, Armie Hammer, Nathan Lane, Mare Winningham, Michael Lerner, Sean Bean, Mark Povenelli, Martin Klebba
written by: Marc Klein and Jason Keller
directed by: Tarsem
MPAA: Rated PG for some fantasy action and mild rude humor
starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Lenny Kravitz, Stanley Tucci, Wes Bentley, Donald Sutherland, Alexander Ludwig, Toby Jones, Isabelle Fuhrman
written by: Gary Ross, Suzanne Collins, and Billy Ray
directed by: Gary Ross
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for intense violent thematic material and disturbing images – all involving teens
starring: Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Brie Larson, Dave Franco, Ice Cube, Rob Riggle, Nick Offerman, Ellie Kemper, Jake M. Johnson, Chris Parnell
written by: Michael Bacall and Jonah Hill
directed by: Phil Lord and Chris Miller
MPAA: Rated R for crude and sexual content, pervasive language, drug material, teen drinking and some violence