Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds
starring: Michelle Williams, Bruce Greenwood, Will Patton, Zoe Kazan, Shirley Henderson, Paul Dano, Neal Huff, Tommy Nelson, Rod Rondeaux
written by: Jonathan Raymond
directed by: Kelly Reichardt
MPAA: Rated PG for some mild violent content, brief language and smoking.
Aimee Teegarden and Thomas McDonell are a bit of an odd couple. And I say “couple” figuratively, since the two aren’t actually reported to be dating (an increasing rarity in these promotional showmance times we live in). Teegarden is, at 21, already a consummate media professional. An actor in film and television from the age of 14, she recently spent five very big years of her young life living in Austin while filming the critically beloved NBC series Friday Night Lights, currently airing its fifth and final season. Talking with Teegarden feels like chatting with the button-cute president of the FBLA: she is bright, quick, and upbeat. But ironically, playing a teenager for five years meant she had to miss high school herself. “I was working,” she says ruefully.
McDonell, on the other hand, is new at this. The well-spoken NYU-trained actor, 24, got his first film role when he auditioned “as an experiment” for a small role in the Jackie Chan movie The Forbidden Kingdom while living in China to study contemporary art. This was followed by another small role in Joel Schumacher’s Twelve. And now, he suddenly finds himself playing the romantic bad-boy lead opposite Teegarden in Disney’s Prom, which the studio is hoping will take off like High School Musical. He has also been cast as the younger version of Johnny Depp’s character in Tim Burton’s upcoming Dark Shadows film. It seems like big things are in store for him. But for now, he is brooding through his exhaustion.
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Interview: Aimee Teegarden and Thomas McDonell on “Prom””
starring: Michael Angarano, Uma Thurman, Reece Thompson, Lee Pace, Rebecca Mader, Jake M. Johnson
written and directed by: Max Winkler
MPAA: Rated R for some language, sexual references and drug use.
starring: Robert Pattinson, Reese Witherspoon, Christoph Waltz, Paul Schneider, Hal Holbrook
written by: Richard LaGravenese (screenplay), Sara Gruen (novel)
directed by: Francis Lawrence
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for moments of intense violence and sexual content.
The 54th annual San Francisco International Film Festival kicks off this Thursday, April 21, bringing with it two weeks of jam-packed film programming until its conclusion on May 5. Special guests and honorees this year include Oliver Stone, Matthew Barney, Zoe Saldana, Clifton Collins Jr., and Christine Vachon. The festival will also feature a live performance of the film scores of Claire Denis by Tindersticks.
For full information, check out the official festival website. But first, look after the jump for our top 15 movies to see this year at the SFIFF.
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Guide to the San Francisco International Film Festival 2011”
starring: James McAvoy, Robin Wright, Evan Rachel Wood, Alexis Bledel, Kevin Kline, Tom Wilkinson, Justin Long, Norman Reedus, Danny Huston, Jonathan Groff, Johnny Simmons, Stephen Root, Colm Meaney
written by: James Solomon (screenplay/story), Gregory Bernstein (story)
directed by: Robert Redford
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for some violent content.
starring: Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Emma Roberts, Hayden Panettiere, Alison Brie, Marley Shelton, Rory Culkin, Mary McDonnell, Adam Brody, Anthony Anderson, Aimee Teegarden, Shenae Grimes, Kristen Bell, Anna Paquin, Nico Tortorella, Erik Knudsen, Marielle Jaffe, Brittany Robertson, Lucy Hale
written by: Kevin Williamson
directed by: Wes Craven
MPAA: Rated R for strong bloody violence, language and some teen drinking.
starring: Danny McBride, James Franco, Natalie Portman, Zooey Deschanel, Justin Theroux, Rasmus Hardiker, Toby Jones
written by: Danny McBride and Ben Best
directed by: David Gordon Green
MPAA: Rated R for strong crude and sexual content, pervasive language, nudity, violence and some drug use.
starring: Russell Brand, Helen Mirren, Greta Gerwig, Jennifer Garner, Nick Nolte, Luis Guzmán, Geraldine James
written by: Peter Baynham (screenplay), Steve Gordon (story)
directed by: Jason Winer
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for alcohol use throughout, sexual content, language and some drug references.
“Does anyone have a terrible allergy to cigarette smoke?” Joe Wright, the director of Hanna, is hoping the answer is no. It’s a Friday afternoon, and he’s looking a bit rough. Perhaps it’s a combination of jetlag and the looming specter of WonderCon 2011, which will be kicking off in a few hours. While Wright is no stranger to publicity tours, this is the first time he’s working the geek festival circuit. His previous three feature-length directorial efforts — Pride and Prejudice (the 2005 version starring Keira Knightley in an Oscar-nominated lead performance), Atonement (the breakthrough film of Hanna star Saiorse Ronan, whose performance garnered her a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the age of 13), and The Soloist, a contemporary drama starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx — did not take him down this particular promotional path.
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Interview: Saiorse Ronan and Joe Wright on “Hanna””