SF Sketchfest Review: Hold On with Eugene Mirman at Swedish American Hall, 1/26/18

From Left: Paget Brewster, Eugene Mirman, Paula Pell, Thomas Lennon. Photos by Dan Dion

When I plotted out my Sketchfest schedule this year, I based my show decisions on a number of factors:

  1. Scarcity: How often does this person actually come to town?
  2. Age: How likely is it that I won’t be seeing this performer ever again?
  3. Fandom: The old “does this performer make my heart feel warm” when I think of them?
  4. Past experiences: Have I gone to this show or seen this performer before and enjoyed them?
  5. Podcast I’ve never heard before: Can I experience a live recording of a podcast before ever listening to it or really even understanding the format?

Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Hold On with Eugene Mirman at Swedish American Hall, 1/26/18”

SF Sketchfest Review: Animal House 40th Anniversary with Cast and Crew Panel Discussion

The Deltas in front of their frat house.

The cast and crew from the classic movie Animal House assembled at the Castro Theatre for a panel discussion of the comedy classic in honor of its 40th anniversary. It is, as you may remember, vibrant with jokes that stand the test of time. The movie was groundbreakingly raunchy for its time, with sexual humor that seems tame now, but in 1978 challenged the ratings board, and caused the studio to resist its production until Donald Sutherland joined the cast. It was risque to show dildos on screen, and the gross out humor and blatant sexuality was new for the day. There were several scenes in which women, on a date, in a car, overlooking the city, were giving hand jobs in convertibles, expressing irritation and boredom at the laborious process of pleasuring their date, a scenario familiar to many adults. This was also one of the few jokes that seems to have been specifically penned for audience members who aren’t white men. “Is it supposed to be so soft?” asks the woman on their second encounter in the car. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Animal House 40th Anniversary with Cast and Crew Panel Discussion”

SF Sketchfest Review: Sara Schaefer: Little White Box, Krista Fatka at Punchline, 1/16/18

As we all know, things are kind of nutty right now. There are some terrible people in power, those people are inspiring other terrible people to act and speak out in terrible ways, and it seems that the entire country has been either drowning, burning, or freezing most of this year. The best thing for coping with all of this, at least for me, is satire. But not dark satire. Warm, comforting satire, that helps you laugh at the issues while also feeling comforted that somebody else understands what’s going on. Sara Schaefer is one of the finest writers of this brand of satire. And, despite it being a Tuesday night, I needed to see what she had to say. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Sara Schaefer: Little White Box, Krista Fatka at Punchline, 1/16/18”

Spinning Platters Interview: Rick Springfield

 

Although it’s widely touted as a comedy festival, SF Sketchfest has a wide ranging program that meanders into film, television, literature and music as well. How fitting it is, then, that Rock Solid With Pat Francis is welcoming a guest with a long career doing all three. From his beginnings with mega-hit “Jesse’s Girl” to his years as Noah Drake on General Hospital to his critically acclaimed memoir of depression, Late, Late Night all the way to co-starring with Meryl Streep in Jonathan Demme’s final film, Rikki and the Flash, Rick Springfield has a career as interesting and varied as the rest of the programming at SF Sketchfest. When given the opportunity to talk to him about his Sketchfest appearance and his new blues centered album The Snake King, and told I would only have an hour to prepare, I jumped at the chance.

Rick Springfield was in his car on the way to Joshua Tree when he called. Continue reading “Spinning Platters Interview: Rick Springfield”

Spinning Platters Interview: Eddie Muller, founder of the upcoming Noir City Film Festival

Eddie Muller is the founder and president of the Film Noir Foundation and the man known internationally as the “Czar of Noir.” SFFILM this month named Muller to its pantheon of “Essential SF” cinema figures. Earlier this year, Muller debuted as the host of the new Turner Classic Movies franchise Noir Alley, providing him with a national platform to introduce a fresh audience to film noir and to the work of the Film Noir Foundation.

NOIR CITY 16 takes audiences back in time with a program of 12 genuine “A” and “B” double bills, spanning the breadth of the original film noir era, 1941 to 1953.  

The most popular film noir festival in the world returns to San Francisco’s majestic Castro Theatre for its 16th edition, January 26-February 4, 2018. “Film Noir from A to B” presents 24 classic noirs as they were experienced on their original release, pairing a top-tier studio “A” with a shorter, low-budget second feature, or “B” film. All but one of the films will be presented in glorious 35mm.

You can view the program here.

I’ve been going to Noir City for most of the past 15 years, and was delighted to have the chance to interview Eddie about this year’s festival, how film noir continues to be relevant, and why these old movies still resonate today. Continue reading “Spinning Platters Interview: Eddie Muller, founder of the upcoming Noir City Film Festival”

SF Sketchfest Review: A Tribute to Dick Cavett: 50th Anniversary of the Dick Cavett Show, 1/12/18

All Photos by Tommy Lau

I’m going to make a very bold statement: If Dick Cavett never existed, late night television would be unrecognizable. As a writer and a talent coordinator of the original Tonight Show with Jack Paar, he helped shape the structure of the show, and stayed on for a bit as Johnny Carson took over. He continued to work on The Jerry Lewis Show before getting the opportunity to host his own talk show, The Dick Cavett Show, which lasted in some iteration from 1968 ‘til 1996, then back again from 2006-2007, bouncing between networks and time slots, but still keeping the same basic premise of edgy humor and probing interviews.

Tonight was a little bit different for Cavett. Tonight, Cavett became the subject of the interview, not the conductor. Tonight was special. And the person taking on the role of Cavett for the task in interviewing Cavett? Mr. John Hodgman. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: A Tribute to Dick Cavett: 50th Anniversary of the Dick Cavett Show, 1/12/18”

Spinning Platters Interview: Rhea Butcher

Rhea Butler is an amazing, outspoken comic. She released not one, but TWO records last year on Kill Rock Stars: Butcher and her collaborative record with her wife, Cameron Esposito, called Back To Back. Butler has three shows this weekend at SF Sketchfest presented by Audible, and we had the chance to talk to her ahead of those shows. Continue reading “Spinning Platters Interview: Rhea Butcher”

Film Review: Phantom Thread

It looks great, sounds great, and contains great performances, and that should be enough, right?

Daniel Day-Lewis and Vicky Krieps in Phantom Thread

There are six words that gets the blood of every movie nerd pumping: Paul Thomas Anderson are three of them, and Daniel Day-Lewis are the other three. The other time these two worked together, they created the modern masterpiece There Will be Blood. Now they return, sans milkshakes, for what Sir Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis claims will be his last acting job. Whether this retirement sticks is anyone’s guess, but is it worth catching him on the screen one last time?

Continue reading “Film Review: Phantom Thread“

Film Review: The Commuter

Rough commute takes on a whole new meaning in fun Neeson-helmed thrill ride

Commuter Michael (Liam Neeson, r.) tries to save his fellow train passengers. 

If you are suffering from post-holiday malaise and need a pick-me-up, you could do worse than seeing the new Liam Neeson action flick The Commuter. Unlike the usual forgettable fare that typically inhabits the January cinematic wasteland, Spanish director Jaume Collet-Serra’s new film offers the sort of hold-your-breath thrills that you would expect from the same director who pitted Blake Lively against a shark in 2016’s The Shallows and who collaborated with Neeson back in 2014 on Non-Stop.
Continue reading “Film Review: The Commuter“