Film Review: Boulevard

Williams makes unimaginative picture worth seeing

Leo (Roberto Aguire) accepts a ride from Nolan (Robin Williams).

Boulevard is a tough movie to review, and an even tougher movie to watch, and not because it’s exceptionally good or exceptionally bad; it’s neither of those, but is a decent, if somewhat unoriginal, follow up by director Dito Montiel to his much lauded 2006 picture A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints. What makes the film hard to look at objectively is that it features Robin Williams in his last dramatic role, and it’s very difficult to see Williams’s performance here and not think about what he was going through when this film was made, only a year or so before his tragic suicide.

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Preview: Pitchfork Music Festival, 2015

Pitchfork

This Friday, July 17th, through Sunday, the 19th, 45+ bands will descend upon Chicago’s Union Park to perform at the 10th annual Pitchfork Music Festival. Tickets are officially sold out and that’s hardly a surprise. The stellar line-up consisting of the most iconic underground acts includes Wilco, Run the Jewels, Sleater-Kinney, Jamie XX, Future Islands, Perfume Genius, The Julie Ruin, Caribou, and Shamir.

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Photo Set: Phono del Sol Music Festival, 2015

Heartwatch at Phono del Sol
The festival’s darlings came in the form of Heartwatch. They really got the crowd dancing as opposed to lazing on their picnic blankets and set the tone for the rest of the day. Catch them at Outside Lands, coming up next month.

They say it takes a village when it comes to the care and well-being of a child. A playground is also a bonus. Props to the very talented and kind Yoshi Kato for helping with my precocious little daughter while I took moments, here and there, to capture photos of the fifth annual Phono del Sol Music and Food Festival.

Held at Potrero del Sol, known for its skate park and generally idyllic weather (compared to the rest of San Francisco), this afternoon to early evening jaunt featured an eclectic mix of bands and local food trucks. It’s a volunteer-driven affair, so the sound wasn’t the best. Still, that didn’t dampen the mood as many fans gathered, mingled, and danced under the sun this past Saturday afternoon.

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Film Review: Minions

Oh, so cute! Yet even more minions would’ve served Minions better.

Bob and Kevin and Stuart. Three Three (Minion) Stooges.
Bob and Kevin and Stuart. Three Three (Minion) Stooges.

I’m not going to get too bogged down with analyzing the storyline or characters here (other than the Minions). The story actually well suits a feature-length treatment for these until-now side characters: After many millennia searching and serving (and inevitably losing) the biggest and baddest bosses they could find, three Minions leave their “colony” to find a new big bad boss. Honestly, I could watch 90 minutes of these adorable yellow pill-shaped creatures reading to each other in a classroom. With a language consisting of 50% Italian, 40% gibberish, and 10% random sounds, unique personalities befitting each standardly-named individual, and an unparalleled sense of loyalty, these little guys are too cute to dislike.

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BottleRock Napa Valley 2015 Festival Journal, Day 3

I think Shakespeare might have been seeing into the future of BottleRock when he said “parting is such sweet sorrow.”  True story: on the last day of the inaugural festival in 2013, I remember thinking that I was like a kid at summer camp; I wanted to just keep coming back, but I knew that if I showed up the next day, all my friends would be gone and it would just be a big, sad mess that would leave me emotionally scarred.  Thankfully, though, after an amazing Day One and a lovely Day Two, I still had a whole final day to see, and this time, my bestie had come to join the fun. Continue reading “BottleRock Napa Valley 2015 Festival Journal, Day 3”

BottleRock Napa Valley 2015 Festival Journal, Day 2

After a smashingly successful day one, I couldn’t wait to see what BottleRock 2015 had in store for me on Day Two. I got a bit of a late start and arrived just in time for Scott Weiland and the Wildabouts.  This is one of the things I love most about the typical BRNV lineup: excellent blasts from the past, and you get a chance to see them in a whole new way.  (In BRNV years past I’ve been treated to Weezer, Heart, and the Spin Doctors, to name a few.)  I overheard someone saying that they thought the Wildabouts were “very STP,” and I can’t say I entirely agree.  Sure, it’s been quite a while since I heard much Stone Temple Pilots on the radio (much less even listened to the radio…), but I loved them, and so I remember enough.  Weiland and his Wildabouts were fun to watch, sounded great, and Weiland definitely still has the chops, but I think the biggest similarity between the two groups is simply Scott Weiland himself (and perhaps that both fall into the genre of rock).

Scott Weiland & the Wildabouts
Scott Weiland & the Wildabouts

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BottleRock Napa Valley 2015 Festival Journal, Day 1

Ahhhh, BottleRock. It’s hands-down my favorite time of year. What could be better than waking up to the sounds of fantastic headliners sound-checking from my open bedroom window? (This year, specifically, it happened twice: once with Imagine Dragons, and again with No Doubt. Not bad. Not bad at all.) Anyway, besides the excellent wake-up call, it’s all mild May weather in my gorgeous hometown of Napa, full of the best food, wine, and beer you can find with fantastic bands. I’ve never missed a day of this festival’s three years (and counting), and hope I never have to. Here’s what you missed this year: Continue reading “BottleRock Napa Valley 2015 Festival Journal, Day 1”

Film Review: Magic Mike XXL

These guys want you to share their long, hot… summer

The boys are back in town.

That Magic Mike XXL is opening in the middle of a heat wave is appropriate, because, well, hot damn, do these boys look good, and man, do they have some scorchingly sexy moves. Bring your bottled water into the theater ladies (and men – this is a movie that knows – and courts – both its female and male audiences; stars Channing Tatum, Matt Bomer, and Adam Rodriguez thrilled fans recently at the Los Angeles gay pride parade), because you’re going to need some cooling down.

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Top 10 60’s Bands From The Bay Area That Were More Influential Than The Grateful Dead

Even this band was way better than The Grateful Dead.
Even this band was way better than The Grateful Dead.

Unless you are living under a rock, you’ve heard that The Grateful Dead are playing a pair of “farewell shows” in Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. There is an obscene amount of hype over these shows, and they’ve sold about 8 trillion tickets for them. Not bad for a band that NOBODY knows any songs by unless you are a fan. The Dead were a huge cult band, but really didn’t do much to change popular music has a whole. The 60’s were a great time for music in the Bay Area, and there were a lot of bands that were way more important, in my own humble opinion. Feel free to get angry, but here’s a list of 10 undeniably talented bands from the Bay in the 60’s.

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