Thursday, September 11th Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 9/11/14-9/17/14”
Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 9/11/14-9/17/14
Spinning Platters Interview: Bill Hader & Kristen Wiig & Craig Johnson, “The Skeleton Twins”
At the Ritz-Carlton in San Francisco, I sit with a group of other writers around a table as the audible antics begin approaching outside the door. SNL veterans Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig, along with director Craig Johnson, are splitting each others’ sides with jokes and voices. They are tired and somewhat giddy from a day of press, supporting their incredible new film, The Skeleton Twins, and they loosely greet us with smiles and how ya dos. Bill chucks a muffin from that morning down the hallway, comically screaming ‘This BETTER BE GOOD!’. Bill and Kristen feed off each other’s energy, a polite and friendly Craig Johnson between them, and they all take a deep breath and search around the table for who’s first to dive in…
———-
Craig, you co-wrote the script with Mark Heyman, and I heard he’d been working on the script for eight years. How did the final cut of the film differentiate from the original script?
Craig Johnson: Well, we actually had a couple versions of it that were unfinished that were all over the place. We had one where Milo was a drag queen. (To Bill) I haven’t even told you about these versions of it. There was a road trip element.
Kristen Wiig: Maggie was a cat. (laughing)
Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 9/4/14-9/10/14
Thank you for enjoying the rock.
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 9/4/14-9/10/14”
Film Review: The Trip to Italy
The boys are back out of town.
You know when you think that your conversations with your friends are prime material for a movie, television show, or web series? Well, 9 times out of 10, your conversations wouldn’t be very entertaining to others. I’m guilty of this as well. Thankfully we have Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan, two comedians who have now created two hilarious and engaging films mostly consisting of them talking and eating. The Trip (2010) introduced us to the semi-improvised story of Rob and Steve, playing fictionalized versions of themselves, where the latter joined the former on a restaurant tour assignment in Northern England. The Trip to Italy is a direct continuation from the first film, featuring the same bickering, multi-course meal montages, and Michael Caine impersonations that made the first trip so enjoyable…this time with a side of Italy and a pinch of emotional depth.
Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 8/28/14-9/4/14
Summer is nearly over, but there is still plenty to do. Including two really inexpensive, all day music events in the Bay Area for you to celebrate this holiday weekend.
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 8/28/14-9/4/14”
Film Review: The November Man
Bond he is not. Bourne he is not. Hunt he is not. Ladies and Gentlemen, The November Man!
Pierce Brosnan attempts a return to the spy game in Roger Donaldson’s spy thriller, The November Man. The film is based on the novel There Are No Spies by Bill Granger. And, wouldn’t you know it, the spies in this film don’t resemble spies at all. They run through public streets with guns blazing, have no issues killing off members of any agency (even their own), and are incredibly oblivious to the most blatant clues and plot twists right in front of them. This is also the first action spy film I’ve ever seen that has no police presence. No matter how destructive and time consuming the shootouts and chases, there are no basic security or police squad personnel to be seen. Not even a siren! Maybe I just missed it and need to rewatch it to notice (I’m not going to rewatch it). Ultimately, The November Man is a scattered mess, trying to tackle too many plot lines whilst relying on nearly every spy film cliché to move the story forward. If it weren’t for Brosnan’s charisma, The November Man would be a complete dud.
Film Review: Sin City: A Dame to Kill For
Stark, Bloody, and two smoking Marvs
It’s a little bizarre that Sin City: A Dame to Kill For took this long to get made. Creative differences, production and casting issues, and the usual onslaught of headlines and rumors supposedly got in the way of this film getting off the ground. But nearly ten years later, we have A Dame to Kill For, and there are many disappointing elements that the filmmakers, with ten years to play with, should have gotten right. The Sin City film franchise nevertheless continues to showcase some of the most impressive visuals in movies — but has the novelty worn off? The black and white psychedelic neo-noir tone is fun, yet a lacking depth of emotion and a shortage of character variety (compared to 2005’s Sin City) spoils the return to Frank Miller’s dark seedy world.
Continue reading “Film Review: Sin City: A Dame to Kill For”
Now in Theaters: Frank/When the Game Stands Tall/If I Stay/Island of the Lemurs: Madagascar
Frank
by Carrie Kahn
Loosely inspired by alt rocker Chris Sievey’s stage creation Frank Sidebottom, Irish director Lenny Abrahamson’s new film is co-written by Peter Straughan and Jon Ronson, whose memoir details his experiences with Sidebottom. But no knowledge of the film’s backstory is necessary to be utterly delighted by this quirky and very funny film, which chronicles Jon’s (Domhnall Gleeson) induction into, and relationship with, an avant-garde band led by the mysterious Frank (Michael Fassbender). The catch is that Frank wears a large papier-mâché mask not only when on stage, but during all parts of his life (even while showering). What is amazing is that although the mask has just one expression – a crudely drawn, unsmiling, wide-eyed stare, its features seem to change simply by virtue of Fassbender’s tone of voice and body language; his performance is truly remarkable. Why Frank chooses to cover himself this way is one of the film’s central questions; themes of identity, artistic integrity, and creativity are explored with nuanced humor and depth. Does creativity have to stem from inner darkness, the film asks, or can normalcy and happiness drive the creative process just as forcefully? If artistic creations become widely popular, is their worth somehow lessened? With hauntingly beautiful cinematography (many scenes were filmed around Austin) and a weird and wonderful soundtrack, Frank delves into these issues with style, charm, and black humor. Plusses: Unique, intelligent story; brilliant performances by Fassbender and relative newcomer Gleeson. Minuses: Maggie Gyllenhall is slightly grating as fellow band-mate Clara; her range here seems to hover only between fiercely angry and completely insane. Final Analysis: A smart, compelling picture about the inner lives of artists that, frankly (yes, pun intended) may well be one of the best films of the year.
Frank opens today at the Landmark Embarcadero theater in San Francisco and the Landmark Shattuck theater in Berkeley.
Show Review: Antemasque and Les Butcherettes at Great American Music Hall, 8/12/14
There was a point in my life where The Mars Volta were, in my opinion, the most interesting thing in rock. Those first three full length records, De-Loused In The Comatorium, Frances The Mute, and Amputechture were all in heavy rotation while I moved from my early to mid 20’s. These records were the perfect balance of heavy and creative. Insane records filled with intensity that drew from influences as wide ranging as Fania All Stars, Pink Floyd, Fugazi, and Stockhausen. Delicious albums that I listened to almost daily. Before long, however, it felt like the band kept losing the plot. The records seemed stale, and the live shows also seemed to like some of the “Oomph!” of their earlier sets. When they decided to close up that chapter, it made sense to me. Both Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and Cedric Bixler-Zavala found themselves exploring music apart from each other, and made for some awfully compelling records.
The year that they parted ways was 2012. Now, a mere two years later, Cedric & Omar quietly started putting out new material on the web. Under the name “Antemasque.” These were some great, concise tracks. So, the moment they announced a tour, I decided it was worth my while to see if they’ve really re-inspired themselves.
SF Sketchfest Review: The Benson Interruption of Twilight: Eclipse on 8/16/2014 at Castro Theater
The Benson Interruption of Twilight: Eclipse was the second Benson Interruption I have attended, so I know I was in for a lot of silliness and belly laughs from some talented comedians who had never seen the movie before. And that’s exactly what I got, but it was even better and full of even harder belly laughs than I ever could have expected. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: The Benson Interruption of Twilight: Eclipse on 8/16/2014 at Castro Theater”