Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds
Music festivals, heavy metal canned food drives and Snoop to tha D-o-double G. All this and more in a week of music in the Bay Area
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts: 10/9/14-10/15/14”
In the modern musical world, artists’ success seems to be measured in how quickly they can crank out new, catchy, pop-earworm singles that you keep singing from day to day until the next one comes along. Entire albums are far too much to swallow for the attention-deficit horde that is the concertgoing crowd, and heaven forbid you haven’t put out anything for several years’ time — you’re just a faded memory, a phrase that still pops up on cobweb-covered Internet searches. It’s therefore refreshing and wonderful to see acts like Modest Mouse, the Washington-based indie rockers who took the mid-2000s by storm, return to the Bay Area with over 7 years having passed since their last album’s release, and play to an absolutely sold-out house at their own debut at The Masonic, the recently-revamped auditorium that has been all of the buzz of San Francisco of late. It’s a testament to the staying power and wildly dedicated fanbase that they possess, and they did not disappoint the hundreds who screamed, cried, and writhed their way through the evening with them, unloading their explosive energy with a live assembly of nearly 10 players making up their ranks.
Continue reading “Show Review: Modest Mouse with Mimicking Birds at the Masonic, 9/26/2014”
One of the most hotly anticipated movies of the fall season, Director David Fincher’s Gone Girl more than lives up to its expectations. Based on Gillian Flynn’s popular novel of the same name, and benefitting tremendously from a screenplay penned by the author herself, the film is sure to please both the book’s rabid fans as well as those fresh to the story. The picture has been heavily marketed as a crime mystery, and although it is that, it is also much, much more. In reality, Fincher and Flynn have given us a searing portrait of a marriage cleverly disguised as a taut thriller.
Jason Reitman disappointed many of his fans with his hackneyed, sugary film Labor Day last fall. Unfortunately, one year later, he still has not returned to top form. His latest effort is a heavy-handed mess of a film called Men, Women & Children, the title of which more aptly describes everyone who should avoid it.
Yes, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass is this week. It’s an amazing line up as usual. It’s free, so everyone is there. However, there is more than enough great music happening this week. Enjoy the shows!
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts: 10/3/14-10/8/14”
The 37th Mill Valley Film Festival opens tonight, October 2nd, and runs until October 12th. The Festival is screening some of this fall’s most hotly anticipated pictures: Bennett Miller’s Foxcatcher (starring Steve Carrell) and Morten Tyldum’s Imitation Game (starring Benedict Cumberbatch), and so many more. But here at Spinning Platters, we thought we’d spotlight some of the lower profile films that risk being overshadowed by the bigger movies. Full schedule, tickets, and more information are available at: http://mvff.com, and be sure to check back here for more updates during the Fest.
What We Do in the Shadows
(US/New Zealand 2014, 86 min; English)
What We Do in the Shadows resembles the result of a casual joke/idea, delivered with enough informality and humor to make it more entertaining than it could’ve been — it’s one of the funniest movies of the year. The witty writing, from the comedy team behind Eagle vs Shark and The Flight of the Conchords, enables the film to break free from potential one-joke captivity, whereby the story expands the simple premise (vampire housemates) to wonderful subplots and hilarious surprises. It’s definitely a movie best experienced with an energetic crowd!
Screenings:
– Tuesday, October 7, 7:45pm, Rafael Film Center, San Rafael
– Thursday, October 9, 4:00pm, Rafael Film Center, San Rafael
The 37th Mill Valley Film Festival opens this Thursday, October 2nd, and runs until October 12th. The Festival is screening some of this fall’s most hotly anticipated pictures: Jason Reitman’s Men, Women & Children and Tommy Lee Jones’s The Homesman (opening night films); Theory of Everything (featuring Eddie Redmayne as the young Stephen Hawking); and Wild, which has already garnered much festival buzz for Reese Witherspoon’s turn as Cheryl Strayed, the author of the popular memoir of the same name. But here at Spinning Platters, we thought we’d spotlight some of the lower profile films that risk being overshadowed by the bigger movies. Full schedule, tickets, and more information are available at: http://mvff.com, and be sure to check back here for more updates during the Fest.
In Order of Disappearance
(Norway/Sweden/Denmark 2014, 116 min; English, Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish with English subtitles)
This Scandinavian crime thriller owes a debt not only to 2011’s terrific Norwegian noir film Headhunters, but also to the American movies Pulp Fiction and Fargo in terms of its surreal, darkly comic atmosphere and chilly landscape. Norwegian director Hans Peter Moland has cast Stellan Skarsgard to great effect as a sort of Swedish Liam Neeson in full-blown action mode. A Swedish immigrant living and working in a small Norwegian town, Skarsgard’s Nils gives new meaning to his recently earned Citizen of the Year award when he single-handedly takes on both a Serbian crime syndicate and the local gangsters to avenge the death of his son, an unwitting pawn in a dangerous turf war. Indelibly drawn characters and a screenplay filled with unexpected plot turns are highlights of this edgy, well-crafted picture.
Screenings:
– Friday, October 10, 5:45pm, Rafael Film Center, San Rafael
– Sunday, October 12, 2:45pm, Cinéarts Sequoia Theater, Mill Valley
Hector and the Search for Happiness is a curious movie. Based on the trailer alone, you might think you’re in for a lighthearted, feel-good, seize-the-day picture, wherein the lead character Learns and Grows by ditching his staid life in search of adventure, à la Eat, Pray, Love or last year’s The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. And you wouldn’t be entirely wrong. But the surprising thing about director Peter Chelsom’s film, based on a popular French novel by François Lelord, is that while it certainly contains its fair share of clichés and groan-inducing scenes, it is both darker and more sensitive than you might expect. Continue reading “Film Review: Hector and the Search for Happiness”
Tracks is based on the true story and National Geographic article (and subsequent memoir) of Robyn Davidson, the Australian woman who made a nine month journey on foot across the Australian desert in 1977 — a distance of about 1700 miles. Throughout her journey, accompanied only by four load-carrying camels and her dog, but occasionally visited by photographer Rick Smolan and aided by a few indigenous folks and country residents, Robyn wrestles with the pressure to remove herself from civilization while fighting to complete her epic journey. The film is a fantastic re-enactment of Robyn’s story. The acting, editing, stunning cinematography, music, and all other aspects of the film work harmoniously to deliver a remarkable tale of individual strength and determination, and about humankind’s companionship with nature.
This week is a pretty epic week if you are in the mood for some classic rock. Or new music. Or just like being alive. Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts: 9/25/14-10/2/14”