Film Review: “The Brutalist”

The Brutalist is a towering achievement in epic visual storytelling

Ten thousand words could be written about the surreal, dizzying shot of an upside-down Statue of Liberty in The Brutalist, Brady Corbet’s epic tale of a Hungarian immigrant’s experience in America. The Statue of Liberty sequence lasts no more than twenty seconds, yet a skewed opinion of a burgeoning nation’s dreams, hopes, and promises lie within its symbolism. The Brutalist is filled with amazing imagery like the Statue of Liberty shot, and monumental performances to match them. With The Brutalist, from its musical score to its costuming, Corbet has assembled a modern masterpiece, a staggering filmmaking achievement that weaves together the majesty and tragedy of the American Dream into a captivating and intimate story. Continue reading “Film Review: “The Brutalist””

Single of the Week: “So Long, Farewell” by Riki Lindhome

The return of Riki Lindhome as a comedy musician is making me ever so happy… Her latest single, “So Long, Farewell,” is the perfect Christmas drop because, well, it’s not a Christmas song but references the most non-Christmas musical Sound Of Music, and “My Favorite Things,” one of the most depressing songs in history to be recast as a song about getting presents. Was that verbal nonsense? Yes, it was. But, also, I never knew I’d fall in love with a song from the perspective of Baroness Elsa Schraeder, who could do better than Georg von Trapp and his 800 singing children. 

Anyways, Riki Lindhome’s debut solo full-length, No Worries if Not, is coming to your friendly neighborhood DSP on March 14th. (Pi Day!) She’s also bringing her one-woman musical, Dead Inside, to SF Sketchfest! Catch her at Club Fugazi on January 18th. I’ll be there! 

Show Review: The Dandy Warhols’ 30th Anniversary Show at Bimbo’s 365 Club, 12/6/24

It’s insane to me that The Dandy Warhols have been doing their thing for 30 years now. Even crazier is the realization that I’ve been along for the ride (pun intended) for roughly 27 of those years, first seeing them at The Fillmore opening for The Charlatans UK and coming back with zero memory of the headliner. That night, while my friend was desperately trying to stalk Courtney Taylor-Taylor (with limited success), I tripped over Zia McCabe, and she signed the back of my poster. Why not the front? Because I’m an idiot. But she was incredibly kind and remains probably the nicest person in rock. Continue reading “Show Review: The Dandy Warhols’ 30th Anniversary Show at Bimbo’s 365 Club, 12/6/24”

Single Of The Week: Doechii’s Tiny Desk Concert

Is this cheating? 23 minutes of the most ecstatic MC work I’ve ever heard as a “single” of the week? Yeah. It is cheating. But I’m the Music Editor, and I make the rules, so I’m stretching it because this is SO FREAKING GOOD. She burns through 7 songs in a tight 15 minutes and then lets the final number, “Black Girl Memoir,” breathe, allowing the whole band to show off their chops. 

Doechii’s debut album, Alligator Bites Never Heal, is available in stores both virtual and physical now. I hope to see more of her in the coming year because this is AMAZING. 

New Sketchfest Events! ALBERT F’ING BROOKS!!!!!!

Defending Your Life was one of the cornerstone films of my childhood. It wasn’t a kid’s movie, but I was such a nerd and an armchair philosopher that I was obsessed with this film. Albert Brooks became my hero. Of course, as I got older, Meryl Streep ALSO became my hero. But the guy also hasn’t done a lot of public appearances in recent years, so it’s super exciting that SF Sketchfest has managed to snag the dude to talk about his career as a a filmmaker, an actor, and, hopefully even his stand up days! Continue reading “New Sketchfest Events! ALBERT F’ING BROOKS!!!!!!”

Film Review: “Nightbitch”

Nightbitch is a reductive maternal fable stretched thin

Being a mother is difficult. While I can’t personally attest to the difficulties of motherhood, I understand that to be objectively true. I’ve also seen many films across multiple genres that tackle the hardships of motherhood, from Freaky Friday to The Babadook. Many of these films depict how maternal hardships can be understood on deeper levels, or seen from a previously unexplored perspective. Facing the demands of motherhood, and depending on the genre, protagonists go on a journey of self-discovery through side-splitting humor, terrorizing horror, or tear-jerking drama. Nightbitch is a dark comedy that focuses so resolutely on the most fundamental difficulties of being a parent – losing sleep, social and professional sacrifices, too much to do and not enough time to do it – that the film’s creative supporting elements fail to make an impact. Continue reading “Film Review: “Nightbitch””

Film Review: “Queer”

Guadagnino’s soul-searching adaptation is a mixed bag of moods

If you’re familiar with the literary works of William S. Burroughs, then perhaps you won’t be surprised that film adaptations of his novels contain a strong sense of surreality, auto-biographicality, and intense intimacy. The latter characteristic is also prevalently featured in the works of director Luca Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Name; Challengers). Despite Guadagnino and Burroughs’ shared love for portraying romantic physicality, and Daniel Craig’s impressively daring and vulnerable performance, Guadagnino’s adaptation of the Burroughs short novel, Queer, tries and often fails to properly balance the two artists’ stylistic approaches. Continue reading “Film Review: “Queer””

Film Review: “The Order”

Hoult and Law bolster The Order’s thrilling real-world drama

This has been a monumental year for Nicholas Hoult. He has starred in four films: The Garfield Movie, Juror #2, The Order, and the upcoming Nosferatu. It’s difficult to envision a wider-range of films for an actor in one year, and The Order may be his most consequential role. In The Order, Hoult shares the spotlight with Jude Law, who is also playing against type. The film follows a series of real-life events that took place in the Pacific Northwest in the 1980s, with themes that continue to be relevant given the U.S.’s turbulent state of current political affairs. Procedural and moody, The Order avoids preachiness in favor of character exploration and thrilling action set pieces. Continue reading “Film Review: “The Order””

Single of the Week: “Young Lion” by Sade Adu

There’s a chance you’ve already uncovered this. There is also a good chance that you are coming out of a heated Thanksgiving dinner where somebody ranted about how there are “only two genders” and something cruel and dehumanizing. You need something warm and comforting from someone of the baby boom generation. God bless you, Sade. This is only her third single in the last 14 years, and it’s a potent ballad dedicated to her trans son. The video is lovely, warm, and affectionate, and it is a lovely, caring antidote to all the vile we expect to deal with over the next four years. 

“Young Lion” is a track off TRAN?A, a compilation from the Red Hot organization to raise money for various trans organizations worldwide. The compilation also features unreleased tracks from Andre` 3000, Wendy + Lisa, Hand Habits, SOAK, claire rosay, Jeff Tweedy, and too many others to list. 

 

Film Review: “Wicked: Part I”

Skip this trip to Oz

Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo, l.) and Galinda (Ariana Grande) become friends after a rocky start.

There are three main things you need to know if you’re considering seeing Wicked, the cinematic adaptation of the award-winning Broadway musical. First: Be aware that it’s very long–almost three hours. Second: Most of the movie posters for the film haven’t emphasized this fact–and only recently did IMDB change the film’s title from just Wicked to Wicked: Part I–but the film that opens today is indeed only PART ONE of a two-part adaptation. The movie released today corresponds to the live musical’s first act. That means that somehow the production’s entire story–which managed to be told in a nearly three hour live musical (including an intermission, no less)–has, in the hands of director John M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians; In the Heights), become an interminable six hour filmic experience, with the two individual movies running just as long as the original musical itself, while each only telling half the story. Which brings us to point three: While the film is a visual feast, featuring exceptional production design and cinematography, its stretched-out story drags, meanders, and is often mind numbingly dull.

Continue reading “Film Review: “Wicked: Part I””